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.

Gemma drunkenly performs a spell after a recent breakup to fulfill her wish of never having met her ex, only to wake up the next morning in an alternate reality where she’s lost her best friend. ✨

This started cute enough for me, but it quickly felt like I was the victim of false advertising. The description makes it seem like a silly rom-com, but the book definitely had more of an angsty new adult feel, which isn’t my fave. 😕 The fatal flaw for me was that you like Gemma and Dax well enough when the book starts, but as soon the alternate reality comes into play, Dax is bland and one dimensional and Gemma is immature and selfish. This one wasn’t for me, but if you like angst and new adult reads it may be for you, because the book wasn’t bad, I just wasn’t the right reader for it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 12/5/2023.

What fun this was! This Spells Love by Kate Robb was a majorly enjoyable read. Themes of love, family, friendship, and dream chasing fill this story with a certain "just can't put it down" quality. Very cute. Canadian readers will appreciate the Easter egg setting of Hamilton, Ontario! 4 Stars.

This was super cute! I loved the character of Gemma and thought the secondary characters were also really well developed. I did hope there was going to be a bit more of a twist or unique plot point when it came to the time travel/multiverse aspect. This is a pretty well-worn trope in media and I was hoping for something different but ultimately found this one pretty standard. Also thought this story was heavily hinting the great aunt was magical but never was confirmed. Perhaps it was just supposed to be obvious without confirmation or maybe that was just me! I would have liked a bit more personality for the MMC as he was sort of a stereotypical “good guy” which is fine but not as layered.

Thanks to Dial Press and netgalley for an early copy!

This started out very good but unfortunately, I began to lose interest halfway through. I honestly can't pinpoint why because the story was very good, I think I maybe just wasn't in the mood for this kind of story at the time and that's on me. By the end, I was rushing through just finish it (it had a great ending though!)

The writing was great, I loved all of the characters, and the plot was so fun! Friends to lovers usually isn't my favorite trope (I'm an enemies to lovers girlie) but this was done very well.

I'd say this is the perfect book for the fall season!

This was a sweet love story that included time travel, friendship, hope, and love. It was a fast read that left me feeling hopeful and positive. Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

Really enjoyed this debut from Kate Robb! Gemma and Dax were such a fun read, and I love a good time flip / alternate reality story! The side characters were great too, especially the quirky aunt.

Big thanks to Dial for the arc!

I’m not usually one to read magical realism or alternate reality storylines, but I was in the mood for something witchy and decided to give This Spells Love a try. It wasn’t quite as witchy as I had hoped for, but I could have gotten past that if there weren’t so many plot holes involving magic and the alternate reality system.

I also think I would have loved this story more if the plot had involved more of the “after.” Most of the storyline stressed me out- so many things went wrong. It didn’t feel happy or funny. I felt conflicted with her falling in love with one version of her best friend, especially when the two versions were slightly different. And, as much as I love a spicy book, it seemed out of place in this story.

But I liked the lessons she learned in this story and I liked the way the story ended. I would have liked a little more of the end, though, to see her content with the way things worked out. And I would have liked a little more character development for Gemma, her family, and Dax.

Thank you, NetGalley for an early copy of This Spells Love by Kate Robb. All opinions are my own. This review is posted on my Goodreads now and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book was so good! I had heard from a few of my bookstagram friends that it was a great read and was pleasantly surprised when I received the ARC from NetGalley.
Gemma, in attempts to heal a broken heart, accidentally changes her whole life. As she works through the realization that she may not have everything she wants, she learns what truly makes her happy. I loved the relationships between Gemma and her family, and with Dax. I loved that Gemma could remember her old life, in her new life. This story was funny, heart wrenching at times, a little spicy and overall a quick, enjoyable read.
“This Spells Love” will be released on December 5, 2023.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this Advanced Reading Copy!