Have you ever wanted to live a day in the life of your favorite tv show? Well then do I have a book for you! This made my millennial heart so happy and felt so nostalgic. We follow Brynne and Josh who are transported into Brynne's favorite teen drama after she makes a wish on a magic cake. After the show ended on a major cliffhanger - Brynne finally gets the opportunity to give her favorite characters the ending they all deserved. However, she soon realizes teen her and 30 year old her are in very different places of life and that sometimes you have to move on and embrace change.

This book was everything I thought it would be. It gave me all the feels and I loved all the easter eggs to the shows I grew up watching. I enjoyed that Josh had depth to him and wasn't just there to be a love interest. His POVs were enjoyable to read and I thought he had an interesting backstory. Brynne was a very solid FMC, but I felt I mostly saw her as Salone and not Brynne. It was mentioned several times that she was "divorced and broken" but had a hard time feeling it. Her character development and realization of needing to move on with her life makes up for this though.

My critiques are I felt like the ending was a little rushed and tied up in a nice little bow a little too quickly. There was almost no angst and build up! I also wish we had a little more time with Brynne and Josh.

Overall, a solid 3.5 from me! Kate Robb has definitely become and auto read author.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book!

If you loved the teen drama shows from the 90s you'll love this book! Brynn makes a late night birthday wish & awakens to find herself cast as the girl next door from her favorite teen show 15 years ago, can she give her favorite character the happy ending she missed when the show was cancelled early? That is the premise for Kate Robb's new book & the story did not disappoint, even better is seeing if you spotted all the easter eggs sprinkled throughout the book. A solid 4 star romance with plenty of spice, avoid if that's not your thing.

Recently divorced, Brynn's life is a complete and utter disaster. Her so called friends forgot her birthday and she is desperate for a break. She makes a birthday wish that becomes a reality. Well sort of... She ends up inside her favorite tv show!

This novel reminds me a lot of the old movie called Pleasantville except in color. :P

Pros:
The ending is good
Quick and lighthearted read
Dual POV
Magical

Cons:
Romance wasn't as intense as I would have prefered. Spice level was around 3 out of 5

4.75 stars!!!

Kate Robb is SO GOOD at magical rom-come that feel like your favorite movie!!!! absolutely adored this one!

I was kicking and giggling my feet the whole time. I love Josh 💞🫠 & Brynn is so unique and fun. Somehow this book felt so nostalgic but also fresh and new at the same time! it gave me all the good feelings & I truly couldn’t stop smiling as I read it. Loved all the references to TV shows & how quirky the town was.

I was invested!!! I also really liked how Kate wrapped everything up. It was sweet & unique. I need it as a movie…please 🥹🙏🏼

Thank you NetGalley & Dial Press for this eARC! This is my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️

This is a fun, quick romance read for lovers of typical young adult rom com. When the main character is feeling discontent in her own life, wakes up as a character in her favorite show, she realizes that the grass isn't always greener. From the moment she arrives she is trying to find her way back to reality. Cute story with likeable characters. Great pallette cleanser!

A cute romance set in a picture perfect town similar to what you find in the TV show Gilmore girls. I enjoyed the main characters and their journey together. I felt their romance story was rushed a bit but overall I enjoyed the novel

3.5/5 Stars - Rounded up to 4. This book was such a cute premise and very unique. I loved the town of Carson's Cove and felt myself pulled into the unique nostalgia that only a 90's teen drama can provide. Josh was also such a great love interest and one that you grew to love more and more with each page. I think the book could have been about 50 pages shorter as at times it felt a little repetitive but overall this was a great follow up to This Spells Love and I can't wait to read what this author comes out with next!

I found Prime time romance to be a brilliant story that captivated my heart from the beginning! This for sure is a story that would enthrall you and is guaranteed to pierce you deeply with impactful emotion, and all romantic elements.

4.5 stars!This book!!! I did not know what to expect for the plot, so was a bit thrown off at first but quickly fell in love. Brynn is post breakup and struggling to find her path in life and is searching for what she thinks should be her happily ever after. She watches her favorite comfort show on repeat (very relatable as someone who has rewatched vampire diaries at least 20+ times…which speaking of..the Ms. Mystic falls reference…chefs kiss) and fantasizes about her dream life. But is the perfect HEA she’s envisioning actually what she wants?

Josh was so swoon-worthy…“Her hair is wild and she smells a little like barf. And fuck, I think I really like her” I laughed out loud at his character’s lines, and also got goosebumps at his sweetness.

This was such a fun read and definitely one to add to your TBR’s! Very different from the traditional rom-com book format and I really enjoyed it. Comes out on September 3, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Sweet, fun book with just enough spice--I couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed the nods to previous teen dramas I grew up watching. I also really loved the character development of Brynn and Josh!

This book is super cute. This author does cheesy nostalgia really well. Her first book was amazing and I’m glad I gave this one a try. I love her nods to millennial favorites. This one was paced a little slower and it was a little harder to get into. Overall I really enjoyed it and her writing style. I’ll definitely read books by this author again.

*Arc review for Net Galley*

Right off the bat, this book catches your attention. I loved the flow and writing style. I loved how relatable the FMC is and her life situation.

Then comes the twist where they are sucked inside Carson Cove and can only get out when they fall in love. I loved how their adventures helped them deal with their real world problems. I thought the romance part was fine, cute, fast; typical for a rom com.

As a teenager, and still as an adult, "Carson's Cove", was/is Brynn's favorite show. In the real world, Brynn, with her thirtieth birthday rapidly approaching, is already a divorcee, and has not found her "happily ever after." However, on "Carson's Cove" everything always turns out right; mistakes can always be fixed. The only thing that did not turn out right was the ending. In the fifth season finale, Sloan Edwards, the girl next door, is planning to tell her best friend Spencer Woods that she is in love with him. A series of mishaps prevents that from happening, and the season ends with Spencer heading off to LA to become an actor. It was the perfect cliffhanger on which to end the season. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled, and Sloan and Spencer never got their happily ever after.

But maybe they will get their second chance after all. At 12:01 am on her birthday, a delivery man rings Brynn's doorbell and delivers a small white birthday cake with a candle. The delivery man sees "Carson's Cove" on the TV and reveals he is a big fan as well. Josh, Brynn's roommate, lights the candle and tells her to make a wish. Brynn wishes for the perfect happily ever after. Upon awakening, she finds herself in "Carson's Cove" and she is now Sloan. Josh is also there, except he is now Fletcher, the bartender and "bad boy." It is fifteen years after the show ended, and both Sloan and Spencer have returned to "Carson's Cove" after years away. The "Extra Extra" a/k/a Sheldon has brought the show back to life with some minor adjustments. In order to get back home, Brynn has to help Sloan achieve her happily ever after.

However, that will prove difficult, as Spencer is not as wonderful as Brynn always imagined him to be, and when Spencer and Brynn/Sloan finally kiss, there is no "spark" for Sloan; though Spencer thinks the kiss was amazing. Also, there is an attraction to Josh that Brynn cannot deny but knows she must try to resist (unsuccessfully). As she "reconnects" with other characters on the show, she begins to realize that "Carson's Cove" was not as idyllic as she believed. Everything only works out in the end for a select few characters; other characters are routinely disappointed and/or mistreated or are not much more than afterthoughts.

As Fletch, Josh is the bartender at his aunt's bar, which is a familiar role, as his father ran a bar, and Josh attempted to keep it going after his father died, but with the Covid-related shutdowns, the bar failed. In "Carson's Cove", the Bronze was a dive bar that struggled to stay in business. Josh sets about cleaning up the bar and makes it a place where the townsfolk want to hang out, not avoid. This, more than anything, changes the dynamic of the town. However, it also presents an obstacle to Sheldon's happily ever after plan, and he is willing to take extreme measures to ensure he gets the result he wants. Brynn goes along with the plan in order to protect Josh and others, but when it really matters, she realizes that happily ever after is not what she wants -- that the messy parts of life are necessary and important and make the good parts more meaningful.

If you grew up in the 90s, when you read about "Carson's Cove", you will think about "Dawson's Creek." In the Afterword, the author states that the book is intended in part as an homage to "Dawson's Creek" but also an homage to the other teen dramas of the era.

Super cute book. I was entertained and enjoyed the story. I think the book will be a success. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I can see how some people would like this book, but unfortunately it was just not for me. I went into this one completely blind, which was maybe a mistake. The premise of it was that the two main characters got stuck in a TV show that resembled Dawson's Creek. I realized I don't really like books with this premise, I really enjoyed the author's last novel which had components of magical realism, so I'm surprised I had such a strong dislike for this one. I didn't connect well with any of the characters. Quite frankly, they all irritated me. The plot was not interesting and did not keep me engaged. I had to skim the last 50-75 pages or so. I have it two stars simply because I did make it through the whole book and didn't DNF it.

this is fucking great actually!!! omg! a fuck you to the people who ruined dearly loved shows i might add.
got this as an arc from netgalley no comments except that this is a breath of fresh air i loved it so much! i also love cake so i think cakes were incorporated nicely!

First of this cover is so cute and will be ordering it when it’s released. This story was cute, it did feel a little bit like insta love and I would’ve liked to see more of a build up in the relationship in the story. If you are a fan of popular shows like OTH growing up you will enjoy this book.

Prime Time Romance literally feels like a fever dream. As someone who fully enjoys rewatching teen soap operas (and would have been personally victimized by a cliffhanger series finale) this was a very fun premise. But unfortunately the love story fell flat for me—I think because it was such a quick read, I just didn’t feel like there was enough of a build-up. I also felt like there should have been less mystery around how Brynn and Josh ended up in Carson’s Cove. I finished this book feeling like I was not left with enough explanation, which I really didn’t like.

Kate Robb’s "Prime Time Romance" offers readers a delightful escape into the world of television romance, blending nostalgia with a refreshing twist of reality. Set against the backdrop of the beloved 2000s teen soap opera, Carson’s Cove, this novel explores the age-old question: Is love on the small screen better than the real thing?Protagonist Brynn finds herself at a crossroads after a painful divorce, seeking solace in the familiar embrace of Carson’s Cove. Robb crafts a charming narrative where Brynn’s birthday wish magically transports her into the world of her favorite show, alongside her roommate Josh. Suddenly inhabiting the roles of Sloan and Fletch, they embark on a quest to ensure the long-awaited love story between Sloan and Spencer comes to fruition, in order to return home.Robb skillfully intertwines elements of romance, humor, and self-discovery as Brynn and Josh navigate the whimsical yet unpredictable landscape of Carson’s Cove. The author cleverly juxtaposes the scripted perfection of television with the messy realities of human relationships, prompting readers to question their own notions of love and destiny.One of the novel’s strengths lies in its character development, particularly the evolving dynamic between Brynn and Josh. As they confront the challenges of their temporary personas, sparks fly, adding depth to their burgeoning romance. Robb’s exploration of authenticity versus scripted narratives adds layers of intrigue to the plot, keeping readers engaged until the satisfying conclusion.While "Prime Time Romance" offers a delightful escape into the world of television fantasy, some readers may find certain plot elements predictable. However, Robb’s witty dialogue and engaging storytelling more than compensate for any minor predictability, ensuring an enjoyable reading experience from start to finish.Overall, "Prime Time Romance" is a charming and heartwarming novel that will appeal to fans of romantic comedies and television enthusiasts alike. With its blend of nostalgia, humor, and genuine emotion, Kate Robb’s latest offering is sure to leave readers smiling and believing in the power of love—both on and off the screen.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing/Dial Press Trade Paperback for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Kate Robb is perfect if you really enjoy Ashley Poston. I got her first book, This Spell’s Love on a whim from Book of the Month. I was pleasantly surprised with how good of a debut it was so I was excited when Prime Time Romance popped up on NetGalley.

Prime Time Romance is just as good as This Spell’s Love. Something I really enjoy about both her books is that there are magical elements that make the conflict for the main characters external, and not internal. It helps avoid some of the more overdone tropes. I also love Kate Robb’s love interests. They’re sweet and caring in a way that’s not over the top and cheesy. I adored Josh and how he cares for Brynn.

If you were a teen who ate up CW shows you’ll enjoy this love letter to the ‘90s and ‘00s teen dramas. There’s a ton of subtle and non-subtle Easter eggs and it’ll leave you dreaming about your favorite leading men from that time (Logan girl forever).