Admittedly, I started this and put it down. When I decided it was time to read it since it had been sitting on my shelf for a bit, I was hooked right in. Who hasn’t wished they had never dated someone? I have, more than once. Gemma was a super relatable character and Dax was such a swoon-worthy best friend. This was a fun little jaunt into a “what if?” world where the grass may or may not be greener on the other side. Falling for your best friend is a whole can of worms that takes a brave soul to open. The cover is STUNNING.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When a young woman tries to forget her ex by casting a spell, she ends up in an alternate reality. After getting drunk with her sister, crazy aunt, and her best friend Dax, they perform a love cleansing spell. When she wakes up, she realizes that while she's never dated her ex, her life has completely changed. And her best friend? He doesn't have any idea who she is. To reverse the spell, Gemma has to perform all the steps again - including getting Dax to kiss her. But after awhile, Gemma starts to wonder which of her realities she wants to stay in!

What I liked: This book was captivating from start to finish. I couldn't put it down, and had no idea which way things were going to go. The relationship between Gemma and Dax - in both dimensions - was wonderful. I loved how no matter what about her life changed, there were some things that were constant.

What I didn't like: I honestly can't think of a thing. It was a lovely story!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, NetGalley and Kate Robb for this ARC. I can't wait until its out in the world!

Gemma makes a wish to never meet her ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, this means she also never meets her bff Dax because she also met him the same evening, same place.

The author attempts to trick the reader on whether Gemma went back in time or if she is in an alternate timeline. I really wanted it to be going back in time because an alternate timeline means Original-Gemma swapped with Alt-Gemma (THAT was not the magic wish) AND that two sets of lives are being changed.

(SPOILERS)
The Alt-timeline has significant differences in Gemma’s life. Why? Shouldn’t she be the same person up to the point if meeting Stu? The wish was about Stu. And poor Dax… poor Dax is not faring so well in the alternate timeline, but like in real life, he’s just going to have to suck it up and be stuck in the situation.

SPOILERS
The ending is where the reader learns this is an alternate timeline, after all. In the alternate timeline, poor Dax is going to need therapy. In the original timeline, readers get an awkward HEA ending. I literally turned the page and began reading the Acknowledgments before realizing that it wasn’t part of the story.

Marvel Universe has killed any interest I had in alternate timeline stories. Time travel, going back in time, re-doing time… those stories still intrigue, and I thought this book was the latter of those. Instead, alternate timeline confusion. I imagine alt- timeline stories are difficult to write. Still, the author wrote an entertaining book with characters I enjoyed.

This was such a cute story. Although I didnt think it was as great as it could have been, I did enjoy it.
Thank you!

THIS SPELLS LOVE by Kate Robb was such a fun, flirty read packed with humor, heart, and...sexy curling? Gemma is a flawed MC in all the best ways and I loved getting to watch her learn and grow through her relationship with both Dax (swoons to the max in both timelines/dimensions!) and the fully realized cast of secondary characters. Special shoutout to Dougie and Brandon for being straight #vibes, but the real secondary beating heart of this book for me was Gemma's relationship with her sister, Kiersten as the both navigate what they want out of their lives and futures. Gemma and Dax's relationship was bursting with heart and tension and has all the best elements of a friends to lovers romance with the fun spark of strangers meeting for that first time with that burst of serendipitous inevitability.

What would your life be like if you'd never met that *one* ex? What an intriguing idea and clever story. I found this book to be quite enjoyable; I'm always a sucker for a happy ending. It's an easy and light read with enough interest to keep it moving. Gemma and Dax are such a sweet couple, both just trying to make the most out of their situations.

There were a couple plot holes that, while admittedly minor, I had a hard time getting past. If Dax gets into curling because of Gemma's work thing in her original timeline, wouldn't he not have started curling in the altered timeline? Why was he curling consistently enough for her to stage that run-in?

My only other critique is that I found the spice to be a bit cringe-inducing. At one point, Dax's genitals are referred to twice as "glorious" and as "the Christmas present I didn't know I needed" all on one page. Their inability to keep their hands off each other is supposed to come off as heated passion, but not being able to stay decent while walking a couple city blocks just came off as juvenile, immature. Luckily, the spice is a fairly small part of the larger text, so getting past it and back to the rest of the story doesn't take much work and still allowed for an enjoyable experience.

This Spells Love reminds me of a romcom movie. A fun quick read. Probably one of the most tolerable adult friends to lovers I've read because there was a legitimate reason they weren't together and they get reset to strangers when she wakes up in a parallel universe. However, the characters and world didn't feel fleshed out. I wasn't satisfied with the ending, I wanted more explanation and unpacking. But overall I had an enjoyable experience.

This book was super cute! Very freaky friday, but in a witchy romance way. A quick feel-good read, where you can't help falling in love with the characters and getting invested in their storyline.

I loved reading about Gemma and Dax's relationship, in both timelines presented in the book. The juxtaposition between the two was really interesting, and following along as Gemma reflects on her own intentions and makes decisions about her future caused some self-reflection on my own part as well! The side characters also added a lot of depth to the story, especially Gemma's relationship with her sister, and she struggles through moving past just relying on her older sister to learning how to be supportive to her as well.

I would recommend this read to anyone who loves a light romance with a touch of ~magic~!

This Spells Love was really a delightful read. It was such a fun concept, and the best friends to kind of strangers to lovers trope was so interesting in it.

I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc. I’d definitely recommend this!

Gemma wants to get over her heartache so she does a kooky spell with her aunt and sister to erase her ex, only to end up in a parallel timeline. Her best friend, Dax, doesn’t know who she is and she starts to see him in a different light. Does she even want to return to her other life?

This was such a cute story! Full disclosure for anyone interested that wants to know as a pro or a con, there were a couple of pretty graphic sex scenes that didn’t really fit the tone of the book to me. I know some will want that and some won’t. A few f-bombs but otherwise a fairly clean story so they took me by surprise and took away from the overall story for me.

Anyway, those scenes aside, there were many things to like about the plot. I don’t always like to suspend reality but this was definitely done in a Ghost of Christmas Future (Present?) type scenario and I enjoyed the Sliding Doors aspect. Gemma was likable and fun, a character to root for. Dax almost seemed to good to be true but men like him do exist (I married one). There was great chemistry between the two main characters. The biggest part that was unbelievable was how could she stay with Stuart for so long with Dax beside her? I do know the answer to that question but I don’t think I could have done the same. Her great aunt and sister are wonderful side characters who enhance the overall story. Two things I loved that you don’t see often - her ex was not made out to be a horrible guy, just not right for her and Sunny was not portrayed as the evil woman who keeps them apart but as an incredible woman who Gemma couldn’t help but like.

This is a solid rom-com, chick lit book that I believe fans of the genre will enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!

4.5 stars ⭐️ This book was so stinking cute!!! I absolutely loved Gemma and Dax’s relationship. I loved the growth of Gemma as the story went on. Side characters were awesome and provided some good banter. Overall, would highly recommend!!!

I was provided a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my goodness! I so loved this book! I originally requested it because the release date is on my Dad’s Birthday and because the cover was cute! I am so glad because this story was just so darn cuuute! It was a fun love story with a little sci-fi/ish twist and I totally enjoyed it!!!! Would totally recommend for a cute lil spice romance with an endearing story!

I really enjoyed this book. It was smart and sweet. The what if was fun. Plus who can hate a friends to lovers trope.

Wow! I really loved Kate Robb's debut novel This Spells Love! It is very rare that I am this impressed with an author's debut. Gemma with a G is suffering from a breakup with her boyfriend of four years. One night her, her aunt , her sister and her best friend Daxon B perform a love spell for Gemma so she can erase her ex from her life. The spell goes awry and the night ends in a kiss between her and her bestie Daxon. When Gemma wakes up she is in an alternate timeline where she has never dated her ex Stuart but also her best friend does not even know her. Gemma creates a plan to get Daxon to be her best friend again in this new timeline so she can kiss him again and reverse the spell and go back to her old life. I really enjoyed this light funny read. I think the author is extremely down to earth and funny. She made me laugh many times throughout this book. She wrote relatable characters with real life drama and emotions. Gemma is a lovely, awkward, hilarious and deeply caring character. She loves her family and her friends. She goes through a journey of self discovery while in this alternate timeline. The friends to lovers / strangers to lovers/ second chance romance was very creative. I enjoyed the spice scenes and the awkward funny dialogue between Daxon and Gemma. I liked the the curling, and the costume parties the most. I liked how Gemma thought she already knew everything about Daxon but she still had a bit to learn and her attempts at befriending him went a little wonky at first! Very good book and a talented author!

A very fun and cute story! a classic rom com but with a few twists (spells) along the way. I already love a friends to lovers story line but appreciated how funny and creative this one was!

I’m not usually one to read romances with a paranormal twist to it, but I really liked the sound of the summary. Our heroine Gemma is depressed after a breakup with a long-term boyfriend. With her aunt, sister, and bff Dax at her side, she does a love spell to make her forget about him. It sends her into an alternate timeline where things are very different, including the fact that she and Dax hadn’t met.

I enjoyed this story very much. You couldn’t help but root for Gemma to get everything she wanted.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I fell in love with this book quickly.

To begin with, the idea of doing a spell and waking up in an alternate universe, where one small decision completely changes your life for the next few years, is always such an interesting concept to me! And with so many fix-it fics and alternate universe stories on sites like AO3, I’m sure the concept of a book where the original plot is an alternate universe fix-it fic will appeal to a lot of readers out there!

This Spells Love felt effortlessly hilarious to me, the narration and characters providing so many funny and enjoyable moments throughout the story! For most of this book, I was just having a good time reading through this story and seeing what new and shocking discovery Gemma was going to find in this alternate reality of her life.

I also really enjoyed the characters and seeing their relationships change from the version Gemma knew in her old life. From the description, we know that Dax in particular is going to have a lot of focus as he meets Gemma again and they try to become friends, but I found it very interesting to see what things changes and what stayed the same in their relationship! I also really enjoyed Gemma becoming friends with a side character, Sunny, and how she was intimidated by such a pretty girl in her space before realizing pretty girls are awkward and need friends too!

However, as nice as this book was, it also hurt at times. While changing the night Gemma met her ex meant all of these little changes in her life, it also meant a lot of little changes in other people’s lives that snowballed into much bigger problems! There is a moment near the end of the book that changes the way Gemma sees this whole experience, something that Gemma fights to make better for her friends in this alternate universe, and I wasn’t a fan of how readers didn’t get to see the endings for both universes. There is a big question mark looming over one half of this story’s ending, and I wish I got concrete answers.

That being said, I was a really big fan of this book, and I’m excited to see what other books Kate Robb writes in the future!

I couldn’t put this book down! Absolutely loved it, couldn’t stop reading. I loved Gemma and Dax and her sister and Aunt. Each of the characters were so perfectly placed and I loved how everything, especially the love story, unfolded. I’m so glad I grabbed this and only wish it wasn’t over yet.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well this was a super cute!! There are some adorable and funny parts. This had all the things you love to read in a romance book with twist and turns ups and downs. And a little spell casting to shake things up. Love all the banter and the sensible agreement between the eight legged creature.

4 1/2 stars!

This was such a cute story and the cover is so pretty!

It's a friends-to-lovers trope, which I'm not a big fan of on account of all "if I kiss him/her, I'll ruin the friendship" thing. Fortunately, this story has a twist in the form of a spell and an alternate reality.

I liked Gemma and Dax and the differences between the reality and the alternate. Gemma's sister and aunt were awesome secondary characters and always there to support her in what she needs. The quirky store was another fun addition to the story.

Loved the ending and the epilogue!

Language and explicit scenes.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.