I love Jennifer E. Smith and was thrilled when I was able to get an ARC from NetGalley. A cruise ship is a big part of this story and I love cruising so it made it even better. A musician ends up on a cruise with her dad after her mom dies. So many emotions and feelings to work through. I enjoyed the journey of the relationships through this book. I'm sure I will read it again.

I was so excited to read this book! I am fascinated by everything Alaska so when I read that’s where this book partially takes place I was so excited. I also love family dramas so this book sounded perfect to me.
Unfortunately this book was just ok for me. I didn’t fall in love with the characters, I didn’t connect with the story, and there really wasn’t much about Alaska. I did enjoy the story, but the true test of a great book for me is wanting to get back to the book when I’m doing other things and I kind of had to make myself go back to it every time. I know other readers do and will love this book, but I just don’t think it was for me.

Thank you #netgalley and #randomhouse for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this story! Honestly, the characters and dialogue were so relatable and beautifully crafted. If you like tragic, moving stories that focus on dysfunctional relationships surrounding family and love -- this book is for you!

I honestly didn’t expect to love Greta and her story of redemption as much as I did. It kind of surprised me. But, when I started reading it, I realized that I couldn’t stop thinking about Greta and her dad. I was fully invested and even had a few tears when I finished it.

Greta James is just a girl from Ohio who made it big as an indie rock star and never looked back. Greta can’t believe she is doing shows in Europe and the US to sold-out crowds. She can’t believe that she was on the cover of Rolling Stone or that people care who she is dating or watch her videos online. She just wishes one certain video wouldn’t be making the rounds.

Greta has been reeling from that recent incident that went viral. She’s afraid her career is over but her manager is working hard to get her back out there. Next up is a performance at the NY Governor’s Ball. She just needs to stick to the plan. But, a call from her brother, Asher, has her going on an Alaskan cruise with her dad just a week before she is to perform again. She wasn’t supposed to be going on this cruise. It was her mom’s dream and for her parent’s anniversary, but sadly, her mom died before she got to take that dream trip. Asher asked Greta to go along on the trip with her dad. The problem is that Greta and her dad have had a prickly relationship at best for the last several years. But, Greta decides this just might be the thing she needs, a getaway while all the buzz about her incident settles down.

“It’s a particularly strange kind of loss, when something you don’t think you even want gets taken away from you. “

Jennifer Smith is a new-to-me author but has well-known books in the young adult genre. I’m thinking this might be her first in the adult fiction category and I hope there is more to come. Smith writes with a strong sense of place and mood. My heart ached as Greta missed her mom and felt hurt by her dad’s lack of praise. My stomach flip-flopped as she started to feel a bit flirtatious with Ben. I cheered for her and cried with her as she traveled through the Alaskan landscape coming to terms with her career, her grief, and creating a new life without her mom.

You can’t be on a cruise ship without a bit of romance and I felt it was the right kind of relationship for the story. It didn’t feel contrived or forced, but instead was natural and realistically moved through the story. Greta’s strained relationship with her father was relatable and was a source of so much pain, for both of them. The moment where each of them was able to finally have their say was pivotal and such a character-building moment. Greta wasn’t the same person when she left the ship and this conversation with her dad was a large part of that. Many of us have hard family relationships and readers will be able to connect to Greta and her dad in this scene.

“Maybe the point isn’t always to make things last, he says. Maybe it’s just to make them count.”

This story is very sentimental as readers watch Greta struggle with the loss of her mom, a recent breakup, a possible damaged career, and a strained relationship with her dad. But, they will also see Greta be able to dig deep and find she isn’t the person she thought she was. She will emerge from this trip stronger and more sure about the direction of her life than ever.

I see a lot of comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six going around and I highly disagree. This isn’t written in an interview format and doesn’t include multiple band members and their falling out. It’s Greta’s story. Greta is a grieving daughter who just happens to be a musician. Greta will inspire you to go after your dreams and reflect on how far you have already come.

I loved this story so much. Musician Greta James is trying to find her way just months after the sudden death of her mother and a very public breakdown that went viral. Going on an Alaskan cruise with her father is the last thing she wants to do, especially considering their strained relationship. The author does such a good job of describing grief and the difficult father/daughter dynamic. The Alaskan setting was gorgeous and Greta’s on board romance was sweet and not too cliche. I thought it had a perfect ending that brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommend!

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith. Pub Date: March 1st, 2022. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟. At it’s core this is a story about grief and navigating tough times, but there are also themes of family and finding yourself again. Greta James is a musician who is successful but had suffered an onstage meltdown leaving her with mixed feelings leading into her second album. Her mother suddenly passed away and she leaves to take her mother’s spot on an Alaskan cruise with her estranged father. Put on a cruise ship together, these two characters are forced to face the facts and navigate through their past differences to propel themselves into the future. I love the cruise ship backdrop, Alaskan scenery tidbits and all the family drama. This was a solid read. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads #theunsinkablegretajames #randomhousepublishing

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.

Greta James is an indie musician who loses it on stage after her mother's sudden death. The footage of the breakdown goes viral and Greta stops playing which puts her career in jeopardy. Months later, and Greta still not coming back to stage, she reluctantly goes on an Alaskan Cruise with her estranged father who doesn't approve of her career choice of being a singer. Still heartbroken this is something that Greta and her father share.

While on board Greta meets a professor and author who is on the ship to lecture on Jack London. Ben is there dealing with his own family in crisis. Separated from his wife and with two small children, he is looking for what is next in his life.

I loved Greta and Ben. I loved the maturity of their relationship but I felt like something was missing between the two of them. I also loved how Greta and her father were able to overcome all the hurt and disagreements from their past and form a new relationship. My only wish is that the book had a little more focus on Greta and her father. Conrad wasn't too likable until the end and I would have liked to see their relationship strengthen through out the book.

Overall, it's a great story of family and coming together through grief.

The Unsinkable Greta James is a moving story about love and loss and how people handle grief. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Alaskan wilderness, this novel explores what it means to lose the person that's most important to you and how the people that are left behind help each other deal..

Greta James is finally making her mark in the world of music when the unthinkable happens. Her mother and number one fan suffers an aneurysm and is suddenly gone. Her grief comes out on stage so, on top of her intense sadness, she's forced into a few months of a break from her career.

Her brother convinces her she should join her father on the long planned Alaskan cruise that should have been a celebration of her parents' 40th anniversary. Despite her strained relationship with her father, Greta decides to go and it sets off a chain of events that leads all our characters toward healing.

This was a moving novel on grief interspersed with light moments including a budding new romance. It really encompassed the complicated feelings related to losing someone and moving on, and I think Jennifer E. Smith has done an incredibly good job.

4.5 🌟

After losing her mother, Greta feels lost and the passion to professionally perform has also taken its toll on her. Greta’s brother Asher convinces her take her mothers place on an Alaskan cruise with her father. Greta’s relationship is strained with her father, so this isn’t necessarily a vacation she’s trilled about it. After experiencing the death of a parent, I find novels like these with seamlessly raw grieving depictions speaking to my own soul. It had depth, potential love, complicated family relationships and so much more. I adored this novel!

Thank to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for this novel.

The Unsinkable Greta James is Rebecca Serle meets Taylor Jenkins Reid. A perfect tale of grief and redemption that will be enjoyed among readers of many different genres. Jennifer E. Smith crosses over to adult seamlessly but I would still consider this a great title for older readers who have graduated from reading YA contemporary.

This was such a heartwarming read! Such a good mix of romance, music, family and grief. Greta was such a fun main character, she really gave us rocker girl vibes but also quirky, fun, relatable vibes. Also can we talk about the setting!? Like I felt like I was on vacation during this book, the cruise and the Alaskan scenery, and the WHALES. I need to book a cruise asap now. I binged this one in 24 hours and regret nothing. Thank you NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Jennifer E. Smith has created a beautiful story of family, love, and second chances - all taking place on an Alaskan cruise! I was initially excited to read this book because I love all stories taking place in Alaska, and I myself have an Alaska cruise coming up. The setting served as a perfect backdrop for Greta to reconnect with her family and family friends after the recent loss of her mom. I cherished every page of this book, as Greta navigated the her relationships with family, her manager, and made a new connection with Ben, and rediscovers her love of music, all in the course of a week-long cruise. I look forward to reading more works by this author!

I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing is outstanding but I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between two very unlikely people, one a college professor and a father, the other an indie rockstar with few ties and grieving for her recently deceased mother, who died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm just before going on her bucket list cruise to Alaska.

Synopsis:
Greta James's meteoric rise to indie stardom was hard-won. Before she graced magazine covers and sold out venues, she spent her girlhood strumming her guitar in the family garage. Her first fan was her mother, Helen, whose face shone bright in the dusty downtown bars where she got her start--but not everyone encouraged Greta to follow her dreams. While many daydream about a crowd chanting their name, her father, Conrad, saw only a precarious life ahead for his daughter.

Greta has spent her life trying to prove him wrong, but three months after Helen's sudden death, and weeks before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta has an onstage meltdown that goes viral. Attempting to outrun the humiliation and heartbreak, she reluctantly agrees to accompany her father on a week-long Alaskan cruise, the very one that her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary.

There were flashes of happiness, but overall this was a very sad book, not my usual choice. It’s really a story between Greta and her father more than a love story. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Unsinkable Greta James was a @bookofthemonth option for March so I know a bunch of you must have this on your shelves. Raise your hand if you read and loved this as much as I did. 🙋🏻‍♀️
An Alaskan cruise brings Greta, grieving after the loss of her mother, together with her father who was supposed to be taking the trip with his wife. Greta James is a rockstar whose career is threatened after a recent viral video.
There was so much to love here including the depictions of Alaskan sightseeing (like, I really want to take an Alaskan cruise now). Greta and her dad have had a difficult relationship for a long time because of her career choice, but the forced proximity her made them face some of their demons and this was an absolute joy to read. Plus the smidge of romance with a Jack London loving professor was the Cherry on top. A heartwarming, uplifting novel about family and second chances.
I listened to this and I have another favorite narrator to add to my list. @mistergarf performed this to perfection. Loved it.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Following a public breakdown brought on by the sudden death of her mother, indie musician Greta James agrees to accompany her father on a cruise to Alaska. They have always had a tense relationship, and while she was alive, Greta’s mother, her biggest fan, had helped father and daughter communicate. With her gone, Greta and her father Conrad struggle to bridge the divide between them especially in the face of their shared grief. Both hope the cruise to Alaska will help them learn to understand each other. In addition to trying to repair her relationship with her father, Greta is working on her sophomore album, dealing with fans on the cruise ship, re-evaluating her current relationship, and trying to recover from her public meltdown. Ultimately, The Unsinkable Greta James is a story about repairing relationships, finding your joy and living life to the fullest. I absolutely loved this one and highly, highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was an honest look at how people deal with grief. Greta and her dad are still reeling from the loss of Greta's mom and they embark on an Alaskan cruise. The author portrayed the strained relationship between Greta and her dad realistically. The characters were interesting and the story engaging.

This warmed my heart. I read it in 2 days. It is a story of healing and self discovery. I really enjoyed it.

This is a heartwarming, feel good, and well written story about the power of love, dealing with grief, and second chances. Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

We follow Greta James as she navigates through many of life's challenges. Any one of these issues might throw a weaker person into a permanent depression. Greta faces a very public meltdown on stage following the death of her mother. Since then, she has not been able to perform or even pick up a guitar.

She agrees to accompany her estranged father on the cruise which was to have been a celebration of her parents' 40th anniversary. Will this cruise be her ultimate challenge or is she really "unsinkable"?

Amidst the breathtaking scenery of Alaska, she learns truths about herself and her relationship with her family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to others by Jennifer Smith.

THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES by Jennifer Smith was an engaging read. After the sudden passing of her mother, she’s asked to go on an Alaskan cruise with her father that was planned for their 40th anniversary before her mother’s death. As a successful musician, Greta is working to fix all that is broken with her career, her relationship, and her heart. The result is a fast reading story about the distances you have to sail and the honesty you need to embrace to find what you are looking for. Definitely an author that I will keep following.