If you live for the seasonal Hallmark specials and adore Rory Gilmore, this is one for your tbr! Adina Gellar is a sassy heroine looking for the kind of story that will get her foot in the door for a full time writing gig. And a dash of small town love wouldn't hurt. Finn is our smokin should-be-enemy who makes the small town stay bearable. The writing was fun and the story moved at a medium pace considering it all took place over a couple weeks.

What I liked:
- small town of your favorite tv show vibes (the Hart of Dixie references were my favorite)
- Hallmark-y happiness with HBO spice
- small town full of cranky old people sounds about right

What was a miss for me:
- Adi reminded me a lot of Rory Gilmore, a character I have never liked
- the romance with Finn was very zero to one hundred, back to zero, back to one hundred
- the grand gesture at the end was so great, but felt wildly out of character for Finn and it felt like his character wasn't fully flushed out

In the end, this one wasn't for me, I struggled to connect or empathize with Adi. Mainly, I was just frustrated with how long it took her to realize that she was a large part of the problem. Walking into a small town and resenting everyone in it for not acting like it's a Hallmark holiday special was all on her. I never thought I would read a hero's *body part* referred to as a "white chocolate banana" and that is absolutely going to haunt me.

If Hallmark specials are your favorite time of year, I think this one resonate more with you than it did me!

The journalist heroine is full of ideas about small-town lifestyles from watching television movies and travels to Pleasant Hollow after learning that a huge real estate magnate wants to development said town. After arriving at Pleasant Hollow, the heroine learns that reality is vastly different from her preconceptions and also meets the hero, who works for the real estate company. The more the heroine stays at Pleasant Hollow, the more the heroine realizes that something has changed, but will it be for the better?

This is my first Meredith Schorr book that I've read. I liked the premise and a view of small-town lifestyle that is different from the broad template of how a fictional small town should be. I also liked that there are some entertaining secondary characters in this book, since the story really needed them. As for the main characters, I liked the hero more than the heroine. The heroine has some personality traits that were tolerable, but at times those traits were hindering the story in my view. It would have been nice if there were more details added to make the story flow smoothly, which is something that I prefer in the books I read.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in my review are my own.**

Unfortunately, this book was just not a good fit for me. It started off strong and I enjoyed the twist about the small town life. It was also so fun to see Nappanee, IN mentioned at the beginning as I used to work in that town when I lived in Indiana for a few years! The main struggle for me with this novel was difficulty connecting with the main character. She just seemed to be very immature and I struggled to understand how a woman her age could have such preconceived notions about small town life.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel!

Adına Gellar is an emerging journalist who’s tired of the city. So, when an opportunity arises to travel to the small town of Pleasant Hollow to write a story about a developer coming in and destroying a small town—just like in a Hallmark movie—she jumps at it. And if her story is successful, she’ll get a full time job and hopefully be able to save she and her mom from losing their apartment.

But when she gets to Pleasant Hollow, there is nothing pleasant about it—there’s no pie, no friendly faces, no decent beer. Even the single, good-looking local, Finn, turns out to be from the city—and working for the developer. But, as it turns out, he might not be so bad…especially since no one in the town seems to be concerned about their small town being taken over by luxury apartments. As she stays in town, interviewing people for her story, Adina finds herself falling for Finn and scrambling for a new angle.

This book was charming and humorous. Adina was colorful and fun, and Finn was such a great love interest. I loved getting to know the characters in the small town, and was thoroughly entertained by all of the Gilmore Girls references. This really was an easy, feel-good romance!

This one was hard for me to get into initially where it was a mid 20’s woman living at home with her mom still and lacking independence. I got the Gilmore Girls vibes, but I was hoping for a more mature MC than what we were getting in this one at the beginning. The book redeemed itself though when she left for the small town seeking her big break into journalism.

Culturally I love that the MC is Jewish, but I wish we got more of that cultural inclusion in the story throughout.

This is one that I feel like when I’m in a hallmark type of mood but wanting it to feel more realistic, it will be one that I come back to, to satisfy that type of story desire.

As Seen On Tv by Meredith Schorr was everything I hoped for in this small town romance read. Think Gilmore Girls in the fall and that is what I envisioned while reading about Pleasant Hollow as the novel takes place in the autumn. I found the characters to be interesting and well developed with great banter. Its an adorably charming yet relatable read with several humorous moments and added pop culture mixed in.

DNF around 25%. I’m so sad to do this because the premise is right up my alley but I really am not motivated to read this. The MC reads VERY young, to the point where I kept forgetting this was an adult contemporary not YA. I just am not clicking with this unfortunately.

I love Gilmore Girls and Hallmark movies, so when I heard about As Seen on TV, I was expecting something funny, cute, and swoony. What I got was…well, none of those things. I knew right off the bat this book wouldn’t be for me. I don’t know what it was specifically, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I decided to give it a fair shot, hoping it would get better, but it didn’t. As a lover of Hallmark movies, I’m used to cheese; I accept that the storylines are often ridiculous, over the top, and completely far-fetched. I can suspend believability and overlook those things because there’s usually an element of charm and humour, something that grabs me and makes me believe whatever impossible thing is playing out on screen. With As Seen on TV, I couldn’t handle Adi’s naivete and childishness. Her schemes were so harebrained, I was literally shaking my head as I read. I also hated how random sexual innuendo was constantly thrown in. I love steamy books, can handle sex talk, and don’t necessarily mind crude humour to a degree, but a lot of Adi’s inner thoughts were so objectifying and seemed so random and out of place and unnecessary. Overall, not a fan of this book and couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I won’t be rating it on Goodreads since I didn’t finish.

Struggling journalist Adina has had enough of dating in the city - as a lover of Hallmark, she’s looking for a small town romance to rock her world. When she finds out that a big city developer has plans for Pleasant Hollow, upstate New York town of 2000, she sees the perfect opportunity for a story - real life meets the pop culture sensation Hallmark, where the residents will band together to save their town from changing. But, as Adina soon finds out, life isn’t always like the movies she’s sees on TV.

As someone who lives in a small town in Canada, my experience is more similar to Hallmark than Pleasant Hollow(but we only have one festival a year 😂). I thought it was really fun to experience the town through Adi’s eyes, because she had such high expectations for how life should have been based on her favourite novels and movies. She was also a strong character who communicated her needs, and made her voice heard.

From the brewery that only has two beers, to the scowls she gets from an older couple, I could t wait to see what the town would throw at Adina next!

And can we talk about Finn??? Especially when she was dreaming of small town romance, falling for the city guy was so perfect! I thought he was a great boss, and so thoughtful of others, which played into how sweet and funny he came off as.

For those who are sensitive to certain content, MILD SPOILER AHEAD(skip over next paragraph is you prefer!):

This book deals with the loss of a parent and a parent with alcoholism. I thought it was handled with care, and helped the characters grow as people as they overcame the boundary it creates in their relationships. Anytime trauma like this comes up in a romance, I appreciate the depth it adds to the story.

I had a lot of fun reading this, and would definitely recommend. It came out today, and thank you to Forever and NetGalley for my copy!

Are you looking for a cute romance with Hallmark movie tendencies? Then this is your book. Alina is a journalist who loves hallmark movies and ends up doing to a small town looking for a place to pitch for a movie she finds Finn who is the grumpy guy who doesn’t want love.

This book was very Gilmore Girls adjacent and I was here for it.

I could not get into this book. I found the main character not interesting and didn’t like what she was trying to do with her article. I think this just wasn’t a book for me

#AsSeenOnTV:⁣
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“They’re not too self-conscious to ask their love interest to dance somewhere other than a dance floor. And they’re all about the grand gesture. And not for the purpose of going viral on TikTok or YouTube, but to demonstrate the intensity of their feelings. That’s what I want.”⁣
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Initial Reaction: She’s going to break my Hallmark bubble, huh. ⁣
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Review: As Seen on TV was such a fun fresh breath of air. We all know I love the HEAs, the Hallmark of it, the small town USA feels, but honestly, how realistic is it? Thankfully, my husband embraces my Christmas in July, and I have my own HEA in an unconventional way.⁣
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I really enjoyed the story and how different tit was. I was at a virtual event where Schorr threw out the question about how her pop-culture references would be dated in the coming years. Her response was basically it might be dated in a few years but I want my readers to read my book now and connect now. As I was reading the book in the moment i loved the references. I loved being able to relate to characters because I understand what they’re talking about and may have said the same thing a time or two. (and honestly, when Chase was introduced, I automatically said, “Trevor Donovan” so that made my entire day). ⁣
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I really enjoyed the stories of the residents, once they did warm up to her. I was really hoping that would be part of her story. The ending was a total grand gesture and perfect for what I felt would happen.⁣
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Overall, Hallmark fans with a sprinkle of steam, check this out. It gives you the reality check, but also, embargoes your love and understanding of what a HEA really is.⁣
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Thank you so much @readforeverpub for the gifted copy! As Seen on TV is out today!⁣
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QOTD: What’s a comfort TV show for you?

Adi is tired of dating in New York City and needs a good story to get her dream job at a big magazine. She thinks she can tick both boxes by traveling to Pleasant Hollow to write a story about a real estate company trying to develop the small town.

I heard going in that this book is compared to Gilmore Girls, which pulled me in right away. It puts a spin on the small town hallmark romance, but Pleasant Hollow isn’t exactly the small town you see in Hallmark movies.

Adi is surprised to learn that the townspeople don’t all know each other and there aren’t any seasonal festivals. I liked that this book gave us a more realistic look at a small town. As fun as it is to see these depicted on-screen, this town seemed a lot more genuine to me.

As Seen on TV is a fun and unique story. The author pointed out some of the falsities in our favorite small town romances while also honoring the genre through plenty of winks and references. We love these stories but it’s also nice to poke fun at the bizarreness of it every once it a while.

As soon as I saw this I new I wanted to read it – a blurb from Abby Jimenez (who I LOVE) comparing it to Gilmore Girls?! Yes, please. Unfortunately this one fell flat for me and I DNF'd it at about 100 pages. I really wanted to love it, I really wanted to care about the characters, but I just didn't. When the romance started to heat up I just couldn't buy in, and there were some cringe-y aspects too. Please read some other positive reviews because this could have just been a right book, wrong time.

Thoughts

I like how this one started out. Big city girl, Adi, trying to help her mom (unknowingling to her mom) save their apartment by landing a full time writing gig instead of living off freelance gigs. You have to give her props for wanting to help her mom by getting a more stable job. When she hears that a big city real estate mogul plans to develop a small town, well there is the story. The people living in said small town have to be furious that a city man wants to change their town, but it’s quite the opposite.

I loved all the references to Gilmore Girls in this story. The romance aspect was also fun. Adi is one of those characters who gets knocked down time and time again, but then gets back up. If you’re looking for a cute story and an easy read then look no further.

Big thank you to @NetGalley @meredithschorr
& @foreverpub for my #eARC of this one! All thoughts are my own!!

I’m not a huge Hallmark Channel lover but I do love Gilmore Girls, so I thought I’d give this one a shot after reading the blurb!
Adina Gellar is tired of living with her mom and working 2 jobs. She wants to be a journalist so bad, so when she sees a new apartment complex is being built in a local small town, Adina immediately thinks of all the Hallmark movies she’s seen with the same plot! And now she can try the inside scoop for real! She immediately books a room at the B & B in Pleasant Hollow and makes her way there! Unfortunately for Adina the only thing “pleasant” Pleasant Hollow seems to be her!! Can she make her breakout story happen?!

This was such a cute read without being overly cheesy!! I was prepared for ALL the cheese but I was given slight cheese with a side of heavy steam instead!! And we all know I love my steam!! I definitely recommend this cute romcom and it should definitely make your summer TBR list!! 4 stars!

As Seen on TV definitely will enhance your beach read TBR, wrapping sweet humor around sizzling romance. Aspiring journalist Adina travels to Pleasant Hollow to pursue a feature article idea that hopefully will land her a byline—and a permanent position—with an online publication. But no matter how she finagles, she can’t conform the standoffish small-town residents into her Hallmark-wrapped box.
No locals capture her heart, but the sexy “antagonist” in her story provides plenty of heat and allure. Too bad he’s way commitment shy, for a good reason.
If this were a true Hallmark movie, how would the story end? Like As Seen on TV, of course! The fun romp collides a syrupy/cozy image of small towns with everyday reality, then compares them to the joys of living in the “big city.” (Having grown up near small towns, I’m not dissing them. But they were far from Hallmark-ish!)
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance review copy of this enticing debut.

I've had AS SEEN ON TV on my tbr since September 2020 -- you could say I was eagerly awaiting this one!

A woman journalist, frustration with dating in NYC, a small-town setting... it checked so many boxes for me! Adi is trying to get her career off the ground, hustling for freelance gigs, when she pitches a story about a real estate magnate targeting a tiny town and threatening the locals' way of life.

But the storyline just isn't quite working for me. Adi keeps acting in a way that I think is supposed to portray a rather green reporter, but comes off as an indication that journalism is not a good fit for her, so the questions of whether she'll get this story and land a full-time staff position lose steam.. A third of the way in, there have been some scenes between the two love interests, but nothing that's gotten me hopeful or excited about the prospect of them ending up together. The idea of a city girl being a fish out of water in a small town, when her preconceived notions are dashed, has a lot of promise but the execution so far isn't for me. DNF at 33%.

Of course, YMMV -- I think this book will work best for readers who are avid Hallmark movie viewers (there are several references throughout) and into the slow burn. I'd also recommend it to those who enjoy coming of age/growing up storylines, as I think 25-year-old Adi reads fairly young.

As a huge Hallmark movie fan (I’ve seen ALL of the premieres during the Countdown to Christmas this year!) I was so excited to sit down and read AS SEEN ON TV. The author takes many of those classic Hallmark/made for TV movie tropes and turned them on their heads which I found incredibly refreshing after so many rinse and repeat stories. My only complaint is that I wish I could spend more time with these characters!

3.5 Stars

Adina is a struggling freelance writer who lives in NYC with her mother. She’s obsessed with Hallmark movies and when she pitches a story to her editor about a big development being built in the small town of Pleasant Hollow, she’s imagining something out of one of her movies. She’s hoping for friendly townspeople and finding love with a small town boy. What she gets is not at all what she’s expecting.

This story has a cute premise and there is a lot to like about it. It was light and fun and I was able to finish it in a day. Adi has a great support system at home and even though money is tight, Adi and her mom are a team willing to take on any challenges together. I loved reading about Adi’s experience as a journalist and chasing down stories. There’s great Jewish representation and Adi’s best friend is a fantastic ride or die character. I also liked Finn’s character, even though he seemed a little underdeveloped to me.

Adi, however, was an exceptionally frustrating character. Her inner monologue was repetitive and for growing up in NYC, she seemed sheltered and immature. I find it hard to believe that an educated woman in her twenties would have these assumptions about small town life, which were cute at first but got very irritating after a while.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys small town romance, friends to lovers and Hallmark movies. Issues with the main character aside, I did enjoy the premise and I think other readers might as well. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever for the arc to read and review.