"The Unsinkable Greta James" by Jennifer E. Smith is a heartfelt and emotional novel that explores themes of grief, family dynamics, and second chances. The author, that usually writes YA Fiction, skillfully switches genres, creating a heartwarming adult women's fiction and family drama that captivates readers. The Alaskan setting is brilliantly depicted, almost like a travel guide that will make you want to drop everything and visit Alaska. The complex relationship between Greta and her father, their past wounds, resentments, and misunderstandings, is analyzed perfectly, drawing readers in and making them emotionally invested in their journey towards healing. The romance aspect with Ben, the nerdy professor and guest lecturer on the cruise, adds a sweet touch to the story. Overall, this well-written and inspiring novel is recommended for those who enjoy well-developed, enchanting novels that explore themes of love, grief, choices, and second chances.

Full Review is set to post on duffrunstough on June 22nd.

When struggling musician Greta begrudgingly agrees to partake in a cruise with her recently widowed father, she discovers healing from multiple and unexpected sources.

The pacing to this started strong but eventually the disagreements between Greta and her father became very repetitive. Also, I wasn't too fond of the romantic aspect (and was relieved that there was no huge romantic gesture from either party by the book's conclusion). This was an enjoyable and relatively light and quick read, in spite of the serious subject matter, but there was nothing too special about it.

This was the perfect book to bring my summer vacation! Mix of some family drama, but also showing the importance of the all the relationships we have with others in our life.

3 stars.*

A cute story about a woman struggling after the loss of her mother. Having chosen a career path her father is uncomfortable with, guitarist Greta has a breakdown onstage following the sudden death of her mother. She is convinced by her brother to go in her mother's place on the Alaskan cruise she had planned for years alongside Greta's father.

She meets a boy. Things proceed.

I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. It was cute.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!


The Unsinkable Greta James is a perfect vacation read and one to consider as we go into spring/summer.

Greta James is grieving the death of her mother and joins her father on an Alaskan cruise that he had planned with her mom. Throughout the cruise Greta and her father mending their broken relationship. She even finds a love interest on the boat! It was a super quick, and heartwarming read. I feel that the author discussed brief appropriately and relatedly. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an early copy of this book

A rock start has a meltdown on stage. Family drama. A trip to the middle of nowhere. It sounds like it should add up to a great story. I really wanted to love this book because I'd heard so much about it, but it was just okay for me.

When Greta reluctantly agrees to accompany her father on an Alaskan cruise, she is struggling personally (grieving the death of her mother) and professionally (her indie music career is in shambles after footage of her falling apart goes viral). Will the cruise provide time to heal her relationship with her dad, fall in love with historian Ben, find her voice, or all of the above?

I've read several of Jennifer E. Smith's YA novels, so I knew I'd like this. I LOVED THIS! It was so good.

A wonderful book that leans into hurts, misconceptions, reconciliation and new beginnings. Greta was such a relatable character. Between her success as a musician and the deep sorrow that crippled her career. Following her journey to find herself again kept me mesmerized.

🛳 It has been a long time since I read a book in one day, but it finally happened with this one!

🛳 I was engaged from the start. The story isn’t what I expected, but I got more than I anticipated, and I loved that. This story has some interesting depth, particularly in the relationship between Greta and her Dad.

🛳 The story deals with grief, insecurity, humiliation, and heartbreak. But it is also about mending relationships, understanding others, kindness, learning to handle grief, and second chances.

🛳 I loved the references to The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I just love it when book characters talk about books I know and love. It makes them feel like my friends.

🛳 I love the title!

🛳 This book was more profound than I thought it would be and I enjoyed it immensely. I wish I had read it sooner.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse #ballantinebooks for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Greta James, an indie music star, heads on a cruise with her father to discover more about her mother, her life, and her past. I found this book completely enjoyable and was drawn into the story and the characters. You take the journey with Greta- and grow and learn with her as the book progresses.

Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC. #TheUnsinkableGretaJames #NetGalley

Easy read and a nice summer page turner. There are family relationships that every one can relate to. Highly recommend.

4 stars because I found this book an enjoyable, light read.

I found Greta, as a character, insufferable at times, but her relationship with her mother humanized her for me. That was enough for me to have something to latch onto so I could root for her. I did really want to see her repair her relationship with her father. I thought the author wrote about the family dynamic and drama convincingly.

There was enough humor sprinkled throughout the book to keep it from getting too heavy and I appreciated that.

I would recommend this book. It could be a good book club read or a great way to pass time on a plane.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

The Unsinkable Greta James follows the titular rockstar of a main character, who is dealing with the sudden loss of her mother as well as the fallout of a public breakdown on stage during one of her concerts due to her grief, and a subsequent breakup with her celebrity beau. All of this is complicated by the fact that her brother has asked her to take their mother's place on a pre-planned trip on an Alaskan cruise their mother had planned with their father (whom Greta is estranged from) and their group of best friends for her parents' 40th anniversary. Due to the fact that her life is falling to pieces - and knowing it is likely what her mother would have wanted - she inexplicably agrees.

There are certain aspects of this book that work extraordinarily well. Smith does an excellent job touching on some of the less "glamorous" aspects of grief: the numbness, the guilt, the usually misappropriated blame (because someone has to be responsible for the loss), and the way it can spiral out and quickly engulf every aspect of your life. She also depicts with veracity the complexity of child/parent relationships, especially when that child becomes an adult in their own right, and how you can be estranged and have so many issues, but still very much love one another unconditionally. The story definitely made me more emotional than I was expecting to be, and despite the fact that Greta is a rockstar, Smith writes the characters and conversations in such ways that you frequently forget this fact and just see the story for what it is: a daughter and a father, loss in their own grief and separated by their past, who are trying to find their way back together to heal. The plot is easy flowing, and the descriptions of the Alaskan scenes made me want to book a cruise there immediately.

My biggest hang-up is that I wasn't a huge fan of Greta as a character. It felt kind of random to make her a rockstar - although it does add to why she's estranged from her father - in a Mary Sue-kind of way. I also feel that the romance plotline detracted from the larger story, although I did enjoy Ben as a character (but not her almost/kind of/past? love interests). I think I would have enjoyed the story more if it had focused on Greta herself and working on her relationship with her father, rather than tossing in other relationships to boot. It did provide some often needed relief from otherwise heavy scenes, but other than that, I did not feel like it really added anything into the story significantly.

Overall, I think I would recommend this book to someone who was looking for a lighter book about grief or tense parent/child relationships - which, I know, sounds like an oxymoron. But I think it does touch on the complexities of these issues without being too dark or triggering, which is a feat. I just definitely could have done without the romance, and the unnecessary aside of Greta's rockstar status.

I love a good romance, but i wanted this to focus more on the father daughter relationship, and not the on ship romance that happened. Can't believe I just said that. I believe the synopsis was a little misleading as it really highlighted the estranged father part, but maybe that was just on me and my misunderstanding.

Still very enjoyable and made me want to look into her other published works.

I think that the story had everything that it needed to be good but it just fell flat for me, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't memorable either. Greta is going through the pain of loosing her mother, and trying to build a relationship with her father. I think that if it had focused more on the father/daughter relationship than I would have liked it a bit more but the romance about it was a bit ehh for me. It was a bit predictable and not in a good way where you feel satisfied that you are able to follow along with the story but in the way that makes it a bit boring an more like it was formulated because you know what will happen. I wasn't able to connect with the characters so it was a bit hard to read through the parts where they mentioned the mother because I didn't feel sadness for them. I love a character driven story, sometimes more than a plot one, so when I'm not able to connect with a character even if the plot is amazing i cant care about it.

The only thing that I was able to understand was the relationship she had with her dad, sometimes parents expect too much and want to force their life view on their kids. If it doesn't follow what they think that there is clearly something wrong with you. That part of the relationship i got, an the slowly building up a relationship when yo had a buffer also made sense. It made it a bit more realistic.

The romance happened all within a week, I don't think it was suppose to be the main point of the story but it did have a bit of influence.

I think that you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy the story, unfortunately I was not in that mood. It might have also been because I just finished With Love From London. Which had a very similar theme, the loss of a parent. I don't like comparing books to much but its hard to when they are similar.

thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books

I enjoyed this ride. The story line kept me engaged from beginning to end. I highly recommend this fun read. This was an excellent read! #TheUnsinkableGretaJames #NetGalley

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for my gifted copy of The Unsinkable Greta James, by Jennifer E. Smith. This book is out now!

I enjoyed this sweet book. It focused on Greta, a musician who is learning how to handle her grief after her mother passes. She goes on the cruise that her parents were supposed to take on the fortieth anniversary with her father, and they learn that time does start to heal wounds. Plus, you get to add in a dose of romance with another musician! This would be a great book to haul along on vacation, and read by the pool or the beach.

I am a big fan of Jennifer E. Smith, and in The Unsinkable Great James, Smith does what she does best-- compelling characters and an easy entry into the story.

In Smith's first adult novel, she tells the story of a week on an Alaskan cruise, where Greta has come to keep her recently widowed father company. Greta is grieving the sudden loss of her mother and a blip in her music career. This story weaves in grief, family dynamics, and even romance in a great setting-- a cruise ship and the Alaskan coast. Smith is superb at writing a romance where the characters have only just met and only have a few days together. It never feels forced or outlandish. It feels fun and sweet.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed The Invisible Husband of Frick Island or those who are fans of romance with a lot of other plot/ character dynamics.

This was another book I judged by the cover and was offered a widget for, but it worked for me. It was beautifully written and the story was well done. I enjoyed the main characters and their dynamic. The Alaskan setting was so well done and I appreciated the overall message.

The Unsinkable Greta James is the perfect warm weather read. If you are going on a cruise, even better!

Greta James is healing from the death of her mother when she decides to accompany her father on an Alaskan cruise that he had planned with his wife and her mother. Throughout the cruise Greta and her father spend time also trying to reconcile their relationship which I thought was a beautiful depiction of a father/daughter relationship that had been on the rocks.

Greta also happens to meet a professor aboard the cruise and they share a love of literature.

I found this book to be a quick and easy read even though it deals heavily with grief. The one part in which I feel like we could have done without is the relationship with Ben and Greta. It would be nice to read a book in which a character just spends time healing without needing to fall in love in the process.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an early copy of this book.