A Shoe Story

By: Jane L. Rosen

Narrated by: Beth Hicks

"I LOVED THIS BOOK! ...smart, sensitive and incredibly satisfying." —Elin Hilderbrand

"Jane L. Rosen has a forever fan in me."—Emily Henry

A young woman has one month and a closetful of shoes to discover the future she thought she'd lost in this captivating new novel from the author of Eliza Starts a Rumor and Nine Women, One Dress.

Esme Nash is eager to leave her small town and begin her carefully planned post-grad life: a move to New York City, an apartment with her loving college boyfriend, and a fancy job at an art gallery. But when tragedy strikes, instead of heading to Manhattan, she returns home to care for her ailing father, leaving every bit of her dream behind.

Seven trying years later, Esme is offered a dog-sitting job in Greenwich Village by a mysterious stranger, giving her access to all of her long-buried hopes and dreams—as well as to an epic collection of designer shoes. Esme jumps at a second chance to step into the future she's sure was meant to be hers.

As she retraces her steps, one pair of borrowed shoes at a time, making new friends and reconnecting with her old love, Esme tries on versions of herself she didn’t know existed. But the hazy August days and warm summer nights pass too quickly, and Esme must decide how much of the life she imagined still fits, and what—and who—is on the road ahead of her.

©2022 Jane L. Rosen (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Satisfying and inspiring read

The love stories are satisfying, but this book also made me think about uncovering the secrets of my upbringing that made me who I am today.

Very well written, and enjoyable.

I loved the authors creativity. It was a enjoyable book. The characters were well developed. The storyline was interesting. And the author was very creative and naming all the chapters after shoes. I highly recommend it.

Loved it

This book was such a surprise.
I loved all of it, especially the way the plot lines intertwined and then became clear. Esme Nash is a star.

Absolutely Perfect.

This book is beautiful. I loved every character, every storyline, every ending.

Extra credit points for every chapter being named after shoes. 😍👠👡👢🥿

Good read

The story is light hearted & predictable but I enjoyed it very much. If you are looking for something that isn’t too heavy this is a great choice.

As perfect a listen can be

I loved every moment of this book. The characters, the story line, everything. Great narration. Loved that all the Yiddish was accurate too. A truly great story. Now off to find out what I’ve been missing as this was my first book from this amazing author.

A Shoe Story is a love story…

Wow. From the designer shoes to the kippah’d heh-ring(lol) to Sy and Lena to Esme and….I enjoyed listening on Audible, to every single word of this novel. I found myself tearing up and even crying on some of the heartwarming moments that I won’t give away. What a beautiful love story about friendship and loyalty to new friends and family.
Bravo!

Loved it!

This was such a cute story, full of love, heartbreak, happiness and lots of fun shoe references,

Love it !

Love all the characters , the story .
Finding herself after loosing her parents .
The ending was perfect !

A Story About Love

I was not born with the gene that causes other women, like my daughter Genna, to gasp and flutter over "shoe porn". The last time I remember getting excited over footwear (other than riding or ski boots) was in high school when Farrell Adrian and I each got a pair of fancy British Brevitt’s to wear with our trendy tights and plaid kilt skirts.
In fact, for the last 40 years I haven’t worn anything fashionable on my feet at all, just the unexciting Birks which keep my bone spurs from coming back. Weddings, funerals and special occasions were a nightmare for me back in Michigan, shoe-wise. In fact, I may have moved back to Washington State just so people would stop looking at what I had on my feet.
Anyway, this all comes up not because of anything with my footwear, but because I couldn’t find a good book to read. After trying four or five, reading a chapter, then tossing them, one flashed across my “read THIS book” feed that looked promising.
“A Shoe Story”, by Jane L. Rosen, is not really a romance, but rather a LOVE story. Or, rather, four or five or six of them. For people like Genna its about the love they have for the shoes that cause them go a little faint when they see them - Louboutins, Ferragamo’s, Jimmy Choos, Guccis and Manolo Blahniks. It’s also a story about love between couples and all the ways it can bind together and come unravelled. It’s three or four stories about young lovers and very old lovers. It’s about regrets and second chances. Its about family love and family tragedy.
It’s a love story for the city of New York, for Yentas, for dogs, for food and for Zabars. It’s a love story for art, especially for Gustav Klimt, the “Woman in Gold” and “The Kiss”.
To say I loved it is a bit of an understatement. Its was a great read the first time through and a really great LISTEN the second time through.
“A Shoe Story”, by Jane L. Rosen