Sarah Grace Grzy

2022 Reread: Lovely as always! I'll admit that knowing where everything is going makes me notice the moments that suspend reality a little more - things move awfully quickly for all involved - but it's an enjoyable story nonetheless! I've said it before and I'll say it again: these are characters that I want to be friends with, and the aesthetic is so cozy and comforting!

Original Review:
Live Without You is a dramatic novella. Ms. Grzy wastes no time piling on action and emotion, so I was hooked and invested instantly! Granted, the book opens at an outdoor ice skating rink, amidst Christmas lights and hot cocoa, which is a great way to get me interested regardless of the story to be told. However, on top of the setting, there is action and drama right away. Not the annoying kind of drama that could be avoided if people would only talk to each other, but what-is-going-to-happen-next drama. Things get real right away.

The romance is also set up almost immediately. It isn’t entirely predictable, but you know from the beginning who is going to end up together. I appreciated this, but I can see how it could bother some readers.

{Side note, I want Piper’s house. It is adorable and practical and basically everything I didn’t know I always wanted in a house! It seriously sounds perfect.}

Piper and Ezra have a sweet romance which I enjoyed watching grow. Both are believable characters with real emotions, conflicts, and backstories, and they stumble through fitting their stories together. Surprisingly, their relationship is more of a courtship than dating, which I don’t think I have ever seen portrayed in contemporary fiction. The scope of their relationship was not discussed often, but I liked the unique and chaste perspective.

Along with her relationship with Ezra, Piper must rebuild her faith in order to move forward with her life and to find peace despite past trauma. This is an area where I would have liked to see more nuanced growth and development, but for the length of the story, I understand why it was paced as it is.

Additionally, the ending is incredibly well-crafted. Although there were a few things that I guessed from the beginning, the last few chapters had me reconsidering everything and on the edge of my (metaphorical) seat wondering how/if things were going to work out! I was mentally and emotionally invested in these characters and their lives, much moreso than I usually am in any given book.

This review was originally posted on Reviews From the Stacks.… (plus d'informations)

It didn’t even take a full page for me to become attached to Alyvia, Tyler, and the rest of the characters. Maybe it’s because they tend to think like I do, and I share a lot of aspects of Alyvia’s aesthetic, or the fact that much of the story is set in a bookstore. Or maybe the author is a genius. Honestly, I don’t know, I just know that these characters are extremely easy to care about, which makes the story engaging from the beginning. Some books you can enjoy reading even if you don’t click with the main characters, Never Say Goodbye demonstrates how effective a narrative can be when the reader is able to connect with and invest in the protagonist.

My one criticism regarding the characters comes from Tyler. I would have liked to see him grieve his lost wife more. His response isn’t inappropriate, but multiple times throughout the book Tyler or another character say something about how he should be more over her by now…but she has only been gone about two years. Obviously I have never been in a situation anything like that, but it seems like an awfully short time to process everything and be ready for another relationship. I think I would have appreciated his side of the story more if it had taken place a few years later.

Never Say Goodbye fits so well in the world of Grzy’s first book, Live Without You. I enjoyed getting to see characters from that book and learning where they are now. At the same time, I like that Never Say Goodbye isn’t exactly a true sequel – it doesn’t directly continue any story lines from Live Without You. Instead, it fleshes out the world of both books. They fit together perfectly, expanding the world and scope of each other while not being reliant on one another for feasibility. Never Say Goodbye would still make sense without reading Live Without You, but it is more vibrant for the connection.

That said, I do have a few questions that are not entirely answered regarding characters from Live Without You. We already knew that Ezra and Tyler are work partners and best friends, but Alyvia just seems dropped into their sphere with almost no context. How did she meet them? They act like they have all known each other for a while, but sometimes they don’t know things about each other which seem like things they should know. I’m not going to push too hard at this, but it’s snagged in my mind so I felt it should be mentioned.

The Verdict -

Five stars because it’s adorable and clean and enjoyable while also dealing with real spiritual and emotional topics which could have easily become overwhelming. Sarah Grace Grzy writes the most beautiful places, and I want to live in one of her books. Can she design my dream house? Because basically every place that she writes would fit. The bookstore sounds every bit as wonderful as Piper’s house from Live Without You, which, if you don’t remember from my review of that book (and honestly why would you), I completely adore.

I really enjoy the balance this book presents of tackling important topics and everyday enjoyable fluff. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fiction and doesn’t mind or eagerly enjoys romance.… (plus d'informations)

This was an amazing story that keeps the reader's thoughts within the pages of the book long after it has been finished. This compelling story had me staying up way too late to finish it. I could not put it down.
The characters were life-like and amazing. Piper's personality perfectly matched her name. (That kitten though!!!)
Another favorite character of mine was Cecile. She was fun and supportive while being a mother figure and spiritual mentor to Piper.
It is still early in 2019, but I really think that this book has a high chance of being in my top five reads of the year. I cannot wait to read more books that Sarah writes in the future.

Personal Rating: 5 Stars
Content Rating: 3 Stars

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (plus d'informations)