This reminded me of 13 going on 30 but the adult version which is basically a dream come true. This was friends to lovers goodness with the perfect balance of high jinx and “awwww” moments. I’m already preordering a physical copy I loved this so much, thanks so much for the ARC!

Who wouldn't want to erase an ex from your past?

Gemma has just been dumped--what's worse that the relationship wasn't even great, and she still got her heart broken. In a drunk haze, she jokingly casts a spell to make it so she had never dated her ex--she just needs to seal the deal with a kiss from her best friend Dax.

Gemma wakes up and gets her wish, but in this new timeline she never met Dax and they never became best friends. More than erasing her past with her ex, she wants Dax back in her life.

I've never liked the friends-to-lovers trope but I am always looking for the book that proves me wrong, and Kate Robb hit the mark. The book makes a point to discuss how relationship dynamics change when one friend falls for another, and this, apart from the spell gone wrong, is the main conflict. The shifting timelines solidify that Gemma and Dax have a special connection that defies time.

They had a sweet relationship, and I loved the tension of wanting someone you shouldn't really. Gemma and Dax are friends first, which is a strong foundation for how they treat each other as romantic partners. I would've loved to see more of Dax in the original timeline though and I would've LOVED to see something from his point of view.

Overall, this was a solid romcom! I love when romcoms feel exactly how I feel when watching a romcom.

What a perfect debut novel! Magical realism + second chance romance + dual timelines.

When Gemma and her straight laced, good on paper, boyfriend, Stuart break up she (and her sister and aunt) do a spell to “go back to the beginning” so that the relationship with Stuart never happened.
The next morning she wakes up to a different life, where her best friend Dax doesn’t know who she is and she has a clean beauty small business (her dream!).

As she navigates a ‘do over’ with Dax and re-evaluates her life, she wants Dax to be more than her best friend.
She decides to go back to her original timeline/life because she sees that her changes, changed everything for Dax.

I revceived an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This Spells Love is a sweet friends to lvoers second chance romance with the perfect spritz of magical realism. I thought the main characters were great. Even though Gemma was a little annoying at times, she does experience some much needed character growth that helped. I like how the author addresses the time old question of "What if I had made other choices" that I'm sure we have all asked ourselves at one time or another. It was well thought out and I like that there was no clear right or wrong choice for the FMC until the end. It made her more believeable as a real human being. The MMC was wonderful. Strong supportive best friend type. This book is marketed as a rom com and though it had its funny moments I feel like a lot of them would have come off better on screen and some of them were a little cringe. Overall this was a solid read and I will be checking Kate Robb out in the future.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it’s a book that sat with me a bit after I finished it.

At times I felt like it was a bit all over the place, but maybe that’s a bit normal when you’re reading magical realism.

I really loved the friends to lovers in this. My only two things I wish were a bit different is I don’t feel like we really got much or Dax’s side which could have made this really really cute. Although I think it was clear how he felt about her, I wish this was a dual POV. I also wish when she changed timelines that there was more to her life than just lusting after Dax. I really liked Gemma as a character and would have loved for her to be a bit more dimensional.

Besides that, I thought the magical realism was done well, I loved aunt livi (hi, poodle) and I thought Gemma was funny, I liked that she was successful and family oriented. Dax seemed sweet and perfect and I loved the two of them together.

This Spells Love

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Awww such a cute book! I’m not always a fan of the wish/do over trope, but I thought this one was well done.

Gemma was broken up with her boyfriend of 4 years and wishes it never happened. But as her wish comes true, much of her life has shifted, including her best friend Dax. She works through figuring out what she wants while trying to help those around her.

I thought this was such a warm cozy book. I picked it up thinking it might have witchy fall vibes with the curse, but it could honestly be read anytime of year!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

I’m new to reading fantasy so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book - but what I received was a really well written and charming book. The female main character got on my nerves because she was a bit selfish but in the end it just ended up being a quirky part of her. I would definitely recommend this book to people who are new or experienced with fantasy!

This was such a cute romcom! It was my first time reading anything by this author and I really enjoyed it! There were moments that I wasn’t a huge fan of the main female character, she could be so dang selfish! I realized quickly that this was part of her character development. I ended up loving how it all turned out!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Kate Robb for the advance read copy!

I’m not a huge fantasy reader, but when it comes to stories about alternate realities or timelines or whatever you want to call them, they're my weakness. I read this in one sitting and never got bored, which is usually my problem with romance books. The main heroine was a little selfish and a little bit dumb but I think she was dumb for the sake of the story. Anyways I really enjoyed this and would recommend this to people. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute and charming book! The characters are relatable while still giving cozy romcom vibes. I love how I’m instantly transported to a lovely 90s classic with a magical twist. I will absolutely be adding this to my fall reads.

I absolutely adored this book! The alternate reality aspect was done perfectly, Gemma was easy to root for, and Dax was incredible, and the friends to lovers arc was simply *chef's kiss*

This book is different from what I've read in the past in the sense that it deals with magic that not only makes her ex forget about her but makes her best friend forget about her as well and place her into an alternate reality where certain things are different. I think anyone who wants a pinch of magic and read a friends-to-lovers that starts over would enjoy this.

Gemma Wilde wasted four years of her life with her ex-boyfriend and wishes to forget it ever happened. Her aunt tells her she found a book in the donation pile that they should sort through over margaritas. A spell is found to forget about her ex and Gemma, her aunt, her sister, and her best friend Dax decide to do it. But what ends up happening? Dax forgets about her.

This was a fun, quick read that has a bit of magic. However, if you're looking for a magical book, it may not be for you because the only magic done is at the beginning and the end.

As for any questions/criticism about the story (in-depth on my Goodreads with a spoiler tag on it in case, this review is seen by others), the magical essence of the book is very scarce and seems a bit off. For example, the items weren't exact and the spell still worked she kissed Dax because it was in the spell but it was Dax who forgot about her, not her ex but everyone still remembered her. Gemma was a bit self-centered and would do things even after that person would tell her otherwise.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kate Robb and Dial Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.


This was a cute, fluffy, low-stakes romance.


Gemma our FMC has just gone through a recent breakup with her boyfriend of four years and is kind of going through a bit of a damper. She gets together with her sister, aunt, and her best friend Dax for a tequila and ex-boyfriend bashing evening to pull her out of her slump when her aunt mentions a book that she came across. It ends up being an old spell book of sorts and they proceed to do a 'love cleanse' spell so that Gemma can speedily put her ex behind her.


When she wakes up the next morning in a hot strangers bed she continues on down the rabbit hole of what seems to be an alternate life. One that would have existed if she was never in her four year relationship and what it would have been like.. The only problem is , the only ones that remember her in this alternate life is that the only ones to really remember her, not the before her but her at all is her sister and her aunt.


So , I liked this well enough. I really didn't get on very well with the FMC. I found her to be really flighty and self-absorbed, whiney and annoying . But that's okay because at the heart of the novel I feel it's about self-awareness, reflection, and the value you have in the people closest to you.


There's a dash of magical realism and time travel which I love, overall it focuses more on the rom-com aspect of the book. I didn't really connect to any of the characters very much - probably due to not liking the main one. LOL but that's okay, as a whole it was an enjoyable read.


Friends to Lovers
Magical Realism
Time Travel
Alternate Life
Low Stakes Romance
Sisterly Love

This was the fantastic fall read. The touch of magic in the story was perfect. I fell in love with both Gemma and Dax and their parallel universe relationships.
Warning the book did have me craving donuts.

publishing December 5th, 2023

wow, I had a ton of fun with this one! a story about Gemma Wilde, who after getting dumped by her long term boyfriend, performs a love cleansing spell to forget about her ex. it backfires and has consequences, which involve her best friend, Dax. (won’t spoil anything!)

Gemma aka Gem was a great FMC, and I thought Dax was a very charming character. Her family were also a really fun supporting cast.

if you like friends to lovers, a dash of magic, and a very fun premise with equally entertaining characters, this one is for you! It reminded me of 13 going on 30 in some ways.

what a fantastic debut by Kate Robb. I read it in one sitting!

thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

i loved this book 😭 i’m such a sucker for rom coms with a twist and banter and the friendship and the spice. i loved Gemma, and i loved how she wanted to see everyone around her happy and for them to thrive. i love her relationship with her sister and aunt, her aunt is the cookie fun character who has all the wisdom but makes you earn it lol. i also loved the dynamic between Dax and Gemma, not just their friendship but how they weren’t able to get back to it even though she ended up in another timeline and he didn’t remember her. their banter and companionship made my heart swell. the end made me so happy bc they got the best of both worlds and figured out who she could be with dax or even without. her beauty shop. this was a great debut novel and i will gladly read anything Kate Robb writes. 5/5

thank you random house and netgalley for the e arc in exchange for my honest review!

I felt like this book had the potential to be better than it was so I’m giving it 3 stars. I was all into it at the beginning but then found it lacking some in the middle and towards the end.

Gemma and Dax- I liked their characters. Friends to lover trope is always a good one. There was also some funny laugh out loud moments during this book.

The whole time wrap, love spell, thing was a little weird the way it was written. I wanted more to that. The message of not taking what you have for granted and to take a chance was good.

Overall, it was a nice read but could have been better for me. But that’s just my opinion, some will probably love this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House books for sharing an ARC with me. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

I wanted to love this novel, I did, and though it proved for a fun enough read, I found myself slogging toward the eventual end. For one, I'd expected a very witchy/supernatural romance story, but the spell that pushes Gemma into this alternate reality felt a bit too convenient (and then unexplored) for my tastes, asking us to simply go along with it - as many of the characters do. And that lead to a ton of minor plot holes. Second, I just couldn't love Gemma, particularly that she wouldn't immediately get the signals from Dax once we meet him. Kate Robb is a wonderful writer, and the dialogue did crack me up at times, so I'm excited to see what her next book holds. This one just wasn't the one for me.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this so much! Ahhh! It was so good. What a solid debut! When I first saw this book I thought it would be a witchy romance because you know me… I hardly ever read synopsis and if I do, it’s a very superficial read. I was so wrong! This wasn’t a witchy read but a time/dimension travel book. It was such a good surprise!

Gemma and Dax 🥹 I love them. They are the good kind of friends to lovers for me. Gemma realizing that Dax is her true love while he gets to know her for the first time because he has no idea who she is brought the perfect ammount of angst. Gemma was so good, but Dax is the one who’s earned my heart in here. What a perfect man 😍

I would have loved a few more chapters in the end, but I am very happy with how everything turned out. Magical realism can go very well or very bad, but I think this book is the former. I totally recommend this book!

Rating: 4.5/5
Steam level: Open door, 2-3 scenes, high level of detail

ARC provided by Dial Press and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

A hot, fun, heartwarming friends-to-lovers, sliding doors romance. The bit of magic was just enough to pull us out of our world and into this delightful debut!