Pulled on my heart strings, made me laugh and cry. I think this is a novel full of heart and i would definitely recommend picking it up!!

First of all a big thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

This was a heartbreaking story and hit me right in the feels. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their growth along the way.

If I could say goodbye by Emma Cooper

The story involves Jennifer and Ed dealing with the death of her sister who dies in front of her. Jennifer deals with the death differently from Ed but he is also dealing with grief but Jennifer goes down a path of mental illness and he is trying cope with all of it.

The author on the whole tries to deal with the grief well and it is humorous in part but the main characters didn't really fit in the overall storyline.

I just didn’t get it and it is a difficult path to get right . Good try but it didn’t really do it for me .

Another fabulous Emma Cooper story. Funny sad, poignant and heart warming. Her books never fail to wrap me up and transport me to another world.

This book was a glorious roller coaster of everything! The author takes the subject of loss, but cleverly makes it uplifting.

The characters will stay with me for ages - especially quirky Kerry, who isn't actually alive...

Loved Ed's voice too. The blokey point of view was so fresh and convincing.

Emma Cooper is a fantastic author and has an interesting skillset of bringing me to tears with every book. A lovely read as always.

Loved the dual timeline.
The plot of love, loss and navigating the waves that grief brings & learning to live with there impact.
Ed was my favourite character.
I shall definitely be keeping my eyes peeled to see what Cooper brings out next.

I have read every book from Emma and yet again it’s another fantastic book!

One minute I was crying and the next laughing

Five stars from me!

Wow, this book was incredibly emotional but beautiful. It wasn’t quite what I expected and I cried most of the way through. It triggered me in ways I wasn’t expecting and made me face some tough personal experiences I’ve had recently.

I loved the opening chapter but found that I didn’t really connect with Kerry due to not getting to know their strong connection before she was taken. After now finishing it I do think that was the point. I think the focus was supposed to be Jennifer, who I connected with on a much higher level. If this is the case then the author was spot on with her focus.

The decline of mental health was tough to read, the risk taking and ‘madness’ she feels are quite typical of grief however I thought the story was going one place but it went to another. I can’t elaborate more otherwise it could give away the plot lines.

Overall, besides it making me really sad, there were some really lovely moments too. Snippets of special moments and creating memories and at times some comical scenes which were lighthearted. I have rated on the writing which is remarkable. It shows the raw emotions of grief, mental health illnesses alongside personal loss and living a life without that special person in it. It’s very traumatic in parts but beautifully done, but for me, it was a little too emotional of a read. Maybe it was wrong timing for me to read it right now and had I read it at a different time it would have been a full five stars.

Jennifer has lost her sister Kerry in an accident which happened in front of her. As a coping mechanism she imagines her sister is with her at all times. Ed her husband is also suffering the loss of his sister in law and his wife who is shrouded in mental illnesses dark cloud.

Its a sad read speckled with humor which makes it easier to read. Its hard to appreciate the relationship of the sisters, your told they were close but you don't necessarily feel it. Both Ed and Jennifer are take them or leave them characters which don't bond you to the story line.

This was my first time reading a book by Emma Cooper and I was not disappointed. If I Could Say Goodbye is a beautifully written story by Cooper and I can't wait to read from the author in the future.

Beautifully written but I struggled to persevere with this one as it was a bit too dark at times and I struggled to form an emotional bond with any of the characters, despite the tragic loss and grief throughout.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

A harrowing story about how grief effects people in different ways and a reminder on why we should take time to deal with anything that happens in our lives.
A beautifully written story. about a difficult topic and how past events can still effect us later in life.

Emma Cooper never EVER fails to disappoint. Her writing is enticing, emotional and captivating. This book broke our hearts and healed us all at the same time.
We look forward to reading more and hope to feature Emma's books on The Glass House in the near future.

What a beautifully written story! I will look for more books by this author.
The story is about losing someone close and how you deal with such a loss.
The book goes between Jennifer who loses her sister in a tragic accident and Ed Jennifer’s husband who feels like he’s losing his wife to grief then mental illness.
Such a thought provoking book. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book

I'm afraid to say that I couldn't get on with this book. Having lost a sibling to depression, I found this too difficult to read.

Apologies.

So well written and thought provoking. This book demonstrates the special bond between sisters and the ties that they have thro their lives.

In If I Could Say Goodbye, Jennifer is dealing with the sudden loss of her sister, Kerry. The guilt and the fact she never got to say goodbye is eating her up inside and it's affecting her entire family. As always Emma Cooper deals with some very hard hitting themes and does so in a very sensitive and human way, with a dash of humour. However, although I did enjoy reading this, I feel it doesn't quite live up to her previous two novels - my favourite of which is, The First Time I Saw You.

I'm not sure why I didn't like it as much. It could be that we meet Jennifer following her sister's death so we don't get to see them together and develop any attachment to Kerry prior to her sudden death, It could also be that the narrative went back and forth between Jennifer and her husband, Ed, and although it was interesting to see Ed's point of view, his narratives felt quite awkward and unnatural at the beginning. It may also be because my family have recently suffered a similar loss - in my case my sister is Nessa (Kerry's partner) so it was very hard to see her grief in the story. Although, saying all this it has made me realise that it does give an interesting insight into loss and how different people deal with it. When something tragic and unexpected happens you never know how you are going to react or how you are going to cope in the long run. This novel brings to light how truly complicated grief can be.

I really enjoyed this book. It was warm, heartfelt and full of things to make you stop and think about. Would recommend.