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!

This was extremely underwhelming and drove me to DNF multiple times. It was a snooze fest. Who has the ability to just pick up and leave to another country for days at a time to go on a wild goose chase to find the history of a ring? Apparently Shea. I’m sorry, but as an Italian American myself, I wouldn’t even go to that length for a superstition (and we have many!). The entire story just seemed so far stretched and not relatable. And who kisses another man while you’re engaged to someone else and the whole reason was to find out the history of the ring he gave you? Ugh. The whole thing just frustrated me.

Read if you like:
💌 Letters to Juliet
🔍 Mysteries
💍 Antique Rings
😬 Fear of Commitment
✈️ Atmospheric Reads

I would say for most people that enjoyed Letters to Juliet and the mystery of finding the people attached to the letter, you will love this plot as Shea searches for the history and prior owner of her engagement ring before she is willing to wear it to ensure it doesn’t come with as vibes.

Throughout her exploration of the history of her ring, she is forced to confront her fears of commitment and that love won’t be lasting as she has to determine does the answer to the history of the ring really matter or is it her own fears.

If you like books with a lot of travel around gorgeous locations and feel like an adventure and a vacation all in one I would recommend this one!

Thank you to Berkley for my ARC and PRHA for my gifted audiobook!

How do you convince an Italian American to read a book? Tell her it includes the story and superstition of a "Nonna." Tell her that it includes the "Nonna and Nonno's" sweet love story. Tell her they travel to Italy. Tell her the main character's family is from the same region as her own. She'll be immediately sold.

The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen is a cute women's fiction book. The story follows Shea, an Italian American on her way to being engaged. Shea's Nonna had many superstitions (as many Italian Nonna's do). The most important one was to never get engaged and then marry someone who proposes with an Heirloom ring, Shea's boyfriend, Jason, does just that. This sends Shea on an adventure to see if the heirloom engagement ring was filled with hope and love from its past relationships or filled with dread and sadness. With the help of Annie (Shea's sister) and Graham (a journalist), Shea goes on her way.

The premise of this one hooked me right away. I really enjoyed watching the story of the ring unfold. However, I did have some difficulty with this book. For one-new characters kept being spoken about without ever introducing them. There's no mention of how these characters came about or how they fit into Shea's life. The author just casually mentions them and then all of a sudden they are part of the story. Also, there seemed to be very minimal connection between Shea and Graham, but all of a sudden Shea is thinking she's engaged to the wrong man because of her feelings for Graham. If it wasn't for these two inconsistencies, the book would have been much more enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Putnam for the ARC of The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen in exchange for an honest review.

Quirky premise, and not my usual type of read, but I really enjoyed this romcom. It was sweet, although I really didn't like the main character, but I am happy with how it ended!

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books, Putnam Books, and Penguin Random House for this copy of "The Heirloom."

Shea has 4 rules that she tells John when they first start dating and the 4th is no heirloom jewelry since she's superstitious about potentially bad karma.

So when John proposes with an heirloom ring that he thought was perfect, Shea feels compelled to track down the story of the ring's owners.

But her journey helps her to realize that she has some unresolved family relationships and questions that need answers.

This was such a sweet, heartfelt story and I loved Shea and John's honesty with each other.

Also the "Only You" movie references were wonderful!

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC.
One of Shea’s main rules in life is to never get a previously worn engagement ring. She thinks that ring will reflect what the previous wearer dealt with while wearing it.
Of course her fiancé gives her a beautiful heirloom engagement ring, and before she can accept, she goes to Europe to find out the history of the previous owner and if it is cursed.
I initially liked the premise, but after a while it felt ridiculous. She could have just said yes but not this ring, or no-you didn’t listen to what I wanted. But that wouldn’t be a book, would it?
It was fine.

The locations of this book were by far the biggest “character” for me! Between LA and NYC to Italy and Portugal, the setting was the best part. I’ve been to many of the places in Italy that were mentioned so that was so fun!

I thought this was a good concept, but one that fell a bit flat for me. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters, so I found I ultimately didn’t care too much what would happen with Shea, her ring, and her marriage.

I felt as though Shea’s superstitions were taken a bit too seriously, and the search into the heirloom went a bit too long. Both of these facts not only made the story even more unbelievable, but also a bit frustrating at times.

Overall, it was a cute read, and I did love the settings. I also appreciated the inclusion of trauma response and interpersonal relationships, and I did like the ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: 5/07/24

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam, the author, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Shea’s boyfriend proposes, she goes against her beloved Nonna’s rule to never accept a marriage proposal with an heirloom ring. She loves her fiance, John, but can’t shake her Nonna’s worries about heirlooms carrying the energy of their former owners.

Now, with the help of her big sister and a journalist, she will travel to New York, Italy, Portugal, and Boston to meet the previous owners and make sure the ring has forever marriage energy.

Why I Loved It: Between the gorgeous settings and the hunt for the ring’s origin, this story was easy to fly through while remaining utterly enchanting. I might not agree with all of Shea’s decisions but the journey to happily ever after was so enjoyable!