I enjoyed the premise of this book very much, however the follow-through was a little off. I couldn't connect to Tessa's character. She felt one-dimensional to me and lacking, which made it difficult to empathize with her. I enjoyed the descriptions of the dates and the travel destinations, but again, the flow seemed off. It just seemed to follow a formula that just wasn't cohesive.

That being said it was an easy read and definitely good for summer.

This is a first time read for me from Anna Gomez. It starts out a little slow but picks up really quick and then you are all in. This was a really captivating story. This book gives you romance and tragedy but it was beautifully written. I would highly recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Meryl Moss Media Group, Rosewind Books for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

The Goodbye Girl is an emotional read. I loved the use of the destination dates and getting to see the growth in Tessa throughout the book. It wasn’t easy for her to confront her issues and it was very relatable. This was a deeper book than I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it.

A emotional romance with just enough spice.
The story is about Tessa and Simon’s journey to finding each other.
This is not a light read as I expected.
Overall, a ok read but not one of my favorites.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was very excited when I read the perm of My Goodbye Girl, to be honest, but unfortunately it did not meet my expectations. Yes, I understand Tessa has had issues in the past, but I'm really annoyed with her actions, especially at the beginning of the book.

I liked the author's writing language and the way she told the story, I will be reading her other books for sure.

Opposites attract, there's no doubt about it, and Tessa and Simon's love story is full of emotion, conflict, changes in behavior, and loss (and dealing and not dealing with it, and its consequences). It grabs the reader's attention for the spontaneity of words and how they flow easily telling this story. Good entertainment!
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

A great contemporary romance!

Tessa and Simon meet in a plane, and their attraction to each other cannot be denied. They’re exact opposite of each other: Tessa has her head in the clouds, is a writer and is incredibly spontaneous, while Simon is grounded, works with science and research and enjoys a structured plan.

#MeetMeIn{insert destination} becomes their thing. It’s their way of seeing each other while keeping things at an arms length. Simon soon realizes he wants more from Tessa, but she’s hesitant and scared to take the plunge.

After a series of destination dates, and countless memories Tessa is finding it harder and harder to keep Simon out of her heart.

When Tessa is finally ready to pursue her own happily ever after with Simon tragedy strikes and pushes them apart.

In order to move forward Tessa must face her past, accept it and let it go. She will have two choices: protect her heart from more pain and live an unfulfilled life without Simon or give love the power to heal her once again, despite their always being a chance of having to say goodbye.

I really enjoyed the aspect of the main characters destination dates, it kept things very fun and interesting. I felt like Simon was a pretty solid character, and Tessa had a lot of room to grow and I was hoping for a bit more from her character. I did feel like parts of the story were very repetitive like Tessa’s hesitation and inability to open her heart.

Thank you @netgalley and @rosewindbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa is a famous romance author, and she meets Simon, a very smart scientist, and there is an attraction that neither can deny. However, their lives are worlds apart, so they began a journey of meeting up in various locales around the world and begin a steamy romance.

Not your ordinary romcom, My Goodbye Girl takes the reader on a journey of loves, laughs, and frustration. Neither character wants to give in to the other and just be together, however, the goodbyes keep getting more difficult. Sometimes, you want to slap one of them upside the head! But there is tragedy, and their relationship stomps on the brakes. Some characters are really not likeable, and it was a little tough getting through the first half of the story. It does pick up, but the ending was not expected.

I enjoyed Anna Gomez' writing style, so I'll be sure to look out for her other novels.

Thank you to Meryl Moss Media Group and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

I was so confused by this story. It felt like we were thrown into the story with absolutely no background and a lot of missing information. Everything felt very disjointed and I could not connect on any level to Tessa as a character.

One Truth. I LOVED this book.
It broke my heart - but even that didn’t take away from my love of this book!

I previously read the From Kona with Love series - which Anna Gomez co-authored with Kristoffer Polaha - so when I heard she had a new book coming out that she wrote solo - I was sold! I didn’t even need to know the synopsis, I was in because I loved her writing! And this book did not disappoint.

I loved globe hopping with Tessa and Simon. I loved that they were practically polar opposites and yet - as they say - opposites attract! But don’t think that this book is just fun and games. There’s love, loss, friendship, and the true meaning of family - and it is wrought with emotion.

*big breath* OK.

Our heroine is a famous author. Our hero is a brilliant scientist. They meet on a flight, then run into each other a few more times before starting a ... "relationship" might not be the best word. It's more like they frequently meet up in various cities for a hookup. Tessa is especially reluctant to make an actual commitment, but she eventually comes around and just as they are closing in on their HEA... Wham!! A big event happens that changes everything. And that's where a book that was already a bit of a struggle for me became completely unbelievable.

From the beginning I found the two main characters to be rather thinly written, and we were halfway through the book before there was *any* story outside of the hookups. The big life-changing event was *so* out of the blue that it feels incongruent. And after *that*, things became downright unbelievable. As in... You just have to ignore everything you know about human nature to accept the remaining plot points.

I see ARCs as little book babies, and I try to hold them gently, but I just struggled with this one, *especially* the last 33%. A different reader's mileage may vary, and I hope it does! My thanks, as always, to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
#MyGoodbyeGirl

THE GOOD:

A sweet tale that will leave you smiling.

Our leading male, Simon, truly seems like a great guy.

It's super fun to follow Tess and Simon around as they travel the world, meeting up at each new locale - Vegas, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Greece, the Philippines, Paris, and more.

THE BAD:

A bit heavier on the "romance" side (read: sex scenes") than I would normally read. That said, however, they weren't overly graphic, just not the strictly "fade to black" I prefer.

The main obstacle thrown our characters' path is very sudden and out-of-the blue. It seems rather wedged in.

Or leading lady Tessa's personality does not seem as well-developed as Simon's, which is a bummer - I would have liked to "know" her better.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, a happy-ending story that is well worth a day at the beach to read it under a shady umbrella.

My Goodbye Girl by Anna Gomez comes out June 6th! It's a cute little rom-com with Writer Tessa and Scientist Simon. They could not be more polar opposite, but Simon can't stay away from the spontaneous author. Tessa invites him all around the world with her, but she won't move on to the next step of committing to a relationship. Of course, there has to be conflict or it would be a very short book, and Tessa's refusal to settle down with Simon isn't their only hurdle. They live on different continents, have different lifestyles, and Tessa suffers a loss that she can't recover from. This is the story of loving, losing, and trying to gain back what you had.

In all honesty, her hesitation frustrated me to no end. Neither of them wants to be with anyone else, and they hate having to say goodbye to each other, yet she just refuses to put a word to what they have. It's just a word...it's not even the "L" word, it's just a title to show that you want to be with only him and she won't do it. There are reasons behind her hesitation, but it just frustrated me.

The characters are relatively well flushed out, and they're likeable. Tessa is kind of flighty and creative, she doesn't make plans, she just goes with what she feels at the time. Simon is a plan three months ahead kind of person, so in order to keep Tessa he has to let go of control. Tessa's brother Jacob and best friend Riley are good sidekicks, always supporting her when she needs it. Simon's family is loving and happy.

All in all, this was a cute story about love and loss. I gave it three stars because even though I wasn't blown away by it, I'm sure there are a lot of people who will enjoy it.

DNF
I could not get into this book or connect with Tessa. I did not care for the ending either. Although the book's premise appeared promising, it ultimately failed to deliver for me. Tessa's characterization felt shallow and lacking depth, leaving me rooting for Simon to end their relationship throughout most of the narrative. Failing to establish a connection with one of the main characters made it difficult for me to derive enjoyment from the story. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic that other readers may find it more appealing.

My Goodbye Girl is an opposites-attract romance that takes the reader around the world. Tessa and Simon meet on a flight to New York and there is an instant connection. Tessa however is hesitant. She has just made it big as an author and is currently on a year-long book tour. She is constantly on the move, going to book signing events and meeting fans all over the world. At this point in her life, she really isn’t ready to settle down. Simon, on the other hand, is a scientist, serious and practical with ambitions of his own in the field of nanotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He has his entire life meticulously planned out. The novel explore the lives of these two different people and what they are willing to do for each other in the name of love.

I enjoyed reading about Tessa and Simon’s travels to different cities all over the world. It was cute how they met up in different places, with each meet-up strengthening their attraction for each other. I wasn’t particularly invested in Tessa’s character though and she seemed kind of shallow sometimes.

Overall the storyline worked for me and I found it enjoyable. I would recommend it to romance lovers looking for a light and fun read.

2.75 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this e-ARC.
This book was a quick, enjoyable read that came at a busy time in my life when I just wanted to relax with a light book at the end of a hard day. I really loved the mini-world tour that this book took us on. I had some issues with the writing of the first part and how we didn’t really get to see details of the relationship developing between the two main characters. However, I think the author did a really good job of writing likable and interesting characters who were easy to fall in love with.
I thought the second part was a lot better than the first part. However, please don’t go into this book thinking it’s a light rom-com. It’s NOT light! There are descriptions of violence and grief that I thought were very interesting, but would for sure be triggering to some people.

This book was a hard one for me. Some parts I liked and other parts not so much. I feel the first part was such a different book from the rest of it. I didn’t expect the life changing event that happened to Tessa, and then the separation from Simon for three years seemed unbelievable. I liked the traveling and their story for the most part though.

I thought this was so cute! I haven't really ever seen another plot like this and that's what drew me in to request the title in the first place. It sucked me into the start and was such a nice read.

My Goodbye Girl will make you cry, make you smile and even make you angry. Life can be beautiful and hard and terrifying. This is a love story of Simon and Tessa When you have suffered loss it can be hard to reach out and connect. Trauma can impact avenues of life you don’t expect. I think you will enjoy the journey with these two.
Thank you for the opportunity to read an early copy and place a review.

Buttoned-up scientist Simon Fremont has a plan for his life, thank you very much! That is, until romance writer and lonely heart Tessa Talman steps into his life. Literally - she stands on his seat in an airplane to adjust her bag in the overhead compartment. Tessa and Simon notice each other, sparks fly, and of course an elderly gentleman sits directly in between them.

These two headstrong hotties have a globe-trotting romance, trying to enjoy each other's company without getting caught up in the 'what ifs' of it all. Tessa's at a critical moment in her career, meaning she has to take advantage. Tessa is traveling around the world to do reader meetups and author signings with Simon meeting up for their dalliances. As each departure gets more difficult and their authentic feelings for each other emerge, can these two figure out a way to get the HEA that Tessa writes for each of her characters?


Overall, this story was fun and zippy, and the 3rd act twist was a doozy. This is a little more than your average beach read, since it has the fun romance part, and then the more intense plot lines as well. Tessa is impossible not to root for - - shopping to fill her empty heart, trying to be vulnerable and let Simon in, and finding what she wants out of life.


What I liked:
- Simon's family
- Simon's insistence that Tessa grow up and deal with her emotions, as scary as it may be.
- seeing 'behind the scenes' of an author making it big and what it requires of them personally
- Tessa's friends and family

What I didn't:
- Tessa's tragic backstory and how many personal challenges she faces throughout the book. Our girl doesn't deserve such a tough situation!
- The subplot with Andrew seemed unnecessary when the main thing keeping them apart was all internal to them. Adding this just seemed to muddy the waters further.
- There were a few moments that were too sloppy to jive with the characters. IE: after being apart for nearly 3 years, they're back together in one conversation? Simon takes Andrew seriously? (To me, Simon would clock him for nothing more than a pretty boy, immediately, and be able to ignore him). Simon doesn't use social media but can travel internationally on the drop of a hat? Simon climbing 10 flights of stairs when he's just gotten out of the hospital. Will sticking around with Tessa even though she's obviously only halfway in.


Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.