Pot Shot had me actually laughing out loud. A lot of heart in this contemporary romance by Laura Piper Lee – out on May 19th!

Book Title: Pot Shot
Author: Laura Piper Lee
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Publisher: Print – Union Square & Co, Audio – Hachette Audio

Former valedictorian, current pothead, and perpetual overthinker, Nomi Wyeth is this close to opening her very own Amsterdam-style cannabis dispensary in the historic Strange Drugs Pharmacy building downtown. Former salutatorian, current doctor, and perpetual try-hard, Julian D’Angelo’s chronic failure to listen leads to a mistake that ruins his reputation and forces him to serve in Sparrow Nook’s family clinic, located next door to the Strange Drugs Pharmacy. But how is Julian supposed to be nice when the woman who stole both his valedictorian title and his heart is planning on opening some mangy weed palace for losers next to his clinic?

Through zany zoning hearings and “pot luck” fundraisers, free-spirited Nomi and straight-and-narrow Julian battle against each other all over Sparrow Nook, New Jersey, bringing up old rivalries and older flames in the process. It’s tough to say what will change first—their minds or their hearts—but one thing’s for they’re not going down without a fight.

Tropes:
– rivals to lovers
– second chance
– chronic illness rep (chrons)
– found family
– he grovels
– yearning
– forced proximity
– small town
– grumpy x sunshine (kinda)

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Review:

God, this was just fantastic. I have literally no notes. I am not an emotionally reactive reader, and this had me laughing out loud in multiple parts. Both of our main characters were so well done, and their chemistry was so good. Top tier funny.

Julian was such a well done rival to lover. At the start I was like, “how on earth is he going to turn around and win me over?” he was such an asshole. But he diiiiid. He absolutely won me over. There’s a moment where they’re using a shock collar on him and jolting him every time he’s acting like a dick, and it was so good. Nomi was such a fun FMC, and I really enjoyed her POVs a lot.

As an extra lil mention, the Chrons rep in this is so appreciated by me. While I do not have Chrons, my Dad and two of my close friends do, and I was really able to see them in Nomi. So much of what she described, and her feelings around the disease, are things that they’ve shared with me. And it’s so difficult, because so often they try to open up and aren’t taken seriously. I can’t wait for them to read this book.

I was lucky to receive both an ARC and ALC of this so I was able to immersive read, and I really recommend the audiobook of this if you’re an audio girlie. The narrators were just absolutely incredible, and they performed the absolute fuck out of this. There’s a part early on where Julian is high for the first time and singing into a vibrator, and it’s going to be something I have to go back and re-listen to whenever I’m in a bad mood. This is set in New Jersey, and the accents they did for the side characters was so perfect.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Union Square & Co. and Hachette Audio for the early copies. I was under no obligation to read or review, and all opinions are my own.

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About The Author:

Laura Piper Lee has wanted to be an author since she was a kid. Well, she first wanted to be a mermaid, but that didn’t work out. Luckily little Laura never got her hands on what adult Laura writes. Then again, it’s not like the ratty old V.C. Andrews novels she found under her big sister’s bed were any better.

Unlike V.C. Andrews, Laura Piper Lee writes adult romantic comedies with zero incest and/or children locked in attics. She enjoys making people laugh, flirting, and not exercising, so spending an inordinate amount of time writing romantic comedies is pretty much a perfect career choice for her. She loves nothing better than a perfectly ripe mango.

Now, go be a mango and buy her books.

Connect With Laura: Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Threads | TikTok