witchbuns

Jamie Harrow, 2025

3.75 Stars for a Low-Impact Ride

I am torn on this one because I was not connecting to the social media plot line, but I am a softie for Jamie Harrow because her debut novel was a marvel that I discovered unassumingly on a library shelf. I see her brain and wit and want to follow it, just in a different story. 

This book revolved around Quinn deciding if she can continue her brand persona as dictated by her cycling influencer job. I personally don’t want to read about social media in my books, I want a screen-free romance that is about two people connecting in a raw way, anchored by life events with high stakes. Maybe I’m too elder millennial, but the mentions of followers and the time she spent debating how to appear online from her girl boss manager felt superficial. Quinn and Nate together also felt too new as a connection, and I didn’t believe they had a strong connection (yes I’m using Bachelor terminology) because they had spent a month together in LA previously and then miscommunicated their feelings. 

I did enjoy that Quinn was naturally positive and she had to reconcile if that was truly her nature or her environment from her mother, and I liked the topic of long-time friendships that might not be securely anchored. Maybe I just wanted a book with Bailey the Doctor with the vegetable garden finding out that her grant funding was stolen by a [insert character] that she previously [enemies trope] and it all comes to a head at an [academic conference/high profile patient/beloved mentor reunion]. But either way, I’m here for her next book.