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.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner tells a story of the film industry in Italy in the 1950s. Vivien Lowry goes to Italy to work on scripts after her latest play is met with bad reviews in London. She has learned that her fiancé did not die in World War I like she was told but was a POW. She is searching for answers about what happen to him, rewriting scripts to meet the Vatican’s strict approval and finding what she hopes is love. As Vivien is sorting through her life, Jenner will go back to the 1943, to tell the story of La Scolaretta , a young female resister who assassinates a German Commande. Vivien reads her story through a script that will never meet the Vatican’s approval.
Natalie Jenner paints the scenery so well that the reader feels like they are walking the streets and countryside of Italy. She brings to light many topics that are often not discussed about World War II including the Vatican’s role and the resisters impact. Many of the story lines could have been novels on their own including Leo finding the baby. I found myself getting overwhelmed on many occasions trying to remember who is who and what their role in Vivien’s life was. The dual timeline connected well but I would have preferred more about La Scolaretta. There were many times that it seemed that storyline was forgotten.

I have not read this author before, but loved the synopsis on the cover…(and the cover!)
I also love historical fiction…
However, I had a hard time with this one. There are A LOT of characters…
Also, they go back and forth between the 1940’s and 1950’s…Pre-war, during the war, and the remnants left after the war… and somehow, I kept losing track of the characters…😬

That being said, the storyline was incredible!
And, I loved Vivien and her group! Loved too how actual movie stars were interspersed in the scenes (Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida).
And loved how they show the roles of the women who helped in the war under the guise of innocence…

Found it interesting how she painted the scenes of the Vatican, and how significant a role they played in the movie-making scene (in Italy) …and how they were not ALLOWED to do anything even a bit risqué! (Or the big guy would come and hunt them down!). 😮

But again, found some of it just a bit confusing. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Not sure if it was the amount of characters, the span of years, or just me??

Had me laughing at times, but then also had me crying…real tears.
And dealt with some very difficult subjects,including war time, and the horrific things that were done… and the burden left on the families…

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye by #NatalieJenner and narrated nicely by #JulietAubrey. Due out tomorrow, 5/14/24.

3 1/2 stars for me, rounded up to 4.

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Review

Every Time We Say Goodbye
by Natalie Jenner

4 🌟🌟🌟🌟

If you know me, then you know how I love a good historical fiction novel, especially one that compels me to dig deeper into the topic at hand and do my own research. Natalie Jenner succeeds once again as she brings her vast cast of characters to life in her latest novel, releasing May 14, 2024. A dual-timeline story, set in Italy during and after WWII, Jenner introduces us to the cinematic scene of 1950’s Rome, as well as the aftereffects of war and the Vatican’s influence in the region and its industry. Because I had previously read and LOVED Jenner’s Bloomsbury Girls, I was eager to find out more about Vivian and what had become of her.

I was fortunate to have been given both an advanced audio copy as well as a printed ARC of the novel, and I found it much easier to listen to the story as I read. Juliet Aubrey helped tremendously with characterization and pronunciation, allowing the book to flow much more smoothly. I am also appreciative of the Cast of Characters listed at the beginning of the book, as it helped me to keep track of everyone, especially the New York, London, and Hollywood celebs. What I appreciated most about Every Time We Say Goodbye is Jenner’s observation, insight, and perspective into the human psyche and the driving forces behind actions taken. - “Our secrets are who we really are” was just one of my favorite quotes, and provoked a lot of thoughts, musings, and conversation, especially in our book club. Another quote that begged highlighting and discussion – “With some people, the past did not exist because they had not been changed by it.”

Though Every Time We Say Goodbye is supposed to function as a stand-alone novel, I was in the minority in my book club when it came to the ease of connecting with Vivian. I do think more background information was needed, especially to keep track of all the other characters that swept in and out. And with those characters came more subplots and side stories that ate away at the main two storylines, making it hard for me to give a full 5 stars.

Without spoilers, I will say that I did not see THAT ending coming! :) Overall, I enjoyed the novel, and anxiously await Jenner’s next one. ~ "How lucky the world was for those survivors willing and able to tell their own story, and how imperative that such stories be shared to the greatest extent possible." And how lucky are we that we have an author willing to research and bring to life with passion and originality another part of history not often exposed or portrayed.