Greta James, a rock star, must come to grips with musical and family tragedies. Set on an Alaskan cruise which she takes with her father after her mother suddenly dies. Why has she always been disconnected from her father? And felt loved by her mother? Why has she chosen from an early age the path of guitar playing and why has her career fallen apart just as her father predicted?

Used to playing in packed arenas, Greta is far from the public eye. While on the cruise she meets an unassuming historian, Ben Wilder, who is also struggling with his life. For readers who have ever struggled with their direction in life and choices they’ve made, who have wondered about where they were going, why the love some people more and others less, who love music and history and scenery – this book is for you. If the Call of the Wild has ever called you, join Greta and Ben in a wonderfully written, emotionally complete story of how our choices impact us throughout life. Maybe it’s time for a moment of introspection in your life too.

I'm not sure where to start with The Unsinkable Greta James, but I absolutely adore this book! I've not read anything else by this author, but I'm so happy I read this one!

Not only are the characters amazing ~ so real, filled with the angst, love, confusion, and soul that all of us are ~ but the family dynamics and even friend dynamics make for a wonderful read.

If you are looking for a great book that will make you thankful for the best people in your life and even those that aren't the best, but someday could be, this is the read for you. If you are having difficulty with relationships, pick this up. I could go on, but I think you get it. Pick this up!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC at my request. My thoughts are my own and happily shared.

⚓"Ahoy there!" Are you looking for a great heart touching romance novel? "The Unsinkable Greta James" will totally take you on the sweetest adventure ever!

It's been 3 months since Greta lost her mom Helen. Helen died unexpectedly, leaving a huge gap in the family. Helen had booked a cruise for her and her husband Conrad to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Sadly, Helen passed away before they could make the trip, leaving Greta to go in her place. Greta and her dad do not get along.

Greta is a mega talented rockstar. While Helen was her biggest fan, Conrad does not agree with Greta's lifestyle and is very vocal about it. Will this trip end in disaster? Will Greta and her dad be able to tolerate each other for an entire week together on an Alaskan Cruise?

This story will make you laugh and cry, but then... don't the best books always do that? I really enjoyed the depth of the story. Plus, I love books about musicians or cruise ship vacations. Both together with romance thrown in is totally over the top! It's like having ​ice cream with a big fat cherry on top!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for allowing me to review this delicious e-book. It is totally delightful! "The Unsinkable Greta James" by Jennifer E. Smith, will be published March 1, 2022.

Rockstar, Greta James, has a rocky relationship with her father, and the sudden loss of her mother has thrown her life upside down. Under coercion from her brother, she decides to join her father on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked with their closest friends.

I really enjoyed this one, even with the heavy content. While it deals with grief, it also deals with breaking down walls of familial relationships and opening your heart to new experiences. I cried happy and sad tears while reading this and marveled at how beautiful Alaska sounds. I also realized I need to read more from this genre—it was lovely!

Thank you Ballentine & Netgalley for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

(Will post on Instagram closer to pub day.)

3.5 rounded up 🌟

“…the life he wants for her is fundamentally different from the life she wants for herself, and music is the boat that’s forever carrying her away from it.”

This heartwarming story combines themes of fame, family and forgiveness. As a child of the 70s, my bias for a good indie musician story is absolute, and this one layers in some very likable (maybe predictable) characters. A quick read which may have you humming along to your personal soundtrack, will check all the boxes for many beach and poolside readers this coming season.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Indie rock singer Greta James hits a blip in her career following the sudden loss of her mother & biggest fan. A last minute Alaskan cruise with her difficult to connect with father isn't what she needs right now-- or is it? Greta works through her grief all while discovering a little more about herself in the beautiful Alaskan landscape. I had Grace Potter in mind as the inspiration for Greta. For fans of [book:Malibu Rising|55404546], [book:Songs in Ursa Major|55502881], [book:Blush|55573786], and [book:The Simple Wild|36373564].

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

Greta James is a rock star. And after the death of her mother, ends up taking her place on an Alaskan cruise with her father. The story is a beautiful story about family dynamics, grief and hope. The story takes place over about a week of the cruise.
The writing was easy to read, and the characters are likeable but flawed. It is somewhat easy to relate to the family conflicts, even if you are not a rock star. The flow is somewhat slow-paced but not in a way that makes you want to stop reading.
I really enjoyed this book and could and definitely see this as being a book club selection in the future.

I absolutely loved this book! There is a subtlety to it that I really enjoyed. Greta is an indie musician who has reached stardom, only to have it come crashing down around her as she grieves for her biggest fan--her mother. The book centers around her relationship with her father, who has not been supportive of her career. They have to deal with the strained relationship when Greta takes her mother's place on a cruise with the stoic man.

I really loved the unexpected romance that finds Greta on the ship. Ben was an unlikely match for her, but also perfect. The ending made my heart swell. I totally loved it!!!

I was gifted a copy of this book by Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith.

Greta has been tasked with replacing her recently deceased mother on a cruise with her dad, and friends of her parents. Greta is also a fairly well known musician who is dreading the cruise for a variety of reasons. What if she gets recognized, what if she can't connect with her dad, what if the pain of her mother's absence is too much.

But Greta still can't anticipate just how impactful the cruise will be, especially after meeting Ben. Ben is a single dad and Jack London enthusiast who is on the ship to spread the love of The Call of the Wild. But Ben is also fighting his own internal battles and insecurities. Perhaps Greta and Ben can resolve some things with the help of each other.

This presents a bit as a romcom, but actually carries a bit more weight and instability. I found both to be both refreshing and frustrating. It was not cut and dry, but isn't that more representative of life anyway? Either way, it was a pleasant read, full of the same waves and bumps as an actual cruise, and I enjoyed it.

An Alaskan cruise was such a fun setting for this, and I loved that it was going into GovBall. Super intriguing plot and well crafted characters I enjoyed this one.

Greta James is an indie rock star who has just lost her mother. As she attempts to deal with the loss, she loses her passion, her confidence and a little bit of her identity.

Greta's brother talks her into going with her Dad on a cruise to Alaska in place of her deceased mom. She and her father have a very strained relationship and are horrible communicators with each other. Greta goes on this trip begrudgingly, only to be there for her father at her brother's request. Her parents' two closest couple friends are also on the cruise. Along the week-long journey, Greta finds out that she really needed this this time away from her regular life, this time with her mother's best friends, this time with her father and this time away from the pressures of her life in the limelight.

I enjoyed this read, but I did not find it to be anything special. I didn't really believe the breakneck speed at which Greta fell for another passenger. I didn't really believe that he would fall for someone who admitted she didn't like children when he had two daughters. The character development was okay, but I felt like I never fully understood why her father would be so disappointed in her life choices. He seemed to finally come around in the end, but I think I wanted more from their conversations and interactions. I liked the ending of this story - I appreciated that it didn't try to find a perfect ending. I left the story with hope for the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine for the ARC to read and review. Solid 3 stars.

The Unsinkable Greta James is a very readable, well written book. Greta is an indie musician whose career is on the upswing until she has a meltdown on stage shortly after her mother’s unexpected death. Her brother persuades Greta to accompany their father on an Alaskan cruise that was supposed to be a 40th anniversary trip for their parents. What ensues is a trip where they are both dealing with their grief as well as a relationship between them that barely works, especially without Greta’s mother. This sounds heavy, but instead this is all handled with a light touch. There is humor and even a bit of romance. I really enjoyed Greta’s story!

I really enjoyed this book--I found the premise of a rockstar going on an Alaskan cruise with her father just after her mother's death quite intriguing. And, I liked a lot of the descriptions and the ways in which the characters weaved together. I felt like there was a good balance of romance and depth in this novel, especially with how Greta and Conrad had to work through their issues as child and parent. It also talked about parenting at all stages with Ben and his children. I also really loved the visual descriptions of birds and wildlife in Alaska. Jennifer E. Smith is an awesome writer, and I can't wait to see what other novels she comes out with. One note, at certain points, I did find myself getting a bit confused with pronouns and which "he" Smith was referring to in regards to Conrad, Ben, Greta's brother, and the other male characters. I'll be posting on Instagram, @talia.reads.books within the next week!

Greta James is a songwriter and guitar player with a cult following. She is happy with her life in her 30's, as long as she doesn't slow down. When her mom dies unexpectedly, she goes in her place on a cruise to Alaska with her dad and their close friends. Greta and her dad are not as close and must use this cruise to strengthen or break their relationship. Greta must also evaluate her life and what she wants going forward after a public meltdown.

I loved this book so much! I loved Greta, who is complicated and doesn't always make good decisions, but wants to do better. I loved her voice and the "stuck on a cruise ship" with her grief. I loved the themes of minor celebrity, music as art, and friends as family. The dialog is snappy but not too much and the father/daughter relationship is real and fluid.

This book is a gem and there is something here for everyone. If you like rom coms, books about musicians, loving families, dysfunctional families, stories about travel, nerdy professors, or life after death of a family member, this book is for you. I think this book is for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

The characters in the book were really interesting and developed well. I like the relationship growth between Greta and her father, and all his friends who were on the cruise with them. I would have liked a little more focus on the main relationship, but overall it was a really nice read.

This is a story of loss and connection. Rock star Greta James had a meltdown on stage after the passing of her mother--her greatest supporter. The video went viral, and in the months since, she has been feeling lost. Her brother convinces her to go on the Alaskan cruise her parents had planned with their father, who thinks that Greta should live a more conventional life, and their parents' closest friends. Immediately after the cruise, Greta will perform for the first time since the meltdown. Both Greta and her father are dealing with the loss of Greta's mother, and the cruise forces them together.

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith is a lovely story about a daughter trying to make peace with her father after her mother’s unexpected death. The daughter just happens to be an up-and-coming indie rock star. That was until she had a melt-down while performing right after her mother’s passing. It’s been three months and Greta hasn’t performed and can’t seem to move forward. And while her mother was her biggest supporter, her father wants her to have a more normal life. The two of them have butted heads for years, with Greta’s mother playing referee. On what would have been her parents’ 40th-anniversary trip, Greta joins her father and her parent’s best friends on an Alaskan cruise. On the ship, she befriends the handsome guest lecturer, Ben Wilder, who has written a successful novel about Jack London. He is also having an identity crisis from struggling with his own family and career issues.

Sprinkled with occasional humor, the author treats the issues respectfully and realistically. Nothing is fast or easy when it comes to rebuilding relationships or careers. In the end, there is an overall feeling of hopefulness and healing, along with the possibility of romance.

4 stars. Book club recommended because there will be lots of juicy discussions about parent-child relationships. Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy. Also thanks to Taylor Noel whose review brought this to my attention. This book will be published on March 1, 2022.

Greta James is an indie rockstar who is most at home onstage, playing guitar and singing in front of crowds of people. But after the death of her mother, she finds herself unable to perform, and agreeing to accompany her father on what was supposed to be her parents' anniversary cruise to Alaska. Whisked away from her normal life, she is forced to reconcile her difficult relationship with her father, process the death of her beloved mother, and begin to explore her own identity and place in the world. An emotional, heartwarming, and sometimes funny novel that will appeal to fans of Katherine Center and Christina Lauren.

This had some heartbreak I wasn't quite ready for, and I had to take a moment and get there. But, once I did, I really enjoyed the story of family. Placed on an Alaskan cruise as a backdrop gave the entire story a fantastic location, and I really enjoyed it. I liked the romance, but for me, the main story was about the character's growth and grieving process. I liked it!

I really enjoyed this story about love and grief and finding oneself even amidst pain. The writing was lovely and the tension between characters was realistic and nuanced. I though the story did drag a bit in the middle, but still an enjoyable read overall.
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I do have one reading pet peeve I wanted to call out. “But she’s basically only into like, Taylor Swift-which is fine if that’s your thing…”
I am BEGGING writers to stop using my girl T Swift as an insert to show “bad” taste in music characters. In the year of our Lord 2022 Greta would be a Taylor fan and would be dying for a feature on a Reputation (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) track.