I mostly enjoyed this one! Definitely a story of self-discovery and growth, though I didn't really connect with Shea or particularly care about any of the characters. I enjoyed the story behind the heirloom ring, but I wasn't so invested that I really cared to learn all the backstory (especially as it kept getting more complicated). I liked the writing and found it to be an easy read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The premise of the ring having a history is what drew me to the book and that’s where it stopped.

I feel as though Shea’s obsession with finding out the history of the ring overshadowed her love for her fiancé, John. She didn’t trust the love she felt for him until she learned the truth about the ring.

Shea’s quest took her to Italy, Lisbon, and Boston, accompanied by Graham, a journalist hoping for an amazing story. Having been married for a while, I can’t imagine most men being okay with their fiancé traveling with a guy she barely knows.

While the story of Shea’s journey to uncover the truth behind the vintage ring was interesting, it wasn’t enough for me to like the book. I found Shea’s character annoying, and I wish John had more of a backbone and would have told her to take a hike instead of being strung along like he was.

My thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the ARC of The Heirloom for review.

#TheHeirloom #NetGalley

Started off slow but kicked up around the 40% mark and I ended up really enjoying it!

We meet Shea and John shortly after their engagement with an heirloom thrifted diamond ring, Shea, being overly superstitious, decides she cannot in good faith marry John unless she discovers the entire history of the heirloom ring. So off from LA to Italy, Portugal, Boston, and back to LA she goes with the help of her sister Annie and eager for a story journalist, Graham.

I will Say that I totally expected this to be a predictable run of the mill romance but by the 2nd half it was extremely interesting and the epilogue sold me on giving this 4 Solid stars. Seeing Shea’s growth and her resolution by the end was unexpected and not at all what I thought would happen. Overall very much enjoyed reading this!

⭐️⭐️
One of Shea’s big rules in life is no vintage rings! She inherited a lot of superstitions from her Italian grandmother and lived her life according to them. So when her boyfriend pops the question with a vintage ring, she has to travel the world to find out the history of the ring before she can say yes to make sure her marriage will work out. With her therapist big sister and a nosy journalist she travels around Europe and back to the USA to find answers.

The journey to find the story behind the rings was interesting but I could just not buy that the reason for holding up her engagement was that the ring was vintage. Shea’s character annoyed me and I could not get behind her or any of her decisions at all. I did not like how events unfolded and there was nothing satisfying at the end. Her boyfriend deserved better.

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Thank you to NetGalley for a free digital copy on exchange for an honest review. This book will be published 7 MAY 2024.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Heirloom was a fun read! I’m not a very superstitious person but enjoyed following on the main characters journey. I felt some passages were overly descriptive which caused a little bit of a slump for me. Overall The Heirloom was a good read and my very first read by Jessie Rosen.

Thank you for NetGalley for this eARC! The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen is a story about self-discovery and change. Shea Anderson has 4 rules and rule number 1 is no heirloom rings for a marriage. It is just one of the many superstitions that her Italian grandmother instilled in her. So when Shea’s boyfriend proposes with an heirloom ring, it sets her on a journey to discover the history of the ring and the previous owner’s marriage. This journey leads Shea on an adventure through Italy, Portugal and the East Coast of the US.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought discovering the history of the ring was fun. The chapters were short and quick and kept me interested in what would happen next. I think the premise of heirlooms and their history was a great angle for this story. I was annoyed the whole time that the boyfriend got the heirloom ring in the first place when he knew Shea would freak out about it, but it all made sense in the end. There were also a few issues with continuity with years and names for some of the side characters that distracted me. I would not qualify this as a romance. I think it is more a story of personal growth in order to be in a good partner.

Shea's boyfriend, John, of 3 years proposes with an heirloom ring. One of Shea's biggest rules is no heirloom jewelry, because she believes jewelry carries the karma of the past relationship within it, so she must dig into the history of the ring before she can put it on.

Unfortunately, it unrolls like this: Shea has a lot of baggage from her parent's bad marriage. Shea decides the only logical thing to do is ditch her brand new fiance, leave work last minute, and travel with a man she doesn't know around Europe (Graham, a journalist who can also drop everything to go on this wild goose hunt?).

She meets owner number one and it almost seems like it could wrap up fairly nicely but no wait! He wasn't the original owner, she must track down another person. Instead of returning to her job and life, she continues to travel with the strange man she is getting closer to, and spoiler, he also has baggage! What fun!

So we what one of the plot twists will be. Is John even right for her? Is she destined to never want marriage because of her own parents? Owner number two takes them to Portugal where Graham must face his demons, and Shea goes back to the states to decide if she even wants to get married at all.

It is a very frustrating read and Shea is obnoxious and lacking self awareness. I should never have picked this book up, it is clearly not for me. But the synopsis made it sound like it would be an interesting and potentially funny or historically entertaining trip through Italy to discover the origins of the ring.

I loved the concept of this novel, but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped. I am a sucker for a story where the main character has to cross multiple continents in search of something, which is the back story of her engagement ring in this case. But I felt like a lot of the elements just fell flat. I wanted to picture the Italian landscape in my mind and imagine what it felt like to walk the streets of Lisbon, but the description of these amazing places just wasn't there. I didn't feel transported like I had hoped, which was a bit of a let down.

Shea was not a main character I could get behind either. I felt like she was pretty selfish to be honest. At first, I understood why she wanted to figure out the story behind the ring, but then she kept dragging it out and stringing her fiancé along, causing unnecessary fights with her sister, and cheating with someone she just met. All red flags for me. She had so much going for her and she just threw it all away because she couldn't be swayed in her beliefs (which was dumb).

I did enjoy the epilogue and I thought that was really cute. It wasn't enough for me to raise the rating on this book though.
I give it 3/5 stars.

2.75/5⭐️

I was going to give this a little higher nudge, but just too much frustration with it. And I’ll first be up front about something…I’m not much of a love triangle fan (especially as it’s depicted here).

This centers around Shea and John, long-time loves. When John proposes with a beautiful vintage ring, Shea says yes…BUT…she needs to research previous owners of said ring to make sure no bad karma is attached to it. Hmmm, OK. With John’s bewildered blessing,
she sets off to Italy (and several other destinations including Portugal) with her older sister, and an interested journalist, Graham. As the search becomes more convoluted so does Shea’s thoughts about marriage in general (her parents’ didn’t end well), and she begins to develop (possible) feelings for Graham. As she garners answers, will she allow her Nonna’s ring superstition to sway her own future happiness?

OK, my problem here was with Shea’s character. She allows herself to be swept along on a nonsensical journey to find answers when she should have listened to her sister and examined her own thoughts and motives. Also, ever thought of selling the ring, buying a brand new one and saving your fiancé some heartache and anguish? Guess not. Unfortunately, rather than seeing Shea grow much through her adventures, I couldn’t get past her immaturity, wishy-washiness and selfish behavior.

To be honest I felt like giving up on this book at one point, but I will say the last 20% (though rushed) got better. I had no problem with the writing (perfectly written), but I need characters to invest in and care about and a story to inform and entertain, and I just didn’t get those here.

My thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing the free early arc of The Heirloom for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

There is quirky and then there is travel across the world on a superstitious scavenger hunt quirky.

There is insecurity and then there is give your girl an engagement ring you know she won’t like to prove your point.

A match made in future divorce court heaven.

Shea Anderson has four superstitions she lives by. Everyone including her boyfriend, John are aware of these superstitions. Shea’s Nonna (Italian Grandma) taught her that she should never own any heirlooms unless she knew their lineage because they could hold bad karma. Despite know this John decided to take a chance on purchasing an heirloom engagement ring to propose to Shea, because this heirloom ring kept drawing him in, he decided to take a chance to propose to her with it. From the second Shea laid her eyes on it. She had lots of reservations because she did not want to carry out any of the bad karma that the Ring held. This took Shea and her sister on a long journey to Italy, Portugal, and a few other locations to find out the history of this ring. From the start of the search for the owners of the ring Shea met a journalist named Graham, who ultimately ended up accompanying them on this journey. The book was enjoyable, but it felt a little far-fetched and stretched out further than it needed to with so many previous owners of the ring. The rings past held so much of Shea’s decisions for the future, it became frustrating to all of those around her inclining myself as a reader.

“Energy? It’s what we’re made of-----who we are. It’s everything. And metal holds until it passes along.”

I would recommend this book if you are interested in a quick story surrounding self-journey and healing involving the history and travel of an heirloom. The Heirloom is a contemporary fiction about Shea, whose fiancé proposes to her with an heirloom engagement ring. With her superstitions leading her decisions, she puts her engagement on hold to learn the ring’s history and lineage before accepting John’s proposal. From there, she travels to Italy and learns of everlasting love through circumstances. Portugal is next on the list where tragedy strikes not once but twice, but faith and hope make finding everlasting love so strong. Boston is the final stop where the true origin of the story begins. In Boston, Shea not only unwinds the true origin of the ring but also discovers herself and heals from her past to move forward.

The journey regarding the history of the heirloom was intriguing and beautifully written. I loved how the story came together at the end and the comfort it provided. The multiple meanings behind the ring made me appreciate the story even more. Shea, as a character, was a disappointment to me. I love her character development and journey, but there were moments in the book where she got on my nerves. You would think a book surrounding an heirloom ring would be romantic, but it fell short. Her premise of love revolved around her parent’s relationship which didn’t end well. The trips to learn the heirloom history didn’t even involve her fiancé. She went on the trip without him, fed him bits and pieces of what was going on, and got involved with the investigator of her story while on the trip.

Once I got into the book, I read it in one sitting. It flowed and connected simply with the message the author was illustrating. The message was solid and relatable, and I appreciated it. My overall thoughts, even though the book is a work of fiction, would be that her journey to know the history of the heirloom was unnecessary. Therapy would have probably been cheaper without the heartbreak and trust issues. Shea didn’t consider anyone’s opinions or thoughts about her actions because she thought she knew what she wanted. I felt terrible for her fiancé and what she put him through. Considering he gave her options, she still chose the disruption route.

What a fun read about a bride to be and her journey of self discovery! Perfect for fans of armchair travel, her journey takes her to Italy and Portugal to find answers to her questions about an heirloom ring. The main character Shea gets a proposal from her boyfriend with an heirloom ring. She has many superstitions about accepting a ring that has been worn by other women during their marriages.
This opens up a quest for love, truth, adventure, and destiny. Of course there are engaging characters along the way and even another love interest. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story about finding love and creating a worthwhile and rewarding life with someone. It will make you think the next time you see an heirloom jewelry piece!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Going into this book I didn't understand how it could be about an Heirloom, until the main character was proposed to with an heirloom ring. She has a superstition that she shared with her boyfriend about other peoples wedding rings and how she would never want an heirloom because of all the baggage it might carry. She would want a new engagement ring. I found it rather rude that despite her boyfriend knowing this that he'd by her the ring. This book follows her journey of trying to find the people that wore this ring in the past to see if it holds bad luck. I found the travel to all these different places around the world far fetched but the people she encountered were interesting. Her boyfriend being annoyed at her for not just accepting the ring but instead having to find out what energy the ring held was pretty ridiculous seeing as he started this and knew her superstition. I found him very difficult to like and I really thought by the end of the book she'd kick him to the curb.
The story ends up being about how all along she is the one that gives the ring her energy now that it's hers so she doesn't have to worry about other people energy ruining her marriage.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

Shea's boyfriend John proposes with a ring that is an heirloom. She had told him early in their relationship that she would never accept a marriage proposal given with a used ring because it may be bad luck if the marriage(s) weren't happy. This was a superstition of her Italian grandmother and Shea took it to heart. Shea does say yes but needs to find the history of the ring and does that leaving John at home while she travels to NY and then to Europe. Shea has to come to terms with so much from her childhood during this book. I cried so many tears the last few chapters. This book was a really good read- 4 1/2 stars.

This book has an interesting premise and is mostly set in a beautiful location (Italy) but I think this would make a better movie/show than a book.

I liked the premise of this and was invested until about half way through. The main character started to get on my nerves and I found her kind of unlikable.

Although well-written with a good story that keeps you engaged, I couldn't really get over my hatred for the protagonist, Shea Anderson. She does (FINALLY) learn her lesson at the end of the novel but she's pretty insufferable throughout the story. Basically, Shes's boyfriend proposes to her with a gorgeous, antique ring. The only problem is that Shea's Italian grandmother had a long list of superstitions that people need to follow in order to have a good life. Accepting an heirloom ring (or a prior-owned item, something with history and its own karma), is a giant no-no. Shea feels compelled to look into the history of her ring and in doing so, almost wrecks her relationship with John. Who is blameless and has his own list of reasons why he bought the ring in the first place. Anyway, Shea finds herself and the novel ends happily but like I said, she's definitely too neurotic for her own good and caught up in way too many selfish things.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons for this e-arc.*

A story on how one woman’s superstitions sent her around the world. Shea is a woman deeply in love with her boyfriend John, but when he proposes with an heirloom she panics and struggles to accept his proposal. Shea’s grandmother had many superstitions for a happy marriage and life, and one was never accept an heirloom since you don’t know the karma associated with the ring. So Shea decides if she can just track down the rings owners and learn the karma of the ring, maybe things will turn out ok. So Shea embarks on a journey that takes her all over, and during that time she learns some hard truths about herself. This was an interesting story with some good character growth, and an ending that felt appropriate. A quick light read. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

Shea believes deeply in many of the superstitions she learned from her Nonna. So when John proposes to her with an heirloom ring she is distraught. She loves John and she wants to marry him, but heirloom jewelry is a big no-no, and John knew that about her. Shea begins to wonder about the history of the ring and if she can clear her superstition by figuring out if there is good karma attached to the ring. This leads her on a journey to Europe and back with many trials and tribulations and self discovery along the way. While also, unfortunately putting her relationship in jeopardy.
This was a roller coaster of a book. I was so torn on how I felt about Shea and John’s relationship and then with the introduction of Graham and the wrench her threw in things. For a moment I was team Graham but ultimately I hopped for John and Shea to be end game. I really loved the mystery solving aspects of the story and the characters Shea met along the way. I also really appreciated the personal journey that Shea ended up taking and how she confronted her grief and trauma and reflected on how that effected her relationships. This felt like a unique story and I enjoyed reading it.