When I saw this one on NetGalley I knew I just had to shoot my shot!! I was so excited when I got approved and started reading it pretty quickly!! This is a story of friendship and sisterhood that can’t be broken. If you know the song you have an idea of what this book may be about, but honestly it’s so much more! I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with these characters!! Definitely add this one to your summer reading!!

I was so excited when I came across Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith. The title of the book instantly caught my attention and I previously LOVED This Close to Okay by Cross-Smith. But unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I ended up DNFing this book around 35%.

The overall premise is interesting to me, four friends reunite for one of their sister's wedding in their small southern hometown. The timeline jumps between 2004, their senior year of high school, and the present (2019).

The POV shifts between the girls both in the present and past timelines. There are a LOT of characters mentioned, each girl has her own relationships, family members, friends, etc. I just could not keep people straight.

This book is SLOW. In the part I read, I felt like a whole lot of nothing happened. I loved Cross-Smith's lyrical and descriptive writing in This Close to Okay, but in Goodbye Earl, it often felt repetitive and drawn out. Paragraph on paragraph about dresses, and lip color, and food/drink. I just couldn't get into it.

I assumed, based on the title, that this book was going to be a cozy mystery wrapped in a blanket of nostalgia and female friendship. After 35%, I wasn't really getting much of that and I just didn't feel like investing more time trying to slodge through it to get there (if it was there at all).

I’ll be completely honest - Southern fiction is generally not really my thing. I have read the occasional Southern novel that I’ve really enjoyed, but it’s not generally something I seek out. The synopsis for Goodbye Earl was intriguing and I decided that this was one Southern novel I wanted to read.

Being completely honest again, I often read more than one book at a time in any given week. I was reading two other titles when I started this one, and by the time I was 15% of the way in, it was the only novel I was reading, because I didn’t want to put it down.

Told in dual timelines, I really liked the low-key stress of the story arc, along with the character development, plot development, and enduring sister friend relationships.

The novel proved to be just as intriguing as I’d hoped and I enjoyed it.




Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC!

Anyone who has heard the song "Goodbye Earl" probably knows of at least one Earl. At least one that got away with it and didn't see justice.
That's the premise behind this book. Kasey is returning home to Goldie, after being gone for 15 years (since just after high school graduation) After a big and terrible thing that made her leave.

But for now, she is reunited with her 3 best friends, affectionately called Rack. And the group is about to face dealing with another Earl that threatens to hurt them.

It's a story about love, friendship, and the last straw that makes women stand together against someone that might have deserved what happened to him

My one negative is that the timeline was a bit confusing. It wasn't just past and current, but it was past, not so long ago and current - sometimes it got a bit confusing as to what was when and what was I actually reading.

I did get anxiety towards the end, wanting the story to wrap up quickly. I think the transcripts from the police and the emails just felt out of place to me and I needed closure sooner. I also struggled with every-topic-under-the-sun being included in this. There was much of that I felt could have been removed for a quicker-paced and more intriguing story but all in all a great fun read.

Thanks Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley

What I liked:
- Vivid small-town setting
- The group of friends and their differences + similarities
- The women coming together at the end
- How the story came full circle

What didn't work for me:
- For some reason, this book just felt long. It took me about twice as long to read as a typical book for me. While I enjoyed it, I just couldn't get sucked into the story.

I was 19 when this song came out and still to this day know every word by heart. And it's no wonder I have an attitude like "so what, Who Cares" now I know why. And the author mush have felt the same way. I was completely drawn into this story. The characters were amazing and I just loved the whole thing.
I just reviewed Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith. #GoodbyeEarl #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL

Love this book!!! I seriously wish I was part of this group of friends. The writing characters are wonderful though guy wrenching at times. Highly recommend

This book title and this book cover has no right to wreck me the way it did. Such a beautiful book with characters that are easy to love and root for. The ending is satisfying if not gutting. This will be one of my top books of 2023 without a doubt.

Feeling so grateful, yet again, to give an early read to one of my favorite authors' new novel. Leesa Cross-Smith is on such a roll, releasing a banger of a book once a year for the past several years, and GOODBYE EARL is no different. It might not live up to THIS CLOSE TO OKAY or HALF-BLOWN ROSE to me, but I still completely fell in love with this misfit group of girlfriends who would do anything to protect each other. It has the trademark warm, real feel that makes me utterly adore Cross-Smith's writing. Perhaps her darkest book yet, there is still no reason why you won't want to cuddle up under your favorite blanket while getting lost in this story based on yep, that classic The Chicks song.

As you can imagine, there is a murder and a mystery at the heart of the story, and as we jump back and forth between 2019 (when this group of girlfriends are in their 30s) and 2004, when they graduate high school, the details slowly emerge and it's not until you've totally fallen in love with all the characters that you begin to understand exactly what is going on. That's what makes Cross-Smiths' writing so genius. Her character work is unmatched, and the feelings she invokes with her descriptions of food, music, and atmosphere are what make me get lost in her words. I hope she keeps churning out more fantastic work year after year, because I can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeves.

When I saw the title, I had to read Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross Smith, and it did not disappoint! After listening to a few Dixie Chicks songs to set the tone, I dove into this story of lifelong friends who are willing to do anything for each other. They love fiercely and are there for each other in ways that others have failed them. While this is inspired by the song, it reminded me more of Steel Magnolias, one of my favorite movies as a teen. Both devastating and feel-good, Goodbye Earl was a perfect weekend read and would be a great choice to bring on vacation. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

Thanks Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley!

A novel of friendship with some dark themes, this is predictable yet fun. And yes, the song will get stuck in your head!

3.5 Anyone who has heard the song "Goodbye Earl" probably knows of at least one Earl. At least one that got away with it and didn't see justice.

That's the premise behind this book. Kasey is returning home to Goldie, after being gone for 15 years (since just after high school graduation. After the Big and terrible thing that made her leave.

But for now, she is reunited with her 3 best friends, affectionately called Rack. And the group is about to face dealing with another Earl that threatens to hurt them.

It's a story about love, friendship, and the last straw that makes women stand together against someone that might have deserved what happened to him.

It's obviously a book where suspension of disbelief is necessary. But it is a bit of an eye roll when all 4 women are either involved with or still hung up on their high school sweetheart when they are in their 30's.

Nevertheless, it is a fun read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good revenge story but it took some time for me to get into it. I kept getting the women mixed up. The timelines switching back and forth throw me off a bit too.

I enjoyed the friendship themes and dark undertones of this book. It was pretty predictable but still a fun read.

The story of friendship that I needed. I felt very connected on a personal level to this and I actually cried through out at the story of friendship and how strong it can be even years later! Thank you for this ARC! I appreciate it so much!

Oh, my. This was the best book I've read in forever. I wish I was part of a RACK. These ladies were all incredible in their own rights. It made me go back and download some of The Chick's songs too. The story was poignant and touching and I think it would make a great book club read. There is much to discuss and can't wait to share it with our readers. My one negative is that the timeline was a bit confusing. It wasn't just past and current, but it was past, not so long ago and current - sometimes it got a bit confusing as to what was when. I still loved it!

This book won't be for everyone. I enjoyed some aspects but not others. it's cliche but in a nostalgic, fun way. And, yes, it's about that song--it is that song--but it includes a lit of other references you'll probably enjoy if you loved that song. it's a fun read.

Do yourself a favor as you read this book... plug all the songs into a playlist as you go and you'll have yourself a nostalgic time! Every song title dropped throughout this story made me smile and remember the best times of my youth.

The title of this book grabbed me right away and I knew I needed to read it. I was not disappointed! The story of 4 lifelong best friends, Rosemarie, Ada, Caro, and Kasey (or RACK as they're affectionately known), told throughout 15 years (mostly 2004 and 2019), including love, loss, friendship, family, youth, secrets, and murder, will take you on one helluva a ride! I adore stories of sisterhood and friends who are family, they really pull me in and these ladies were no different. I really enjoyed their bond and friendship and how they faced all the changes and challenges together.

I did get weary towards the end, wanting the story to wrap up quickly. I think the transcripts from the police and the emails just felt out of place to me and I needed closure sooner. I also struggled with every-topic-under-the-sun being included in this. There was much of that I felt could have been removed for a quicker-paced and more intriguing story. When I started to feel like it was running on and on is when my rating on this one lessened. I was quickly wrapped up in RACK's world but got too much and felt turned off by the end.

All in all, I did mostly enjoy this book and I will recommend it.

Warning: this book will make many different songs get stuck in your head throughout your read.
I was really excited to read this one, but I was let down by the amount of cliche aspects of the story. I won’t list the specifics of them in this review since it could be a little spoiler-y. It took me several days to get through this one, I felt like I had read it before and wasn’t eager to read it again. I would tell you to read this if you’re a big fan of the song that inspired it, or if you haven’t read a lot of small town friend group reuniting stories. A decent read, but nothing new or amazing.