I DNF’d around 33%/Chapter 15. Although the history and setting were fascinating, the plot and characters simply didn’t hold my attention. I was most interested in Vivian’s quest to discover what happened to her fiancé during WWII, but once she gets to Rome, the storyline has largely focused on her blossoming romance with Lassiter. Historical fiction fans who like a stronger romance plot and are interested in film/film history. It was certainly interesting to see all of the politics at work in the film-making process in Italy at this time and the censorship, especially considering many American companies, writers, etc. we’re involved, and Italy was a “safe haven” for those targeted in McCarthy era USA.

Having read another book by this author I was looking forward to reading this one. The setting and the plot is about the Italian film industry and it’s stars. It did not hold my attention and interest like the other book. I struggled through it and from time to time really liked it but never really became a fan. I found the setting charming and culture well developed but the scenes dragged on way to much for me. I lost interest way too soon.

I wish to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series by Natalie Jenner. Although we reconnect with characters from the first two books, this one can easily be read as a stand-alone. Set in the 1950s, post World War II, Italian film industry, the story explores the environment and culture of the time. Our main character Vivian has come to Italy to help as a script doctor. Her story alternates with that of La Scolaretta, a passion project the director wants to make into a movie. I enjoy reading historical fiction that brings to light a setting or event that is not well known. Natalie Jenner has brought the world of the Italian film industry to life in that way.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie Jenner takes the reader right into the life of Viven and mid 1900s life as a Starlet that, while beautiful, is not exempt from the heartbreak and sorrow found in 1950s Europe. You'll find yourself in a life much like a cinema film, amazing on the surface with so many tragedies, sorrows, tales just below. A beautiful twist on historical fiction.

#arc #netgalley #MacMillanAudio

Another book of history that we learn so much from. The time in 1955 and 1943, a time of World War II. Vivien Lowery is a writer of plays. But she travels to Italy for a job in script doctoring. She also has another reason to travel to this country. She wants to learn of the last days of her fiancé. He fought in WWII and never returned home.

While in Italy she meets many people at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome. And the challenges it takes make movies in this country. So many rules that are controlled by the Catholic Church. As you read, there are many actress and actors names you will recognize that traveled to Italy for acting and to live there.

Parts of history in this country that I never knew about makes this a great read. Why does this happen and why. Natalie Jenner, thank you for bringing this part of history alive for us all. The research you did is remarkable.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this historical novel before publishing this Spring.

I read both The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner so I was thrilled to get an early copy of Every Time We Say Goodbye. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. I loved everything about the first two books, the characters, the English setting, the time period. This one takes place in Italy. I never warmed up to the characters even Vivian and a few others who appeared in the other books. They and their storylines just did not capture my imagination. I did find it interesting that there was a strong American influence in Italy’s film industry as many left America during the McCarthy era. The influence and control the Catholic Church had over the industry was fascinating too. I remember as a child that they had the Legion of Decency which controlled what movies, books etc you could watch, read. Overall this was an ok read for me.

Vivien leaves friends and her bookshop in London, fleeing negative critical reviews of her second play. She accepts a script writing job with the Italian cinema, working with Americans escaping the Red Scare and Italians who have survived the horrors of Nazi occupation. Just before leaving England she had learned her fiancé had not died in battle; rather, he had survived as a POW in Italy. While searching for answers, she is assisted by her new friends who, like her, have secrets from the past. She is deceived by some and witnesses others seeking new identities. She experiences first hand the power of the Church in preventing certain movies from being produced. She mingles with real and recognizable figures of the period. Vivien discovers that the true power of storytelling is to teach something new to the reader and to the teller as well. I would say Natalie Jenner shares this belief in all her works. Once again I have learned much and look forward to her next novel.

I"m a big fan of Natalie Jenner, but this Italian film setting just didn't quite grab me. I found the plot slower than her other books, and I didn't fall in love the her characters like I usually do.

War changes so much in people, not just those who are directly involved. In either case, there are losses. Many of these take years and some are never reconciled. Vivian, a young English woman, is trying to make peace with the past and the loss of her beloved fiancee and follows his trail to Italy where he was captured, reported missing, and ultimately dead. She is also dealing her unsuccessful career in play writing. In Italy she attempts to remake her life by getting involved in film making and rewriting scripts. Her path crosses some famous people and she seems to be enjoying her gay life style, but she is not able to get over the anger of her losses.
There is a second story running through this plot of a young Italian girl who works with the resistance as an assassin against the Nazis. As the two stories merge through their shared characters, things really begin to get interesting.
Making peace with the past sometimes means letting go of losses and guilt and understanding where ones strength and hope lies. The author does a wonderful job of building this story in each of the characters who seem to come alive on the pages.
This is a lovely and well written story of hope and life in the aftermath of loss. I think it would be a good read for nearly anyone who appreciates historical fiction.
Although I have not read the author's previous books with some of these characters, I do plan to remedy that soon. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I’ve enjoyed Natalie Jenner’s previous books so was very excited to receive this one. Perhaps due to the time-hops, perhaps due to the drier topic, perhaps due to the era when it was set, Every Time We Say Goodbye was not my favorite. Best for enthusiasts of theatre and political aspects surrounding WWII.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first Natalie Jenner book. I have since read the Jane Austen Society. I think the writing is good at combining fiction with historical events. This was a unique book for me because it was set around the Italian resistance in WWII. It is not the perspective i typically read from when it comes to WWII books.

It was a little slow and it did take me time to get into it, but once I did I really began to enjoy it. I also thing the slower pace allowed me to spend more time getting to know the main character.

Overall a solid read.

I did find this one hard to get in to in the beginning but once I had an understanding of what was going on, the story got really exciting. I really enjoyed the characters and I thought it was well written. There were some instances where I didn’t love the dialogue and though it could have been more succinct but overall I did like it and will recommend to my friends who like historical fiction novels.

withholding review as the book was published by SMP for who a boycott is still ongoing of. thanks for it, but i cant. i hope it gets resolved rapidly/

I adored the first two books in the author’s Bloomsbury series, this third one was quite good but very different. One of the bookshops owners Vivian goes to Rome in 1955 to work at a film studio. She meets all sorts of interesting people while also trying to find out information about her fiancé, David, presumed dead after the war. There are a lot of lost souls in post war Italy, as people try to rebuild their lives and find ways to go on with their lives.

Natalie Jenner is brilliant at weaving fact and fiction to create the very best of historical fiction, this time centered around the Italian resistance in WWII and a screenplay writer in 1955. Will be highly recommending this one to friends and book groups alike.

Natalie Jenner is back with another beautiful historical fiction novel in the Jane Austen Society universe. This time we are taken into the movie industry in Italy 1950’s with play write turned screenwriter, Vivien. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a wonderful story of love, loss, trauma, and moving on. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan press for the chance to preview and review this wonderful book.

Love this author! This one about a female play wrote in the 1950s travels to Rome’s famed Cinecitra studios to work on a film - lots of conflicts moral and otherwise in post war Italy and a woman finding her voice

Natalie Jenner sets her latest historical novel in post-war Italy. American film makers and actors have decamped to Italy to avoid the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating Hollywood. Vivien Lowry is British bookstore owner and writer joins a production company following poor reviews of her latest London play. Vivien also hopes to track down information on her fiancé, presumed killed during the invasion of Italy.

A large cast of characters populates the novel, including some familiar names from Jenner’s previous books, “The Jane Austen Society” and “The Bloomsbury Girls.” In some ways, there may be too many characters. Even with the list in the front of the book, I had a hard time keeping everyone straight and feeling invested in them.

Vivien and her colleagues are making a film about a young schoolgirl assassin in the resistance during WWII. Unfortunately, the crew soon learns that they’ve exchanged the HUAC for the Catholic church, Italy’s version of censorship. Those who enjoy seeing “behind the scenes” in the movie industry will love this book. As for me, I was more interested in the WWII aspect and the Vatican’s influence.

“Scorn would always need a target and, when that disappeared, would inevitably feed on itself. Nothing could be created from the emptiness of scorn—to create, there had to be hope. Hope that something could be built from the ashes that would last. Hope that we, as humans, could be better—could do better.”

Vivian Lowrey, beloved protagonist from the Bloomsbury Girls novel returns in this third installment of The Jane Austen Society books. It’s 1955, and Vivian moves to Italy to escape abysmal reviews of her theatre acting performance, and takes a job as a script editor. Here Ms. Jenner brings Rome’s famous Cinecitta Studios to life! Post-war movie making, including aspiring stars and noted directors, tangles with a dominant and powerful Catholic Church where censorship and hypocritical corruption run rampant.

As Vivian searches for answers about her presumed-dead fiancé she also dives deep into the tragedies of WWII Italy. The synopsis of this novel only briefly touches upon this part of the story, which ultimately takes up the majority of the plot. Filling in the backstory informs the 1955 timeline, but I found the string of somber sub plots incredibly dark, and I missed the more hopeful cadence of the previous books in the series.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A heartbreaking and moving, dual timeline WWII historical fiction book set in Rome, Italy that sees Vivian from The Bloomsbury girls travelling to work on the script of a new movie while also still grieving the loss of her dead fiancee and the child she gave up for adoption.

I loved learning more about this part of WWII history! The author does a great job writing relatable characters you can't help falling in love with and empathizing for, especially the strong women of Italy forced to endure unspeakable things under Nazi occupation.

Full of heart, loss, great nods to the other characters in her Jane Austen Society series and an interesting look at life in 1950s Rome too. This was great on audio narrated by Juliet Aubrey. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was another hit from a fav Canadian historical fiction author!! Highly recommended for book club groups and fans of Jennifer Robson's Our darkest night.