I was excited to read As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr, marketed as perfect for fans of the Gilmore Girls and Hallmark movies. (Check and Check!) I settled in with my kindle, cup of tea, and thoughts of Stars Hollow, but by the 2% mark, I was pretty sure this was not the book for me: Early in the first chapter, Adina, a 25-year-old aspiring journalist, describes her mother as a “seasoned but very well-maintained forty-eight-year-old” (48 is not old!) who has guys in their 20s checking her out on dating apps while Adina has middle-aged men contacting her. This was not the vibe I was expecting.

The aspiring journalist badmouths the editor to whom she is unsuccessfully pitching stories, and then gets excited when he accepts her pitch about a small town where a condo development is being built in what she suggests is a real-life Hallmark movie plot. However, she does no advance research on how the town feels about the development and developer. When she gets there--financed by her mother as an investment in her career--and starts talking to people, she is surprised to find out that they welcome the development. Her research efforts while she is there are unprofessional, and she doesn't seem that worried about wasting her mom's money while she tries to find a story.

I ended up liking the love interest, Finn, and some other characters, like Adina’s mother. Adina, however, remained immature throughout. There were also explicit sex scenes, with use of the F-word and other non-Hallmark-friendly terms, which I was not expecting in a book pitched to this audience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book. My opinion is my own.

I love a small town romance! Adi is trying to break into journalism. She thinks she's found the perfect story pitch when a rich developer starts building in small town Pleasant Hollow with similarities to one of her favorite hallmark movies. But Pleasant Hollow is not what she expected with the exception of Finn Adams.

This was a cute rom-com with steam. Adi grew up in New York City and is bound and determined to make Pleasant Hollow fit her ideas of a Hallmark small town. Adi seemed very naive and immature for a 25 year old however. Some of her ideas are really over the top so I found I needed to suspend belief and roll with it. There were lots of references to tropes in small town hallmark movies. Finn is a likable character and was very supportive of Adi.

Thank you to the publisher for my e copy of this book.

I love Meredith Schorr, I have read all of her books, they are among my favorites for romcom, so I was overjoyed to get an advanced copy of As Seen On Tv, as Meredith’s books always are, it was well written, entertaining and full of love and laughs. I would recommend this book for those who are fans of romantic comedy and those who enjoy Hallmark movies.
Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an e-ARC which o voluntarily reviewed.

This was the perfect feel-good romance anyone could ask for.

Adi l Hallmark movies and is excited to see how the small town of Pleasant Hollow will align with her upcoming article. She's shocked when she gets there, only to find out that the one she's labeled the enemy is indeed a friend — or lover.

𝗔𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗢𝗻 𝗧𝗩 is the perfect book for romantics like myself who wouldn't mind smiling sheepishly.

Loved it! My Hallmark/Gilmore-loving heart is so happy right now. I loved all of the references to the films and actors, and wasn't surprised by how many I knew.

The audiobook was perfect and made me want to call-in sick to cuddle up with cocoa, a blanket, and my favorite Hallmark movie!

I adore Adi and her Romcom-loving bestie, and I'm sure we'd be friends in real life. Follow along on her adventure in a small town, that ends up being the opposite of what she expects.

Finn will steal your heart and make you glad this book isn't a sweet as the movies, lol. This is the perfect addition to your summer reading list, especially if you're looking for an escape.

Read about 20% of this book before deciding to DNF it. I really wanted to like it. The premise that sold me on this book was that fans of Hallmark and Gilmore Girls will love this book...and well I'm a fan of both and definitely didn't love this book.

This book follows Adina as she goes follows a story [she pitched a story to a magazine] and looks to fulfill all her preconceived notions about small town life.

For one, the town's name is Pleasant Hollow and the main character constantly seems to compare this town to Hallmark small towns. For instance, Adina found out the mayor of Pleasant Hollow was married and her immediate thought was "He was married. Huh. They were always single in the movie." I found that a weird thought. In addition, Adina constantly goes on complaining internal rants about how this small town isn't living up to her expectations and asks leading questions to the townies. Oh and the whole reason she's not really into Finn is because he's from the big city. I just couldn't get into this book even though I really wanted to.

As Seen on TV is for anyone who loves a small town romance trope. It’s a novel that gives you a realistic approach that romances are messy, hard, and don't always follow Hallmark movie storylines. The first half was a bit of a struggle for me to get through but the second half made up for it. I liked the flirtation between Adina and Finn and there was definitely chemistry.

The complaint I have is that I had a hard time getting invested and connecting with the characters, especially the female main, Adi. Adi was a little self-obsessed and at times she was a bit immature.

Overall, I liked that it was a cozy and fluffy read and quite light-hearted. There were definitely some steamy parts here which I was not prepared for. The ending had me swooning.

This book was just what I needed after a stressful month. I loved Adi and her view of small town America from Hallmark movies. It was all about to be debunked when she went to Pleasant Hollow for a story.

She didn’t find what she expected but she did find what she needed.

I was granted the wonderful opportunity to read this book before it was released, so thank you both Netgalley and Forever Grand Publishing for allowing me access.

I love hallmark movies so much, so this was such a perfect surprise to have it focus on that. I loved Adina because she was super passionate about her article and even though things were thrown at her, she didn’t give up. She learned to go after what she wanted and also stand up for herself. She learned that relationships are not perfect and eventually accepted her own faults in what happened with Finn before they reunited.

Finn was fun to watch grow. He was afraid of not being enough because of his issues with his dad , but also his past girlfriends never giving him a chance . He was always super supportive of Adi and the banter between them was fun to read. He accepted his own blame with what happened and also learned to go after what he wanted while learning to set boundaries.

Their relationship was run to watch grow and I thought it was a perfect tribute to hallmark movies, but it had more depth and realness to it. 4 stars for me . You will want to read this when it comes out June 7th,2022

SUCH a cute premise. Young aspiring journalist goes to a small town to write a story on the happenings of a real life hallmark movie town. The town turns out to be nothing like the smalI towns we see in the movies and it kind of goes downhill from there. It still is a good premise but the main character made me roll my eyes so so much. She goes over the same thoughts on her article so many times, she doesn't execute her ideas well, she is whiny, and there was so much commenting on how hot the dude is. I get it, he's attractive. When the two finally decide to give a relationship a shot, I felt she overreacted to the conflict... precisely the thing the guy told her would happen. Hi, this is exactly why he said he wouldn't be good at a relationship.. clearly you two need to communicate about this better. For some reason, I kept reading, I still wanted to know what happened, and it was still mostly enjoyable. If you want a quick rom com, a story with a good idea and some Jewish representation, this may be the book for you!

As Seen on TV releases 6/7/2022! Thank you Netgalley and Forever for my e-arc!

Do you watch Hallmark movies?

I love them all - the holiday movies, of course, but all of the others too. Well, As Seen On TV is a Hallmark movie lovers dream. It is the story of Adina, a journalist from NYC who heads to a small town to write the story about how life in that town is just like a Hallmark movie. Except it isn’t… This book melted me. It was full of Gilmore Girls references and adorable banter about everything Hallmark (including dropping names of Hallmark regulars like Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown to the cheesy Hallmark movie plots) and had me giggling and smiling the entire book. And I love quirky side characters and this book was full of them. My heart is full with this one. Thank you to partner @readforeverpub for my gifted copy.

I know Hallmark movies are extremely popular with many people. I, however, have never actually seen one! I know! It's shocking! But we don't get the Hallmark channel.

As Seen on TV is a rom-com that I think would be cute made into a made-for-tv movie. Adina, Adi for short, lives in New York City with her mom but she has always wondered what life in a small town would be like. She gets her chance to find out when she pitches a story to a magazine editor. She travels to Pleasant Hollow (a couple hours outside the city) to write a story about a businessman building an apartment building with ALL the amenities of a big city complex. She wants to know if he's the big bad wolf that ruins the small town feel. But instead, she finds the townspeople really don't care one way or another and she's left scrambling to come up with another story.

While she's in Pleasant Hollow, she meets Flynn, who is the project manager for the new apartment complex. He is everything Adi ever dreamed of in a man... From a small town, good looking, caring. But Flynn isn't what she thinks. He's got some secrets of his own.

I personally had a love/hate relationship with Adi. There were many times I found myself rooting for her, wanting her to end up with the guy of her dreams. But then other times I was SO annoyed with her because she kept putting these unrealistic expectations on a relationship based on what she's seen on Hallmark Channel movies.

Flynn seemed like a very easy going guy. He was truly caring, sometimes maybe even a little too caring. He has a lot on his plate and never really learned how to share some of his responsibilities and really take ownership of his own actions.

Overall, this wasn't a bad story. The first part of the story really kept my interest, but as the story went on, it kind of got boring until the end. It was much of the same for Adi day in and day out. I feel it could have been maybe 25-50 pages shorter and it still would have been a cute story.

This story is definitely for hopeless romantics. It's also for fans of the Hallmark Channel (duh!) but fans of Gilmore Girls would like it too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Grand Publishing for the advanced copy on exchange for my honest review. Get As Seen on TV June's 7th.

Adina, who lives in NYC, is a struggling freelance writer and a Hallmark movie lover. So when she pitches a story about a big development being built in a Pleasant Hollow and the parallels to the stereotypical small town romances she loves, she’s hopeful this could be her big break. Maybe find that “small town hero” in the process. But Adi quickly discovers Pleasant Hollow isn’t what she made it out to be, and the only man around is from the big city like her.

This was cute, easy read and I was able to finish it in under a day. I always enjoy a strangers to friends to lovers trope with a “it’s just a hook up” mixed in. And I love how Adi set her limits with Finn when she needed to. I especially loved the ending!

But I couldn’t get myself past “like” to “love” this one. I think it was primarily because I had a hard time connecting with Adi. While it was entertaining to watch her realize Pleasant Hollow is anything but pleasant, I couldn’t wrap my head around an educated woman in her mid 20’s having these preconceived notions on small town life.

Read if you like:

•Small Town Romances
•Hallmark Movies
•Heroine’s POV
•Strangers to Friends to Lovers
•It’s Just A Hook Up

Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's really difficult to write a review for a book that I didn't particularly like and I only felt relief that it's over the moment I closed my reader.

I requested this since I was pulled by the cover and description and I can appreciate and even obsess over any feel-good romcom movie. However, the execution felt poor and lacking.

Firstly, I did not feel any chemistry between the main leads, Finn and Adi. I cannot even figure out what drew them to each other, much less, how they fell in love. Secondly, Adi, from whose POV this was written, was unrealistic at best and deluded at worst. Thirdly, the secondary characters seemed like caricatures.

The book had its moments, I laughed at a few scenes, and the ending was sweet. I think I was not the book's target audience and this just wasn't for me. Still, pick this one up if you're a fan of Hallmark movies or looking for a spin on small-town romances and a fast read.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for my early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was in a reading slump due to personal things going on, but this book helped me get back into reading. I read this in less than a day.
I love the characters and the storyline. It is not your average Hallmark movie! Rom-com worthy!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a super cute book perfect for a quick escape. Adina is looking for her big break as a writer and decides to head to Pleasant Hollow to do a story on the joys of small town living. A big fan of Hallmark movies, Adina believes she will be able to report on the town festivals, the cozy inns, the bar where everyone knows everyone and neighbors helping one another while fighting against the new developer that has come to town. What she finds couldn't be more different. The only bright side is Finn Adams.

Finn is in Pleasant Hollow to work on his company's new development complex. He is instantly intrigued by Adina and her story. These two are super cute together. They have a natural chemistry and are able to bond instantly over their love for their hometown of New York City. While things don't go as planned for Adina, Finn is there to support her and cheer her on. While life in Pleasant Hollow isn't nearly as idyllic as is found on tv, there is still a sort of charm to it and the people who live there. I found myself taken in despite the negatives to the town. While I didn't love the way that things wrapped up with Finn and his alcoholic father, I still found myself engaged and overall enjoying this story.

This is a fun, easy read with a satisfying ending. I would say anyone who is a fan of the Hallmark setting and the quirks of that may love this one despite Pleasant Hollow being so different. As Seen on TV is the first book I have read by Schorr but I will definitely look for more from this author in the future.

DNF @ 27%

Since I did not finish this book, I will not be writing a full review and will, instead, share a few thoughts on why I DNFed here. I love Hallmark movies. I love them so much that I have a sizable DVD collection of my favorite ones. I track the ones I’ve watched or want to watch in the Hallmark app, just like I track my books here. This book? It’s a cliche Hallmark movie ad, and I can’t stand it. The heroine travels to a small town to write all about how it’s just like the movies. She’s hoping to find people that fit into those Hallmark movie character molds. She’s disappointed when she discovers that Pleasant Hollow is nothing like a Hallmark movie. And you know what? Duh. A woman her age should know that Hallmark movies are not real life. The hot single handyman in town does not go caroling in his spare time. The B&B innkeeper is working a thankless job in hospitality. She’s not going to bubble over with happiness that you’ve come to her inn, hoping she’s a caricature. Hallmark movies are charming and happy and wonderful because they’re not real life. They’re an escape. If real life were like them, nobody would want to watch them. Lol. It bugged me so much that Adina kept being surprised and disappointed that Pleasant Hollow and its people are not baking pies, hosting fall festivals and tree lightings, and are serving store bought pastries for breakfast. “Does anyone bake in this town?”, she asks. She’s just so ridiculous. Lol. She’s also a crummy journalist, continually making rookie mistakes. I’d rather watch the movies this book is referencing than read this book. I’d rather watch the Hallmark actors on TV than read about what Adina thinks of them in this book.

As Seen on tv is very anti Hallmark. This book seemed very YA . It wasn't for me but some one might like it. Thank you NetGalley for this arc

In short: NYC girl goes in search of happiness in a small town, convinced it will be just like a Hallmark movie.

What I liked:
📺 Contrast of assumptions versus reality
📺 Finn. Loved his character, his charm & his great perspectives.
📺 The grand gesture at the end.

What I didn’t like:
📺 Adi, the main character. She was naive and I felt it just took too long for her to realize her assumption of what a small town should be were wrong.
📺 The “fight” and Adi’s response.

Final thoughts: Overall this was a cute book but dragged a bit for me, especially with the drawn out time it took for Adi to realize not every small town is like what you see on Hallmark.

Adina is an aspiring journalist who is over the NYC dating scene and wants her own small-town romance like she sees in the movies. When she hears about a real-life Hallmark scenario about a small town called Pleasant Hollow, where a big-city real estate company has gone in with plans to build, Adina sees this has her opportunity for a big break and a chance to get out of the city for a few weeks. But when she gets there, it isn’t what she expects. Finn, the man in charge of the project isn’t the greedy man she expected, Pleasant Hollow is nothing like the small towns she sees in the movies, and they are happy for the real estate to be coming in. She sticks around looking for a story, but also starts to fall for Finn in the process.

This was truly a Hallmark movie in book form and I loved every second of it. I loved how Adi so deeply believed in Hallmark style romances and was looking for her own. At some points it felt a bit naive but was also so relatable - who hasn’t had that moment of being over the dating scene and wanting someone to sweep you off your feet? I enjoyed all of the pop culture references and most importantly I loved all of the side characters in Pleasant Hollow. They were the comedic relief every good rom com needs. I thought the romance was sweet and I was rooting for Adi and Finn both as individuals and as a couple from the beginning.

I switched between audio and physical copy and both were fantastic. The audio was narrated by Emily Lawrence who did a great job!

Thank you to Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copies.