It always snows on Christmas, Main Street is always decorated with twinkle lights, there’s always an ice skating rink and then BAM a city outsider comes in inherits the house next door he/she didn’t want, inherits the doctors office he/she doesn’t want to run or wants to gentrify a part of town. And then there is always the local sweetheart that melts the city slicker ice cold heart.

Ahhh the hallmark channel…

Journalist and city girl Adina, leaves Manhattan to go and live out her Hallmark movie fantasy and write all about it. She has romanticized the idea of small town living, until she realizes it’s really not like the movies and Pleasant Hollow isn’t exactly “pleasant” and doesn’t even have pie.

This is a light, fun and sweet rom-com. As an avid Hallmark movie watcher, I made all the connections! I freakin loved it, I thought it was so hilarious and the premise of this book is genius! I love how Schorr literally debunks all the classic hallmark tropes. And last but not least I am always happy to see more Jewish characters in mainstream books!!

As Seen on TV
Meredith Schorr
3-3.5 ⭐️

As a lover of rom-coms, Hallmark movies, and Gilmore Girls I had high hopes. As Seen on TV was a cute small-town-ish story with a mix of characters and a little steam. My first read by Schorr, and while it wasn’t my favorite, I enjoyed reading it and will check out more by the author.

As Seen on TV publishes June 7th. If you a looking for a quick and easy rom-com read this might be for you.


Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So I really tried to finish this book, but I DNFed at 38% and here is why.

I really liked the premise of the book, the whole idea of her pitching a story to her boss about a Hallmark town and it being complete opposite is the reason I kept trying to read this book. The whole reason why I can't bring myself to finish this book is because its a very niche book.

I love hallmark movies as much as the next person, why if you take away all the hallmark references or movie references this book would be around less than 50 pages. The whole personality of this book (and Adina) is Hallmark movies. I feel like this kind of book is the reason some people hate pop culture references in book, it just becomes too much and is overwhelming to me.

Might pick up again some day. I got this book from netgalley, thank you so much Forever publishing.

As Seen On TV is about Adina, a journalist who visits a small town in search of the small town vibe she finds on TV and especially in Hallmark movies. Unfortunately, the small town is no Stars Hollow, even though it's called Pleasant Hollow! In town, she meets Finn, who isn't exactly the small town resident she expected to meet, but who she falls for anyway. She realizes that the city isn't so bad and that she can get that small town vibe even within a city like New York. I really enjoyed the pop culture references - especially to The Bold Type - I love that show! And that Adina goes home for a Rosh Hashanah dinner. That's right, Jewish people have more holidays than Hanukkah! There are also deeper issues in the characters' lives including alcoholism and money struggles.

The Gilmore Girls vibes this book gives! I didn't love everything but ultimately it was a fast and fun read I'd recommend to others

First, the cover is really cute. Second, the story got better as I read deeper into the book. Adina, I thought, was quite naive for a 25 year old. She pitches a story line about a small town in hopes of gaining a coveted writing position. Instead, she is let down by Pleasant Hollow, but meets Finn.
I thought Adina needed to get her head out of clouds. She had preconceived notions and tried to bend reality to conform to her pie in the sky ideals, especially when faced with Finn’s issues. I did like all the movie and book references That were relatable.
The last part of the book was the best. Adi comes into her own and grows up.
It’s a cute story, perfect for a summer read.

(ARC from NetGalley) I wanted to like this so badly as I am also a reality TV and Hallmark channel enthusiast, but unfortunately not a fan. Adina says she’s trying to take responsibility— she needs her big break to help her mom pay the bills. Seems realistic enough AND she even has a normal job (barista/cycle instructor/freelancer)! However, she comes up with the most convoluted plan for said big break (stop involving the townspeople omg) which just makes her seem immature and privileged. Girlie you are 25?!!! The romance gave me the ick a little.

3.5 stars. AS SEEN ON TV by Meredith Schorr tells the story of an aspiring journalist trying to find her story in a world that is anything but Hallmark. Or is it? While the first half of this novel was hard for me to stay engaged in, the second half was much more enjoyable. The reader has to decide if they want to root for the lead in the story or not because she is a little unlikable when you get to read every single thought she has. A little editing on her inner monologue would have gone a long way. But the steamy is good, Finn is fantastic, and Kate is the best friend we all need. There is a lot to like in the supporting cast and the end of the novel is a great bow for the story line. If this book doesn’t sound like it’s right for you right now, I highly recommend any of Schorr’s other novels! I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a quick read, but not as fun as I expecting. You set a pretty high bar if you compare yourself to Gilmore Girls, in my opinion. Neither the small town vibe or the mother/daughter relationship were reminiscent of GG.

I think this one might just not have been for me. The romance started sweet, but kind of fell apart for me, although the steamy parts were a nice surprise.

This was a well written story though, and I definitely think there is an audience for this unusual take on a small town romance.

This book was everything I hoped it would be—a humorous nod to hallmark movies and a sweet escape. Adina was so relatable in that she just wanted her happy ending to be like in the movies. She’s such an upbeat optimistic character—a city girl in a small town on a mission to write her career-launching story. Though Pleasant Hollow turned out to be the opposite of the idealistic Hallmark town Adina fantasized about, she kept going, in search of her story, and along the way, meets Finn, who is also not your typical Hallmark hero. I loved the struggles they went through to make it work and the grand gesture(s) were everything! I highly recommend!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC of this!

I, like the main character, definitely love the escapist, feel-good nature of a good Hallmark movie. Her journey was fun, especially as she had to really rethink her story angle to make it work. There were definitely some places that I think could’ve been improved, but it was overall easy to read and enjoy.

As Seen on TV is perfect for the Hallmark movie lovers out there. NYC girl Adina is trying to make her big break as a writer when she pitches the perfect story--real-estate powerhouse building a brand new development in an upstate small town. But it quickly becomes apparent that you can't learn everything about small town life just from watching it on TV.

This will likely appeal to 20-something readers as Adina is having a bit of a quarter-life crisis and while she's feisty, she is also quite naive. Maybe its me being a jaded mid-thirty year old, but I couldn't empathize with the main conflict of the book surrounding the story she's trying to write. I liked Finn's character, but even their insta-love story felt a little obvious/predictable.

I did enjoy Adina's relationship with both her mom and her best friend. Overall, it's an easy read but ultimately I had trouble connecting with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with an advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a city girl. To the point where I didn't even learn how to drive until my 30's, and that was under duress. I love NYC life. The convenient public transportation, the ease of obtaining kosher food, the wide array of entertainment and museums that I rarely partake in but find joy in knowing they are there. So when Adina, protagonist of Meredith Schorr's contemporary romance As Seen On TV bemoans that dating in a big city is nothing like the quaint small town life she views on the Hallmark channel, I rolled my eyes. Delightfully, so did Adina's mother.

However, Adina's Mom is a paragon of virtue and still supports her daughter as Adina journeys to the small town of Pleasant Hollow to chase a story she hopes will help her break out as a journalist. Adina, a lifelong Hallmark romance fan, has pitched an article about the small town being usurped by a big bad developer. Except, upon arrival, she discovers that small town living isn't always that great and the Pleasant Hollow residents are either apathetic or welcoming to the development that might bring more opportunity and variety to the town.

I actually did feel sorry for Adina as her dreams of pie eating contests and snowball fights were crushed, especially since this spelled disaster for her journalism career, but I couldn't help my glee when it turned out the only date-able guy in Pleasant Hollow was Finn, project manager for the development that turns out to be not so big and bad after all. As Adina and Finn reminisced about their favorite NYC establishments, many of which I have personally patronized, I found myself rooting for the couple.

A pivotal scene in the romance occurs over Rosh Hashana dinner and fans of casual Judaism will be pleased to note that Adina's religion is sprinkled throughout the book in a way that is organic and real. I was thrilled to see Adina find her way both as a reporter and as a couple with Finn, although the writer in me cringed at both her epic self-sharing in her articles and her subsequent decision to read the comments. Luckily she had a nice group of family, both found and biologic, to lean on. Friends she made despite living in the big city instead of a quaint small town.

#Review As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

As Seen on TV seemed like a fun, promising story, and the first third of the story was great. A struggling 25-year-old journalist who can’t seem to land a full time writer job? Sign me up! I was really relating to Adi’s character until she actually got to Pleasant Hollow and saw that the town was nothing like she saw in Hallmark movies and Gilmore Girls.

Adi made up in her head what a small town should look like based on Hallmark movies and did little research into town life before pitching her story and got frustrated when it was nothing like she expected. As she struggled to find a new angle for the story, she was still hanging onto that original pitch and doing the most to manipulate the town so that it could fit HER story. I struggled with this aspect of her being a journalist, she seems like she still needs basic journalistic ethics class.

Her romance with Finn started out really cute, but as the relationship “progressed” I found it forced and unbelievable. Finn did not deserve a second chance with Adi after being extremely rude and dismissive several times two days into their relationship.

What I did like about the story is the way that Adi at some point finally lets go of trying to force HER story and started to let the story come to her. Her mom was so lovely and supportive to her, I loved that.

Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

sadly could not get into this book. I was confused by the character introduction in the beginning, it felt like I was missing something.

What’s a freelance journalist to do when the small-town-comes-together-to-fight-corporate-greed story she hoped to write in order to land a permanent job just isn’t true? Adina has to decide how far she’s willing to go to make this story—and her own love story—work. Meredith Schorr turns the typical Hallmark movie premise upside down in this smart and amusing romance.

***DNF AT 32%***

I had high hopes for this one: combining Hallmark movies and Gilmore Girls….a girl can dream right? This is like the opposite of Hallmark, small town charm, which I’m assuming was the point. Adi is a NYC girl who has big dreams and unrealistic expectations of small town life. I liked her to a point. However I struggled with her naivety and how she kept trying to make everyone she encountered fit into her Hallmark narrative. It was cute for about thirty pages or so but not a third of the way into the book. I think this one fits the category of “It’s not you, it’s me.”

What a charming debut! AS SEEN ON TV has a great premise—what if you could move to a small town just like all those women in the Hallmark movies? What would you find? A handsome local, of course, and a charming town? Or is that all a fantasy? The journey is the point.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Meredith Schorr & Forever for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This will be published on June 7th.

"Love isn't always easy, but hard doesn't necessarily equal bad."

Adina is in her 20s, lives at home with mom, works multiple jobs, single and just trying to navigate life in New York City. She works part time as a spin instructor, barista and freelances for a magazine called Tea. She is constantly trying to prove herself to her editor Derek. She came up with a story idea of going to a small town that is being "threatened" by a rich businessman who is trying to revitalize the town. Adina's only knowledge of small towns is those she sees in Hallmark movies. Pleasant Hollow isn't anywhere she has ever been before. Any route she took with her article turned into dead ends. One thing she did not expect was to fall in love. More importantly, falling in love with someone who was not from the small but from the city.

I thought this book was super cute! It definitely gave me the Hallmark vibes. It did get me excited for the holiday movies to start appear for Christmas in July.

I love the relationship that Adina had with her mother and her best friend Kate. I especially loved her relationship with Finn and how supportive he was with her article. I actually was not expecting spice, thought it was going to be closed door but to my surprised there was a little.

This book started off a little slow for me. I also was under the weather so that could have played a role but once we got to the meat of it all, I was fully invested and wanted to see how Adina made out with her article. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a friends to lover, smalltown feels, fan of Hallmark/Lifetime movies and of course those who love a HEA.

3.75

As advertised, As Seen on TV is a blend of Gilmore Girls and a wholesome Hallmark movie. It’s a bit of a Hallmark movie inside a Hallmark movie. Or the opposite of a Hallmark movie? Anyway…

Adina is a twenty-something single girl living in NYC, sharing an apartment with her single mom. They’re super close, and her mom helps support her while Adina’s pursuing a career in journalism but mostly working as a spin instructor and barista. One night, feeling despondent about her career track, she turns on Million Dollar Listing and gets inspired to write an article on a big-time developer whose building a luxury housing development in a small-town upstate. In her mind she pictures herself writing it like it was a Hallmark movie… big-town girl goes to a small town to write about a big bad developer who’s moving in and disrupting a charming community, where she is welcomed with open arms by the locals, has a meet-cute with a handsome man, writes the expose that drives the developer away and saves the town while finding her happily ever after. During a fall festival or carnival probably. Except when she arrives in town, the locals act in exactly the opposite way she wants them to. They don’t welcome her with fresh baked goods and hugs, they’re unfriendly. They aren’t fighting the new development, they’re looking forward to it. And the diner doesn’t even bake on-site! And worst of all, the handsome and charming man she hit it off with? Not a local! He’s a fellow city dweller who just happens to be the project manager for the developer. The harder she tries to get what she needs to write the story she pitched, the more she realizes that she judged a real town based on a unrealistic made-for-tv feel-good premise. And that the things she wanted aren’t what she really needs. And that man she’s falling for isn’t the enemy she’s making him out to be.

As Seen on TV is a charming rom-com with nods to our guilty pleasure of binge watching Gilmore Girls and heartwarming Hallmark movies.