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.

✰ 2.75 stars ✰

“Sometimes we have to choose one path over another, and live with that choice, and be happy with it.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ When Captain Oliver Harris', British naval ship Belvedere capsized on the shores of Sable Island, twenty-one-year-old aspiring psychologist Emma felt that she had met the love of her life. Despite the many obvious reasons for them not to be together, she felt a certainty in her heart that he was the one. But, life and love often do not go hand in hand; and when they don't they stir up colder feelings and crueler heartbreaks and hopeful attempts to sooth the loneliness of a broken heart. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 And when she meets twenty-eight-year-old Logan who arrives on their secluded island to write a paper on the wild horses, it is all she hopes to heal the sadness of a lost dream. But, even then, sometimes love and life have not yet entirely shown the hands that they have left to deal. 🪷

“What did she really know about life and relationships and the real trauma that people endured in other places in the world?”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The journey that Emma's life takes is one of second chances, lost opportunities, and misguided dreams. It is about how we yearn for something - dream we can make a dream of our own, only to have another life play itself out. Emma desired to study psychology at college, but she also 'wanted so badly to be loved'. It is hard when the absence of certain chances of love makes it all the more desperate, if not hopeful that the first chance at love might be the only one, even if it is not a grand love. 🥺 And the mistakes she learns through the chances she takes with her heart shape her character into one who learns not to give her heart away so easily. She is a dreamer - an idealist at times, but she also perseveres - toughens herself not to fall for the promise of happiness, regardless of how she craves it. It is a heavy-hearted path - one paved with challenges that appear not in her control, but somehow, she unwittingly pays the price. Her strength of resolve is how she has to try and move on from it and make something of herself, even at the cost and loss of her own happiness. 🫶🏻🫶🏻

“Was this what it felt like to fall in love? A complete loss of emotional control?”

But, I'm gonna level with you. I was not a fan of the deliberate contrivances the author dealt Emma to make it impossible for her to have her happy ending. Perhaps it is an example that illustrates how life rarely works the way we wish - how fate is uncontrollable and we simply have to work to find a way to move on or how important it was to grab hold of happiness while you could, and hang on to it.' I was a bit uncomfortable with how it was always Emma's ill-timed, if not ill-planned romantic rendezvous with her lovers that had her life change course; it did not seem like a suitable, well, maybe for the time, it was - but it also portrayed her sense of character as a very romantic one, who did not really have a level-head, despite how eager she was to prove otherwise. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It just felt slightly manipulative to me; for her to make the same course of judgment, not once, but twice - ah, maybe I can forgive it to the time period, but it just made for a plot device that ran stale. 😮‍💨

“... as if he were continuing to live and breathe in that memory, in the exquisiteness of it all, the good and the bad—because it was life, part of the living, breathing world.”

The writing was pleasantly agreeable to some extent. I did like how certain scenes were portrayed, well-rounded characters that captured their personalities and resonated with the conflicts. The time jump, too - very abruptly handled. I would have liked to have eased into it, rather than suddenly be thrown into it. 😕 I did not feel like even the past was resolved before we jumped to the present in a way that carried such a bittersweet sadness of longing that even the ending did not bring closure. It was disheartening for me, but for others - maybe hopeful. For I believe that is the message that All Our Beautiful Goodbyes reminds us; that for all the lost years - 'that despite the pain, it was all beautiful' - there is still the other side lived that gives us something in return. Be it a balance of happiness or family or a cherishing a life lived well that shows us that not everything is entirely lost forever. 🥺

“It’s a record of lost souls, and a reminder of why we’re here. To provide safe sanctuary.”

The highlight of it all - Sable Island, a small Canadian island off the coast of Nova Scotia. I do love how the cover captures not only the beauty of it, but Emma's wistful longing of something more than just the life she had - to see the world and experience new things and achieve all that she knows she is capable of. 'Only then did she realize what an incredible sight it must be for someone who came from away.' 🌊 I also learned about the maritime responsibilities, I felt so much for the allure and the charm that this isolated island of keepers possessed; such richness, teeming with the magestic presence of nature and animal life of this magnetic pull that added to its - I would not say, enigma, but the beauty of it and why even being remote - the aura of mystery it exuded was one of seafarers who may be lost to it, but some are found from it, too. Having it set in the days of World War II also painted a vivid image of the tides of change to Emma and her father; how it is impossible to stop the passing of time, no matter how much we cling to what we hold dear. 🙏🏻

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emma lives on Sable Island, a tiny, remote island off the coast of Canada, where government employees are stationed to provide rescue and care for victims of shipwrecks. When a ship runs aground, Emma is attracted to the handsome young captain.

This is a love story that begins just after the Second World War, and concludes 50 years later. I enjoyed reading about life and conditions on the island and the hardships faced by the inhabitants.

Emma dreams of going to university and studying to become a psychologist. Whilst she achieves her dream, we find out very little about this part of her life.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Julianne MacLean for this gifted e-ARC.

This novel is a sweeping tale of love, sacrifice, resilience, and the journey of self-discovery. MacLean beautifully weaves a dual timeline narrative that draws readers into two eras and connects two characters separated by nearly half a century.

In 1946, we meet Emma Clarkson, a young woman living on the remote and mystically rugged Sable Island. Known for its wild horses and infamous shipwrecks, the island offers Emma a life isolated from the world yet ripe with unfulfilled dreams. When British sea captain Olive Harris is rescued from a shipwreck, Emma's world is forever changed. The romance that unfolds is complicated and intense, and we see Emma as she grapples with dreams of leaving Sable Island to study psychology at Dalhousie University, balancing her ambitions with her ties to her father and island life.

Fast-forward to 1995, where Joanne Griffin learns of her grandfather’s heartbreak and unresolved love from decades past. Determined to reignite his passion for life, Joanne embarks on a journey to connect him with his forgotten past, opening doors to healing and unexpected revelations.

MacLean does a beautiful job exploring the inner lives of her characters. I felt deeply for Emma as she encountered the fragility of love and the weight of difficult choices. This novel paints a vivid picture of life on Sable Island in the 1940s and captures the wildness and remoteness of the landscape and its impact on the lives tethered there. The dual timelines blend seamlessly, creating a powerful story of intertwined destinies.

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes is an unforgettable read that celebrates the strength of the human spirit across generations. Fans of historical romance and richly atmospheric settings will find themselves completely immersed in this evocative tale.

For readers of Lucinda Riley, this is a must read book. I can't remember when I last read a novel that I did not want to end! Set on Sable Island (a small island off the coast of Novoa Scotia), it is a story of enduring love, missed opportunities and hdden secrets. Spanning from the 1940's to the present, we follow the two main characters as they navigate their life choices. The descriptions of the island are simply breathtaking, I am ready to go there right now. After finishing this, I read about the history of Sable Island and its inhabitants, fascinating read. This has to be one of my favorite books that I have read this year..

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the honor of reading and reviewing the ARC of this book.
All The Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacClean is one of few book which not only shares the magic of love, but also, through the beauty of the written word, the glory of Sable Island. Sable Island is located in The Atlantic Ocean southeast of Halifax Nova Scotia and is known for its wild horses.
This book will take the reader on a ride of emotions which is what a good book does and I recommend it highly. Great and immersive story and gorgeous imagery makes for the perfect read. .

Maclean is one of my favorite authors. She had a way that she writes romance novels without making them sappy or over the top and draws you in to the story in a way you fall in love with the characters. I loved the setting and the Wild Horses. This is another winner for her
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean. The story was wonderful filled with love, romance and joy. The story takes place on Sable Island. Emma and the Captain fall in love but circumstances prevent them marrying. I loved the wild horses on Sable Island. Read the story you will fall in love with Emma and the Captain.

I couldn’t put this one down. The story, set on Sable Island, drew me in and kept me guessing. A really interesting historical fiction/family saga with a touch of romance. I’m now eager to do my own research on the island. What a great setting for a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book broke my heart several times! The setting was gorgeous, the little island, the wild horses, it was beautifully immersive. A little bit slow paced but I didn’t mind. Some of the turns taken were annoying and I did wish at times the end was longer and the middle was shorter, I wish we had more of the resolution we waited so long for. But this book managed to make me happy, sad and angry all at once which is what a good book does!

Wow, what a great story. It is the story of Emma, living on a secluded island off the coast of Canada. She is ready to leave the island to attend a university but has to change course based on some events with her father. She also finds that one great love that is ever elusive and the fates just don't line up for her at all until closer to the end of the story. Most of the book is Emma's story and timeline, and the secondary story of Julia and the current timeline do seem a little rushed and thrown together, but in the end, the beauty of the story comes. through. This book is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time as you feel every bump in the road that Emma faces. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes
By: Julianne MacLean
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Tour: Suzy Approved Book Tours
Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours, Lake Union Publishing and author MacLean for this gifted e-ARC
This novel was EPIC and covered so much. Love, Loss, Dreams, and Life
1946:
Emma Clarkson is looking forward to going to university and leaving Sable Island. She has led a sheltered life with her father as her mother passed away.
A twist of fate happens when Olive Harris a British sea captain is rescued off their island after a shipwreck. Her father also suffers a major injury.
1995:
Joanne Griffin learns her grandfather lost the love of his life a lifetime ago. She wants her grandfather to be happy again. She vows to take him back to a place which meant the world to him.
I rooted for Emma as tragedy struck her many times and cruel twists of fate shattered lives.

WOW, this was such a beautiful story! This was my second book by MacLean. Now, I love her writing even more. I love any story about WW2. This was just so well done. I also enjoyed learning a lot about Canada. This was such a nice escape read, but get your tissues handy.

Wow! This is such a good read. This book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Trials and righting of wrongs. Wonderful characters and storyline. Have your hanky ready. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this very well written book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

Sable island is a Canadian island known for its remoteness, horses, seals and has the distinction of having more than 300 shipwrecks off its shores.This book focuses on the island when it was inhabited by about 35 people during the early 1940’s. It served as a weather station as well as a beacon for distressed boats. The main character Emma has lived there all her life with her father who is the superintendent of this small island . Emma is knowledgeable and loves all aspects of life on the island but as an inquisitive woman now wants to live and pursue studies at Dalhousie university . Her contacted with the outside world has been limited and this results in forming relationships quickly with two men who have come to be on the island for different reasons . This book focuses on these relationships and how they both contributed to Emma’s journey as a mother ,doctor and finally a woman who eventually finds her true soulmate.

This book had a very introspective feel to it compared to the author's previous books. The story was interesting but there was a lot of heartache within the pages. I particularly enjoyed the wild horses in the story.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

NetGalley !
The imagery in this book is truly beautiful, that’s probably my favorite part of it.

The decisions made in this book by the main character and also other people were frustrating to me. I didn’t love the love triangle if you will & while I am glad they found each other at the end, it was still heartbreaking.

Not the lightest or most enjoyable of reads and I didn’t love the blurred lines in relationship, not the book for me.

I really enjoyed reading this and thought the romance element worked overall. I loved the two time-periods being used and that the characters had that feel that I wanted. Julianne MacLean was able to weave a great story and can’t wait to read more from them.