I can't tell you what this book is about.
I listened to it on audio and found myself drifting. It has two different timelines and follows mostly a woman named Vivien and the Italian film industry in 1950s.

Vivien is a hard character to follow as she seems pretty detached from everything around her. While in Italy, she is also looking for answers about David her ex-fiancee who she thought died in the war.

I was hoping for an emotional rollercoaster, but I unfortunately did not get this out of this book.

The kidnapping plot that happens in this is odd, and the fact that it goes unsolved and unmentioned for several chapters.

A lot of the chapters felt unnecessary and I found myself being pulled out of the story often, drifting to the point where some chapters I had to relisten to more than once, and times the reaction was much the same.

I wanted to love this, but unfortunately, this just did not hit the mark for me. It is probably more of a case of it's me and not you, so I'm hoping others love this more.

I am glad I listened to it, listening to it made me get through it, otherwise I don't think I would have.

I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of a review.

Every Time We Say Goodbye follows playwright Vivien Lowry, whose most recent play, which opened in London in 1955 was panned by critics and shut down. At a loss, Vivien takes a friend’s advice and takes a job in Italy working as a script doctor in the film industry. Vivien views her trip to Italy as a way to both find a new path forward for herself and to find out what really happened to her fiance David, who went missing in Italy during the war. Vivien is a complex, well drawn character and I found myself very invested in everything to do with her time in Italy, especially since it becomes such a personal journey for her.

In addition to Vivien’s personal journey, Jenner also gives us insight into what was going on in post-war Italy, particularly the huge contrast between the vibrant and glamorous film industry versus the struggling orphans and refugees who were of course present in Italy after the war. Jenner also explores just how much the Catholic church was policing and censoring the content of Italian films, as well as the political landscape of Italy as it tries to come to terms with its own role in the war.

Jenner also effectively uses a dual timeline in this multi-layered story. During her time in Italy, Vivien works with a director who is determined to make a movie about a young woman he doesn’t want the world to forget. This woman was not only his girlfriend, but she was also an assassin in the Italian Resistance who was tortured and murdered during the war. We learn more about the circumstances that led to her death in an earlier timeline set during WWII.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is both a well researched work of historical fiction and an engaging story of love, loss and truth.

If you’re an audiobook fan, I also highly recommend the audiobook for this novel. It’s narrated by Juliet Aubrey who does a wonderful job bringing Vivien to life and capturing all of the complexities of emotions that run through the story.

I'm giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This is the third book in this series. I'd read the first but not the second and was still able to follow along without any problems.

This third novel in the series takes place in post WWII Italy and focuses on the film making industry. It was a little slow to start but engaging and beautifully written. I found the behind the scenes look at the Italian film industry of the time period, particularly compelling. Especially the Vatican's control over scripts and the ongoing corruption. It was a gripping storyline.

Vivian's story was complex and heartbreaking. I would have liked even more of her story. However, I was happy with her satisfying ending.

Juliet Aubrey was very soft-spoken and took some time to get used to. But I did end up enjoying her narration.

Thank you, McMillan Audio, for this ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a DNF for me. Way to many unremarkable characters and to much going on. I was bored trying to get through this. I was listening to it and didn’t even want to go on..

𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗕𝗬𝗘 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 is a captivating journey through post-war Italy, where Vivien Lowry seeks solace and redemption amidst the ruins of her shattered dreams. Jenner expertly weaves together the narratives of Vivien's quest for truth about her late fiancé and the daring exploits of the enigmatic La Scolaretta, a female resistance fighter. Set against the backdrop of Rome's bustling Cinecitta Studios, the novel immerses readers in a world of glamour, intrigue, and political turmoil. I enjoyed the references to stars of a bygone era such as Brigitte Bardot, Gina Lollobrigida, Gene Kelly, and many others. Jenner's evocative prose brings to life the vibrant atmosphere of 1950s Italy, while shedding light on lesser-known aspects of its history. With its richly drawn characters and meticulously researched historical backdrop, 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗕𝗬𝗘 is a compelling tale of resilience, love, and the search for redemption in the aftermath of war. This is the third book in the Jane Austen Society Series and is a must-read for fans of historical fiction craving a captivating and immersive journey through time.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry encounters a pivotal moment in her life. Despite the initial success of her play in London’s West End, harsh reviews crush her theatrical dreams. With her future uncertain, she heeds her friend Peggy Guggenheim’s advice and embarks on a journey to Rome’s Cinecitta Studios, where she dives into the bustling world of filmmaking. Amidst rising stars and acclaimed directors, Vivien navigates a landscape torn between past struggles and future promise, all while confronting personal demons from World War II and the mystery surrounding her late fiancé.
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This being the 3rd book in a series, I hadn’t read the other two, so it definitely piqued my interest to hear more about this story.

My students are not interested in the movie stars mentioned in this book. It was a device that was over-used, anyway.

I was really intrigued to read a story about the Italian film industry in the 1950s and while that was interesting there just wasn’t enough historical correlation along with the story to really keep me interested. I felt like there were so many characters in the book that really didn’t matter to the story. I am usually a fan of the dual POV/timelines in a book but I had a hard time connecting with these two. I didn’t realize that it was the third book in a series. Maybe if I had read the first two I would have been more invested in the characters. The overall story was ok but I had a really hard time getting into this book and staying with it.

3.5 ⭐️

<i> 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. </i>

This was an okay story. Just entertaining enough for me to keep going. I think I might have connected with the characters more if I’d read the previous two books in the series, however I didn’t realize going in that this was part of a series. So it’s likely a “me” problem.

Juliet Aubrey did a nice job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Natalie Jenner, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have consistently loved Natalie Jenner‘s post-WWII historical fiction these past couple of years, first The Jane Austen Society, then Bloomsbury Girls and now Every Time We Say Goodbye. I loved how she managed to keep them within one fictional world, with basically just one main character moving on to the next book, whereas some of the ancillary characters move on as well.
In this new book we meet Vivien Lowry yet again, no longer working at a London bookstore but having moved to Rome and the 1950s Cinecitta as a script doctor shaping and honing new movies. The movie making scene at the time and it’s stars, the tug-of-war between avant-garde movie making right on the outskirts of Rome and the Catholic Church in the Vatican provide a fabulous backdrop for Vivien‘s personal story of grief and loss. Her move to Italy brings her closer to her dead fiancé who died in Italy during the war and his last movements. It is 1955 now, 10 years after the war, can she allow herself to live, to be happy again ?
That the Cinecitta where so many movies have been made (from Cleopatra to Gangs of New York) was home to a displaced persons camp right after WWII and those refugees were used as extras in monumental films like Quo Vadis ? sent me on google deep dives since this was completely new to me, but so intriguing.
I loved this book and had access to both, the audio and the ebook (thanks to the publisher and @netgalley ), and truly loved both versions, Juliet Aubrey did a marvelous job with the narration.

OH. MY. HEART.

Look, I'm not sure what I can say that hasn't already been said by better review writers than I'll ever be, and I'll forever be grateful for their words that will do this book justice when a non-writer [me], cannot.

What I CAN say is this: I am SO GLAD that I took a chance with "The Jane Austen Society" four years ago - I cannot imagine missing out on these gorgeous, lush, fantastic books. I am so glad that the author had more stories to tell within the JAS world, and that we get the opportunity to visit with these friends over and over again. I am so glad that Vivian [such a great character] got a really excellent story herself, and that through her story, I learned new [and heartbreaking] history of that time that I was completely unaware of.

I knew when I had book hangover before the book had even hit 50% that this book was going to be a huge winner for me - and the ugly tears that flowed at the end proved it was just that. This was, quite simply, absolutely fantastic.

I am not sure who picked the narrator for this book, but they deserve a ginormous prize. Juliet Aubrey is an amazing narrator [and it turns out plays a fantastic character in one of my favorite British shows], and just brings Vivian and the cast of characters that surround her to life and brings you right into the story until you almost forget that it's not 1955 and you are not in Italy. She does such a magnificent job and I can only hope that she decides to do more narration in the future [I need to say that all the narration for the three books in this series has been nothing less than freaking fantastic and it's been an a joy to listen to each one].

Thank you to NetGalley, Natalie Jenner, Juliet Aubrey - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing both the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciated learning about some of Italy's culture and society post WWII. However, this book was hard to keep up with as an audiobook due to so many characters and storylines. I highly recommend reading the first two books in the series before this one in order to have a better understanding of the main characters' backgrounds.

I picked this up because I loved the author’s earlier book, The Jane Austen Society, and hoped for more of the same. Which I got in a couple of surprising ways. First, part of my love for that first book was in the audiobook narrator, Richard Armitage (yes, Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit movies). Second, that this book is loosely connected to both that book and to her second book, Bloomsbury Girls, but it’s a loose connection and you absolutely do not need to have read either of the others to get into this one.

The first goodbye in Every Time We Say Goodbye takes place in 1943, in Occupied Italy during the midst of World War II. It’s the final goodbye between the infamous ‘La Scolaretta’, AKA the ‘Schoolgirl Assassin’, and her lover after she has committed the assassination that both ensures her immediate death and her eternal ‘life’ as a martyr to the cause..

The rest of the story spirals out from that first/last goodbye – and moves forward to 1955 even as it circles back to Rome, the scene of La Scolaretta’s last and most dangerous assignment. It’s a world that is doing its best to move on and forget – even as entirely too many people’s lives seem to be frozen in that moment – or in moments much too much like it.

On the surface of this story, there’s glitz and glamour, the escape of the movie industry and the films it produces – along with the kind of frenetic partying that drove the Jazz Age of the 1920s – another post-war era.

Vivien Lowry has brought herself and her heavy emotional baggage from London to Rome, to escape the failure of her latest play on the London stage by taking a job as a ‘script doctor’ to American ex-pats filming in Italy to escape the political witch hunts back home.

She is also in Italy to say her own final goodbyes – if she can find a place to actually do that. Her fiance was presumed killed in action in the war, but late news has reached her that he was transported to Italy as a POW and died in a POW camp or escaping from it and not on the battlefield as was originally supposed. Or maybe he didn’t.

Vivien is tracking down the shattered remnants of her heart, so she can bury them along with the hopes and dreams of the future that they represent. Along the way, she meets the glitterati of the heyday of Italian movie making, while dropping a whole lot of very real names of the rich and famous.

And she falls in love. Or maybe she doesn’t. She certainly gets caught up in a relationship that is going absolutely nowhere – only to discover that her lover isn’t the man he pretended to be. Then again, she pretended that her heart was open, when it’s still buried in a past that never was – and never will be again, now matter how hard she chases after it.

But it just might manage to catch up with her if she stops running long enough to let it.

Escape Rating B: Before I get to the story of the book, I absolutely need to say something about the audiobook. Specifically, that the audiobook is excellent. The reader, Juliet Aubrey, was a perfect choice and she made the whole thing better and carried me through even at points where I wondered how the parts of the story connected to each other because she was just awesome.

Which circles back to the story itself, which sometimes felt as if it, well, didn’t exactly circle back and connect up. So the TL;DR version of this review is that, as a story, its reach very much exceeded its grasp.

There is, of course, a much longer version of that, because there is a tremendous amount going on in this story with a corresponding large cast of characters.

There are two timelines, and the reader keeps wondering how they’re going to come together in the end – only for this reader, at least, to wish they hadn’t.

Yes, I know my flailing is getting worse. But it fits.

The through story, the one we’re following, takes place in Rome in 1955 at what may have been the height of the Italian film industry. The story that they, the characters in the story, are following is the 1943 story about the famous and/or infamous guerilla fighter, La Scolaretta – the schoolgirl assassin.

The characters in 1955 are living their current lives following that story because they are writing it, filming it, still affected by it, still suffering from it, still mourning it, unable to get past it and/or absolutely all of the above.

La Scolaretta’s last target, and her subsequent capture, torture and execution, is a fixed point in time that no one can walk past or turn away from. Both for itself and as a symbol of the war and the acts that people were driven to during it.

As a consequence, the story has a LOT to say about war in general, World War II in particular, the evils that humans generally and specifically did as a result of both of them, as well as guilt, grief, escape, survival, life, death and how all of those things are impacted by survival.

It’s a lot of weight for one story to carry, and these characters, especially Vivien Lowry as the point-of-view character, have a lot to say about all of them, which leads to a lot of justified angst and downright philosophizing on her part that suffuses the whole story.

But the philosophizing also got in the way of the story – possibly as intended because Vivien, as a writer herself, doesn’t so much experience her own emotions as she does explain them or distance them through her writing.

(In addition to Vivien’s personal angsting and philosophizing, the story also had a TON of things to say about the conflict between the need of certain institutions to rug-sweep their activities during the war, the desire of governments and individuals to put the war behind them as quickly as possible, the human desire to leave the tragedy behind vs the need to record and remember everything that happened in the hopes of staving the tragedy off earlier the next time around, AND, on top of all that, foreshadowing the cultural upheavals of the 1960s. It was a LOT and the story was already a LOT and we’re back to the reach exceeding the grasp again. All of the issues the story touched on were important but maybe they didn’t need to all be in the same book. Or the book needed to be an actual trilogy – at least.)

So as much as I felt compelled to finish the story (and I was absolutely riveted most of the way through) to see if the past directly connected to their present – or if it just exposed it or talked around it. Which it didn’t quite in either direction. But it did seem like it came to a kind of a satisfactory conclusion even if Vivien’s happy ever after came a bit out of the blue. She still found closure for as much of her past as was possible.

But we didn’t. The conclusion we thought we had got pulled out from under the reader in the end – and I was left wishing it hadn’t. OTOH, war doesn’t really have any neat and tidy endings either, and perhaps that was the point after all.

I really gave this one a shot even though it’s not typically my favorite genre. Some spots were really interesting and then others lost my attention. I had to keep going back to parts because I was so confused at times. I didn’t love the narrator and was left generally confused. I struggled to connect with the story or the characters. This may have been a better book for me in print but I received this ARC in a audiobook format. I do think the right person would enjoy this but it was not meant for me!

I wanted to love this story as I have love Natalie Jenner’s other two, but I was never really that invested in Vivian or her character. I hated John from the start and wasn’t surprised by his plot line at all. I wish I could have connected with this story more, but it was a slog to get through.

I listened to the first hour of this story and I just couldn’t get into it. I hate it because I loved her last story. I appreciate the chance to listen. And maybe I’ll try again another time. But this one wasn’t for me.

This story takes place after WWII in Rome and bringing the harsh truths of war to film. The story was good but there were SO many characters that it was incredibly tough to follow on audiobook. The narrator’s voice was almost too soothing and I found myself having a tougher time paying attention. I would recommend this as a physical book instead of audiobook.

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye
Author: Natalie Jenner
Narrated by: Juliet Aubrey
Publisher: MacMillian Audio
Length: Approximately 10 hours and 37 minutes
Source: Thank-you to NetGalley for the audiobook review copy. Thank-you St. Martin’s Press and Austenprose for the review copy of the physical book.

Are you a fan of classic movies? I love classic movies and could watch them all day if I had the time. Time seems to be a problem for me lately with my oldest son near high school graduation and us deciding to redo our hardwood floors.

Happy #bookbirthday today to Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is the story of Vivian Lowry. In 1955, she wrote a play that audiences loved, but critics loathed. Following the recommendations of friends, Vivian travels to Italy where she works as a script doctor on a movie. She also uses her time there to investigate the disappearance of her fiancé during WWII. Flashbacks also tell the story of “La Scolaretta”, a schoolgirl who is also an assassin during WWII. How are these two stories related?

My thoughts on this novel:
• With my hectic schedule, I once again found it best to review this book as both an audiobook and a physical book. It worked well. Juliet Aubrey was a soothing narrator.

• I felt immersed in 1950s Italy in this novel and loved the details of movie making in Italy during this time period. It was fun when real life actors, such as Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner, made an appearance.

• This is the third novel in The Jane Austen Society series, but the series is very loosely related. Vivian is a character in the previous books, and in this novel, she gets her own story. Other characters pop back up as well. It’s fun if you’ve read the previous two books, but this book can very much be a standalone novel.

• I thought it was interesting exploring how the Catholic Church was involved with the making of the movies during this time. It was much more involved than I thought.

• I didn’t know how the two storylines were connected for a long time while reading this novel, but they came together beautifully at the end.

• This was a thoughtful look at love and loss, how to best remember someone when they are gone, and how to move on from that loss.
• I had a harder time engaging with the characters in this novel than I did in the previous novels.

Favorite Quote: “Yet in the end, goodness is fixed and steady, and not so difficult to spot. It is evil that takes a bewildering number of forms and keeps changing its shape, tricking you with false promises and reasoning, taunting you into resignation.”

Overall, Every Time We Say Goodbye was a well written novel that gives the reader an immersive experience of 1950s filmmaking in Italy as well as a thoughtful look at how WWII impacted the people of that time.

I have enjoyed several of Jenner’s past novels, all typically connecting to WWII & strong women!

EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE is no different! I really enjoyed it, and I loved that there were little cameos of the Jane Austen Society!

I also loved that it includes Daphne Du Maurier as a supporting character. Jenner really knows how to weave in the nuances that literature lovers enjoy!

I feel bad saying I did not enjoy this book, as I know it was well researched, but that is the truth.

Sometimes it works when books have lots of characters and various plots going on simultaneously. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. Despite Every Time We Say Goodbye being set in the glamorous post-war scene of 1950s Italy, within the film industry no less, I became overwhelmed with the large cast and did not feel connected to any of them, not even the protagonist, Vivian.

I received e-book and audiobook copies of this novel, and would likely not have been able to finish if I did not have the audio to listen to on double speed. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio, for arcs to review in exchange for my feedback.