I went into this book without reading the description and with no expectations at all and I loved it. I didn’t want to put the book down!

I really liked the idea of this book. Poppy was constantly told “do it for the plot” by Aunt Margot, which tied in perfectly to the title of the novel. She has to be brave and take risks, just like the main characters of Poppy’s favorite books.

I loved how this book was more focused on her self discovery rather than only the romance. In fact, I would have liked for the romance to be less prominent than it actually was. I felt like it was distracting from the plot at times.

I would really enjoy another book set at the residency! I think that the side characters (the four other writers) didn’t get as much page time as they should have. They were mainly there because the author needed people to go to the residency. They didn’t help with moving any plot forward, and I can’t actually tell you the difference between any of the writers. I think a future book from either Aunt Margot in the past or a future resident would be great.

The plot twist towards the end of the book was amazing. I did not see it coming at all! It was a great way to connect the beginning of the book to the end.

Overall, I loved this book a lot! Poppy’s journey was a great one to read about.

It’s tough to read a book that has a lot of negative energy surrounding it. The main character has a poor relationship with her family, is frustrated with her writing progress, hates her job, and could use a change in her life.

After clandestine meetings with her aunt because of a family feud, this character has the chance to make a huge change in her life.

Beat down and continually feeling less than perfect with extremely low self-esteem, this is the chance she’s been waiting for. The author treats us to beautiful details of France, wonderful characters, and a delicious potential love interest.

There are many levels of soul searching that our main character goes through; some I identify with, some I empathize with. All I would embrace.

I love this book. The author pours herself into the character’s emotional journey and we suffer through some tears and joy. Pain and happiness. Recognizing many parts of myself too.

But not fond of the title. Main Character Energy tells nothing of what this book truly gives you. Passion, desire, and journey for acceptance, love, and an amazing journey to France that will inspire you too!

I liked Poppy and was glad she was able to turn her life. I was a bit perplexed when I read the blurb defining her by the curves.
I'm quite curvaceous but I don't my BM or weight defines me, I'm my plus-size body but I'm also a person with dreams, ambitions and on a diet because I'm diabetic.
That said Poppy's aunt was a great character and I wanted to love this story but I found it very slow at the beginning and I had to be patient before the fun started.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This had a bit of a slow start and took a while for me to get invested in the story; however, I ultimately enjoyed the characters. I thought the main character Poppy would be very relatable for many readers. I wanted to see her succeed! Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

In Main Character Energy, Poppy has reached the end of her inspiration. She's been trying to make it as a writer for over a decade, but all she's managed to do is write clickbait articles as her day job and anxiously not-write at night. She's ready to give up her dreams of becoming a novelist. In addition to her persistent writers block, her older brother - the Golden Child of her family - is the newest publishing phenom, "reinvigorating" the romance genre. And then, her beloved aunt passes away and leaves her a posthumous treasure hunt (plane tickets to France, mysterious clues...) leading to an incredible inheritance: a villa on the French Riviera that houses a writer's residency. All she's got to do to inherit? She's got six months to finish a book of her own.⁠
⁠
This was a fun book, but it was a "surface" fun for me. For example, why did Poppy's Aunt Margo wait until after her death to reveal the secret of the writer's residency? She knew that Poppy had been struggling to write her own book for years, but never mentioned a residency seemingly perfect for her? Or that Margot knew this suuuuuper hot guy who worked there and would also be perfect for Poppy? (This dude is a privileged 3rd country kid - dad is British, mom is French, they all immigrated to the US, and he grew up in the south of France from the age of 13.) ⁠
⁠
It should come as no surprise that when Poppy moves to an idyllic new country, she falls in love with the place AND the man, and her creativity is inspired anew. The writing is sharp, and besides some French flubs (which won't pose a problem to non-francophones) is a pleasure to read. If the "Eat, Pray, Love" / "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" sub-genre of women's fiction is one that you like, Main Character Energy hits all of the high points with some added commentary on fatphobia and women's solidarity. ⁠

On a personal note: I saved this to read while I was in the south of France, and that may have been a mistake. I know the locations mentioned in the book very well - I lived and worked in Nice for a year as a professional - and my experiences as an immigrant (as opposed to an expat) were very different from Poppy's. The book never describes her as interacting with a named French person except for Caroline, an employee of the residency. I get the appeal of a new place sparking new epiphanies - I really do! - but it feels like the residency uses the French setting as an exotic locale rather than a real place. (It doesn't help that the French words Poppy uses are sparse and sometimes incorrect - paperie? Bucherie?)

Admittedly this is something I am particularly sensitive to, as someone who went through the full immigration process of moving to France, but none of the logistics are discussed at all. Immigration? Language issues? Culture shock? No need to worry about that, Poppy's rich now. (To be fair, that's probably true, but it ignores the complex reality of the immigrant experience for most people.) While Poppy is certainly aware of her disadvantages (she is a fat women living in the country where "French Women Don't Get Fat" - and I don't discount that experience!), she never acknowledges her privilege. Again, these elements probably won't bother many readers; France, especially the Riviera, is enough of a fairyland that it works as a catalyst for change. That said, it was jarring enough for me that I wanted to mention it here.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

I just finished reading an advanced copy of Main Character Energy by Jamie Varon, being published on September 5th, 2023. Poppy Banks has taken a backseat in her own life, letting other people dictate her feelings and experiences - so much so that Poppy is so overwhelmed that she's about to give up on all her dreams and wishes. When Poppy is at almost at her lowest, she learns her beloved Aunt has died, spinning Poppy even further into despair. As Poppy gives up on herself, she gets a mysterious letter from her Aunt with a one-way plane ticket to France. What is this all about and what does Poppy have left to lose if she goes? Can Poppy rewrite her story to be the Main Character in her life? Find out as the setting, characters, and story have you enthralled and rooting for Poppy to learn the truth - that she deserves everything she has ever wanted. #MainCharacterEnergy #NetGalley

I wish I hadn't finished this book so quickly but I was so entranced in the story I couldn't put it down!
I had no idea what to expect from this book as I knew nothing about the author or the book itself, I had just liked the cover and the premise. WHAT A GOOD SURPRISE THIS BOOK WAS!!!!

If I could give it more stars I would... it was so well written, and I believe any woman in their late 20s or early 30s can relate to Poppy regardless of what you look like or where you come from. I cried many times while reading it, sometimes out of sadness, sometimes out of happiness but I truly loved this book for so many reasons. 5/5 stars.

- Poppy as a character had so much development throughout the plot.
- There was a lot of great advice especially from Margot & Sebastian, I've taken most of it and vowed to be better about loving myself.
- The slow-burn romance aspect was really cute as well.
- I love how feminist but in a positive way this book was.
- I've visited Nice & lived in Paris for many years and the little tidbits and imagery she provided through her words were very accurate, it made me feel like I was transported back to my time there.
- I want to be a writer myself, and I loved the tidbits of advice scattered throughout the book, the most important one is to just start regardless of if it's good or not.
- I could see the twist coming, but that's mostly cause I've watched hundreds of movies and read hundreds of books as well, but other people probably wouldn't have seen it coming so 10/10 for the surprise.

Would recommend if you're feeling low on morale, if you're lost, or if you just want to read a novel that will leave you feeling good about yourself and motivated in life.

Note: received a free ARC for an honest unbiased opinion.

All Poppy has ever wanted to be was a writer. The only one that has ever believed in her thought is her Aunt Margot, who she meets each February in secret. Her mom would be furious if she found out. She has finally decided to give up on her dreams when she finds out her Aunt has passes and left a very odd gift behind. A flight to France….someone will meet you when you land. With a push from her best friend, Poppy decides to take the plunge and head to France.

Oh man did I feel for Poppy and how she felt about her family relationship. Totally been there which made my heart hurt for her throughout the book. I hated how much Poppy doubted herself and her worth, but I also loved seeing her begin to believe in herself again. All the characters were so fantastic, I just wanted to visit and hang out with Caroline, Sebastian and Olly! This book also really made me want to head to France again!

This was a DNF for me. I loved the idea of Poppy's aunt pushing her in the right direction to chase her dreams, but the character's constant whining about student loans and hate for white men sort of put me off. Once I didn't really like the character, I didn't care about her story. I appear to be an outlier here, but that has a lot to do with feeling bombarded by the type of comments made in the book with reading being my escape from that. This seems to be well loved by many other readers.

Book: Main Character Energy
Author: Jamie Varon
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Park Row, for sending me an ARC. Let me start by saying that I didn’t think this was a bad book. It was just one of those middle-of-the-road books for me. I enjoyed it, but it did not make me want to go back to and keep reading.

In this one, we follow Poppy who is struggling to find herself. She is in her early thirties and feels like she had done nothing with her life. She wants to write thrillers but is stuck in a dead-end job. Her mother ridicules everything she does. To make matters worse, her brother is a best-selling author. She is compared to everyone and everything. She feels isolated and trapped. The only thing she has going for her is her yearly lunches with her aunt Margot. Margot and her mother don’t speak, so this has been something done in secret. When Margot passes away, she leaves Poppy a villa in France and its writing retreat. All Poppy has to do is go to France for six months, run the writing retreat, and finish a book. After that, the villa is hers to do whatever she wants.

This is a find-yourself book along with a bit of romance. Poppy is out to discover herself. Her entire life has been about her being the side character, the best friend, not the main role. She is full of doubt and has no faith in herself. She believes everything that she has been told her whole life. She is unhappy. She takes the plunge and goes to France. As it turns out, this is what she needs. She needs to get away from her family and from all of the doubt that was being put into her life. She put herself out there. It’s not always pretty, but she does change. She finds her voice. She becomes happy and her person. She builds herself and finds out just how strong she is. Now, I will admit that there were parts that were very cliché. I figured out the twist very early on and I couldn’t believe that the characters didn’t see it right away. I think there were bits of Poppy’s self-discovery journey that could have been done better. For example, the resolution with her mom felt weak and very unbelievable. Poppy’s mom has put her through so much pain and suffering and what we got did not feel all that real.

The whole ending of the story felt rushed to me. The build-up was great, but I came away from this book feeling disappointed by the ending. So much was revealed and resolved in the last little bit that it was almost jarring. I would have liked to have seen things fleshed out a little bit more. I would not have been against making the book longer to see this happen. For example, Poppy wants to be a writer. We get to see her give up, then go back, and finish a book. She wants to publish. Well, for something that has been a big part of the book, this felt rushed at the end. It was almost like an afterthought. I would have loved to see her go through the process of becoming published, not just finishing the book and getting an epilogue. I guess that what I am getting is I would have liked more from the ending.

I did like how Poppy and the other women at the retreat built each other up. So many books feature women tearing one another down. Why? Why do we do this to each other? Here we get a safe environment for women to work and do what they love without the fear of being judged or hated. They build bonds and want to help each other grow. I love seeing friendships in books. I am so happy that the author included this in the book. I also like the other friendships that Poppy develops along the way.

Overall, this was just an average book for me. I loved parts of it and not so much other parts.

This book comes out on September 5, 2023.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for the ARC.
This was such a great read. Poppy is real and many can relate to her. She self-sabotages due to her perception of herself. We get to read about her journey and how she felt during her many experiences. I was constantly cheering her on. I read this in a couple of days and Jamie Varon will be an automatic author read for me.

Poppy is an aspiring writer who, like many in the world, thinks that her dreams will never come to fruition, that they are out of reach. When Margot, her lively, brave, and courageous aunt, passes away, she leads Poppy on a mysterious trip across the world. Poppy arrives in France and discovers that Margot owned a villa that operated as a writers retreat, and she left the villa to Poppy. Poppy, who always takes the safe route, is stuck with this villa and needs to decide what to do with it. She can sell it and pay off all of her student loans, or she can keep it and take on running the retreat. The only stipulation is that Poppy has to write a manuscript within 6 months to receive the villa inheritance.

This story isn't just a love story to writing or steamy and dreamy men, but a love story to one's self. With higher risk comes higher reward and Poppy shows us how much we should all believe in ourselves and go after our dreams. The proof lies in how much we root for her and hope that she makes the "right" decisions to keep the villa, write the book, and not be scared of falling in love. Now we just need to learn to cheer ourselves on the same way ❤️

Jamie knocked it out of the part with her debut novel, Main Character Energy. It's so rare that we get such a real character like Poppy, who self-sabotages due to her perception of herself. To go through her journey felt like so many experiences I've had in my life, and I felt myself constantly cheering her on. While yes, the book was predictable at times, the story and imagery was beautifully written. I can't wait for more novels from Jamie!

this one was really special. it touches upon so many issues that i really identify with (i.e feeling lost, jealousy of others success) and so much more. i'd love to see this transformed for TV- thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

For most of the book, Main Character Energy didn’t have a main character or the energy that I really wanted. Poppy strongly reminds me of someone I used to know that was constantly criticized by the people closest to her, that should have been building her up. The end result is a person wracked by insecurities that makes monumental decisions when in a low emotional state. Occasionally Poppy makes a choice to engage in life without worrying what other people think, and those are definitely the better moments of the book. The book also reads like a situation too good to be true. The aunt who gifts her writer’s villa in the south of France to her niece who’s always wanted to write? And the instant attraction to a man that was in her aunt’s orbit for years? I guess it’s almost necessary for the reader to want to browbeat the living daylights out of Poppy, because if she dove straight into her aunt’s legacy there’d be no plot line whatsoever. The ending does provide some satisfaction, as Poppy finally has it out with her mother and begins to see her older brother in a different light. I can’t say I love how the author chose to go with the relationship between Poppy and Oliver. It feels like Poppy isn’t aggressive enough in being accountable for her actions and lays the responsibility for possible reconciliation squarely on Oliver’s shoulders. This is definitely a beach read for those that are looking for something relatively light and fun. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story was slow to start but became interesting and easy to read. The parts set in the South of France were my favorite with an interesting mix of characters.

My first book by this author and I would definitely pick up others by her.

“I’ve realized that another person’s greatness takes nothing from my own. And that the bravest thing you can do is support people and celebrate their success with as much excitement as it deserves. It’s funny, the more you celebrate others, the more you celebrate yourself.”

Wow. I was completely enraptured by this story. I’ve followed Jamie Varon for awhile now and have always connected with her writing.

This novel is no different.

I loved watching Poppy truly come into her power and start living for the plot. Stepping into main character energy is something that so many women aspire to do throughout their life.

I loved seeing the journey of Poppy and her mother’s relationship as well. I think it’s one many people will connect to.

And that plot twist!? Amazing.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Knowing that the author has written for Thought Catalog, this was perhaps a little meta, but enjoyable nonetheless! Parts felt like they came straight out of Greta Gerwig's Barbieland (in a good way), and other sections may have been a little predictable, but that's what you come to an escape read like this for.

I devoured this dreamy escape of a novel in a single day. The picturesque setting makes for a stunning backdrop to Poppy's story, which touches on themes of confidence, courage, and resilience. She's the kind of protagonist you root for right from the beginning, and her journey to trusting her own power makes for such a satisfying read. I loved getting to see how Poppy's inner growth affected an entire range of relationships—the ones she shares with her family, her swoony romance with Oliver, and especially the relationship she has with herself. There's so much to love (and relate to) in Poppy's complicated feelings about her work, and it's invigorating to see her push through feelings of inadequacy to stay true to her biggest dreams. I'll be recommending MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY to friends and fantasizing about a French escape for the foreseeable future.

@jamievaron debut fiction novel Main Character Energy was a delight. Thanks to @netgalley and @parkrowbooks for the advanced copy. It’s out on September 5, 2023.

Poppy Banks has always dreamed of being a writer, but after countless rejections (who else can relate? 🙋🏻‍♀️) she shelves her dreams of publishing a book and takes a job writing clickbait for Thought Buzz. The only thing keeping her going are her annual lunches with her awesome Aunt Margot who challenges her to “do it for the plot!” After Margot passes, she gives Poppy a trip to her villa in Southern France and the promise that if she can write a book in six months, the villa and the writer’s residency are hers. Seems simple, right? Less simple are overcoming decades of feeling inadequate, family drama and romances that threaten to have her stray from her course. What happens when Poppy decides to be the Main Character in her own life?

It’s a dazzling debut full of heart and an amazing message about the courage it takes to follow your dreams.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥
Tropes: bad mom, writer’s block, cool setting