I love reading historical fiction that teaches me. I learned a lot about the Italian film industry of the 1950s and also the politics (especially the influence of the Catholic Church and its censorship regarding what movies were being made).

There’s a lot that happens in this book and many subplots. The list of characters at the beginning intimidated me and I was a bit apprehensive, but I managed to keep track of the characters without much trouble. I love how Jenner seamlessly weaves both real life and fictional Hollywood celebrities into the story.

This is a poignant story of love and loss and hope, but it also highlights the horror and atrocities both during WWII and following the armistice. The story of La Scolaretta (the schoolgirl assassin) is heartbreaking, and it is one that will definitely stay with me long after reading this book. I can’t wait to go and read her backlist books now!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review Every Time We Say Goodbye on NetGalley.

Published: 05/14/24

Stars: 2.5

Not for me. I tried several times and found myself struggling to follow along as well as staying focused. Too much -- two timelines, too many characters, I think there are a couple points of view.

I liked the movie making tidbits, but they weren't enough to make a book.

I didn't connect with Vivian.

Recommend focusing on the synopsis, know this moves slow, and try for yourself. There wasn't any singular reason for me not to like the book.

Every Time We Say Goodbye AUDIO by Natalie Jenner is the last of the Jane Austen trilogy and mainly concentrates on Vivian, a playwright and screenwriter, who has escaped England to go to Italy to make movies. Her reason for wanting to go to Italy as that was where her fiance, David, had been killed during the war and she wanted to know more. While there she made friends with people in the movie industry, from actors down to script girls. She had affairs, but she could never fall in love. That was left with David. She was beyond amazed at the choke-hold the Vatican had on the movie industry, preventing it from telling stories that might possibly shed a negative light on the Vatican’s stance during WWII. She enjoyed her time there, as much as some of it was heart-breaking.

Vivian is an excellent character, well-written with hidden depths. The war had taken a toll on all of them and she met many who had been affected in various ways. It was 1955 and so the war was still omnipresent. Her friend, Claudia, an actress, reacted to it all by becoming a nun. It was there that Vivian met other sisters that not only gave her information but renewed her faith. There was not a huge plot, more a slice of Vivian’s life for this year or so. It was an interesting read. Better in text than audio, in my opinion.

The narrator was Juliet Aubrey and she had a beautiful voice, but I have to tell you, she put me to sleep. It was too well-modulated, if anything. She portrayed Vivian well, I thought, as well as most of the other characters Vivian ran across, without resorting to ridiculous caricatures.

I was invited to read Every Time We Say Good Bye by St Martin’s Press and to listen by MacMillan Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #NatalieJenner #MacMillianAudio #JulietAubrey #EveryTimeWeSayGoodBye

I really wanted to love this one. I really enjoyed The Bloomsbury Girls by this author plus the fact this is set in Italy where I will be visiting soon had me very intrigued. However, I found this tough to follow. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and there was quite a bit of jumping around in time. The front of the book does have a cast of characters, but I listened to a good portion of the book so it wasn’t easy to keep them separated in my mind.


Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Italian settings
Multiple timelines
A map in the book
Historical fiction

Thank you St Martins Press for the gifted copy and MacMillan Audio for the ALC.

I thought "Everytime We Say Goodbye" was an enjoyable read. The author's writing style was engaging and atmospheric. The premise was both thought provoking and intriguing, I was able to read this book in one session.

This is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series and while it can be read as a standalone I would recommend reading the first two in this series if you're a fan of Historical Fiction, they are definitely worth checking out!

Thank you Natalie Jenner, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I will literally never tire of a mid-century novel about a powerful woman. Give them all to me! I’m actually so thrilled that I didn’t realize this was part of Jenner’s other books’ universe, because now I get to enjoy a bit more about this character and these vibes. I love the intermingling of these fictional characters with real historical figures. This book was just full of romance and glamour and sorrow and joy…I loved every minute.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner in exchange for an honest review.

Every Time We Say Goodbye follows the transformation of Vivien in post-war Italy. I enjoyed the connection to Ms. Jenner's previous books, The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls (Although I will admit that I read both so long ago, that I had to go back and refresh my memory on the characters!) I loved the dive into the Italian film industry. However, there were many inconsequential characters and I found myself confused as to who was who and what they had to do with the story. I enjoyed Vivien's story itself, but I did think that her character could have been a little more solid.

After her latest play is hit with terrible reviews in London, Vivien flees to Rome to work on scripts in the Italian cinema and try to find out what happened to her fiancé who went missing at the end of WWII. She quickly realizes how much control the Vatican has over productions and finds the censorship stifling. Working in these conditions does nothing to improve her mood, but the Vivien does find friends in an American starlet and her producer. Her growth as a writer and a person in Italy is transforming.

Though there is obvious care with the research of this novel, and the author does address how WWII affected individuals on both sides of the war, I found the storyline to be a lot. There were so many people and so many topics addressed, it got overwhelming at times. A few less subplots might have made this more manageable. Perhaps it is me, and I’m not in the right head space, because the novel is good, just hard to follow at times with the backstories of so many secondary characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and of course the author Natalie Jenner for the advanced copy of the book. Every Time We Say Goodbye is out now. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and author Natalie Jenner for this ARC to read and review!!

I LOVE historical fiction and was really excited for this one, my first of Natalie Jenner's books. Maybe because I have not read the first two in this series, I just didn't really connect with it. There were a lot of characters and storylines to keep up with and I found it slow going and difficult to grasp. The writing is beautiful and almost poetic and I did really enjoy the setting of the film industry in Italy in the 1950s. I can see how much research and detail went into this story and that makes it no surprise why it is loved and highly reviewed by so many. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. Sigh.

I can't tell you what this book is about.
I listened to it on audio and found myself drifting. It has two different timelines and follows mostly a woman named Vivien and the Italian film industry in 1950s.

Vivien is a hard character to follow as she seems pretty detached from everything around her. While in Italy, she is also looking for answers about David her ex-fiancee who she thought died in the war.

I was hoping for an emotional rollercoaster, but I unfortunately did not get this out of this book.

The kidnapping plot that happens in this is odd, and the fact that it goes unsolved and unmentioned for several chapters.

A lot of the chapters felt unnecessary and I found myself being pulled out of the story often, drifting to the point where some chapters I had to relisten to more than once, and times the reaction was much the same.

I wanted to love this, but unfortunately, this just did not hit the mark for me. It is probably more of a case of it's me and not you, so I'm hoping others love this more.

I am glad I listened to it, listening to it made me get through it, otherwise I don't think I would have.

I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of a review.

After Jenner’s previous book, Bloomsbury Girls I was excited to pick this one up, as I truly enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls. Every Time We Say Goodbye does occur after the events that we read in Bloomsbury Girls, though I wouldn’t say it's necessary to have read that before picking this one up. However, it might make things clearer at the very beginning of this book, before our main character, Vivien leaves for Italy, a character we met prior within Bloomsbury Girls. But despite knowing I had already met her, I appreciated that we still get refreshed on her backstory as we make our through this story, especially since it’s been a while since I’ve read the previous book.

This was admittedly a harder one to get fully invested in as it was slower-paced than I was expecting. However, once I was invested, I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the descriptions around the Cinecitta Studios and the film industry as well as within Italian society in the 1950s. It was interesting to see how Italy came back to life following the war as well seeing how society worked with the Catholic Church and the power it held for those in Italy. It was an area of history I knew very little about and made for a unique and interesting read.

My favorite parts were these short flashbacks to during the war, especially as we follow this girl known as the “schoolgirl assassin” who helps in resistance against the nazis during the war. As much as I loved the drama that unfolded within the film industry, these were so captivating to read. I wanted to learn how they connected with Vivien and our current timeline.

I found this to be a beautifully written story set around Italy in the 1950s that shares a glimpse the life after the war and the prospering film industry that was practically destroyed during the war. I’m a sucker for art and this was a unique read that I thoroughly enjoyed as I got to learn more about the old film industry. I highly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction books set around old-style films and WWII.

Every Time We Say Goodbye follows playwright Vivien Lowry, whose most recent play, which opened in London in 1955 was panned by critics and shut down. At a loss, Vivien takes a friend’s advice and takes a job in Italy working as a script doctor in the film industry. Vivien views her trip to Italy as a way to both find a new path forward for herself and to find out what really happened to her fiance David, who went missing in Italy during the war. Vivien is a complex, well drawn character and I found myself very invested in everything to do with her time in Italy, especially since it becomes such a personal journey for her.

In addition to Vivien’s personal journey, Jenner also gives us insight into what was going on in post-war Italy, particularly the huge contrast between the vibrant and glamorous film industry versus the struggling orphans and refugees who were of course present in Italy after the war. Jenner also explores just how much the Catholic church was policing and censoring the content of Italian films, as well as the political landscape of Italy as it tries to come to terms with its own role in the war.

Jenner also effectively uses a dual timeline in this multi-layered story. During her time in Italy, Vivien works with a director who is determined to make a movie about a young woman he doesn’t want the world to forget. This woman was not only his girlfriend, but she was also an assassin in the Italian Resistance who was tortured and murdered during the war. We learn more about the circumstances that led to her death in an earlier timeline set during WWII.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is both a well researched work of historical fiction and an engaging story of love, loss and truth.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is a stand alone novel, but references her previous novels. I have not read her previous novels, but was easily able to follow. Vivien has moved to Italy to work as a script doctor in Rome at Cinecitta Studios in 1955. The play she just wrote and produced did not do well on the London stage, and she needs a fresh start. We walk with her during her time in Italy as she navigates the movie industry, tries to find out what really happened to her deceased fiancé during WWII, and explores who is she is.

The setting of Rome, Italy post WWII was fascinating. The book weaves in themes of redemption, grief, and deciding who to love. I found myself wishing I could visit Vivien and walk the streets of Italy with her. There were many charters with different subplots that kept my interest. The story is in dual time periods that flow seamlessly.

In Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner, we follow Vivian on a journey of self-discovery in this beautifully written complex story with incredible historical details and endearing characters. I highly recommend.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, was a wonderful read back in 2020. She followed it up with Bloomsbury Girls, taking one of the characters from her debut novel to a London bookstore. In her latest, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Natalie takes one of the characters, Vivian, from the bookstore to post-war Italy working as a script doctor in the movies after her play is a flop in London.

“We make the truth. We’re selling a world that doesn’t exist.” “That’s so cynical.” “What are you making, then?” “What the world could be.”

Natalie was inspired by the world famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome that had been used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. Set in the la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome, the story explores a very unique time period. Lead FMC Vivian is working as a script doctor and carries her own personal war wounds wherever she goes. Her fiance disappeared in Italy during WW2 and she is searching for closure after making some life changing decisions.

‘The only thing that will save you is perspective - and that, only the passing of time can bestow.’

Natalie does an excellent job of conveying the complexity of Italian political, economic, and cultural life in the 1940s and ’50s. From the glamour of movie actresses like Ava Gardner and Sophia Loren making cameo appearances, to the policing and censorship of some movies by the Catholic Church. In many ways the past continues to haunt from its fascist and German occupation days and deep contradictions are evident.

‘… contradictions of Italy at work here: a former Fascist regime that had somehow shape-shifted into an ostensible democracy that was heavily influenced by a censorial church and half-heartedly administered by the police. Yet the one thing all these factions took seriously was cinema.’

The novel encompasses so much, from love and conflict, faith and censorship, war and orphans, glamour and moviemaking, fashion and food - it has to all. Whilst there is much to learn about Rome, the Church and politics of the day, in some ways it feels like a reflective piece with characters coming to terms with life after traumatic events. You don’t have to have read the previous novels to enjoy Every Time We Say Goodbye as the focus is on learning how to live after such tragedy.







This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Every Time We Say Goodbye was a phenomenal book. It will definitely be one of my top reads this year.

This book felt like a love story to start, the love story between our main character and Italy, the Italian film industry, and a local Italian. But, a love story that quickly turned sour as our main character started to see the underside of the film world in Italy and an Italian lover who wasn't what he seemed.

This book had such vivid descriptions, and you could easily imagine the glitz and glamour of the movie world in Italy and all of the beautiful and glamorous 50's movie stars. As well as, feeling the frustration of the film industry in Italy, constantly being censored and shut down by the Vatican.

There was another theme running through this book as well. The aftermath of war, especially in a country that was under fascist rule, and then for whose government ultimately collaborated with Germany. A lot of times the aftermath of WWII is a mere epilogue in WWII historical fiction, so it was interesting to get more perspective on the healing, that both an entire country and individuals went through after the war, and how war changed people.

Our main character and a colleague of hers were both looking for some closure while in Italy. Our main character desperately trying to find out what happened to her fiance while he was a prisoner in Italy, in the hopes of finally being able to move on in her life. Her colleague trying to find out what happened to a baby he rescued as part of a group of American soldiers coming to liberate Italy. These stories were so moving, and I wanted desperately for both to get the closure they sought.

And of course, being set in Italy, religion ran throughout the book. I found it absolutely fascinating to learn more about the influence of the church in Italian culture, as well as the role the Vatican played during the war. But, also how priests and nuns "on the ground" helped out the vulnerable citizens of Italy during the war. Helping many persecuted citizens, giving them shelter and rescue and helping aid the resistance.

There was just so much happening in this book. But, it didn't make it difficult to follow. It made it all the more fascinating!

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this beautiful book. My opinions are my own.

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.

Thank you Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ by Natalie Jenner is the authors newest book. This is my third book by Natalie Jenner. Ms. Jenner always finds a way to have unique locations for her stories. This book is set in Italy. The time period is the post war in 1955. The story centers on the Italian Film Industry in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios.

Some of the characters are from Natalie’s previous books. I will say that it is not necessary to read the others. This is a stand alone. Vivien Lowry is the main female character. She is a writer who was not very successful in London. At the suggestion of her friend Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script ‘doctor’ for a major production company that is shooting a movie in Rome. Vivian works with famous directors, actors, and rising stars. The characters are deep, emotional, memorable and likable. There are several interesting undercurrents. At that period of time the Catholic Church is entwined in every inch of Ital including who is making films and what their content is about.

The story also explores Vivien’s fiancés death during the war. It examines heartbreak, loss, tragedy, trauma, growth, hope, and resignation. As always, Natalie Jenner does a tremendous amount of research for her books. This new book is no exception. As always the reader feels ensconced in the story. This was extremely enjoyable and another winner for Ms. Jenner. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

I would like to thank St, Martin’s Press, Natalie Jenner and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While technically the third installment of "The Jane Austen Society", this book has a different feel than the first two books. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but it is definitely deeper and more sad than the first two. We follow not only Vivien, but a host of new characters (both from real life and composites of historical figures) in Italy. I learned a lot about the Rome Cinecitta Studios that were active after WWII making many, many films and introducing future Hollywood stars.

Recommended if you want to learn more about that time period, if you like Italy, if you enjoyed the first two books and want something a little different to continue the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. #sponsored

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.