Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Book Review: "Dolly All the Time" by Annabel Monaghan

Annabel Monaghan is an absolute auto-buy author for me. Her characters are always so well-drawn, and her books have such an emotional richness to them. I’ve loved every one of her books, but Dolly All The Time may be my new favorite.

When a small fire occurs one night in her childhood home, Dolly and her teenage son Gus leave their lives in Boston and head back to her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island. Ever since her mother left their family when Dolly was 12, she’s been the one who has taken care of everything—for her father and her two younger siblings.

Dolly loves being back in Whitfield and quickly assumes the caretaking role once again. One day after working at the family’s fish house, she comes across Stewart Whitfield, the handsome heir to the Whitfield fortune. (Their hometown is named for his family.) Stewart’s car has a flat tire and he has no idea how to fix it. Dolly shows him how, and the press takes an impromptu picture of them, as Stewart’s engagement has just ended in a scandal.

Stewart is desperate to close the deal on his becoming the company’s new. The one drawback is that his parents think he’s too much of a workaholic to succeed. So Stewart asks Dolly to be his fake girlfriend, a challenge she accepts. Suddenly she is attending benefits and client dinners, and bringing out a whole different side of Stewart.

I’ve read tons of romances and rom-coms that have fake dating at their core. Even though the approach is familiar, the way the relationship between Dolly and Stewart unfolds is just lovely.

I absolutely loved this book. Not only were the main characters totally appealing, but the supporting characters rocked also. There was banter, steam, self-discovery, happiness, sadness, and humor. It was exactly what I needed!

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