Member Reviews
Beautifully written contemporary romance that tugs at your heartstrings. The story follows Julia Waters, a therapist, and JP Chapman, a kindergarten teacher, whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways over several years. Their journey is filled with missed chances, emotional highs and lows, and a touch of fate that keeps pulling them back together.
Moss’s writing is both poignant and engaging, making it easy to get lost in Julia and JP’s world. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and their chemistry is palpable. The emotional depth of the story, combined with the themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, makes this book a compelling read. Highly recommend
I loved this book from the first chapter. It made me feel giddy, these two characters stole my heart and held onto it right till the end.
I found myself grinning like an idiot at my kindle screen more times than I can to admit!!
This book is not your typical romance book and that is exactly why it is so brilliant . It’s real and messy and complicated, in the way that life is real and messy and complicated.
It feels like the life is continuously conspiring against these two while simultaneously working its hardest to bring them together every time.
Jules- “You will have many loves, most of them will be him”
Jp- “You will only have one”
You root for these two beautiful souls the whole way through, feeling everything they feel, right there alongside them. Their love is the type of love we pray for, the love we want so badly it hurts.
Just two people so close, yet so far at the same time. I laughed, I cried, I swooned, I cursed. This book was a roller coaster I could ride every day and never get sick of.
“You will begin where you began”
This was the easiest 5⭐️ rating iv ever given, without a doubt.
Read this book if you want a romance story that will change the way you think about love from this moment forward.
I love Caitlin Moss and this was another one of her hits! I couldn’t stop reading this it was so good. My poor heart ached all the way till the end. Everything about it drew me in and kept me there.
I recently had the chance to read this one as an ARC, and I found it to be a cute and heartwarming story. The book had a charming mix of romance and real-life situations that felt relatable and easy to connect with. 📚💞
The main characters Julia and JP were likeable, and their growth throughout the book kept me interested. I especially enjoyed how the author captured the relationship of Julia with her grandma. The small, everyday moments in a relationship made the story feel grounded and real. 🥰😇
That being said, I felt like the ending was a bit too drawn out. While I understood the need to wrap up all the plotlines, it felt like it took a bit longer than it should have, which slowed down the final parts of the book for me. Still, it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light, feel-good read.
If you're in the mood for a rollercoaster of emotions with moments of heartbreak, tears, and ultimately everything falling back into place, Goodbye Again is just what you need. ✨📚🧡
A big thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to enjoy this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I need to confess from the beginning that I wanted to love this book. Several readers I normally line up with in my romance opinions have loved this. For me though something just didn’t hit quite right for me to feel invested in the characters.
This could be my ongoing love/hate relationship with the back-and-forth trope. Undeniable chemistry on the first meeting, but now something keeps the couple apart, only to find themselves in and out of each other's lives over the years, but the timing never quite lines up. This is a favorite trope for many readers, but it takes a lot to make this work for me. I appreciate that Caitlin included two elements to their timing that were out of the character's control. For this, I give the book 5 stars. While the story felt like one we’ve read and could predict, it was nice that you could feel sympathy for the characters rather than just frustration.
Interestingly, one of the few notes I made had more to do with Julia’s relationship with her mom. I found it bothersome that her mother’s character was written only villainously. There wasn’t a positive interaction with her mother. Well, let me say—the truths/backstory and growth here were well done. I appreciated that this was written in a way that bothered me enough to make a note for myself, but by the end, it was rectified!
If you want angst, some tears, heartbreak (repeatedly), and then it all pieced together again, Goodbye Again is for you.
This book grabbed me by the heartstrings and never let up until the end. This book was fantastically written and had me engaged from start to finish. What a wild ride of an invisible string tying the FMC and MMC together through "chance" encounters. I enjoyed the fortune telling elements, Gramma Elle, chapter 42, and how much of an absolutely perfect MMC Caitlin Moss wrote. Reminded me of all of my favorite romance movies rolled into one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This was a fantastic read.
i WISH this was a movie! this played out like a movie in my head while i read it and it was so easy to keep the momentum going every time i picked up the book.
4.5 ⭐️
caitlin has done the right person, wrong time and invisible string tropes so well with this book. and man do i wish someone had the conversations that julia had in her dreams with me. they’re hard conversations, but it also felt sort of fitting that julia is a therapist and these dreams are her psychoanalyzing herself. julia and jp love each other, that was so clear from the start. and they kept trying to fight it because they knew neither of them had the capacity for a love that big in that moment in their lives. but when they reached a point where they COULD handle a love that big? oh man was it great.
the second half had me crying but this book also healed me in a way i didn’t know it would.
🌟Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💧Drip-o-Meter: 💦💦💧
💗Something I Loved: I’m going to contradict myself here because I also hated this, but the emotional rollercoaster this book took me on was one of my favorite things. I fell for these characters as hard and quickly as they fell for each other and continually seeing them slip through each others fingers because of timing and circumstances broke my heart. Unlike most romances, there wasn’t just a small barely-conflict keeping them apart, but a lot of larger and very realistic things that, although time and time again destroyed their chances, also reinforced the characters best qualities… How can you be mad at Jules for ending their 1st chance when she did so because of ethical responsibility and care for her patient? How can you blame JP for ruining their 6th chance when he does so out of honor, kindness, and compassion? You can’t. And there’s something so beautiful about the fated but doomed premise that deeply touched my soul (and poured from my tear ducts).
🫤Something I Would Have Changed: Well there was definitely a hot minute in there where I was so angry at JP that I wanted to make a lot of changes… The way my stomach ached during the Christmas/New Years chapters… Julia handled it a lot better than I would have in her situation. I got over it pretty quickly but gah, was I ever mad at him for a teeny moment or two! 😡🤬
🥰Favorite Moment: The entirety of their first chance really… any moment between Jules and JP when they were together and at their best. I loved them through the whole book but that first chance really showcased their fantastic banter as their chemistry oozed off those pages. But also the magic element with the psychic and Gramma, including the “twist” at the end and how it connects back to the Gramma dream right before the second chance 👀🤯🤯
🌶️Spiciest Scene: Chapter 7… when he “focuses on her for a while too”🥵. I’d classify it as more “cracked door, making love” style spice than full open door but it was done well and was enough to keep me happy. Basically just don’t go in looking for anything graphic and you’ll be fine.
📚Standalone vs. Series: Standalone
📖Would I Recommend: Listen, I don’t know what it was about this book but I legitimately cried for at least 50% of it. And yet I’m still saying yes, I’d recommend 💯 because it’s a cry you can only have for characters you deeply care about and that’s a true testament to Caitlin’s writing and storytelling. I can’t wait to read your backlog when I’ve finally got ahold of my emotions again.
💬Tropes: Right Person/Wrong Time, Multiple Chances, Invisible String, Magical Realism, Situationship, Emotional Twists, Friends to Lovers to…..
If you’re in the mood for an emo romance, Caitlin Moss’s newest book - GOODBYE AGAIN - has you covered.
My thoughts:
-chemistry is great
-spicy 🌶️
-depth to the characters
-love the relationship Jules had with her grandma
-drug out a bit too much for me
This fated romance spans the course of several years and was full of emotions. I enjoyed it, but thought there were too many second chances and too much of will they, won’t they that caused the book to drag on longer than I would’ve liked.
This book had me captivated from the first page, when Julia Waters meets JP Chapman, on a flight to see her sister. Before she met him, she had tried to keep her life simple and uncomplicated, particularly after the break-up with her cheating partner. Yet there is something about JP, the handsome kindergarten teacher that wins her over. They spend magical night together, wandering the streets of Seattle, where they stumble upon a fortune teller who predicts their futures will forever be entwined. Over the next five years, their lives are intertwined, with many missed chances, until Julia realises that love is far from straightforward.
This is a book that when you put down, you find yourself thinking about, and looking forward to picking up again. I loved the conversations between Julia and JP and how you can feel them falling in love, and truly understand why. The connection between them is instantaneous and natural. I also loved the chapters between Julia and her deceased Gramma, who gives her advice in her dreams.
There are so many sections of the book that I could have highlighted, which for me reflects the beauty of this novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Here’s me, trying to convince you to read this book based on quotes from Caitlin’s novel …
🔅 “There’s a part of me that wants to jump his bones for the hell of it, but if I’m honest, there’s a part of me that just wants to be his friend for the rest of my life”.
💛 “I don’t think there’s a life, or a world, or any kind of universe where I don’t like you.”
🔅 “Why is every day with you the best day I ever had?”
💛 “My heart sees your heart.”
🔅 “Minuscule doesn’t equate to less meaningful. I wish I had more nights in the snow with you. I wish I had more of your summer days. I wish I had more evenings where we watched stupid movies and spilled wine over everything. But every time I’ve gotten to do that, I have loved it more than you even know.”
💛 “To JP, I’m a wild night. A falling headfirst. A dance under the stars. A bottle of wine and a favorite movie. A kiss on the sidewalk. A joke in the dark. A board game on a holiday. An entire memory lost in an instant. At least, that’s what he is to me.”
🔅 “I think of how it all could have played out differently because if he wanted to, he would have. But he didn’t.”
💛 “I never did like you. I loved you the moment we met.”
🔅 “I’m desperate for you. You’re the life I didn’t know I need to live - the love I didn’t know I could feel”.
Does this one pass the vibe check? YES, YES IT DOES. I read this book in about 4.5 hours and was screaming, kicking my feet, giving James a play by play. I simply loved this one so damn much!
After and incredible meet cute at the airport, Julia and JP find themselves at the same event and further discover they have the same mutual friends. JP is college teammates with Julia’s brother in law. JP’s charm continues at the baby shower, as he saves Julia from her overbearing mother with his quick thinking and unique problem solving. Following the baby shower, JP and Julia develop a one of a kind relationship that comes to an end when a conflict of interest appears at Julia’s job. Still despite the conflict the two are inseparable until JP gets an opportunity to teach abroad and tells Julia he won’t do a long distance relationship. They still keep in touch here and there but while Julia still holds onto hope that their relationship will continue when JP returns; JP comes back to the states … engaged to his ex girlfriend. The two unexpectedly meet again during the holiday and discover the both still have feelings for each other. Skip months later JP gets married and Julia opens her own practice. Life seamlessly goes by for the both of them until they meet again when JP coincidentally is Julia’s Uber. The pair bond again through tragedy, unfavorably to Julia’s boyfriend. Immediately JP can tell that Julia’s boyfriend isn’t the one for her and pleads for her not to marry him. With JP’s marriage being over and Julia’s engaged ended they try for their happily ever after.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
For me, I found this book to be a cute but incredibly too long. It reminded me of a high school situationship. As a social worker myself, I LOVED the mental health representation and the conflict of interest being the code of ethics. I really love how Julia models effective communication and a healthy relationship. It was refreshing. JP reminded me of McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy (pre Addison). 3 stars because I want a big fan of the story structure. I couldn’t find the conflict in the story. JP had not one character flaw so I found him to be kind of one dimensional. I would recommend this book to a younger audience (few spicy scenes) as I feel they mey be able to relate better to the situationship. Thank you to the author Caitlin Moss, her publishing team, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🤍.
had not read any of Caitlin Moss's previous releases so I was not sure what to expect.
Julia and JP meet on a cross country flight and little do they know they are headed to the same party. The story takes place over quite a few years.
I found that this story was one that cut at my heart. There were so many close calls and near misses that I wanted to scream at Julia and JP.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Gosh this book! It was so good!!!! So many emotions while reading! JP & Julia these 2 went through so much!
This was my first book from Caitlin Moss and I am obsessed. I wasn't planning to feel so many emotions while reading this book but I did.
If you love:
Right Person, Wrong Time
Second Chance Romance
Strangers to Lovers
Fated Romances
Emotional Romances
Then I would recommend this book for you.
Julie and JP our main characters meet while taking the same plane from Chicago to Seattle- they end up spending a great night together in Seattle.
Julie was written so realistically that I felt I could relate to her character.
As a reader you could feel the chemistry of these two was insane only to watch their story become "right person, wrong time" situation. What gutted me was watching them both move on with their lives and to their respective S.O. to only to cry even more.
It’s impossible for Caitlin Moss to write a bad book. Trust me. Every book rips by heart out and somehow puts it back together again.
JP and Julia. They had to say goodbye so many times. It’s a case of the right person and the wrong time. I couldn’t help but root for them even when I wasn’t happy with them.
The twist left me with goosebumps. It was perfect.
Julia and JP meets onboard a flight from Chicago to Seattle and end up chatting. Unknowingly, they are both invited to the same party and end up spending more and more time together, once they are back in Chicago.
When their relationship is about to progress further, an unexpected revelation and distance breaks them apart. Despite that, they remain as friends and honestly, I love this phase as they get to know each other better outside of the bedroom.
Unfortunately, I stopped loving the plot at the 50% mark. I just couldn’t understand why JP never called and why he returned to his ex, Audrey. The worst was when he forced her to be the third party. Man up, JP!
The last act was just making me tear my hair out. Donovan may not be the best boyfriend but he doesn’t deserve it when Julia keeps thinking of JP when they are together. Emotional cheating is still cheating….
Wow, this book was amazing. This was my first book by Caitlin Moss and I want to read her entire backlist now.
I felt so many things while reading this. From giggling and swooning over JP, to legitimately sobbing.
I loved their meet cute and their playful back and forth. I could feel the chemistry and tension between them. All the characters were very real and raw and so, so relatable. Julia’s relationship with her mom was painful to read. It resonated deeply with me.
A couple of times while reading, something would happen that felt like a punch to the gut. But even while it was devastating, it was also beautiful. The journey they went on was not easy, but it was so worth it. JP and Julia were soulmates.
I really loved the dream/Gramma chapters. And the little bit of magic woven into the story. ✨
All the stars! Absolutely loved this story. Caitlin has yet to do me wrong. Everything from the characters to the storyline to the plot itself 🤌🏼 amazing.
this is only my second caitlin moss book & I can guarantee it won’t be my last! have I found a new auto buy author? 10000%! caitlin moss’ writing is beautiful. I was hooked from the first chapter & couldn’t put the book down. there were so many memorable moments! I wanted Julia & JP to get together SO bad 😭 it was definitely the right person, wrong time which completely broke me. I can’t say much without giving anything away. But just know this a book you NEED to read. I can’t recommend it enough! 🥹
read if you like ||
-dream theory
-emotional twists
-multiple chances
-right person, wrong time
-strangers to lovers to…👀