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They say opposites attract and with Eight Goodbyes' Tessa and Simon that is definitely the case. He's a smart, sensitive scientist and businessman, while she's best described as having her heads in the clouds. As an author Tessa is afforded the ability to travel the world, giving in to the words in her head whenever she wants and keeping everyone at arm's length. Simon, though, is persistent in winning her over and as they meet up in various locations all over the world she begins to find comfort in the consistency. They say goodbye each time, there's no promise of the future, no plan, until one day finally Tessa gives in and offers Simon everything. Life though, like love, is unpredictable and the two are set on different paths.

"Take me to the stars with you."

Oh my, the first half of this novel I cringed at each goodbye, hoping the pair would find a way to be together and yet still be their individual selves. I liked both main characters, connecting with Simon's clean way and formula style thinking and envying Tessa's ability to hop around the world embracing every new experience, though I wasn't quite a fan of her arrogance. They changed each other with each meeting, each evolving into a new version of themselves, though they seem to already fit perfectly together. Tessa gradually becomes less flippant about life and Simon becomes less rigid, more open to the unknown. We only get glimpses of their time together, relatively unaware of what goes on when they are apart. We see Tessa with new walls built around her each time they meet, unable to shake the loss from her life. Simon, on the other hand, wields emotions like a sword, working Tessa's walls down and learning to embrace her adventurous side. He keeps secrets from her though and I struggled with how much he asked of her while still not giving all of himself. Their vulnerabilities seem to be something that both attracts them to one another and pushes them apart. Finally though we see them embrace this unknown, this love, only to watch it shatter. It's difficult, the struggles they continue to face are hard, but it is realistic and Christine Brae takes you on a journey of loss, love, and rediscovery.

"His heart had been besieged with rules. Just this once. Let him keep the one thing."

There is an event in this book that is a topic I currently avoid, so when I got to that scene I set aside the book and pondered how I felt about reading about something that I had a similar experience with. I wasn't sure I'd go back in, but Simon and Tessa called to me and with a bit of apprehension I started reading again. Christine Brae deals with the topic delicately, similar to how she writes about sex, she skims the actual events, leaving us with the character's emotions and the aftermath. I found it really interesting how the timeline of the book skipped ahead after the event, revealing that the characters are still reeling from the event though their lives have moved forward. I appreciated how Christine Brae worked through the emotions with the characters, showing each having done something different. It was unpredictable and there were certainly some twists that I loved and some I hated, much like how I feel about real life sometimes.

"Up to then, the details are murky. How she let him go, how he let her go."

Eight Goodbyes is a romance novel that takes you on a journey, embracing all that life has to offer, the beautiful and the painful. Christine Brae has a lyrical writing style and while it isn't for everyone I think it worked well for this type of story. For me, this book was reminiscent of One Day by David Nichols, with the characters going about life and meeting briefly, and I generally enjoyed the unknown even if the characters didn't. I loved the various settings and the character growth Tessa and Simon go through as they discover what love is together. I absolutely recommend this novel, if anything read it just for Simon who is obviously in the running for Book Boyfriend of the year.

ARC provided. ( )

Tessa Talaman is a romance author who enjoys not being tied down. She is based in the United States but tends to travel and enjoys it greatly. She has a little family but is close to the ones that she has. Simon Fremont is her complete opposite. He is based in England and enjoys stability. He lives close to his parents and brother and visits often. He is a scientist that runs on practical thinking and actions.

The story is written in third person narrative. There is not a lot of character development or real sequence of events. The storyline is a bit choppy but does come to complete close. There is a romance that is rushed and you can not feel a real connection to the characters or their relationship.

Yes, I would recommend this book. It has an interesting storyline, it does lack depth but the overall writing and format style is interesting. This story would be good for anyone who enjoys stories with lots of travelling. ( )

This book is what romance and true love is all about. From the first page to the last page, I was in for the long haul. Tessa and Simon oozed passion, romance, heartache, and true love. With each passing goodbye; my heart broke a little bit more as well.

I loved that Simon would meet Tessa across the world to be with her. Even if it was just for a few days. I could feel the love grow deeper and deeper with each goodbye. Tessa found her love interest and hero from her romance books in Simon. Both of them broke out of their shells and experienced "life" when they were around each other. When tragedy struck, I almost cried out in anguish.

If you are looking for an amazing book to read, than, look no further than this book. This book will stick with you long after you have finished it. ( )

Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae was nice contemporary romance. Tessa is a successful romance author and she meets Simon on a plane. He is a scientist and the two start to keep in touch via Twitter and What’sApp for a few months. Simon flies out to visit Tessa on one of her book singing tours to spend some time with her. One thing leads to another and these two have great chemistry and begin a long distance fling, but each is trying to not get too attached.

I liked both these characters. I enjoy books about books and writers, so Tessa’s character was easy to like. She did however do something that I definitely thought was super inconsiderate at the start of the story but Simon, being awesome, looks past it and still wants to get to know her so that was sweet. Speaking of Simon, he is a good-looking scientist, what is not to like about that? I thought it was cute that he doesn’t do online anything, he doesn’t have Twitter or Facebook or WhatsApp but he gets these apps to be able to contact Tessa. He follows her on Twitter and as the two start to chat on WhatsApp daily their romance blossoms from there.

Like the title says, Simon and Tessa keep saying “goodbye” after they first meet on the plane, but they know they have something special so they keep trying to see each other. The story revolves around how to maintain their long distance romance and Tessa’s fear of committing and post-traumatic stress disorder plays a part of the story-line as well.

I enjoyed seeing it mentioned here. While I enjoyed Eight Goodbyes , the writing was good, the characters were well-developed and the story-line moved along nicely, I did have a few qualms with it. I know this is romance, but some of the dialogue was cheesy and I hate to say it, the story became a little overly dramatic for my tastes. The author wrote the PTSD in well and the extra drama I’m talking about has nothing to do with post traumatic stress.

Although, I felt like there was alot of drama especially towards the end of the book it does all wrap up nicely and you get the HEA. The first half of the story was a little bit slow going but then the latter half was busier and I started to wonder if it would end with a cliffie but it didn’t.

So, overall, Eight Goodbyes was solid contemporary romance, a nice beach read if you don’t mind a little extra drama in the mix and a hero who wears his heart on his sleeve. I’m more about the brooding heroes with grumpy attitudes who melt later on because the heroine shows them what love is but I can always appreciate a softie like Simon. Anway, I love the cover lots.
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disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received my free ARC of Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae via Meryl Moss Media.

https://bookwormnai.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/eight-goodbyes-by-christine-brae/ ( )