I did find this one hard to get in to in the beginning but once I had an understanding of what was going on, the story got really exciting. I really enjoyed the characters and I thought it was well written. There were some instances where I didn’t love the dialogue and though it could have been more succinct but overall I did like it and will recommend to my friends who like historical fiction novels.

withholding review as the book was published by SMP for who a boycott is still ongoing of. thanks for it, but i cant. i hope it gets resolved rapidly/

I adored the first two books in the author’s Bloomsbury series, this third one was quite good but very different. One of the bookshops owners Vivian goes to Rome in 1955 to work at a film studio. She meets all sorts of interesting people while also trying to find out information about her fiancé, David, presumed dead after the war. There are a lot of lost souls in post war Italy, as people try to rebuild their lives and find ways to go on with their lives.

Natalie Jenner is brilliant at weaving fact and fiction to create the very best of historical fiction, this time centered around the Italian resistance in WWII and a screenplay writer in 1955. Will be highly recommending this one to friends and book groups alike.

Natalie Jenner is back with another beautiful historical fiction novel in the Jane Austen Society universe. This time we are taken into the movie industry in Italy 1950’s with play write turned screenwriter, Vivien. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a wonderful story of love, loss, trauma, and moving on. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan press for the chance to preview and review this wonderful book.

Love this author! This one about a female play wrote in the 1950s travels to Rome’s famed Cinecitra studios to work on a film - lots of conflicts moral and otherwise in post war Italy and a woman finding her voice

Natalie Jenner sets her latest historical novel in post-war Italy. American film makers and actors have decamped to Italy to avoid the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating Hollywood. Vivien Lowry is British bookstore owner and writer joins a production company following poor reviews of her latest London play. Vivien also hopes to track down information on her fiancé, presumed killed during the invasion of Italy.

A large cast of characters populates the novel, including some familiar names from Jenner’s previous books, “The Jane Austen Society” and “The Bloomsbury Girls.” In some ways, there may be too many characters. Even with the list in the front of the book, I had a hard time keeping everyone straight and feeling invested in them.

Vivien and her colleagues are making a film about a young schoolgirl assassin in the resistance during WWII. Unfortunately, the crew soon learns that they’ve exchanged the HUAC for the Catholic church, Italy’s version of censorship. Those who enjoy seeing “behind the scenes” in the movie industry will love this book. As for me, I was more interested in the WWII aspect and the Vatican’s influence.

“Scorn would always need a target and, when that disappeared, would inevitably feed on itself. Nothing could be created from the emptiness of scorn—to create, there had to be hope. Hope that something could be built from the ashes that would last. Hope that we, as humans, could be better—could do better.”

Vivian Lowrey, beloved protagonist from the Bloomsbury Girls novel returns in this third installment of The Jane Austen Society books. It’s 1955, and Vivian moves to Italy to escape abysmal reviews of her theatre acting performance, and takes a job as a script editor. Here Ms. Jenner brings Rome’s famous Cinecitta Studios to life! Post-war movie making, including aspiring stars and noted directors, tangles with a dominant and powerful Catholic Church where censorship and hypocritical corruption run rampant.

As Vivian searches for answers about her presumed-dead fiancé she also dives deep into the tragedies of WWII Italy. The synopsis of this novel only briefly touches upon this part of the story, which ultimately takes up the majority of the plot. Filling in the backstory informs the 1955 timeline, but I found the string of somber sub plots incredibly dark, and I missed the more hopeful cadence of the previous books in the series.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A heartbreaking and moving, dual timeline WWII historical fiction book set in Rome, Italy that sees Vivian from The Bloomsbury girls travelling to work on the script of a new movie while also still grieving the loss of her dead fiancee and the child she gave up for adoption.

I loved learning more about this part of WWII history! The author does a great job writing relatable characters you can't help falling in love with and empathizing for, especially the strong women of Italy forced to endure unspeakable things under Nazi occupation.

Full of heart, loss, great nods to the other characters in her Jane Austen Society series and an interesting look at life in 1950s Rome too. This was great on audio narrated by Juliet Aubrey. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was another hit from a fav Canadian historical fiction author!! Highly recommended for book club groups and fans of Jennifer Robson's Our darkest night.

Every Time We Say Goodbye
by Natalie Jenner
Pub Date: 14 May 2024

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

Having read the first 2 books in the Jane Austen series I had really high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I found it very slow and I couldn't adapt to the new era and country the story was placed in.

I was really excited to be approved for an ARC of Natalie Jenner’s newest book, Every Time We Say Goodbye.

I loved The Jane Austen Society, LOVED! As in - hugged the book after I was finished - loved. Bloomsbury Girls was also great so I was looking forward to my third Natalie Jenner book.

But…

I didn’t finish it.

I tried, I really did. But I found there were too many characters and the story was dragging. I decided to give up at the 62% mark….so I think I gave it a fair chance. Maybe I’ll go back to it - I know others really enjoyed this one but it wasn’t for me.

I’d give this one a 2 ⭐️ ⭐️ rating - just because it wasn’t HORRIBLE but it wasn’t great. I won’t give up on this author though, I have enjoyed her books before, I am sure I will in the future.

Thanks NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC for my honest review.

4 stars. Review coming soon. Loved Jenner’s first 2 books, this one is somewhat different in mood and scale.

Every Time We Say Goodbye does a great job of taking the reader to the Italian film industry of the 1950s. Who knew what a dynamic industry it was? Certainly not me. During the HUAC activities, many American directors and actors also moved overseas to avoid problems. Into this, Vivian, an English playwright, comes to help fix a script. Vivian is a repeat character from Jenner’s prior books, but this easily works as a stand-alone.
I love historical fiction that can teach me something and this does that in spades. It especially explores the fraught relationship between the industry and the church.
There’s also a second storyline of “La Scolaretta”, the schoolgirl assassin of Rome during WWII. It takes a while before we get to see the connection of the two plots.
My problem with this was that while the setting was great, I failed to engage with the characters or storylines, as the focus of the story kept veering from one plot line to another. I couldn’t get into Vivian’s love affair with Lassiter. I couldn’t reconcile her trying to find what happened to David with her new love. And too many of the secondary characters just felt two dimensional, even characters from her prior novels. The one exception was Tabitha, in a search to find out anything about her birth mother.
I always look forward to The Author’s Note when I read historical fiction and I would have been happier with a more robust explanation here than just some acknowledgements.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

A story that blends the lives of assorted characters, and explores the complications of love, and the enduring impact of war. The writing is atmospheric and transports the reader to 1950’s Rome. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to like this story more than I did. I loved the Bloomsbury Girls and was excited to read Vivien’s story.

Parts of this book were fascinating, the parts about Vivien’s fiancée, and the parts that went back to WWII.

The storyline set in the 1950s was where I really struggled. There were so many characters, so much going on, and at times it felt like the author just wanted to make unnecessary comments about the Catholic Church.

I found myself just wanting to get it over with and am sad to have felt that way. Jenner is a very good writer and I think this was just a miss with me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

I’ve been a fan of Jenner’s since I read The Jane Austen Society in the early months of 2021 and had been eager to read this newest addition to the series. This story was really interesting thanks to the strong character backstories, complex scrutiny of the ramifications of war, and original take on the time period. I really liked the artistic and cinematic aspects along with a strong female presence and I loved how Jenner has connected these three novels over time and distance but in such a way that they are their own unique story.

It was really enjoyable being introduced to new characters and then being reunited with some of the ones I’ve gotten I know from previous novels. It felt like getting together with an old friend to catch up and feeling like no time has passed.

You should definitely pick this one up, especially if you’ve read and loved the previous two in the series. I did a combo of digital and audio, both excellent options!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc and St. Martin’s Press for the arc via Netgalley!

Every Time We Say Goodbye (Jane Austen Society #3)
By Natalie Jenner, narrated by Juliet Aubrey

It took while before I could settle into this story and I was afraid that wouldn't happen. It's 1955 and we are seeing things from the POV of Vivien Lowry, who authored a play being performed in London, which received great audience appreciation but was panned by critics and promptly shut down. Vivien's dreams of a career as a playwright is over barely after it's begun.

Vivien is offered a job as a script doctor for a play being filmed in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. Before she leaves for Rome Vivien learns information about her fiancé who disappeared/died during the war and with this new job she'll have an opportunity to search for more information about what happened to him. She can't help having a tiny hope that he could still be alive.

Scattered throughout the story is another POV, that of a young Italian resistance woman assassin, famed for her heroics and what happened to her during the war. It was this story that interested me the most and it took me a long time to see how the two POVs could come together. Vivien's story seemed so superficial (despite her many heartaches) with the party astrosphere on the film set, the glamour, the gossip, the drinking, the partying, the major movie stars. There is a lot of famous people name dropping and even cameos by stars we all know. It was fun seeing all the names I recognized but I'm really not star struck and hadn't expected such a "film making" oriented story.

But then things changed for me, as we get to the meat of the story. The fact that the Vatican is controlling each and every script that is made, that the truth of so many events of the war are being totally whitewashed and erased. That the corruption during the war is still ongoing and will mow down anyone who tries to reveal what really happened during the war.

It's as we learn of the ongoing heartache and trauma of those who were in the war that the story grabbed me. So many secrets, personal and political, and it is through sharing secrets that some of the characters begin to heal. Without opening up and sharing, healing isn't possible and this is the area of the story that drew me into it, the personal sacrifices during war and afterwards that weighed heavy on the hearts of the people Vivien meets in Rome. It turns out there are deep connections here to the young woman assassin and eventually we find out just how deep those connections run.

You do not have to read the previous entries in this series especially since each book can stand alone with no problem. But it was nice hearing about or seeing existing characters in the series and their stories made this story more endearing to me. It was such a surprise to feel so removed from the story at the beginning, thinking that it might not be for me, and then to have found myself emotionally involved in the heartbreak and healing of the characters, knowing that some would never be able to let go of their devastation due to earlier events.

Juliet Aubrey has a soft spoken approach to narrating this story and it took me a bit to get used to her manner of speaking. But once I was drawn into the story, her narration was perfect. This story won't be for everyone, it takes time to find its footing, at least it did for me, but then my emotions took over and I couldn't put the story down.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the audiobook and ebook copy of this ARC.

I was really excited to read Natalie Jenner’s third instalment of the Jane Austen Society, EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE.

In this story, we follow struggling playwright, Vivien Lowry, who we are first introduced to in Bloomsbury Girls (book 2). The story mostly takes place in Italy in the 1950s and centres around the filming of an WW2 movie (about a female resistance fighter). It can be read as a stand-alone, but you’ll get little glimmers of context (with some previous characters popping in) by reading at least book 2 - though the original Jane Austen Society is by far the best book in the series.

I struggled with this book and sort of wish Jenner had kept this as a distinct stand-alone, as opposed to keeping it within the same “universe.” I did not experience the same quaintness with this story as I did with the previous two, and I realize that made up the majority of my enjoyment of those books.

All in all, Jenner is still a great writer, but I went into this one with different expectation that just weren’t met.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of the book.

After thoroughly enjoying the first two books from Natalie Jenner, Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, I was eagerly anticipating Every Time We Say Goodbye. The book was very different and not nearly as enjoyable. Lots of characters (the list in front should have been a red flag) and excess stories that didn’t draw you in.

Historical fiction lovers will enjoy the tales of the Italian Film community of the 1950s.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Net Galley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.