This was such a fun read! The concept was different than anything I've read. In this book Gemma is reeling from a breakup with her long time boyfriend. Too much tequila leads to too much fun sometimes, including doing a spell and ignoring the warning. When Gemma wakes up to a new life without her long time boyfriend she realizes she lost her best friend too. In her quest to get Dax to be her friend again, she realizes there has been a missed opportunity for love. Gemma goes through a lot of personal growth, at times she can be very self involved. When the tough decision came to help the others she loved in her life or choose the life she always wanted she made a tough decision....you'll have to read the book to find out how it ends.

This Spells Love

Pub Date: 5 Dec 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Gemma Wilde gets dumped by her boyfriend of four years, she’s devastated. In an attempt to get over him, her eccentric Aunt gets her drunk off margaritas and convinces her to do a spell erasing the whole relationship—a spell sealed with a kiss by her best friend Dax. The problem … a lot can change in four years and Dax doesn’t know her in this reality. While navigating her new life, Gemma must convince Dax to give her a kiss to reverse the spell.

This Spells Love by Kate Robb is a debut novel of another level. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it became a new favorite book for many people. It’s full of romance, dreams, second chances, and a pinch of magic to bring it all together. Oh, and a dash of spice!

Gemma and Dax have amazing chemistry. Gemma is extremely relatable and was such a dynamic character. And Gemma’s sister Kiersten definitely deserves a shout out for pushing Gemma the whole book and being a great big sister.

It’s not perfect and some more realist minds may not enjoy the story and decisions made, but I loved it and would highly recommend. #oneforthebookshelf

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the e-ARC!

PERFECT romcom! I burned through this romance. The chemistry and banter is top-tier. I LOVE the humor and the sweet moments. The atmosphere, the setting-all of it! THIS SPELLS LOVE was a wild(e) ride and I badly want to go back and read it again!
NOTE FOR PUBLISHER: At the end of chapter 13 (last page) there was an incomplete sentence error.

Solid 3.5 stars ✨

I binged this ARC really fast because it was compelling and I wanted to know how the parallel universe was going to work out. For an author’s debut book, the writing was strong and it was interesting as an American reader to read a book set in Canada. Of course we all wonder what our lives would be like in a parallel universe if we didn’t make certain choices - and I think the author really nailed that with the differences in Gemma’s life!

The few nitpicky things I didn’t like: well, my copy was an ARC and chapter 13 ended mid sentence 🥲 which is more of an editor’s note. The second was they randomly mentioned the pandemic as a reason something changed and I’m like, “They did not just randomly drop the pandemic where millions of people died as a random excuse as to why something happened.” I hope the final copy of the book has a bit more edits because it felt like this ARC was a final draft that needed another go over. Was also not obsessed with how Gemma referred to a certain part of Dax’s body, IYKYK.

The last chapter and epilogue have a choppy transition, I would preferred a bit more in the last chapter to tie up all the loose ends in the story. I hate being left wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: December 5, 2023

Rating: 5 stars!

What an amazing debut! I fell right into this book and didn't come back until it was over! Robb has her own distinct voice but her style reminds me of Christina Lauren.

I loved that this book wasn't too heavy on topics but also wasn't all fluff. It was the perfect mix and reminded me of the older romcom movies I used to watch. This book focused on the age old question of "what if?" and I loved every second of it! Make sure you preorder because this is going to be the perfect book to curl up with during the cold winter months.

Perfect for fans:
- 1st person POV
- Single POV
- Slight touch of magic
- Second chance romance (somewhat)
- Friends to lovers
- Christina Lauren fans
- 13 Going on 30 vibes

“This Spells Love” is a romcom about a girl named Gemma who is in recent despair about her ex boyfriend. Through trying to relieve her stress about the situation, she visits with her best friend Dax, her sister, and her Aunt in which she finds a spell that will make her forget about her breakup. After completing this strange spell, Gemma wakes up in a new world where she not only didn’t meet her ex boyfriend but she also didn’t meet her friend Dax. In this world, Gemma took many new paths whether for the better or for the worst and now she must re-meet Dax, fall in love, and get a special kiss to reverse the spell and get home. I’m going to be brutally honest here and say I sadly DNF-ed this book. I got to the 53% mark before putting the book down. I think the concept of the book is really interesting however fell short with the characters and humor. I felt as if I was rooting for Gemma not because I felt attached to her character but because I’m “supposed” to root for her. The book only being 259 pages is definitely not a negative (I firmly believe that Romcoms should definitely not be over 300 or so pages) however It felt like nothing much happened Romantically in the first 100 pages so the author took a sharp turn and tried to rush Dax’s positive thoughts of Gemma. With a concept like this, the book feels very predictable. I don’t think that books with predictable plots are horrible but my drive to finish them are to keep reading lovable characters which I didn’t see in this. Comedy in books should feel very natural however I felt like every joke I read was very “This is a joke you’re supposed to laugh” or “This is a reference get it?”. Gemma’s character was very full of pop culture references and being relatable. During at least of what I read, Gemma would constantly make jokes about things she does and it was clear that these things were suppose to be “her being real” or “so relatable!” But it felt so forced. A lot of the characters felt like they were playing a specific role and I would’ve really liked these characters to have been expanded on earlier in the book. I mostly dnfed this book because it felt like I wasn’t losing anything from not finding the end. There was no true risk, I didn’t connect with the characters, and the end I felt was very predictable and not worth really trying to get through to see. Now that I’m done with my personal reasons of DNFing this book, I overall think that OTHER people would probably mostly enjoy this book. I think the humor could be appreciated way more in YA than the audience it’s marketed or. The writing is simple and easy to read which is a major plus and it’s a relatively short. I think that people who really like Friends to Lovers could read this lighthearted and quick. Despite my personal problems with this book and why I couldn’t finish it, I don’t believe that it is a “bad book” and I definitely think others could get much more out of it than I did.

Such a cute rom com! Literally so much fluff to it made me giggle at some moments in the story. The characters were great and I’m so glad to been able to read their story!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy to read!

This book was so fun! The story was a little sweet, a little spicy and a little magical. It was different from any other romcom I've read! The story is based in the city I grew up in/live in so I understood all of the references and it made me laugh! Having that connection actually made the book that much more enjoyable because I could picture where they were while I was reading. Gemma erases one event from her life with a love cleanse from an old book her aunt found but realizes quickly what she lost because of it. I loved that Gemma could remember her original timeline while in the new one, it made the story more interesting! I also loved that Gemma and Dax characters developed into a different type of relationship in the new timeline, it added a little spice to the story! I ended up loving both versions of them and the events surrounding them from each timeline that I would have been happy either way it could have ended! The book will be released December 5, 2023 and is a definite must read!

Such a lovely novel! It was such a fun read. If you love lighthearted witchy books, pick this one up.

Add to your TBR list ASAP! This is such a cute rom com with a little sense of magic. It reminded me of the movie 13 Going on 30 but better. The sister banter and character development felt so relatable. And Dax is very swoon-worthy, making me wonder how Gemma ever thought they could be just friends.

Things I loved:
• A mention of a corgi (see pictures of my Stella)
• Margaritas as a necessary post-break-up item
• A little bit of spicy romance
• Friends to lovers trope
• A witty narrator
• An obsession with donuts

Thank you Netgalley for an advance e-copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Ahh, this was such a wholesome romance! I loved it so much.

First, it was giving me strong Again, but Better vibes. I love the idea that somewhere out there, someone is living a slightly different life than me, and I love books that tackle the "what if I did x instead" idea about life. In this case, the main character wondered about if she dated the wrong guy for the last four years, then got to live out that what if life.

It was not all good things though! Of course she had to tackle living in a parallel universe where the main character obviously made different choices, but throughout the book you see that those choices affected the characters around her too. If she never met her first boyfriend, it caused a snowball of changes for parallel Dax, and that led Gemma to really reflect on her past and the experiences that led to the start of the story.

I liked the implications of "what if" she never dated Steven, but I also liked seeing how dating him led to some good changes in her life, despite the relationship ending in the original universe. It goes to show that even if you regret a decision in the moment, there had to be something good that came out of it. All experiences matter!

Then there is Gemma and Dax, oh how I loved them together. Their chemistry and banter is top notch, and I loved seeing them grow together in the parallel universe. And since slightly different choices were made, Gemma really got to learn new things about this guy she thought she knew over the last four years. Plus, there is some spicy scenes in the book too, but they did not take away from the overall story.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this and the ending is quite heartwarming. The characters were messy and had some good character development, the banter is top notch, and there is a happy ending to boot. I am glad I came across this one, it was well worth the read!
Content warnings: alcohol, cursing, sexual content

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This Spells Love is a magical romance that follows the story of a heartbroken Gemma who wonders how her life would’ve been if she had never wasted four years of her life with her ex. Following her aunt’s antics, she performs a love-cleansing spell with her sister, her aunt, and her best friend Dax. What she doesn’t know at the time is that the universe has a funny trick for her as she finds that her wish gets granted in the worst way she can imagine: her best friend Dax has no idea who she is.

I was hooked on this book when I read the synopsis and saw the stunning cover. This book was close to sci-fi with its concept of parallel universes and it was so entertaining to get into that world and discover how one thing can change the continuum of space & time. I love when romance is used with other genres and This Spells Love did an amazing job of combining the two genres. Another thing I really liked was how the “message” presented itself as a result of every choice Gemma made instead of someone telling her what she was supposed to do. She had her loved ones guiding her, but in the end, it was her re-discovering herself and accepting that every choice we make (good or bad) leads to a result for a reason because life is more complicated than good or bad choices. It’s about what you do after said choices and where they lead you.

Kiersten and Livi were both very complex characters. I loved how even though Gemma was the main character, we got to see Kiersten’s growth alongside Gemma. The book portrays Kiersten’s journey as a mom of 3 and a sister who always puts Gemma’s needs first until one day she remembers the woman she wanted to be. She goes after what she wants to do with her life while Gemma finds a balance between giving Kiersten the space she needs and preserving their sisterly dynamic. I loved how supportive Gemma and Kiersten were of each other, they and their morning walks with their donuts were so cute. I loved how Wilde Beuaty turned into Wilde Sisters Beauty, combining both of their dreams. Aunt Livi was a very mysterious character in both universes. I’m pretty sure she had a feeling about everything that happened to Gemma with all her riddles and spells. Dax’s side of the family was also very fun to read. Dougie and Brandon were so cute and I loved how Dougie was rooting for Gemma and Dax. Dougie's parties were also very fun to read. Sunny was such a lovely nice character. It was refreshing to read a genuinely nice sunshine but badass character.

Gemma and Dax. I absolutely adore best friends to lovers. I loved every single thing about their dynamic. How their bond literally went beyond time and space. Gemma’s introduction to alternative universe Dax was hilarious. Dax still falling for Gemma even after that introduction was even more amazing. It’s like they were literally made for each other. I loved how they were both afraid of losing each other if things don’t work out romantically but the prospect of living without each other was so much worse. Gemma got to see how taking that once step matters and can change things for the better. I also loved how vulnerable they were with each other. Dax was such a perfect man (you can't blame Gemma for falling in love, I would too). I loved how after seeing Wilde Beauty, Gemma knew she needed to have that project in her universe. I loved how supportive Dax was in both universes and likewise Gemma was willing to risk her own happiness just to see Dax live his dreams. It was so amazing to read Gemma's growth as she learned to take risks and follow things through.

If you’re looking for a heart-warming, cozy interdimensional romance with a dash of magical realism, This Spells Love is the right book for you.

"This Spells Love" by Kate Robb is a delightful and enchanting romantic comedy that casts a spell on readers from the very beginning. Gemma's journey of heartbreak, friendship, and self-discovery is infused with humor and charm, making it a truly enjoyable read.

The novel kicks off with a relatable and engaging premise - a love-cleansing spell performed in a drunken moment of desperation. Kate Robb skillfully crafts a story that effortlessly blends the magical and the mundane, resulting in a refreshing and unique take on the romantic comedy genre.

As Gemma wakes up to find her life completely transformed, the narrative takes an unexpected turn. The development of the plot, with Gemma's ex erased from her memory and her once-best-friend, Dax, now a near-stranger, creates a fascinating dynamic that keeps readers hooked.

Gemma's attempts to reverse the spell and regain some normalcy in her life lead to humorous and heartwarming situations, making her journey of rediscovery both entertaining and emotionally resonant. The growing chemistry and connection between Gemma and Dax are beautifully depicted, drawing readers deeper into their blossoming romance.

Kate Robb's writing style is witty, engaging, and filled with clever banter, enhancing the overall appeal of the book. The well-developed characters, including Gemma's sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax, add depth and authenticity to the story, enriching the relationships and interactions between them.

As Gemma contemplates the possibility of Dax being "The One", the novel explores themes of self-discovery and the unpredictability of love, leaving readers pondering the true nature of destiny and the importance of seizing the present moment.

"This Spells Love" is a stellar romantic comedy that will leave readers with a smile on their faces and their hearts warmed by its enchanting tale. Kate Robb's skillful storytelling, endearing characters, and heartfelt moments make this novel a must-read for fans of the genre and anyone seeking a heartwarming and magical love story.

What a fun, swoony, heart-flittering book. This is the perfect friends to lovers story. I couldn’t put this one down! Highly recommend.

If you're looking for a charming romance with a touch of magic, this book is an absolute must-read!!

Reeling from a breakup, Gemma jokingly does a love cleansing spell with her aunt and sister after a few too many margaritas. (We've all been there!) But when she wakes up the next morning, she's in an parallel universe, never having dated her ex, and her best friend, Dax, doesn't recognize her. In order to return to her old life, she has one month to befriend Dax and convince him to kiss her. However, as she devises her plan, she finds herself falling for him, and starts questioning whether she truly wants her old life back.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Kate Robb for allowing me access to this book. All opinions are my own.

Overall cute feel good book - but I will admit that the supporting cast including even the love interest Dax came off a a cardboard cut out for most of the book. He was simply a prop for the MC, same with everyone else. They were just her supporting cast and she was pretty unlikeable tbh as a airhead that just took and took and took from everyone around her, but they all still loved and supported her? Idk, I didn’t really get it. But she does grow and change - in the last like 5% of the book, so it turned out pretty ok in the end. It’s a fun little alternative reality romance but don’t expect anything more than that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

This book is so perfectly adorable, charming, and fun. I highly recommend picking up a copy and I can’t wait to read more books by Kate Robb in the future. Fingers crossed she’s working on her next one now 🤞🏼! Also, Frank was the real MVP and my favorite character. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Oddly enough, this is the second book I've read this month with a FMC named Gemma in a time loop/alternate reality situation. I enjoyed this though. I was a little confused on the timeline but maybe that was just me. The overall concept was what really drew me to this book though. It's kind of a second chance romance but also not really since the two main characters were never together in the first place. I liked being able to see both "real" and "alternate reality" Dax through Gemma's memories of the situations she found herself in. It was a really fun read! There's a few spicy scenes but they don't overrun the book so I think it's a really good balance. I definitely recommend this book!

Gemma has just had a devastating break-up. With the help of her beloved aunt and sister, she tries a magic spell to forget her ex. The next morning, the consequences are beyond anything she could’ve imagined- including the removal of her best friend from her life. As Gemma retraces her steps and sees how life could’ve played out if she had never met her ex, she must choose whether to stay in this new world or return to her old one.

It took me a little bit to get into this book. Once the spell was cast and Gemma had to navigate the alternate future, then I felt pretty hooked. Gemma is a fun heroine who is seeking love and has perhaps been missing what is right in front of her. I loved her close relationships with her sister and aunt. Even in an alternate universe, her family was there for her. Dax and Gemma have a nice and relatively straightforward romance in the alternate world. This Spells Love is a cozy, cute romance that deals with alternate worlds.

This Spells Love would be perfect for fans of Ann Aguirre (The Only Purple House in Town), Sliding Doors, and romances with a what-if twist.

Thank you to Kate Robb, Dial Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Total Rating: 4.00 stars
Method: Kindle / electronic copy

What would you do if you drunkenly cast a spell and woke up the next morning to find yourself in a world where it worked?

I loved how realistically the entire situation was handled, and just how much of a fool Gemma made out of herself at times; made her feel realistic and I could see myself making those same mistakes. It really felt like she grew and learned more about herself throughout the entire story, and more about her friends and family along the way. Every character in this book felt so realistic and as though they are people I could walk past every day on the street. Did Gemma at times feel a bit immature in her decisions and not at all like a fully-fledged 27-year-old adult? Yes. But I didn't find it bothersome enough that I ended up disliking her as a character, which has happened before.

Going to be honest, I'm usually more of a fantasy girl and when I initially started this book I was a little sad that there wasn't more of a practical magic vibe to the book and more witchy vibes. But once I set that aside I quickly fell into this story and was in love with the characters and the realistic way that everything was approached. It ended up being a very realistic take on how a person would react if magic suddenly worked in the real world. Gave me very Freaky Friday vibes.

I do want to say that one thing that bothered me was the constant mention of things that could easily date the book. Like the pandemic and specific phone/car models, etc. I always enjoy reading fiction a bit more when it's less steeped in reality. And down the road mentions of those things will age the story, which I don't generally enjoy. At least it mostly refrains from mentioning any specific social media sites. Unless the book is specifically set in a past timeframe that's so far removed from my own, and they need to include those little nuances to set up the time of the story, I don't want to read specific things that date a story as it can completely take me out of the imaginary world bubble.

Was the book perfect? No, but I had a ton of fun reading it. The cover art is super cute and the book doesn't feel too long, though maybe a bit too short - as I felt like the end could've used just a bit more detail and insight into things. I would recommend this one to anyone though who is in it for a fun quick read.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!