" This Love Spells" was a solid debut effort by Kate Robb. The premise was interesting and I was excited to jump into this magical story. The romance was slow burn and okay. I think my biggest downside with this book was the characters--I didn't feel invested in them. And because of that , the story is forgettable.

This Spells Love was not a fit for me at this time. I DNFed around the 20% mark. Maybe this was just a case of bad timing but my patience for silly characters with messed up lives was not strong enough to allow me to continue reading.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Too horny!?
Like. He’s been your best friend forever in your timeline and you NEVER wanted to bang him? And then when she’s finally friends with him. Which happens too fucking quickly. Like weirdo girl in your store then a few days later. Literally it’s like 3??? You’re super close friends and a few days after that you’re dating??? No????

Okay so, never wanted to bang her best friend but he’s her everything in this world?
Okay. Weird

Then she just LIVES this life for a while as that timeline Gemma? Not trying to get back? Just hooking up with Dax. Running a business. No worries?

Then? His timeline is fucked and the solution is go back to her timeline to solve this Dax’s issues? How would that happen??? This doesn’t track babe.

It’s been less than a month and he loves her?? Stop it.

Also why does she call him Daxton B?! All the time! Stop it.

Why does she think her dax wouldn’t love her in her timeline? Is she dumb?

And the sex is so fucking prominent? And I get it. I love sex too. But the timing of the scenes were off? Like. Instead of getting to know each other (this Dax doesn’t even know her like she has for the last 4 years) he’s fingering her in his car.

His store burns down and he moves into his cousins basement. She has to go back to her timeline soon and has this plan of going back? But it makes no sense. So instead she’s worried about him making her cum? Fucking in the basement. It wasn’t sexy? It was confusing. And they’re planning a costume party!?? What is the fucking point????

I was completely charmed by this book, and pleasantly surprised by its complexity even as it hit all those Romance genre tropes.

Gemm and Dax are best friends. She's just gotten out of a relationship with a guy named Stuart who she stayed with because she was playing it safe. She plays it safe with everything in her life: she has a job she doesn't love because it's stable and pays well, and she won't let herself fall for her best friend because she worries what will happen if they don't last. While grieving the end of her relationship with Stuart, Gemma gets drunk, and along with her sister and aunt, perform a spell to cleanse her. Then the magic happens!

Gemma wakes up in an alternate life where she gets to play out everything she had been afraid of. She and Dax fall in love with each other. She has a gorgeous clean beauty products store. She is the happiest she's ever been. There are, however, consequences for her being in a time and place she doesn't belong. The main plot point of the novel is Gemma deciding if she can give up her newfound happiness in order to go back to her old life and fix things (there's more, but I am not going to spoil it).

What makes this novel special is that each character is complex. Gemma's sister Kierstan is smart and supportive, and also doesn't let her sister get away with being babied all the time. Aunt Livi is wise and hilarious. Dax and Gemma's relationship is so tender and fun and sexy. You just want the best for everyone, and that, to me, is the mark of a great book.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Witchy romance at its best! This Spells Love is a hilarious and spicy story with the most perfect witchy vibes 👌

* e-arc received from Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts

This Spells Love by Kate Robb mixes the genre of romantic comedy with a little bit of magic to tell the story of a young women who after a night of mistaken magic wakes up to find her life is pretty different. Gemma is reeling over a break up and makes a wish which depending on how you look at it either goes terribly wrong or terribly right. She wakes up to a similar world where she lives in the same town but her house, her job, and her best friend are completely different than what she is used to. In some ways this alternate world is better, but in other ways it is not, leaving Gemma the dilemma of not only how does she get back to her real life, but also the question of if she should.
This book is a fun mix of a little bit of supernatural with a classic girl falls for best friend romantic comedy. I recommend it for someone looking for readers who enjoy stories about young women finding themselves in this world, romantic comedies, and a little bit of magic.
Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Robb, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a super cute, whimsical, friends to lovers, debut romance! Basically the heroine breaks up with her boyfriend and wishes she never met him, so she gets together with her sister and aunt and they get some drinks in them and do a “spell” to make that happen. She wakes up the next morning and realizes it not only worked, but that her life is completely different too. Including the fact that she is no longer best friends with her best friend, because she met him the same night as her ex-boyfriend who she chose to have never met.

This was such a solid debut! Romance, humour and a little bit of magic...what's not to love!?

I really liked that this book was set in Hamilton, Ontario. This isn't far from me and it was cool to read about a place that I have some familiarity with.

The characters were great and I loved their relationship. The magical realism was cool and not overdone. The romance was sweet, there was a little bit of spice, and overall it was a joy to read! Can't wait to read more from Kate Robb in the future!

This was a delicious novel about what ifs and destiny. I adored all the characters especially Aunt Livia, she deserves her own novel. Overall, a fantastic read that left me all warm and fuzzy.

The writing is solid, creating a vivid atmosphere, but the plot is a mix of captivating moments and predictability. Characters are well-developed, though some lack depth. Pacing fluctuates, making it a decent but not outstanding read.

I love a good withcy romcom so when I saw this I knew I just had to read it. This would be best read in the fall preferably in the spooky season of october. A lovely little friends to lovers debut.

This book for me was almost painfully middle of the road. Truly, I spent the entire time reading waiting for anything (ANYTHING, PLEASE!) to not go exactly how I was expecting.

There were no unexpected plot twists or character developments. There was also fairly decent writing.

I want to give this a better rating, because truly it wasn’t bad and I have little by way of constructive critique. But, frankly, I was bored pretty much the whole way through this.

Imagine after a major breakup being able to flip into an alternate reality,saving yourself from heartbreak and instead meeting the love of your life!
28 year old Gemma is going through a breakup after a 4 year relationship with Stewart. She get together with her Aunt and sister one evening and after many many Margaritas they cast a spell so Gemma can forget Stewart. It so happens that on the very same night, she also met her very best friend Dax, and we learn early in that their meet was interrupted by Stewart who came along and swept Gemma off her feet. Dax has remained in Gemmas life for the same past 4 years just supporting Gemma and although always remained totally in love with her, they continue on as best friends. The Morning after the Spell, Gemma wakes up in an alternate reality. She finds herself not only to have forgotten about her heartache but she realizes Dax has no memory of her or the night they met.
From here Gemma starts to realize how much Dax really love her as she tries to win him over but they end up taking things to a whole other level of relationship.

A sweet and light quick read. No major High impact moments in this plot but its the perfect escape from a heavier read. A friends to lovers, follow your heart story with plenty of Romance, spice and personal growth milestones.
Thank You Netgalley and Random House for my Arc copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts of this book that were creative and fun, but ultimately the central conflict did not feel like an actual problem. I couldn’t understand why Gemma was questioning going back to her world in the multiverse when literally all she needed to do in her world was say “Dax I have feelings for you and I can tell you have feelings for me too”. That’s literally the entire conflict in this book. Dax is just friend zoned. Both of them are single in her world. They haven’t had a falling out. They just needed to have a two sentence conversation.

I found Gemma to be selfish and annoying. She expected her sister, aunt, and best friend/ boyfriend to only care about her problems and needs 24/7. A 28 year old woman should not be this oblivious and selfish. She could not read the room at all. Ever.

The multiverse concept was well done and fun. I liked the sci-fi/ fantasy aspect of this book so much. I just wish that the story was better.

Cute idea. The middle was a little slow for me but I liked this version of the "what if" trope. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC was also pretty good

I thought this story was really cute. I loved the main characters, Gemma & Dax. Aunt Livi might be my favorite side character of all time. I don't read many alternate reality plot line but after this I would like to read more!

What a charming, delightful read! This Spells Love was witty and a beautifully written rom com. The characters had so much depth and great development. I was laughing, crying, swooning—it was such an entertaining read. Plus, I adored the premise, it was unique and it kept me engaged the whole time. The side characters were wonderful and Dax and Gemma were so freakin cute!

Honestly, besides the sweet rom com aspects of this book, it was also incredibly thought-provoking. It forces you to ask yourself; if you had the chance to start over, would you make the same choices? Follow the same path? Or would you avoid repeating old mistakes and choose an entirely different life—even if it means losing one of the most important relationships in your life?

Yep. All that from a steamy, magical romance book. It was amazing, I loved it.

Things I Loved:
- Magic spells
- Friends to Lovers
- Cinnamon roll mmc
- "What if...?" plot
- Spicyyy!
- No third act break up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Robb for the ARC! Congrats on the release.

This was a super enjoyable read! Such a great debut, with a fun, zaney premise. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance with magical realism and I had a lot of fun! ( I usually read either straight contemporary or straight fantasy/paranormal). The characters were relatable and engaging, I especially liked the cooky aunt! And the romance had such great chemistry as well as being super cute. I would definitely check out Kate Robb’s next book!

This was so cute, but oh my god it gave me so much anxiety while Gemma was in the alternate universe. I wish we could have seen more of Gemma & Dax’s relationship before the “incident,” however I think the author did a great job of conveying how much Dax was down bad for Gemma. Overall, I wish it was a bit more “witchy,” but as is the story and relationship flowed very well.

This is more spoilerish, but I’m gonna pretend that the alternate universe ceased to exist once she went home because of what Dax was going through

I don't usually love magical realism in novels, but this one might've changed my mind! The sweet romance dives into the "what if" narrative. Specifically, what if one decision I made was different? What repercussions would occur? What other things would be different as a result?

I was a little worried this one would be too cheesy and, as noted, I'm a magical realism skeptic. But this one has great character development, solid side characters, and is well-paced. My only qualm is that Dax and Gemma's backstory could've been more developed. I understand they're best friends, and that somewhere along the way an unspoken agreement to stay only friends was reached, but I would've liked a bit more insight into the whys of it all.

I enjoyed this one! A steamy read that I flew through and highly recommend for my fellow romance readers.