DNF @ 30% - after loving leesa’s previous two novels, I was a little wary when she switched genres, and it turns out I was slightly right? I wasn’t a fan of the style of story, especially as a classic mean girl turned revenge plot. the characters were hard to follow and want to succeed, so after trying to pick it up a few more times; it was time to finally DNF… :(

"Goodbye Earl" is a powerful testament to friendship, resilience, and the unyielding strength of women. Leesa Cross-Smith weaves a compelling narrative that spans two unforgettable summers, fifteen years apart, following the lives of four best friends. In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey navigate the challenges of adolescence and the promise of the future. Fast forward to 2019, and Kasey returns to her hometown, confronting the ghosts of her past and the bonds of sisterhood that endure.

Cross-Smith tackles themes of abuse, revenge, and the healing power of solidarity with finesse and honesty. While the storyline may feel familiar, her sharp-edged prose and authentic character dynamics elevate the narrative. "Goodbye Earl" is a poignant reminder that no one is alone in their struggles and that together, women can overcome even the darkest of days. This book is a celebration of sisterhood and a defiant stand against the toxic forces that seek to oppress.

Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith is a revenge story with a twist. It follows four high school friends, Kasey, Rosemarie, Ada, and Caroline, as their lives intersect in the aftermath of an abusive relationship. The narrative flips between two timelines, revealing the deep bond between the women and the events that forever changed them.

The story explores themes of female friendship, resilience, and overcoming trauma. The characters are well-developed, and their struggles feel genuine. However, the revenge plot takes center stage, and the darker aspects of the story might be too much for some readers.

If you're looking for a character-driven story about female empowerment with a suspenseful twist, then Goodbye Earl might be worth checking out. But be prepared for a plot that deals with sensitive themes and doesn't shy away from violence.

I absolutely love Leesa Cross-Smith and this book did not disappoint! If you love The Chick's song Goodbye Earl and have ever thought you needed more background on that story and the friendship and town and how Earl disappeared, then this book will scratch the itch in your brain you didn't know you needed. In fact, I petition all iconic songs like this to have a book written about them.

Centered on intense female friendship and a town banding together to protect one of their own, this book gave me exactly what I expected from it. It was a revenge novel, start to finish.

3.5

I enjoyed the strong friendship these girls had and the way they had each other's backs despite background and distance.
These relationships felt true, hiding things that were hard to express but pushing each other to get support and love.
I didn't like the other towns members testimonies, or really felt they added to the story.
I felt that with the way they grew they should have done a little more growing romantically vs falling back into high school love stories. Especially for Kasey.

Leesa Cross-Smith is an auto-buy author for me. I love her books. Her characters are imperfect and raw/real and Goodbye Earl delivered, even with high expectations. I loved Kasey's character and I loved the nod to the Dixie Chicks in the title.

I had to put this book down. I’m not sure if it was my attention span that couldn’t grasp this book or if it was something else. Overall , I didn’t finish this but I like the premise of this book

y struggles had nothing to do with the characters or the plot. It was the pacing. The narrative chugged along and nothing exciting occurred until past the 43% point. By that time, I just about lost interest in the story. It didn’t help that the multiple timelines jumped forward, backward and in-between. Toss multiple points of view into the mix and you have a hot mess.

I feel like the Dixie Chick references should have been stronger for a book called Goodbye Earl. It took so long for anything to happen, I almost gave up on it. I’m not necessarily glad I didn’t but I’m not overly ecstatic I chose to push through either.

I have enjoyed books by Leesa Cross-Smith before, but Goodbye Earl has to be my favorite. I love a revenge book. I love the setting of Goldie, and I love the characters of Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey. This is one I'll read again.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙜-𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙣.

This book was all over the place honestly, I don’t think it would be for everyone. The premise sounded so intriguing so I decided to pick it up.

This story has a lot of angst, revenge, and drama. I liked the friendship element between the four women and them taking action in their own hands. I also enjoyed this author’s writing style, I could see myself picking up more from her.

I’m a sucker for small-town settings and I absolutely enjoyed the feeling of the town, Goldie, in this book. I also think the multiple POVs helped so much for this story. I found each woman to be interesting in their own way.

However, the story itself didn’t feel like anything too special. It was also way too long, I found parts of it to drag on. It started and ended off strong, but the middle took me a while to push through.

Overall, this was a decent read. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were some elements in the book I didn’t love as much. I wish it was a bit shorter, but I think the multiple POVs sort of saved it. While I don’t think everyone will love this one, I did enjoy certain parts of it!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I hadn’t heard of the song this book is based on until Taylor’s no body, no crime came out. So I was excited to read this and I love a good revenge story!

They have been friends for as long as they can remember. RACK aka Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline and Casey in senior of High School and present day. The four girls make sure that they stick together, their senior year. They come from very different backgrounds and have different family backgrounds. But their friendship is stronger than that. They are starting new relationships, planning for the future and trying to slow down time, to not miss a moment. Present Day, it’s summer and Kasey hasn’t been back to Goldie, a small southern town, in 15 years. She left after her mother died and couldn’t find her way back. She is successful and lives in NYC. She is there for a wedding and the girls are back together and they don’t want to miss a chance to see each other. To recap the reason Kasey left so quickly in the first place and to start a new. But what she finds is Goldie hasn’t changed much. The same people and rumors. Her friends don’t seem right to her. One in particular might be in danger. The story is told by the 4 characters during 2 summers, 15 years a part. This story was ok. I felt it was not realistic. There were many parts where I was, like really? I couldn’t really get into it and felt it was a bit too long. They refer to The Chicks numerous times but in 2004 they were the Dixie Chicks, they didn’t change their name until 2020. Something just seems off for me. I did finish it and it could be a better read for someone else. Goodbye Earl, a Revenge Novel, by Leesa Cross-Smith was just too busy for me. But I want to thank Netgalley and the author for my copy for an honest review. It is always a pleasure to read and review all kinds of books..

I generally love a revenge story and this should have been right up my alley. But I just wasn’t into it. Wrong book, wrong time??

I didnt like this book to be honest. I knew it was a revenge book but it was boring and I couldnt get into it. I wish there was more to say but unfortunately I just didnt like it at all.

This was a DNF for me. I generally love anything about women getting revenge on terrible men, but the pace was too slow. Hopefully this works better for other readers.

Loved the characters and the relationships between everyone but the book was way too long. And honestly, I've read her other books and this one felt like cheap to me in a way. Just not as deep and thoughtful as her others, which is ironic because it deals with a very sensitive topic

Fast-paced and delightfully entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Goodbye Earl was such a fun ride: plenty of nostalgia, mystery, and of course, revenge. Really looking forward to diving into Leesa Cross-Smith's backlist titles!


Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

TW: rape, abuse, drug use

I don’t have words! I have been in a book funk for over a month now and this story pulled me straight out. This story does jump perspectives and times. I personally loved the Chicks reference and the cover art. This is a great read for those who love the Chicks song, or have read Where the Crawdads Sing or Fried Green Tomatoes.