Absolutely unique take on forgetting your ex!

Gemma goes through a bad break-up and her eccentric Aunt wants to do a “spell” to forget him. When she kisses her best friend, Dax, to seal the spell she can’t help but NOTICE the kiss. The completely-we-are-just-friends-platonic-kiss. But when she walks up the next day it the migraine of all migraines she can’t help notice that things have changed. She never dated her ex. Ok. . . Her and Dax are not friends. Not ok . . . Her dream that she has told exactly no one, EVER to own and operate her own store is actually a reality, weird.

Convincing her Aunt that she did, in fact, do a “spell” with her to change her history is much easier than having to get her best fried, Dax back. But now that circumstances have changed, she has to pick between the reality where she has it all or where Dax is happy.

It’s a beautiful story of love, sacrifice, and best friends finding each other across space and time.

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the eARC of This Spells Love. It was a great read!

I both loved and hated this book. I loved the different timelines and outcomes of her life, however it made me cringe at points. I thought it had a lot of sex for a book that I thought was a rom-com. (I love sex in a book, I just was surprised at the volume). Gemma was fun to get to know, and I'm so glad she ended up happy. I would love for a sequel to see where she and Dax are in a few years.

I love a good book with magic elements. And just in time for spooky season. This was a fun, lighthearted, friends to lovers romance. The characters were likable and it was a quick read. I enjoyed the humor and bit of spice. However, I do wish there was a bit more depth to the story to make it more memorable.

Gemma and Dax are both lovable characters and I’m always rooting for the friends to lovers relationships. I was hoping for a little more magic, but I still appreciated the cleansing spell element that transported Gemma to an alternate life where everything had changed. A cute little magical romcom that got me in the mood for the Halloween season… and gave me a serious craving for donuts.

This Spells Love by Kate Robb is a paranormal romcom and the story of Gemma and Dax.
 
Gemma and Dax are best friends, but it always stayed platonic. However, I could tell that there were sparks between them and the potential for more. And they finally get the chance when Gemma performs a spell that goes wrong, and she lands in an alternate timeline where she doesn’t even know Dax.
 
I really liked the witchy aspects of this book that were cozy and magical. Gemma has a great family and support system behind her.
 
The alternate timeline provided a situation that allowed the question of what if certain aspects were different. This was fascinating, but at the same time the gap to reality still stood and the story didn’t properly combine the two. I wish we would have seen more romantic scenes of Gemma and Dax in the present timeline. The plot is also very simple and not that much happens. In addition, I wish we would have gotten Dax’ pov.
 
Overall, if you’re looking for a cozy read, this book might be for you. 3 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

This was a fun read. Had some adult humor, adult language, and open door. The witchy vibes were good and very fun for the fall season.
Didn’t really connect with the characters, but it was a good time.

I love that this rom-com is mixed with magic. Reading this was like drinking warm tea under a warm blanket. The trope of friends to lovers was done really well and I was rooting for our couple. I loved the deeper thinking aspect of what would you do if this happened to you?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This Spells Love is a rom-com that follows a woman named Gemma in the aftermath of a breakup. She jokingly recites a love-cleansing spell with her quirky aunt, sister, and (of course) her attractive, heterosexual male best friend. This spell takes her to a parallel universe where she gets to explore a relationship with said best friend, and some chaos ensues.
I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. I realize a major part of the book was about Gemma ‘finding herself,’ but I just could not get behind her character. Like how is one so imperceptive of the feelings of everyone around them?! Even if it was a parallel universe, her lack of intuition drove me nuts. It was a light, quick and easy read for me though. Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

This Spells Love was such a cute and fun read! I loved the concept of friends to lovers and absolutely loved Gemma and Dax. It addressed the age old question would you start over and change decisions or keep them how they are?

I was so invested in Gemma and Dax's relationship and what was going to happen, I didn't want to put this book down! So excited for Kate Robb's debut and can't wait for her next books!

Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: Parental abandonment (past, briefly mentioned),

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-time slip
-friends to lovers
-a pet spider named Frank
-only one passenger seat
-horny curling

I love this book, I don't care how many times I read it I just adore Gemma and Dax's love story. Gemma is just so entirely relatable. Risk adverse, making choices in her life because she should, too scared to follow her dreams. But with a breakup and a spell/wish she ends up in a reality where she never meets her ex but an also isn't best friends with Dax anymore. This is the best of what if, what if you take a risk and follow your dreams, what if you take the risk and admit your feelings for your best friend, and what if you just leap. Gemma is the best and an amazing Main character.

But can we talk about Cinnamon roll Dax. He is just book boyfriend golden retriever perfection. An amazing friend, pining away, but in the time slip he gets to take shit shot. The consent in this book is chef's kiss and the sexual tension (every time Dax calls Gemma his last name I screamed). He is just the sweets and book boyfriend perfection.

The side characters in this book only add to it. Gemma's aunt, her sister Kiersten (if she could get her own book I would be so thankful because I adore her) and have i mentioned somehow I would be okay with Frank the spider as my pet. The sexual tension, the heartache of I love you enough to give you up. Kate Robb is a master of just effortless raising the stakes, banter, and just perfection and somehow. You can't not swoon and fall in love with Gemma and Dax's love story.

Steam: 3.5

This story has such a great premise that really brings a new level of tension to the friends-to-lovers trope! I loved the refreshing cast of supporting characters, especially the sex-positive, blunt “best friend” character being her older sister and a mother of three. Definitely add this one to your list if you enjoy light, humorous romances with a twist.

Synopsis: After a devastating breakup, Gemma wishes she had never met her ex, but when she inadvertently casts a spell to change her past, the unintended consequence is now her best friend Dax no longer knows who she is.

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Now, I picked this book because the title and cover art gave very "witchy" vibes and I love reading themed books during the different seasons, so I am slightly disappointed that this book was not at all what I expected it to be.
I also am not a huge fan of the alternate reality trope. BUT, having said all of that, I still really enjoyed this book. My problem with the alternate reality trope is that the characters tend to be different in the new timeline, I did find that Dax was not really as likable in the new timeline as he was described to be in the original and because we spent most of the story in the alternate timeline, I felt like I would have really loved to get to see Gemma and Dax form their relationship in her real timeline. I really loved Gemma in this book, and was so happy with the selfless choice she ended up making near the end of the book, which paid off for her! The "love story" was a very slow burn at first, it didn't take off until about halfway through the book, so if you are a fan of the slow pace, this is for you. Very minimal spice IMO as well.

I give this book a solid 4 stars, because as someone that is not a fan of the main trope, it won me over and ended up being really cute.

Heartbroken over her breakup, Gemma drunkenly casts a love cleansing spell from one of her aunt’s books to undo the night she met Stuart. The only problem is, that was also the night she met her best friend Dax. Desperate to return to her timeline and carefully planned life, Gemma works to get her best friend back and undo the spell with his kiss.

Given the title and cover, I was expecting a witchy romance (loving this subgenre atm!) but it wasn’t really, which might explain why it isn’t published until December. This book is a fantasy novel in the way that The Midnight Library is a fantasy novel. Gemma is not a witch but simply follows some instructions from a random book from her aunt’s bookshop’s donation bin and makes some guesses about how the spell will work and what conditions to perform them in, just for funsies, not actually believing anything will happen. And Aunt Livi toes the line between fairy godmother and eccentric aunt, which I actually love. Would not be opposed to a spin off about Aunt Livi and her book club. Love her!

The non-witchyness of the book did present one weakness though. There were lots of plot holes regarding the spell and alternate timelines, which would be easily ironed out if the magical premise was less ambiguous so as to clarify the rules of magic. Or just better utilise the spell book to clarify the rules of magic while keeping the same level of ambiguity and witchyness. That’s not to say that there can’t still be silly curveballs like stained pages and undecipherable text, but I needed a better frame of reference to work with.

If this book wanted to lean more into the witchy/festive vibes, I could see that happening with Aunt Livi, her book club, and the costume parties, but even though This Spells Love isn’t a witchy romance, it’s still perfectly enjoyable as a contemporary romance!

…But it isn’t really a friends-to-lovers romance. We don’t spend very much time in the original timeline where Gemma and Dax are friends-on-the-cusp-of-something-else before we’re whisked off to the alternate timeline, where Dax doesn’t remember Gemma anymore. Here, she has the perfect opportunity to start fresh and explore a romantic relationship with alternate-Dax, but instead, she’s hung up on recreating their friendship while alternate-Dax is clueless about the whole ordeal (leading to some silly goofy moments in the beginning where Gemma comes off as a creep) and just trying to get to know her as a potential romantic partner (he warms up to her quick considering how creepy Gemma came off at first but I’ll allow the plot progression haha). Maybe Gemma felt that it was imperative to maintain the status quo with alternate-Dax in order to reverse the spell, but so many things about that doesn’t make sense and ultimately seem irrelevant to reversing the spell. I think it comes down to characterisation and the aforementioned plot holes.

Anyways, when Gemma and alternate-Dax eventually got together, their dynamic came off much more physical rather than rooted in friendship (and by physical, I don’t mean hooking up so much as constantly talking about wanting to hook up). There were many moments when Gemma would think back wistfully on a memory from their friendship that alternate-Dax would never know, which only highlighted that they weren’t friends in this timeline.

Also I didn’t get why Gemma was forcing the two timelines into a dichotomy: “Stay or go. Dax as a lover or Dax as a friend? My dream or his.” With her knowledge of the choices and outcomes made in both timelines, she could have course-corrected in either timeline. Maybe the different timelines are governed by fate rather than choices, but in any case, this story doesn’t seem to be too concerned with the more speculative fiction aspects of its premise. Speaking of speculative fiction: [[[ Spoiler: How can you throw in the possibility of a third timeline and then not do it??! It would have been so crazy if Gemma ended up in a third timeline, but I get it, there’s not enough pages for that haha. ]]]

All that said, I stand by my earlier statement that this book is perfectly enjoyable as a contemporary romance! I had fun in the first half, I felt giddy, all that good stuff. (Another shout out to Aunt Livi!) As the story progressed, I had more and more logistical questions, but if you’re just here for the romance, this book will do the trick! I can see it doing well on booktok.

Thank you, NetGalley for an early copy of This Spells Love by Kate Robb. This book gave 13 going on 30 vibes, just without the age progression. The "what could my life look life if...". I found myself excited to keep reading this book and finished it rather quickly. Friends to lovers with a creative magical twist. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for the most part, it was fun and easy to read! The spice was light and fluffy and added to the story rather than distracting from it, which can be hard to write.

Romance books alway lose me a little when "I love you" is dropped too early but I know that's just par for the course. I did highlight him calling her by his last name repeatedly and that might make me a hypocrite. I was a little confused when she went back to her current timeline and things were a little different, but I was happy the changes helped her make the most of her dreams.

Stars - 3.5
Chili Peppers - 2

This was a cute read. I will say it took me a while to start liking this book, but once I did it only kept getting better. I think this book had the potential to be a 4 + Star rating, but it had a few flaws that kept me from getting there.
What I liked/loved

I loved Dax, even with all his grumpiness! It is so cute to see him be so in love with Gemma. I loved how he is so respectful of her choices, asking not assuming. I really loved the wacky aunt! I loved seeing the growth of Gemma and I loved seeing Dax and Gemma’s relationship grow. I enjoyed watching them get together.

The spice, not too much, but not too little. What spice there was was tastefully descriptive. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the dirty talk too, but this didn’t seem like that kind of story or those kinds of characters, so it was good that their spice matched their personalities.

The way the story ended, no spoilers, but I loved the ending.

Things I Didn’t Like

First, Gemma, initially! At first, she was super annoying and honestly, I almost DNF’ed this book really early on because of it. Any problem she had she ran to her aunt, her sister, or Dax, and spending years dating a guy to be safe is not really how I like my female main characters to go! But as she began showing signs of maturing and as more of the story unraveled I got to know and ultimately ended up liking her.

The second flaw, there are definitely a few gaps in the story of how time/dimensional travel works in this world and the why. I know it sounds picky but Gemma jumps to a different dimension where she has a store, Dax and her have never met, and she hasn’t spent 5 years dating the loser ex. That is a lot of changes in her life stemming from (I am assuming) 1 night when she didn’t meet Dax or Stuart five years ago. Also, she lives in a small town, and hangs out in a lot of the same places (since nobody seems surprised to see her there), how isn’t she hasn’t met them in all this time? You know this is true because Dax doesn’t know her and Stuart doesn’t acknowledge her.

But as you will note, I said things I didn’t like, not things I hated, because in the end overall this was a cute read, just get ready for a few minor hiccups in making the story make sense. But hey, this is fiction right, so who says it has to be perfect?

Truly, get ready to enjoy a cute romance, because that is exactly what this book was.

3.5 - thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!
This book was cute and fun, with a alternate universe, friends to lovers plot I really enjoyed. I struggled with the pacing at times but the ending left me wanting more of Dax and Gemma!

What a fantastic debut! While I loved Dax and Gemma's friendship and relationship (although it came about rather quickly), I really loved Gemma's relationship with Kiersten. I will absolutely pick up the next thing this author writes.

✏️ Author: Kate Robb
📅 Pub Date: December 5, 2023
🌟 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Gemma Wilde always chooses the safe route. Her 4 year relationship has just come to an end, and the only thing she's really sad about is the upset to her perfectly planned life. After a night of drinking with her sister and aunt, Gemma performs a spell and wishes she'd never met Stuart. The spell required her to kiss someone, and in the absence of another man, she quickly kisses her best friend Dax. When she wakes up in a completely different universe, she has to come to terms with the choices she's made and how they've affected those around her. And just how much she truly loves Dax.

Oh I loved this book! For a debut it's thoroughly wonderful! The alternate universes being explained so succinctly and showing the differences in timelines. The strong female relationships. The SMUT! While not over the top sexy, it has very sexy scenes sprinkled in that only add to the storyline, (and make you appreciate just how hot Dax is!) Watching Gemma grow into her own and become confident in her decision making was also a huge plus. She grew so much and it's always wonderful to see female characters find themselves and become strong women in thenprocess. I adored this one! Just the right mix of sexy with minor magic to start off early fall! I'll be looking for any and all Kate Robb books in the future!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Robb, and Dial Press. ❤️

I am thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the different two different worlds and her relationships with the people in the worlds. The way she was able to both grow as a person and the relationship was aspect made this for me.

2.5⭐️

Gemma Wilde has always made the practical choice. Have grown up on a volatile household, she works a safe job and lives in a safe condo and dates the safe guy. That is until her boyfriend of four years breaks up with her. In an attempt to make her feel better, Gemma’s aunt suggests a spell she came across to make her forget her ex. Joined her sister, aunt and best guy friend, Dax, Gemma performs the silly spell with no expectations.

But when she wakes up the next day, the spell has worked in ways she never could have excepted. She never dated her ex, she didn’t take the “safe” route and opened her own skin care shop. Oh, and she never met Dax. She had been in love with her best friend for quite sometime but now they had never met. Gemma has a second chance to build their relationship while also worrying about what living in a different timeline could change.

This was a bit too wishy-washy for me. The fact that the aunt just so happened to find this spell and that she seemed to ‘know’ things was seen throughout the book but there was never any discussion. The fact that they agreed to try this spell and then substituted ingredients that they didn’t have. Like, I’m pretty sure if a spell is going to work it needs to be followed. This isn’t cooking.

I didn’t really enjoy being in Gemma’s POV the entire time. For being this person that always made the ‘safe’ decision, she was very flighty. I also didn’t like a scene where Dax has been hurt and basically asks Gemma to go home once they got done at urgent care. And instead of listening she just barrels over everything he says and then stays on the couch without him knowing. That just felt off to me.

If you like low stakes, friends to lovers, this might work for you! I think I just need higher stakes.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing this ARC to me!

THIS. BOOK. OH MY GOD. I’m talking toe curling, feet kicking, stay-up-all-night-to-finish-reading levels of good.

Dax and Gemma felt like slipping into a warm bath. Their banter was magnificent, their friendship felt so real and beautiful and wholesome. The way they found each other at all these pivotal moments in another life had me *swooning*.

I wish I could do a magic spell with my cool aunt, kiss my best friend and go back in time and read this book again for the first time.