I love historical fictIf you love stories about personal growth and healing, set in a vivid post-war world with the charm of classic cinema, you’ll probably enjoy Every Time We Say Goodbye. It offers a beautifully detailed setting, a thoughtful heroine, and themes of renewal wrapped in history and nostalgia.ion that is about Unique times, not your typical WWI or WWII.

I enjoyed everything about this book. The setting is post WWII Rome, and the activities of Cinecitta, the powerhouse Italian cinema complex that produced so many exciting directors and actors. The characters include Vivian Lowry, a screenwriter trying to revive her lagging career on the London stage with a move to cinema. Peggy Guggenheim plays an important cameo, along with other exiles from McCarthy era America.

Flashbacks to the war, and particularly the Italian resistance could have been more fleshed out, but Jenner keeps her focus on the primary timeline of the story, and the relationships between her more modern characters.

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
TLDR: Every Time We Say Goodbye is a sweeping, atmospheric novel set against the backdrop of postwar Italy 🇮🇹. While I didn’t fully connect with the characters, Natalie Jenner’s lyrical writing and vivid setting made this an evocative read.

Plot Summary: Set in 1950s Italy, this novel follows Vivien Lowry as she navigates her return to Rome and the secrets, betrayals, and passions that still linger in the wake of war. Against the backdrop of art, culture, and shifting loyalties, Vivien’s journey forces her to confront both her past and her future.

My Thoughts: The setting of Rome and the Italian countryside was gorgeously rendered 🇮🇹✨—so vivid it felt like I was walking the cobblestone streets and gazing at Renaissance art right alongside the characters. Jenner’s prose is lush and immersive, and the historical detail shone throughout.

While the writing was beautiful, I struggled to connect with the characters on a deeper level, which made it harder for me to feel fully invested in their journeys. Still, fans of atmospheric, descriptive historical fiction will find plenty to appreciate in the evocative setting and elegant storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley, Natalie Jenner, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The setting was so tangible! Well-written and researched. Adventure and mystery in an interesting setting.

I loved Natalie Jenner's other books and Every Time We Say Goodbye is no exception. The book alternates between events during the war from the perspective of a school girl assassin and the mid 1950s. I particularly enjoyed the later events, which focused on movie production and the arts community in the postwar period. We learn that people are not who they seem and as Jenner's tells us “our secrets are who we really are.”

Every Time We Say Goodbye has an uncomfortable, but necessary exploration of the role of the Vatican and the greater church both during the war and in the postwar concerning its control of the arts. It shows courage, self-sacrifice, and love from individual religious leaders, but corruption and neglect from the institutional church.

Readers will appreciate the connections between this book and Jenner's other books. This novel focuses on Vivien from the Bloomsbury Girls, but some friends from the Jane Austen Society make an appearance. I feel this novel stands alone, but readers' enjoyment would be enhanced by reading the other novels first. I rate this book 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. I will post reviews on post this review on Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

This book was overwhelming from the very beginning. There were too many forced character introductions, and none of them felt organically written into the story. I couldn't focus on them long enough before someone else was introduced. My brain became too overwhelmed, and I couldn't continue reading.

I honestly did really enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would only because I was in a reading slump

Good historical fiction. It was nice to see characters from the previous two books. I enjoy this author's writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advanced reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted.

I have read the first two books in Natalie Jenner’s Jane Austen Society series, so was excited to receive an ARC of the third. While you can read this as a stand-alone, I recommend you read them in order as the characters continue to appear in each novel, and there are some spoilers in this book related to the other two. Plus you definitely should read "The Jane Austen Society" and "Bloomsbury Girls," which I think are both 5-star reads!

That said, this story was very different from the first two, and it took me a while to get into it. Taking place primarily in 1955 post-war Italy, British playwright Vivien Lowry travels from London to Rome for a fresh writing start, working on movie scripts at the famed Cinecittà Studios.

Though most of the novel takes place in 1955, there are flashbacks to war-time Italy. The trauma and loss of war is never far from anyone’s thoughts. The story focuses on those who have lost someone due to the war, exploring themes of grief, truth, trust, secrets, and forgiveness.

Many real-life people appeared in this story, which made it fun to do a little photo research (Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Peggy Guggenheim, Ada “Bricktop” Smith, several Italian film directors).

While I love Jenner’s writing and her research is excellent, I found this story to be very “heavy” for me. Overall, the exploration of grief and loss was darker than I expected. I had to push myself to continue reading.

Vivien is a playwright in London in the 50's. Her fiancé has gone missing after WWII, and she's trying to get back to her life while trying to find the truth of what happened. So she heads to Italy to be a script doctor.

This is part of a series, although I read it as a standalone and had no issues. I enjoyed the story. especially when she heads to Italy and navigates the film industry in the 1950s. I learned about how much the Catholic church controlled what was made in film and the industry. Vivien was a character in one of the previous stories and now I'm curious to read the other stories in the series.

Thanks to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and the author for this ARC

Every Time We Say Goodbye took me on a journey I did not expect. I've been a big fan of Natalie Jenner's previous novels; this one felt a bit deeper, darker, and more mysterious than those. There are a lot of characters to follow, but it's a richly rewarding experience. This is the kind of book you think about for a long time after reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I'm not a huge historical fiction lover but the title and cover drew me in to want to read this. I struggled a bit but found it to be a good read.

The vibes are impeccable, the setting is divine, and there's some really interesting nuggets of history scattered throughout. But overall I was left with the feeling that this book was just trying to do tooooo much all at once. I usually don't mind (and even enjoy) multiple plotlines or POVs overlapping, but for whatever reason I found myself really struggling to keep these characters and their backstories straight. The overall tone felt sort of lofty and disengaged, and that's how I found myself feeling about it as well.

I haven't read others in the Jane Austen Society canon, but there's some crossover that I think its readers would like! (Just some character appearances, nothing crucial to understanding the plot -- you don't have to read the others first!)

Natalie’s approach to storytelling, drawing inspiration from themes like joy, loss, love, regrets, and discovery, which are integral parts of the human experience, makes her work truly exceptional.

Every Time We Say Goodbye not only captures the charm of a Roman holiday but also delves into the profound themes of survivor’s guilt and redemption, prompting readers to contemplate how history and the past can both empower and hinder us.

This is a captivating journey into the heart of 1950s Rome, during the golden age of cinema. The novel beautifully intertwines the glamour of the film industry with the lingering shadows of World War II, creating a rich and evocative reading experience.

The protagonist, Vivien Lowry, is a compelling character. Her journey of self-discovery and resilience as she navigates her work in the film industry and confronts her past is both moving and inspiring. Jenner's writing skillfully brings the world of Cinecittà Studios to life, with its vibrant characters and bustling atmosphere. The historical backdrop is meticulously researched, and Jenner seamlessly weaves together fact and fiction.

What I particularly enjoyed:

The vivid portrayal of post-war Rome and the burgeoning film industry.

The exploration of themes such as love, loss, memory, and the enduring power of art.

The well-developed characters, both real and imagined.

Jenner's elegant and engaging writing style.

I really enjoyed this book! It was an engaging read from start to finish, and I found it incredibly accessible. The writing was easy to follow, and I appreciated how the story kept me hooked without feeling overwhelming. Overall, it was a great experience, and I definitely recommend it!

I enjoyed this third companion novel that began with The Jane Austen Society. I learned quite a bit about Italy in the post-WWII era. The peek into the vibrant Italian film industry and the involvement of the Vatican in life at that time was very interesting. I also enjoyed the seeing the lives of women as they began to become more independent after the war.

4/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this novel.

I love a good historical fiction when I learn about new things! Loved learning about Italy during and following WW2. The film productions and the role of the Vatican in the act of censoring was really fascinating.

However, I didn't connect with the characters and felt that the multiple timelines were a little clunky!

My thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

As a huge fan of historical fiction books … and especially those that are set during WWII, this one did not appeal to me as much as I had hoped. It was interesting to learn about the film industry in Italy of which I knew nothing about. I did not connect with the characters or the story. I struggled to continue plodding through the pages until I got to the end. So, unfortunately for me it was not a pleasant read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Adult Fiction
Fiction
Historical
Historical Fiction
Italy
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War
WWII

This was a good historical fiction read! Loved the plot of this book! Thought it went very well with the setting and time period that the story takes place and had an interesting plot that kept me hooked in and invested! I did struggle with connecting with the characters and the actions they take through the story I just wasn’t as invested in them as I wish I had been. Overall an enjoyable read!