Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early read of The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith.

Greta James is a young 30-something rock star who we meet at a particularly low point in her life. She lost her mother unexpectedly and her grief caused her to have a “meltdown” on stage, which instantly went viral. She has been laying low, trying to get up the energy and courage to perform again, when her brother asks her to accompany their father on an Alaskan cruise. The cruise had been their mother’s dream, and they did not want him to go alone. She tags along with her father, very reluctantly, as he and she have never had the easiest relationship. It was her mother who supported her career, her father who wanted her to have a more stable life. On the cruise, she meets Ben, a successful author also at his own crossroads. They instantly click and we can sense romance in the air. While I am always a fan of romance, I think the best part of this book was Greta and her father’s relationship. They are both grieving the same woman, but not in the same way. They need to come to terms with their relationship – he to realize that Greta is living the life she was meant to live, she to understand his worries about that life. There are some difficult moments and conversations between them, and the ending might have been a bit predictable, but I enjoyed the journey to get there. If you like books like Evvie Drake Starts Over or Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, then give this one a try.

My heart is so full after reading this fantastic novel! I loved the story and the plot and I just wanted to give both Greta and her dad great big hugs at the end. I love books about father/daughter relationships, which is what initially drew me to read this book in the first place.

Greta James is becoming a well-known indie rock star and songwriter. She's been playing the guitar since she was young and is quite talented. She has a label and her first album was successful, but she's been on a bit of a hiatus since she had a public mental breakdown onstage while singing a song she wrote for her late mother who passed away recently.

Greta is struggling with grief after her mother's sudden death. She hasn't played the guitar in months. Her "golden child" brother, Asher, talks her into being her dad's plus one on the Alaskan cruise he and their mom were supposed to go on for their anniversary. Greta has never had the best relationship with her dad. They have very opposite views and opinions and are always clashing. Asher is hoping this cruise will help them settle their differences and become closer.

All of the characters were truly great (except for maybe Luke). I loved how real they were and how their feelings were so raw. The author tried to give Greta a love interest, Ben, and while he is a really nice guy with a bit of baggage, I just did not feel the chemistry between Greta and Ben and I immediately put him in the friend zone.

This is not a hot, steamy contemporary romance. This is a more of a family drama with a sprinkle of romance and I loved every page. I would recommend this book to fans of Josie Silver.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Unsinkable Greta James is the first novel I’ve read from Jennifer E. Smith and boy does it pack an emotional punch! It follows successful indie musician Greta James as she takes a week-long Alaskan cruise with her estranged father. The cruise was meant to be a 40th wedding anniversary trip for Greta’s parents, but Greta’s mom passed away unexpectedly. When her father announced he was going on the cruise anyway because the trip meant so much to his wife, Greta reluctantly agrees to accompany him so that he won’t be alone with his grief.

The complicated dynamics of the relationship between Greta and her dad captivated me from the start. It’s clear that they love each other immensely and would do anything for each other, as is evidenced by Greta agreeing to be stuck on a ship with her dad for a week. But, that said, it’s equally clear that the relationship is very strained and that much of the strain is due to Greta’s dad not approving of her career in music. I immediately became invested in them mending their relationship, especially seeing how much they were both hurting over the loss of Greta’s mom. Whether they realize it or not, they need each other more than ever before.

Greta’s journey in this book isn’t just about repairing her relationship with her dad though. It’s also a journey of healing for herself. Her mom was her biggest fan, attending her rock concerts and holding up a sign that read “Greta’s Mom” on it. Knowing that she would never again see her mom’s face and sign in the crowd again emotionally wrecked her and she actually breaks down on stage in the middle of her first performance after her mom’s death. The moment went viral and she received a lot of bad press over it, to the point where she doesn’t even know if she has a career anymore. She’s at a crossroads and trying to figure out how she can move forward.

I adored Greta and was 100% in her corner as she navigates her way through the minefield of pain and grief that surrounds her. I became especially enamored with her when a teenage girl recognizes her on the ship and tells her that she plays guitar like Greta and wants to be just like her. They share several scenes throughout the book and it’s so sweet to see Greta take the time to mentor this girl even with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

The Unsinkable Greta James is one of the most moving books I’ve read in a while. It’s a sad but hopeful story and it really made me think a lot about the importance of family and the power of healing. I will also freely admit that I cried my eyes out several times, especially as I approached the final heartwarming moments of this beautiful story. It’s one that is going to stick with me for a while, no doubt about it.

One of the things I love about reading YA novels is that they’re typically about a person on the cusp of something greater. When you’re 18, you are choosing one of the major paths of your life and there’s no way that that’s not huge. In the right hands, those stories resonate. Jennifer E. Smith has taken all of the years of writing YA and given us the story of a 30-something indie musician who is achieving semi-greatness in her career but suffers a tragedy and is forced to analyze her life and choices in The Unsinkable Great James.

Greta James is riding high as an indie singer-songwriter. Just as she’s about to release what may be an astounding Sophomore album, Greta’s biggest fan and supporter, her mother, dies suddenly. Immediately afterward, at a charity concert, Greta breaks down onstage and the video goes viral, and now the career she’s worked so hard for may be just an afterthought. As she takes time off, Greta’s brother, Asher, persuades her to go on the vacation trip, an Alaskan cruise, with her father, Conrad, that her mother had planned and looked forward to. But Conrad is far from Greta’s biggest supporter and they haven’t gotten along in quite a while. This trip could make or break them. And so begins The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith.

Just to prove, once again, that I am a book blogger with her head in the sand, I had no idea that this was one of the most anticipated books of 2022 and, frankly, I’m glad I didn’t know because I went into this read with few expectations. And then I was blown away.

The relationship between Greta and Conrad is so real. They came from a place of closeness—he bought her her first guitar—and then found an unnavigable sea between them because he wanted her to have stability and she wanted to do what she loves: play guitar. The thing that brings them together is their shared love for the woman they both mourn.

On this Alaskan cruise, Greta befriends a ten-year old wanna be rock star; has a shipboard romance with a professor who seems to be obsessed with Jack London; and discovers a lot of truths about herself and her relationships with others. Simply, this is a relationship novel that resoundingly loves all kinds of relationships, familial, romantic, platonic.

Greta is one of my favorite characters from the past few years and not just because she’s a rock star. She’s also a woman who doesn’t need to have marriage and/or children to feel or be fulfilled, and it’s great to have that acknowledged in a book when the opposite is so pervasive. She’s a character who feels deeply, questions herself, has depth, a sense-of-humor, is self-deprecating, and is complicated.

Smith’s writing is funny and compassionate and frequently poetic and she has an eye for meaningful detail and a great sense of how people tick. She surprised me twice at the end of The Unsinkable Greta James, which I didn’t think was possible; one surprise ended with tears of happiness and the other with hope. This book made me feel so much and that, to me, is the blueprint of a successful novel.

If it were possible, I’d like to read this again for the first time.

The Unsinkable Greta James is one of my top reads of the year.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A family (parent/daughter relationship) drama sprinkled with some light hearted humor.

Greta James is a fairly well known indie musician, who recently lost her mother and embarks on a weeklong Alaskan cruise with her dad, who has always struggled to connect with after deciding her career path. A path he didn’t approve of.

This was a nice change of pace from the psychological thrillers I have been reading lately. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for an early reader. This book will be published on March 1, 2022

This story follows Greta James, an Indie rock musician, who ends up traveling on a cruise with her father. The story slowly reveals their relationship issues and how she has ended up on this cruise. Smith starts with a terrific storyline, but seems to focus on some less necessary parts of the story while not fleshing out others that I wish she had, like Greta’s relationship with her dad. Doing so would have heightened my enjoyment of this book. Overall, Jennifer E. Smith is a terrific writer who I will continue to seek out!
Thanks so much to #Netgalley and #RandomHouse #Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this novel.

A study of love and grief, The Unsinkable Greta James is a quiet, beautiful story of a woman trying to find herself again after her world is upended. Greta is an indie rock star who is riding high on the fame she always dreamed of. Then her mother dies suddenly and unexpectedly from an aneurysm, and Greta finds herself unable to sing or play her guitar without breaking down on stage. Her career gets put on hold as she tries to find her way back to her music. She finds herself reluctantly agreeing to accompany her father, Conrad, on the Alaskan cruise that her mother had booked for their 40th anniversary. Conrad has never been a big supporter of Greta's music career, and this has created some resentment that has been festering for a long time. Put them both together on a boat (sorry, a ship) and you know that the long-held hurts are going to bubble to the surface. In some ways, Greta's mother, Helen, is the most significant character in this book. She was always the glue that held Greta's family together, the peacemaker between the stubborn personalities of Greta and Conrad. Helen was the one who convinced Conrad and their close friends to book this Alaskan cruise, which brings all of our characters together.

Greta's story was so eloquently written, and I found myself highlighting whole paragraphs as I was reading. Jennifer E. Smith's prose draws the reader in and encourages us to pull up a chair and listen closely as the story unfolds. I teared up quite a bit and found myself full-on crying a couple of times as I connected emotionally to Greta and her strained relationship with her dad.

And yes, there is a love interest for Greta, and he's sweet and nerdy but he also has his own complicated life back home. I appreciated the way that all played out, although a part of me is still secretly wishing for a sequel. But this book is primarily about the complicated relationship between a father and a daughter, both a bit broken, both mourning the loss of life as it was, both needing each other more than ever but struggling to reach across the chasm between them. It is, quite simply, a beautiful five-star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is a quick read, with interesting characters and a fast paced story line set on a seven day Alaskan cruise. Greta James, an indie rock musician with a rising star, has been sidelined since she melted down on stage after her mother's death. Her relationship with her father has been fraught for years, he wants a different life for her and her mother was the balance between them. Together they navigate an anniversary cruise she had planned for and dreamed of for years, and come to terms with their relationship, her influences and eventually Greta's career as well. Ending was a little moreopen ended than I expected or desired, but a day later I'm wholy on board with it! For fans of Bachman, Semple, and similar authors.

Greta James is an amazing guitarist/singer whose mom dies unexpectedly and she has a major breakdown onstage. Her parents were to take a cruise to Alaska for their 40th wedding anniversary, so Greta goes with her Dad knowing it would be too sad for him to go alone. The problem? Greta and her Dad don't get along! The week long cruise is a chance for them to reconnect and heal together. This was a wonderful heartwarming story of family, love, and second chances. I loved Greta and her Dad and honestly all the characters are real and could be anyone you know. It felt like I was on the cruise seeing the sea lions! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

If you’re like me, you may be thinking Ugh. Another book about an indie musician balancing precariously on a breakthrough/breakdown seesaw. Don’t authors have anything else to write about?
And that’s fair. This existential-angst-ridden character has been portrayed ad nauseam, in literary fiction, quirky dramas, and softer, romantic fare alike. But in Jennifer E. Smith’s hands, the tired trope is more like tried and true. The key here is Smith’s ability to create strong relationships. It doesn’t matter that the plot and characters have been done before; the complex relationships that exist between Greta and her father, mother, brother, her new love interest and her ex, the music she plays, the fans, social media lookie-loo’s, and between her true self and her public persona— all are given such detail that, as they’re introduced and then interwoven, there is that magical emotional transference between character and reader.
I love this kind of book, which combines beautiful-but-clear writing with compulsively readable characters. It’s smart, but digestible, and the kind of book I could recommend to just about anyone.

This book really hit me in a way I was not prepared for. I thought I was going into a light, contemporary read, but instead found myself choked up on nearly every page as Greta Jame, up and coming rock star, struggled to connect to her father following her mother’s unexpected death. Oh, and they’re attempting to rebuild their strained relationship aboard an Alaskan cruise. And there is also a love story element.

It sounds like a lot, but Smith is able to expertly thread each needle and let the moments come naturally, if not unexpectedly. It is a lovely novel about grief and acceptance that hit me in all the feels, as the kids say. Do kids still say that? Probably not.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.
This was a quick easy read although it definitely pulled at heartstrings at times. A bit of family drama, a bit of loss, a bit of romance and a bit of self-discovery all rolled into one. My only con to this read is that the family drama seemed to resolve without actually working through it.
Very much enjoyed it!

Wow. I found this story to be incredible. The Unsinkable Greta James was a book that I couldn't put down.

The story follows Greta James who only a few month ago lost her mom. After trying to perform a song she had written about her to a live audience, she has a major breakdown (understandably). Greta takes some time off from music. A few weeks turn into a couple months and she still hasn't announced her comeback.

When she gets a call from her brother asking her to go on the Alaskan cruise that her parents were supposed to go on together to celebrate their 40th anniversary, she is hesitant. She has never had a great relationship with her father, who she feels isn't supportive of her career. She finally breaks down and agrees to go with her dad.

I won't say anymore, but the week is transformative. Every character that Smith throws in has a purpose and I adored them all. I did picture Greta as Daisy Jones, but a lot less problematic. I also love that Smith leaves the ending sort of open. Not necessarily for another book, but just that it's up to us to imagine what happens in Greta's future.

The Unsinkable Greta James is a cute, easy read about indie rockstar Greta James on an unlikely vacation with her dad shortly after they have both suffered an unfathomable loss. While Greta tries to figure out to how restore her career and her dad figures out how to continue on with the rest of his life, these two begin to rebuild a bond while in Alaskan paradise after many difficult years at odds.

Though this book was easy and light, I feel that offering different perspectives of the other characters might have offered a bit more depth. Altogether, an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This book was amazing. Greta James is an indie musician grieving her mother, a lost relationship and her strained relationship with her father when she decides to join her father on a cruise he was supposed to take with her mother. This trip forces Greta to confront her feelings about her mom passing and also to finally talk to her father. Greta made me laugh, cry and cheer in triumph for her. Sometimes being stuck on a boat (ahem, ship!)is just what you need to confront everything you have been running from. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I went into this book with such high expectations and WOW did it meet them!! This book was so cozy, it almost gave me late 90’s early 2000’s comfy cozy vibes even though it took place in the present. Greta James is so relatable and probably one of my favorite new comfort characters. This was such a beautiful story of a family coming together after the tragic and sudden death of Greta’s mother. I also literally want to go on an Alaskan cruise more than anything now after having read this book, it sounds so cozy!! The writing style of this book truly blew me away, this was the first book I’ve read by this author and wow!!! I want to read so many more now, I truly loved it and cannot wait to buy a physical copy of this to add to my favorites shelf when it comes out. If you liked Daisy Jones and The Six I’d definitely recommend reading this because it kind of reminded me of that in some ways!!

The Unsinkable Greta James is an indie musician who is devastated when her mother dies suddenly. She decides to take a break from her burgeoning career, so her brother encourages her to go on the Alaskan cruise that their parents had planned for their 40th anniversary. Greta and her dad have always had a strained relationship, but she books the cruise where the only rooms available are interior cabin rooms with no windows. Having been on an Alaskan cruise before, I really enjoyed the backdrop of the cruise and the excursions into Alaska. On the cruise, Greta meets a man who at first is a distraction to spending time with her dad and her parent's friends that are also on the cruise. Greta's life doesn't really allow time for relationships because she keeps different hours and travels quite a bit for her shows. Jennifer E. Smith's characters are well-developed and the layers of their personalties are revealed as the emotional story unfolds. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book.

This book of redemption and forgiveness made my my heart stutter, made it weep, and in the end, made it happy. Greta James is a complex and captivating character, grieving the loss of her mother, and wondering if her career as a guitarist, singer and songwriter is over. All of this is weighing when her down when she reluctantly embarks on an Alaskan cruise with her father, with whom she has a very rocky relationship. This is a very emotional read, poignant and heartfelt, and I was all in for Greta’s journey—her journey to Alaska as well as her personal journey of healing her own heart, as well as her fractured relationships and career.

This was a beautifully written story touching some raw nerves and strong emotions.Greta James is a Guitarist/ Songwriter who is trying to recover from a very public meltdown during her last performance, the first after her mom unexpectedly died of an aneurysm. Scheduled for a new album release and appearance at a large music festival. Prepping and stressing over this when her brother talks her into joining her Dad and two other couples on a Alaskan cruise. This was to be her Mom's dream trip and Dad wants
to go for her Mom.
Greta and her Mom were very close and she was super supportive of her career. Greta and her Dad never seem to mesh with out Mom there to buffer. Can she survive a week on a boat with him?
Will this trip be what they need to connect or will it drive them further apart? Will she regain her MOJO?

Highly recommend, great story. Thank you to Net Galley, the Publishers and Author for chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Greta James is an indie musician who has a meltdown onstage a week after her mother unexpectedly dies. Her grief is all consuming as she abruptly disappears from the life of tours and concerts. Greta's brother asks her to accompany their dad on an Alaskan cruise that was planned by their mother and was supposed to be their anniversary trip. He thinks it might be just what both their dad and Greta need to deal with their grief. Except that Greta and her father don't get along too well. Greta's unconventional life is disappointing to her father.

Amidst the Alaskan landscape and the confinement of the cruise ship, Greta finds an unlikely friend. Through some uncomfortable situations with her father and an unexpected fan on the ship, Greta slowly processes her grief, tackles the distance between her relationship with her father and begins to forge a way to the life she was meant to live.

This was such a heartwarming story with raw emotions. I loved Greta's character and her stubborn and difficult father. I read it in a little over a day because I just couldn't put it down. Definitely enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance readers e-copy of this book. It will be released on 3/1/22. This review can also be found on Goodreads and on IG @maria.needs.to.read