Clayborn (Love at First) spins a gentle tale of two people who set out to find themselves and stumble into love along the way. Georgie Mulcahy is only back in her childhood hometown to help her best friend through the last few weeks of her pregnancy. At least, that's what she's telling herself. After losing her glamorous but grueling job as a celebrity personal assistant, Georgie's no longer sure what she wants out of life. When she rediscovers her teenage diary, however, she's reminded of a time when she knew just what would make her happy. Levi Fanning, meanwhile, spends his days trying to redeem himself in a small town that remembers his rebellious teen years all too well. When a series of flukes leaves him and Georgie as unexpected roommates, the now shy and disciplined Levi tries to keep a respectful distance--until he's inevitably sucked into Georgie's chaos. The two agree to work through Georgie's high school bucket list, and chasing her teenage dreams helps them to find grown-up happiness. Readers shouldn't expect a rom-com (there are few laughs here), but the smooth, vivid prose makes it easy to invest in the protagonists' well-rendered character growth. This introspective romance is a treat. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (Feb.)

Clayborn (Love at First, 2021) is skilled at creating out-of-the-norm, captivating characters with nuanced finesse. Georgie Mulcahy grew into her expansive, go-with-the-flow self by living in the present moment, though the folks in Darentville, her Virginia town, view her as a bit of a mess. Conscious of their disapprobation, she moved to Los Angeles and fell into a successful personal assistant role in Hollywood by doing her utmost to please and be organized. Levi Fanning was the town's troublemaker since he was 11. Hated by his father and overlooked by his distant mother, he couldn't abide the life to which they tried to confine him. Saved by a generous-hearted soul, Levi grew up into a well-respected business owner, albeit one living a rigidly controlled hermit life. Georgie is now back in town, wanting to reinvent herself. When they meet, both misfits realize how well they suit each other. No one understands them innately like the other. No one else fills the blankness in their souls. But they can only move forward together by revisiting their pasts.

A recently unemployed personal assistant returns to her hometown and finds a journal of dreams from her past--as well as a new romance--that helps her write a brighter future. When her screenwriter boss announces her retirement, Georgie Mulcahy suddenly finds herself not only without a job, but also lacking a single, solitary idea about what to do with her life. Road-tripping to her Virginia hometown to help Annabel, her pregnant best friend, settle into a new house is a start, but beyond that, Georgie's future looks like the wrong kind of blank slate. When the two women uncover a box of memories from high school, Georgie seizes upon the "friend fic" journal they once wrote together, its pages overflowing with unfinished plans and dreams. Maybe looking to the past is exactly what she needs to jump-start her future, and by completing all of the bucket-list items she and Bel never got to do together, she can achieve the fullest version of herself in the process. Georgie's plans immediately start to go awry, though, when she's surprised to find another person crashing at her parents' house while they're out of town--Levi Fanning, town black sheep and older brother of her high school crush. His reputation for being a perennial screw-up precedes him, but beneath his gruff exterior lies a much softer center. As he offers to help Georgie check off some of her friend fic goals, the continuing proximity between them clues her in to the fact that what she really wants isn't to retreat into her past but write a future for herself instead, one that unapologetically includes Levi, too. Clayborn's stories always feel equally specific and universal, written with vulnerability, humor, and empathy, and this latest is no exception. Georgie and Levi each have an incredibly charged presence on the page as the story explores their individual narratives, but their differences allow them to forge an entirely perfect whole. A modern yet timeless love story. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Freshly laid off from her job in Los Angeles, 28-year-old Georgie is burned-out and unsure of the future, so she leaves her life behind, driving across the country to her hometown. Her plans are simple: take a summer break and spend quality time with her lifelong best friend. When they happen upon a notebook in an old box, outlining her high school bucket list, Georgie decides to try to live out her younger self's goals, silly or not. She soon meets Levi, a handsome stranger with a questionable past, and through a house-sitting mix-up, finds they'll be living under the same roof. Levi helps her with her bucket list, leading to a hot and deeply emotional affair that's complicated by small-town prejudices and entrenched family trauma. As Georgie contemplates if their love is enough to keep her in town, Levi has to heal from his past pain in order to accept the possibility of a happily ever after with Georgie. VERDICT Told from alternating viewpoints, this tender and sexy contemporary romance from Clayborn (Love at First) also features strong friendships and will appeal to fans of Emily Henry.--Migdalia Jimenez