Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen!

I really thought that I would enjoy reading this book because the premise was fascinating. However, this novel fell a little flat for me. It was mildly entertaining, but it was not a novel that I would recommend or re-read.

4.5 stars rounded to 5!

Shea Anderson is in love. She loves her life, her relationship and is so ready to get married to her amazing boyfriend, John. The only problem is that Shea has 4 life rules, one of which includes one of her many superstitions, wearing heirloom jewelry - especially engagement rings! When John goes against her wishes and proposes with a beautiful heirloom, Shea can envision her Nonna rolling over in her grave. She immediately feels a dark cloud surface over her special night and just can’t seem to move past the possible karma of past relationships transferring onto hers. Shea then has the brilliant idea of researching the history of the heirloom ring in order to see if it carries an unlucky past.

This is where the adventure begins! With beautiful, descriptive scenery in different areas of Italy and Portugal, and a wild goose chase of finding connections to the previous owners, The Heirloom is such a unique premise that I really adored. Being someone that loves heirlooms and the stories/past lives they contain, I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to find out more about the stories attached to the ring.

I’ve been going through a difficult time lately, and The Heirloom was such an effervescent escape from every day life. I looked forward to uncovering more of the story each day and was sad when the book was finished.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for gifting me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can’t wait to check out more books by this Author!

I can confidently say Jessie Rosen executed a romantic story that goes against what many books currently present. This is a love story through and through as we see Shae learn to love those around her as well as herself. There was potential for the story line to go one of two ways, and I believe Rosen chose the best direction to bring the story full circle and leave the reader satisfied. I would happily pick up more books written by Rosen based on this first impression to her writing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penquin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen.

Here is the set up: Shea is a fairly superstitious woman thanks to her grandmother that handed down through the generations many rules to follow to guide you in life. One of those rules is about heirlooms. Even after making John aware of her superstitions about heirlooms, he still proposes with an heirloom ring. Even though she says yes to marriage, she is driven to find out the history of the ring and if bad karma will follow their marriage.

I appreciated that this wasn't a candy sweet romance type of book, more like a realistic look at choosing to marry someone for life. Things I enjoyed about the book; the travel and investigation into the ring, the setting of Italy and jaunts to other locations to continue investigating, the deeper dive into how grief and childhood trauma can affect your decision making, and definitely how the book ended. Of course, I cannot spoil that part. This one won't be released until May of 2024, but if the premise sounds interesting to you, I would put it on the TBR list.

First off this cover is 5 star gorgeous!
The story was sweet, well developed and well written. I loved seeing California locations, since that is my home state and I thought it was a fun overall read. I do, however think it got to be a bit lengthy.

I was not sure how to feel about this book when I first started reading it. This is a book about self-discovery. Which I appreciated because the FMC seemed a little juvenile in the beginning especially at the point in which she was (SPOILER) engaged.

I think this is a book I would like the second time reading. The first time it took a bit for me to get into it but would recommend to friends.

From the first couple pages of this book I had a feeling that I would be hooked and really love this story. For about the first 10 chapters I really liked it and it really kept me engaged, but then I kinda lost focus during the middle of the story, but at the end and the epilogue I loved. I really loved the epilogue, I just think it was the perfect wrap up to a book like this. It was also interesting to me because I am from the places in California that she mentioned in the book so it was funny to see those in there. The concept of the story was really good and overall I liked it.

Such a sweet and frothy book- I could easily see this turning into a rom com movie on a cable network or streaming service. Shea has a funny and obsessive superstition about vintage (aka- used) engagement rings. When she's given one herself by her fiancée, she sets off on an adventure through Europe and the US to final the original owners. Along the way she learns a lot about herself, her deep seeded insecurities about life, and whether or not she's even with the right person.
As I said above, this is such a sweet book- it's easy to read and follow along, all of the characters are likable, and the ending is very satisfying. it doesn't have the emotional depth that other contemporary romance novels has, but I could see this being a great book for a vacation or even on a flight. 4.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Overall, I enjoyed The Heirloom! I think it was well written, and I liked the mystery aspect of the novel, discovering countless stories behind the one ring. However, I found the characters, particularly Shea, a bit unlikeable. The complete obsession with identifying the history of the ring and the ring's karma led her to be very selfish and disregard the feelings of pretty much everyone around her, and I felt that there was not enough of a resolution at the end - everyone seemed to just forgive her for acting this way. I also felt that the revelations at the end (without giving too many spoilers) were quite trite - nothing more than what I had predicted them to be just a few chapters in. In sum, I liked reading the book, but I wouldn't read it again.

Also, the Portuguese dish in chapter 31 should either be called arroz de marisco or arroz com marisco (not arroz con marisco - con is Spanish!).

I loved everything about this book! I’m usually a reader of spicy rom-coms or twisty thrillers, but the description of this book intrigued me. Once I started it, I had a hard time putting it down. Like my two favorite genres, this book was filled with realistic, likable characters, multifaceted relationships, and unexpected plot twists. It also gave me a serious case of wanderlust due to its beautiful, detailed descriptions of the characters’ travels through Italy and Portugal as they try to learn the true history of protagonist Shea’s heirloom engagement ring.

While this was a fun, lighthearted read in some ways, it also had amazing depth with regard to relationships. With themes of secrets and forgiveness along with hope and commitment, it gives the reader a lot to think about while the characters are navigating their own life mysteries.

I wholeheartedly recommend The Heirloom for anyone looking for a layered read about life and love with a side of superstition and great travel stories.

3.5 I liked the idea of the heirloom ring and taking a trip to Italy, but I'm not so sure about all that the main character put her fiance through. I get being curious about the provenance of the ring, but it seemed extreme the length she took to find out who had the ring before her. I guess with the superstition, one needs to rid of the negative feeling. While I didn't give a high rating, I did still enjoy reading the book. I suppose that it didn't feel realistic. It was entertaining though. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was breathtakingly beautiful. I had originally expected a fluffy romance book, and while the romance was delivered, there was so much more than what meets the eye. This book touched on fears, love, growth, family, and a heartwarming mystery at its center. I was in love with the characters right from the start; they were relatable without feeling fake, realistic without being cringy, and overall were people I wanted to know in real life. I felt the characters' thoughts as my own, making me think about my own life in comparison, as they tried to figure out life and love in very unique and intriguing settings. The family values were another piece of this I loved and could relate to my own life: figuring out how to separate the past from the future, and I thought the author did a fantastic job of conveying this and bringing it to a conclusion. I will be recommending this book to everyone, and I truly have nothing but good things to say about it.

The Heirloom tells the story of Shea Anderson, an Italian American woman, newly engaged to a man who ignored her request to propose with a ring that had not been previously owned. This particular superstition says that an heirloom ring will carry with it the trouble and negativity from its previous owner. If you’re going to wear heirloom jewelry, you must ensure it came from a happy marriage. With her ring’s origins unknown, Shea sets off to Italy to track down the original owner. Her traveling companion is Graham, a writer who believes the experience will yield an interesting human interest article. Through their shared childhood experiences, Shea and Graham become close and push each other out of their respective comfort zones and to examine their own beliefs and motivations for their life choices.

As an Italian-American, I was brought up with all these superstitions, never realizing they were unique to Italians. I would never dream of putting shoes on a table or a hat on a bed, but the heirloom ring wasn’t as familiar to me. I enjoyed the Italian setting and learning more about why these superstitions exist. The characters were well developed and multi-dimensional.

Oddly enough, I was listening to the audiobook of The Book of Silver Linings when I started reading this book, and there are many similarities that I found myself mixing up characters and plot lines between the two. I felt more drawn in to the storyline of The Heirloom and felt the “love triangle” was more nuanced and believable.

The ending was satisfying (to me, maybe not everyone) and made you think about following your head versus your heart. I did think the end slowed way down after feeling so sucked in during the rest of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons / Penguin Random House for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed following along Shea and her over the top adherence to her grandmas superstition about heirloom engagement rings. This was reminiscent of other coming of age stories about engagement and emerging adulthood but unique enough that I’d recommend it as a beach read.

This was such a good book. I could not put this down. I had to know what happened. I loved this.
I just reviewed The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen. #TheHeirloom #NetGalley
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The story had me hooked from the start. As a 38 year old woman, with a strong belief of the deep meaning of heirlooms both in the traditional & sentimental sense this whole story resonated so strongly. I loved that what I thought about the key players (Shea-John-Graham) didn’t end up the way i saw it playing out at all. More than that though I love that this wasn’t the typical story of a woman who meets a man falls in love & the arc is they end up married. I rather enjoyed getting to see Shea battle so many of the emotions MANY of us who feel “broken” inside feel. About our lives, about our own story but most importantly that she found herself in all of it without the need of someone else! That also accounts for not needing her sister either not just a man.

I thought the strength she showed to both own up to her weaknesses & failures is the story of what women should be seen. Strong. Fighters. Willing to also put in the work to be better versions of herself. Something I can also personally relate to as a married women, with childhood trauma that did damage to her own marriage that has since been repaired.

I look forward to other stories!! Thank you for sharing this one with the world! It deserves its place!

This book reminded me a lot of Rebecca Serle’s writing and I was totally engrossed and here for it all!

Shea puts a lot of stock in what her Nona says, so when Shea’s boyfriend proposes using an engagement ring, that’s an heirloom, she freaks out. Because the grandmother always said that she should never accept a proposal that comes with an heirloom ring, among other unusual superstitions. She wants to say yes, but she’s her grandmothers granddaughter, and so she sets out on a quest to find the previous owners of the ring to find out if they had happily ever afters or some thing less desirable. An unique premise and engaging characters made this a very enjoyable read.

I was hopeful when I started this book, but I have to say it’s one of the only book I’ve really wanted to DNF, but I’m glad I stuck through to the end. While I enjoy both romance and fantasy books, the entire premise is just too wild for me.

Shea is proposed to by her boyfriend John (who despite being so “perfect” buys her a vintage ring, which she’s said she would never want) and immediately goes jaunting off to find the background of the ring. Not too crazy, I get that. Where it loses the plot for me is when she decides to fly halfway across the world for a week and go from LA to a small town in northern Italy. Come on the flight by itself is 13 hours, and you’re going to do that twice in a week? No thank you.

Cue meeting different people and taking a journey around Europe and the US to learn more about the ring over the course of a couple weeks.

Throughout the book, Shea learns a lot about herself and how her past has framed her current ideas of love and marriage. I thought the last 20% of the book was the best part, where she truly has introspection and begins to think about what she wants her life and future to look like.

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for this ARC that was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow!! Going into “The Heirloom” I was prepared for another easy romance read. It was an easy read but it’s not just your story line where she finds a man and she falls in love - the end! Every time I thought I had this book figured out or knew what was going to happen next, there was a new twist that threw me off! It did start to get a little lengthy in the middle but with another twist by the end it all made sense. I will not lie, the end was my favorite and actually helped me with some things I am currently going through in my own life. This is one I would read again and again.