Jenny James Is Not A Disaster is a cozy, feel good story that is a straightforward and enjoyable read. Perfect for fans who want a tidy plot with likeable characters who have to start their life over from scratch while wandering the English countryside, and a happy ending. This book reminded me of the authors Claire Poole (The Authenticity Project) and Abbi Waxman (The Garden Of Small Beginnings).

The author description of Debbie Johnson is that "she writes feel-good emotional women's fiction." That is a perfect description of this book. Jenny James is having a terrible week. She thinks fighting with her 18 year old son and a run in her stocking make for a bad day. She has no idea. Within a day, her workplace is closing down, her car dies, and her house falls off a cliff. As a single parent, Jenny can't just curl up in a ball and disappear. Instead, she and her son end up in a camper with a nomadic neighbor heading wherever the wind blows (or wherever the suggestions in the hat lead). Jenny and her son finally have time to discover what they truly want from life and how to get there. Jenny faces her past and figures out how to find joy, and that joy isn't found in the belongings she lost or the job she once had. This is definitely a feel-good story that might make you want to pack up and hit the road yourself.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an ecopy. My opinion is my own..

I was not able to read this book, as it came to me in PDF format. It was too small to read on my phone and too clunky to manipulate to a size that was readable. I requested a different format from the publisher and never heard back. I was still curious about Jenny Jones, however, and as soon as the book was available, I snatched it up. It was worth the wait.

I found this novel to be a great tale of finding yourself and confronting the scary things you think you know about your past. Jenny had a tricky relationship with her parents when she found herself pregnant in her teens. Instead of submitting to another blowup fight, she simply left home before they found out, and raised her son on her own. After a series of mishaps, she finds an opportunity to return home and discovers that she may have been a bit hasty back then. And her mother also realizes that she maybe didn't make all the right decisions when it came to Jenny.

This was a nice read for me. I liked Jenny getting back in touch with her family, getting to know a neighbor who became really important to her, and realizing that she was more like her mother than she thought (just in time to avoid another mistake with her son). The characters were well-written and the familial insight was good. These are good people whose good intentions had really bad consequences, and it's nice to see something like that resolve itself.

***Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the ARC - wish I could have provided my feedback sooner!***

This is a 5 star book because Debbie Johnson is an outstanding writer.

The plot is kind of strange. Jenny James is a single mother with a teenaged son who’s been estranged from her family since she became a pregnant teen. The boy’s father left early on just as her family predicted. Jenny long ago gave up her dreams to earn a living at whatever jobs she could get to make ends meet. She’s finally managed to get a decent job and rent a decent place when the house topples off a cliff and she loses her job. In the aftermath, she and her son take off for what’s supposed to be a short trip (with a man she barely knows who’s been living nearby) to see if life in a camper will work.

As the trio travels around England, the reader gets to see how their relationships change and grow; the characters also change and grow as they take risks in letting themselves be known.

The author did an outstanding job helping the reader experience what the characters experience at the various stops along the way. The exchanges among the characters felt honest and helped move the plot along. Primary, as well as secondary characters were well-developed. I felt as if I were getting to know and experience the characters through what they said and how they reacted to what happened along the trip.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Many scenes were quite funny, some were quite touching, and best of all, there was a happy ending! Highly recommend.

Jenny James is Not a Disaster was a great read. I found it not too light but not too heavy. Like Goldilocks said, it was just right.

Jenny is having a really no good day. Her employer announces the possibility that they are one of two locations that will be shut down. It is pouring down rain. Her car breaks down on her way home from work. But thankfully the car troubles ultimately save her and her son's lives.

I love that Jenny does not let all of this major life challenges sour her spirit or her attitude.

I really did enjoy this book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was just as delightful as I had expected as reading the summary. The main character Jenny, and the supporting characters, were all very relatable and were the kind of folks you'd like to hang out with. While the story was great fun, there were also very touching, heartfelt moments. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more books by Debbie Johnson. Thanks #NetGalley #HarperCollins #DebbieJohnson

This is the first book I have read by this author and I absolutely love it. I expected a silly, light book about a woman going through a few disasters but it was so much more. It touches on so many relatable topics: parenthood, grief/loss, and how our decisions frame our future. This was a wonderful story and journey to go on with Jenny. I could not put this book down! Read it! You won’t regret it.

A big thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins Focus for advanced copy of this book and the opportunity to discover this wonderful author.

Poor Jenny just can’t get a break. Her home collapses down a cliff, she’s laid off from her job, and her car dies, all in one day. This story has such a unique story line as it follows her and her son, plus wanderer Luke, all around England and leads her back to her roots. Definitely worth reading!
This book was provided to me from the publisher but all of my opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a good read. Jenny’s thoughts were what most females and moms think about. Her son Charlie was a great character. Luke was a great male character in this story.

The scene and character development was great. I was seeing this book play out like a movie in my mind. The story line was funny yet tragic.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advanced reader copy. These are my views and opinions of this book.

DNF @ 23%.

The premise is interesting enough, but the characters are too bizarre and annoying. What started as quirky in our FMC turned into a very weird way for a mother to behave, and her babbling was incessant, I also felt that we should have had some more plot by a quarter of the book, and we’d really only breached the back cover.

Thank you so much for the e-arc and I look forward to trying another one soon.

Jenny is having a seriously bad go of it. Her car wont start, her job is in jeopardy and her home literally fell off a cliff. She’s always tried to deal with everything with aplomb, but really what is a single mom to do? She has her beloved son to think about and has always and only wanted to make his life the best it could be and to never know of her hardships. With almost nothing left, she is trying to figure out what is next. Turns out her next is so fabulous. Her temporary neighbor Luke invites them both into his camper van for a fantastical road trip. And it is fantastical and so much more! It is eye opening, allows her to recognize what a strong smart woman she is and always been, helps her to reconnect to her estranged family, reflect on her life choices, find her own happiness, develop a healthy adult relationship with her beloved son, heal her heart, be open to love, discover her love of travel, reconnect with her passion of writing and more. Luke is a good and kind man dealing with his own emotional demons and loss. Together, they each find themselves and find their happily ever after. A wonderful story to read and or listen.


I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4.5 stars

What a delightful book! I loved so many things about it, and I had more laughs, and tears, then I expected. Jenny's desire to find joy again after everything in her life seems to fall apart will likely resonate with many readers. Jenny is such a likable character, and her conflicts and struggles make her all the more relatable. She shows that while she sometimes may feel like a disaster, that is not truly the case for her, and it's not for us, either. At the core, this is a story of learning to accept oneself. There is a bit of a romance angle, but thankfully it is not a key focus. This was the perfect pick-me-up book that I needed at this time.

Johnson's writing quickly pulls readers in. She easily balances emotional, heartfelt moments with humorous ones. Her style reminds me of Sophie Kinsella, and I look forward to reading future books by Johnson.

A fun, gentle read about a woman navigating changes in her life.

Jenny is a single mom who is dealing with a teenage son who will be leaving soon for university. On the day she learns she may lose her job, she and her son return to their home only to find that due to torrential rains, it is starting to slide off a cliff and into the ocean. Saved from falling over by a surly neighbor, Jenny and her son must find a way forward. It turns out her neighbor , who lives in an RV, is not so surly, and offers them a chance to move forward. Traveling the roads together, the three each find what they need.

Fun, well developed characters and a good storyline make this an appealing read.

Single Mom down on her luck with her 18 year old son Charlie. She loses everything which seems unlikely but this is fiction. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had hoped which is likely more of a reflection on me and not the author.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC. This opinion is strictly my own.

Single mom Jenny’s life falls apart in a single day. She finds out she’s being laid off, her ancient car finally breaks down for good, and thanks to erosion from record-setting rains, her home literally falls off a cliff. Newly unmoored, she and her teenage son embark on a spontaneous RV tour with a new friend…and Jenny discovers a side of herself she didn’t realize existed.

This book was super wholesome and heartwarming. What I didn’t expect is that it’s also laugh-out-loud funny. The main character is super snarky and the voice feels like a Sophie Kinsella novel. The complicated family relationships are emotionally compelling and realistic. The book gets a bit slow in the middle, but overall I was thoroughly entertained and read it in two sittings. I’d absolutely recommend this as a summer read.

And they all lived happily ever after. Good rom-com, characters with problems, grappling with life. I received this digital arc from NetGalley and Harper Muse. This review is my own words and beliefs.

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

I really enjoyed this story, it flowed so nicely and there were layers to each character. Such a funny and heartwarming read. Four stars!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC for an honest review.

This book absolutely was not a disaster! I adored it to pieces...

While Jenny James life may be a disaster at the moment, she manages to make lemonade out of lemons thanks to her neighbor (and hero!) Luke who offers her and her son a road trip in his camper after her cottage literally falls off a cliff. This is a book about finding yourself, forgiveness, facing complications and fears, letting go and starting over. There is great dialogue and witty banter. The personal growth off all the characters is a marvel to watch. The characters are filled with flaws and broken in their own way, but each are honestly trying to become a better person. There is just as much sweetness as there is emotional depth. The relationship between Jenny and Luke...From strangers to friends to something extra special...pure JOY!

5 stars

I almost quit on this book pretty early. The first part was a bit hard to get through with how things were going for Jenny. I am so glad I stuck it out because it was SO sweet in the end! Although you have to wonder at the intelligence of heading off on a road trip in a motorhome with someone you know very little about, Jenny, Charlie, and Luke all quickly worm their way into your heart and you will not be able to stop reading until you see where their journey takes them. The relationships and problems are real and relatable, the setting is a character all of its own, and the story unfolds easily and cleanly. You won’t regret this feel good read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After a string of really bad luck, Jenny James decides to begin again. Jenny and Charlie (her 18 year old son) join their neighbor, Luke, in his campervan on a road trip. Each new destination is decided by pulling a random prompt from a hat. As each mile goes by, Jenny has time to reflect on her past and think about what her future might hold.

This is a heartwarming, cozy read. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Jenny and her son and how they reconnect on the road trip.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.