Gemma has just broken up with her long term boyfriend, Stuart. Shes mourning the relationship. One night they drink and bash on the ex. Her Aunt Livi has a spell book and they cast a spell. Gemma won't have met or know Stuart. Gemma wakes up in a stranger's bed and it seems the spell has worked. The only bad thing is her best friend Dax doesn't remember her. Gemma needs to try and befriend him so they can redo the spell.

This one was fun. The whole what if. How a different choice can change our lives. It made me laugh out loud numerous times and cry. An overall fantastic read.

I absolutely adored this debut book by Kate Robb. I devoured it in 2 days and enjoyed every minute of it. Friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope, and I loved the twist this one had with one of the friends not remembering the other.
In this story, Gemma is getting over a breakup after 4 years in a relationship and does a “love cleanse” to get over her ex. She wakes up the next day with her life very different, and her best friend Dax doesn’t remember her.
Typically stories with magic, time travel, or alternate universes are hit or miss for me, but this one was the perfect mix of magical and believable. The pacing was good too and it didn’t take a long time to get to the plot when the “new timeline” started. I also loved the side characters, which is rare for me. There’s still an air of mystery of how it will all turn out without the stress of any betrayal or conflict.
All in all this is a fun, cozy, feel good story that explores what happens when you fall in love with your best friend, and what you’d be willing to give up in order to keep it.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

I couldn't put this beautiful book down. I picked up a copy of an ARC at ALA2023 in Chicago and somehow I also got approved for an e-Arc on Netgalley. The cover caught my eye at ALA23 and then I read the description on the back and fell in love with the book before I read it. Thank you to the publisher and ALA for letting me read this book.

A whole new world and different chance at life awaits for Gemma one morning. She was shocked and confused as heck when she was into a different realm! I loved how Gemma had to really really think on things and how to cope in a whole new world.

I thought it was an interesting take on Gemma and Dax. I loved their connection and how well they just clicked. I loved the conversations that they had. It just made me root for them. It felt like a rom com with a twist of magic and fun.

I will say that I did like this part in the book which made me smile:
'Goodnight, Daxon McGuire.'
'Goodnight, Gemma McGuire.'
'It's Gemma Wilde, you Drunk.'
He shrugs, smiling. 'Slip of the tongue.'"

I will say there is some steamy and spice in this book but done in a cute and fun way. I thought it went really well with the whole story. This was such a fun read. I read this book in two days. I could not put it down! This book made me laugh and giggle!

It's a must read if you like: meet cute/second chance/time travel/different realm/comedy/romance/fast paced story!

I wish i loved this book more. It was such a great idea but the writing was definitely not. The ending was cute but the rest was not. Most of it sounded like a horny teenager wrote it. It gave Wattpad vibes. I was not vibing with it. She never even made decisions for herself. She relied on everyone else. Overall, just not an amazing read.

A sweet and heartwarming romance that will make you swoon. Adorable characters, tender moments, and a feel-good plot. Perfect for a cozy escape into love

cringe. good idea, iffy execution. i’m into the idea of an alternate universe but her reason for staying in the new timeline was too dumb to make sense. like all of what happened in the other universe easily would’ve happened if she just communicated better with everyone. i wish we had more time with bff dax over bf dax. but they made a cute couple.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the author in exchange for an honest review.

"13 going on 30" meets " Practical Magic". This was a darn cute little romantic comedy and I am nothing short of obsessed.

This story follows Gemma, who has recently been broken up with by her boyfriend Stuart (yuck) of 4 years. After a drunken night of shenanigans with her Aunt Livi, sister Kiersten, and best friend Dax they decide to perform a little ritual to change Gemma's past so that she never dated Stuart in the first place.

Well.. it works, and now we're in an alternate reality that has some ups and downs of its own. I so enjoyed reading Gemma figuring out 1) what the hell was happening, 2) what was she gonna do about it, and 3) what was ultimately the best decision for her life and the lives of the people she loves most.

You will not regret picking up this Kate Robb book, highly recommend!

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!