Member Reviews
This reminded me so much of “In a Holidaze” by Christina Lauren and I absolutely loved it! I love an alternate reality and that it was set in Hamilton as I new so many landmarks! When alternate Dax lost his store due to post pandemic struggles that really hit home and made me think of all the people who are currently struggling as a result of that. Overall I loved this book so much and am officially a Kate Robb fan girl.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy! This was a cute and cozy read that surpassed my expectations. I typically am not a huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, and while I still didn’t find it that believable (just a me thing), the characters and their friendship/relationship were so enjoyable to read. The side characters are also well-developed, and I am sad to say goodbye to them. I love that the book had a touch of quirkiness thrown in there, in the form of parallel universes and seeing the question “what if I chose this path instead?” play out, while the characters still seem believable. Such a satisfying, perfect rom com.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was a cute friends to lovers romantic comedy with a magical twist. The characters were all fun and charming. I felt that Gemma, the FMC, had good character growth throughout the book. This was very romance heavy with other plot points seeming like side-quests. I recommend this if you want an easy fall read!
This Spells Love is a witty, fun story full of characters that you'll love. It's a spell, a parallel universe, maybe moving out of the friend-zone kind of story with some pretty descriptive sex scenes (in case you are offended). Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook of This Spells Love, by Kate Robb. I'm definitely looking forward to more books from this author!
Fun, diferent, the time change was interesting and the developing of the story too. I like how the MC has to realized what she really want and the journey there, definitely enjoy it
This Spells Love is a cozy RomCom with a dash of the Butterfly Affect (I swear if you’ve seen it, you’ll understand). One change in your timeline can drastically alter your life and those around you. I loved every second of this book and the constant butterflies from Gemma and Dax in BOTH timelines. I love that Kate Robb made this story feel like I was in Hamilton, ON and got to enjoy Dax in his curling pants. I giggled at the banter between Gemma and everyone in this story. It was a cozy and slightly spicy read. It was the feel good book I needed to read. I loved this and am thankful to have gotten an opportunity to read this and give my honest opinion. Five star read.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SUPER CUTE & MAGICAL
**Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this advanced digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.**
I never really enjoyed the friends x lovers trope, I prefer enemies x lovers, grumpy x sunshine tropes. BUT I gave this one a chance and I LOVED IT.
The story begins with Gemma and Stuart, (her boyfriend of 4 years) breaking up. Feeling upset, she gets together with her quirky aunt, and sister to have a drunken night to feel better. Her aunt provides Gemma with a book that has a spell to cleanse the memories of her ex from her life. She wants to forget she ever met Stuart.
Enter Dax, Gemma’s best friend of 4 years as well. She met Dax the same night as Stuart, in fact she met Dax first. But as fate would have it, she left that night with Stuart instead. When the spell actually takes Gemma to a reality where she spent the last 4 years not dating Stuart, she finds herself wanting one thing, and one thing only. Finding Dax and becoming his friend again.
I really really enjoyed this one. I found it a little cheesy at first, but that quickly faded once the story really picked up, and Gemma was in her new reality.
I loved Aunt Livi!! She was hilarious. Dax was impeccable 🥲🥲 I really enjoyed how even in a different reality where Dax and Gemma didn't know each other, they were able to come together.
The story was well paced, and I finished it quite fast. I found the characters very loveable, and I felt the chemistry between Dax & Gemma. I also really loved that this took place in Toronto! The environment was familiar to me, and there was even a “The Bay” reference!! If you like contemporary rom-coms, but with a dash of magical realism, I’d say you will really enjoy this one! It gave me “7 Year Slip” vibes and I loved it. Overall, a strong 4 stars!! Will follow this author’s other works for sure!
I devoured this book! Adorable, funny, and witty ✅ I couldn’t put it down.
It reminded me of 13 Going on 30, except the main character didn’t age, she just travelled to an alternate universe where she was super successful.
I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers aspect, it was adorable and I was rooting for them the whole time. This is a great summer beach read.
Also, we all need an Aunt Livi in our lives. And apparently, a Charlie (hint: check out the acknowledgements 😏)
Gemma is dumped by her long-term boyfriend and decides to get over him by spending a much needed evening hanging out with her sister, aunt, and best guy friend, Dax. After a few too many margaritas, they decide to perform a love-cleansing spell to erase her ex from her memory.
Gemma wakes up the next morning and her whole life has changed. The spell worked, but she’s found herself in an alternate reality where Dax has no clue who she is. Worse, she’s stuck in this new reality for a full month before she can try to reverse the spell by getting Dax to kiss her. As she and Dax become friends again, she finds herself falling for him, and wondering if she should stay in this timeline or go back to her original life.
This Spells Love is a cute, lighthearted romance, and I loved it. I adore Gemma and Dax’s characters. They’re so relatable and their romance is swoony. Gemma’s relationship with her sister was also great. Who doesn’t want a sister you can eat donuts and drink with regularly?! I loved the exploration of what can happen when one seemingly little thing changes in your life. This book had me hooked from the beginning, and I couldn't put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!
So our fl in this book name Gemma breaks up with her boyfriend, Stuart, and her relationship ends later things go upside down for her. She didn't expect that to happen and found that her Aunt had a spell book, and was able to cast a spell which worked when Gemma thought the event would go well. Her relationship with Dax is sort of developing well, and I do think I find it cute as well as it is fun to learn about these two characters' dynamics!
I thought of this book as lightly well-written with magic and romance, though it was good that the author tried to make this story worth the read.
5 stars – This Spells Love by Kate Robb is a wonderful story! A true must read! This is Robb’s first release and I sincerely hope there are many more books to come. Gemma discovers an alternate “dimension” of her own life (think “Sliding Doors”) and sees how small, seemingly inconsequential, changes can affect her life. As Gemma comes to grips with launching or not launching her own business, losing a best friend who doesn’t remember her, a different apartment, not having a car, etc and she has to decide if she wants to return to her original timeline or stay in her new one. It is one of those stories that just makes you think…”what if…”
A big “Thank You” to NetGalley, the author Kate Robb and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.
This was utterly delightful from start to finish, with breezy prose that made even this slow reader feel like she was flipping pages at a swift rate, because the story flowed so smoothly and the pace of the unfolding narrative was impeccable. I loved the twist on the "relive your worst day or decision" trope, this time focusing on the collateral damage of that choice rather than the choice, itself. Robb shrewdly keeps the ex off the page, focusing the story on the heroine and her best friend, who's clearly the central love interest from chapter one. I loved the way she built the stakes (one of the reasons I adore a friends-to-lovers romance, because who wants to risk losing their best friend?), so as the feelings grow, so do the risks and complications. I also loved the butterfly effect one altered choice had on elements outside the romance, such as both main characters' careers, and the shelved creative pursuits of the heroine's overburdened sister. The humour is sharp, the details are fun and cleverly considered, and the love story so sweet, with a fated-mates feel that also demands the heroine earn her happy ending, and not just accept her destiny. Also, as someone who grew up with a dad who had a shelf full of curling trophies, the Oh So Canadian content made me smile. A debut I suspect will appeal to a wide readership, and ensure we see a lot more from Robb in years to come.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this lovely book!
Where to begin! I had already preordered this before receiving the arc cause of the author interview in the arc of “You,Again” (which was a 5⭐️ read for me) I thought the premise was so interesting and couldn’t wait to read it.
Gemma and Dax are just adorable from their friendship in the main timeline to the friendship to lovers in the 2nd timeline. I loved their banter in both worlds and loved every time Dax would notice little things about Gemma.
His slip of the tongue was just 🥰 he was an adorable book guy and just lovable and a sweet baby Angel. His love for Gemma in all forms was just beautiful. We love a SIMP OF A MAN 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Gemma’s arc is so relatable of being afraid of taking risks, and not fully trusting herself. To see where she begins and where she ends up was just really nice. And from being someone who could somewhat be self-centered (not fully) to making certain sacrifices was great growth. And her realizing that everything you want is on the other side of fear was truly inspiring.
I also loved the humor between Gemma and Kiersten, what a lovely sister relationship. And Aunt Livi was adorably eccentric.
Overall, such a good little read and I look forward to seeing any future books from Kate Robb!
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be, perfect. But if I could add a few more they would be: spellbinding, magical, and adorable. I loved this story. It gave all the comfort of Gilmore Girls, and the feel-good romance of your favorite 2010’s RomCom. (Only without the Stars Hallow small town). There is so much I could say about this story, listing everything I loved about it, but that would take forever (because I loved everything). But to name a few, Gemma and Dax are a match made in heaven, Aunt Livi is who I want to be when I grow up, and while this book has no mention of Halloween if feels weird perfect to read during my favorite season (which is fall if you didn’t get that). I absolutely recommend this story. If you need a little magic, a little feel-good love, or if you’ve ever wished you never met that stupid Ex.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! This story was such a cool idea, and I loved the characters. The one issue I had with this book was how spicy it was; it wasn’t advertised as such and I was surprised by how much graphic content there was. If you’re looking for that kind of story, then you would definitely enjoy this book. But I wish I had known before I read it!
4.5 stars! I absolutely loved this book! If you’re looking for funny and sweet Rom-Com then look no further.
Image going through a bad breakup and your hippy book loving aunt suggests a love cleanse…when you wake up the next day everything is different! You wake up in a different reality and get see how your life could be if you made different choices that you were scared too scared to make before.
All the characters in this book were so lovable, and Gemma and Dax’s love story is just chef’s kiss! ❤️
I received this book via NetGalley, thank you!
🌙✨This Spells Love✨🌙
⭐: 4/5
🔥: 2/5
Author: @kate_robb_writes
Gemma just got dumped by her boring boyfriend of 4 years, and she cannot deal, so she calls up her sister, her kooky aunt, and her best friend Dax to help her drink her sorrows away. After many margaritas, her aunt suggests they perform a love cleansing spell she found in one of the books in her store to wipe her memory of her ex. The thing about the spell is that she has to seal it with a kiss from Dax. When she wakes up, she realizes that the spell worked! Not only does it seem that she never dated her ex, but everything else in her life changed, including her friendship with Dax. This Dax has never met Gemma. The only way to reverse the spell is to convince him to kiss her.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was sweet and spicy with some humor sprinkled in. I really wish I had a visual aid of Dax in his Batman costume!
🍩Friends to Lovers
☕Alternate Reality
🍩Set in Canada
☕️Small Business Owners
🍩Donut and Coffee Enthusiasts
Thank you NetGalley, Kate Robb, and Random House Publishing for this ARC!
I'm not typically a friends-to-lovers fan, but I did find this one to be a good read. Perhaps that was because the whole plot was set up differently from a typical friends-to-lovers story, but I enjoyed this one!
I love a well done second chance romance. And this one did really well at it. I loved the banter between the fmc and mmc. And the grandma was hilarious. I couldn't put this book down. It's a top read for the year for me and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!!
I’m stuck on this rating…it felt like a 4 star read…but the steamy romance parts made it 3 star 😂 this is totally a me thing so please take that into account here! I don’t like steamy scenes, so aside from that this book was so good!! I LOVE the idea behind exploring what would have happened if a certain event never took place in your life. I also LOVE friends to lovers! And this felt like well done on that front. Characters were all very interesting & I love Dax especially. Such a good guy, genuinely…and I was so here for that. The aunt and sister were hilarious and the scene in the beginning almost gave me practical magic vibes when they were doing their thing in the apartment with the random spell book 😂😂 so yea, definitely going to recommend this book, with the added warning that this is pretty steamy!