Book Review - Fun at Parties by Jamie Harrow

 The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: Fun at Parties

Author: Jamie Harrow

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Quercus

Publication Date: 16th September 2025

Rating: 4 Stars

Spin instructor Quinn Ray is sunshine personified, so when she has a mid-class meltdown after a bad break up, her boss orders her to take a few weeks off work. And with nothing else to lose, Quinn decides a quiet road trip through Americaʼs most tranquil scenery is exactly what she needs as she re-examines her life choices.

But then Nate Reed, whoʼs barely spoken to Quinn since their friendship imploded two years ago, asks to hitch a ride. He needs to find their chaotically lovable pal, Logan, to discuss something important, and Quinn is happy to drop Nate off wherever he needs to be.

The problem is, party boy Logan doesnʼt want to be found. And as Quinnʼs peaceful road trip becomes a tour of Americaʼs biggest party spots, she realizes Nate might just be the silver lining she never thought to look for.

It took me a while to get into the swing of this book, but once I did, I was definitely enjoying it. 

I just found it hard to initially connect to Quinn Ray who is a CycleLove instructor (I think this is the fictional equivalent of Peloton, but as someone who has never done Spin or similar, I'm not positive) and also appears to be an influencer at the same time. 

Her cycle persona is fashioned by her bosses for those that want those particular sorts of rides, and her fake sunshine personality was hard to like - until she on camera let's out a true outburst at which point everything changes. 

And she is asked to take a few weeks off, which given she had been feeling less enthralled with the job, was good timing, although her bosses barely give her a break and she is expected to reinvent her online persona while away. 

She ends up on a cross country road trip with Nate who she has barely spoken to for a few years, while they chase mutual friend Logan through a variety of parties, some wilder than others, so that Nate can have a proper discussion with him about something. 

I loved the road trip elements of this, although I find the thought of driving for many many many hours at time across a country as big as the USA to be totally baffling, I know it's a thing people do, and my lack of geographical knowledge for the country means i have no idea how nonsensical their route is. 

From Tahoe, to Vegas to Denver, to Kansas and more we get to see snapshots of all sorts of different parts of the country, and I adored the Vegas section, just because it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. 

And as we get to know Quin and Nate properly as the journey progresses, the more I liked them both, and was invested in their backstories and character development too. 

This was an enjoyable story and I'm glad that I have now discovered this author's writing. 

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.