A light, fluffy read that definitely feels like a Hallmark movie in book form, just a lot spicier.

New Yorker Adina is an aspiring lifestyle journalist who believes she's found the story that will be her big break: a small town that's getting a huge new condo building thanks to a big city developer, just like in the movies. But when she gets there the town of Pleasant Hollow is not at all like the settings of the films she so dearly loves, and the guy who catches her attention isn't a local hottie but the big city developer's project manager, who also lives in the city.

I struggled at times to sympathize with Adina, but found Finn to be an interesting and complicated character. The intimacy they share is excellent, and the grand gestures--particularly Finn's--were very cute. Ultimately, this is a nice story about the importance of not making assumptions or prejudging places or people for better or worse.

As Seen On TV was a quick, fun, and lighthearted read. I love the premise of a big city girl going to a small town to look for a Hallmark movie experience, only to find the exact opposite. This was a very clever twist on a well-loved and classic trope. As a twenty-something I found Adina's love life and career struggles to be incredibly relatable. However, I also found myself questioning her actions in pursuing her story. It felt like she was trying a little too hard to craft the town into the Hallmark movie small town she was expecting, instead of writing the story the town was giving her. It's possible this was a commentary on bad journalism, but it also made it seem like Adina wasn't as good of a writer as she wanted to be seen as.

I was initially drawn to this book for its comparison to several small town TV shows including Gilmore Girls, Virgin River, and Hart of Dixie. I loved all the pop culture references and they felt very modern and fresh. However, part of the reason why I love those shows are because they paint a picture of a lively small town with quirky residents. Even though this is meant to be a small-town without the eccentricities, I was disappointed to find that this book didn't dive deeper into some of the backstories of some of the residents. Even the interviews that Adina did conduct with residents felt too rushed and I wanted a little more depth to them, even if the interviews would prove to be unhelpful to her story. I would have liked to at least see some subtle nods to the small towns this book references, even if it isn't outwardly meant to be like those small towns.

While the idea of twisting the small town trope was a unique take, I think that the heart of small town storytelling was lost in the re-imagining and I found myself wishing there was some tiny spark of it left because as a rom-com, the lack of that heart, made it harder to fall in love with Adina and Finn as individual characters and a couple. While I loved that Adina and Finn felt like a real-life couple instead of a Hallmark type couple, I felt like the pacing of the entire book was a little too slow in contrast to the progression of their relationship, which moved a little too quickly. The third act conflict and subsequent breakup also felt a little forced and unrealistic. It felt like an issue that could have been easily resolved in the same scene with some better communication between Adina and Finn.

Overall, I loved the story and I think it's a unique and very well-written debut, which made me laugh more than a handful of times. I would still recommend it to anyone who loves rom-coms for its fresh twist on the small town genre because it defies expectations of the classic rom-com lover in a good way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an ARC of As Seen On TV in exchange for an honest review.

This is a 3.5 star read for me. It’s really hard to reflect my feelings on this one. I didn’t love it or didn’t hate it. Overall I just think I didn’t connect with the characters or writing. Maybe the book felt too long during times and carried out? I’m not sure. I just know it wasn’t for me. I can see people totally loving this one though!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a cute romance with lots of feel good moments but ultimately brought nothing new to the table.

AS SEEN ON TV follows Adina Gellar, a twenty-something millennial living in New York City with her mother. She works two part-time jobs to make do but she’s an aspiring journalist – who’s been pitching to online magazine publications with little success.

In this, Adi was utterly relatable. As a twenty-something year old in a city working a job I like (but not love), I’m still a bit too close to my years of working multiple part time jobs to get through grad school and those uncertain months thereafter. The author did a great job in writing Adi’s stress of trying to land a job, especially in a field as densely populated as journalism.

However, Adi (and by extension, her best friend Kate) is obsessed with Hallmark movies and small towns. Upon hearing the news that a big-shot community developer bought up land in some small town a couple hours away from NYC, Adi has a breakthrough moment where she pitches a Hallmark movie trope of the big bad developer ruining the town and it gets accepted. There’s even promises of a full time job should the piece do well. She packs up her bags and dips into her life savings to live out her big city girl – small town Hallmark dreams in Pleasant Hollow…only to find that Pleasant Hollow is not quite like the movies.

Things I liked:

- Adi’s Jewishness. I loved reading about the Rosh Hashanah dinner that Adi’s mum hosted for her friends and neighbors. That dinner scene as well was slightly chaotic but in the way that left you with the impression that Adi is well loved and supported by the people in her life.

- Adi’s friendship with Kate. It’s very obvious that Adi and Kate have a very supportive friendship. Ditto on the relationship between Adi and her mother.

Thing I didn’t like:

- Finn. I’m sorry! Even despite his backstory, he felt very two dimensional and not well fleshed out to me. Their relationship as well was not quite insta-love but they’d only known each other for a couple weeks before flat out committing to each other – so it may as well have been.

- The main conflict and third act breakup felt flimsy and unbelievable to me and emotions felt too deep to be believable after only two weeks

If you’re looking for a quick read with a teeny smattering of spice, do consider picking this one up! It was charming in a small town kind of way – even if it wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

The premise of this book is very cute - a woman obsessed with Hallmark movies, Gilmore Girls, and the quaintness of small towns tries to write a profile about one, only to find it falls short of her fantasies. The writing was not for me. The humor felt forced and the romance conflict didn't land for me, especially given how short the timeline was. Something I did love was that the heroine and her mother were Jewish and celebrated Rosh Hashanah in the book. I am always happy to see more Jewish characters in mainstream romance and for it to be casually Jewish. I did wish she'd explored the idea of being Jewish in a small town and how that felt, as I'd definitely have my guard up about it.

This is the book I needed in my life at this moment!! It was so much fun and so cute! I really loved the premises of this book. Adina is so funny and her banter with Finn is so fun to read. Meredith Schorr really hit a home run with this book. Do yourself a favor and read it. Now!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

Advertised as a book for lovers of Gilmore Girls and Hart of Dixie so of course I loved it!! I would say more like Hart or Dixie than Gilmore girls though. It openly mocks the hallmark trope which is funny even though I think we all secretly love hallmark movies because they are predictable and will always have a HEA. This is a cute, heartwarming, and quick read.

This novel is so full of heart and charm, and such a delightful read.. Adina, a young, ambitious NYC-based journalist and Hallmark movie enthusiast, chases down what she thinks is a career-changing story: a big developer is destroying the fabric of a small town with his new project. But as Adina spends time in the small town, located about two hours outside of the city, to get the scoop, she is surprised to find an apathetic community and an atypical project manager, with whom she has obvious chemistry. Pressure mounts as Adina struggles to find the real story amid her deepening connection with Finn. The stakes are high, the relationship is hot, and Adina is just so darn honest and likable that you'll be rooting for her every step of the way. This is an impressive, feel-good debut from Meredith Schorr! A perfect escapist read.

This book started a little slow for me but I thought it got stronger as it went on. I love the pop culture references, although I think it got a little heavy on the hallmark references. For me not watching hallmark movies there were several actors mentioned I had to look up. I really enjoyed both leads and I thought the chemistry was well written. This takes a lot of assumed tropes and turns them around, and also I love a strong female lead who actually articulated her feelings and needs. Highly recommend!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC. I actually didn’t care for it, so I’d prefer not to leave a bad review.

I really enjoyed the story of Adi who is on a mission to save her home by writing the perfect news article about a small town. She initially pitches the article as a small town found in a Hallmark TV movie, however, she's completely surprised when she finds out that the small town isn't like what she expected. Of course, I love romance novels with HEA and this was no exception. The only criticism of this book is that I would have loved to learn more about the minor characters in the small town. I feel like some of them had the potential to be really interesting and funny! All in all, a solid 4 star book!

As Seen On TV is about Adi, who lives in NYC and works two jobs while trying to get her foot in the door as a lifestyle and human interest writer. She’s also written off dating in the city. When she hears about a billionaire real estate developer buying up property in the small town of Pleasant Hollow, Adi sees a story straight out of her beloved Hallmark movies. She sets out to write her article, but is surprised to find Pleasant Hollow is nothing like the small towns Hallmark portrays. When she starts to fall for the project manager of the new development, more than just her article is on the line.

This book had such a strong start! The first half was absolutely stellar and had me laughing out loud, but went a little sideways after that. Mainly, it just got repetitive. I loved the references to Hallmark movies and how Adi took every opportunity to compare Pleasant Hollow to the towns in them. Finn and Adi were a really fun couple with a lot of chemistry, but I found Adi’s actions at the climax of the book to be completely self-centered and irrational. Although another character does point this out to her later, she never really seems to get it, and it just bugged me. Overall this was a fun romcom that I’d recommend for fans of the Hallmark channel!

Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the eARC! As Seen on TV comes out on June 7, 2022.

As Seen on TV is advertised to fans of Hallmark movies, Gilmore Girls, and Heart of Dixie fans. Adi, city girl, journalist, is obsessed with small towns because of Hallmark movies spends time in Pleasant Hollos with the idea of writing a BIG STORY that will help land her dream job. She pitches a story about popular Hallmark movie trope, big city developer goes into a small town and ruins the community by building fancy high rises, so the tight knit community bands together to chase the big bad developer out of their town. Too bad for Adi, the town is nothing like Hallmark movie small towns. There is no community, no nice inn keepers, no single mayor/doctor, not even pie. Other things happen that I don't remember and she falls for Mr. Big Bad Developer Jr. The END.

I liked the characters. Finn is key Hallmark movie leading male. Big bad developer but actually sweet, understanding, handsome like a Hemsworth, and everything you would want in a man. Adi is also typical leading female. Hotmess, quirky, lives with her mom, works 2 shitty jobs, and unlucky in love.

I feel for the description of this book, but it was nothing like I expected. I knew from the first chapter onward that Finn and Adi would fall in love, but there was really no plot. Nothing happens in the book other than (1) Pleasant Hollows is nothing like a Hallmark movie (2) Finn and Adi really love each other but cannot work because of really forced issues that dragged the book on 30 pages too long (3) Adi really really needs this story to work or her life is ruined. Honestly, I was hoping that maybe the town would have ended up accepting Adi and coming around and becoming more Hallmark-y.

Overall, I liked the characters. I liked the setting. I liked the description of the book. I don't think this is memorable and it was honestly a little hard to finish.

*Received ARC via Netgallery in exchange for an honest review.*

'As Seen On TV' follows Adina or Adi as she struggles to hunt for a job which at last puts her journalism degree to use and simultaneously looking for her perfect match in the city of New York. All while she idolizes the small town life, where she might finally meet her Happy Ever After and a tight knit community which accepts her, but she might not have known that all small towns are not carbon copies of the ones from some hallmark movie and that her fantasy might remain a fantasy forever.
- ~ -
Adi and Finn are good together, Adi brings out Finn's fun, humorous side while he gives her the unrestrained support she deserves. They've both been through a lot their whole life and have finally met someone who understands the other's pain.

Although I must say, that a specific argument towards the end, was absolutely unnecessary but thankfully the protagonist's mum talked some sense into her and the confessions which entailed were probably the most realistic in terms of grand gestures.

In the end I'd say 'As Seen On Tv' is a fluffy, relaxing read perfect to be read at night while you're tucked in your cost bed. Certainly recommended.

3.97/5✩

A big thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Adina obsessed with hallmark movies and stalled in her own life makes one last desperate pitch to try to get a full time writing position. As she heads to a small town going to find the camaraderie she feels is missing in the city will she find more than a story?


Listen this was a great premise for a book but the desperation of Adi, the poorly written cliches and just the attempt at being hip were painful. Adina Wad self important whiney and lazy. Finn is pompous and refuses to take responsibility for things. Any diverse character was reduced to being a side show with just a snippet about them. It was just a tough read

The premise of this book was so intriguing...I loved the idea of a Hallmark movie come to life with everyone's favorite trope: Big City developer comes into idyllic Small Town USA and brings a new high rise condo with him, The tight knit community bands together to show Mr. Big City what he can't destroy and also the small town girl he can and should and will fall in love with in 4 days.

I mean we all love these movies for a reason and if you're like me, you can only stomach one or two per season before burning out on them! This story line was fun - it openly mocked the Hallmark trope while trying to make it happen in real life. Adina was our main Hallmark loving character and while she was quirky cute, she was incredibly juvenile and immature and that became grating over the course of the book.

Finn was Mr. Big City but of course he was charming, sweet and there was romance. The romance went from nothing to something in, oh...15 pages and that was roll your eye worthy, but I liked their dynamic and found myself rooting for them.

I think my main take away here...nothing ever really happened. At all. And that is where this book lost me. I liked the characters, I liked that our small town was NOT the one depicted in Hallmark and I liked that Adina and Finn had some real life issues to deal with. However, nothing ever really happened and that is where this rating comes into play for me.

This was a cute, lighthearted, quick read - but nothing that will leave a lasting impression on me.

'As Seen on TV' has its moments but is overall quite silly. Adina's harebrained scheme for the article and her over the top, childlike idealism are beyond my suspension of disbelief and maybe more fitting in a YA novel.

Being an avid Hallmark movie watcher, I picked this book up thinking that it would follow all the classic Hallmark movie tropes. But this novel really takes a typical Hallmark movie premise and spins it completely. I will say I struggled for the first 40-50% of this book but the second half of the book is where it really picks up and it’s what really made me enjoy this novel, and that’s because it focused more on Adina and Finn’s relationship and the challenges they faced. And let’s not forget Finn’s grand gesture!

My main issue was that for the first half of the book I just didn't connect to Adina. I found her to be a bit immature and I get that she wanted her article to reflect a Hallmark movie but it still frustrated me to see how Adina was selfishly trying to fit her narrative onto the people of Pleasant Hollow for this purpose. While I understand the purpose of this for Adina’s character arc it made it hard for me to root for her as a character from the start.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

As a big fan of hallmark movies the plot of this book intrigued me and it did not disappoint! It was such a cute and quick read that I was not able to put down. I would highly recommend this book to any rom com lover.

As Seen on Tv is a wonderful debut book written by Meredith Schorr. Adina Gellar is a strong character who is trying to get her first full time job as a journalist at a digital magazine. I loved reading this book and couldn’t put this book down except to eat and sleep. It is a delight to read and gets you not thinking about the crazy pandemic that is taking our world by storm. Books are keeping me sane and thank you Meredith for writing this book and I look forward to reading your next novel . You are a gifted writer and 👏bravo 🤗🇨🇦💐