Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is an ambitious historical fiction novel providing a perspective of post-WWII that you do not see often in books. While the prologue starts in 1943 with a woman fighting for the resistance who secretly lures drunk Nazis to their death, the majority of the novel is set in 1955 Rome and focuses on Vivienne Lowry who is a script “doctor” brought in to help finish a film being shot at Cinecitta Studios. While in Rome and surrounded by movie stars and bright lights, she uncovers many secrets about the Italian film industry, including the influence and censorship of the Vatican in the movie industry.

However, the book is more about recovering from the losses sustained during the war and reconciling what ordinary good people did to survive during that horrible time. It also details the lengths that some survivors went through to find out what happened to some prisoners - non-Jewish mothers, fathers, and betrothed - who disappeared during WWII. As I mentioned, the novel is ambitious and had several different story lines, it was difficult to follow all the different characters and subplot lines.

This is the second book I listened to by this author, with the first being The Jane Austen Society, which I enjoyed very much. Although Every Time We Say Goodbye is listed as the third book in the series, I have no idea how or why it is related to the Jane Austen Society. Therefore, this is absolutely a stand alone book and you do not need to have read or listened to the prior books to understand what is going on this one.


Finally, I listened to the audiobook version of this noel, which was narrated by Juliet Aubrey. Her voice was sweet and rhythmic and I enjoyed it immensely.

I immediately found it difficult to connect with the main character in this story. It seems as if she takes an opportunity to move to Italy in order to find desperately wanted information about a former love, but upon her arrival, little of the story focuses on her initial reason for coming to a new country.
The story quickly gets bogged down with a romantic storyline, which pulls time away from more intriguing characters and in the end seems completely unnecessary. This unnecessary romance sets in motion a portion of the story that appropriately criticizes the Roman Catholic church's role in World War II and the church's moral failings, while also validating the work that individual members of the church were doing to fight against Nazi rule. Unfortunately, this commentary on the Roman Catholic Church does little to enhance what I feel are the compelling aspects of this story, or its emotional heart.
The book does eventually get to a place where our main character is fleshed out enough to understand and empathize with. It also uses multiple additional characters to begin to lean into heavy and emotional subject matter involving victims of World War II and the lasting trauma that the war had on individuals of multiple generations. It beautifully discusses the challenge of the unknown with regards to those lost in war and how that can steadily impede a surviving individual's ability to move forward in life.
The story includes a number of interesting side characters, many of which enrich the messaging of the book and some of which are real individuals (Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Daphne du Maurier, etc.). The appearance of these famous historical figures add a hint of excitement, which does save the story from becoming dull and unengaging at times.
This book does contain two timelines, one of which is immediately compelling, exciting, and action filled. It is unfortunately underutilized in this story, which makes the books suffer as a whole. This past timeline does connect to our current timeline in a few different ways, which I found intriguing. In the last moments of this story, the author attempts to make another, more emotionally meaningful, connection between the timelines, which falls flat and would have been better if left out.
While this story does eventually provide our main character with some answers that she came to Italy searching for, I feel this specific storyline wasn't developed enough or paid enough attention throughout the book, dwindling potential emotional impact.
I am thankful for the audiobook of this story, which allowed me to progress through the beginning of this book much more easily than I would have if I had only been reading the physical book. That being said, I found the audiobook to be enjoyable, but not significantly noteworthy.

This one was hard for me to get into. It didn’t have a lot of historical context and wasn’t tied to major historical events so I think that made it more difficult. Overall it was an okay sorry but I just didn’t get a ton out of it.

** spoiler alert ** This wins for most boring book ever. I didn’t care for any of the characters. For a moment I liked Viviene and I thought something would come out of the relationship with Lassiter, but that was not to be. I never imagined she’d settle for the man whom she married. I’d also hoped that David wasn’t dead. She just seemed so shallowed and disconnected with the world—and if she was so saddened about giving up her baby then why didn’t she make an effort to reunite? Ugh. It’s like she didn’t care about anything. The rest of the characters were boring too. It would’ve been a great book if it would’ve focused only on the story of La scolaretta, that was much more interesting than these characters shallow and boring lives. I don’t even know how I got through this book. I was so invested that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just finish it since I was past halfway to the end.

I listened to this awhile ago, and I'm not sure I remember much about it. Perhaps I would remember more had I read the others in the series, but I didn't much care for the characters, so what happened to them was of no detriment to me.

I received an advanced audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

Macmillan Audio ALC
I have liked the author's previous novels - which is connected to this one, so I was looking forward to this story. I did like the narrator and how she brought Vivien alive. I thought the Italian film plot was interesting at first and loved the descriptions of Rome. However, I found the story to drag and there were so many characters to keep track of that I struggled to stay invested in this story. While I struggled with this one, I know I am a fan of this author and I will read her again in the future.

"Every Time We Say Goodbye" is Natalie Jenner's third book in the series starting with "The Jane Austen Society" and continuing in "Bloomsbury Girls." Readers who enjoyed these earlier books will appreciate this one as well, but should be aware that it is only obliquely connected to the other two books through the character of Vivian, the bookshop worker and erstwhile writer from "Bloomsbury Girls," who, as "Every Time We Say Goodbye" begins, has decided to move to Rome as a scriptwriter at Cinecittà Film Studios after her latest West End play is once again savaged by the London critics..Jenner makes the most of this glamorous new setting, introducing a cast of new characters and exploring the intrigue of post World War II Italy, where the Catholic Church wields an iron hand and the Fascist past is always roiling beneath the sun-soaked surface. Juggling several storylines--Vivian's romance with a mysterious American producer, her friendship with Claudia, an American actress who seems to be loosely based on Dolores Hart, and (most interestingly for me) her search for information about her dead fiance, David, who apparently was held in Italy as a prisoner of war--Jenner fleshes out Vivian's life in Rome and, as she did in her earlier books, peppers it with real-life figures such as Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. These scenes alternate with periodic flashbacks following a young woman in the Italian resistance on a dangerous mission, whose story provides suspense and ties into Vivian's life in ways that become clear by the novel's end. Most reviews seem to be positive, but there do seem to be some readers who are disappointed that this book strays so far from the storylines of the previous "Jane Austen Society" books. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully-detailed new setting and Vivian's starring role in it. It can easily be read as a standalone, but characters from the earlier books do pop up from time to time, which added some fun for those readers familiar with the earlier books. NOTE: I listened to the audiobook of this title and, while narrator Juliet Aubrey does a nice job with the Italian names and phrases and with Vivian's English voice, the "American" accents she uses, particularly for the American men, almost put me off listening entirely. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I were reading it myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audio ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

Everytime we Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is a book that can be read as a standalone although it is the 3rd book in a series by this author. I didn't realize that when I started it, but it was still an enjoyable read. I liked the production, acting side of this book. The cover is beautiful and that is what drew me in, but the story was enjoyable with what things look liked for people in the film world after the war in Europe. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book, I loved the Narrator, she was the ideal person to voice this book.

This is one of those books that I was so grateful for it to be over. There were way too many characters, side stories, meandering plots, and I felt absolutely no connection to any character.

The audio was difficult in that the narrator's accent was extremely strong and there were so many characters and side plots that I never quite knew where we were at or who anyone was.

This is book three of a series so I wonder if I was at a disadvantage not having read the prior books.

Overall, this book absolutely was not for me. The writing was well done and if you absolutely love WWII historical fiction and film you will likely enjoy it much more than I did.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner. I have enjoyed this author's previous two books and this book, an extension of those first two (though it can stand on its own) is a compelling, if different, addition to the series. What I liked about this book was a lot of themes often present in Jenner's work: women have always wanted to be their own voice and to find their own way and will often pursue not just dreams but also real skills, talent, and ambition despite, or because of, hardship. I love these themes and I really like Vivian as a character, seeing her grow and change, expand on her identity. What is also interesting in this book is for me the style is a bit different and though it might turn off some readers, understandably, I actually liked that Jenner wrote this a bit differently, I like to see an author try new tones and ways of sharing stories, of perhaps even using a change of style to allow the reader to feel how a character is changing or how the character is embracing new places and next chapters. For me I love that there is an interesting character to engage with, spend time with; many will like the historical themes and settings/notes, which are great, but it's about the characters for me and I always like how Jenner writes characters who I want to know about.

This was a great book. Set in 1955, with look backs on things that happened during WW2. I really enjoyed the writing and have to go back and read the first two books in this series.
I was fascinated with Vivien’s journey in Italy. I was appalled by some of the things the Catholic Church did, and how they treated and also coerced people to do their will.
In all I really loved this book. It is a great read for anybody who liked historical fiction.
The audio version of this book was excellent. The narrator did a great job.

I have loved the authors previous work and I was so excited to listen to this one, but I just was so bored. I could not get into the story at all and after three hours of listening felt like nothing had happened. I DNF this, which I never do, but I just couldn’t listen anymore.

Wonderful third book of the series. I felt like this book grabbed the readers attention right away much more dramatically than the first two on the series. This author did a great job continuing the storyline but also make this book able to stand on its own. The author also did well as tying together multiple POVs over many years. It was easy to keep up with the story and know what was happening even with switching POVs. She also brought many emotions out for the reader through out the book. I was able to be sucked in and feel the pain and sadness and joy of the characters. Lastly this story has dramatic plot twists that are believable but catch you by surprise. I never felt like the story was too predicable.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is an ambitious novel with multiple subplots that takes place mostly in the 50s in Rome, Italy.
The novel's prologue opens in 1943 with a beautiful and brave young woman member of the Italian resistance who fights secretly to rid Rome of the Nazis.
Later on, the first Chapter is about Vivian from the Bloomsbury Girls (Jane Austen Society Trilogy book 2), who will rewrite a screenplay in Italy where she will find out many secrets about the Italian film industry.

The novel emphasizes the influence of the Vatican in the Italian cinema, but as well it is also about the unknown whereabouts of the people who dissappear during WWII and the pain and trauma that people faced during the poswar.

The novel is slightly connected to the two previous ones, so it could work as a stand-alone.

The author managed to give full closure to each of the storylines and characters, but because of all the things going on in the novel, I couldn't connect fully with the main character.

I started reading the first half of the book, but I was struggling a bit, and I wasn't hooked enough. Later, I received the audiobook, and it worked better for me.
The audiobook is narrated by Juliet Aubrey actress and narrator, and her voice is sweet and harmonic.

This wasn't my favorite novel by the author, but I think it is resourceful, and historical fiction fans could enjoy it.
I think there were historical aspects that haven't been portrayed in other novels, so I found it original.

Thank you, Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the advanced ebook and audiobook.
Pub date: May 14th, 2024.

I really wanted to like this book, and even made myself skim from about 90% to the end of the book just to finish it. There was nothing gripping about this story that kept me wanting to read more. I kept thinking there was going to be a twist or a turn of some kind that would pull me in, but that point never came. This read more like a diary or a memoir that simply…ends. The number of characters was overwhelming, and without the reference at the beginning of the book, I never would have been able to keep up with who was who and how they fit into the story. I enjoyed the writing style of the author, but wasn’t a fan of the story or the characters. Unless you truly enjoy historical fiction for the simple fact of telling a historically based story, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Thank you Natalie Jenner and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance for an honest review. I selected this title as a fan of the author's previous THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY and BLOOMSBURY GIRLS. This was...different. Vivian was in previous novels so I looked forward to reading this. It was not for me, even being a fan of historical fiction. Too many boring, superficial characters that did not hold my interest. At all. I fell asleep (not in a good way) a few times trying to finish this to write a review. I like the history aspect and the backdrop of Italy, but this did not work. My bookclub would not enjoy this slow moving, unreliable plot. This was just not my cup of tea. I liked the synopsis and really tried to get into Vivian in this setting, but alas, it did not work for me. Too much church and meandering storylines. 1.5/5

From the bestselling author of "The Jane Austen Society, this is a refreshing story of post-war Italy, seen through the eyes of a woman who lost her fiance to the tragedy. The tale of Vivien Lowry holds her as the central character. Vivien is a talented writer who tackles the very male-dominated world of scriptwriting. In Italy, she finds a vibrant and exciting movie-making culture that is caught between the most cutting-edge technology of the time and the ever-present scornful eye of the Catholic Church.

Vivien attempts to find herself while cultivating friendships, love, and finding closure about her deceased fiance.

This was well-written, engaging, and fresh. If not a bit long-winded. I enjoyed the listen.

Absolutely stunning. I have been rather sick of WWII historical fiction of late, so was slightly hesitant to pick this up. However, it was worth it. While dealing with aspects of WWII, this focused much more heavily in 1955, in Rome, where Vivian is working as a scriptwriter at Cinecitta Studios. There, she is surrounded by movie stars and bright lights - but she is trying to figure out her next steps following a disastrous reception of her play in London. However, the past is never far from the surface for Vivian and others at Cinecitta. So many are still reeling from their losses during the war, Vivian being no exception.

Told with brief flashbacks to the war, this novel tells the story of a country once broken, piecing itself back together, through the eyes of a pained but resilient heroine. Further, this was an audiobook and the narration was spot on.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced production of this audiobook.

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

This is a hard book to review as there was so much going on! It was a third book in the Jane Austin Society but easily stands alone. It is a historical fiction book that jumps back and forth between plots of the Italian film industry of the 1950's, post war Italy and the Vatican trying to censor the film industry with the character Vivian coming to Italy to "fix" the script. But she has unfinished issues with her fiancé who has gone missing since the war. Then there is another plot with the assassin of Rome, a kidnapping, and a woman Tabitha in search of her birth mother. After I read it, I saw the author posted on Good Reads a list of the characters which I highly recommend you keep handy while reading, as it will help with the back and forth. It definitely has a Jane Austin feel as you try to keep track of all the characters and side plots. The narrator does a good job and the story is worth the read.