This Spells Love was a somewhat familiar seeming story about a woman trying to erase a painful breakup and ends up accidentally eliminating a good chunk of her life— namely all of her history and experiences with her best friend, Dax. It’s definitely a situation where you know Dax has been pining for her from the start, so it’s a little bit frustrating to watch her deny it over and over again. But it was interesting to watch her re-meet him in a new reality, and to explore what could have been. Overall, it was a fun story, and I loved both the sister and grandmother. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

I liked this book! There were some areas that dragged for me or felt a little silly, but on the whole I enjoyed it. I think it probably could’ve been shorter.

This was a sweet ‘n steamy friends-to-lovers romance exploring what could have happened if you were given the chance to make different choices.

Fresh off the end of a four-year relationship and spiraling into a mini crisis, Gemma says "why not?!" to performing a seemingly benign spell wishing she’d never met her turd ex, then kisses her best friend, Dax, to seal the deal and falls asleep. When she wakes up, everything’s different-ish, and she learns that she opened her dream boutique skincare store and never met nor dated her ex... but also never met Dax. Robb does a fantastic job at balancing Gemma’s desire to put her ‘other’ life back in order while relishing in the new-found freedom it allows her. As much as Gemma tries to make Dax her best friend in this timeline, he isn’t… which means she doesn’t lose anything if she maybe wants to make him something more…

My weakness is watching two idiots badly hide their feelings for one another and then feel astonished that the other person likes them, and getting to experience Gemma’s conflicting ‘should I or shouldn't I?’ was so fun and satisfying to read. I also loved how Gemma developed as a character and Robb's portrayal of Gemma's bond with her sister.

I think the only qualm I had was what happened after Gemma chose which timeline she wanted to stay in forever, but otherwise a solid read!

Absolutely head over heels for "This Spells Love" by Kate Robb! Gemma and Dax's story is pure magic, and it's even more fantastic since it's the author's debut.

Seeing these characters tackle their inner battles and grow throughout the story is heartwarming.

A heartwarming reminder that sometimes what you want and what you need aren't as far apart as they seem. Can't wait for more from this talented author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spells, Love, Parallel universe and so much more. This was a great debut book and I really look forward to more from this author. This book had a smile on my face the whole time reading it.

This Spells Love was a cute cozy romcom that deals with a women in a parallel universe falling in love with her best friend. It was a very adorable read! This book is good for all year round! Thank you for sending me the ARC copy of this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was actually a really cute book! How to describe: RomCom, 13 Going on 30/Sliding Doors , clever twist on friends-to-lover with some spice! The writing, storytelling, and inner dialogue was so good, an amazing debut!

This single POV story is about Gemma who has just been dumped by her boyfriend of 4 years and she is reeling and coming to terms that she was settling for mediocre at best. Her eccentric aunt has the idea to do a spell to help Gemma with her broken heart and forget her ex boyfriend. The spell has to be sealed with a kiss, and of course that honor falls to her best friend Dax! Even with a simple and chaste kiss, the feelings it invokes makes Gemma questions wonder about their relations. Cut to the hang over she wakes up with and…she finds herself in an alternate timeline when he career, home, and friends are different, especially Dax not knowing her. With help of her aunt and sister who sorta believe her, Gemma has one month until the moon is in the right phase to reverse the spell; but she must recreate everything, including the kiss.

I could not put this book down! I was completely invested in Gemma’s journey to becoming friends with Dax again, realizing they may have always been more than friends, her having to decide to make decisions that are not always easy and may not have a guaranteed reward, and her shedding some unintentional selfishness for those she loves. And the connection that Gemma and Dax have in any timeline, this is what I call a soulmate! It was funny, emotional, and so beautiful!

Random things I loved about the book:
-Gemma’s priorities in a rain storm, “the cheese!”
-Dax’s secret delight of cleaning his ears with Q-tips! (They may be bad for you but I will never give them up!)

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, Dial Press, and Kate Robb for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

This is a cute parallel lives / multi-verse friends to lovers story, and a great Halloween season read.

Imagine you're watching Practical Magic but instead of Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman its Kate Goldbeck's You, Again & Julie Soto's Forget Me Not making magic. Thats the power This Spells Love has - charmimg, hilarious, relatable, sexy.

Gemma Wilde's eccentric aunt finds the cure for "just got dumped by my boyfriend of 4 years" heartache in a thrift shop book of magic. Persuaded to give the spell a try by her ride or die sister & José Cuervo, it's is meant to cleanse her mind of all things ex-boyfriend. It just needs to be sealed with a kiss like all magic should. Good thing her totally platonic best friend Dax is available to take one for the team.

She thinks all she'll wake up with is a tequila hangover, but her tomorrow is now a life lived without meeting her ex. Some things remain familiar, others more like a dream, but shes devastated when her best friend looks at her and only sees a stranger.

The hook here is the friends to strangers to lovers relationship. And its brilliant. It hits all the right gas & break moments as to avoid the trappings of insta-love. You'd think Gemma would know exactly how to woo her best friend back, but this What If-verse Dax challenges her. Hes not her best friend. Hes had a life 4 years without her of course he'll be different. So they get to work becoming friends again, and able to explore falling in love if they are so inclined.

Brilliant too, is the treatment of Gemma's own outlook on life. Each life had its own unique influences. She was safe but was that stifiling what could be a favorite life to live? She could set priorities but what other potential would she preventing? The reality for so many is the fear of uncertainty that comes with taking risks. If one never tries, they'll never fail. Framing this inside a fantastical romantic story allows one to experience hope instead of fear. I appreciate this minor through line so much.

This Spells Love would make the best Book Club or Buddy Read pick. There are ethical questions I am still pondering regarding What If-verse falling in love. The magic of multiverses is so much fun to explore. I can't wait for y'all to read this so we can discuss in depth.

I can't recommend This Spells Love enough. It makes Kate Robb an instant auto-buy author. I'll be thinking of this book long after I've shelved it. It won't be on the shelf long though, because I mood reread all the time.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing & The Dial Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
thank you netgalley and dial press for the arc copy.

i think this was a really great debut novel! i think gemma and dax are well written characters and are totally relatable, which adds to their overall personality. i am a sucker for a good side character as well, which this book definitely has!

the plot idea is very unique and i found myself very intrigued by it! it was also a very cute and fluffy romance, which is exactly what i was in the mood for. i really enjoyed this and if you pick it up, i hope you enjoy as well. 🤍

I thought this book was really cute. It pretty much follows the premise of many hallmark movies- a girl makes a wish and it comes true and sends her into an alternate universe where she learns a lot along the way and falls in love. I was hoping from the title and description it was going to be a witchier but it really wasn’t witchy except for the one magical moment that catapults everything. I liked the chemistry between Gemma and Dax and felt the spark between the two of them and found myself reading quickly to know what would happen next between them. But as the book continued it did feel a bit like cheating or something to me as the two universes versions of Dax were not the same. It felt weird to me that she was falling for him when he wasn’t the same as her original universe’s version. It made me feel a little icky. Gemma wasn’t always my favorite character and that reason might have partly been why. I really loved Gemma’s sister and aunt. I felt like they were such fun side characters who I cared for and enjoyed. I liked this book and I read it very quickly, but it wish it had been a little more original in its delivery. 3.5/5 Stars

Thank you to @thedialpress and @netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was actually really cute. The thought of making a singular wish and losing your best friend/moving to an alternate universe is fascinating. Would your best friend still end up as your best friend if you were just meeting them for the first time today?

The plot addressed the "what if" questions of choices while also creating amazing chemistry with the main characters. Even the secondary characters were well thought out and brought serious life to this story.

Overall, I'm thankful for this read, it really was great!

*I received an advanced copy for review.

This Spells Love is one of those 13 Going on 30 sort of books. The kind where our MC wishes they had a different life and wakes up with what they wished for but isn't exactly what they wanted. Those are like freaking catnip for me. I think, especially right now as the world is kind of on fire, they're so relatable, particularly in reminding us that maybe what we wish for isn't exactly what we need.

Gemma has just gone through a breakup and does a sort of Practical Magic-esque psuedo-magic ritual in her aunt's bookshop that sends her to an alternate timeline where her best friend no longer knows her. In the alternate timeline she comes to the conclusion that the choices she made affected not just her, but everyone around her. As she comes to grips with her new reality, she realizes that maybe her best friend was meant to be more.

This Spells Love was a fun, quick read, great for fans of recently released Every Wish Way or author Livy Hart.

Thanks to Netgalley, The Dial Press, and Kate Robb for the ARC.

Another amazing debut romance! *swoon*

This Spells Love has so many elements I really enjoy in a book! It has a bit of time travel/magic and seeing what could have happened if you had made a different choice which I absolutely love in a book.

I really enjoyed the main characters of Dax and Gemma. They had amazing chemistry as romantic partners but also as friends. In addition, there were some great side characters who added a lot to the story. I just felt completely immersed in the story and really didn’t want it to end! It was one I thought about when not reading it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again.

This book is a complete delight! If you like romance this one was so so cute!

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

What a ride! This was a fun, sweet friends to lovers story with a twist. Not really witchy, but there was a spell involved. Very funny but heartfelt. There was some frustrating will they/won’t they dynamics for a bit but I guess we needed the tension… I was throughly invested from the start and couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out! Great read. 😊

PS. Publisher, there were a couple of errors/inconsistencies. In chapter 29, they’re having a drunken sidewalk moment and she asks him what he’s thinking about, but then it says he doesn’t wait for an answer so it seems like he asked the question? Which would make more sense since she was deliberating: I love him. I love him so much it physically hurts. “Whatcha thinking about there?” I ask. He saunters over and pulls my hips to his, kissing me hard without waiting for an answer. “About how much I fucking love you.”

Soon after in chapter 29 it seems like it should be “take” not “make” because you don’t make risks: “Sometimes the best risks are the ones you make with your heart.”

And at the end of a chapter the text just abruptly stopped like it was cut off short. But I didn’t mark it and I’m sure y’all caught that!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC of “This Spells Love” by Kate Robb in exchange for an honest review. This romantic comedy offers a unique and quirky story with endearing characters, making it a fun and heartwarming read.

One of the things that stood out to me was the book's quirkiness. It revolves around a love spell that goes awry, adding an element of magic and surprise to the romance. The humor and wit woven into the story make it a light and entertaining experience, and I often found myself giggling at the characters' antics.

The relationship between the main character, Gemma, and her sister, Kiersten, and their Aunt Lily is a highlight of the book. Their banter and their strong sisterly bond bring depth to the characters and make the story relatable. Nana's eccentricity and Gemma's more practical personality create a balanced and enjoyable dynamic.

In the romance department, Dax is a standout character. He's both charming and swoon-worthy, and the slow development of his relationship with Gemma, from friends-to-lovers, is well-executed. Their connection is sweet and sizzling, making it easy to cheer for their love story.

The only reason I didn't give this book a perfect 5-star rating is because the ending was a bit rushed, and I would have liked more exploration of the alternate reality that Gemma finds herself in. Nevertheless, this minor issue is balanced with the overall enjoyment of the story.

In "This Spells Love," Kate Robb has created an enchanting blend of romance, magic, and humor that will leave you with a smile on your face. This book is a delightful choice if you enjoy romantic comedies with a touch of the supernatural and a friends-to-lovers theme.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Trade Press for providing a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own and are honestly given.

After a drunken night where she casts a spell to forget recent heartbreak, Gemma wakes up to find that her life is totally different (from her job to her family relationships to her best friend, Dax) and is forced to confront what she really wants. This Spells Love is a fun, easy read with engaging writing and a fun set-up. Although I still enjoyed it, I think I preferred some of the other time slip/alternate timeline books I've read this year, and I struggled sometimes with the self-involved, immature choices Gemma made, the general angst, and the fact that we spent so little time seeing Gemma and Dax in their actual timeline. Despite these quibbles, I would still read something by Robb and would recommend this book to patrons looking for a time slip romcom that focuses on the female lead's personal growth. 3.5 stars.

I was unable to finish this book. I thought the premise sounded great, but I didn't like the characters and grew bored quickly. Unfortunately, not a title I would recommend to others.

The humor , the spice, the storyline..omg! I enjoyed reading this book cover to cover! Something about getting a new start not realizing the domino effect one person can cause! I do wish there was more magic involved being at first glance it seemed witchy!

This is a cute and light read! It was easy to fall into.
I was pleasantly surprised to find its based in Hamilton, Ontario!! And i could actually see the different scenes in the book.
I was not impressed with how Dax was presented in "the other" life, but I get they both can't be successful in both at first. The point is for Gemma to grow and learn how to succeed and help others do the same. I just really fell for Dax and felt protective of him :)