Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee

Duet Narration by CJ Mission and Elizabeth Lamont

Standalone RomCom

I loved Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee so much, it is definitely one of my favorite books of the year! It made me laugh out loud, I got furious, I cried, and I swooned. It was also incredibly relatable as a chronic illness sufferer and medical marijuana user who also enjoys it socially. The MMC was such a douchecanoe for the first half of the book, I wasn’t sure how the author could EVER make me like him, but she did! (Warning: I tried to be brief here and failed. Feel free to skip down to the Likes, Dislikes and Down & Dirty).

“With chronic illness, you learn to notice and celebrate the brief interludes where nothing hurts and everything’s working as it should.”

Nomi Wyeth was super smart in high school. She was head of the debate team, valedictorian, and planning on going to Yale. She had a fling with the other smarty-pants on the debate team, Julian D’Angelo, but then she disappeared from school for a few months with no explanation. When she came back, she was a stoner, and she never went to Yale.

Nomi has Crohn’s disease. It’s not something she shares with anyone because she doesn’t want people to look at her differently or know she has a “shitting disease.” The only thing that has given her any real relief over the years is cannabis. She is a huge advocate for medical (and recreational) marijuana and has become an expert on different strains, their effects, and how they can be used for different needs. Her dream is to put all that knowledge to use by opening a dispensary in their small town in the legalized state of New Jersey. She has been saving for years when the perfect location, one she has always dreamed of, finally becomes available.

Julian is now Dr. D’Angelo. He has been working in the ER in Philadelphia when he screws something up so badly that he is put on probation. The only way he can get his dream job back is to work in the small town where he grew up, at the only family practice in town, so he can learn some people skills.

You see, Julian is an arrogant, judgmental asshole with no bedside manner and a huge stick up his ass. He also has a personal vendetta against weed for reasons you’ll learn in the book. He still has a crush on Nomi, but he is so disappointed in her for not living up to what HE thought she should be doing with her life.

When Nomi has an unfortunate shaving accident and ends up with Julian as the only person who can sew her up, things get a little weird. Then he finds out she is opening a dispensary on the same block as his clinic and wages war against it, possibly destroying Nomi’s dream AND costing her her life savings.

Honestly, he was so stubbornly anti-weed and such a dick about it that I didn’t think there was any way he could redeem himself.

“I was such an idiot before I fell in love.”

He was. SUCH an idiot. I hated him for the first half of the book and just couldn’t see how he could ever get me to root for him. But somehow, he totally won me over.

“Spare me from nothing, Nomi. Every part of you deserves to be loved, and I want it all. When I imagine the best, happiest version of my own future, all I see is you.”

Nomi’s battle with her illness really got me, but Mr. Gutierrez stole my heart.

“‘I want to be Nomi, just Nomi, with him. Not Nomi who can’t eat. Or Nomi crying in the bathroom. Or Nomi who shits fire.’

Mr. Gutierrez smiles. ‘But all of those Nomis deserve to be loved. Even Nomi who shits fire.’”

Likes:

I laughed out loud many times.
The New Jersey Italians (and the narration of them!).
It was very educational, but never boring, about marijuana, Crohn’s disease, and Parkinson’s. It was clearly researched well.
A great friend group.
The personalities of Nomi and her friends. They are my people.
I didn’t think Julian could EVER come back from his dickishness, but he did!
He was so crazy about her.
Julian’s first time getting high.
Relating so much to Nomi. Being angry at the world because of her illness and how unfair it is. Never wanting to share the true extent of her illness, even with family, because you don’t want to be a burden.
So many amazing side characters.
Great banter.

Dislikes:

A few liberties were taken that just didn’t match the amount of research that went into the rest of the book. While edibles don’t work for me at all, I do know that especially on an empty stomach, it can take a while for the effects to kick in, not immediately. And the licensing to open a shop like that would involve a LOT of hoops to jump through!
It sometimes felt a little too preachy about how great weed is (even though I agree).
I wish Nomi didn’t hide her illness. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I say that…but I have been dating a guy for seven months and he still doesn’t know the extent of my GI issues from my autoimmune disease. (See? Relatable as hell.)
It didn’t bother me personally, but I am sure there will be a lot of people put off by the fact that Dr. D’Angelo was treating Nomi’s “folds” while thinking about how much he wanted her.

The Narration:

The duet narration was SPECTACULAR. I think both CJ Mission and Elizabeth Lamont were new to me, but they were both amazing.

CJ Mission captured all of Julian’s grumpy, arrogant moments as well as the longing underneath them. Elizabeth Lamont captured the ups and downs of chronic illness and how it affects your entire being. The New Jersey Italian accents cracked me up, and they both had great comedic timing. The duet narration made it even more immersive. I hope to hear more from both of them.

The Down & Dirty:

Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee is definitely going on my favorites list for 2026. And it’s not only because it’s relatable to me as a pothead and chronic illness sufferer. I don’t think you have to be either to love this book.

It has my type of over-the-top but still somehow real humor, a ton of great characters, fantastic banter, and a romance that managed to make me root for a man I spent half the book wanting to strangle. I learned a little, laughed out loud, cried, swooned, and felt incredibly seen in some of Nomi’s most vulnerable moments.

The only thing that kept it from being a full five stars was how long Julian remained an asshole. But the fact that Laura Piper Lee actually got me from “I hate this man” to “okay, fine, I love them together” might be the most impressive part of the whole book. It was also completely unique in a world of similar books and tropes. Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee has my ‘highest’ recommendation. 💨