Three Words for Goodbye- Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

Thank you Harper Collins, William Morrow, & Dey Street for this advanced copy of Three Words for Goodbye in exchange for my honest review. It is now available for pre-order and mark your calendars as it will be released July 27th.

Three Words for Goodbye is an absolute masterpiece. What’s better than one masterful historical fiction writer? Two. Gaynor and Webb found a way to not only seamlessly blend a novel together but to do so during the pandemic. A theme I am noticing with books having been written through the tumultuous events of last year is a new, almost urgent surge of passion. It is evident in these pages. This book is a love letter to your soul quietly whispering to live life to its fullest.

I believe the fragility of life is the theme of this book. Two estranged sisters are brought together only at the wish of their dear dying grandmother. It is her greatest hope that they personally deliver three farewell letters for her- in France, Italy, & Austria. Clara and Madeleine are more than a little reluctant to travel along side their insufferable sister but choose to see this through for their grandmother, Violet. 

The theme of life’s frailty and uncertainty is further driven home by the fact that it is 1937 and Europe is on the precipice of war. On their travels, as the sisters witness sights of the eminent threat of a Hitler and Mussolini, life frivolities of life begin to come into perspective. 

Told in the alternating viewpoints of Maddie & Clara, we travel along the two as they navigate their love lives, their quarrels, & moments of revelation and wonder.

This was an absolute pleasure to read. Page-turning, heart-warning and wrenching. Empowering and reassuring. 

Like I said in the beginning- a true masterpiece. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)