REVIEW: Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

In Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan, Dolly Brick might wear many hats: kindergarten teacher, part-time Uber driver, part-time sports store call rep, and summer help at the family fish house, but being a single mom to her thirteen-year-old son Gus is what gives her life purpose. Her side hustles and thriftiness have kept them afloat for years. But this summer, instead of adding extra Uber shifts and finding household projects to keep Dolly busy in Boston, she and Gus make their way to her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island. Not only did they almost lose their family home to an electrical fire, but now they need to find the funds to replace the apparently dilapidated old roof.

“Okay, what’s not to like, right? But he’s Stewart Whitfield, heir to all that.”
“And you’re Dolly Brick, heir to all this,” he says.
We look up at the tarped house just as Christopher walks out onto the porch in his underwear.
“Are you saying he’s too good for you?” Gus asks. “Because I don’t think you’d say anyone was too good for me.”
He smiles at me in a gotcha kind of way and gets out of the car.

Call it serendipity. Call it luck. Whatever it is, Dolly’s prayers are answered when she has a “meet cute” with Stewart Whitfield outside his family’s historic mansion. Her hometown is named after him–well, after his famous wealthy family. So, Dolly is shocked when Stewart asks for her help and offers a deal akin to the movie Pretty Woman. Minus the prostitute part, of course. He needs a fake girlfriend to attend work events with him since his fiancée was caught in a cheating scandal. And Stewart will gladly pay for the new roof on Dolly’s family home. It sounds like a win-win for all parties involved, right? But as her fake boyfriend gets to know her hardworking father, her charming but child-like adult brother Christopher, her wonderful son Gus, and Dolly meets his entire family, things get complicated. They are from completely different worlds. So, how is it that she feels more comfortable with Stewart than nearly anyone else? And why is she so freaked out by her feelings for him and the vision of a future they could have together?

Annabel Monaghan’s winning streak continued with DOLLY ALL THE TIME, a quick-witted romance that had me taking pauses in between chapters to stretch out the time I got to spend with her delightful characters. I’ve been a big fan of her work since her debut, Norah Goes Off Script. And the biggest draw to her books for me–aside from the terrific dialogue–has been her heroines. They are capable. They are smart. They gladly take on the weight of the world to make life better for their loved ones. And they’re kind of an emotional mess because of it all, but they are willing to learn from their mistakes and grow as a person. The same can certainly be said for Dolly.

A single mom to her awesome thirteen-year-old son Gus, a Boston kindergarten teacher who adored her students, and with side hustles as an Uber driver, a customer service phone rep, and shifts at her father’s fish house, Dolly was incredibly busy. But she really seemed to thrive on finding creative ways to save money and be thrifty in all aspects of her life. So, when her meet-cute with Stewart Whitfield–Dolly’s hometown in Rhode Island was literally named after his famous family–offers to give her enough money to pay for a new roof on her family home if she will pose (platonically) as his girlfriend for the summer, what did she have to lose?

As it turned out, her heart. Because Stewart was everything Dolly needed in her life. Someone who understood the pressure of being the workaholic caregiver, always giving without getting much support in return. And it bonded them in a very deep, visceral way. It also became a way Dolly and Stewart both could grow as individuals while falling helplessly (and unexpectedly) head over heels in love with each other.

TROPES/THEMES:

• Fake relationship
• Family saga
• Capable heroine & Workaholic hero
• Pretty Woman vibes
• Mental health rep

CW: View Spoiler »Childhood abandonment (historical), anxiety and panic attacks, traumatic brain injury, classism, childhood cancer (not detailed) « Hide Spoiler

I won’t lie that the third act breakup had me wanting to (not so) lovingly shake a certain hero but of course Monaghan worked her magic and had me cheering Dolly and Stewart on all the way to the satisfying ending. I think readers will love every moment they spend with the whole crew–the supporting cast was amazing!!–and as per usual will wish that they could meet them in real life. DOLLY ALL THE TIME will be a perfect addition to your summertime TBR.

QOTD: Are you an Annabel Monaghan fan yet? If so, do you have a favorite heroine or couple from her books?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: May 26th, 2026 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

From The New York Times bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a romance about a single mother who’s offered a Pretty Woman-type deal that’s too good to refuse.

If they begin by pretending, can they end with something real?

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.

So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and swinging on the porch, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself, can she really start now?