3.5 stars rounded up to 4, Every Time We Say Goodbye is a novel of war, grief, oppression, and show business. Told in alternating glimpses from the mid 1950’s and during World War Two, this story has a lot going on. The cast of characters is fairly large and can be overwhelming at times. Vivien Lowry is a writer working on a movie script in Italy featuring a WWII assassin/heroine and dealing with the censorship of the Catholic Church. Everyone she revolves around is traumatized in some way from the war. The main theme of the story seems to be moving on and healing from all the crap life throws at the characters with each character seemingly getting their own version of an HEA. Famous writers and actresses stroll through the book in small cameos that I haven’t decided on whether I enjoyed the big names or it kind of ruined the setting for me. I really enjoyed parts of this book but other parts felt lacking in some small way. This was a better than average read for me but not outstanding. I feel like some people would really enjoy this story though. My voluntary, unbiased, and non mandatory review is based upon a free review copy from NetGalley.

What I loved most about this book was Rome in the 50s. Natalie Jenner wrote a love letter to Italians, their culture, their passions and their city.
The inclusion of real life characters was brilliant, just a small part for most like Ava Gardner and Peggy Guggenheim but they were instrumental in making us imagine the film family that existed in Rome. I actually would have liked a little more about the Scolaretta, which were small pockets of back history. Vivien was a tough one to really like and it helped that she was surrounded by much better people than her. It absorbed some of her toughness and self-centered thinking.
I actually watched Roman Holiday while reading it and this helped me imagine the clothes and attitudes of the time.
It was well written and interesting but I didn't have the 'I can't put this down' feeling. I really enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls and was looking forward to this continuation of characters but it didn't have that same warm, friendly feeling.
I will definitely pick up any new novel that Natalie Jenner writes next.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I received and started this book as an advanced reading copy before I knew it was the 3rd book in a series. I promptly put it down and read the first 2 books in the Jane Austen series: “The Jane Austen Society” and “Bloomsbury Girls”. I enjoyed both of them very much. Both Bloomsbury Girls and this book carry over characters from the previous which runs a nice thread through them. The first 2 take place in England and this 3rd has Vivien Lowry, a main character in Bloomsbury Girls, traveling to Italy. There’s a cast of real people, much as in the prior books.

I like Vivien a lot but I didn’t love this book. There were too many characters to keep track of (which I should have expected given the “Cast of Characters” list in the beginning of the book.) and the plot felt needlessly complicated.

Given that I enjoyed the first 2 books very much, I do look forward to seeing what Natalie Jenner writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

3 ⭐️

"Every Time We Say Goodbye" is an enjoyable read. Jenner takes her lovey cast of book loving ladies from England to postwar Italy's film making sets. I enjoyed the crossover of creatives outlets and Jenner's adds in cameo's of famous Italian actresses like Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. At times she gets a little heavy handed attempting to add historical context, but all is forgiven as the plot starts to unwind. Church corruption, lost loves and assassinations keep the pages turning right to the end.

I have followed Natalie Jenner since her debut novel "The Jane Austen Society". I enjoy books that follow the same cast of characters, expanding their lives and deepening their backstory, but each book needs to stand alone. My only complaint while reading "Every Time We Say Goodbye" is that I noticed that I kept thinking that these characters have no depth. Why don't I feel connected to them like Jenner's previous books? The answer is that Jenner relies on the past two novels to create the dimension for these characters and believes that the reader will remember them. A risky gamble and what of the reader who is being introduced to these characters for the first time?

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is a cinematic masterpiece that immerses readers in the post-war allure of 1950s Rome. Vividly weaving together the lives of a diverse cast, Jenner's elegant prose explores the complexities of love, loss, and the enduring impact of war. Against the backdrop of Cinecittà studios, struggling playwright Vivien Lowry becomes entangled in the creation of a controversial film about the female Italian resistance fighter La Scolaretta. The narrative skillfully navigates relationships, societal expectations, and the characters' wartime pasts, creating a rich tapestry of human resilience. Jenner's portrayal of post-War Italy is both glamorous and conflicted, reflecting a nation in transition. With thematic undertones of the Catholic Church's influence on the movie industry and poignant reflections on political manipulation, the novel resonates with contemporary relevance. Seamlessly integrating characters from Jenner's previous works, Every Time We Say Goodbye stands as a captivating tale that celebrates the power of cinema to tell transformative stories and encourages readers to embrace the sweet life in the face of tragedy.

This is the first book that I have read written by Natalie Jenner, but I now want to read The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls. Every Time We Say Goodbye is focused on relationships as well as the horrors of war. This novel's protagonist is Vivien Lowry, a playwright who travels to Rome in the 1950s to work on a screenplay at the Cinecittà studios. It explores her relationships with her friends, lovers, colleagues, deceased fiancé, the Vatican, and upcoming movie stars. There are two timelines - 1943 with a group of resistance fighters opposing the Nazis and 1950s Rome. Although I enjoyed the storytelling with vivid descriptions, this book explored the awful ramifications of WWII and its aftermath. I was excited for the historical fiction in this setting and time period, but there are difficult themes in this book including rape, torture, kidnapping, racism, and death.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED the previous books in the series and really looked forward to this book. However, I did not connect with this one. There were too many characters, and just too much going on to feel connected to and invested in the story. I read a lot of WWII fiction set in England, so I found post-war Italy interesting, but overall I was disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced digital
Copy. All opinions are my own.

I"m always interested in WW2/post-WW2 books that don't take place in Britain. This was an interesting, if at times rambling, look at post-war Rome and the variety of characters who called it home.

Courtesy of St.Martin's Press and Netgalley, I received the ARC of Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner. Continuing the story of the people from The Bloomsbury Girls, we follow Vivien as she heads to Rome in 1955, to work at Cinecitta, the primary motion picture studio in Italy. This historical novel is populated by all the major film stars of that era, plus fictional writers, producers, and the influential Vatican censors who functioned in post WWII Italy, in the shadow of McCarthy's investigation of Americans. Combining a dual timeline story of the Resistance with the impact of the lingering wartime effects, the message of remembering the past while creating a future highlights this emotional story.

I have been staring at my laptop screen for the longest time because I am struggling with how to start this review and encapsulate my whole reading experience perfectly but I’m out of the words because oh my god this book was exquisite in all aspects and definite highlight of this month for me.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A known cast of characters along with main character unknowns in this historical novel set in Italy in the 1940s and 1950s.

From London to Roma!

It's 1955 and Vivien Lowry, of Bloomsbury Girls, is still smarting from disappointing reviews of her latest play. When offered the opportunity to work as a scriptwriter at the Cinecittà studios in Rome, she accepts. Natalie Jenner, author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, beautifully brings to life post-WWII Rome and the emergence of Italian cinema.

Although it’s ten years after WWII ended, the characters are still haunted by their war experiences: losing loved ones, surviving refugee camps, and witnessing wartime atrocities. This is a multi-faceted book, one of power, surrender, survival, healing, and acceptance.

If you've read Natalie's earlier books you'll recognize many names and characters; however, this book can stand alone. I knew very little about post-war Rome and the Italian cinema, but now I’m inspired to learn more about the real people whose stories inspired this work.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Natalie Jenner's book.

With that said, I could not get into it. I honestly think it's the authors style of writing. I'm often drawn to WWII era reading. When I want to read about history it's my favorite timeline. I wish I could give the book more stars, but I couldn't enjoy it.

I will start with a caveat, namely that I have not yet read the previous books in the series. I still do want to read The Jane Austen Society. I feel like having read the previous books, I would have been set up better for this one in some ways. That being said, I also think that most of this book is written to stand alone and, as such, it works to a degree.

The history that this book focuses on is interesting and I did enjoy reading about post WWII (my go to historical fiction timeframe) and some of the long-reaching impacts in Italy at the time. And the way that film was handled immediately after the war. I also got invested in some of the story and finding out what Vivien would do once she got the answers she was looking for. (No spoilers!) But I had a very hard time getting into her story and her as a character, because there were just too many people and too many loose ends that didn't really get wrapped up for me. There were a bunch of stories and characters who just felt superfluous in a way that detracted from the main plot and characters and, as a result, I didn't really find myself caring about anyone in any real way until a few of them got cleared out of the way to let Vivien have her moment. The book starting with a cast of characters should have signalled to me that there would be a lot of players. I guess I glossed over that in hopes that it would work better than it did.

All in all, it was disappointing read. Not having read the books that came before, I don't know if this style is consistent with Jenner's writing. If it is, and having a lot of people jumping in and out of the story works for you, then this will probably be a good read. If you like to have a real focus on a character or two, then maybe skip it for a different historical fiction.

Of note, this is definitely not a romance. And the Scolaretta whose story is interwoven gets a lot less page time than I would have liked. We find out most of her story through others even though there are a few chapters dedicated to her. And again, a lot is inferred.

Fans of Natalie Jenner's first two books take note: this book is definitely not as lighthearted as the first two. That is not to say that it is any less fantastic or worthy of reading, just that it goes much deeper into the darker side of WWII and its aftermath and a reader should be prepared for that.

In my early days as a NetGalley member, I requested an ARC of Natalie Jenner's first book, The Jane Austen Society. As a huge fan of all things Jane Austen I was intrigued. I was not disappointed (as you can see by my review of that title). I've been a Natalie Jenner fan ever since. Natalie writes with a richness and depth and authority that is rare. You cannot help but be swept up into the world she creates, and you can believe that the characters and the story she is telling could/did actually happen.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is set predominantly in Rome in 1955. Vivian, a character from The Bloomsbury Girls, sets off to Italy to search for answers about her missing Fiance, and to escape panned reviews from her latest play. Intertwined with Vivian's tale is that of a mysterious-at-first female Italian resistance-fighter/assasin called la scolaretta. The novel is, in true Natalie Jenner fashion, exquisitely written with precise detail. The reader is privy to the interconnectedness of the two stories while at the same time kept in the dark until the author, and the story, wants to reveal the details. At times painful and heartbreaking and at others healing and heartwarming, Every Time We Say Goodbye is a fresh testament to the post war world of Rome and the lasting pain of WWII. In and amongst the main characters is a side examination of postwar filmmaking and religious power. Another strong showing by Ms. Jenner!

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for my honest review.

This one kind of meh, I didn’t like it but I also didn’t hate. I am finding that I’m not a huge fan of this author’s writing style.

“Every Time We Say Goodbye” is the third book by Natalie Jenner to feature characters introduced in “The Jane Austen Society” (with “Bloomsbury Girls” being the second book in the series). It was very good—Jenner is a beautiful writer—yet I found that I was less engaged in this book than the first two. One reason may be that the principal action is now a movie set; while books and writers are still discussed they are less central to this plot. There is also much more of a focus on WWII, as Vivian seeks information about her fiancé who went missing in Italy during the war, and she is part of a team trying to make a film about a young woman of the Resistance who assassinated a German officer during the occupation. These two aspects made the book less interesting than Jenner’s previous books. But, I was happy to see how the lives of Vivian and her friends played out. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I loved The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, but this time I think the author tried to do too much. While this book could be read as a stand-alone, the relationships of the characters and their backstories will make more sense if you read the first two books. The Jane Austen Society had a very cozy feel to it. The vibe here was a bit more frenetic even though the story progressed very slowly.

The Cast of Characters provided at the beginning is helpful. The book opens with La Scolaretta - the schoolgirl assassin in Rome November 1943. She is targeting an SS Commander who has turned Rome into a Nazi stronghold. Her story is told in bits and pieces throughout the book, and we eventually learn the connections she has to the characters in the present narrative. Most of the action takes place in 1954-55 Rome and revolves around Cinecitta Studios.

It was fascinating to learn the history of German occupation in Italy and how the Catholic Church did little to help the people. Cinecitta Studios was responsible for giving us both Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren and both play small roles in this story.

The historical bits were more interesting than what was going on with the fictional characters. I am hoping for another book because there were still many unanswered questions at the end. Overall, it was a decent story, but it dragged, and I had to remind myself to read it instead of reading something else.

As is indicated by the title, EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, was a poignant but ultimately hopeful read. It felt familiar, since we first got to know Vivien in BLOOMSBURY GIRLS, but also it is brand new, taking place mostly in vivid Italy. And we enjoy our armchair travels even as we long for Vivien to finally learn what happened to her long-lost fiance and move on, make a real life for herself. Lucky for us, Rome is also full of well-known stars making a living in Rome's cinematic scene. So it's a fun read, even as we worry more and more for Vivien, who must finally learn to herself trust again. At the same time, we know that the history and changes wrought by war can't be ignored, and not everyone is to be trusted. I was enthralled with this new offering by Jenner, from the first to last page.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

This is a follow up book from Bloomsbury Girls. I appreciate St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book for me to read and review.

The story is set in the 1950s and is the continuation of the life of one of the women who worked at the bookstore in Bloomsbury, London. Vivien, in addition to working in the store, is also a playwright and chose to leave for Italy for a period of time when her success as a playwright was called into question. She took a job working at a film studio in Rome and worked on rewriting some of the screenplays being filmed there. Rome is still recovering from WWII and all the various issues that time period caused in Italy.

While there, she has to deal with the censorship of the Vatican as they have full control of what is acceptable or not in what film audiences are allowed to see.

Vivien also meets some interesting people and forms friendships with them. As well, she forms a romantic entanglement with an older man.

The story is richly layered with individual characters who are uniquely drawn and have multi-faceted personalities.

Vivien is a character we grew to admire in Bloomsbury Girls and this book finds this reader still rooting for her and hoping she gets resolution of a matter that has haunted her since the war. One of the young men she meets while working at the studio also has an interesting story line about events that happened to him during the war. Both of them were characters this reader grew attached to and hoped for the best outcome.

The author is very talented and the prose is beautifully written. The flow of the story is well done as well. This book does not have to be read after Bloomsbury Girls as the story is complete without it being necessary to know the events of the other book. Some of the characters are recurring, but it’s not vital to know those back stories. I do love how real life famous people are woven into the tale. Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner even make appearances. Such fun to addition to the story.

A lovely read.