Blog Tour: Never Say Goodbye by Sarah Grace Grzy || Spotlight, Review, and Giveaway!

Hi everyone! It’s been a couple of weeks of pretty crazy finals, but I’m back! Today I have a super exciting blogpost: it’s a part of Sarah Grace Grzy’s blog tour for her new book, Never Say Goodbye!

About the Book-

They say time heals all wounds. But he was finding it a poor painkiller.

Tyler Collens has seen grief and loss in his years of experience as a paramedic—but he never expected it to touch his life in such a personal way. The death of his wife eighteen months ago shook his steady world and changed him in more ways than he can count. Time and routine have steadied his feet, and he looks toward the future as he raises his infant daughter—but the past has a tighter grip on him than he knows.

Alyvia Emmerson has never been certain of who she is or where she belongs. Her dad’s abandonment as a teen broke a fragile piece of her heart, but ten years later, she has moved on. Living on her own, she at last has a project to devote herself to: revitalizing a shabby bookstore. But she didn’t count on her dream job revealing the shattered pieces of herself she thought mended long ago.

In this sophomore novel featuring beloved characters from Live Without You, Sarah Grace Grzy explores themes of grief, hope, and second chances in a story that touches both the heart and spirit. 

Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Indie Bound || Book Depository || GoodReads

My Review-

This was such a sweet book! It’s technically a standalone book, but it is a sister book to Live Without You, and several characters from Live Without You also appear in Never Say Goodbye.

I loved the main characters, Tyler and Alyvia! I didn’t feel as connected to Tyler as I did to Ezra (from Live Without You) but he was still a really good lead character. On the other hand, I related to Alyvia so much more! She has her own bookstore (😍) and was just more relatable and was such a good protagonist! I loved following her story. I really enjoyed seeing how neither of them was portrayed as “perfect,” but rather with their own set of struggles and opportunities to grow.

As for side characters, I really enjoyed seeing Ezra and Piper from Live Without You making a reappearance, this time with kids! Their friendship with Tyler and Alyvia was the best, and I aspire to have friends like that someday. Speaking of kids, Tyler’s baby, Murrae, was absolutely the CUTEST and I loooooooove her!! The other side characters, such as Alyvia’s family, were also well done and I enjoyed their appearances too.

The romance was really well done: I appreciated that it wasn’t an insta-love situation, but a friendship that developed farther along into an ADORABLE romance, complete with bookshop and baby! The faith elements were also really well done: there wasn’t a lot of down-your-throat God talk, but it was there and prominent. The overall message about giving your desires up to God was also a really good one and one that I always love seeing in Christian fiction: it’s just always a good reminder!

The only complaint I have about Never Say Goodbye was the writing style. Although it came through in Live Without You as well, there was just a lot of explicit action in Never Say Goodbye? Things like “he rubbed his hand down his face,” or “he leaned forward, with his forearms resting on the table and resting his body weight on them” (paraphrased, not quotes). This happened often enough that it felt a little awkward to read, and often I had to stop and think about how exactly that action would have been done in order to be able to picture it in my head.

Overall, it was a really sweet springtime contemporary! I really liked the Christian themes in the book, as well as the friendships and character development.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion; I was not required to write a positive review.

My Rating-

4/5

About the Author-

Sarah Grace Grzy is a voracious reader, and if it weren’t for this crazy thing called ‘Life,’ she’d be tempted to spend all her days in front of a wood stove, book in one hand, coffee mug in the other.

A lover of learning, she finds enjoyment in many things and has more hobbies than she knows what to do with. Sarah Grace is a freelance web and graphic designer, and when not working, spending time with her ever-growing family, or reading, she can be found painting, playing the piano, or fangirling with her sisters and friends. She inhabits the State of Great Lakes, and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else—unless it meant she could have a baby penguin, in which case, she’d gladly move to the South Pole.

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Giveaway-

Enter Here

For more information about this blog tour, and to visit more stops, click here.

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Do you like contemporary books? What is your favorite season to read (both in the book, as well as in real life)? Have you seen/read Never Say Goodbye yet?