This book. You guys!! This! Book! It’s everything I hoped it was going to be and then SO! MUCH! MORE!

The title alone made me want to read it, the description captured me and when I say it does not disappoint; read this book!

Told from 2 timelines the Present Day and 15 years in the past with multiple POVs it’s such a coherent and strong story that I couldn’t get enough. It is an extremely character driven plot which just allows for that much more buy-in emotionally. It had me crying—I was so invested by the end.

The sisterhood these 4 girls (and eventually women) have is beautiful. The love they have for each other, the commitment they have to each other; unmatched—SATC wish they could!

Everything I thought was going to happen was twisted and turned out completely different than I thought it would. I was guessing wrong a good chunk of the time and I loved that! I can’t recommend this book enough.

I was given an advanced digital copy from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley—which did not affect my opinion.

Thank you for the ARC copy of Good Bye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith. She is a favorite author of mine and I love the way you get to know the characters so deeply in all her books. Goodbye Earl was the same way, The female friendships of RACK is wonderful in that all the women are different yet lean on each other completely. I loved the nostalgia of the late 90's music and brought me right back to riding around in my car belting out the Dixie Chicks..now just the Chicks! The dual timeline was fantastic and kept the story moving. I needed to know what happened to each character and was rooting for them all the same.

There are a few trigger warnings for domestic abuse, child abuse and murder.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central for the eARC of Goodbye Earl in exchange for my honest review!

I looooove The Chicks so I was thrilled when I saw this book surface named after their best song (a song that makes me cry every time I listen to it because I love female friendships so dearly). The first 1/3 of the book really won me over but unfortunately about halfway through it started to slow down majorly. The cliches ended up bogging down the story.

The friendships weren’t as solid as I had hoped either. Which is the main thing I adore about the song, “Goodbye Earl.” They all end up lying to one another or the people in their lives. It just made me feel kind of sad.

Just an okay read for me!

Not for me. While reading this I couldn't help thinking "so what?" Weirdly-toned book that never made me care about anything that was happening. I got to a point where I was reading just to finish it. Cliched, meta, dropping song references left, right and centre... maybe the kind of people who enjoy reading fanfic will like this.

Four women who grew up together and considered themselves sisters are brought back together to attend a wedding in their southern hometown of Goldie. Here they discover many secrets about each other, both in their present lives as well as their pasts.This is a story of a friendship that surpasses all of their other relationships. Kasey left Goldie abruptly the night of high school graduation with no explanation to her sisters; Rosemary reconnects them all but when they are at the wedding, she continues to hide a big secret; Caroline is in an unhappy marriage but no one really knew how unhappy it is; and Ada seems to have the picture-perfect life but she's really hiding from confrontations she needs to have. One of these secrets brings them together for action while revealing other secrets that bring them even closer. 
The story references the song "Goodbye, Earl" by The Chicks and pretty much follows that theme. It's a book that you want to keep reading because you feel a part of that sisterhood and you also feel for what they end up accomplishing in the end. 
Thank you Grand Central for the ARC-- I was very excited to get to read another book by Leesa Cross-Smith.

Goodbye Earl - Leesa Cross-Smith

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

This story was just "okay" for me. I guess when I saw this book's cover, I had a certain type of story in mind.

I expected this novel to be about a couple of friends who held those who had REALLY wronged them (obvious rotten folks) to task, with the revenge-seekers as sort of "heroes"

Perhaps "Southern belles of revenge" or something... Instead by the time ANY action is taken it just feels "too little too late" and sad, as the truly wicked in this novel have by that point already ruined so many lives (and in some cases, gotten away with brutal murders).

When "revenge" in ANY form is FINALLY meted out, it is with a "whimper" rather than the "rebel yell" I was expecting.

Additionally, one of the secrets (involving the mother of the main character) kept by the woman's daughter, I just found it HIGHLY unbelievable that law enforcement would not have been informed (read the story first, I don't want to give anything away).. Ultimately the secret is revealed but it is far too late for it to make a difference.

Lastly, I enjoy stories about lifelong friendships, however that comprises the majority of this book, and it just moves a bit slow. Almost all the characters lie to either their sig others or their "close" friends, and it is a bit hard to become invested in it all.

Until next time.

Great group of characters and Goldie was a perfect setting for this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars! Gripped my attention and I was invested in the outcome. Well done!

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This one has a little bit of all my favorite things about Leesa Cross-Smith's books. Solid friendships, creature comforts, romance, strong women and a lot of fun. the ending felt a little forced, but it is over all, a delight.

A total blast, just incredible fun. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. The characters were amazing, the plot was really nice, what else can you ask for? I'll be recommending this to everyone.

3.25 ⭐️

Four lifelong friends reunite in their hometown after the 15 years since high school graduation in this dual timeline story. The story flips between their senior year of high school in 2004 and 2019 when they’re all back in their hometown again for the first time since then.

When three friends suspect one of their own is in an abusive relationship, they confront her and convince her to leave - only her abuser discovers her plans and the abuse escalates. The other three know it’s time for this “Earl” to say goodbye.

For me this was just okay. The first 1/3 or so it was engaging and felt well told. But somewhere near the middle it really started to drag. You pretty much know how it’s going to go but it takes forever to get there.

Also, there were some weird descriptive and phrasing choices throughout the book. And there were times it seemed like the author just grabbed a thesaurus and picked out the most obscure synonym she could. And although the Christian stuff wasn’t super in your face and down your throat, I didn’t feel like it added anything to the story.

Overall, it could have been better but it wasn’t bad.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book!

Don’t be fooled by the cover, this story is not just a revenge tale. It’s so, so much more. The book was like a warm hug; deeply heartfelt and emotional with sisterhood and friendship and love. It’s dual-timeline, with two heart-wrenching stories woven together, and ultimately results with you having a deep cathartic ugly cry. If you were a teen in the early 2000s, the nostalgic music mentioned will absolutely resonate with you, and the overall feel of the book. The book reminded me of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets Steel Magnolias meets Waitress. I absolutely loved it and all I can say is, nah nah nah nah nahhh nahhh nahhhhhhhhh, Eaaaarrrllll.

I absolutely adored this book. The links between the four best friends and their little found family was so poignant and lovely, and the idea that taking care of one of their own as well as holding men accountable for their actions really resonated. I love stories set in small towns as well so this was really for me. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the arc.

#GoodbyeEarl #NetGalley

I loved the idea and concept for this book, however, it is so slow. Along with that, it’s hard to keep track of all four of these women, their present and past storylines, and all of the side characters. I’m choosing to set this aside. Love the cover and title.

Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith was the story of four girls who had been friends all their lives. It follows a dual timeline, from 2004 to 2018, which was hard to follow at first. I didn't know the song the title referenced or The Chicks, was almost expecting a Regency romance. I found the premise a little crazy, I can't imagine my friends killing anyone for me. Maybe I don't have good enough friends? Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Goodbye Earl is a song by the Chicks that features an abusive man that is murdered by his wife and her best friend. Cross-Smith chose this as a book title to signal the overall theme of the story and to alert us that there will be numerous nostalgic songs references through the book!

Rosemarie, Ada, Caro, and Kasey (or RACK ) have been friends for many, many years. They are the friends you love to read about and wish you had more of. Cross-Smith does an excellent job of characterizing and defining each friend - both their good and bad qualities. As the song states, there is an abusive person in the story, and they have to go. As the story moves forward there are plenty of flashbacks to explain what split the group up 15 years ago. It's a fun read ! #GoodbyeEarl #LeesaCrossSmith #GRandCentralPublishing

As someone who graduated around the same time as one of the timeline points, I totally remembered the song Goodbye Earl, although I was never a country fan. Despite that, the story premise still intrigued me and I was glad I requested this book! It’s a great story of friendship for the RACK women (—the name the girls use as an acronym for their names) and them sticking together through thick and thin. I’m a huge fan of female friendship stories and this one was no different! I absolutely loved the women and really enjoyed the dual timeline writing of the book! I’d recommend this one for anyone looking for a friendship book with a side of revenge.

I am going to be honest it took me a minute to get everyone straight and the timeline straight in this book. With the four characters and the two different time periods it was a little confusing at first.
The slow also felt slow in the beginning but once it picked up it took off.
My favorite part of the whole book was all the police reports the women filled out. I found them funny and a nice reflection of women supporting women against abuse and being taken advantage of.
Overall it was a pretty good but it was just lacking something I can't put my finger on.

From the title, I was expecting this book to be a dark comedy, but it wasn't that at all. The book tells the story of the friendship of RACK (Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline and Kasey), four girls in the small town of Goldie. The book alternates between the years 2019 and 2004 and among the viewpoints of the four girls. They all had/have their own issues (ranging from family issues to health problems) but have remained "besties" throughout the years. Rosemarie and Kasey have relocated to different parts of the country, but they all remain close. In 2019, all are reunited in Goldie for the wedding of Ada's younger sister Taylor. When the four friends are finally reunited, they realize they must come together to help each other, as they have all their lives.

The girls were apparently all big fans of the group The Chicks back in the day, as several of their more famous hits are mentioned. Calling this book after one of their biggest hits, about an abusive man who gets his just desserts, but in a humorous way (it's a fictional victim, of course) lead me to believe the book would also have that sense of humor, but it didn't at all. The book would have been more aptly named if it had been called after the Martina McBride song "Independence Day." At least it would have let the reader know the tone and feel of the story better than this mis-matched title did.

This was so good! Unfortunately I don’t have a group of friends like RACK who would go beyond their duties and murder someone for me 😂

I’m a sucker for sisterhood/friendship books and this was no exception. I enjoyed all the characters and their POV’s. At first I was wondering why they weren’t mad at Kasey for leaving town 15 years ago, but the group of girls was so supportive of each other. It did get a little heavy so I would check the content warnings! Also, smaller town vibes people!! Everyone gets a pie in this town! I think my favorite part was all the different women coming together for Caroline.

Thank you Grand Central for the ARC!