Y’all. What an enthralling + brilliant + heartfelt story by @jenniferesmith. This book completely charmed me from the very first page and then gave me ALL the feels. Greta is a rock star whose been on the cover of Rolling Stones and played to sold out international stadiums…who still can’t seem to win the approval of her pragmatic father, Conrad. Their strained relationship has grown even more distant since the unexpected death of Greta’s beloved mother, Helen, 3 months ago. Wading through grief and guilt, Greta finds herself in a professional and creative slump when her brother suggests she accompany their dad on an Alaskan cruise- a vacation that had been their parents’ dream. Over the course of the weeklong trip, Greta learns about herself, her music, and most importantly that she and her dad have more in common than they both thought.

This book thoughtfully explores themes of love, forgiveness, fame, parenthood, grief, and family expectations… all set against the stunningly beautiful and raw backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness. I laughed, I cried, I was frustrated and ultimately was left feeling hopeful. The story flowed so smoothly and I found myself captivated by the gorgeous writing. Not to mention that cover!

Thank you Random House for my copy.

"An indie musician reeling from tragedy reconnects with her estranged father on a week-long cruise in this tale of grief, fame, and love" - Goodreads
🐋🚢🎸

I really hoped to connect with this book more than I did. While it was not really what I expected, there are some truly beautiful moments in this book.
What I loved~
~ I have been grieving the loss of my father, and there was one part of the book that I really related to.
~ a sweet love story
What I didn't love~
~Some of the added drama was a bit frustrating and took away from the story in my opinion
~The ending. I won't spoil anything, but I didn't love it.
⭐⭐⭐

I love this one, this was an easy five stars. I love the music component, I love the family component and I thought it was very interesting how the author dealt with grief. A feel good story that I would definitely recommend.

The Unsinkable Greta James was a beautifully written novel about love, loss, grief and the meaning of family. I really loved the descriptions of Alaska. They were so well done that I wanted to drop everything and visit there! I also really loved how well written the relationship between Greta and her father was, especially the exploration of their past hurts and dysfunction. Overall, a great family drama novel.

If you’re looking for a great spring break read, look no further. The Unsinkable Greta James is a lovely little book about Greta, a 30-something rock star dealing with the intense grief of losing her mother too soon. Greta has a rocky relationship with her dad, but in spite of that, she joins him on the Alaskan cruise he was supposed to take with her mother and their best friends.

Greta dreads the trip, but things take a turn when she meets Ben, a professor and writer there to discuss his book, a fictional tale of author Jack London’s life. The book is a little bit romance, but it’s much more than that. It’s an exploration of grief, the tenuous relationships between aging parents and their adult children, and an examination of what it means to do what you love and make art for others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the ARC
I enjoyed the story of Greta James, her family, friends and the people she meets. A fun, funny, happy and also sad story. Enjoyed all the characters in the story. The ending was a little disappointing.
3 stars

What a joyful read of music, writing, friends, parents, love and loss! Such an enjoyable story that takes place on an Alaskan cruise. The story of following your passion, staying true to who you are and remembering where you came from is the core of this story. Although I've read reviews that the father is not realistic, I'm strong in my convictions that grief takes all different forms. Each of us deals differently depending on what we've encountered and where we are in our life's journey. These characters are realistic, flawed and extremely relatable!

Somewhat predictable and sappy but so satisfying. Loved the cruise setting and descriptions of the ports of call. The characters and their relationships were relatable. The rock star element gave the story an edge and freshness that graduated it from the common read. Evoked emotion and hope that conflicts work out. An enjoyable read about grief and relationships. Love the Jack London and Melville references.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Thank you @quercusbooks @netgalley for the gifted copy and @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook. Out NOW! All opinions are my own.

📚 This was a story about grief, family drama between ba father and his estranged daughter, and finding yourself again. The audiobook was narrated by Mae Whitman and was so well done. I read parts as well. I really enjoyed this book. It was really heartfelt, emotional, and hopeful.

Greta James is a musician who has a meltdown during a performance after the death of her mother. After it goes viral, she decides to go on the Alaskan cruise with her father, because he was supposed to go on the cruise with her mother. She tries to rekindle a relationship with him. And she also meets Ben on the cruise, who is an author who is also dealing with tough issues of his own, and they form a relationship/friendship with eachother. I enjoyed the dynamics between between all of these characters, and loved the Alaskan cruise setting as well. Definitely not to be missed!

Greta’s parents are supposed to take an Alaskan cruise for their 40th anniversary but her mom suddenly dies so Greta and her dad go on this cruise. Greta is a famous singer/musician and her dad has never believed in her as an accomplished songwriter. After spending a week together on the cruise, they work through a few things.
I am telling you when Greta had recollections of her mom and the places her mom will go to support her and how her fans loved her mom, how her mom supported her, I was just in beautiful.

Wow, just wow! Love, loss, grief, hurt and sadness are all the stars of this book which comes together beautifully. Father and daughter relationship with raw emotions and hurt as well as love. Amazing! Written beautifully and such raw emotion

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed this book. I didn’t particularly like Greta as a character, but who is particularly likable when they’ve just experienced a huge loss? I loved the Alaskan cruise setting. A great vacation or weekend read!

I was not really sure what this book was about when i first started reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I think Great’s was an extremely relatable character. Yes, she’s a famous indie musician, but she’s struggling with the loss of her mother and she’s struggling with her own insecurities because she feels like everyone around her has their lives figured out and she does not. The relationships in this books are also very well written, and although I would have liked to seem more of it, I think Greta and Ben’s relationship was very sweet and it shows major character development for Greta. I would definitely recommend this book to others and I would be interested in reading other books by this author.

This book was fantastic! I enjoyed everything about it - audio was great, likable/relatable characters, descriptive setting, real world problems that are handled in a realistic fashion, transportive. It was just great. I didn’t want it to end. I tried to savor it but I could have finished it in 1 or 2 sittings. Greta James will stay with me for a long time.

Poignantly powerful. A ballad of balance.

Greta James is all of us, a speckle of a human floating, bobbing, crashing, weaving through this thing called life. This book has a powerful message, that we are constantly shifting, adjusting ourselves to be more comfortable...to ourselves.

Life is a balancing act; at times what takes priority is different from those around you and at other times it looks the same. When our scale begins to tip, or lean, we scramble to adjust those priorities again to balance back out.

When the sudden death of Greta's mom causes her to have a melt down on stage, she realizes she is lost. Trying to connect with her dad, which has always been difficult, Greta takes her mom's place on a planned cruise. Greta rides the waves as she discovers old truths, and new ones, while figuring out the new balance without her mom. Emotional from beginning to end.

Thank you so much to Ballantine Books, Jennifer E. Smith and NetGalley for the gifted review copy.

Greta James is at a low point in her life- her mom has died suddenly, her music career is at a low point, and now she's going on her mom's anniversary Alaskan cruise with her dad and their friends. This story just grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. I loved that the story is centered on Greta and her rocky relationship with her father, a story I don't often read. Both are navigating grief and trying to figure out how to go on without Helen. This is Jennifer E. Smith's first adult novel and I can promise I am going to read her backlist YA now- she's definitely an author I'm keeping my eye on.

I am fascinated by Alaska. It is one of my top travel destinations. I totally blame it on The Great Alone and The Simple Wild series. This book made me want to go there even more. The glacier observing, the whale watching, tuna canning (haha, that one is a no!)

But if you put the gorgeous scenery aside what is left behind is still a beautiful story. The story about a daughter, Greta, trying to piece back her life and music career together after loosing her mom, her number 1 fan in the world, and a father, Conrad, mourning the loss of his life partner of almost 40 years. These two are "parent trapped" by Greta's brother Asher to spend a week in an Alaska cruise and to mend their relationship. Greta is under great stress due to her upcoming album release. She hasn't played in months after losing it on stage following her mom's sudden death. Her dad is not the most supportive parent. He has trouble taking her career seriously. These two clearly needs to do a lot of talking and solve their issues. What better place to do that on a "boat", I am sorry, on a "ship" IYKYK

Then there are the supporting characters The Blooms and The Fosters, Greta's parents's friends who serve as a cushion between the father-daughter duo and there is Ben, the bookish nerd, college professor, author and the biggest Jack London fan. The unlikely love interest. I wouldn't call this a romance story but the romance story line just works in this otherwise tense father-daughter relationship story. Oh I liked Ben. I liked his dad jokes, his ties with dinosaur prints, his constant photo taking for his daughters. But most of all I liked his maturity and his conversations with Greta. Even though they were an unlikely pair, they had more than common then they realized, They both knew what it meant to be on the road to promote their work, the toll it puts on their respective partners, the pressure to perform well in their sophomore album/book.

This book reminded me of One Night on The Island, with just a different setting. I liked it a lot. it was a quick read. it made me want to call my grumpy dad:)

Greta James a famous guitar player whose life and career came crashing down when the unexpected happened, feeling like she lost everything and that she wasn't ready to keep playing and performing, Greta decides to go on a trip that will change her life forever even if at the beginning didn't look that way.

Greta's brother had a plan he wanted to help his sister and father to somehow in some way or another come into term even if he had to play a few tricks in order for this to happen. Greta goes on a trip that was originally planned to celebrate her parent's Anniversary, now she is here ready to recover herself and recover the lost relationship she had with her father even if that was never on her radar.

Greta hadn't played in a very long time, she just wants to move on and see what life brings, she wasn't expecting anything just to finally erase that terrible episode in front of her last audience, an episode that almost killed her entire career.

One of the things that I really love about The Unsinkable Greta James is that somehow the story makes you feel like it's going to be another romantic story where Greta will find love and so on but that was not the case, The Unsinkable Greta James it's a story of reconciliation and acceptance, this is how I felt while reading this story, that Greta was finding herself, accepting herself even if she felt like she made a mistake, forgiving herself for the mistakes she felt she has done but mostly the importance of family and getting closer to the ones that count and make you feel love and supported.

Ben's character was a huge key in the story of Greta a nerdy dorky writer who was there when Greta needed it.

I really would have loved for Ben to be around but I know this was more about Greta, more about her life, her character, the things she had to do to recover herself again, including being friends with her father.

This was a good story, I really enjoy this book.

Thank you Random House, Ballantine, and NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Following the sudden death of her mother, indie rockstar Greta James has a breakdown on stage that quickly goes viral. Traumatized by the confluence of events, Greta can not bring herself to keep performing, and her music career, which was once lauded as extremely promising, becomes less certain. When her brother calls to ask if she will accompany her father on an Alaskan cruise that was supposed to be her parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary trip, Greta has no option other than to say yes. Although her relationship with her father is frayed - he never supported her music career despite her success - this trip is a chance to make things better. Over the course of the one week cruise, Greta meets and develops a relationship with a recently-separated Columbia professor and writer, becomes closer with her father, learns how to live with her grief, and re-discovers her passion for music and performing. This is certainly a lot of growth to take place over the course of one week, and the different issues in Greta’s life appear to be resolved at an expedient time for the movement of the plot. While the book is meant to be uplifting, I think the best writing in this book takes place when Greta and her father discuss and deal with their grief, which felt like honest portrayals of tough issues. Otherwise, the book moved forward predictably, if not a bit conveniently.

Greta James who recently found success with her career as a musician and on the verge of releasing her second album, is dealt a hard blow when her mother dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Before her mother’s death, her parents planned a dream vacation, an Alaskan cruise with their closest friends. On a last minute decision, Greta decides to join her father, only problem is their relationship is not stellar.

On the cruise she meets professor and author Ben Wilder. Ben is separated from his wife, but one thing she knows for sure, is that Ben adores his two daughters. Neither Greta or Ben are in a state of mind to start a relationship, but while on the cruise they develop a close bond.

Of course, the crux of this story is Greta’s relationship with her father. Greta continually feels like a disappointment to him, but here is another truth, he loves his daughter very much.

This is a story of self-healing, reconciling with the people we love. Getting back on that proverbial horse, when all you think is you might fall off again. Of course, there is that wonderful romance element that Smith sprinkles in throughout.

This was a fun palate cleanser after reading some serious books lately. Have fun with this one. Smith will make you feel that you are on that cruise, right along with Greta and her father.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.