The Heirloom

Screenwriter and YA thriller author Rosen’s (Dead Ringer) adult debut focuses on love and loss, with mixed results. Shea Anderson is a child of bitter divorce who lives her life by a series of superstitions, foremost to never get married with an heirloom ring; according to Shea’s Nonna, wedding rings carry the previous relationship’s karma into the new marriage. When Shea’s perfect boyfriend proposes with an heirloom ring, she’s suddenly filled with doubt. What follows is an engaging European adventure to track the ownership of the ring in order to reassure Shea that it carries only good karma. Shea grows progressively more confused about her own feelings the more she learns about the ring—and the more time she spends with an attractive journalist who isn’t her fiancé. The dialogue is snappy and compelling, but some readers may struggle to accept the premise. Shea’s introspection, the meat of the novel, doesn’t quite connect with her actions, and the ending is perhaps too tidy.