Greta James is a big, famous guitarist whose relatively-young star may be about to flame out. Right after her mother died, she had a meltdown onstage that left her record label and fans wondering if she was finished for good. Shattered and numb, and unable to perform, she buckles to sibling-induced guilt and accompanies her dad and two couples, lifelong friends of the family, on an Alaskan cruise. Greta doesn’t expect much from the weeklong vacation. She’s numb with grief, and her dad’s no help. She and Conrad have a lifetime of enmity between them, as she followed her passion to play guitar no matter how foolish he thought that was. During the week on the ship, she heals somewhat. The pacing is perfect, the writing beautiful. For every setback Greta experiences, there are gratifying dramatic scenes set to the backdrop of gorgeous Alaska. Greta is a strong woman and passionate artist, and it was nice to read about a talent who enjoys the pace and pressure (and everything else) of performing. It’s her dream and she’s fully in it. So the question is, will she be able to recover both her career and her relationship with her father? There’s also a love interest in the book that adds a nice subplot.

I loved the ending so much, I read it twice, and then, while weeping copious tears, described the whole book to my sweet, patient husband. I have found my new favorite author. Thanks to NetGalley for this absolute winner.

Whew, this one hurt - but in a good way.  If you’ve ever experienced the death of a parent and then had to learn how to get on with a parent you weren’t particular close to, The Unsinkable Greta James is a touching experience that will strike a chord with you.  If you haven’t, it’ll still give you a warm and trenchant peek into the life of a woman struggling with deep loss and fording her way to emotional renewal.  It’s also YA novelist Jennifer E. Smith’s first adult novel, and manages a nice, mature tone.

Fiery rebel musician Greta James is hiding out in a remote woodland cabin after a very public meltdown at a large concert.  That moment, captured by cameras in the crowd followed by bad reviews for her latest song, put a stopper on her meteoric rise.  The sight that precipitated the meltdown was a fan bearing a sign reading “Goodbye Greta’s Mom.” The death of her beloved mother, her closest supporter, from a ruptured brain aneurism had wounded Greta deeply, and the sign pushed her over the edge in a grief-induced haze.  She had been touring and unable to say goodbye to her mother while she was still alive.  Now Greta finds herself unable to play the guitar, which naturally brings her career to a halt.

But then Greta’s brother Asher urges her to get out of the house.  She finds herself taking a planned Alaskan cruise with her father, the salty professor Conrad, who loves his daughter but cannot support the career and avocation she in turn adores.  The cruise had been intended as a fortieth anniversary vacation for Conrad and Greta’s mom, so Greta and Asher think it’s best he doesn’t go alone. As fathe and daughter travel the ocean, they bond, mourn their loss of wife and mother, and try to figure out their next steps.  For Greta, that step could include a shipboard romance with a man named Ben, but he comes with some major strings attached.

A warning for those who come for the book’s romantic content – The Unsinkable Greta James’ main romance has a happy-for-now, ambiguous ending.  This is much more a lovely book about healing and growing beyond your pain and trauma.

I liked Greta as a heroine, and,I loved watching her come to articulate her pain and then regain herself piece by piece.  I liked honest, down to earth Conrad, who comes to understand his daughter in time.  Ben and his Jack London fetish is the naturally stiffer and stodgier counterpart to Greta and feels a bit more pat as a character, but not to the point of being offensive.

The heavy, stormy winter imagery Smith gives us shifts, in the end, to peace, a very fitting conclusion.  The word pictures are perfect, and she neatly captures what life is like on a cruise ship.

My mother died ten years ago this year, and I had to build a relationship with my father in the wake of that loss.  In a small way, I’ve stood in Greta’s shoes, and everything she goes through feels painfully authentic.  The Unsinkable Greta James is fun, touching, sad, and warm.  Beautiful all over.

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I want to turn back time so that I can read this book for the first time again. This book was so heartfelt and heartbreaking. I cried through so many parts. The author writes grief realistically and anyone who has experienced a loss with recognize the feelings and thoughts. Superb.

Thank you, thank you Net Galley for approving my request to review this novel. This hit me everywhere and I'm just wondering how a book could make me feel so deeply. I could relate to a lot of this book. It makes me sad, happy, hopeful.

The cover of The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith made me think this would be a light, easy read but I was pleasantly surprised by how deep and emotional the story was. I teared up many times as I watched Greta and her father navigate their fraught relationship. And now I absolutely need to take a cruise to Alaska with my family!

This quiet story is about a week spent on an Alaskan cruise, and the grieving father and daughter who find it hard to be around each other now that the gaping hole of where Mom should be is ever present.
Full of deep, heartfelt pain and hope, it is brilliantly written mix of lit and women's fiction, with almost every page full of word-painted descriptions of the Alaskan landscape.
All three (including the love interest) must work through their perspectives and decide what to keep and what to let go of in order to move forward in life, and also what to do with what they decide to keep; for as we know, nothing ever stays the same and we either move with the changes or become trapped in amber.

I picked this book based on the cover. Then I read it and I don’t think cover matches the book at all! But I thought this was a really good story about a woman dealing with the death of her mom and what her relationship looks like with her dad now. I really enjoyed this!

I love Jennifer E. Smith's other books, though they are admittedly aimed at a younger demographic. I'm thrilled that she wrote an adult book and it did not disappoint. I loved the story and that Greta is unapologetic about her life and how she lives it. I hope there are more adult-themed books from Smith in the future.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The author adds a sweet romance to the emotional mix, but keeps it real. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The author manages to combine romance and family drama in this novel.

I enjoyed it and recommend it to reading groups, it will lead to interesting discussions, especially for those of us with adult children.

Jennifer E Smiths books have long been my favorites and this is her first foray into more adult type fiction. It’s description states

An indie musician reeling from tragedy and a public breakdown reconnects with her estranged father on a week-long cruise in this "pitch-perfect story about the ways we recover love in the strangest places"

I love books about musicians and former musicians and also books that tie in a water element as well. I loved the premise and was curious to see what type of adult story Jennifer would craft. I also loved the father daughter dynamic as well. Very cute! I look forward to more books from her like this!

Greta James is a famous guitar playing indie song writing musician who is on a seven day Alaskan glacier cruise ship with her newly widowed father and some of their close family friends. You soon learn that while Greta wasn’t an original member of the group she was a meant addition to the group not only for her personal gains but also her father’s.

I loved the rock and roll aspect of GJ but felt the story gets often distracted by the nerdy professor she “falls for.” I enjoyed learning how Greta’s relationship became fractured with her dad about her relationship but felt this part of the story needed to be more depth in order to understand how they both recognize they need to cultivate a deeper relationship as father and daughter by the end of the trip.

As a whole this would be a phenomenal beach reach and I am so grateful for the ARC from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group and especially the author, Jennifer E. Smith for this beautiful story.

The Unsinkable Greta James is one woman’s heartfelt, sometimes frustrating journey through her grief and back to herself.

MV Rating: 8/10 all the warm fuzzies for this book
* set on a cruise ship making its way through Alaska, Greta’s mom died and she’s stuck on a trip with her seeming unsupportive father
* Grief comes in different forms, but this book shows a genuine character evolution for Greta that I really enjoyed.
* in the end, do you go quietly, or do you burn it all down?

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy!

We're very interesting book I really like your character GR ERE TA James she have some problems and she was trying to figure out what her life would be like as a music person but it caused it complex with her relationships or other people and and her mother dies and she has the saw information on a millstown so she's trying to be with her father on this cruise to Alaska and I think they figured out They're angry toward each other with a stubbornness Her brother Ashley led the life her father wanted for her and he was very happy with it could because her father came from a very poor background and he had worked his way up for everything and he really loved his wife a lot And he did not want his daughter to suffer but she hold her ground in the automated piece This man called Ben on the on the ship and and they hit it off nearly well but he was married but they could understand each other and it was erect for relief because so many things were going on with her life and her music music but I think in the end she came out perfectly fine

I love this book so much! All the key aspects are there - well-drawn characters I understood and cared about, a twisty plot that kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. But the best part of this book is the unique way the author draws the main character, Greta James: Greta’s clear artistic ambitions, the joy and confidence she experiences in her work and what she has accomplished, and the nuanced ways she responds to her father’s lack of support for her career. She is unique, gifted, and altogether human. It’s so thoughtful and thought-provoking. I found myself tearing up at some scenes and flat-out cheering in others. This book is a heartfelt, wonderful ride I will re-read countless times. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for providing a copy of this book.

It is never easy to lose your mother, no matter what age. It is especially hard when circumstances make it unable for you to say goodbye. Greta James, a famous singer/guitar player looses her mom while she is playing at a concert.. After her mother's death Greta is unable to play guitar, which causes setbacks in her career. Urged on by her brother, Greta agrees to go on an Alaskan cruise with her father and friends; a cruise that was meant to be the 40th anniversary cruise for Greta's mother and father. Greta has reservations about going anywhere with her father because she has always felt his disapproval and disappointment in her career choice. The lessons learned on this cruise pulled on my emotions with alternating moments of happiness and sadness but ultimately left me feeling good about life.

A wonderful book that I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting!

The Unsinkable Greta James follows musician Greta James on a one-week Alaskan cruise where she joins her father and close family friends, in place of her mother who died recently and unexpectedly. Greta is grieving her mother and she has a complicated, fraught relationship with her father. Can they make amends during their voyage?

Greta was a well-drawn and likable lead character and I was rooting for her to find solace, closure, and happiness. Her father, brother, and other supporting characters were bursting with charm. I really enjoyed the romantic storyline with Ben, a professor and scholar of Jack London, and passenger on the cruise ship.

Overall, this book was a delight to read - it made me smile, it made me sad, it made me laugh, and ultimately left me feeling hopeful.

Thank you to Random House, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

In Jennifer E.. Smith’s first novel for adults, The Unsinkable Greta James, the title character is a famous musician still reeling from her mother’s sudden death. She had an onstage meltdown and hasn’t played her guitar since. To appease her brother, Greta accompanies her father on what should have been her parents’ fortieth anniversary cruise. Onboard, she meets Ben, a Jack London scholar and, in most ways, Greta’s total opposite. But they connect. Ben is working through marital issues, and Greta and her father have to figure out their own complex relationship and learn how to live without the central figure in both their lives.
I love all of Jennifer E Smith’s YA novels, and was happy that this first adult novel has that same feel of a comfort read; nothing TOO heavy, but not without substance. It warms your heart in places and breaks it in others It’s a great beach read, or just a way to escape our crazy world for a short while.

Greta James is a successful musician, in her late 30's, who recently had a breakdown onstage a week after her mom dies unexpectedly of an aneurysm. Her mom had always been very supportive of her dream of being her musician, but her dad is always worried about how she will support herself . Her folks had been planning to take an Alaskan cruise and Greta's brother suggests she go along with her dad and two couples she has known most of her life. Everyone is grieving in their own way. Greta meets two people who have an impact on her thinking, as she and her dad try to connect without her mom. This is a good story about family relationships, career choices and what is important in our lives. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Calling this book a romance is selling it short. Is there romance? Yes. Was the romance cute? Yes again. But the heart of this story is not about Greta and Ben, but about Greta and her father as they both try to cope with the death of Greta’s mom. The pain as the two try to work towards peace with her death and with each other left me more than once left me with a tear in my eye. This is a huge step in depth from other Jennifer E. Smith books and I was blown away.

It also didn’t hurt that I read this while on a cruise to Alaska…

What a great read! The Unsinkable Greta James is a touching novel about grief, forgiveness, and unbreakable familial bonds! Centering around Greta James, a well-know musician, as she embarks on a week long cruise with her father and close family friends. This cruise was planned by her mother who has recently passed so taking this trip is truly an emotional voyage. From the very beginning, I was glued to my kindle and immediately connected with Jennifer E. Smith’s writing style. I think so many readers will find parts of this novel relatable. Losing a loved one has such a profound impact on person and Jennifer E. Smith does a fantastic job in giving us a glimpse into the James’s journey after loss. The entire cast of characters are so darn endearing and I found myself sad to say goodbye when I was finished! I cannot recommend The Unsinkable Greta James enough—a must read!