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.

Nonna always knows best!! Words to live by! This was such a wonderful story about family and love. Anyone looking for a captivating and engaging story to keep them entertained needs to read this book. I loved the characters and how they developed and grew throughout the story.

3 1/2 Stars

I think the reader's enjoyment of this book is really anchored to whether somebody can get on board with the plot. If you think it's absurd that the main character, Shea, won't make a decision on her engagement until she flies across the world to several countries to hunt down the history of her heirloom engagement ring to make sure it doesn't have bad karma, then this book just won't be for you. However, if you can suspend your disbelief on the overall premise, I think you would find the story enjoyable and more like a fun scavenger hunt. The hardest plot point for me to overcome was that Shea's fiance John knew how adamantly opposed Shea was to an heirloom engagement ring, but bought her one anyways. I think the story would have been more believable if Shea had kept this fact from John rather than making sure he knew as one of her "big 4" dealbreakers on the first few dates. I also took issue with the love triangle piece - I think it made what could be a fun sister bonding trip into something really uncomfortable and kind of forced. I did love the settings of Italy and Portugal, though! Overall, this book was good, but I do think it had potential to be great.

Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advanced eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Heirloom
By Jessie Rosen
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
Penguin Group Putnam
* fiction
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Heirloom takes readers on an introspective journey alongside Shea, a woman at the crossroads of her life , triggered by her boyfriend’s proposal. The book requires a bit of suspension of belief as Shea investigates the ring’s history,
I would recommend this for readers who want to fall in love in Italy.
3 stars

I loved the premise of this book! A woman accepts a marriage from a man she loves but has reservations then travels around to find herself. But oh man, the writing was a little rough and the plot was muddled. Also the main character Shea is completely unlikable and annoying. I really wanted to like this book because the cover is beautiful.
Best of luck to this author!

Jessie Rosen does a great job of writing books with just a touch of romance instead of full rom-coms. The first half of this book was a bit slow but once I got about 60% in, I couldn’t put it down and finished it in one night.

I started this book off feeling very optimistic. It was lighthearted, easy to dive into. But as I dug in I found myself just wanting it to be over. I groaned when the first owner of the ring was found but they had to continue their search for two more owners. And while it was obvious there would be a love triangle with Graham, I just didn’t care. I came to realize the characters just were flat. Not a lot of description about them or connections with each other. John was especially not built. I first wanted Graham to work and a great love to be found, but I wasn’t buying they were connected. I think it was a convenience. And while I admired the lesson of John and Shea working it out in the end, I was just ready for the ending that I wasn’t invested in them. I would have loved to see Shea and her sister speaking Italian fluently while visiting Italy, especially with all the history they say they have there.
I just reviewed The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen. #TheHeirloom #NetGalley
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I struggled with this one. The concept was great but it just fell flat for me. I almost DNF’d it a few times. The last part of the book held my attention more then the the first so I’m happy I ultimately finished.

There was a lot going on with this book, and at times the story felt a little far fetched. While I loved the concept of heirlooms and superstitions that come with them (good and bad), I felt like I wanted more from this story than what I got. That said, the dialogue in this story was particularly strong and believable. I really loved the interactions between most of the characters.

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Thank you to NetGalley. for providing me an e-arc of this title. This review contains my honest thoughts.