As a fan of the film Pleasantville and of quaint, small town TV series, I immediately connected with the character of Brynn and her desire to lead a happy, conflict-free life. Therefore, it was all too easy for me to breeze through Prime Time Romance. That said, despite the moral quandary of the premise and the seemingly developed storyline in Carson’s Cove, most of the characters felt less fleshed out than the novel portrayed them as, including Brynn and Josh. So too did the resolution— it was too quick and wrapped up way too neatly to be realistic. Therefore, I’m not sure Prime Time Romance will make its mark for most readers. Indeed, it unfortunately may become one of those novels that we often read and then, forget the details of entirely.

Unfortunately, I found this novel really lackluster. The plot was not interesting, the characters were boring, and so was the plot. I was disappointed in this one because I enjoyed Kate’s previous novel, but this one was a no-go for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC!

Prime Time Romance - Kate Robb

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re like me and grew up watching TV drama shows like Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek in the 90s/00s then chances are, you’re going to like this read. In this book, we follow Brynn as she tries to take her mind off all the things going wrong in her life by binge watching her favorite teen romance show growing up called Carson’s Cove. However, this time around she is joined by her bartender roommate (who she rarely spent time with previously and barely knows but luckily is very attractive), Josh. During their Carson’s Cove marathon, they are interrupted by a special delivery that magically sweeps both Brynn and Josh to the big yet small world of Carson’s Cove.

Instantly I was intrigued by the premise. I wanted something different and this definitely was a fresh breath of air. I’ve always imagined what I would do in my favorite characters shoes in the teen shows I grew up with and this book awoke those nostalgic memories.

The writing was great and immersive and there were moments I actually laughed out loud (which is rare!). My only qualm with this book was that the last quarter or so seemed rushed. So it wasn’t quite the ending I was looking forward to but overall I really enjoyed this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’ve ever rewatched a teen drama over and over and been unsettled over the way the series wrapped up, Prime Time Romance gives the chance to imagine if you were transported to a reunion season as the main character with control over seeing your desired ending through. You may realize the ending you wanted then, may not be what you’d want now, 15 years later. While cheesy at times, an enjoyable summer read.

Thank you NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group for the advanced digital copy! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a fun idea! I have seen several romance novels lately with a similar concept (i.e. finding love, but on some kind of TV show -- be it romcom style or gameshow etc.) but they're enjoyable and great reads for the summer months! I thought that the characters were fun and the situations endearing. I was recommended this title based on reading Kate Goldbeck's You, Again, and that felt like an accurate rec. Overall a fun title.

With a premise like this one, a book is either going to be magical or a mess. Sadly there was more of the former than the latter found on these pages for me. With such a go big or go home conceit I never felt like the story was fully committed to the craziness of waking up in your favorite teenage drama or the central romance. Neither is written about convincingly and made the book read like a lackluster YA novel that wanted you to find the feel-good moral.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for giving me this ARC!

Very fast paced! Very nostalgic! And just the tiniest bit creepy??? 👀 In this day and age of every teen drama getting a remake/continued storyline this story was an interesting look at what that might ACTUALLY look like if you happened to be dropped in the middle.

Kate Robb does an excellent job of integrating past storylines from the fictional ‘Carson’s Cove’ without making the reader feel lost or making the storyline clunky. I honestly felt like ‘Carson’s Cove’ was a show I had been watching for years, and that made it all the more eerie when the cracks started to show. 👀

I’m excited to see what Kate Robb gives us next! Magical Realism for the win! ❤️

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Kate Robb also wrote the previously reviewed "This Spells Love," which I gave 4/5 🌟, so I went in reasonably sure I'd enjoy this.
The publication date is 9/3/24, so I'm actually on time for this one, too!
I'd strongly recommend grabbing a copy of Prime Time Romance for anyone who really enjoys Teen Beach Movie, Pleasantville, and/ or Dawson's Creek.
This book has a lot of positives, aside from the super cute cover. It was such a fun, quick read, and the concept of ending up in the movie/TV show still feels really unique and fresh. I love that the FMC is a divorcee in her 30s, because that feeling of failure is kinda where I'm at right now (though I've never been even close to married), and I like being able to relate to the characters in stories.
What brought this down to a 3 🌟 review for me was that it felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because Pleasantville & Teen Beach Movie are about teens? And the romance - hand to God, I couldn't tell you the Love Interests name without looking it up. He was that forgettable to me. There was no angst, no sparks, no FEELING in the romance. While I don't need it to be explicit and smutty, I looooove angst, and this was not there.

As I said, overall, I give it 3 🌟. It's a fun, quick, magical read but I'd recommend it more as fiction, or even those who enjoy some YA style romance.

This book gave 90210 meets Freaky Friday vibes. It was a little too cheesy/far fetched for me. 😂

That being said, it was cute and sweet and had a happy ending, so I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Kate Robb for the ARC on Prime Time Romance! 🫶

Thanks Kate Robb and her team for letting me receive this ARC. The overall storyline was different any other books. It did kept me engaged in the book. I thought Brynn and Josh going into the tv series. It kinda reminded me of Dawson's creek vibes of the tv show they was referring to. I am rating it 3 stars for able to keeping interested in the storyline.

Couldn't make it through this one. DNF at 25%. The female protagonist was just too much. Really? Some guy basically hijacked your wish and stranded you and another person in fake Dawson's Creek and you're just like... yeah, let me at Dawson. Not for me.

This one was a little hard to keep up with and took a while for me to get into. It's basically a form a magical realism set in a small (made up) town within a television show. It's cute and a fun read though! Gave me a little nostalgic feel.

Brynn and Josh get sucked into her favorite TV show to give it the ending it never got. But it turns out the guy she thought was her dream isn't the one.

I love when a book is so engaging and feels nostalgic! Kate did such a great job with the pop culture references, I loved it so much! This was a super adorable, fun, small town, roommates to lovers. The MCs chemistry was on point and I loved how they each complimented each other well. The characters were just so likable and the humor, and whimsical / alternate universe aspect of the story was lovely and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Once again, Kate Robb has written a book that becomes an immediate comfort read for me. I absolutely loved her last book, This Spells Love, and was very excited for the opportunity to read this book.

After being transported into her favorite comfort sitcom, Brynn and her unsuspecting roommate Josh, find themselves trapped in the world of the show forced to play characters and create the perfect ending to the show.

I loved the idea of being sucked into your favorite teen drama, lord knows I watched enough of them growing up! This was a wholesome read (with a bit of spice 🌶️) that made me smile over and over again. I really loved the growth of Brynn and Josh and am definitely looking forward to following Kate’s career.

I really enjoyed the author's debut novel, and I was excited to jump into this one. I must admit that the premise intrigued me as it sounds like something I would have wanted to happen to me as a young adult. In the beginning, I started to feel like it was over the top and ridiculous. I couldn't stand the teenage-y-ness of it all. Then, Kate Robb really turned it all on its head, making the two MCs question the show they're stuck in. I love the ultimate selflessness of the main character and how the story was wrapped up. The one thing that felt very jarring to me was the open door sex scenes- perhaps because we were living in a teenage show. Overall, I'm loving the magical realism Kate Robb is bringing to romance and look forward to her next work.

What a fun book!! The town/tv show kind of felt like Stars Hollow, even with the MMC being more like Jess and the TV show’s MMC being more like Dean. That alone was worth the read hehe
Overall a quick light hearted romcom. There were two open door scenes but they were easy to skip. I didn’t feel like I missed anything pivotal to the story by skipping those scenes.

I love Dawson’s Creek and Pacer Witter so I really thought this book would be for me, but it was a bit of a letdown. The romance itself felt rushed and the grand declaration felt a little like it came out of nowhere. I wish I’d enjoyed this more but alas

Listen, my teen angsty meter was properly filled and I was all about this one! Every teen drama that I love with all of my 46 year old heart was represented and I devoured every minute of it! Now, I am team Dawson but that doesn’t mean I don’t love me some Pacey, so I knew exactly what was happening. 😂 (Plus, I definitely preferred Josh to Spencer, ha!)
I will absolutely be purchasing a physical copy for my shelf to go back and reread whenever I get the itch. Robb did a great job defeating the sophomore curse, kudos!

This ARC was so delicious! Fun, silly, light, thoughtful, romantic.... and a total love story for anyone whose first fictional boyfriends came from the CW! It was Dawson's Creek meets Riverdale sprinkled with references that had my heart singing for 90210, the OC, Mystic Falls, and the teen dramas that were foundational for my angst.

This read had a great FMC. I loved Brynn and her self-discovery post-divorce. Despite the fantastical circumstances, she was real and flawed and a "girl's girl" which we love! Even though, at times, her relationship with Josh felt rushed or sudden, it was sweet, quippy, tender, fun, and romantic. He is a new-age Pacey.... with a fictional book-boyfriend body, god bless him.

Outside of these two, I loved the enemies in this book, they were totally awful in the best way! on the happier end, the friendship that bloomed between the women was so great- strong, modern, and relatable. And Spencer just has me wanting to find all of my Seventeen Magazines somewhere in the attic and start putting posters on my walls again.

I ate this book up! It is so charming, original, and sweet! Please add this to your TBR and just get ready to settle into something cozy. Thanks to NetGalley, The Dial Press, and Kate Robb for the early read!

Also, for anyone who loves a good book dedication, this one is it!