Dolly All the Time

LoveReading Says

Dolly All the Time is one of those romances that sneaks up on you. What begins as a breezy summer fake-dating story becomes something far richer - a tender exploration of responsibility, family, love, grief, and what it means to finally allow yourself to be cared for.

Dolly Brick is the queen of the side hustle. Kindergarten teacher, Uber driver, seller of weighted vests, emotional caretaker, family fixer - she is the person everyone leans on. Ever since her mother left, Dolly has stepped into the role of holding everything together, especially for her father Freddie, owner of the Brick Fish House - home of the best crab cakes in town - and for her brother Christopher, who has never been the same since a childhood car accident left him with a traumatic brain injury.

Normally, trips to Rhode Island are carefully managed military operations - clean house, empty laundry baskets, everything in place before Dolly leaves town again so nothing tips into disaster while she’s gone. But this summer is different. The call comes: there’s been a fire at her father’s house. Dolly and thirteen-year-old Gus rush straight to Whitfield, as the fragile balance starts to collapse.

And then there’s Stewart Whitfield. He’s handsome, powerful, and heir apparent to Whitfield Industries. The Whitfields practically own the town; Naomi, Dolly’s best friend and lifelong Whitfield watcher, is desperate to see Dolly swept off her feet, and honestly, you will be too. 

Stuart is magnetic from the start. Their meet-cute is pure romance perfection - Dolly finds him stranded on the side of the road with a flat tyre and a dead phone - but what follows is much deeper than expected.

What begins as a public-image arrangement slowly transforms as Dolly teaches Stuart what a good boyfriend actually looks like - thoughtful compliments, showing up, paying attention, small acts of care. One touch, one date, one unexpected moment at a time, Dolly starts to experience joy for perhaps the first time in her life.

The contrast between Stuart’s glamorous world - yachts, wealth, old family expectations - and Dolly’s relentless grind could have felt predictable, but instead it highlights the emotional heart of the novel: the burden of being the responsible one. Dolly is the fixer, the soother of sobs, the woman carrying everyone else’s expectations on her back.

The final chapters are devastating in the best way. I ugly cried. Tears splashing against my glasses as I was completely consumed by Dolly’s story. I was all in. The romance delivers every swoony moment you could want, but it’s the emotional honesty underneath that lingers long after the final page.

Dolly All the Time is ultimately about learning that being needed is not the same thing as being loved - and I absolutely adored it.

Deborah Maclaren

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