4 Star review of The Goodbye Guy by Natasha Moore

Natasha Moore is a new author to me and I have no idea why I have not come across her books before. This was an enjoyable read that had me invested from the first to the last chapter. I have been gravitating to single parent and small town stories more and more in the last twelve months and The Goodbye Guy ticked quite a few boxes for me.
This is Rachel Bradford and Beckett Colburn’s story, they have history and not in a good way. When Rachel returns to her home town to film for her interior design show she is not happy to learn that her co star will be the man who once humiliated her.
I liked the complications that arose between Rachel and Beckett as they filmed. The sparks flew and the chemistry between them crackled . The more time they spend with each other, the more they realize that they are not the same people they once were.
I enjoyed Ms. Moore’s style of writing, I found this book to be well written, sweet and romantic. I received a copy of this book through the publisher via Netgalley

Utterly fabulous!
This book was amazing. The character were fun and you could just see how the story blended with it's characters. From the family feuds to the romance, The Goodbye Guy is so sweet.

I especially appreciate how the heroine does not sacrifice herself and her values for her lover. It's a wonderful story and one to learn from.

This novel reads a bit like a Hallmark Movie, so if they are not our style this may not be for you.

Rachel left her small town with a single-minded determination never to return after her nemesis ruined her one moment of freedom by observing her calamitous accident and telling EVERYONE about it.

But her once successful show is now dropping ratings and her bosses have decided a hometown remodel is just what is needed! It may give Rachel a new avenue of creativity as she is getting fed up doing the same kinds of makeover.

Beckett is now a single dad to the cutest little girl. She is a big fan of Rachel and is over the moon when she is told that Rachel is doing the remodel of her dad's new bar. But Beckett is also dealing with a major dose of the guilt. He knows he went too far when he was a teenager and totally wrecked Rachels reputation. But just how d you apologise for something you did 20 years ago?

Small towns generally mean big problems as everyone is all up in your business and nothing is secret for long. Beckett and Rachel do feel the attraction between them and give in to it, knowing that Rachel has no intention of staying.

I get why Rachel was mad at Beckett but can't really get the animosity she shows to the town in general. It seems to be blown out of proportion a bit in her head. She is really set in her ways and I thought there may have to be dynamite used to get her to divert her goals. Holly is a little ray of sunshine and totally has her dad just where she wants him! She is not above using her cuteness to get what she wants.

Fun read, engaging characters and well-paced.

Moore does it again, I always, always enjoy her books. Her storytelling resonates in all the good ways. She crafts layered, interesting stories that don't hold back on the passion many of us over the age of 40 experience on the regular!

Covered/recommended on Frolic

THE GOODBYE GUY is a non-fat vanilla latte in book form.

This book is a light read that has some deep themes, but never manages to be deep enough. It skims along the surface of topics like loss, fear, family expectations, socio-economic divisions, infertility, and belonging but you never get a deep down and honest look at any of those topics.

This story is an insta-love (which is admittedly not my favorite in general) and it even adds a kid insta-love with our leading man's 10 year old daughter. Said daughter is a delightful cardboard cut-out version of a pre-teen girl who never gets angry, never talks back, never rolls her eyes, and never disobeys. Do really nice and obedient kids exist in the real world? Yes. Does this character feel real or genuine? Hell no.

We get some steamy scenes that are well written and a decent amount of chemistry between the leads. The leads are likable and you are definitely rooting for their HEA. Overall this story is light, pleasant, and predictable. If you're looking for an easy and enjoyable read this is a good one.

I received an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

The story of Rachel and Beckett. She is back in town after leaving years ago and never returning. She is only doing it to save her TV show and is forced to work with Beckett. Soon they are more than friends, but she is leaving town and he is staying there, so what chance do they have?

I enjoyed this story a lot. I liked the writing and enjoyed all the characters. This story is about local boy now grown up and a single dad to a pre-teen, Beckett and the girl he crushed on but also who made his high school life awful, Rachel.

They share one night where he starts rumors about her and where she says some cutting things to him that makes him hate her and so the two end up hating each other. Now her tv show is in trouble and her producer sends her back hom to share the spotlight with Beckett.

Beck hates Rachel but his family makes him do the show and his daughter has a huge crush on Rachel so he agrees to do the show and so starts them seeing each other in a grown up light. This was a fast and easy read with no big issues and was highly enjoyable.

This cute little romance is full of tropes. Seasoned romance, hate to love, second chance, & single dad all rolled into one. And you know what? It's awesome! It all works perfectly in this story. Nothing felt forced at all.

Rachel is an interior designer with her own home improvement show. It is quite literally her pride and joy in life. Until she finds out that they're about to cancel her show. The only way to save it is to go back to her hometown and film a project there. That's not something she's willing to do, but to save her show, she'll suck it up.

Beckett was the cocky jerk that made Rachel leave town in the first place. He hates her! Now his family has decided that she is who will help him design his fire station/bar. What were they thinking? He and his daughter, Holly, would get along just fine without some fancy designer showing up and ruining everything. Not to mention the 30 year long feud between his family and Rachel's...

Too bad Holly is Rachel's number 1 fan and nothing goes as planned. Rachel wasn't expecting Beck to be a sensitive dad now and Beck was still expecting Rachel to be her normal, snooty, country club self. Turns out a lot of things change after high school. Will they be able to put the past behind them and be a family now?

The Goodbye Guy was a fun, quick, enjoyable read, perfect for a beach day. I do wish Natasha Moore went a little bit deeper into the initial falling out and the emotions of the main characters. It was enjoyable, but very surface-level entertaining rather than deeply emotional. That is fine, and it fills a niche market well.

Rachel, a successful interior designer with an HGTV-type show, has left her hometown and vowed never to return. However, little does she know that tv show's future hinges on returning to her hometown and helping her former nemesis, Beckett, transform an old fire house into a neighborhood bar.

The premise was good, and the book was fun, with definite chemistry between Rachel and Beckett. This is a quick, fun, light read.

I would expect to see this on TV, like the Hallmark channel. The storyline was cute, I loved the banter with the hatred between these two. However, the characters were flat and the heroine complained a lot. This got tiring! Overall, a sweet story.

It's such a fun read. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters, the settings, and the story are all perfect. It's one of the best romance novel I have read this year. It has enough drama, intrigue, and romance to keep readers entertained without overdoing anything. The story is about two people who know each other a long time ago and didn't get along. Now they are meeting again, both expecting to despise the other just as much as before, but they are surprised to find out that things are different now. They have both done a lot of growing up and life has taught them enough lessons that neither of them is the same person. But do they have any chance of happiness together or not is yet to be seen. After all, they still want different things and have every different plans for themselves. All in all, this is book is perfect. I'm glad to have read this sweet and romantic story and would recommend it to all romance lovers.

A wonderful small-town romance!

I would give it 4 ½ stars if I could!

Rachel Bradford promised herself that she would never return to her hometown of Lakeside but the powers for her interior design show that be decided that she would design an old fire station being turned into a bar owned Beckett Colburn.

Single dad Beckett Colburn was blindsided when his family arranged with the show for Rachel to design the bar since they weren’t friends after clashing in high school.

The Goodbye Guy and the rest of The Men of Lakeside series are wonderful small-town romances where everybody does know your name but thankfully the small town that I grew up in doesn’t have a Facebook group. Plus, it has the enemies to lover’s trope for the win!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An enemies to lovers romance!

Beckett and Rachel came from different social circles and all through high school they never got along. Beckett was the tough cocky guy and Rachel was the spoiled princess. Rachel hightailed it to LA right after graduating to become a TV home designer star and now she’s on the verge of her show being cancelled ... unless she creates drama on the next commercial renovation. And it just so happens that renovation is a bar in her hometown and Beckett is the owner. Neither Beckett or Rachel anticipated the sparks that would fly between them.

Although the premise of this book was good and the characters were likeable ... I just didn’t love them or become invested in them. I found it very predictable and therefore a little boring. Rachel and Beckett acted more like they were in their 20s ... not the 40s that they were. I love it when there are kids in a book ... but Beckett’s daughter Holly goes on a trip with her friend and is hardly in it.

I received an early copy courtesy of Entangled Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I received a free copy of The Goodbye Guy in exchange for an honest review. The concept was great with a lot of potential for some really entertaining dialogue between Rachel and Garrett, but the author just didn't get there.
The author never laid down a good foundation for the plot which was supposed to be about this deep seated hatred stemming from high school. There were a few tidbits throughout novel, such as the families lived in different social circles, Rachel slid down a fireman pole on a dare, and Garrett spread "rumors" about her, etc. However, there were never any details to really substantiate the theme of this book.

I also found the characters were very immature for where they were in their lives. Garrett was a dad of a ten year old, and Rachel was a very successful host for a popular television show. Why were they playing games to get TV ratings? It felt like the TV producer and staff were controlling the relationship strings.

I found myself loosing interest and skimming on several occasions without feeling like I missed anything. Unfortunately, this book did not meet up to my expectations.

Rachel is a TV personality and interior decorator who is returning to her hometown to film a special episode of her show. She vowed to never return to her hometown, and is doing so in an effort to keep her network from cancelling her show.

Beckett returned to the hometown he also never expected to return to ten years earlier after his girlfriend died in childbirth. Despite his earlier exit, he has since come to believe that he and his almost ten year-old daughter below there.

Despite a rocky past, Beckett agrees to let Rachel design the bar that he plans to open. They believed that they hated each other when then parted twenty years earlier, but sometimes there is a fine line between love and hate. Will Rachel and Beckett realize that is the case, or will they let their stubbornness rule the day?

3.5 Stars
This book was like two different HGTV shows hooked up and had a baby show. I say this as a huge fan of all those shows. The main characters had a past issue from high school that they needed to get over and once they did all was good.

Rachel is living her dream. She has her own DIY home interior show and is doing what she loves. Unfortunately, ratings are dipping and the network wants her to return to her hometown that she fled right after high school. The last thing She wants to do is return home, but she wants to save her show.

When Rachel left town it was after she was humiliated by Beckett Colburn. Beckett is now a single Dad who is working to plans turn an old fire station into a neighborhood bar. He is horrified to learn his family signed him up to be a part of Rachel’s reality show to Help with the bar.

Can they put the past behind them and move forward?? Can Rachel save her show and make the bar everything that Beckett wants?

3,5 stars
Cute but predictable story of a HFTV star who comes home again. Had to work with the man who made her leave town Rachel and Beckett were ok. I didn't love either character. They both seemed a little annoying and immature. I didn't get why Rachel thought she had to leave in the first place. The reasoning was lame.

Beckett's daughter was the best part of the book. I wished she was in it more!

The Goodbye Guy by Natasha Moore a five-star read that will bring brightness to your life. I loved Rachel and her flair for design, I can also see where she is coming from about having it all, and how life just isn’t always like that. Beckett was sweet and stubborn, who wouldn’t want to be able to check out what is happening, and old habits and hurts do take a long time to heal. This was a little over done in places, but it was also very sweet, at times overly so, but I went for a five overall as I enjoyed reading it. It was nice to sit and sink in and just picture all of the beautiful work and the great setting.

**I received a copy of The Goodbye Guy from Entangled Publishing and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinions below are mine and not solicited in any way**

The Goodbye Guy by Natasha Moore was a fun story about a HGTV interior designer Rachel Bradford and Beckett Colburn whom she knew in high school (and parted with angry words) . She has to do a make or break episode creating his bar in her home town or her shows canceled. What ensues is a clash of wills between both of them with Beck's daughter in between (Who already loves Rachel). Will they both get beyond their anger to find their true feelings of love? Beck will have to mend bridges with his own family and his best friend Davis will give him the pep talk and set him straight.

This book was true to life with social media influences to keep her ratings up with the network and what it will take to prove to his parents that he can make his own way in their families salvage business. With all that's going on now this was a refreshing story to read and worth all 4 stars.