I loved this book so much. I loved how she went running finding out if the bad karma was true on this ring. She finds out many secrets along the way. I loved the characters and the storyline. I would definitely recommend this book.

Shea is proposed to by John and what is supposed to be a happy occasion starts a journey of self growth. The only thing Shea insisted was she didn't want an heirloom ring. When John proposes with one she begins floundering. Thus begins the trek to find the history of this ring. This was a wonderful story full of flaws and hope. Be careful, this on is hard to put down!

I wanted to like this book but it was a touch too hallmark for me. I always wanted a relationship with an elderly family member but never had one. Reading about others relationships with their elderly family just seems fake to me.
Overall it’s a cute story but not my flavor anymore.

This was an easy, clean read. The plot was all over the place, but the ending brought it all together. It was interesting to find out the history of the ring and the stories of the owners. I liked the characters; especially the banter between Shea and Graham, the journalist. It added a bit of fun to the storyline. This is a good book to read if you are wanting to travel the world through a story!

Book 19 of 2024 - ☑️! Thank you so much to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons & Jessie Rosen for the ARC of The Heirloom in exchange for my honest review.

I had The Heirloom on my TBR the moment I found out about it. I’ve been following Jessie Rosen’s career for a minute, and I was thrilled to get a galley of her first book. In The Heirloom, when Shea Anderson is proposed to by her long-time boyfriend, John, all but one thing is perfect: the ring. She doesn’t take issue with the look of the ring; rather, it’s the fact that it’s an heirloom. Heirloom jewelry is something she’s take a particularly strong stance on, due to her Nonna’s influence. Shea’s Nonna has been a huge part of every facet of her life, from Shea’s love of movies, to her deep desire for a strong & forever marriage. Shea’s feelings about the ring lead her on a journey to multiple countries, as well as very deep and personal exploration while tracing the history of the heirloom and its owners.

This lovely book gripped me from the beginning, and I was looking forward to reading it any moment I got. Rosen’s descriptions are so vivid, it made you feel like you were in Italy, Portugal, LA and all of the places she mentioned - a great summer read all-around.

5/5 ⭐️! I look forward to reading more of Jessie’s work - I’m thrilled to learn her 2nd book is in the works! 💍 ✈️ 🧣 #NetGalley #TheHeirloom

This is a story of a girl searching for the story of a heirloom ring. I was hoping for a swooning romance with a brave rich story however the couple with the ring spend most of their time ignoring each other, which begs the question should they be together. It is a story that is about the journey and not the ending.

"The Heirloom" is a charming debut novel with an engaging plot and a protagonist with dimension. Rosen takes the reader on a fun goose chase as the protagonist gets to the bottom of her heirloom engagement ring's origin story and has to decide for herself whether she'll allow superstition to dictate her own happily ever after.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Putnam Books in exchange for an honest review.

Shea has always been a devout believer in her Italian grandmother's superstitions, most importantly never to accept an heirloom ring lest the bad karma of previous relationships bring yours down. When her boyfriend, John, proposes with an heirloom ring, Shea is torn. She wants to say yes, but can't shake the superstition. She sets out to find the history of the ring's previous owner.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, but as Shea's search kept dragging on, I grew very frustrated with our main character. I wanted to shake some sense into Shea several times. The twists in the ring's history got to be too unbelievable, but I think the ending was perfect. Shea's character worked on herself, grew, and ultimately, got a happy ending.

In "The Heirloom," Shea Anderson's grandmother had numerous rules for a happy, healthy life: avoid owls, never put a hat on a bed, and never, ever accept a marriage proposal accompanied by an heirloom ring. Navigating life and love is challenging enough without tempting fate.

When Shea's boyfriend, John, proposes with an heirloom ring, she panics. Despite her initial surprise, Shea says yes, but her grandmother's warning sends her on a quest to ensure the ring's past won't jeopardize their future. Determined to uncover its history, she tracks down its previous owners, wherever they may be.

The premise was absolutely captivating. It's intriguing to ponder the myriad stories that different pieces of jewelry and heirlooms can hold.

Personally, I adore a good romance, so I felt a bit disappointed that the love story seemed to take a backseat. I wish there had been more focus on Shea and John's relationship. I didn't find myself as invested in the characters as I would have liked.

Admittedly, John wasn't particularly likable at the beginning. I couldn't quite comprehend why he would propose with an heirloom ring, knowing how Shea felt about it. His reasoning felt weak and disconnected from Shea's concerns.

Thank you to GP Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read this book.

Ultimately I ended up enjoying this book and the way it came around to a satisfying closing. However, I will admit that this was almost a DNF for me. The plot veered off in a way that I couldn't wrap my brain around and kept hoping that it wasn't going to end "that way". I thought the plot line was creative with the story centering around the background of an heirloom ring. I think this had potential to be a five star read, and four stars is a round up for me from 3.5.

This was an engaging read for me, but there are some issues I had with it.
Shea was borderline intolerable. She constantly made excuses to justify the things that she wanted to do for herself instead of thinking of those who cared about her in her life. I understand that you must do things for yourself, but this was just over the top for me. Noone just drops their life and their fiancé to figure out a ring’s backstory. Her sister is 100% correct that she is selfish and probably borderline narcissistic.
In regards to Graham, I felt zero connections to him and no chemistry between him & Shea. While he did some leg work for the story, I just don’t feel like he came across in the way he was intended.
John - poor dude, but also, so dumb. He was just a doormat. I didn’t feel a connection to him either.
HOWEVER – I did somewhat enjoy the ending once she stopped traveling and really did the work on herself for a while. I think that is something that most people can learn from. I just thought that the story was wildly unrealistic and I think I would have liked to see some character development changed.
I am giving this book a 3 star rating. I finished it quickly and I wasn’t bored. I just wish I felt like there was one person that I liked and wanted to root for.

I really had high hopes for this one! I did enjoy the MCs motivations being informed by her upbringing and life experiences, but she came across often as more of a spoiled brat and less of someone who was trying to find herself and come to terms with her life choices. The pacing and descriptions in the book were good, but at times felt a little abrupt and choppy. I could definitely see that being used to make the reader feel what Shea was feeling in the moment though and I didn't find it too disruptive. I would definitely still recommend this story to the right type of reader I just don't think I was it!

I started out liking the premise but as the book progressed I was disappointed that the female MC Shea put more value on her Nonna’s superstition than on her actual relationship with a decent guy. She was willing to do almost anything to find the history of the ring, even if she had to sacrifice actual people. 2.5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A fun story about the journey of self discovery. I really enjoyed the various elements that played into this story such as travel, familial traditions, and navigating relationships. It was a delightful read and the Italian backdrop made for the perfect escape. The book while it had a happy ending reminds us of all the beauty and adventure life has to offer.

3.5 rounded down to ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Have you ever been given an Heirloom and wonder what type of superstition it might hold? Shea grew up in an Italian family. Her Nonna had superstitions and Shea followed them. When John proposed to Shea with an heirloom ring, she refused to wear it until she learned who had the ring and if it was bad luck.

Shea, Annie & Graham take a trip to Europe to start the journey of finding all the history on Shea’s engagement ring. Along the way, Shea is met with a lot of uncertainty in which she must dive deep to decide which direction she needs to go next.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Jessie Rosen for an ARC of The Heirloom.

Shea Anderson has always followed a list of superstitions passed down to her from her beloved Nonna. One very important item is to never get engaged when your fiancé offers an heirloom ring. There’s potentially too much bad karma.

Her longtime boyfriend, John, knows this, so it seems inexplicable when he proposes with a beautiful heirloom. He has lots of logical reasons for choosing it, but it completely throws Shea.

She decides to search for the previous owner, so she can make sure that woman and her husband had a long, happy marriage. The search ends up taking her from Los Angeles to Italy, Portugal, Boston and New York.

Shea is joined for part of the time by her sister, as well as a journalist who loves to track down interesting stories to write about. Her journey brings up a lot of emotions and memories, not just from the people she talks to, but especially within herself.

The Heirloom isn’t quite what I was expecting; I think I was imagining perhaps a little magical realism or more of a sweet rom-com kind of adventure. Instead, it’s an exploration of the heart of a woman who has seen too many love stories go wrong. We get a heroine who goes on a wild goose chase and who has to finally take a good hard look inside. I think that part worked pretty well, though I felt the tone or direction of the story sometimes went astray. I didn’t know quite what kind of a book I was reading at times. Overall, a nice effort but not as cohesive as I would have liked.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This a really good book. I enjoyed it a lot!

A completely unbelievable premise. Who blows-up their life to jet set for the history of a ring? Shea's journey was selfish and narcissistic.

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons

Shea loves her boyfriend, John, so when he proposes of course she says "yes." But with some reservations. He knows that she is superstitious and that one of her superstitions is not to get married with a hand-me-down ring. Who knows what kind of energy it will bring to the marriage?

But Shea loves the ring and she loves John, so she is determined to learn the history of the ring so she can make an informed decision on whether she should keep it. Her research takes her to New York, where John bought the ring and proposed, where she picks up a writer who thinks she will make a good story. She and her newly pregnant sister travel to Italy to the town where the original owner of the ring lived. To her surprise the writer follows them there. And suddenly seems very appealing...

Not gonna lie--Shea annoyed me at times. Talk about first world problems--whether the gorgeous ring your boyfriend gave you meets your expectations. But the story was good and the setting superb, so I rolled with it. If you're interested in taking vicarious trips to Italy and Spain, this book is for you. #TheHeirloom #NetGalley

I feel very meh about this... on one hand, I think it's was an overall attention-keeping story that felt similar to me to Rebecca Serle's books. Unfortunately I just found it SO UNBELIEVABLE of a premise to begin with. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see proposals with heirloom rings (or even knowing if a ring is new or used or passed down) being a common-enough occurrence to have a full pre-conceived superstition around. And maybe it's also just me, but NEVER WOULD I EVER go on such a wild goose chase to track down people I know nothing about. It's definitely a me thing, but I do think having buy-in to those two ideas is a prerequisite to enjoying this book. If that's you, then I do recommend it and think it's an interesting story into the history of multiple couples who were engaged with the same ring. But if you're skeptical from the synopsis, then I think I'd recommend steering clear.