Beautifully written, this is a story about Greta James after she pauses for a week from a life as a rock star at 36 years old searching for love.

Her mother, Helen, has just died leaving her with regrets as she wasn't there at the end. Her brother, Asher, convinces her to go on an Alaskan cruise with her father, Conrad, that she is not close to - just so he is not alone. Greta reluctantly agrees only to find her world twisted around as she meets an attractive newly separated man, Ben, on the ship. Her past relationships have drifted away and she feels alone. "Just bobbling around in the middle of the water. There's something lonely about it."

The characters are well defined. The father is distant and sad from losing his wife. This was supposed to be their anniversary trip. He studies Greta "like she's a math problem he can't quite figure out." His friends on the cruise are what everyone wishes for with their support.

She is in the middle of the ocean and tries to make sense of her life with her new friend, Ben, a professor, author and admirer of Jack London in "Call of the Wild." He told Greta, "My life would quite literally be completely different if I hadn't found my way to that book." He says "writing is lonely" and tells Greta that she is fortunate that she has always known that her career is with music. Yet, she ponders why it's been so important to make her father proud and finds herself struggling to get there.

Many of us get stuck in life and look at our relationships we had with our parents. Ben told Greta that her mom was her translator with her dad. As a reader, I knew exactly what that meant. The book is packed with words that may or may not resonate with each reader. I just smiled when I read, "Everything in Alaska feels like the middle of nowhere." That's exactly how I felt when I was 19 years old when I stayed with my sister in Fairbanks to get away one summer. The story had an easy-reading plot with a woman trying to find herself. It's sad and happy at times with good characterization. It really makes one think about where they are in life. I didn't want the story to end.

My thanks to Jennifer E. Smith, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book with an expected release date of March 1, 2022.

(PUB 3.1.22) Thank you to @randomhouse for early access to THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES. I have read and enjoyed 4 of Jennifer E. Smith's YA books and was excited to dig into her contemporary/women's fiction debut. 

Greta James is an indie rockstar/guitarist who is recovering from a very public breakdown on stage in response to the sudden loss of her mother. She finds herself on a 7-day Alaskan cruise with someone who she has a tenuous and strained relationship with, her Dad. It's a story about grief, love, forgiveness, second chances. This book is well-written and compulsively readable. I loved how Smith constructed the relationships between the characters. I could feel their trepidation and believed their struggle.  But I could also feel the emotional tenderness that happens when you realize the only way to process grief is to go through it. 

BONUS:
A sweet secondary romance
This cover. Gorgeous! 
Armchair travel to Alaska.
Humor & levity provided by side characters.

Ohhh my heart! This book took me through all the emotions. Heartbreak, healing, and somewhere in between. I haven't read a ton of book with a cruise setting so I was initially intrigued by this. Have your heart ready but I would recommend picking this up when it feels like the right time! Thanks for letting me read early!

Oh this book broke my heart and the took all the shattered pieces and put them back together again, it was such an enjoyable, lovely surprise to read this story...my first by this author and she has a new fan. Ms. Smith has such an engaging writing style and the father/daughter relationship plot was so captivating. I loved the strength our protagonist showed after everything she went through.

The setting of the cruise trip and especially Alaska was a character itself and I felt like I was there with this group of friend and family. This was such a heartfelt story of love, loss, friendship and family. We are never too old to need our parents but sometimes they need us as well. A splended read indeed. All the stars.

An indie musician reeling from tragedy reconnects with her estranged father on a week-long cruise in this tale of grief, fame, and love from bestselling author Jennifer E. Smith.

Where do I start? I read this in one sitting! It was such a quick and easy read. I was captivated from the first page.

This was so heartfelt and I cared so deeply for Greta and her dad. The tension between them was so well written and believable. I have a great relationship with my parents, but know the feeling of needing approval. I don't cry with many books, but this is one to add to that list.

Though quick, her love interest in Ben felt so warm. He brought moments of comic relief to the story and the romance between them wasn't overwhelming. I enjoyed that the book wasn't entirely focused on the romance.

I can honestly say I look forward to reading more from Jennifer E. Smith.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC!

As someone who is definitely not ever interested in taking a cruise (and this was before COVID!), I found this story mostly set at sea captivating, funny, quite moving, and a refreshing change from morose contemporary fiction.

Greta's relationship with her grieving father is complex and authentically written; you can tell that both love each other, but find it very hard to express it. This is a compelling story of loss (both personal and work wise).

Librarians/booksellers: This would be a great contemporary fiction pick for book clubs. Lots to discuss: grief, work life, parent-child relationships, love, and getting older. Oh, and cruises!

Many thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Our unsinkable Greta James is thirty –six years old and very happy with her life. as a musical sensation ~ an indie-singer-songwriter with a cult following.
(Note: I had to look up indie aka: independent.).
Story starts shortly after Greta’s mom Helen died. Greta is grieving: in fact, she felt apart on stage a week after her mother died. Now two month later, her brother Asher talks her into going on the Alaskan cruise their mother had planned for their fortieth Anniversary. Mom has been planning it for years, even talked their neighbors the Fosters and the Blooms to go along with them.

Helen has been Greta’s biggest cheerleader regarding her musical career but her dad, Conrad not so much. Although, he actually started Greta on her musical career when she was very young and brought a guitar for her brother which he didn’t want and gave it to Greta. Dad was so proud of her but now believes she need to settle down, get married have kids and live in a nice house (best if in Columbus, Ohio) with a white picket fence: which is not Greta’s dream!
Personal Note: This is my first [author, Jennifer E. Smith; I wasn’t sure this was going to be a good read for me but awww it turned out to be a ‘feel good’ story!

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this uncorrected ebook file which has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 1, 2021.

I loved this book. Greta James, a rock star, breaks down onstage after the death of her mother. Months later, she is still in hiding professionally and she accompanies her father (taking her mom's place) on a cruise to commemorate their mother's anniversary..

Greta James’ job is to play f**king guitar, and she’s good at it. That is, until her mom dies and she collapses into sobs on stage during a show a week later. A few months have passed and she is scheduled for a comeback performance when her brother asks her to accompany their dad on an Alaskan cruise he was supposed to take with their late mother. Despite her rocky relationship with him, Greta reluctantly agrees, and embarks on a week long journey that will change everything.

This was my first book by Smith, but it won’t be the last. It’s rare a book can so easily balance so many different facets - a reflection of grief, a study in familial relations, a complicated romance - and let them all shine, but Smith manages it handily. I was, in equal parts, crying over the depiction of loss, swooning over the banter between Greta and Ben, and feeling heart warmed by the many lovable side characters.

The main driving force of the story is the relationship between Greta and her dad, which is written incredibly realistically in all its messy glory. But Smith also manages to tie in the other aspects of the plot to that relationship in order to delve into the complicated intricacies of their history. This allows to readers to see all the events that have lead the characters to where they are so they can fully understand their motivations. My favorite part was how Smith used the characters on the page to paint a thorough description of the absent mom, in a way that I felt mirrored real grief. She was a major influence in the story - despite only existing in the characters’ memories, she felt oh so present in the story.

I highly recommend this book, though I’ll warn you that it will make you start googling Alaska cruises when you finish!

This was an excellent read! Greta was a great character focusing and the story did a great job examining her fractured relationships with her parents and boyfriends, and exploring how to overcome grief and loss of her mother.

I loved this book so much! After her mother's unexpected death, Greta James ends up on Alaskan cruise with her semi-estranged father for what was supposed to be her parents' anniversary trip. Greta's career is at a tipping point after a public meltdown and she doesn't know how to move forward. She hopes the cruise will help both her and her dad process their grief so they can get back to their lives. Smith does a wonderful job of showing real, raw grief and how we get through it.

This book really resonated with me on a personal level. The past few months have been a process of grief for me and people I love. This book highlights that there is no one way to get through a loss, but you can get through it., even if that loss always stays with you. My only complaint is that it ended too quickly. I wanted more Greta. I want to know where she is now and what comes next for her.

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. This was a fun read and a nice change of pace from all the psychological thrillers I’ve been obsessed with the past few months. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published March 2022.

This heartfelt, aching story is teeming with loss, mourning, grief, family relationships, forgiveness, dreams and more. Following the death of her mother, Greta, the female protagonist, embarks on a 7-day Alaskan cruise with her estranged father. The cruise was to have been a celebration of her parent's 40th wedding anniversary and Greta agrees to take her mother's place. Through their grief, Greta and her father begin to confront the factors that led to their estranged relationship. The exquisite descriptions of the Alaskan setting were a beautiful backdrop and juxtaposition for the raw emotions of the beautifully layered story. Will Greta and her father be able to mend their differences? Will there be a second chance? I confess that I laughed and cried repeatedly while reading this book. I look forward to reading more of Jennifer E. Smith's books.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books, and Jennifer E. Smith for the Advanced E-reader copy. I am writing this review voluntarily.

A musician daughter, grieving for her mother, reluctantly agrees to take her place on an Alaskan cruise that was originally planned as a 40th anniversary trip. The twist? The musician and her dad don't get along. He never approved of her career as a musician, instead wishing she had chosen a more conventional path. She manages to enjoy herself, spending time with an author who is sorting out his own relationship issues. There are a lot of fun characters on the cruise and I really enjoyed this story. Although it feels like a lighthearted book, it's about working through loss and moving forward.

The beginning intrigued me, as Greta James was a professional musician like I. Her mother had recently passed away before she was able to go on this cruise with her husband and friends. So Greta was talked into going in her place. Before too long, I felt that the story became incredibly slow and boring, but then it picked up again, as Greta found a romantic interest on board.

This is kind of how it went to me. Using a musicians terms: From Largo to Andante to Allegro, back to Largo....shampoo, rinse repeat. There were some tender moments as she and her father actually learned to like each other.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4380616100

It’s not very often I find a book that I just don’t want to end, but The Unsinkable Greta James was one of them. I’m not sure if it was my love for the characters, a real and non-cheesy romance, the beauty of Alaska, the sense of adventure on a cruise, or a combination of it all, but this book checked off all my boxes for an all-time great read. Personally, I could relate so much to Greta and her experiences (besides the rock star career!), and the emotions expressed in the book felt so authentic. I cannot say a bad thing about this story.

I am already looking forward to recommending The Unsinkable Greta James to my book club, and I cannot wait for the opportunity to read it again.

Sending a huge thank you to the author for writing one of my all time favorite books, and to the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheUnsinkableGretaJames #NetGalley

Rating: 5+/5

This book flew by because there is so much that is relatable. Greta goes on a cruise with her father to Alaska shortly after her mother dies, and she's forced to deal with him in a confined space, working through the past and present emotions that have built up for years.

Themes include love, grief, success, and family. Greta is a great character, very well developed because you truly understand why she feels and acts the way she does. I had a harder time with Conrad, but that might be personal to me.

Reeling from the death of her mother, rockstar Greta ends up on an Alaskan cruise with her dad. Along the way they work through the strains of their relationship now that her mother isn’t there to buffer the spots out. It’s a sweet story with a lot of angst and quirky moments. Well worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Wow.

This is an emotional read that touches on love and grief and grabs your heart a few times… All while you’re aboard an Alaskan cruise ship for a week. I have never read any of Jennifer E. Smith’s other books, but clearly she’s showing off her excellent writing skills in this one! She takes you to the Alaskan glaciers with ease. I have been lucky enough to see a few of these ports and she describes them perfectly! I felt like I was standing with her characters at every scene along the way.

This story touches on love, true love and convenient love. Family dynamics, friendships and of course my favorite— following your passion and living for your dream.

Wow, again— I’m so grateful that NetGalley gave me a peek at this one. I loved it so much. I feel inspired and my heart’s a little tight and my throat feels a little thick.

“How rare and wonderful it is to get to do something you love.” —Message received!

This was a great read! I was in a reading slump when I picked up this book and it immediately drew me in. I loved the characters and the storyline. Her writing was beautifully descriptive which made me feel I was actually on a ship traveling to Alaska. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of her books! Thank you NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.