Charlie Quinn, how I love you. This book has so much heart and truth and magic, I read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. Charlie Quinn is a beautiful mirror for everyone who has ever experienced something awful and shut themselves off from the world, walking around living like a watered down version of themselves on autopilot. She’s a real character, she’s complicated and difficult and unlikeable and hard edges. She’s also lovable and honest and free and fun. I loved this book, the characters had so much depth (honestly give me Benny’s book????) and the relationships between everyone were complex and real. The love story was with a very hot man, yes. But it was also the love story of a family. Of a mother and her daughters, of sisters. It was a love letter to LA, too. I adore Charlie Quinn and her journey to find the joy and hold onto it with both hands.

A soul-healing, bread-baking, tarot-pulling masterpiece.

Reading Charlie Quinn Lets Go by Jamie Varon felt like sitting in a warm kitchen with an old friend—one who believes in astrology, consults the tarot, and isn’t afraid to whisper hard truths wrapped in poetic brilliance.

Charlie’s emotional arc felt so vulnerable. Learning to open up in love, working through burnout, searching for herself beneath the masks of achievement—mirrors so many of my own personal and creative struggles. And don't get me started on the food. The butterscotch pudding, the bread, the way food is used to soothe & reconnect? Yes, please. I’m literally prepping a sourdough loaf as I write this.

Lines like “My accomplishments never felt like enough” and “There is so much unspent love inside you…You just use so much energy trying not to feel it” hit like a tuning fork in my chest. This book is emotionally honest and funny—“Buckle up, babes!” is now in my daily vocabulary—and it’s brimming with magic: tarot cards, covens, astrology, & above all, hope.

By the end, I had heart palpitations, tears, & the urge to get a “Charlie Quinn” quote tattoo. If you’ve ever felt stuck in a loop of living a life that looks fine on the outside but is aching on the inside, this book will hold your hand as you figure out how to let go.

Bravo, Jamie Varon. I’ll be talking about this one forever.

I’m a longtime fan of Jamie Varon’s nonfiction writing and I loved seeing her tackle themes of ambition, burnout, perfectionism, and the power of intuition in CHARLIE QUINN LETS GO.

Charlie’s need for control is extreme—it controls her—and across the arc of the book, it’s satisfying to watch her learn how to find balance, live fully, and accept the love that’s been waiting for her. The side characters (particularly her mom and sister) really make the story sing, and a steamy second-chance romance adds charm and tension into the mix.

Featuring a gorgeous LA setting, complicated family dynamics, and a protagonist struggling to stay present as she wrestles with the past, CHARLIE QUINN LETS GO is a self-love story that packs an emotional punch.