Writing a book with a cast of unlikable characters can be tricky to pull off, but Jenny Jackson did it! These characters are messy, dramatic and shockingly human. I loved the New England setting and found myself unable to put this one down. If you are a fan of realistic fiction and characters you love to hate, this one is for you!

Jenny Jackson is my new favorite author. She tells simple stories with a lot emotion, a big cast of characters, and a lot of honesty. I loved this book about how it took a complete stranger to get a group of friends to look at their lives and make some tough admissions. I can’t wait for her next book.

The Shampoo Effect had me totally hooked! It’s gossipy, funny, and messy. Jenny Jackson captures that coastal New England vibe perfectly where everyone knows everyone, and secrets travel fast. You know drama’s coming, and you can’t look away! I loved the way the author wrote all those long and sun soaked afternoons that seem perfect until the tension starts to bubble underneath. The writing has a breezy and witty tone that’s addictive and perfect for anyone who loves stories about beautiful people behaving badly!

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I completely enjoyed it. Caroline Lash is the daughter of a world famous author (think Danielle Steele) who leaves her career as an editor when she gets a yearlong fellowship in the small Massachuesetts seaside town of Greenfield. She wants to be a writer, and this is a chance to spend a year writing a book. She even gets a cute seaside cottage to live in. Soon she meets Van, and they quickly become a couple. Caroline becomes part of Van's childhood circle of town friends, although she is always something of an outsider. Things are going so well until Bailey, Van's on and off girlfriend, becomes pregnant and Van is the father. We see Van, Caroline, and Bailey, as well as two other couples, all with young children and in their early forties and late thirties, struggle to meet the usual challenges of life and basically figure out how to grow up. The characters are so relatable, the setting is beautiful, and the story is told in a way that makes you look forward to getting back to reading it. Definitely recommend!

I devoured this one! So much to love about it. The story is told from multiple points of view, but centers around Caroline, an aspiring writer who ends up in a quaint Massachusetts beach town on a writers residency, where she meets and falls for local guy Van. Van has a group of friends with whom he's been very close since their childhood days, and when Caroline begins to interact with the friend group, drama unfolds. As secrets come to light, relationships are tested, and the characters evolve as they are forced to confront some hard truths. Very engaging, and a very fast-paced read, with a great ending.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson was such a fun, sharp, and surprisingly heartfelt read. It’s one of those books that manages to be both entertaining and insightful, blending humor, relationship drama, and thoughtful commentary in a way that kept me completely hooked.

Jackson has a wonderful way of writing characters who feel real and complicated. Everyone in this story has their own motivations, flaws, and emotional baggage, which makes the dynamics between them incredibly engaging to watch unfold. The relationships—both romantic and platonic—are messy in the most realistic way, and that authenticity really pulled me into the story.

The writing style is witty and observant, with moments that genuinely made me laugh alongside others that carried a lot of emotional weight. Jackson balances those tones really well, so the story never feels too heavy or too light—it hits that perfect middle ground.

I also loved the themes woven throughout the book, particularly the exploration of identity, ambition, and how people navigate relationships while trying to figure out who they are and what they want. It adds a layer of depth that makes the story feel meaningful beyond just the plot itself.

Overall, The Shampoo Effect is a clever, engaging, and emotionally satisfying novel that I flew through. Jenny Jackson’s writing is both entertaining and thoughtful, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to whatever she writes next.

The Shampoo Effect perfectly captures what it’s like to live as an adult in the small town you grew up in. It mixes nostalgia with grown-up problems and friendships that have spanned decades, with a vibrant setting and characters. As the bookshop that is located in Ipswich, the town that Greenhead is based on, it was utterly delightful to see all of our local businesses and landmarks mentioned. This is a realistic and true to life portrayal of modern friendship in a small town, and I devoured it!