Natalie Jenner is such a force in the historical fiction genre. I’m always in awe of how impressively researched her stories are while keeping them gorgeously entertaining. And they always transport me to a time and place that envelop me as if I’m alive in the story, experiencing it firsthand. They are so vivid and cast the most interesting and fascinating of characters - some real, some fictional - all brilliantly depicted.⁣
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Every Time We Say Goodbye takes us readers to 1950s Italy - where Vivien is a script doctor working in the world of Italian cinema and finds herself seeking answers to find out how her fiancé was killed in the war. It includes dazzling movie stars, handsome men, post war resistance, gorgeous Italian settings, and the struggles of moviemaking under the strong arm of the Catholic Church and its’ restrictions.⁣
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A stunning and sweeping tale that expertly balances tragedy, hope, and new beginnings in the world of The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls - but can most definitely be read as an incredible standalone novel.

3.5 Stars

EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE is a story about a woman who has let her past stint her present and must find the will to let go of her past in order to truly live. With poignant themes and a snapshot of a turbulent time in history, it's an overall compelling story and ideal for readers who enjoy languidly immersing themselves in the movie industry in Italy after World War II.

I fell in love with the heroine, Vivian, in the previous book from this author, Bloomsbury Girls, although readers don't need to have read that story to enjoy this one. I was looking forward to seeing what would happen next for her. I liked that her story finally unfolds as so much was a mystery in the other book. Here readers finally get to know her past and why she has made the choices she has and, to an extent, why she is who she is. I liked her overall character arc here as there were some poignant, and pointed, questions that prompted Vivian to turn to self-reflection and possibly face her past enough to really live her present and hope for a future. I also loved a few of the parts that skipped to the past, Levi saving a baby in particular. Then there was a secondary storyline during World War II set in Italy that focused on a girl who worked for the resistance. That was interesting as it unfolded and gave a very honest view of the time period. It also was intertwined eventually with Vivian's story. The last twenty percent of the book was a five-star read for me.

There were several poignant themes throughout this book. Adoption, giving up children, loss, grief, religious turbulence, power, governments, war, censorship... it would go on and on. A lot of these are themes that are very pertinent today. This story gives glimpses into a history that we can look at to help us understand and hopefully learn from. There were also many types of relationships and sides of humanity as they fight to survive and even thrive in a world trying to piece itself back together after WWII, and women trying to fight for their own independence and place.

Here is one part that especially resonated with me:

"Lisetta sits alone in the kitchen, thinking as she so often does about goodness, and how complex the fight for good can be. 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. At this stage in the war, Lisetta has absolutely no doubt of either goodness or the truth, and what is necessary for its preservation, no matter what anyone else might call it."

However, I honestly struggled quite a bit with this story. I'd say the first half to three-fourths was maybe three stars for me and I didn't even want to keep reading. I had a hard time connecting with the characters, but more so, connecting emotionally. The story felt very nostalgic and languid, with a pace that somewhat meanders. I didn't feel like the emotions grew in intensity or the story was driven. It's also a bit wordy and immersed in movie culture, so lots of references to what characters were wearing or how they're acting or what was going on generally with the movie studios, their staff, actresses and actors regardless if all that information was pertinent to the story. Lots of information dumping, and name and brand dropping, such as "Guggenheim threw her black Chanel clutch purse onto the writers' table." All of that made this story somewhat disengaging and drag, so it felt a lot longer than it's 300 plus pages. There also was a love interest and I felt like the relationship was very disconnected. As a reader, I wasn't invited in to experience that relationship with her. I felt like that was one example of this whole story feeling very emotionally disconnected, so it didn't fully draw me in, which also made it a story that didn't always keep my interest.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This story had such potential. I didn't connect with it emotionally as I would have liked and as I expected I would have. However, it still is worth the read with the poignant themes, good character arc, and last fith of the book. As I enjoyed this author's previous books, I plan to pick up her next release.

Content: Innuendo, suggestive content, some violence, blunt discussions and references of mature content.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Austenprose, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book in a series, but it could be easily read as a stand alone. It is set in Rome around the film industry in 1955, with some flashbacks to the actions of a young woman resistance fighter during WWII. It deals with the complicated results of the war and the power of the church as well as the misogyny of the times. While the story was slow in some parts, I really enjoyed it and found it took a somewhat deeper and more nuanced look at the war's effects on the area than I usually see in historical fiction.. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for making the digital advance reading copy available to me. 4.25/5 stars!

Every Time We Say Goodbye is a historical novel set in 1955, with flashbacks to the years of World War II. Vivien Lowry has written a play that received bad reviews and quickly closed in London. She has the opportunity to become a script doctor in Italy, and takes the opportunity. During her time in Italy, she looks for answers about her fiancé, David, who was lost during World War II with little information about what happened. She becomes involved with a mysterious American, John Lassiter, who works in the movie industry. She makes Italian friends and becomes acquainted with actresses including Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, and Ava Gardner. But most of all she seeks answers about the past, closure from her grief, and a new sense of direction.

I wanted to read this novel because I loved The Bloomsbury Girls. This is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series.

This is a fascinating read, with details about the Italian movie industry in 1955 (booming but also heavily censored by the Catholic church) and life for expatriates in Rome. It also has flashbacks to World War II, including a female resistance fighter. Some of those flashbacks are difficult to read because they detail great suffering. However, they also speak of great courage.

The writing is lyrical with vivid descriptions like:

"Here couples danced on floating barges with straw roofs, the men wearing short-sleeved white or checked shirts, the women in embroidered peasant blouses and ballerina skirts. The river during the war had been an escape route for those fleeing Rome or trying to smuggle messages back in. Now twinkling coloured lights were strung along the cables that moored the barges, long gangplanks creaked under the weight of the crowd, and live music filled the air. Italians in the fifties loved to dance to a mix of American jazz, Latin rhythms, and traditional instruments such as organetti, brassy clarinets, and softly melodic guitars" (eBook location 2810).

I recommend this novel - and the Jane Austen Society series - to fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone who is interested in 1950's movie-making or World War II history.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've picked up and put down this book several times. The blurb is what enticed me to ask for the ARC, it sounded more like a movie making story. I couldn't stay interested in all the characters coming and going. I really tried.

#EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye #NatalieJenner #Netgalley #StMartin'sPress

This novel by the author of The Jane Austen Society takes place after WW2; so many are wondering what happened to their loved ones. It also takes place in the film industry - the main character is making a film that the is opposed by the Church.

I love when a story has a setting that's its own character in a novel and Every Time We Say Goodbye didn't disappoint! Post WWII era fiction is quickly becoming a favorite of mine because I'm learning so much.

I’ve been reading Natalie Jenner’s work since her debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, was released in 2020. She writes really thoughtful and quite interesting historical fiction stories with characters who feel so familiar even though they lived so long ago. Every Time We Say Goodbye is her latest and readers will recognize some of the characters in this tale and will feel as though it’s like revisiting an old friend.

Here’s the book’s description:
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.
There was something niggling at me while reading this one, making me wonder why I wasn’t loving it as I expected to. As talented as I think Jenner is, I didn’t feel like she quite brought all the stories together in a cohesive way. There was a lot going on - in two timelines - with a lot of characters. Probably too many characters. I appreciated that Jenner wanted to include some of the real folks who would have been in Italy at that time (Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner to name two), but I felt they didn’t really add anything to the story. Another blogger put it well when we were talking about why this one didn’t hit as we expected. We both love Natasha Lester’s novels and she is a master at sharing information about a specific topic (usually fashion in Lester’s case and the film industry in Jenner’s) and weaving a historical story around it. The weave in Jenner’s story was loose and I think that’s why we were struggling a bit.

All that said, I didn’t find this to be a bad book. I was still interested in the story and wanted to find out how it all ended. I was invested in Vivien’s life and wondered how the tale of la scolaretta would unfold. How did a young, female resistance fighter tie into Vivien’s story? (You’ll have to read it to find out, obviously!)



I remember learning about the Hollywood blacklist and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) way back in university. It’s a fascinating and heartbreaking part of history. So many folks in the film industry were pressured to give up information on their colleagues during the witch hunts simply because Hollywood was trying to prove they were patriotic and not supporting communism. Jenner’s novel didn’t feature the hearings or what was happening in Hollywood. Instead, it showcased how many American filmmakers fled to Europe (the reverse of what happened during the war) to avoid persecution. I don’t think I’ve come across many novels that feature this so heavily and I’d be interested in reading more fiction stories about it.

Even with the inclusion of the WWII storyline, Jenner’s novel is a quieter historical fiction tale. She’s explored topics and a point in time that some may not have read about (I certainly haven’t seen it often in novels) and gives us a glimpse of what life could have been like in 1950s Rome. The war is behind them, but the effects of it were still being felt strongly and on an almost daily basis. It’s not going to be for everyone but if you’re genuinely interested in history and getting a feel of what the time period could have been like? Jenner’s novels are for you.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner wasn’t a winner for me but I’m still glad I read it. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the film industry of 1950s Rome and revisiting characters I had met in her previous novels.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, St. Martin's Press, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I do love a good historical romance however there was too much going on here to be able to focus on one plot line. It was hard to get into and keep my attention.

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

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.

I do love these books by Natalie Jenner! This was a unique setting—film industry in the ‘50s, in Italy—and I enjoyed reading something set someplace new to me. There are several different threads in this novel, and the author did a great job of balancing them all out and tying them together. It felt a bit slow at first, but soon enough, I was completely engrossed.

Natalie Jenner is a bestselling author. Every Time We Say Goodbye is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

I’ve read a lot of WWI historical fiction and loved that this novel is set in the post-war period, where the wounds are still so fresh but the world is trying to move on.

Set in Italy, author Natalie Jenner does a fantastic job immersing you in Rome with Vivian. I lived for her walks around the city and their travels around the country, it gave me the itch to book a trip and enjoy an Italian summer!
While I read her debut novel from this series, I haven’t gotten around to reading Bloomsbury Girls yet, so these can certainly be read as standalone novels. It was nice to see the thread woven throughout the Jane Austen Society!

There are SO many characters and quite a few different subplots in play throughout this one, so it did give me a little challenge at first, just keeping everyone and everything straight. I wanted a bit more of the past as well and maybe more movie-making around her story, but I found this to be an enjoyable read! The ending and epilogue were perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a solid story with a setting I loved. I enjoyed reading about overcoming obstacles and heartbreak while honoring oneself and hard work.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I really struggled to get through it. There were a few aspects of this book that were interesting, such as the Vatican’s decisions about WWII and the film industry’s post war presence in Italy but overall I kept waiting for something to pull me in but just didn’t find it to be at all engaging. This ARC was provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: May 14, 2024

I received complimentary eARC and ALC copies from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Atmospheric • Glitzy • Slow

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I've read and enjoyed The Jane Austen Society, but have yet to read Bloomsbury Girls. Even though I hadn't read book two, I was still interested in reading Every Time We Say Goodbye, the final book in Canadian author Natalie Jenner's Jane Austen Society trilogy, near publication.

Natalie Jenner delivers a well researched, dual timeline historical fiction novel set in post-war Italy with the Italian film industry as a backdrop. She does a fantastic job creating a vibrant atmosphere, setting the scene and showcasing the dichotomy of the time period - a country in transition. I felt like I learnt a lot and it was interesting getting to know how much of a role the Catholic Church had in the industry.

While I thought the story was interesting, some of the plot lines were unnecessary making the book feel longer than it actually was. Because there is so many characters along the way it was a little harder to keep track of everyone, which is similar in book one. Jenner fully flushes out Vivien's character and she came feel like a friend.

I was left with mixed feeling on the narration by Juliet Aubrey. I thought she did a good job bringing Vivien to life, but her voicing of the other characters were sometimes overdone or unrealistic. With such a large cast of characters it is one that is hard to do solely on audio without getting confused.

Steeped in trauma and tragedy, Every Time We Say Goodbye is ultimately about self-discovery and hopeful. It can easily be read as a standalone, although starting at the beginning is strongly recommended as there is some overlap with characters.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• companion novels
• the film world
• Our Darkest Night

⚠️ CW: antisemitism, xenophobia, war, torture, murder, grief, death of partner, death of parent, child death, rape, kidnapping

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"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.”

In 1955, Vivian Lowry wrote a play that audiences loved but the London critics hated. With this hit to her career, 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. A second storyline told in flashbacks is the story of “La Scolaretta”, a schoolgirl who is also an assassin during WWII.

This was a beautifully written, atmospheric story of self-discovery, with wonderful historical details and complex characters. The author vividly portrays the two timelines with great skill, making this story such a page-turner. Reading it felt very much like seeing things happen in a film.

I loved the setting in Rome, and the details of movie making in Italy during the time period following WWII. The way the Vatican influenced censorship of the films was interesting and something I didn’t know occurred. The cameos by real life characters, such as Daphne DuMaurier, Sophia Loren, and Ava Gardner were really fun.

The story deals with some heavy topics like love, loss, guilt, and grief, but I felt that it was ultimately very hopeful.

I really enjoyed reading this thought-provoking, engaging, and insightful story, and appreciate NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Austenprose for a copy. . All opinions expressed are completely my own.

With The Jane Austen Society and its sequel Bloomsbury Girls, author Natalie Jenner introduced her readers to intriguing characters, interweaving many literary touchstones. Fans of Jane Austen in particular would highly enjoy the initial novel, given the setting and issues at stake. Bloomsbury Girls was a novel of yearning and hope, with a slightly different approach yet retaining excellence and readability. Jenner now brings us the third volume in the series, Every Time We Say Goodbye, predominantly set in mid-1950s Italy. Although some of the previously-introduced characters are included in the novel, this title could almost stand on its own. The timbre is quite different, with less of a literary tone and more of a mixture of historical, religious, and cinematic notes.

Jenner directs her readers’ attentions to events during and following World War II, in particular within Italy. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church is regularly front and center, more often than not for nefarious reasons. Main character Vivien Lowry frequently wrestles with the hypocrisies sometimes seen in Church leadership, all the while seeing the purity of Christian service from many within the same Body. Vivien also struggles with her own issues, and is on a quest to uncover the fate of a long-lost love. Jenner employs wartime flashbacks to undergird the background of the setting, showing the efforts made by many in the area to further the cause of goodness and truth in the light of fascism and other evils. Both the narratives of Vivien’s life and those in wartime days are inextricably linked, with revelations coming through the final paragraphs of the novel. While I would not term this a “dual timeline” tale, the two periods which were visited made for very interesting reading.

The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls were not necessarily trifling yarns of “spun sugar”, but Every Time We Say Goodbye has a gravitas which gives it a very different fabrication. An air of melancholy consistently hovers over the narrative. This is not to say that it is dispiriting. It simply has a more serious tone, with elements that are both harrowing and poignant. Certain horrors of war and misdeeds within the Church are not minimized. However, they are not gratuitous in the amount of details offered. Adults will understand the import of Jenner’s words, their great significance to the characters, and their contribution to world history.

As she mentions in the acknowledgements following the novel, Natalie Jenner took on this project in order to share the story of many who struggled during World War II and beyond. While the book is entirely a work of fiction, it nonetheless reveals lessons which should not be forgotten. Jenner’s skill in expressing imagined yet authentic moments was exemplary, and she also pondered substantive questions which many of us struggle with on a regular basis. The dignity of human worth in wartime was often examined. A quote-worthy moment came about in chapter eighteen. An infant had been rescued after his caretakers had been discovered dead, killed by enemies in the War:

“Yet here was a baby, as young as could be, who would never experience such a reunion. He might never know a single thing about where he came from– who had wanted him– who had loved him. He might always lack the one piece of knowledge that every human deserves and that keeps us tethered to the earth: the source of our own humanity, and the comfort of knowing that we are here because someone else wanted us to be.”

The episode with this young child was so moving, and without divulging key plot points, I can offer that a subsequent episode provides quite an emotional, profound payoff to that portion of the story. Not all elements end so sweetly, however. There is much loss, but there also remains much beauty as well. Although Every Time We Say Goodbye is quite a different work of fiction for the series, it is one of historical importance, and surely a treasure for many who lived during that time and for the families who have survived them.

Despite the horrors of war, the inconsistencies found in some within the Church and other trials, the narrative of Every Time We Say Goodbye brings a message of hope and remembrance. Not for the faint of heart, it preserves an era of history within the worlds of politics, religion, and the film industry. Natalie Jenner has given us a gift, one that will hopefully inform many in the years to come.

“Who knew making movies could be such a blood sport?”

I first met Vivien Lowry in Bloomsbury Girls and found her to be equal parts tragic and vibrant as a character, so I was very intrigued by what kind of journey Natalie Jenner would take her on in Every Time We Say Goodbye. (Note: it’s not necessary to have read the other books in this series to follow this third book. It works just fine as a standalone, though some of its references to the other books may have you bumping them up to the top of your TBR list!

There are several plot threads that weave through the pages of Every Time We Say Goodbye, spanning a variety of personalities across two timelines a little more than ten years apart, and presenting readers with a profound study in contrasts. On the one hand you have the glitz and glory of the Italian film industry, ushered into its heyday as American directors, actors, writers, etc fled the fear-mongering of the McCarthy era for the freedom found in Italy. Freedom from the anti-Communist witch hunts, though, came with strings attached – strings held by the Vatican who kept tight control over what could & couldn’t be portrayed in movies (more than one very weighty & timeless contrast there). And then there are the WW2 Italian resistance fighters, the refugees of war, the soldiers haunted by images they can’t forget, and the families left without answers. A world away from the film industry in many respects and inseparable from it in others. I loved these contrasts – and others – that Jenner captures so vividly, and I often caught myself thinking about the poetry of them as I read this moving story.

I enjoyed seeing famed film stars of the day like a young Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, and Gina Lollobrigida as ‘regular’ people (while still being set apart… another contrast) and getting an inside look at the workings of a movie studio in the 1950s in post-war Italy. But really this is just the canvas on which Jenner paints a poignant picture of grief, love, faith, and friendship -the means that connects the main players whose paths otherwise would not have crossed. The real story in Every Time We Say Goodbye is of brave women who dare to do courageous things. Whether they gave up their life, their love, their child, their career, their dreams, or even their regrets, I was fascinated by these vibrant characters who dared to do what was right for the sake of more than just themselves. This, to me, is the strength of Jenner’s latest novel and what kept me turning the pages.

Bottom Line: Nothing about Every Time We Say Goodbye played out the way I expected it to but the story ended up being so much more meaningful because of the unexpected turns it took. As with the other book I have read by Natalie Jenner, I closed this one with a deep sense of thoughtfulness, pondering the lessons can be gleaned as well as their continued relevance. I enjoyed reacquainting myself with Vivien and other familiar faces from Bloomsbury Girls, and I equally enjoyed the parade of new personalities that Vivien encounters in the world of Italian cinema. Some parts of the novel dragged a bit in the middle, in my opinion, overladen with more telling than showing, but not so much that I lost interest in the overall story. Mainly due to the fascinating profile of the young, female assassin for the Italian Resistance – it completely captivated me, and I loved the way that Jenner intersects this character with Vivien’s story too. Another meticulously researched and immersive novel from a rising star in historical fiction.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

TITLE: EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE
AUTHOR: Natalie Jenner
PUB DATE: 05.14.2024

I loved The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls so naturally I was excited to have another Natalie Jenner book in my hands and one that is set in beautiful Italy that I just cannot get enough of.

In EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, we are graced with the world of cinema in the 1950’s, the Italian Resistance Fighters, the Catholic Church, and even a bit of mystery to add to the brilliant storytelling. I was glad to see a character list as I love going back and referring to it time to time.

The writing by Jenner seems to always bring me new knowledge - whether it is learning about unsung heroes and heroines, the culture which includes religion and politics, all the while crafting a tale that is intriguing and compelling, that is hard to put down.

Enjoyed this one a lot.

Let me preface by saying I adore this authors work. I’ve read her previous books including The Jane Austin Society and Bloomsbury Girls. I loved them. This one, the third installment had a different feel. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. The things I loved- the imagery was exceptional and so vivid I felt like I was in Italy. I also learned so much about the time period after the war which is super unique. I just didn’t enjoy the characters as much and feel as connected to them, but I definitely will be reading more from this author. Her writing is excellent, she writes with a lot of heart and everything always feels so intelligent and researched. 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I thought this was a well written story about post WWII and how people dealt with the aftermath. I liked how the author showed us different people and their experiences and how they were trying to deal with the past and move forward. I liked how we saw the characters grow as they gained answers to what happened and were able to move forward and try to make the world a better place. This story pulled on the emotions and made you wonder what you would have done in their shoes. It also helped you to see what Italy would have been like during the war and after. I also liked how the author had the story set around film and what was going on with filmmaking at the time. I feel like I learned a lot about this time period from reading this book and that I felt a connection with the people who went through the war.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.