If you love a good family drama, you will love the jetsetters! Despite being miles apart and having drifted apart a bit, when Charlotte invites her three kids (and one spouse, begrudgingly) on a cruise of a lifetime secrets are spilled and tears are shed along the journey. Definitely recommend this one!

I really liked this humorous and heartbreaking story of a dysfunctional family who goes on a Mediterranean cruise. Charlotte is the family matriarch -she is 70 but I feel like she is written much older. She wins a contest to go on this cruise with her family by writing a story of her deflowering by an older man when she is 16. Lee is the oldest sister and she has a broken relationship and a failing acting career. Cord is the middle child and needs to tell his mother that he is gay and to get sober. Regan is the baby with a failing marriage and a need to figure out who she is after years of trying to become the perfect wife. The characters did irritate me at times and they all needed to share their secrets with each other. The author jumped between POVs quickly which made me want to keep reading to figure out what happened with each character! As I love trip reports, I also really liked reading about each port of call, some of which I'd been to already.
Thank you to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

A fun break from my normal genre. Well written and characters written well to show the dysfunction in a dysfunctional family! I thought it was a light, quick read, which was able to give me the much needed break in my disturbing love of thrillers! Will defiantly be looking for more from this author!
Will make sure to buzz it up on the different platforms!

Very different for Amanda Eyre Ward.. Loved the locales, the writing, and the characters, especially the son's boyfriend.. Readers will like this.

I enjoyed the book. It was hard to like the Perkins family, but they were at least entertaining. Although, at times it got to be too much. Dysfunctional hardly describes them. I'm not sure which one of them had more problems, but I definitely blame Charlotte for most of them. She never protected her three children from any of her husband's abuse. For a family cruise, they hardly spent much time with each other. Charlotte was on the look out for a lover since she constantly had sexual fantasies going through her head, all the while ignoring the problems her children were facing. Lee was sleeping with practically every man she met on the cruise. Regan is in a loveless marriage, has a pottery painting addiction and is ignoring a report from a private investigator about her husband's activities. Cord was pretending to be someone else and didn't want his mom or sisters to find out who he was engaged to while also trying to remain sober. The whole Perkins family would make you want to drink or jump overboard. I couldn't imagine how Charlotte was able to win the contest with her essay. There are definitely a few twists. Giovanni was definitely my favorite character, probably because he wasn't actually a Perkins. I loved reading about the different cities that the family visited. I never knew Malta had the largest cannon. The book also makes me not want to go on a cruise or at least not on one like the Splendido Cruise. It was only supposed to be for nine days, but it seemed so much longer. I also loved Minnie and Charlotte's friendship.

I recommend the book. yes, the characters came with a ton of baggage, but at times they all made me laugh even though I wanted to choke them most of the time. I look forward to reading more books by the author. ( I LOVED "The Same Sky")

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Jetsetters is my first novel by Ward, and it didn't disappoint. Witty characters and smart writing, this novel tells the story of a dysfunctional family and all of the various facets that make up what it means to be a family. There are secrets and lies, allegiances and sibling rivalries, childhood dreams and missed opportunities, disappointments and coming of age moments that bring you to tears. Families are complex, and Ward did a wonderful job describing those complexities in vivid detail. Overall, I do recommend this one!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest, unbiased review.

The Perkins family is a little messed up - but whose family isn’t, really? Charlotte, the mother, is in her seventies and feels like her life is stopped. She’s lonely, her best friend just passed away, and the husband she never really loved died a long, long time ago. She’s got her daily Catholic masses with Father Thomas, her nightly Triscuits and cheese, and that’s about it. Her three children are distant and all have problems of their own: Lee, the eldest, is a beautiful but washed up Hollywood actress who never quite made it; Cord is a semi-successful venture capitalist who is a recovering alcoholic and deeply in the closet despite having just proposed to his boyfriend; Regan is a mom of two stuck in a loveless marriage to Lee’s ex boyfriend.

When Charlotte wins a “Become a Jetsetter” essay contest by writing about her young sexual awakening, she invites her three kids to join her on the prize: a European cruise.

Although Ward constructs beautiful flawed characters who you end up disliking more than anything, the plot was unsatisfying. I didn’t like the endings or redemption arcs for any of them - I felt like they were all somewhat cheated out of true redemption. This was an easy read but highly forgettable; I felt that there was so much promise to mend the broken relationships in the family and give each of the characters closure on long-held resentment and sadness, but none of that happened. It felt like none of the characters left their silos and did the work to become truly closer to each other.

It was an interesting romp through Europe and was a little bit funny, a little bit biting at times. But ultimately, I don’t think I’ll remember much about this book in the end. Thank you to Ballantine Books for the ARC via Netgalley!

Fun and dysfunctional story that was amusing and entertaining and enjoyable. Good characters and dialogue. I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this!

The Jetsetters is a novel about a dysfunctional, estranged family. Charlotte doesn't see her family very often. Lee is an out of work actress who struggles with the past. Cord has a secret that he's afraid to divulge to his mother. Regan is in an unhappy marriage and wants to discover herself. Charlotte wins a contest that takes the entire family on a cruise. Each member grapples with their own issues. I thought the ending wasn't conclusive and fell flat.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. When grandmother Charlotte wins a contest for a cruise for all her family she is thrilled to invite her estranged children. They are a funny somewhat dysfunctional family trapped in a cruise ship together. This book was funny and highly entertaining. It was a fun read that I will recommend to my friends and family. Thanks again to NetGalley!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Charlotte, now in her seventies, wrote an essay and won a trip on a cruise ship around Europe. She invited her 3 grown children to go with her. They each brought their problems, their heartaches and their secrets. My take? Each person had so many problems that this book was not very good. I thought this book was going to be light hearted. It was not.

I just finished The Jetsetters and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!⁣
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Initially I was intrigued by the super cute cover (swipe > to see it in color), but the inside is actually what impressed me. I thought this would be super light and fluffy - after all, it’s the story of a complicated family who won a sweepstakes to travel abroad. But despite the backdrop being a Mediterranean cruise, the characters were multidimensional people dealing with some serious, deep subject matter. A fun family drama well done, in my opinion!⁣

I envision this one being great for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, or books like "This is Where I Leave You," "The Most Fun We Ever Had," and "The Nest."
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Thanks Random House and Netgalley for the chance to read it early in exchange for an honest review!

Once upon a time, Charlotte Perkins had a close-knit, happy family – or so it seemed on the surface.  In reality, the kids were kind of miserable and she was miserable, but she’s painted over those memories in shades of rose.  But her children, Cord, Lee and Regan, were all – if not unsatisfied with their positions in her life, at least willing to obey her when she barked.

Now, years later, seventy-year-old Charlotte is still single and is living in a condo for seniors.  On a whim, she submits herself and her now-estranged family to a contest to “become jetsetters” – travelling Europe on a cruise ship all expenses paid for nine days.  When she wins, she must regather her brood and try to fix the cracks that have long formed in their shared relationships.

Cord has grown up into a venture capitalist who wanted desperately to commit to one woman…only to realize he’s fallen in love with his (male) best friend, and must face his mother’s possible disapproval to come out and marry him, all while trying to cling to his sobriety.

Regan is a stay-at-home mom who’s always felt like the family ugly duckling and always felt painfully dissatisfied with her life, though her giving nature has forced her to paste a happy face on the situation.  Married to an emotionally abusive white-collar surgeon named Matt – who happens to be Lee’s ex - they have two children and Regan daily dreams of escaping, as fast and far as her feet can take her, from the life she thought would made her feel safe and rescue her from her mother’s penny pinching, but which has only left her feeling stifled and trapped.  Suspecting Matt’s cheating, she hopes a vacation far away from him will restart her life.

Lee, a fame hungry, low-level never-was actress, just lost Jason, her boyfriend, and just had the key to her motel room lock changed.  Clearly she, too, needs a fresh start – she was already on the road to Charlotte’s when word came down about the contest victory.  She and Regan haven’t spoken since Regan’s wedding to Matt, and Lee desperately wants to know her nieces.

All three siblings and their mother collide upon the Splendido Marveloso.  As they travel the world – drinking too much, getting into indiscriminate sexual adventures, and bearing several secret burdens – the only question is which Perkins will make it off the boat in one piece.

The Jetsetters is a fun black comedy with a lot of extremely dark strokes.  Every single Perkins is effed up in their own unique way, and every single one of them cares about the others – in codependent, unhealthy or just plain strange ways.

If you don’t like flawed characters, you won’t like this bunch at all.  They are an intense ride and sometimes quite hard to take, from desperate Charlotte to angry Regan to aimless Lee to self-deceiving Cord, there’s something about each of them that’s interesting enough to keep the reader invested.

The quality of the writing – smooth as an ocean – and the ridiculousness of the travelogues just add to the spirit of things (nude beaches!  Ancient ruins!  Good food!  Art museums!).  Romance plays a heavy part in the book – Charlotte is a romance reader and indulges in fantasies about well-muscled men oiling her up, and she passes on her romances to her kids with the “dirty parts” ripped out, and every single one of them is looking for a perfect love that doesn’t exist.

The Jetsetters will be enjoyed by anyone who likes a little acid in their sunny lemonade.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo
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I am a fan of reading about family dysfunctional as well as a fan of Amanda Eyre Ward, so the novel, “Jetsetters” is a win-win for me.

“The Jetsetters” tells the story of the Perkin family, which is led my matriarch, Charlotte, who writes an essay that supposedly leads to the prize of a Mediterranean cruise for herself and her three children, Lee, Cord, and Regan. The children have grown apart from each other and their mother; each also shields secrets that will naturally be uncovered throughout the course of this cruise.

Charlotte, who has recently lost her best friend, wonders if there is any life left to live. Lee, broke and unable to get any acting gigs, is burdened by helping her mother cover-up her father’s death and fears her own story will hold the same sad ending. Cord is recently engaged but is afraid to tell his family he is gay. Meanwhile, Regan has lost herself in an unhappy marriage.

Alternating the different point of views of Charlotte and her children, the book is divided into section based on the different destination the cruise ship takes. Ms. Ward’s descriptions of the ship and the different stops put the reader right on the ship with the family. Though parts of the novel are laugh out hilarious, the novel also wrestles with hefty topics such as alcoholism and suicide

Ms. Ward writes at a lively pace as she weaves through the Perkins’ trials and tribulations. Charlotte, especially, is very likable as she struggles to reunite her family as well as fall in love for perhaps the first time ever. For any fan of a well-written story that resonates with the reader long after you finish the final page, I highly recommend this book.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me an advanced copy.

I received this an ARC in exchange for my review. This was fun to read! I do not know of a family that is not dysfunctional in some way. All the characters were relatable, they have flaws and expectations, a love/hate relationship amongst parent and child and between siblings. Winning the trip was the best thing for this family!

This book shines on every level: sentence after sentence is beautiful and precise. The characters are complicated and sympathetic, the ideas are sweeping and profound, but are never too overt. It’s a rare novel that is as accomplished in its meaning as it is in its storytelling while also succeeding wildly on the language level as well! A novel to lose yourself in and then reflect upon again and again.

Dysfunctional family. Mediterranean cruise. What could possible go wrong (other than everything – and be hysterical in the process?).

I loved the concept of this book. However, I feel like the author tried to take on too much and didn’t satisfy all of my expectations.

The setup: Mom of three adult children, all who live in different cities across the country, enters and essay contest to win the Become a Jetsetter contest. The prize is an all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise vacation for four. Charlotte’s (mom) kids include her eldest daughter, Lee, who has recently moved back home after giving up on her Hollywood acting career (but hasn’t told anyone); her son, Cord, who is gay and engaged AND has yet to come out to his family; and her youngest daughter, Regan, who is in an unhappy marriage and avoiding calls from her private investigator about her husband. See, too much!

So, obviously, the family wins the cruise – (Maybe? There’s a very brief mention of Lee paying for it, but it’s almost an oversight and I had a go back and reread it) and sets off to Athens, Greece to board the cruise ship.

Once our crew is aboard is really where I really find that the story starts to go a little off the rails. Because:

1) The family is visiting Europe and Charlotte spends most of the time complaining about the cruise ship itself, her family, or about being along.
2) Even when the family is in the ports, they spend very little time actually in the towns. Having cruised myself, I know I try to eek every ounce out of the day and see, do and eat everything.
3) There’s too. MUCH. HAPPENING. Flirting. Depression. Cheating. An alcoholic off the wagon. A gay brother trying to hide his true self from the family. TOO MUCH.

And, in the end, the story feels like a whirlwind. None of the characters are fully developed by the end. There’s a surprise twist that is fun and a little unexpected, but also feels a bit forced.

This novel about family dysfunction was a fast-paced, quick read. I enjoyed learning about the characters. Each one of the siblings and the matriarch came from some seriously painful pasts, and had some big issues to resolve. They all seemingly come to grips with their dysfunction not in a therapist's office, but where else? On a cruise! While I appreciated the varied and different problems from the characters, I felt that each resolution of the characters' issues were resolved in seemingly one paragraph, or a single statement, and never really revisited again. All in all an entertaining read, but not as rich as I would have liked.

I struggled to red this. I’m sorry I could only get about 1/4 of the way through it before it was too much.

I love books about dysfunctional families and this one did not disappoint. It was an easy, quick read, with just enough quirkiness to keep you intrigued the whole time!