Member Reviews
Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel. Jetsetters was a perfect escape, an Italian dropback, family drama, and secrets. When Charolette "wins' a cruise for herself and three grown children, the vacation gives them the opportunity to reconnect and learn the things each of them had been trying so hard to hide.
This was not the light, fun read the book cover portrayed. The Jetsetters is the story of Charlotte Perkins and her dysfunctional family who go on a European cruise after she wins a contest. Charlotte and her children each have secrets and emotional baggage they are bringing aboard. It has so much potential with this great setting, however the setting was definitely an afterthought in the overall story. My favorite storyline was the one of her son, Cord. His chapters were the only ones I really enjoyed. My least favorite storyline was Charlotte's, which was weirdly sexual. I would be interested to know if I would have liked this book better had I known it was going to be such a character-driven family drama.
A family cruise through the Mediterranean reveals long hidden secrets and brings a family together. Ward's novel is a great read, with well realized characters, great settings and plenty of family drama.
A septuagenarian matriarch rallies her kids for a cruise when she wins a contest. The book starts off great, but then falls flat a bit when the character flow becomes ho-hum. The dysfunction in the family didn’t create the piercing effect that I had hoped for.
The Jetsetters looked like a fun and exciting beach read and while it was quite a read, it is more of a cozy and sometimes tearful read. The Jetsetters went much deeper than I anticipated as each member of the family searches to be loved in one way or another. However, as one who loves family drama, this is a great read. There are multiple trigger warnings in this one, so I recommend looking them up if you are interested in them. Not a light read, but a good read.
Thank you for this e-copy for review. My full review will be posted on my social media accounts, Amazon, and Goodreads.
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "The Jetsetters" by Amanda Eyre Ward. I enjoyed this book but it left me with a very heavy feeling in my chest. The story centers around Charlotte Perkins who wins a contest that allows her to bring her adult kids on a fancy cruise for 10 days. While the premise sounded like a nice beach read, it was instead filled with family dysfunction to the extreme.. I really did enjoy all the characters but they seemed to lack depth. It took the whole book for the family members to admit their feelings and resentments to each other. There were things that happened that never really got answered, The ending was especially heavy and left on an incomplete note. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it.
The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward is a funny and also sad look at an American family that's trying to come together despite their many secrets and differences while going on a European cruise together. During this time of stay home orders this is a great book to help you "escape" without actually leaving your home. You'll feel as though you're actually on the cruise with the Perkins family. You'll be cheering them on while also shaking your head over their lack of communication skills. Lots of family drama to keep you entertained as you devour this book. Read and enjoy!
The Jetsetters was a welcome read after finishing some heavier, darker novels. A long-time widow, Charlotte Perkins enters a contest to win a European cruise in hopes that she will win and convince her dysfunctional family to join her. Lee, Cord and Reagan are keeping secrets from each other as well as their mother. When Charlotte receives notification she has won the contest they take off for adventures among the high seas with the Mediterranean serving as the perfect backdrop.
I enjoyed this book as a departure from the psychological thrillers of late; that said the characters are a bit unlikeable and unrelatable. There are serious topics discussed including suicide and alcoholism, which helps reveal why the family is so dysfunctional. The story is a mix of both light-hearted fun with tragic undertones. I wanted to love it but some of the writing and ultimately the characters made it more of a "like".
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
Oh my. This book. These characters. I don’t really know what to say except for the fact that I just didn’t care for this book. I did not like the characters. They were unpleasant and their relationships were unpleasant. I wanted to like this one but I just didn’t.
Good story about a dysfunctional family and live at sea. I enjoyed the story, even though I felt some of the heavy issues weren't really "dealt" with. I would still recommend, it was worth reading. Nice escape in these times.
This book is a total delight. Not my normal kind of novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such humor, heart and soul and verve. The characters are dysfunctional but have a heart, and the prose zip along like a good cocktail on a July Day. This is exactly the sort of read I needed, during these tumultuous times in our world now. Good to go on a cruise from my living room. All deserved success on this one, and look forward to the next one.
I wanted to love this since Reece Witherspoon chose it for her book club. I struggled to finish reading it, though. I didn’t like any of the characters.
I decided to request this book since I heard such a buzz about it. I was a little disappointed in the lack of life this book brought me. A typical story line of a family that didn’t get along well and they are brought together because of a free cruise that there mom Charlotte won for herself and her adult kids. I couldn’t get into the charterers .
A fun drama perfect for a summer read! This book is full of hilarious moments and characters you would want to hang out with there was never a dull moment!
Seventy-year-old Charlotte Perkins yearns for the days when her children were younger, and not so
caught up in their adult lives they never think to call their mother. Her daughter Lee is a struggling actress, her son Cord can’t seem to find a bride, and her daughter Regan is busy raising a family of her own. Charlotte is determined to get her family back together, so she submits an essay to the “Become a Jetsetter” contest. Lo and behold, she finds herself packing for a trip of a lifetime.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
You can purchase your copy from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RLSGLYH/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I was fortunate to have gotten this book off my Wishlist!
We begin this novel in St. Simons Island in Georgia in 1983. A family portrait is being taken of Charlotte, a thirty-nine year old mom, her three children; Lee, six years old, Baby Regan and Cord. Charlotte wants the week to be perfect! She wants the kids to just behave and not bother Winston. This was the last time they would go on vacation as a family until thirty-two years later when they become jetsetters.
We are then fast forwarded to Charlotte preparing for a funeral. She reminisces on how they originally met and how they both had been lonely. Charlotte entered a Become a Jetsetter contest. The winter would receive first -class tickets to Athens, Greece, followed by a nine-day cruise to Barcelona, Spain. She wrote the story about her first love.
Lee has always felt responsible for Charlotte since she found their dad. Once Jason had made money, Lee had used it to send fresh flowers to Charlotte every week. Lee had struggled to live up to the actress that her father had wanted her to be for years.
Cord on the other hand has been struggling with the fact that he is gay for quite some time. He is engaged and still has not told his family. He has also struggled with alcoholism. He bought a noise machine and a aromatic diffuser when he got sober.
Regan found solace when Charlotte called to tell her about the trip that she had won. So many semantics to be figured out like passports, etc. This trip couldn’t come at a better time in all four of their lives.
There is so much discovered on this trip from everyone involved. I think everyone discovers a little about themselves as well. Can you imagine a trip with your adult siblings right now and your mom? I can only imagine the things that would come out…can you? The things you would learn about the past of your mom. Do we really want to know about those things or are those the things that mold us as children and become part of us? You will have to read the book to find out all the things that we discover in this book. I was wowed, I was shocked, I was horrified, amazed. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
I expected soooo much more 🤷♀️ Not the fun light hearted beach read that I had anticipated .
Charlotte is 71 and is ready to have some fun! Her children have left home, her husband has passed away and well...Char is lonely. She wants to reconnect with her kids and find a hot guy. No really she does, she thinks about it all the time.
So she enters a contest to win a cruise- that just happens to pay for herself and the whole family and she wins...enter lots of family drama, everyone seems to have secrets..which is pretty typical I guess.
I just expected fun, sun and a good little rom-com. I did enjoy this book, it just was a little dry and lackluster for me. The cover is so bright and sunny I thought this would be a little more light and funny. Although there were some funny moments, it was more of a family drama. I had trouble connecting with the characters.
From the title, I thought this was going to be a light, silly book but it was actually deeper than I thought. A senior woman wins a cruise to Greece and Italy and takes her three adult children. Everyone has secrets and unhappiness which they don't want to admit to...and the trip brings them together in unexpected ways. Very enjoyable!
I thought this was a breezy vacation read. I enjoyed the family story but often frustrated with the characters. I didn't feel there was much depth to the characters and the plot was pretty predictable. Nonetheless, a good beach read!
Thank you Net Galley!!