I absolutely adored Leesa Cross-Smith’s book “This Close to Ok,” so when @netgalley approved me for her newest book “Goodbye Earl,” I was stoked! And I’m happy to say this did not disappoint.

If you’ve ever heard that infamous song “Goodbye Earl,” by @thechicks you already know where this story is headed. Kasey returns to her mall, southern hometown of Goldie for the first time since she graduated high school fifteen years ago. While she loves and misses her beloved friend group aka “RACK” short for the first letter of each of their names, an unspeakable tragedy from her past has kept her from wanting to revisit old wounds.

As it turns out, you can only run from your past for so long. An unfortunate turn of events involving one of her best friends from “RACK” forces her to confront her demons and take matters into her own hands.

I love how Leesa Cross-Smith unfolds the depth of the relationships in this friend group and just how far we will go for the people we love. She also perfectly describes the intricacies of navigating small town politics and how this plays a role in how justice is served…or not.

This book had me from page one. It was deeply satisfying from chapter one, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Make sure you grab “Goodbye Earl” when it hits shelves on July 3, 2023. And a big thank you to @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for granting me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

Thoughts

I knew I had to read this book when I saw the title and that it was a revenge novel. I think a lot of us girls/women in the south loved that song because domestic violence is really bad here.

So to see an entire book made from it was amazing. But this isn't a light-hearted book. It is heavy. Really heavy. Please check all the warning before reading it.

I really enjoyed it. It was hard to put down. I love a good book about found family and a village of women looking out for each other. Cross-Smith adds Christianity to her books which is usually a deterrent for me. But it isn't overwhelming and the characters are respectful to other beliefs.

There were a few things I didn't like but overall I thought it was a fantastic book and will be buying a copy for my shelves.

This book ended with more emotion than I was really prepared for. I knew it was coming, it was obvious from early on this was going to be an emotional roller coaster, but I’m never prepared for that.

With a title like Goodbye Earl, I’d say most people know exactly what happens in this story so it isn’t the main points that make this a great read, it’s the journey told that brings it to life. In the spirit of The Chicks song of the same title, we have a group of friends that were inseparable throughout high school and then life happens and they’re separated for awhile. When they reunite in Goldie for a wedding, it’s clear something is going on in each of their lives that they haven’t shared with each other yet - but not to fear, their stories unfold through a series of flashbacks along with the present day.

Like I said this is incredibly emotional especially toward the end. I still really enjoyed it and it’s definitely worth the read. My only complaint is the overly emotional stuff and since that’s something it seems everyone else enjoys, I call this an absolute winner!

Easy 4.5⭐️

Thank you so much for a copy!

Unfortunately, from the title and cover I was expecting a fun, but dark read and it wasn't really that.

It also felt like a million other books I've read before. Nothing really blowing my mind.

LOVED this book so much. Ever since this one came out with the title of The Chick's song, I knew I needed to read it. And it did not disappoint. Even though I knew what was going to happen in the book based on the song, it didn't ruin the book at all. If anything, it only made me want to read it quicker because I couldn't wait for the revenge plot to hit. The characters and friendships in this one were so great, I only wish it came out sooner so I could discuss it with everyone ASAP! This book is everything I needed and wanted since hearing that song years ago and it was a hit!

When Kasey returns to her hometown of Goldie for a wedding, she’s thrust back into the small town life she ran away from and back in the fold of her best friends: Caro, Rosemarie, and Ada. Kasey is confronting the traumatic death of her mother on graduation day from domestic violence while reuniting and catching up with friends. But when Caro ends up in the hospital from “falling down the stairs”, they realize her asshole husband Trey isn’t just an asshole- he’s also an abuser. The girls are determined to right the wrongs that they could do nothing about when Kasey’s mom was killed and take matters into their own hands.
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💭Thoughts💭
Absolutely loved the small town vibes and premise of this book! The spirit of sisterhood was strong and all of the characters were so likeable. It reminded me of my favorite small town TV shows (Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights, etc) and had a hell of a plot. The only complaint I have is that it was SO long. Definitely could have cut at least 100 pages; there were a lot of backstories and unimportant details added.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
The author did such a good job writing from the perspective of the girls on prom and graduation night. That slightly cringy teenage talk and the thoughts going through their heads was so nostalgic!
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
Ada cooks up a very important meal of mushroom lasagna and pecan pie. Pie in itself is a huge plot line of the whole book! Gave me Waitress vibes, so stream the Natalie Portman movie and listen to some quality girl power country songs! Obviously Goodbye Earl by the Chicks and If You Go Down by Kelsea Ballerini!

Last year when I read half blown rose I’ve been waiting for this author to release another book!! I love her writing style and I feel like she has openings that just suck you in.

This is about four friends and how impactful friendship can be. I did love the past and present chapters and how they intertwined. I thought the ending was bitter sweet with a few of the girls.

I really tried to like this book, as a girl who grew up listening to The Chicks the title of this book immediately drew me in.

I’m not sure if it was the writing style or all the different characters but I was so confused the whole time. I gave this book to 40% and I still wasn’t sure what was going on so this one is going to be a DNF for me.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of Goodbye Earl from NetGalley for an honest review.

This one was enjoyable! I will say that I found myself a little less interested in the story when the girls were teenagers than the present day setting, but this was an easy read with very thought-out and developed characters. We love a revenge novel!!

This was a fun and entertaining read which I was able to get through very quickly. If you loved the song, you’ll love the book. I loved the small town vibe and the close-knit friendships in these pages.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book for me was a cross between a Nora Roberts small town romance novel (with less steam) and Fried Green Tomatoes.

I enjoyed the story overall and the characters that made up RACK.

At times the pacing was bit too slow and the multitude of characters were hard to differentiate in conversation.

Overall an emotional good read about a small town of women who will stand behind each other no matter the cost.

This was not the book for me, but I could see where other people would enjoy it. I usually go for more mystery, but this was more about friendship, which is not my jam.

Highly enjoyable. I found this one to be a bit different than what I'm used to from this author but I still liked it for what it was. She is definitely an auto-read author.

This book. You guys!! This! Book! It’s everything I hoped it was going to be and then SO! MUCH! MORE!

The title alone made me want to read it, the description captured me and when I say it does not disappoint; read this book!

Told from 2 timelines the Present Day and 15 years in the past with multiple POVs it’s such a coherent and strong story that I couldn’t get enough. It is an extremely character driven plot which just allows for that much more buy-in emotionally. It had me crying—I was so invested by the end.

The sisterhood these 4 girls (and eventually women) have is beautiful. The love they have for each other, the commitment they have to each other; unmatched—SATC wish they could!

Everything I thought was going to happen was twisted and turned out completely different than I thought it would. I was guessing wrong a good chunk of the time and I loved that! I can’t recommend this book enough.

I was given an advanced digital copy from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley—which did not affect my opinion.

Thank you for the ARC copy of Good Bye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith. She is a favorite author of mine and I love the way you get to know the characters so deeply in all her books. Goodbye Earl was the same way, The female friendships of RACK is wonderful in that all the women are different yet lean on each other completely. I loved the nostalgia of the late 90's music and brought me right back to riding around in my car belting out the Dixie Chicks..now just the Chicks! The dual timeline was fantastic and kept the story moving. I needed to know what happened to each character and was rooting for them all the same.

There are a few trigger warnings for domestic abuse, child abuse and murder.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central for the eARC of Goodbye Earl in exchange for my honest review!

I looooove The Chicks so I was thrilled when I saw this book surface named after their best song (a song that makes me cry every time I listen to it because I love female friendships so dearly). The first 1/3 of the book really won me over but unfortunately about halfway through it started to slow down majorly. The cliches ended up bogging down the story.

The friendships weren’t as solid as I had hoped either. Which is the main thing I adore about the song, “Goodbye Earl.” They all end up lying to one another or the people in their lives. It just made me feel kind of sad.

Just an okay read for me!

Not for me. While reading this I couldn't help thinking "so what?" Weirdly-toned book that never made me care about anything that was happening. I got to a point where I was reading just to finish it. Cliched, meta, dropping song references left, right and centre... maybe the kind of people who enjoy reading fanfic will like this.

Four women who grew up together and considered themselves sisters are brought back together to attend a wedding in their southern hometown of Goldie. Here they discover many secrets about each other, both in their present lives as well as their pasts.This is a story of a friendship that surpasses all of their other relationships. Kasey left Goldie abruptly the night of high school graduation with no explanation to her sisters; Rosemary reconnects them all but when they are at the wedding, she continues to hide a big secret; Caroline is in an unhappy marriage but no one really knew how unhappy it is; and Ada seems to have the picture-perfect life but she's really hiding from confrontations she needs to have. One of these secrets brings them together for action while revealing other secrets that bring them even closer. 
The story references the song "Goodbye, Earl" by The Chicks and pretty much follows that theme. It's a book that you want to keep reading because you feel a part of that sisterhood and you also feel for what they end up accomplishing in the end. 
Thank you Grand Central for the ARC-- I was very excited to get to read another book by Leesa Cross-Smith.

Goodbye Earl - Leesa Cross-Smith

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

This story was just "okay" for me. I guess when I saw this book's cover, I had a certain type of story in mind.

I expected this novel to be about a couple of friends who held those who had REALLY wronged them (obvious rotten folks) to task, with the revenge-seekers as sort of "heroes"

Perhaps "Southern belles of revenge" or something... Instead by the time ANY action is taken it just feels "too little too late" and sad, as the truly wicked in this novel have by that point already ruined so many lives (and in some cases, gotten away with brutal murders).

When "revenge" in ANY form is FINALLY meted out, it is with a "whimper" rather than the "rebel yell" I was expecting.

Additionally, one of the secrets (involving the mother of the main character) kept by the woman's daughter, I just found it HIGHLY unbelievable that law enforcement would not have been informed (read the story first, I don't want to give anything away).. Ultimately the secret is revealed but it is far too late for it to make a difference.

Lastly, I enjoy stories about lifelong friendships, however that comprises the majority of this book, and it just moves a bit slow. Almost all the characters lie to either their sig others or their "close" friends, and it is a bit hard to become invested in it all.

Until next time.

Great group of characters and Goldie was a perfect setting for this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars! Gripped my attention and I was invested in the outcome. Well done!