Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Women's Fiction
Pub Date: June 28, 2022

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this book, and also embarrassed that I have not read this author before. Her previous book, 9 Women, 1 Dress, has been on my shelves for too long. I will definitely be reading it soon, though, because I love her writing style!

A Shoe Story is a poignant story about love, loss, and ultimately, regret. I think if there was a universal question we all ask ourselves, it would be "What if?" After giving up the life she had planned for the life she was dealt, Esme gets to play out her what-if fantasy in NYC for 28 days as a dog sitter. And I loved it!

I thought Esme was a really identifiable and interesting main character. I enjoyed her journey and her growth, and the people she met along the way were so engaging. The story itself is really well-written. I did feel like the prose got a bit tedious in some parts, but overall, the story itself was magical. Two thumbs way up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC of A Shoe Story by Jane L. Rosen in exchange for my honest my opinion.

Oh my goodness! I had no idea how much I'd enjoy this book!

Esme instantly caught me. She loves art, shoes, NYC, and is loyal to her family. Losing her family is one thing, but taking care of her father who won't speak for seven years is a whole new level of tragic.

Then during her new chance in New York, she has a fabulous shoe stash at her disposal. She gets to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. I love her friendship with Sy, a 90 year old businessman (retired). Through his stories, she starts to piece together her own story. She makes new friends, sees her old lover, and must reconcile reality—or even take what she deserves.

I laughed and smiled through this book. Esme feels like she could be my friend. It's not too spicy and focuses more on building relationships. But it's a kissing book.

Anyone who loves slice of life stories and romances will adore this book.

I have never related to a chapter better than with this one! I laughed , I cried and I absolutely fell in love with them all. I loved the shoes aspect of this story! I truly believe this is going to resonate with young and old alike.

When Esme’s mom died in a car crash and her father became mute, she dropped her dreams and current plans to take care of him. It’s been seven years and he just passed. Esme feels totally adrift and doesn’t know what she is to do nw. when she gets a dog sitting job in NYC, where she originally planned to move 7 years ago, she jumps at the chance. Who knows, maybe she will run into Liam who she dumped in the worst way after her moms death. It also really helps that the person she is dog sitting for just so happens to have a huge closet of designer shoes. This month away is all about finding herself, but will she be able to do it?

What a fabulous cast of characters. Sy was officially my favorite person in the entire book and his story was so heart wrenching. While Esme did bother me at times because she was so down on her life, I thought this was such a great look at building yourself back up after tragedy, especially when she was learning things about the accident she never knew before. This is the perfect book to read by the pool. The characters will have you laughing, tearing up, and rooting for love the entire way.

This was a wonderful story about finding yourself.

I enjoyed watching Esme’s journey. How she decided to take a small leap back into her own life which led to meeting some lovely new people and reconnecting with a former flame.

I think my favorite part of this book was Esme’s interactions with Sy. I just loved him and how she helped him reconnect with his lost love.

Esme’s relationship with Zach was also fun. I loved seeing how he helped her get to know New York and also became a confidant. I enjoyed watching their relationship deepen.

This book was mostly about Esme coming to decide what she wanted from life after having put it on hold for 7 years. She slowly comes to understand that she is not the same person and recent experiences have had a lasting impact.

This was a fun story with some deeper elements that come up more toward the end. But ultimately it’s a story about self discovery. (3.75ish)

[cw - alcoholism; death of parents]

A Shoe Story is a wonderful story about new beginnings, second chances, unique friendships and finding your path in life.

Short Synopsis: On the eve of her college graduation Esme seems to have everything planned: an attractive boyfriend, competitive internship and apartment in the heart of NYC. When she receives news that her parents were in a car accident, she puts her life on hold and moves back home. Seven years later, at age 29, Esme heads back to NYC wondering if she could pick up life where she left off. When she gets there, she strikes up new friendships, runs into people from her past and has to figure out if what she wanted before the tragedy is still what she wants today.

What I loved:
-This book is a beautiful love letter to NYC! Living here, I love how Rosen included descriptions of some of my favorite city landmarks (e.g., Boat Basin, Washington Square Park), activities (e.g., Shakespeare in the Park), and restaurants. She went into detail with the street names mentally transporting me right to where the scene was taking place.
-How this story is primarily about Esme's self-discovery over her romance interests. Yes, romance does play a part, and you will get a fabulous love story, but it was special to see Esme come to terms with her life and the past first.
-The Jewish representation was some of the best I've seen in a book! I personally loved all the yiddish phrases and bagels and spreads talk.
-The supporting characters! Sy, a ninety year old Jewish yenta, honestly made the book. When you read this, you will know why! His wise words, support for Esme and life stories will make your heart melt. Zach, a bartender turned friend, was an amazing character as well!
-How the author uses shoes as the markers for the chapters. I personally don't have many designer shoes but am familiar with all the brands Rosen mentions and found it unique.

What I did not love:
-There was a small element of cheating in this story

Big thanks to the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While there was some predictability to this, it's a fun story. Sy was my favorite character. I loved the fact that Esme's self-discovery, not romance, was the main focus. The shoe angle added a unique side to the story. There are some info dumps, instances of tell vs. show, and a number of cliches, but it's an enjoyable read overall.

About to graduate college and start her dream job in NYC, Esme has to put her life on hold when her parents are in a catastrophic crash. She loses 7 years of her life taking care of her injured father, both of them mourning her mother. When she gets a chance to dog-sit in NYC for a month she jumps at it, wondering whether she can pick up her life where she left off and reclaim her dream job and dream man. A really sweet, perfect summer read.

Esme had her life planned, then disaster took all that away. Seven years have passed and she is ready to get her life back on track - but is the original track still the right one?

Esme Nash was the most perfect main character I’ve read in a contemporary women’s fiction novel in a while. She was wonderful - you like her, you’re cheering her on, you’re thrilled to be along on Esme’s journey to herself in A Shoe Story.

I can’t really say much more about this wonderful, sweet, and happy, contented reading sigh of a book without spoilers. So, let me just say how much I enjoyed this utterly charming novel. This one is a strong recommendation.

I have loved everything that Jane Rosen has written, and A Shoe Story was no exception. This book is a lovely tale of self discovery, with a strong storyline and sweet characters and relationships. I loved how everything interconnected. Although there was a lot going on, the author made it all relevant to the plot and it worked so well. Definitely read this book!

A Shoe Story 3 stars
I liked the premise of this novel, but not the execution. When Esme Nash was graduating from college and about to start adult life working her dream job at a gallery in New York City, living with her beloved boyfriend, a horrific car accident undoes all of her plans for the next seven years.

Now Esme makes it to the city as a dog walker for 28 days, and she happens to dog sit for a woman who has the same shoe size and very expensive taste. I could not possibly care less about expensive shoes, but I do share Esme’s interest in art. The problem with this novel is cliches, info dumps, telling not showing, and a lack of depth when Esme makes revelations about her life. I wanted to feel the big epiphanies along with her, but instead I felt like they were reported to me from a distance.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JUNE 28, 2022.

Readers of Jane Rosen's books will love this book! Even though there are some heartbreaking parts, she weaves all types of high end brands of shoes into her story to make a wonderful and enlightening story. This book was so good I read it in 2 days!

This book touched my heart, it made me teary at the start of it which I was not expecting and then I just wished the best for Esme and rooted for her throughout the story.
I was a little nervous by the fact that there were two men in her life who were “unavailable” but I trusted that Esme would navigate that situation the right way. It’s a little bit sticky!
The friendship she had with Sy was beautiful. I really enjoyed that unexpected storyline, it was so sweet.
And any book with an adorable dog is a win for me.
One thing I did not completely buy is that Esme could walk around NYC in those shoes. She just got to NYC and I think to pull that off you have to be an experienced NYC walker and/or just cab it everywhere. I know she loved shoes but girl is from Rochester. Walking around NYC like a pro takes experience. And yes, I am a New Yorker, one who wears flats and thoroughly breaks her shoes in before going anywhere far in them.
But maybe Esme is better with heels than me- anyone would be.😅 However, I am glad that *spoiler* she finally chose sensible flats at the end. Take all of this with a grain of salt because I still enjoyed that aspect of the story because it was a lot of fun. And that, after all, is the point so it works. I just couldn’t help but to mention it.
Despite the shoes that never gave her blisters, I really enjoyed this heartfelt book. I thought it would be a cute story but didn’t expect the emotional impact it would have. I thought it was beautifully written.

A lovely tale of self discovery. This book has heartbreak, a rebirth of sorts and a touch of romance. It made me feel everything, the good and the sad. I love when words can translate into feelings. I strongly recommend it.
Save it for a rainy day or whatever makes you reflective. Perfection.

This will be a wonderful summer read for 2022. Following college, Esme put her life and dreams of moving to New York City and pursing an career at an art gallery on hold to care for her father when he had a terrible car crash. Seven years later she is offered a month-long job dog sitting in beautiful Greenwich Village apartment. Even better, the apartment’s owner has an amazing collection of designer shoes which Esme asks to borrow. Each day she tries a different pair as she works to make friends, regain her old life, and decide how much of her old dreams are still relevant to her now. I really enjoyed this book, and the added element of the fabulous shoes was fun and unique. I highly recommend this one and think it will be the perfect vacation read.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Shoe Story by Jane L. Rosen. Esme's journey is a unique one after losing her mother in an accident and being left to care for her now disabled father for seven years. Giving up a dream future working for an art gallery in NYC with her college boyfriend, Esme's life is completely put on hold. While Rosen doesn't dive into the details of the lost seven years of Esme's life, the reader is left to imagine the ramifications of the pause on her life.
Now broken free, Esme finds herself dog sitting in NYC for a month. It's during this month that she recollects her life, makes new friends, and is tested in choosing between her past plans possibly coming to fruition or a possible better, but uncertain, future. Will Esme learn that not all second chances are meant to be? Or will her dream future of the past become a reality.
Rosen creates lovable characters facing both difficult life situations and opulence. And then there are shoes, which are classically tied in with different scenes and events throughout the book that whether you are a shoe lover or not, you will appreciate.
A Shoe Story reminds me of In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, but with more depth.

- Heather Hummel Gallagher
Award-winning author of the Journals from the Heart and Camden Lake Tales series, Call it Kismet and In God We Trust: A Novel

Esme has her life planned out and is well on her way to achieving her dream when it all blows up. Now, after a seven year hiatus she is ready to take another peak at that unachieved dream. She takes a job in NYC as a dog sitter for a month. BTW, Esme loves shoes and there is a pantry full of designer shoes in the apartment where she is minding the dog. Her adventures begin, she meets a cute bar tender and a lovely 90 year old. She wears designer shoes and goes to parties. Oh yes and her old boyfriend happens to live in NYC. This started out as a bag of potato chips book - I had to keep reading one more chapter, but ended with a bit more substance.
This is a review of an advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley.

As a big fan of Rosen's previous novel 'Nine Women, One Dress', I was super excited to get my hands on this novel - and it did not disappoint. Similar to Nine Women, this book is made of stories within stories and is full of endearing characters that are full of life.

In a Shoe Story, we meet Esme who put her life on hold for 7 years to care for her father after a car accident killed her mother and left her father with severe injuries. She sacrificed her 20's, her dream to move to New York to work in the fine arts world and her relationship with the man she loved.

Now, on the eve of turning 30, and at the death of her father, Esme has a chance to start over again. When she gets the opportunity to dog-sit for a stranger in Manhattan for one month, she jumps at the chance. Once ensconced in NYC, she strikes up friendships with a friendly senior citizen-Sy, and a handsome bartender- Zach, each with their own unresolved love stories. She also runs into her old flame-Liam, and has to figure out if the life she wanted before the tragedy is still what she wants today.

Rosen has written a lovely story about true love, friendships and second chances, featuring some serious content like war scenes and storylines about alcoholism. Readers who enjoy relationship fiction/women's fiction, romances, and books set it in the Big Apple will love this novel.

This book far exceeded my expectations. I thought it sounded interesting but didn't expect to love it -- and I did! A young woman about to graduate from college with life plans set in place finds herself in the middle of a horrible tragedy that changes everything. She takes seven years out of her life to care for her invalid father and doesn't know where to go from there after his death. She takes a job as a dog sitter in New York City, the place of her dreams, for a dog mom who is gone for four weeks. She loves shoes and discovers the woman's fantastic designer shoe collection. She misunderstands the woman's invitation and assumes it is to help herself to wearing the shoes, which is what leads the story along. She connects with an old retired deli owner, a bartender, and her former boyfriend. All of them manage to help bring her back to life. This was a well-written, well-paced story that kept me up late at night wanting to see what happened next. I highly recommend this one.