First and foremost, if you love Hallmark you need to read this book. I will probably buy it for my mom.

This book is definitely my favorite of May so far. I thought Adi was such a likable and relatable hero who stood up for herself and what she deserved.

I thought the idea that the small town was NOTHING like Hallmark was hilarious. We all know the tropes. The overly friendly bnb owner, the abundance of bakeries. I know that I had all the same thoughts.

Finn was pretty dreamy. The had a lot of chemistry and there was a little bit of spice. But I also loved that Adi knew what she wanted and wasn't going to settle for less. I thought the end conflict was necessary and I'm glad Adi spoke her mind.

And just like hallmark, we got a pretty awesome HEA for these two!

This comes out in June, and I can't say this enough - if you love hallmark GET THIS BOOK!

There’s a Hallmark-esque, Gilmore Girls insulated feel to this story. The witty banter and small time feel kept this book interesting, but overall I had a real hard time connecting with Adina. She initially came off as too sheltered and naive to be a journalist. She seemed to have idealistic notions that were not based on reality.

I didn’t feel the chemistry between Adina and Finn. It felt more like friends giving each other a hard time rather than a building passion between two “enemies”. Though I did enjoy some cute moments, it wasn’t enough for me to fully enjoy.

I think this was the case of not being the right reader for this book. I can easily see why so many enjoyed this book. The writing is good, but it wasn’t enough for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for this ARC

There was just something about As Seen On TV that made me instantly curious to read it. I confess that I have never watched an episode of Gilmore Girls nor am I a big fan of Hallmark movies, but I do enjoy a good uplifting romance book when I'm in the mood for the genre. I liked the sound of the city girl going to a small town for a story and discovering something she didn't expect instead... And I really thought this story was going to be a winner for me. Sadly, this didn't end up being the case, and I came really close to DNFing it. Below I will explain briefly why this book wasn't a right fit for me.

I still like the premise of As Seen On TV, and I guess that Gilmore Girls and Hallmark movies fans will probably find a lot of references and maybe even quotes to love. The fact that I didn't was mostly my own fault of course, but I hoped to get a lot more out of the story despite my lack of knowledge of either. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the execution at all. My first important issue is with the main character Adina. She comes over as such a self-centered, immature and living-in-the-clouds brat, and I really couldn't stand her. The fact that she thinks that the world revolves around her and that everything/everyone has to adapt so that she can get what she wants is beyond annoying, and the way she talked felt more like a spoiled teenager than a 25-year-old journalist. The fact that I didn't like her at all made it really hard to keep reading; especially since the story is told from her POV.

I also wasn't a fan of the romance at all. I simply didn't feel that the connection between Adina and Finn was natural and it just all felt rather forced. The sexy scenes were simply cringeworthy, and made me start skimreading as soon as they appeared... And once I did, I started skimreading the non-steamy scenes too just so I could reach that final page sooner and stop having to deal with Adina. This is of course never a good sign, and I probably should have just given in and DNFed instead, because As Seen On TV and me most definitely weren't ment to be. To make things worse, the ending was a little too convenient to be credible, but I admit that by then I was just hurrying things along to end my experience with this book.

Before I go, I do have to stress that most people do seem to enjoy As Seen On TV better... If you enjoy Gilmore Girls and/or Hallmark movies and don't mind an immature and not that likeable main character, you might get a lot more out of this story than me.

This was a cute little rom-com that I think a lot of people will like. Especially fans of Hallmark movies and that sort of thing. It just wasn’t for me.

2.5 stars

In her trade paperback debut, Meredith Schorr turns the Hallmark movie machine on its head as her heroine Adina is forced to reckon with the fact that not every love story can be like the ones as seen on TV. As someone who pays monthly to fund a podcast where the schtick is that the three hosts love, like, and despise Hallmark movies, it's a concept that definitely speaks to my heart.

However, for me, the execution left a lot to be desired, particularly in the first half of the book. In the first chapter alone, I believe the word "Hallmark" is used no less than 12 times. That, on top of the uber-specific references to actual movies and actors, made the book feel immensely overwritten even for my Hallmark-loving heart. Beyond that, the way that Schorr conveys the idea that the small town does not live up to Hallmark standards consists of the heroine Adina having almost the exact same interaction with individual townspeople, resulting in a fairly repetitive first half of the book.

Things do pick up at the halfway point once Adina finally accepts that the town is its own entity and some wrenches start to get thrown into her budding romance with Finn. Due to the nature of those wrenches and the way that Finn reacts to them, I definitely would have preferred for this to be a dual-POV romance so that he could have been more fully fleshed out. The grand gestures did warm my heart a bit, so I will give the book props for that!

I definitely think that the bones of this book were good, but the execution of its fantastic concept didn't land with me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

As Seen on TV is the "Anti-Hallmark" Hallmark movie, in book form. Adina Gellar is done trying to find love in NYC, so she moves to a small town where, according to tv, all the best romances are formed. Except there is no charming bakery or quaint seasonal festivals, and more importantly, there is no Hallmark worthy Hero, or is there? Both funny and relatable, As Seen on TV shows that the best romances are messy, real, and don't always follow Hallmark movie storylines.

This book didn’t quite work for me but if you’re really into Hallmark movies and Gilmore Girls, then your mileage may vary.

Adina Gellar is an aspiring journalist obsessed with the romantic potential of small towns as depicted in Hallmark movies and is convinced that if her widowed mother hadn’t moved them from Indiana to NYC when she was a toddler, they’d give Lorelei and Rory a run for their money in the “best mother daughter relationship” contest.

So when she hears that a nearby small town in upstate NY is being developed by a real estate magnet, what’s a single big city reporter gal to do other than trek up to said village and expose the misdeeds of an unfeeling corporate overlord ruining a small town’s charm, and maybe falling in love with a charming local?

None of that happens. The corporate office is actually making improvements, the small town has next to no charm (and no homemade pies), and the only single guy that catches Adina’s eye is not who he seems.

Nothing is as seen on TV.

If you like cringe attempts to enliven a town who just wants to live their lives, a friends to lovers romance with a not-so-local local, and ships passing in the night grand gestures worthy of a early 90s romance movie? You might like this.

Content warnings for alcoholic parent, verbal abuse, estranged sibling.

Loveeeeeee idk what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. This was super cute and I loved the mcs. It was fast paced and a quick read. Highly recommend

This was most definitely not for me. The main character was terribly immature and annoying. “Annoying AF” as she would say herself. Do people really use that in real life? I didn’t find anything charming about this book at all. Adina went on to write a terrible story that still got published, and her life ends up kind of like a bad Hallmark film. But not really. She goes from living rent free with her mom as an adult to living rent free with a man. Still no real responsibility or consequences for her actions. I’m surprised the Pleasant Hollow folks didn’t run her off with pitchforks.

The references to Gilmore Girls were just too twee for me. Even the main characters last name being the same as Paris. It just read like an infantile adult gets everything she didn’t know she wanted, and more story. There were some cringey (to me) sex scenes that just didn’t work.

I’m sure this will be a great read for someone, but that someone is not me. I kind of felt bad that the Brothers beer got trashed by Adina who happily drinks Blue Moon. Yuck. That reminds me, this book also included a lot of weird product and brand placement. I fully expected her to mention the can of Folgers coffee that shows up in Hallmark films.

Emerging journalist Adina Gellar has learned a lot from Hallmark-type made-for-TV romcom movies, specifically, that the heroine always finds love after travelling to a small town. She dreams of a welcoming place with spring fling festivals, winter carnivals, 24-hour dance-a-thons, movie nights in the square and snowman building contests like in "Gilmore Girls'" Stars Hollow. When Adina learns of a big-city real estate magnate targeting tiny Pleasant Hollow for development she thinks she's found the perfect story to earn her a position at Tea, a coveted online magazine. Except nothing about this quaint community is charming. The only upside is Finn Adams; until she realizes he's a city boy and not a local resident.

As always, I'm very happy whenever a book has a Jewish main character. That said, I found Adina to be very naive and her actions sometimes came across as immature which was frustrating as a reader. Additionally, she was quite nosy in my opinion; a lot of her motives were self-benefitting. I had flashbacks to Rory Gilmore's regressed character in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" as a comparison.

"As Seen on TV" hits the friends-to-lovers, insta-love and close proximity tropes. I was surprised by the steamy moments only because of its relation to G-rated feel-good films. Overall, this is a cute heartwarming story, but I wish the relationship didn't feel so forced.

I had REALLY high hopes for this book since I love all things Hallmark and Gilmore Girls but it was a letdown. From Adina's idea to go and save a small town from a big-city developer (a small town which didn't care at all and really didn't have any stand out characters) to the weird love story I couldn't get into it. It felt too long at some parts then the ending wrapped up in two chapters.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the ARC.

I’m a huge Hallmark lover so I was so excited for this one! There are tons of references to hallmark movies and actors so if you are also a fan those little nuggets are great.

I struggled with this one a lot though outside of the Hallmark references. Adina is a New Yorker who goes to a small town to chase her Hallmark dreams. Sure, she’s a journalist there for a story, but if she falls in love with a local business owner along the way, what’s the harm?

When small town living doesn’t match up with the fantasy she’s built in her head, she turns pretty rude about it. She’s disappointed in the townspeople not immediately embracing her and becoming her friends, the lack of cute town events she’s expecting, the lack of anger over a new development occurring when she expected them to all band together to oppose outsiders developing their town. So she’s super snotty about it all and writes a really mean article about how much the town sucks. A city person going to a small town and complaining about how it doesn’t match up to the city is just so annoying to me.

The other thing that really sucked was the hero, Finn, talked about how all his family baggage means he can’t settle down because previous girlfriends couldn’t deal with his baggage. Adina gets mad that she’s judged by how other girls reacted so she pushes him into a relationship, then the very next day she’s confronted with his baggage and she loses it and dumps him.

I really wanted to like this one but overall Adina was so immature and bratty it just made me cringe the whole time.

Big city writer ventures to a small down with hopes of making her big break into journalism by comparing what’s happening in a small town to a Hallmark movie.

While the premise sounded cute, the MC voice was naive and I could not connect with her. I did not feel any chemistry between the two MCs, the story moved slowly, and the immature narrator’s voice made this a DNF for me.

DNF @40% - when it’s clearly marketed as not a hallmark romance but it clearly looks like it’s going to be 😩😩 maybe I’ll finish this another time or restart it if enough friends yell at me to. but, I was not vibing with the MCs at all and it seemed like they were so incapable of being compatible it’s crazy

Oh my goodness gracious, I feel as though this book was written just for me!

I’ve always, always been a fan of small-town stories. Romance or not, if a book, movie, or show takes place in a small town, you can almost guarantee that I’ll be interested. I’ve watched Gilmore Girls more times than I can count, and I’m a sucker for a sweet holiday film set in a little village with a close-knit community. There’s something so appealing about that lifestyle where everyone knows everyone and there’s all sorts of cute and creative events happening each weekend. So, if you enjoy witty banter, sweet romance, and small towns – you’re bound to love this book.

Needless to say, I instantly related with Adina. All she wanted was to escape Manhattan and find the emerging “small town story” in Pleasant Hollows. There was a desire to discover camaraderie, unearth the “corporate villain” who was breaking up the town by adding a giant apartment complex, and have a meet-cute with the town hottie. Cue the hilarity when Pleasant Hollows is really… anything but pleasant.

I laughed out loud constantly while reading As Seen on TV. There were so many moments that just had me rolling my eyes at Adi’s naivety in relation to small towns – but of course, her dream to make those small town fantasies come to life was equally adorable and understandable. I can imagine that there will be so many people who will read this book and feel like they’ve been seen.

One of the things that was so much fun was how many small town pop culture references there were. Now, I didn’t grow up watching Hallmark films, so the nods to the stories, characters, and actors from those movies went above my head a little bit. But even if you haven’t seen a single Hallmark movie in your life, you’ll still understand exactly what Adina wants to accomplish.

In addition to that, Adi’s career ambitions were so phenomenal and inspiring. She wants to see her mom have a better life and be taken care of for once, rather than the reverse (which is what she’s currently experiencing as a 25-year-old who lives with her mom). She’s willing to do whatever it takes to crank out a fantastic story, despite not even respecting or liking the person she’s working for. Her drive reminded me a lot of myself and I loved seeing how she worked through adversity to make something happen.

There were so many sweet moments filled with great depth throughout As Seen on TV. Between Adi’s relationship with her best friend Kate (and their mutual love for small towns), the romance with Finn (and the more challenging topic of seeing him navigate his relationship with an alcoholic father), and the sweet mother-daughter friendship, my heartstrings were constantly being tugged.

This is a must-read, for sure. I truly can’t recommend it enough!

[CW: (major) Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content, (moderate) Misogyny and Cursing]

This book is SO MUCH FUN OMG!!!!! I absolutely loved it! The small town feel to this one was the best, and I really enjoyed it!

As Seen on TV is a book that looks at all those Hallmark movie/cozy small town tropes and turns it on its head.

The author develops the main character in this story so well. I found myself feeling connected to them, which made the heartbreak and sadness so much more to me. I loved Adi and her original desire for the perfect Hallmark romance, but then finding the story in the fact that romances are not perfect and don't have the perfect ending, but the ending that works for you. Finn, as a love, interest, is endearing. He comes with his own flaws and hang-ups, which makes their love story even better. The growing love and romance between Adi and Finn is an enjoyable story. As any romance is, their story is not without bumps along the way, which makes it even more endearing.

I also loved Adi's mother and her best friend Kate. Adi and her mother were so close and I loved that they were able to talk to each other about the things going on in their lives. Kate has the best, best friend vibes and share Adi's Hallmark love and passion.

Meredith Schorr explores some deep issues in this book too, including death of a parent, alcoholism and the difficulty of supporting yourself and having to "wear many hats" when trying to break into your career.

Overall, I thought this was a great novel by Meredith Schorr and it was a quick, sweet read. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

As Seen on TV is a fun read that kept me entertained, with enough of an edge to it to keep it interesting! Adina Gellar is a fledgling writer looking for a permanent gig, when she gets an idea for a story that takes her to a small town. She’s looking for the kind of charm and romance she loves in her favorite Hallmark movies, but that’s not what she gets at all. I enjoyed watching Adi interact with the townspeople, and especially with Finn.

City girl trying to follow her dreams of being a feature writer. She’s fascinated with small town vibes and comes up,with an idea to investigate a real estate investor in small,town Pleasant Valley.
Her ideals of small town life keep being deflated. She wants her experience to be Hallmarkesque.

Story develops really slowly and the heroine is perky and naive. Wish I connected with it.

This story is fresh, fun, and delightful. I loved the way Schorr made me feel in the scenes that take place in the small town: torn, like I should be in love with the idyllic small town vibe, while also disappointed that the town wasn’t pulling its weight as an adorable piece of Americana. This is the heart of what Schorr does so well: makes us feel and see what main character Adina goes through so well, including her reckoning with herself—because no one in this story gets away without some healthy self-reflection. Told with fun banter through engaging characters, this was a delight to read and the perfect escape.