Such a cute romance novel!

Growing up, my shows were Save by the bell, 90210, and Melrose Place. As a young kid/teeny bopper, I definitely relate to Brynn LOL!! I mean I know we all did it. Watch the same shows over and over Saturday morning and was in love with the fictional chacon that we watch on tv 🤣 this story definitely reminds me of my younger days and I enjoyed it.

Brynn, looking for her happy ending. She thought she had it down but going through a divorce made a rough patch on her current life. Her going from reality to fictional character life has made her realize who she is and what she wants/needs in life. I adore Brynn and I am happy she found her happily ever after!

Josh amazing book boyfriend! Works out, hot, patient and puts Brynn first. I would swoon right away! He too had demons who was holding him down but just love Brynn, he too learned and face his fears.

Love both of the characters and I enjoyed reading this novel.

This is my first ARC from NetGalley and thank you for allowing me to be part of it!

This was such a fun and cute magical romance!

If you’ve ever loved any TV show to the point where you couldn’t stop binging it, reminiscing about your favorite characters, and generally wondering where they are now, this is a MUST read.

Aside from the cozy small TV town setting, the book itself has a couple you can’t help but root for, a love triangle (but no OWD), a couple of spicy scenes, and basically everything you need to make this your next comfort read.

This is the perfect summer book, taking place in a coastal town, or as a fall book, with the magical elements.

I enjoyed This Spells Love, but really loved this one! I definitely recommend picking it up.

Thank you Dial Press/PRH and PRH audio for review copies of Prime Time Romance! This is a fun read, I loved the premise as I am a fan of teen dramas from days gone by (I grew up with the original 90210) and this was a fun read and audiobook during a busy back to school work week. A perfect escape read. I felt the romance itself was a bit flat, some of the tension and chemistry was missing for me as was some of the depth that takes a romcom read to the next level for me but overall a fun read with a creative plot. Recommended for a late summer beach read vibe or a cozy Fall night.

I was so excited to be approved for this book, as I adored Kate Robb’s debut last year. Prime Time Romance, like her previous novel, requires the reader to suspend disbelief (just a smidge) as unimaginable and travel through space/time occur. However, it’s done in a very cutesy way so it absolutely works. I love that the MCs of this book are transported into a television show and take over as two of the characters. I kept getting Pleasantville vibes while reading, and how can you go wrong with that?!

I appreciated the creativity of this book and its overall premise that the MCs have to solve some of the problems of the town before they can work their way out of the show and back to reality. I felt like this aspect of the story was so strong that it overshadowed some of the romance for me, but overall it was a fun read!

If you were a fan of teen dramas like Dawson’s Creek, you will love Prime Time Romance. It’s a fun ride that has lots of nods to shows and Easter eggs for fans to find. Kate Robb really leans into all the classic teen drama tropes and plot lines (love triangles, the town bad boy, small town shenanigans, forced proximity, etc) The magic is never fully explained and didn’t make the most sense to me, but I liked the idea of being transported into your favorite show enough to overlook it. Brynn and Josh are very sweet together and I loved seeing their friendship shift to something more. Yes, they make mistakes and have communication issues at times, but what tv drama doesn’t? The ending felt a bit rushed, but the epilogue was a wonderful full circle moment and left me with a smile on my face.

I mainly listened to the audiobook of Prime Time Romance and really enjoyed the narration by Kristyna Ruth Zaharek and Sean Patrick Hopkins. Zaharek was fantastic as Brynn and really captured all the emotions so well.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW: divorce, death of parent, financial concerns, grief

*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*

This story follows our main character, Brynn who is 30 years old, divorced and just trying to make the best of her situation. Unfortunately, she ends up at a bar with some friends and ends up running into her handsome roommate: Josh. While they aren’t close, it’s clear these two are friends in a way. Since Josh is a gentleman, he doesn’t want Brynn to go home alone and he agrees to go with her.

Once home, Brynn queues up her favorite show: Carson’s Cove. It’s one of those soapy small-town teen dramas that we all love. However, it never got the ending it deserved and after Brynn makes a wish for her birthday, she and Josh end up in Carson’s Cove as Sloane and Fletch which seems like a dream at first.

Quickly, Brynn realizes that she’s living the life of her favorite TV character but things aren’t exactly as they seem. Everything she believed to be true is not and things aren’t happening as she imagined they would in the show. Coupled with the fact that she can’t help but feel chemistry with Josh, things are as chaotic for Brynn as they are for Sloane.

Brynn and Josh are both dealing with personal issues as Brynn is still trying to cope with her divorce and believing in love again. Josh is struggling after trying and failing to save his father’s business and also dealing with the grief of losing his father. It would be a lot to deal with in the real world but being in Carson’s Cove only seems to amplify the issues these two are ignoring in their real lives.

Since it’s a romance, things don’t go unresolved as they did in the show’s series finale. Of all the books I’ve read this year, Prime Time Romance felt like such a breath of fresh air. It was nice to see the author paying homage to these shows while also poking fun at them and even, making her own show. Tbh, I’d watch this if it ended up becoming a TV series as it would be so much fun but that’s a talk for another day.

Kate Robb is doing such fun things in the romance genre and I truly cannot wait to read This Spells Love and see what she does next. If you haven’t picked up this book yet, you’re truly missing out.

"Is love on the small screen better than the real thing?

Newly divorced on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Brynn is sick of heartbreak. She thought she had found her happy ending, but now she's living with a roommate, Josh, to afford her mortgage, and she's trying to adjust to her new single life. At least she's got Carson's Cove to binge, her beloved 2000s teenage soap. The show ended unexpectedly on a cliffhanger after five seasons, and the two main characters, Sloan and Spencer, never got to declare their love for each other. The show is still perfect in Brynn's eyes; despite all the drama that goes down, things always have a way of working out in Carson's Cove...unlike her own life.

So when a birthday cake surprisingly shows up on her and Josh's doorstep, Brynn makes a wish for the one thing she's always wanted (but has failed to achieve herself): a happily-ever-after.

The next morning, she doesn't wake up in her apartment. She's in Carson's Cove...and Josh is there too. Everyone seems to know them, except they're not Brynn and Josh; they're Sloan, the sweetheart of Carson's Cove, and Fletch, the town's bad boy. And to get home, they have to make Brynn's wish come true by ensuring Sloan and Spencer, the hometown heartthrob, end up together at last. But as they spend more time together, Brynn and Josh realize that Carson's Cove might not be as perfect as seen on television...especially when they start developing feelings for each other in a plot twist no one has expected. Will they stick to the script, or will real love change the story forever?"

I mean, who hasn't wanted to disappear into their favorite TV show. I'd be in Star Hollow in a second!

While I enjoy the premise with magical realism throughout the book, the writing itself wasn't for me. I liked the characters! But it still felt too surreal for me, and I was more distracted by that than wanting to watch Brynn and Josh get together. I don't think it's a bad book at all. It's just not the book for me.

*I received this arc from Netgalley for an honest review.
At first, I was like, "Oh no, I just read a story like this." But no, the plot in this story felt more like a little push in the direction you really wanted in your life. No one really wants a perfect life. We just think we do.
Getting plopped into a show to actually be the characters was a lot for the characters. Until Brynn realized that she liked a little messy in her life and she had that at home. Her and Josh had great chemistry, and I loved how the story ended in their own real life. It's better than perfect.

This feel good rom-com was like if The Good Place and Dawsons Creek had a baby.

After a nasty divorce, depressed Brynn makes a wish on her 30th birthday to find her happily ever after. This magically transports her to her favorite 2000s teen drama “Carson’s Cove”, along with her roommate Josh.

The story follows Brynn (now Sloan) and Josh (now Fletcher) as they explore the town, figure out how to get back home and fall in love.

While I would have liked a couple more heart felt and tender scenes with Brynn and Josh to really build up their love story, I still very much enjoyed how they fell in love even though it felt a little rushed.

This is the book for you if you love 2000’s TV nostalgia, small town romance, friends to lovers.

Thank you to Random House for letting me get an early read of this one!

A perfect rom com for September/October time!! It just gives those vibes! I think anyone that was a fan of this spells love will be absolutely obsessed with this one as well.

📚ARC Review 📚

Primetime Romance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brynn has always found comfort in watching/rewatching her favorite teenage show, Carson’s Cove. When having to deal with the hard times that life has thrown at her, it’s her favorite escape. However, when she wakes up and realizes she is now apart of the show, she sees things a little differently. Will she get her long overdue happy ending?

I absolutely loved the concept of this book, the setting was perfect and reminded me of Dawson’s Creek with a little extra touches here and there from other tv shows as well. I felt all of the nostalgia of an 90s/early 2000s teen drama show while reading this. My millennial heart was happy!I loved the dual point of view and both of the main characters and their banter. I like how they had to overcome things within the show that they took back to the real life. I do wish there was a little bit more explanation of the magic with Sheldon’s character, but the author kinda tied it in towards the ending. Which I did think the ending was super cute! Overall, it was a sweet, feel good, fast-paced read.

This book will publish on September 3, 2024. Be sure to add it to your TBR list! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my advance readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

I lived for Wednesday nights on the WB/CW. Joshua Jackson was my ultimate crush, and a few years ago, I got to meet him while on my first date out with my husband post-baby. To say I was a hot mess was an understatement. I fangirled all over him, and he was so humble and kind.

To see Kate Robb’s teasers about her newest book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I absolutely adored her debut, so this was a no brainer. The concept was so fun. My inner millennial was squealing. The sprinkling of nods to some of my favorite shows was fun, and it had me aching to make a trip back to the creek to share in all the teenage angst again.

While there were parts of the book that I really enjoyed, I felt like the relationship between Brynn and Josh could have been developed a bit more. I loved the supernatural premise for the plot, and I enjoyed the way in which she turned some storylines on their head to keep us on our toes. Overall, this was a fun, nostalgic read that will have you wanting to pull out your old DVDs and reminiscing of the days of our youth.

Thank you to Kate Robb, Dial Press and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book for an honest review.

Robb sweeps readers away and into a story within a story filled with nostalgia, magical realism, and all the sweet, sparks-flying romance.

Ever since she was younger, Brynn found comfort in watching and rewatching her favorite teenage show, where everything always works out and the future is not so scary. But when she unexpectedly gets thrown into the world of her favorite series as one of its main characters along with her handsome roommate, what will she do to get her and the show’s long-awaited happily ever after?

This book made me smile, laugh, and instantly want to watch all my comforting 90s/00s TV shows. It was such an easy read to fall into, and I absolutely adored it! Brynn and Josh’s dynamic was one I couldn’t help but root for, and I loved seeing them have their own storylines that helped them through the rough patches in their real life. This was the perfect, sweet, fast-paced read!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This was such a fun story! As a millenial, I loved the concept and I felt all of the nostalgia for my favourite 90s/early 2000s teen dramas. I really enjoyed the setting and the stereotypical side characters that appear in every TV show. It was so fun to catch all of the nods to some of my favourite shows and characters growing up including Dawson’s Creek, Saved by The Bell, and even Chad Michael Murray. I do just wish that the relationship between the MCs was developed a bit more. Overall, this was such a fun and light read that I recommend checking out.

Thank you NetGalley, Dial Press, and Kate Robb for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

this had a promising start but personally for me, the spark between the leads fizzled out once the premise shifted into the magical realism elements. a lot of over-explanation of the fictional world and not enough character development for solid impact to be felt in the HEA. enjoyed the redemptive friendship plot line and references to familiar comfort shows.

the overarching theme was not to dwell on the old chapters (or episodes) of life to the point where they prevent you from moving on to the next. i loved how this was pitched in the first few chapters but wish so badly it had been expounded upon especially towards the end. i felt like any intended takeaway was left in the dust for the sake of staying overly loyal to the role playing plot.

read if you like:
— magical realism (mcs are transported into a favorite tv show)
— small town
— dawson’s creek/teen beach movie

thanks so much to random house for the digital arc in exchange for my honest thoughts

Incredibly Strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is for the lovers of late 90s/early 2000s teen dramas everywhere. I will say I have never seen dawson’s creek so I didn’t have an immediate connection to the specific nostalgia of this book, there is a bit of something for everyone. Above all I love how Robb uses her supernatural premises to actually further the story and they aren’t only plot devices for fun but say something meaningful about her characters. That maybe escapism through nostalgia isn’t something we should indulge in all the time, that it’s good consider new chapters.

Cute story, decent pacing, Brynn and Josh needed more time pre-cc!

“You can’t start the next episode of your life if you keep rewatching the old one.”

This book immediately drew me in, but kinda fell flat about halfway through. I love the premise and genuinely did enjoy the story and the nostalgic vibes I got while reading it! I just felt that the second half was rushed and that there was a lot of telling instead of showing, especially with the romance aspect. I also have a few questions… like Sheldon?? Is he a genie?? A wizard?? I needed more information on this blond wacko.

If you enjoy a quick, light-hearted read with very little spice, 90s/00s TV nostalgia, and HEA, give Prime Time Romance a try.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ✍🏻

If you enjoyed the teenage dramas that we all loved in the early 2000s, and you have also seen and loved the movie Pleasantville starring Reese Witherspoon and Toby Maguire then you are in for a TREAT, in the form of a mysterious 30th birthday cake with one candle and one magical wish...

Prime Time Romance is about newly divorced Brynne who finds comfort in her favorite on-screen drama, Carson's Cove. She believes things always work out for the best, and there's always happy endings. She feels like her life isn't where it needs to be. Single, living with her roommate, Josh, just so she can afford her mortgage and just not happy with life.

But is love on the small screen better than the real thing?

3.75⭐️ rounded up.

📺Roommates to Lovers
🪄Magic Realism
📺90s/00s Nostalgia
🪄Small Town
📺Light & Cozy, Low Angst
🪄Dual POV

Think Pleastantville x 90s/00s WB/CW teen soaps with a sprinkle of 13 going on 30 vibes and you have a cozy, low angst millennial feel good story.

Brynne’s comfort show, Carson’s Cove, has been her go to escape as she has adjusted to life post divorce and questioning if true love is only possible in fiction. After a terrible date and girls’ night gone wrong, Brynne cannot wait to get home. Surprisingly, her roommate is there to offer support. A surprise birthday cake delivery and birthday wish gone wrong leads to an unsuspecting Brynne and Josh to wake up in Carson’s Cove as characters from the popular teen drama. With guidance from a “spirit guide” Brynne, with the help of Josh, sets out to give the main character the HEA that never was due to a premature cancellation. Spending time with Josh changes Brynne and she starts to wonder if her ideals and fictional happy place is all she thought it was?

This was a fun and cute story. I enjoyed the callback to my preteen and teenage years of watching all the WB/CW shows. I wouldn’t say it’s the love connection between Josh and Brynne was super strong or all that swoony, or even the prime focus of the story but I enjoyed the story overall.