The Herloom was enjoyable, but something I expect I’ll forget I read next week. The characters were interesting enough to keep the story going but not enough to make N impression. I struggled to connect with them personally. The settings were what kept me going and I enjoyed the travel aspect of the story.

Such a promising and intriguing premise that unfortunately fell flat for me.

I was so excited to start this. I was expecting Letters to Juliet vibes (which is one of my absolute favorite movies), but this is *not* a romance despite it being rooted in marriage. This is a story of trauma and grief and deep-rooted feelings.

I think all of the characters were problematic in their own ways. Did it make them more human? Yes. Was it way too dramatic in some parts for me? Yes.

I liked the twists and turns (even though there was probably one too many), but the twist about halfway through (if you read it, you’ll know) just made me feel so, so icky. I figured it was heading that way… but it’s my absolute least favorite trope and I HATED it and how it played out. It was also lowkey useless? I think there could have been others ways to come to the conclusion without including that plotline.

I did like the ending, though. The full-circle moment of self-realization and love was nice, but that was one of the only moments I kind of enjoyed.

And finally - thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I was so excited to start The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen and it honestly didn’t let me down.
This one was really well written and kept my interest throughout the book.
I was totally engrossed in this book from the beginning.
I fell in love with the characters and the storytelling was so well written.
These characters were realistic, showing true emotion.
I will be keeping my eyes open for her next title.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Shea lives by four rules in her life, one of which is that she doesn't wear heirloom jewelry due to the bad karma she believes is attached to it. When her boyfriend, John, of four years proposes, she should be elated, but her only focus is learning the history of the vintage ring John chose. The mystery takes her across the world to Italy and Portugal, and she gets involved with a journalist, Graham, who may have a personal interest in writing a story about the ring. With the help of her sister, Annie, Shea must determine what her future holds, and if it will include John and the heirloom ring.

I thought history of the ring was interesting, especially all the little side journeys it took Shea on, and all the people she met along the way. I wouldn't necessarily call it a traditional romance, as John (an actual saint for being so patient with Shea) only bookends the story, with a bulk of the middle focusing on Graham, but not truly ever diving into love triangle territory. Graham and Shea needed each other in order to find themselves, and they wouldn't have been able to do that together. Overall, a quick and fun read, and I was content with how the book ended.

I was immediately drawn to this dreamy book cover and the blurb. Superstitious Shea Anderson is proposed to by her long time boyfriend, but with an heirloom ring. Shea believes that she needs to know the ring’s provenance before being able to accept John’s proposal. This sets off a winding chain of events as she chases down the answers she needs.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the adventure part of it, as Shea travels to multiple cities and countries, and I liked the stories of the ring’s history slowly unfolding. I don’t tend to enjoy stories that include infidelity, so I could have done without that element, but I see how it was part of Shea’s journey to self discovery.

Can love conquer all, even when it challenges our deepest convictions?

Shea's boyfriend, John, knew better. So why had he broken one of her three cardinal rules? She'd made it clear, over the course of their relationship, that heirloom jewelry was a big no, never! Her beloved grandmother said it was bad luck, based on what she'd witnessed from her years of owning a bridal shop. So why had John tainted the most momentous moment of their relationship to date by presenting her with an heirloom ring of unknown history? What did that mean for their future?

As an intuitive empath with a knack for sensing the energy stored in objects, I found "The Heirloom" to be a delightful journey through the realms of psychometry, superstitions, and the enduring bonds of family beliefs. Shea Anderson's quest to unlock the history of an heirloom ring is not just a search for the past, but a poignant exploration of love, luck, and the power of our inherited superstitions. She has helpers in her quest--her sister and a journalist who heard about her issue and is writing a feature piece about it. Each person on the quest contributes to the search, but it is Shea who must confront her fears and prejudices and make a decision. I found her internal struggles realistic and her moments of realization deeply relatable. In the end, "The Heirloom" poses thought-provoking questions about love, fate, and the choices we make.

In summary, I highly recommend "The Heirloom" for a fun, interesting read. The book's short chapters and compelling narrative kept me eagerly turning pages and following Shea and company across continents. I believe you will enjoy Jessie Rosen's blend of mystery, romance, and travelogue elements. Her writing style makes for a sophisticated, uncertain, and enjoyable read you'll want to tell your friends about.

Thanks for the advanced reader copy for review, @NetGalley!

#TheHeirloom #NetGalley #womensfiction #igfiction #travelfiction #psychometry #superstition @JessieRosen @putnambooks @penguinrandomhouse

This was a descriptive adventure read. Shea gets spooked after being proposed to. According to her Nonna’s superstitions there’s a bad omen amongst used jewelry . This leads her on a journey to several different locations to find the story behind her engagement ring. It ended up assuring her that John was the riight choice. Sometimes a wive’s tale is just that. Generational fears from past experiences. The Hank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions

The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen is a story of self discovery that takes the reader on a journey to Italy, Portugal, Boston and New York. We start out in L.A. following Shea after she has been proposed to by her fiance. Shea's grandparents are from Italy so there is a strong tie to them. I love to see places in Italy and hear about her heritage. Shea's Nonni had many superstitions that Shea carries with her and one of those is not to wear a wedding ring that has been worn before. That is the kind of ring her fiance gives her and it sets her off. She is determined to trace the origins of this ring back to the original owner and all the owners in between to see how the marriages ended.
It loved that this was a clean book to read meaning there were no swear words and no smut scenes. That made it enjoyable. I also really like the travel that takes place as the author can place you in many different places with the history and landmarks that make it special. I did not really like our main character, Shea, although I came to a better understanding of why she felt this way. I thought she really took things too far in her search and did it really matter. But that is the point of the book, Shea didn't know why it mattered so much so in her self discovery she learns a lot about herself, her parents and her reason for not believing in love.
Overall, it was good but it did get redundant after a while.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

The Heirloom is my first Jessie Rosen novel. The story follows Shea Anderson who was always told by her grandmother that it was potential bad karma to receive an heirloom ring during a proposal. When her boyfriend, John, proposes to Shea with an heirloom ring, she takes off on a journey around the world to discover the real history of the ring to try and make sure it comes with good karma. Throughout the story, she travels to Los Angeles, Boston, Portugal, and Italy. For me, it did take a long time to try and connect to the story as I could not understand why Shea took this superstition with such intensity. She believed an heirloom ring was cursed so badly that she travels across the world. If it did not turn out well, she even contemplated not accepting the proposal. For me, I could not understand this, and I wish there was a little more to help me connect to it.

On this journey, Shea discovers each story involved in the heirloom ring. Along for the ride are Shea’s sister, Annie, and friend, writer/reporter, Graham. The settings of the stories were well-described, and it was easy to escape into each destination. As there are multiple settings and stories involving the ring’s history, there are a lot of characters and details to try and track. Shea spends a lot of time and money to go on this journey and seemed closed minded in her process. She did not consider other options or opinions. While this is a work of fiction, the writing also tried to be based in the real world. I feel the novel had a great foundation where the superstition of an heirloom ring sets off an adventure, but I feel there should have been more lead up into why this “had” to be the only option for Shea. She seemed too set into going on this journey that it was difficult to see why John wasn’t more involved. I think the adventure to discover the history of the ring was a great concept, but I think it was difficult to connect to this decision without more exploration into why this was Shea’s best option. Overall, I think there are some elements to love about this story and some that needed improvement.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Are you 𝓼𝓾𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼? Do you have any superstitions regarding engagements and weddings? If you do, you may enjoy this book.

Growing up, Shea always took her grandmother's rule to heart. Never accept a marriage proposal with an heirloom ring. So, what should Shea do when John surprises her with a box from a vintage jeweler?

Wanting to uncover the ring's origin, Shea starts with the jeweler and soon finds out that the story's next chapter is Italy. Meanwhile, journalist Graham wants to write a story about the adventure and sets off with Shea and her sister to Italy to learn how this mystery unravels.

I loved that this was not a typical romance; it was more relationship fiction. While uncovering the mystery of the ring, Shea had to look at herself and her feelings and figure out how her grandmother's rule was affecting her life and future. I found the writing style similar to Rebecca Serle's, minus the mystical aspects. While this book is not a rom-com, it is heartwarming and satisfying.

Shea Anderson has four non-negotiables in her life--she's going to live in Italy someday, she'd be a singer if she suddenly gained the talent, she thinks extreme wealth is immoral, and, finally, she's superstitious enough about jewelry that she won't accept a proposal with a heirloom ring. When her boyfriend proposes with just that think, Shea can't immediately commit without knowing the full history of the dazzling ring he's picked out.

Thus begins a wild chase to find the previous owners of the ring, moving from New York to Italy to Portugal and then back to the states. Joining her in the adventure is Graham, a journalist who doesn't believe in love. Will the quest, and what they both learn change the course of their lives and relationship?

The Heirloom is part women's fiction, part suspense, part mystery, and part romance. Yes, that's a lot of parts, but it is hard to fully classify. The pacing and core plot scream suspense/mystery, the underlying personal journey is fully fiction, and Shea's uncertainty around marrying John is romance.

That combination makes for an entertaining book that ends a bit too abruptly in my opinion, with the payoff actually landing in the short epilogue. Despite that complaint, I think this book will make an excellent summer beach read for those who like blending genres.

* Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

This was an interesting story. Shea meets John and tells him 4 things that are very important to her. When John proposes, he gives her an heirloom ring (which was on the list of things she didn't want). She was very superstitious about where the ring had been. That led her to a very long and traveling journey where she had lots of discoveries. She learned where the ring came and then she learned about her mother's ring. But most importantly, she learned what was important and that what she needed what right in front of her.

I got this book from NetGalley an am voluntarily leaving a review

This is the first time I have read this author and really enjoyed this book. . Shea has these rules about a Happy, Healthy, Life and one was not be engaged with a heirloom ring but when John proposed to her with a heirloom ring , he felt it was something special . Shea wore it around her neck. She and her sister Annie started out on a journey to find the owner. Graham a journalist went with them. Enjoy their journey to Italy, Portugal . Annie, left the journey first then Graham left from Portugal . Annie continued on to Boston. She and John separated.Do they get back together. Were they just not ready. This a GREAT READ.

i really liked the premise of this book — i love a good story of family history combined with ideas of fate and superstition. the idea behind the karma of the heirloom ring was a smart one, and the plot surrounding the ring was super interesting. i enjoyed traveling to NYC, to italy, to portugal, to boston, and back to LA. however. the main character, shea anderson, is the reason why this book had to be given three stars. characters are such an important part of books for me personally, and i HATED shea. her self sabotage during this entire book was insane, and she was beyond inconsiderate of every person in her life. john jacobs deserves better, period. imagine the time he took to plan the proposal and the pride he felt in the coincidences and signs only to be thrown to the side to prove the validity of their love was even valid? like… i fear i just cannot, my distaste for shea kept me from being able to fully appreciate this book and ultimately made me enjoy this book significantly less than i expected.

Can you imagine that you are about to get the proposal you've wanted but only to delay the happiness due to your superstitions? This is what happens to Shea when her boyfriend proposes with an Heirloom ring. Given her family history, specifically her Nonna, you have to know the origins of the love story before you can even accept it. This sends Shea on an adventure to find out the origins of her ring, but it also puts up some walls between her and her finance. Let me say this, her finance was WAYYY understanding. I actually wanted him to kind of put a stop to it and tell her she was being unreasonable. I also thought it was going a different way and was not going to be happy. In the end, I liked the resolution and the fact that Shea found her own belief system instead of her Nonna's.

Thank you Putnam group for the review copy of The Heirloom; this is an engaging story that at it's heart is a journey to understand love, trust, and what it means to love and be loved. Shea struggles to accept an engagement ring from her boyfriend, she wants to marry him but family superstitions about heirlooms and some complicated family history ... have her questioning if her marriage would be doomed, not be a forever love. She finds herself on a journey to understand the history of the ring but I see it more as a journey that forces her to look to her parents' marriage, some unresolved grief, and to decide to make decisions for herself and not from the lens of superstitions.

Shea has a lot of interesting self growth in this story and the themes are discussion worthy! I will say that I loved the themes more than the whole story, I think this would have been a great read for me another point in life but comfortably entering midlife had me reading this more from the lens of wanting to give Shea advice than to go on her journey with her.... But it's a good read, well written and engaging, I loved Shea's relationship with her sister and how that was explored in particular, and I appreciated to me a somewhat symbolic read about understanding your own history.

The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen is a beautifully crafted novel that delves into the complexities of family dynamics. This heartfelt story intertwines mystery and romance, prompting readers to reflect on the subjective nature of family narratives. It was an intriguing read that I read in one night.

Shea inherited a lot of "Rules for Life" from her beloved Nonna. There were rules for everything, but the one that really stuck with her was "Never get engaged with an heirloom ring." So, of course, her boyfriend proposes with an heirloom ring (I mean, did she not tell him?). She is convinced that any ring will carry all of the bad karma from the marriages that have been associated with it in the past.

Basically, what follows is a very large over reaction to an heirloom ring. I wondered for a while if maybe she just really didn't want to marry the guy, but this would even be an over reaction to that. It's a pleasant enough story with Shea travelling to Italy and Portugal to trace the history of her ring. You just have to be willing to go along for the ride without really worrying about the practicality of spending thousands of dollars because of a superstition.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam; G.P. Putnam's Sons. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Women's Fiction, Romance
Spice Level: Medium (nothing on the page but mentions of liaisons and people living together)
Language: Some swearing
Representation: A gay couple is mentioned about two times

I actually liked the premise of THE HEIRLOOM. It was fun to watch a character go through contortions (not literal) to solve her superstitions. I also thought it worked because of the setup with how close she was to her grandmother. And if you have ever known someone who is superstitious, it doesn't matter if you use logic, they will stick to their beliefs.

There is sort of a *SPOILER* coming next. So skip to the end if you don't want to know this . . . okay you've been warned. Here it comes.

For me, the main point that got me was Shea's wishy-washy about how she felt about her fiancé. Come on! You're in love with the guy—why doubt that now? I'm still sticking with this being a romance, but this point is what brings the rating down for me.

*END OF SPOILERS*

If you love women's fiction and are ready for the ride of Shea's personal growth, you're going to love this book. In ways, I think this book fits with women's fiction better than a romance, but you could still see it as a romance.

Happy reading!