Ah, The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward—the ultimate beach read for this summer and a 2020 Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book Club pick. I just couldn't put it down! This lively novel follows the Groobert family—Mom, Dad, and their three grown children—as they make their way across Europe on a luxuriously budget-friendly cruise ship.

The Grooberts' escapades are hilariously real. Mom dreams of spending their stop in St. Petersburg soaking in a palatial Russian spa while Dad hopes to win big in a high stakes blackjack tournament. But their seemingly carefree trip hides a deep pain beneath. It's clear that they all have unresolved issues they need to confront, but that doesn't stop them from having a ton of fun.

What struck me the most about The Jetsetters was its true-to-life characterization of the Groobert family. Ward manages to craft compelling and flawed individuals, creating a world that I wanted to inhabit.

Ward also gives a candid account of the cultural changes within Europe and how that affects the people on their cruise ship, revealing the realities of today's global political landscape.

The Jetsetters was an enjoyable, eye-opening ride from beginning to end. I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an enjoyable beach read with a meaningful twist. I'm looking forward to Ward's next book!

Unfortunately not one that I particularly enjoyed this time. I thought the premise sounded interesting and, of course, the exotic locations, but I didn’t connect with any of the characters really. Perhaps Regan was the exception here in some ways.

I felt that Charlotte was just not likeable in any way and, although I assume we are supposed to feel sad for her after her husband’s death, I felt she was just too buttoned up with her kids. This may have been part of the point but, if so, I would expect her to thaw a little by the end but I didn’t feel like she did.

I’m sure this would appeal for the locations for s9me, but sadly not one for me…

I did not get around to reading this book prior to it’s publication date and it has since been archived therefore I cannot leave a review at this time.

This one wasn't for me, I'm afraid. It was a little too cliched and didn't dig deep enough into the characterisation to keep me engaged. I'm not a huge fan of domestic stories at the best of times unless they're handled by a true genius of the genre like Margaret Forster. Unfortunately, this wasn't up to her standards.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC without obligation.

From the cover and the description I had expected a light and gentle family read. Instead, this is a story full of clichés and family drama, which lost my attention about 20 per cent through.

A good read.IThe story is interesting as we follow Charlotte on a cruise with her three children who all have issues from childhood which they never really resolved.,As we learn more about them and their relationship with their parents its easy to see why they are all troubled in different ways .Loved the different places they visited and thought the writing was good

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

I hadn't read the reviews before reading this book and I'm pleased about that. I enjoyed the book and the characters. The story is told from the perspective of each of three siblings and their mother. They have all had difficult times and they all hide so much from each other. Their family has been broken, and they were all searching for answers, somehow they are all drawn into a holiday cruise together. All in all a good beach read.

Admittedly I thought this was going to be light and fluffy and I was wrong. But I was pleasantly surprised. I am a lover of all things family drama. I rewatch Brothers and Sisters all the time. So for me this book was a hit. Are there flaws, of course… nothing is perfect and I think we as readers are guilty of expecting perfection.
The premise of this book is a family that is built on lies and fear of the truth. Secrets and lies threaten to tear these people apart as a family but also family obligation keeps them together. How often do we as people bite our tongue because we feel we have to because ‘they are family after all’?

Not quite the light hearted beach read that I was expecting but I did still enjoy the story. There were quite a lot of deeper issues than I was expecting but they were handled well and it certainly wasn't boring

Unfortunately, this is not at all what I was hoping for. I wanted escapism, amazing new places to visit and a fun family dynamic with banter and some secrets. But I only got over the top drama, with no communication between the family members and very poor descriptions of the places. I didn't finish the story, after reading about half of it, as it didn't capture my attention at all.

This book has been talked about a lot, and deservingly. I loved the story and could not put it down. Will look at more books from this author

A great storyline and brilliant writing! This had me invested from the start.
Charlotte is 72 and decides to enter a writing competition to win a family cruise. Her three children are not close and not particularly close to Charlotte either so she thinks this is the perfect way to get them back on track. She wins! And off they go on the cruise of a lifetime around Europe.
This is a funny, poignant and at times hard hitting story of a troubled family. The characters all have their own problems and personal Issues. As I read it became clear exactly why they were the way they were and I really enjoyed seeing them develop, each try to overcome their issues. The destinations were great to read about and we saw them through each character’s eyes. I found that although there were some complex issues there was an ease about the writing which helped to lighten the heavy topics. I highly recommend!

As I saw this was a Reese Witherspoon pick I was so excited to get my hands on a copy thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. This book was not as I expected I expected light and fluffy girlie escapism but at times this was quite dark. Although it wasn’t what I expected I did appreciate the descriptions/scenery and I had no idea how the ending would pan out. Not my typical read I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was expecting this to be a light hearted read but my it was so sad and dark in places, I kept having to put it down ans come back to it as it just wasn't doing anything for me.

When a semi-estranged American family “win” an all expenses paid Jetsetters cruise around Europe, matriarch Charlotte hopes it will bring the family back together.

This was an ok read. I assumed it was going to be a light hearted beach read but instead it was rather sad in places.

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward tells the story of 70 year old Charlotte Perkins, who submits an award-winning essay to win a holiday around the world. She dreams that this is the moment that will bring her children back together again after years of distance.

I really enjoyed reading the book. Like many, I was expecting a light-hearted holiday read which gently explored family dynamics however the issues explored were ultimately quite dark, giving a quite ironic nod to the Title - 'Jetsetters'.

I was so looking forward to this book. The blurb sounded promising (of course, why else would I have requested it) but unfortunately, I found it very difficult to read and just kept putting the book down and picking something else up instead.

There didn't appear to be any real plot and at times were very childish.

The first few chapters of The Jetsetters grabbed me tight and kept me strapped firmly in for what was sure to be a wild ride. When Charlotte Perkins enters a sexy essay award and wins a cruise, her three adult children, Regan, Cord and Lee each return to her side and board the ship together. Charlotte wants two things: 1) the chance to bring her family back together 2) a lover. The cruise seems like the perfect opportunity to have a bash at making one, if not both, of these come true.

There's a lot to enjoy in this novel. The set up is fantastic. A cruise ship is at once a pleasure dome and a painfully claustrophobic arena and Ward really ekes out all the tawdry glamour and forced confrontations that such a location offers up. Each sibling is deeply impacted by their unpleasant childhood (due to their now deceased alcoholic father Winston) and each is also struggling with their own present day lives. Alcoholic Cord hasn't come out to his family despite his engagement to his much adored Giovanni, Lee is a struggling actress watching her ex-boyfriend soar to the heights of stardom and Reagan's marriage is crumbling. Charlotte herself has recently lost her best friend Minnie and has found herself lonely, inhibited and conflicted. It's just all so juicy!

For a while I was kept intrigued by the slow burn over the first few nights on the cruise ship. As Cord struggles with his sobriety, Lee measures her self-worth by the men she can seduce and Reagan considers rekindling the romance with her husband (who invites himself along for the ride) Charlotte herself develops a crush on her porter and worries over her children. There's a lot going on and I was particularly interested in Cord and Lee's storylines as well as the flashbacks to Charlotte and Winston's early days and courtship. As someone who cruised a lot as a child (and whose parents worked as guest ents) I loved the cheesy cruise director, the touristy day trips and the hedonistic nightlife.

Ultimately however this book lost me about half way through. Between Lee's mental health, Cord's love life drama, Reagan's mysterious marriage drama, Charlotte's sexy daydreams, the flashbacks, the alcoholism, the painter storyline, the jumping on and off the ship and so on, it all just felt so over-dramatic and over-complicated. I know that life is in fact messy and you could perhaps argue that this novel simply reflected that but for me it just didn't quite pull together. I thought Charlotte was a particularly odd and unlikeable character who I just couldn't ever mange to visualise or get to grips with at all. I found it strange that so many of the cruise ship elements were spot on but that there was a complete disregard for the stringent rules regarding getting on and off the ship that were ignored for the sake of story, with people missing the boat (literally) or flying to join at a new port. I suppose these things do happen but the rate and ease at which they occurred in the novel was unrealistic. I also felt that the situation between Reagan and Matt was built up beautifully with a lot of suspense and intrigue, but then fell totally flat.

It's important to draw a line between character traits that you find annoying (Cord's lack of action) and actual issues within the novel (the Reagan/Matt situation). I appreciate that I mustn't critique the author if I simply didn't like an aspect of their novel. I think the reason I'm struggling in this case to do that consistently is because there was so much that I did like about the book that I felt disappointed when, ultimately, it felt like it tried to tackle too much at once and left me a little bit at sea. By the end of the novel events occur that should have felt gutting but instead felt like just another huge dramatic moment in an ongoing series of them.

In terms of recommending this book to others I'd certainly suggest you give it a go if you like the sound of the set up. It's totally possible that the kind of full-on aspect that I found off putting might be exactly what you're looking for!

Unfortunately this one was not for me. I found it boring and was unable to connect with the book or the characters. A disappointing read.