This book was such a captivating read, but it definitely pulled at my heartstrings. The mix of historical fiction and family drama, with just a hint of romance, made it so engaging. I loved how the dual timelines were woven together—it made the story feel rich and layered. The characters felt so real, and the way the author wrote about love, loss, and resilience really stuck with me. It’s one of those stories that stays in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page. Beautifully written and deeply moving, it’s a book I’d happily recommend.

As much as I wanted to love this, as I so enjoyed two previous novels by Julianne MacLean, but I just couldn't finish this. There wasn't much plot, and in general I just found it boring. I loved A Fire Sparkling and enjoyed These Tangled Vines, but this one didn't live up to those standards. I couldn't make myself care about these characters.

So loved this book following Emma and her father who live and work on Sable Island which is in the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia Canada. From wild horses and ship wrecks it can be a beautiful island but desolate at times when a storm rages. After one storm a ship runs aground and when the crew are brought to shore Emma meets the Captain Oliver. A story spanning decades and an ending I was not expecting.
My thanks as always to NetGalley and publisher Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity for the early read.

Have you had a book on your TBR that keeps getting pushed back in the reading queue then you finally read it and wish you’d done so earlier? That was All Our Beautiful Goodbyes for me. I started the book on the way to work and had a hard time putting it down. I was so invested in the two main characters and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen. I so badly wanted it to be predictable with a happy ending but only one of those wishes came true. It was a beautifully written love story and I’m so happy I finally read it!
Emma had spent her entire life on Sable Island living with her father and dreaming of one day attending University. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father is her only family. She knows her father won’t let her go easily but like the wild horses on the Island Emma can’t be fenced in.
Right before Emma leaves a ship wreck rocks her world and changes her life forever. She will experience the greatest love and the greatest loss in her young life that would break most but Emma is resilient and does everything with passion and zest for life. Sometimes life throws painful curveballs and it feels like you can’t breath, but if you put one foot in front of the other you can find your own happiness.

“All Our Beautiful Goodbyes” is the perfect title for this book. I found the first few chapters slow at first, which is not at all typical of the writings of Ms. Maclean. Her other books tend to send you flying right from the first page. However, I understand the gradual movement was deliberate by the author. Those beginning chapters were a needed introduction to the characters and their disposition. In addition, the descriptions of the breath-taking geographical landscape and the purpose and work done on the island was important to the story. As the narrative unfolds it is clear that our main character is unbelievably naïve. The decisions she makes are totally from her heart and lack insight from world experience. In her defence, however, her life had been dictated by an over protective yet loving father. The book does pick up momentum and I was engrossed in the many thought-provoking twists of “lost love", "lost dream", "lost hope", and "lost future”. Ms. Maclean does a splendid job intertwining these losses with beautiful restorations. “All Our Beautiful Goodbyes” transforms to “All Our Beautiful Hellos". I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book by Ms. Maclean. Her immense research always adds exceptional value and reality to a fictional saga.

This is a saga of life on Sable Island, an isolated area where the citizens live with wild horses and rescue ships caught in bad weather. Emma is a young woman ready to spread her wings and leave for college in 1946. A nearby shipwreck brings sailors on shore, including a handsome captain who quickly makes a mark on her life. Their few days together changed both of them.

The story deals with Emma's life, choices, betrayals and successes, and eventually reconnects in 1995 when several pieces are put together.

Beautifully written story of life, love, loss, resilience, and second or sometimes third chances. There were so many quotes from the book that resonated with me, but especially this one: “There were no guarantees in this world. Happiness was never constant or unbroken. Sometimes it fell away, or was ripped away, and it was beyond the range of vision. But it was still out there, perhaps just over the next rise.” The story left me pondering joy, and how we can lose it, and what it takes to find it again. I laughed and cried throughout the book as it took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was so swept up in the story of Emma and Sable Island, I had to research more about the island and its beauty and horses. It was fascinating! And the ending was perfect, allowing us to imagine for ourselves, from the implied tidbits, the outcome of two love stories; although I didn’t want it to end and I would have loved more from the author! Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley, I received a complimentary ARC copy with no obligation to post a positive review.

Loved!

This is a book of many goodbyes, life changes and fresh starts. Emma is in her late teens, living with her father on Sable Island off Halifax, Canada. She’s ready to test her wings and head off island to university when two momentous events take place, putting her dreams on hold.

After meeting Captain Oliver Harris when his ship wrecked off Sable, Emma feels the first stirring of mature romance. But her hopes are dashed when he leaves. Through the rest of the story, their lives intersect at various times, will any of them become forever?

This author is someone whose books I will buy without even reading the blurb as I know the story will be wonderful, and this was no exception. Romance, outdoors, horses and city life. Highly recommend.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I love Julianne Maclean's books and this is another really good one. Growing up on Sable Island was a unique experience for Emma Clarkson, way different than the typical city or suburb experience. She dreams of attending college in Halifax to study psychology. Just after WWII in 1946, a shipwreck changes the course of her life. She falls in love with Captain Oliver Harris of the downed ship, but their romance is forever complicated. When Oliver leaves to go back to England, Emma tries really hard to move on. She meets and falls in love with an adorable veterinarian who came to Sable Island to study the wild horses, but she soon finds out that he has some deep, dark secrets. The story progresses to 1995 with Joanna Griffin learning about her grandfather's past with Emma. She travels to Canada to learn more about this mystery woman. This is a beautifully-written story of love and dreams and the obstacles that get in their way. I recommend it and look forward to Julianne Maclean's next book. Thanks to #netgalley #lakeunionpublishing and #juliannemaclean for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne Maclean is a beautiful and intriguing historical fiction that I really enjoyed.

Set on Sable Island, a small island southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The story is divvied into 3 parts, which I really enjoyed this format.

The characters were complex and well fleshed out. I appreciated the relationship between Emma and her father.

I was honestly not expecting that twist at all; my jaw was dropping.

Highly recommend!

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne Maclean Review by Shirley Weidner 12-21-24

What a wonderful, intriguing Historical novel! Founded in fact on Sable Island, a lonely, little island 186 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. Emma, the protagonist, is an only child whose mother died in childbirth. Emma’s father is superintendent of Sable Island and is responsible for helping shipwrecked survivors, found off the coast of the island. It is a small community with 2 lighthouses, a telegraph station and the lifesaving patrol.

On May 8, 1946, Emma is now 21, and helping her Dad and the crew, who were called to rescue a stranded merchant ship, the Belvedere. Captain Oliver Harris is experienced from WW11, but the 52 ft. waves have pushed the ship off course. The captain has need of wounds healed physically and emotionally. Emma is drawn to him and helps him in recovery. A friendship has begun.

There are three sections of this story beautifully written by Julianne Maclean. Her character development is excellent, and I really enjoy her style of writing. She develops the many reasons that the Sable Island is a lovely place with drifting sand, roses, unusual grasses and wild horses. There is a twist three fourths of the way through! I read the novel in 3 days! I highly recommend this novel you won’t regret reading it!

I received a free advanced copy of this book from Net Galley. This is my honest review.

An epic tale of love. On the windswept Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia post war, Emma is ready to go out into the world. She dreams of college on the mainland. When Captain Oliver Harris is literally shipwrecked on the island, she falls in love. Fate has other plans. Oliver must leave with his crew and she still has college. When her father’s health turns for the worse, she stays and finds new love. But not all love is the same and Oliver is never far from her mind.

Later, Joanna realizes her grandfather loved someone named Emma in his youth. She talks him into going back to Sable Island. Old love and new love collide in the most beautiful way.

This book is a beautiful and heartfelt love story. The story is set in Nova Scotia beginning in the year 1946 with a young lady Emma.
Emma meets her first love on Sable Island. She is a strong, loving, caring young woman.
There are many events that occur and challenge her life and her dreams. It’s a story of family, heart ache, and many goodbyes.
Julianne once again takes you on a journey that is incredibly amazing. A must read!

While this book started out slow for me, it didn’t take long before I was completely drawn into this story. I found myself thinking about the characters, especially Emma, before I was able to continue reading. This story was both heartbreaking and redeeming. Without giving away too much, Emma proves to be a very strong and resilient young woman, despite her challenges with the men she has relationships with. I highly recommend this book!!
I do also love all of the research that Julianne does for her novels, which makes them quite fascinating.

This is a beautiful book about Sable Island, a fictional island in the cold, Canadian east coast. Emma Clarkson grows up on this small island with her dad and a handful of others on this island and eventually meets a British sea captain that ends up on the island when his ship sinks. He and his crew are mended and eventually leave, but not before Emma falls in love with the sea captain.
Things are not to be for Emma, however, and Emma finds love with a veterinarian who comes to the island. From there, there are many missed opportunities for Emma and the sea captain to get together, with a surprising twist at the end. This is another beautifully written book by Julianne MacLean, which had me researching the real island the book was based on and the history of the surrounding shores.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

It is a good book and I will recommend it. I just thought for me that part of it was predictable and then part of it was a little like…huh? The storyline was fairly interesting- the part about Sable Island was very interesting and almost fascinating. The characters were somewhat believable but I found Emma to be a bit flighty. It was interesting enough that I finished it and am glad I did. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
This was such an enjoyable book so that it was hard to stop reading; I finished it too quickly and wanted more!
The setting, the characters, the love found and lost; everything about this story was so heartwarming. And I loved reading the parts about the horses and so relieved they are allowed to stay on the island without being rounded up and sold on the mainland!
The dual timelines worked really well ... it gave the book a satisfying ending and made me feel happy.
I'm generally not a reader of the romantic genre, but am so glad that I had the chance to read this.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, alternate timelines, gentle love stories, and even cozy mysteries, this book is for you. The book manages to be heartbreaking yet heartwarming, charming yet down-to-earth, and captivating yet a slow burn all at once. It’s a book of loss, longing, reflection, and discovery. The author does a lovely job painting the scenes, exploring the settings, and exposing the personal nuances of the characters. All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean is simply the lovely story of a secluded young woman who matures not a strong woman as she makes past discoveries and learns from mistakes made in the past and the present.

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean is a book I didn't want to stop reading. Set on the beautiful Sable Island, it is a tale of youth, love, loss, growth, and deep soul longing. Our main female character Emma lives on Sable Island with her father. She is young, hopeful, and excited to begin her studies at university. In 1946, there was a shipwreck along the shores of her island. This propels the older, handsome, and captivating Captain Oliver Harris into her life. She becomes infatuated with the Captain, but things don't work out quite the way she envisions and she ends up heartbroken.

This book features a time jump to 1995 when a young woman named Joanna is grieving over her grandmother. She is shocked to discover that her grandfather fell in love with another woman on Sable Island long ago, but they were separated by lies, bad timing, and miscommunication. Joanna is fascinated by the story and decides to learn all she can about Sable Island and the young woman her grandfather loved so long ago.

I loved this book. It is full of longing, passion, and real-life events that made my heart ache. The author does an amazing job describing the inner turmoil of the main characters. I felt Emma's yearning and heartache and the Captain's hesitancy as well as his longing for her. I didn't want the book to end. I also loved the descriptions of the island and the horses. They seemed to come alive on the pages.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Despite being an easy, one-sit read, ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL GOODBYES was a novel full of disappointments. I loved the premise - post war Canada, an isolated island, the promise of love torn apart. But sadly the execution of the plot fell flat, and it seemed to be too melodramatic to be a good read. I was engrossed enough to want to read until the end, but bitterly disappointed all the same. The best parts were the narration on Sable Island, the horses - and props to the author for the way she managed to create a story out of a nugget from history - I just wish it had been done in a less rushed manner.