Book 166 of 300 ~ 2024

🌟🌟🌟🌟

First, the possibility of being made redundant. Then comes the cherry on the cake - your home that sits on a cliff.. well, just decides to *ahem* take a dive, thus leaving you homeless.

The protagonist is likeable, as are the other characters. As she finds herself, pushing herself to find adventures, and ultimately, finding herself.

I did both the audiobook and ebook versions of this wonderful read. The narrator was brilliant and kept me interested, too.

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

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This one surprised me. I honestly didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did because of the way that it started. But I grew very fond of the characters and their way of approaching difficult situations.
Imagine losing your job and then getting home just in time to see your home falling off an eroding cliff into the ocean below. That is a low blow and a lot to handle all in one day. <i>Jenny James is Not a Disaster</i> is a story of falling and getting back up again while learning to trust yourself and the people around you who truly want to support and help you.
I truly admired Jenny as a single mother and the relationship that she had with her son. She may have doubted her parenting, as most parents do, but having the chance to spend time with him on the open road in an rv was a super sweet time to see how well she did raising him.
There were many times that I laughed, maybe got a little teary and even clapped at the metaphor of the scene with an rollercoaster that Jenny overcame.

Jenny James is Not a Disaster by Debbie Johnson is a cute little rom com story. We meet Jenny on a day during which everything in her life is falling apart, some things quite literally. The characters are fun, if not always making realistic decisions. It is lovely to have a romance without any “R” rated scenes. Some aspects of the story can be a bit predictable, but that doesn’t really take away from the story. I read the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job. All in all I found this to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I like the premise but it was just okay. Based on the title, it’s no surprise that Jenny James is short on luck when we meet her. She loses her house and her job at the beginning of the story and for me that was the most interesting. The humor and the dialogue all felt a bit off and the ending didn’t wow me. I expected it to be predictable but I still wanted it to be a bit more interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Debbie Johnson’s Jenny James Is Not a Disaster takes readers on a delightful road trip of resilience and self-discovery. Jenny, a single mom, faces a cascade of challenges: downsizing, a broken-down car, and a cliff-diving cottage. When she embarks on a nomadic journey with her son and their quirky neighbor, Luke, the story unfolds with humor and heart.

Pros:
Heartfelt Exploration: Johnson deftly explores Jenny’s past wounds and reconciliations, making her journey relatable and poignant.
Random Prompts: The whimsical hat-pulled destinations add an element of surprise and adventure.

Cons:
Pacing: While the pacing is generally good, there are moments when it lingers.

Overall, Jenny James Is Not a Disaster delivers warmth, relatability, and the joy of unexpected detours.

Jenny James Is Not A Disaster by Debbie Johnson is a novel of a journey of three people and one really cute dog. All of them are seeking something, and that something turns out to be joy. Hop into the motorhome, read the "Sausage Diaries," and quest with them to find that certain JOY!

In standard rom-com fashion, Jenny James's car breaks down the day she learns she's being laid off and then, when she and her teenage son return home by slow bus in a rainstorm of monsoon proportions, there's their rented house falling over a cliff into the sea. Oh, and since she had Charlie as a teen, she's estranged from her family. Enter Luke, who, recovering from his own tragedy, drives around England in an RV and invites them along for a couple of weeks. Good times are had, stories are shared, reconciliation bravely attempted etc. Adorably. Very well written and avoids romcom cliches by its original plot and intelligent characters.

Thanks, @netgalley, author Debbie Johnson and the publisher for this advance ecopy. Highly recommended.

Coincidentally I was also reading the 2022 novel GOOD TASTE, about another peripatetic Brit, Stella, who is writing her second food related book after disappointing sales of the first... and she must not mess up. As she travels from place to place on a meager stipend, she has adventures of various flavours until she anecdotes (as a verb) herself into a corner and has to work very hard to come out on top.

These were wonderful companion books about trips around beautiful England while figuring out your life.

Jenny James Is Not a Disaster- and neither is this story. In fact, it’s quite lovely and poignant and moving to follow Jenny through a very rough and incredibly unexpected time and out the other side. This is a very specific and unique story that at the same time is universal and highly relatable.

Beth Eyre did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Debbie Johnson, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Loved this one so much! I love an English author, honestly. This book is so funny and lovely. It touches on the complexities of family, forgiveness in yourself and others, how sometimes life is just plain unfair and rolling with the punches is all we can do. Jenny James can do no wrong in my eyes. She is a wonderful mother that speaks on motherhood in ways that feel so true. The dog is the perfect little comedic relief. Just overall a very wonderful read.

This book took me by surprise, in a good way. I didn't know much about it going in (I generally don't read the synopsis of books and tend to choose them more based on the vibes of the cover) - and I was quickly pulled into Jenny James' no good, very bad day. The book does have some of the style that I've come to expect from euro-centric contemporary fiction, so I'm sure there were a few contextual pieces of information that I missed or that I didn't quite pick up on, but over all, it was a very relatable and enjoyable read.

The whole storyline puts Jenny through so many things (I couldn't even imagine) and then has a heart-warming redemptive arc that really brings the narrative home at the end. I thought the dynamic between Jenny and Charlie was very indicative of what I imagine teenage/parent relationships to be - and the echos between what Jenny experienced with her parents and what she experiences with her son were very well done. The addition of Luke into the mix was a great way to add more depth to the story and give Jenny some "grown-up" interaction as she's navigating everything that has happened.

Overall, I did find myself really pulling for Jenny to come through all of her circumstances and end up with a happy ending. This delivered a nice mix of humor and romance along the way while she discovers herself in the next stage of her life.

I really enjoyed the audiobook narration - I found the narrator to be excellent to listen to and she did a great job evoking the emotion of the moments that she was reading while not distracting from the story itself. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC of the book for me to read!

There are so many lessons in this sweet story. Finding joy, learning to let go, welcoming love and overcoming the hard bits. It is a romance but it’s also a grand adventure and a homecoming story.

# Jenny James Is Not a Disaster
# 8/19/2024 ~ 8/20/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0

Jenny James has had her share of bad days. A single mother of a teenage son (with plenty of teenage attitude), she has a mediocre job with a less-than-mediocre paycheck, a car on its last leg, and too many discarded dreams to count. But then comes the day when her job is made redundant, her car dies its final death, and her home -- a cozy little seaside cottage on an English cliffside -- falls into the sea during a vicious storm. Literally.

With no home and no job, Jenny and Charlie join their kind but aloof neighbor, Luke, and his dog Betty, on his nomadic road trip around England. Each new destination, decided by a topic from a hat, brings all three of them -- four, counting the dog! -- closer, but also forces them to realize they can't outrun the events of their past. Jenny must eventually face her long-estranged family, Charlie must navigate his path into adulthood with pieces of an unknown past, and Luke must face the devastating tragedy that changed his life all those years ago.

I loved this book for so many reasons! The friendship that developed as they traveled was both strong and sweet. The author did not sugar coat past mistakes or the difficulty in facing them, but did so with hope for the future. The English road trip reminded me of places I've visited and added many to my bucket list.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet, feel-good, easy read -- and an armchair tour of England! It was a perfect summer escape and just what I needed.

This audiobook was narrated beautifully by Beth Eyre -- highly recommend!

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus/Harper Muse, NetGalley, and author Debbie Johnson for the complimentary advance copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

Poor Jenny James was really going through it in this one! Losing her job on the same day she loses her house over a cliff is a serious string of bad luck. And then to find out it wasn’t cover by insurance… yikes! Although it’s unlikely readers will have had bad luck THAT serious, the feeling of nothing going right was definitely relatable.

When it would have been easy for Jenny James to just give up, she gives us an inspiring story of perseverance and persistence. I loved how hopeful this novel felt, and the fact that it was possible to work through all of the problems that came up and keep going. Jenny was able to make something good out of a bad situation, as she learned what she really wanted in life, repaired relationships, built new friendships, and learned to be ok on her own.

A thoughtfully written, charmingly narrated tale that redefines the very ideas of family, home, and love.

What a lovely story. I rounded up to 5 because I did cry. But also I laughed out loud multiple times. It was a sweet, soft story about the way that the worst day in Jenny's life changes everything for the better. I loved every character and the ways that they connected with each other.

I SO enjoyed this novel, which I listened to on audio, curtesy of HarperCollins and NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The narrator reads the story well, which makes a huge difference for me. It was comedic from the start, which surprised and pleased me, a really light ‘read’ is needed sometimes. Yes some of the storyline was way too predictable, and I wished it wasn’t at times, however it couldn’t put me off leaving a 5 star review as overall this novel was wholesome fun. The storyline of broken family relationships added a sonbre side at times, but I loved how the road trip was led by Jenny,Luke and Charlie following themes, such as zombies, and travelling where that sent them. Everything fell a bit too neatly in place during the last quarter of the book, but again I found this forgivable given the overall feel. I recommend this as an easy, playful summer read.

Highlights:
✨RV Road Trip Adventure
✨Dog a star character
✨Self Discovery
✨Great Narration by Beth Eyre
✨Complicated parent-child relationships: I felt bad for Jenny's parents. She deserved her guilty conscience, but I appreciated Jenny’s growth despite this.

Bottom Line: Great potential but some pacing issues, heavy issues that only scratch the surface., ending = HEA. Maybe too Hallmark-esque for me

"What if I post a picture of my boobs? Or worse, put an apostrophe in the wrong place."

What an absolutely delightful audiobook from #debbiejohnson. I had no idea what I was getting into at the start and within minutes I knew that Jenny James, Charlie, Luke, etc. represented so many things to so many people. The narration was fantastic and I loved #jennyjamesisnotadisaster from start to finish! My only regret is that she doesn't REALLY author #thesausagedogdiaries.

#netgalley #arc #harpercollinsfocus

Jenny James is Not a Disaster
by Debbie Johnson
narrated by Beth Eyre

Five Stars

Imagine. Your life is so stressful. You ran away from home for a man who ended up getting you pregnant and then ditching you. Then you've spent the next 18 years trying to get by, raise your son right, and make ends meet only for your house to literally slide off a cliff! Now you've got nothing but a couple possessions and your son. Enter the grumpy guy in the caravan who has been staying near you. A man who ends up being very nice and invites you and your son to join him traveling the country for a couple weeks. Just until you get on your feet.

That's Jenny, and boy is her life an adventure over the bumpiest roads found anywhere! Her road trip with the grumpy man, Luke, really brings a lot of her life into perspective. Just when you think things are going to settle down, they don't.

I really enjoyed this story. It made me happy and sad. I laughed and I cried. I highly recommend this if you love a good slow burn adventure!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Focus, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this story.

#JennyJamesIsNotADisaster #DebbieJohnson
#BethEyreNarrator #Slowburn #Family
#FoundFamily #Dogs #Travel #BritishLiterature
#ChickLit #Audiobook #ReadThisBook
#ReadAllTheBooks #ALCReview #Romance
#Contemporary #WomensFiction #NetGalley
#HarperCollinsFocus

I really enjoyed the audio version of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. Jenny, a single mom of an 18-year-old son, is having a rough time, to say the least. In a dramatic fashion, she meets a neighbor she's only seen (and assumed to be grumpy and rude) but never talked to. Meeting him takes Jenny and her son on wonderful new adventures as well as redemption of broken family relationships. It was a funny, sweet book with great narration. It was a wonderful story about letting yourself be open to change and saying yes to life, and, when you do, you never know what amazing things might happen.