I give this a very solid 4.5 stars! Greta James is a breakout indie musician and is putting the finishing touches on her much anticipated sophomore album. She doesn't have much depth to her life - no real roots or connections - but she is ultimately satisfied with having her career take center stage. She lives in the land of here and now.

Until the untimely and unexpected death of her first and biggest fan, her mother. Greta is reeling from the loss of her mother and falls apart on stage during a performance. As so often happens these days, her very public come apart is recorded and soon goes viral. Greta finds herself in a downward spiral and is questioning everything from her career to her self-confidence. Months later when she's still in the throes of grief, Greta agrees to accompany her father on an Alaskan Cruise. The catch? The cruise was originally planned as an anniversary trip by her mother to celebrate their wedding anniversary with close friends.. Greta isn't an invited guest so much as she is a "fill-in" for the very noticeably missing lady of honor.

I wouldn't classify this as a standard chick-lit romance per se, but it IS a romance. It's about falling in love with your life, yourself, and making peace with the decisions you've made. There are so many layers of love within the story - the familial love between an estranged father/daughter, the deep bond of love between parents and children, the platonic and long lasting love of friends, and the romantic love of a life partner. The Unsinkable Greta James deals with the deconstruction of some relationships and the building of others. Ultimately, it's a story of connection, hope, and perseverance. The secondary characters add so much to the story and are written as a perfect addition to Greta's journey. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered for Greta James.

The ending is... not my favorite, but I get it. I would have loved an epilogue (I think!) but then again maybe not. It's written in a way that leaves some aspects open for interpretation... and it's possible for different readers to take away different conclusions. Which really goes hand in hand with many of the underlying themes of the novel...
overall, a poignant read that kept me turning the page and rooting for Greta James.... and all those who loved her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A stand out read! I enjoyed the experience of reading this novel so much. A family drama that focuses on the loss of a parent and identify. It's stirring, funny, emotional, and romantic. Great banter and character development, evenly paced and well written. This novel is sure to be a most anticipated release for Spring 2022.

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith tells the story of Greta who is a famous musician ends up on a cruise with her dad. Her mom unexpectedly passes away and she doesn't want her dad going alone. I really loved this story. The characters are awesome! I love Greta and her mom especially at the concerts! The dialogue is spot on, refreshing and descriptive. I felt I was on the cruise too. I will definitely recommend. Thank you for letting me review this book

I already enjoy those sentimental YA books of Jennifer E. Smith before and as far as I can see she can successfully achieve to switch genres to create this heartfelt adult/ women’s fiction/ family drama!

An Alaskan trip bring Greta James, grieving daughter who recently choke up at the stage in front of her fans which went viral and threatened her to lose her entire musical career she’s hardly built and her father who never believed in her dream, lost without his wife’s existence in his life.

She involuntarily replaces her mother’s place in this long awaited trip which was planned to celebrate her parents’ 40th anniversary and 4 close friends of the family also join them. Poetic, isn’t it?

Greta feels lost, aching deeply because from the beginning of her musical journey, her mother is her supporter, confidante, her best friend who encouraged her to chase her dreams. She wrote the song called “Astronomy “ for her mother but she could never hear it, she suddenly passed away. That’s why she had her emotional breakdown at the stage. She couldn’t finish the song. Now she’s a mess. And her brother convinces her to take trip to Alaska to accompany her father.

Well, I have to admit the depictions of sightseeings were brilliant and this book is like travel guide that encourages you to cancel everything in your life to go to visit to Alaska.

The father- daughter’s dysfunctional relationship, past wounds, resentments, misunderstandings were perfectly analyzed. And the romance parts with nerdy professor whose main focus is Jack London novels was also sweet!

This is well written, heart warming, positive, inspirational, lovely women’s fiction/ family novel about grief, love, choices, second chances! Especially I recommend it to the fans of the author and lovers of well developed, relaxing, sweet- enchanting novels!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/ Ballentine’s for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Book is about a rising musician who suffered a personal loss which affected a performance and her reputation taking an Alaskan cruise before her comeback concert.

I liked the references to Alaska landmarks and the Jack London book Into the Wild

I found the book a bit predictable. Most people’s whole lives do not change this much during a week cruise, even to Alaska.

I thought main character was immature for someone in her thirties. It seemed like her mother would have somehow gotten Greta and her father to reconcile their differences by now. Or at least talk them through so they understood each other and agreed to disagree.

It seemed like the characters felt there are only two choices in life: be boring with a safe job and white picket fence or live a ‘big life’ and take chances while being completely alone and independent. A lot of people manage to survive being somewhere in between. Plus some people love their safe lives and there is nothing wrong with that.

I really enjoyed this book, I think it hit me hard as my parents are getting on in age and as Greta it seems time seems to be getting away from us, I really like too how doesn’t matter how old we are we are always battling in a why with the expectations of others and how that affect us and the decisions we make based on that.
I liked the romance, and Ben was such a cutie and real and I love that Greta still could still be herself through it all, flaws and all.

Greta James is a musician who lost her will to perform when her mom died a few months ago. She goes on a cruise with her dad at her brother’s insistence. What happens is for you to find out, but it’s powerful and romantic and healing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

What a joy of a book from start to finish!

Greta James is relatable, but also really cool, as a millennial Midwesterner who makes it in Indie music and is now living the life she aspired to have in New York City, but the sudden death of her mother forces her to face some of the relationships and parts of her life that are in need of tending. Hence she finds herself on an Alaskan cruise with her father, whom she’s struggled to connect with throughout her life.

As someone who has lived through the sudden death of a parent at age 27, I related so much to Greta’s life. The author did an amazing job portraying that complex process of grief as a young adult.

The characters are relatable and realistically flawed and develop beautifully throughout the story. The relationships Greta has with all of the important people in her life are complicated, yet there is no over the top, sensationalized drama, which so often happens in this genre.

I fell in love with every single character and felt like I had access to a really cool life and a beautiful vacation.

It’s been a while since I couldn’t stop reading, and The Unsinkable Greta James hit the spot. Absolutely recommend, especially to the 20-50 age range.

I agree with others who have called for a sequel!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review. (Original review on Goodbooks)

I loved this book so much! I went in thinking this would be another chick-lit style book, which I do enjoy, but this was more than a cookie cutter CL! Greta is a literal rock star navigating the grief of losing her mother and trying to fix a lifetime long broken relationship with her dad all while hanging out on a boat…sorry ship, cruising around Alaska. Add in love interest, Ben, who is still married, but separated, and Greta is having trouble finding her sea legs.
This story is heart wrenching and hopeful all at the same time. I really couldn’t put it down.

This book is a good one. I give it 4.5 ⭐️. I loved the writing, the characters, the relationships, so much of it. This book is a slow and steady read that pulls on the heartstrings with every page. It’s not a romance per se but I think that’s an important aspect of the story. There are a lot of layers to this book. The only thing I didn’t love was part of the ending. It’s not a bad ending at all. I see where the author was headed and can conclude what happened beyond the pages but an epilogue would have been wonderful.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC. This is definitely a good one!

This book was so diverting - it's The Floating Feldmans crossed with The Spectacular Now. A unique plot, well-sketched characters, a charming love interest with some romantic complications - fun read!

I just reviewed The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith. #TheUnsinkableGretaJames

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published March 1, 2022.

This is my first book by this author and it was a quick and easy read. Rock star Cleo has an incident on stage at a live concert the week after her mom passes away and it goes viral. She joins her Dad, who she’s not close to, on an Alaskan cruise that was meant to celebrate her parent’s wedding anniversary. I especially loved Preeti, the young girl she meets on the cruise.

The book is ultimately about family and being true to yourself.

Original review posted on GoodReads.

At first blush, this novel presented a plot/story that was interesting. A young musician at the crossroads professionally and personally. The elements were present for a tale of family dynamics already strained and now burdened with the grief of mother/wife death. The setting of an Alaskan cruise was originally intended as a wedding anniversary trip. Greta is drafted in as her father's companion. Unfortunately the novel never fully explored this aspect. Instead, it resolved into a predictable plot often duplicated by previous novels. The characters were never fully painted, and so the reader has nothing invested in them, nor is there any growth rendered in the characters. The dialogue was shallow and revealed nothing to keep the reader interested. In the end, this work had this reader hoping for an Iceberg on the horizon.

Novels about rock stars have beco0me increasing popular in the past few years. But while most of those books are about the whole "scene" THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES is decidedly not. Greta James is stuck on a cruise ship with her father, with whom she has trouble connecting and trying to recover from the death of her mother. Smith provides an in depth look into Greta's psyche as a performer, a lover and a daughter. The novel takes several interesting an unexpected turns and was thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommend.

I've been in a reading rut and this was just the book I needed to get me out. The Unsinkable Greta James was a lovely book. It combined several fun premises, including a cruise ship vacation with a rock star, and then added a tragedy to make it a bittersweet read. I was rooting for Greta and Conrad, but I loved that they felt like real people, who just don't magically get along better. Same for the rest of the character relationships, I feel like most people don't know how to handle loss well, and this book was nuanced to show how different people react.

I love a book that shows character progression and I've felt that was missing from some of the last books I read. Greta is a believable Indy rock star and all of the pop culture references were very realistic for the times as well. The description of the cruise and the excursions made me yearn to hop aboard a cruise ship for the first time as well. Overall, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. A feel-good realistic read. I'm excited for more of Jennifer E. Smith's crossover into adult fiction and tempted to read some of her YA published works!

Greta James is a guitarist/rock star who is in a pause in her career after a melt down on stage after the death of her beloved mother. At her brothers urging she agrees to go on an Alaskan cruise with her father and a group of her parents friends in place of her mother to keep him company and try to salvage their rocky relationship.

The story that enfolds is a little bit love story, a little bit Alaskan travelogue, but mostly a tale of Greta and her father learning to live with their grief, learning to forgive each other and themselves, and how to move on without someone so important to them both. I thought this book was very special. I laughed, I cried and I hugged my kindle at the end. This is the first adult novel written by this author, but I certainly hope its not the last.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read the eARC!

3.5*

Greta James has just lost her mother and embarrassed herself on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans at her show. She has never had a close relationship with her father, but she decides to try to be a good daughter and go on an Alaskan cruise with him, originally supposed to be her parents' anniversary trip. Filled with funny banter from her fellow cruisers/family friends and heartbreaking dialogue between a father and a daughter, "The Unsinkable Greta James" packs in an emotional story of a family dealing with the loss of a matriarch in their own ways (with a touch of romance on the side to spice it up).

The book is filled with absolutely stunning descriptions of the Alaskan cruise setting. I am not typically one to swoon over descriptive settings, but there were sections that I kept re-reading because I could feel the chill breeze and see the children running by. I was so immersed in where they were on this adventure. The romance between Greta and Ben definitely took the back seat in this book, but I do not think that is a bad thing. I just wish there might have been something more there because I didn't know how to interpret the ending. The real showstopper in this book was the dynamic between Greta and Conrad and their evolution from the beginning to the end. I am a sucker for a father/daughter relationship, but this one was a lot different than the one I grew up with. It hurt my heart for Greta and I just wish that she had a different experience. I felt like these characters exemplified real people that I could see myself having a coffee with because they jumped off the page. I loved the way Jennifer E. Smith incorporated important dialogue in the story because she has a beautiful way of explaining the ups and downs in life without sounding unrealistic.

I just wish we had gotten more time with Ben and that the highs of the story were dragged out a little longer. I would have also loved to get something like a bonus material section for the "Astronomy" lyrics.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"'The truth is, being a parent is mostly just reacting. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't. You give what you can. And at the end of the day, most of it is just being there.'"

"'It's like the feeling of getting off a long flight and taking your first breath of fresh air. You were okay on the plane. You could breathe just fine. And you could survive like that for a pretty long time if you had to. But once you're off, you realize you wouldn't want to live that way forever. Not if you had a choice. I think being away did that for me. It helped me realize I hadn't breathed - really breathed - in a very long time.'"

The Unsinkable Greta James is a beautiful and peaceful story of grief and fame. If you're looking for a vacation read that strikes an emotional cord while giving you a hint of romance, this is the one for you. Smith does an amazing job of conveying the emotions of losing a spouse or a parent through the lense of a modern day rock star.

I really liked this book. It was very sweet and emotional and brought you on a journey with Greta as she figured her way through her grief.

Spoiler alerts -

I loved that she was bad ass on one hand and a rock start but had these vunerabilities and really felt like a real character.

To me, her story felt real and how someone might handle grief and her journey through that. I enjoyed her relationship with Ben and what they brought to each other to work through their respective situations and some comic relief but not using that relationship as the fix she was looking for.

The parent relationship and how you don't always realize who your parents are with each other made me reflect on my own relationships as well.

(3.5) Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC!! I enjoyed this book. I thought Greta's relationship with her father was really well done, and Smith knew how to portray the underlying love that remained throughout every tense moment. I also loved her and Ben's relationship. This book shows that you don't need an objectively happy ending for things to have worked out.