This was a cute and fun read! This offers a different view of love because of the parallel universe. I was expecting more witchy vibes, it that’s what I get for going in blind. Still super cute and quick read!

I love these magical romances—there is nothing better in the holiday season, particularly if you live in a cold/cozy climate. I think Kate Robb has a unique voice—she is funny, smart and irreverent. Her characters are actually memorable. I look forward to more from her!

Cute! Mystical realism and what could have been are some of my favorite themes and this book with a cast of complicated and comical characters was fun.

This Spells Love
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author:

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: What if one little wish changed everything?

When Gemma gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she reacts the way any reasonable twenty-eight-year-old would: by getting drunk with her sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax. After one too many margaritas, they decide to perform a love- cleansing spell, which promises to erase Gemma’s ex from her memory. They follow all the instructions, including a platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal.

When Gemma wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only does it seem that she never dated her ex, but the rest of her life is completely unrecognizable. The worst part: Dax has no idea who she is.

To reverse the spell and get back to her old life, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him—hard. Soon, Gemma begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things once were. What if Dax was The One all along?

My Thoughts: This was such a cute magical story. Warning, this story will illicit heartwarming, funny, and even sad spontaneous emotions, experiencing the whole rollercoaster of emotions event. Gemma gets dumped by her long-time boyfriend, so she gets drinks with her sister, her eccentric aunt, and her best friend, Dax. Her aunt owns a bookstore and has just the book for her. They perform a cleansing erase the boyfriend ritual. When she seals the ritual with a kiss with her best friend, she wakes up in an unrecognizable life, in a parallel world. She is not best friends with Dax and she has not dated her ex. As she tries to figure out how to get back, she ends up falling for her best friend. Will she be able to get back and stand in her true feelings? Or is she stuck in this parallel world where everything is different? This follows the tropes of friends to lovers.

The story is primarily narrated by Gemma, in her POV. I adored the relationship between Gemma and Dax, it was truly heartfelt. Gemma is carefree, extroverted, loves loyally, and is fiercely independent. Dax has a tough exterior, but once you get to know him, he is soft on the inside, charming, sexy, and is just the perfect swoon-perfection book boyfriend. The characters were well developed, with depth, angst, tension, witty banter, chemistry, and were intriguing. Both of our MCs really had tremendous character growth througout the story. The biggest growth was Gemma, who would play things safe, and by the end would take the risks necessary in life. The supporting characters, Gemma’s sister, Kiersten, and the eccentric aunt, Lily, really elevated the story is another level. All of the characters were likable (well mostly) and relatable. The author’s writing style was complex, swoony, thought-provoking, heartwarming, brilliant, inviting, and kept me invested from the first word to the last word. The author just has a way with words that captivates you and keeps you invested for the entirety of the literary journey. The characters were built up slowly, the plot was delivered flawlessly, the pacing and flow were perfection, and the ending wrapped things up so beautifully.

This story was whimsical, magical, heartfelt, funny, emotional, clever, and has a real special meaning. The perfect romance story. For a debut book, this was absolutely phenomenal. This book ranks as one of my favorites for 2023. I read a lot of books, some stay with me and others I forget as soon as I close the book. This one will stay with me and I put it along the lines of Lessons in Chemistry with the impact it has made. The author puts a different spin on friends to lovers and does it in a way that produces a meaningful message of always standing in your truth. This book also addresses a very common question, if you had made a different choice in life, would that alter your life path? This book made me smile, cry, laugh, smile, and then cry again, a true rollercoaster of emotions. I will definitely read further books by this author, she really captivated me with her writing style. I would highly recommend this book to other readers!

This spells love is a magical, fun and enchanting read!!
The characters felt relatable and lovable, Dax is the most wholesome man ever and Gemma is so lucky to have him in her life! I loved the authors interpretation of parallel universes and how much this book felt like "50 First Dates"
I loved this cute little read and would recommend it to others!

4.25 stars
In the spirit of wishes and what ifs, exists this cute little story of friends with a twist. When Gemma’s boyfriend of many years breaks up with her, she makes bad decisions fueled by alcohol and wishes that she never met him, and winds up in a world where she never met her best friend, Dax.
Gemma is a character after my own heart, stuck working for someone else and living someone else’s dream, but I love how she deals with the wish that she made and narrows in on what is happening with her best friend, and what she chooses to do once she’s faced with the option of staying put or going back.
If you like friends to strangers to lovers, a dash of magic, and important lessons about friendships and family relationships, then I recommend this book. Super cute with steam and spicy moments.

Thank you to Random House Dial Press for the free eARC, all opinions are my own.

Fantastic read! Easy and quick paced, fun storyline and loveable characters. This was the perfect sweet rom-com. I also absolutely loved being able to picture the setting and knowing the area the book was written in. Also secretly hoping Nana’s is Grandad’s because DELICIOUS!

3.75!

This story was a really fun exploration of how our decisions impact our lives, and it served as a reminder to just go after what we want in life because we only live it once.

It was also cool to see so many familiar locations as an Ontarian in Canada. I really enjoyed Kate's writing in this, it's humorous and entertaining and just the right amount of silly. She writes good characters with strong found family vibes and definitely knows how to write a very swoon worthy MMC, I loved that man. The only issue I had was that the ending seemed to drag on for me. For about the last 25-30% of the book I was hoping things would wrap up quicker than they did.

I would gladly read another book from this author! I loved the writing style and I can't wait to see what she publishes next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! I'm grateful for the opportunity.

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞
𝐁𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

I’ve unintentionally been reading a lot of alternate timeline books lately, but I’m not mad about it. It feels very appropriate for this time of year.

After going through a breakup, Gemma makes a wish/casts a spell that has her waking up in an apartment that isn’t hers, with her best friend, Dax, not knowing who she is. Luckily for Gemma, she has her loyal sister Kirsten and her kooky Aunt Livi to help figure things out.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the twists the relationship between Gemma and Dax took, the career elements for Gemma, Dax and Kirsten, and Aunt Livi consistently calling Gemma “Poodle.” There were moments of comedy, swoon-worthy Dax, Curling, sisters supporting each-other, and of course, Donuts. Definitely add this to your new year TBR.

After a heartbreaking breakup, Gemma casts a spell to reverse her past decision to date the guy. To her shock, the spell works and she wakes up in a world where it never happened. But in this new world, she'd also never met her best friend Dax.

This was a spicy, funny, and sweet romance. I especially liked Gemma's inner turmoil about what to do, and the bonding with her sister over donuts. I think all of us would like to change parts of our past, and it was fun to think about that as well! This certainly kept me reading to see what would happen.

This book was a quick and cute read. Nothing profound but a fun "what if"/ alternate reality story with likeable characters and good chemistry in the friend-to-lover trope. Some silly magical elements but handled in a cheeky, over-the-top way with the help of her kooky aunt and funny sister. Ultimately it was engaging and feel-good. I would recommend this book. It would be a fun Book Club read around Halloween too!

This book was just alright for me. So many things went wrong that I was getting worried about how it would end. There were a lot of plot holes that left me ??? The lessons Gemma learned throughout were enjoyable. I left this book feeling meh.

Nice friends to lovers book with a time travel element. We kind of jump straight into the heart of the story without much build up but it worked. I enjoyed reading it!

this is a cute story! i enjoyed the writing style, and the plot was interesting and unique. personally, i found myself not enjoying the parallel universe storyline as much as i would’ve hoped, but that’s a personal preference and not the author’s fault. i did find myself wondering at the end of the story—what happens to the characters in the alternate reality? do they not get their happy ending? i just kept thinking about them after the story ended 😭. overall, this was a good read but not a favorite. 3.5 stars.

This was a great read! What if one wish changed everything? Loved the characters and the plot in this book

THIS SPELLS LOVE is a fun, romantic read about finding the life you want and loving the life you have.

Gemma is going through a breakup and, with help from her quirky aunt and sister, casts a spell to erase her relationship from her past - what she doesn't realize is that she'll erase herself from her best friend Dax's memory, too. This story was delightful - a fun friends to lovers, second chance kind of story with just the right amount of humor and great connection between the main characters. Gemma was fun and I couldn't help but root for her - and Dax was a wonderful hero! I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of romance, time travel-esque stories and those looking for a fun escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Ok, can I just say, I need this spell in my life?! Such a fun and silly read. It had me waiting chapter after chapter to see if Gemma will realize what she wanted all a long.....

While this concept is quite the popular one right now, I can't get enough of it, so I say keep them coming! I like the way Robb allowed Gemma to freak out a valid amount but also try and go with the life she wakes up in. Gemma doesn't just immediately accept her new fate and try to immerse herself, she show character growth while also portraying pretty real character flaws. She was likable, Dax was likable and while you desperately want it to work out for them, I'm happy it wasn't tied up with a little ribbon. If you can argue this type of book can even be believable, I'd say this one did that well.

This was such a cute and sweet story. I loved the plot and characters. The fun eccentric aunt, the best friend turned lover. The quirky main character. It all just worked and fit perfectly. The ending was great and the pace of the book was amazing. There were no lulls which made this bingeable. I loved how everything wrapped up in the end.

Do you love romance (and friendship) with a small touch of magic? Well, then this one is for you.

I thought this was a super cute read and thought the pacing was great. I really enjoyed the characters and Gemma's plotting to make Dax remember everything he loves about her. I am definitely interested in reading anything else Kate Robb has up her sleeve.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.