This Spells Love is an adorable romcom infused with magic, charm, spice, and a love story about sisters. Katie Robb delivered 13 Going on 30 vibes in her friends to lovers debut novel that takes the FMC on a magical journey to answer the question of “what if she’d never met her ex.”

Gemma and Dax were likable and easy to love, but the entire cast of characters will charm your socks off and the cozy small town vibes felt like a cross between Stars Hollow and Schitt’s Creek… an odd pairing, but I couldn’t help picturing Wilde Beauty as Rose Apothecary with its black and white, clean beauty aesthetic.

The story as a whole felt surface level (think Hallmark) and the ending was wrapped up too quickly - I wish there had been more focus on the Wilde sisters in the last few chapters. And while Gemma and Dax had been friends for years, their budding relationship in the alternate reality was too insta love for me. Although, the sexy curling scene was hilariously executed and might have been my favorite.

Overall, this was a cute story and I can see lots of readers enjoying this charming, magical romance.

3.5 stars!

4.5 stars! I loved this book so much more than I thought it would and found myself gushing and giddy right alongside Gemma! If you are looking for friends turned to lovers, second chance romance, dream chasing, parallel universe this is the book for you!

I loved this sweet story! When I’m able to consume 300+ pages in less than 12 hours, I know it’s a good one.

Things I loved: sweet sister bonds, alternate dimensions, girl bossing (e.g. career aspiration), friends to lovers (but he’s loved her all along) trope!!!

Things I disliked/wanted more from: the “rip in the space time continuum” plot line - to a reader, this felt very urgent but it felt like G still waffled on what to do until the end.

**There was half a page missing on the advance copy at the end of chapter 13 - story just cuts and skips to ch 14**

Wouldn't it be great to forget your ex? That is Gemma's wish after she breaks up with her longterm boyfriend. A night of margaritas with Gemma's aunt, sister and best guy friend ends in a spell that has her falling asleep and waking up in an alternate universe where she hasn't dated Stuart, but also is not best friends with Dax. Be careful what you wish for, Gemma realizes she needs things to go back to normal before the next full moon. As she works to put the pieces back together, she realizes maybe her and Dax should be more than friends.

Such a fun book to read, I loved the alternate universe concept as one decision can change the entire trajectory of your life. Definitely recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I loved this immensely! I usually stay away from time-travel/alternative universe type books but the friends to lovers in this immediately made me want to read it. I loved both Gemma and Dax. Their bond in both timelines were so fun and fated. I liked that we got to see them in fall in love. And their chemistry? Off the charts! The side characters were also all written well and entertaining! There was character growth for both the main and side characters that felt meaningful. This book had great pacing with a nice balance between heartfelt moments and humor. I liked that we didn't get too deep into the explanation for the magic. I literally couldn't put it down once I got into it!

Review: This spells love
Author: Kate Robb

Rating: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ 3/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️


This book was fun! I always love the friends to lover and the magical aspect was fun and different.
It definitely added a different spin onto the usual romantic comedy tropes.

I do wish that there was a little better chemistry between the MCs 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even begin to begin!? I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Gemma, had complete & total me energy. There were so many nuanced little references that I’m not even sure the author planned to make. But. She’s a Swiftie (or at least I’m assuming so), so I’m not leaving anything up to coincidence or chance.

I got vibes of 13 Going on 30, Catch & Release, & Gilmore Girls. & I adored every single second of it. My only regret was that I read it so quickly.

I loved that the story had its own trajectory & unique twist on parallel universes/alternate timelines. & I always love when there’s a tough love scenario that forces the main character to grow up a little. & not only did Gemma learn more about herself, she gained extraordinary insight into the life of her sister, her aunt, her Dax, & fleshed out several other characters in her alternate timeline that she bridges by the end.

Seriously, phenomenal read.

**My only point of contention was that in my digital copy, Chapter 13 ended on an unfinished sentence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing this ARC.

Holy cow, we’re only in June, but this might be one of my favorite reads of 2023 so far. This was funny, charming, sweet, and heartwarming all at once.

Gemma and her sister have such a special relationship in both timelines, and I loved how Gemma was able to realize that she could help her sister achieve her dreams, and achieve her own at the same time.

Her friendship and romantic relationship with Dax felt so natural, like they were pieces of a puzzle that were meant to fit.

I didn’t love the mentioning of the pandemic - when I consume fictional media, I generally prefer to escape into this world that exists outside of my own - almost like my own alternate reality. But, other than that, no notes.

This Spells Love is perfectly charming. While this book takes a pretty standard view of the multiverse, the chemistry between all of the characters makes up for it. I was truly aggravated with Gemma at several points, but her decisions were those that a real girl would make. That’s actually probably why I was aggravated.

I also loved the sense of place this book has. Hamilton came alive for me on each page.

My only critique is the pacing. I rarely say this, but I think it could be longer to get to know these characters a bit better.

Thank you to netgalley, dial press, and penguin random house for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

After enduring a chaotic childhood, Gemma makes decisions with her head, not her heart. She has a stable, if unexciting relationship with Stuart, her boyfriend of 4 years, a comfortable condominium, and a job that is not that interesting, but has great benefits. Everything in her life is cultivated to create safety and security. Until…her boyfriend breaks up with her and in a drunken state, Gemma participates in a ritual to erase Stuart from her past. The next morning, she wakes up in a parallel reality/alternative timeline that in some ways is familiar and in other ways strikingly different. The Gemma in the new timeline was a risk-taker and followed her dreams. Her biggest dilemma: in this reality her best friend, Daxon, does not know her and to reverse the spell and return to her original timeline, he must kiss her. As she pursues the relationship, she begins to fall in love with him and must decide if becoming lovers is worth the possibility of losing her best friend.

I enjoy romance novels with a touch of magical realism. In that sense, I liked the premise of the book and watching Gemma evolve from an immature, self-centered twenty-something into someone who loves deeply enough to put her beloved’s needs above her own. At this point I would have given the novel 3 stars.

However, I was dismayed by the multiple, graphic descriptions of Gemma and Dax having passionate sex. I prefer sensual encounters that leave more to the reader’s imagination. What sealed the 2-star rating was the author’s Acknowledgments section. The references to the “SmutFest 2.0 community” and to her husband’s anatomy as the inspiration for the sex scenes (complete with a joke about her children reading that statement) were TMI.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

I absolutely loved this book! Kate Robb creates characters you can't help but love and want to get to know better. When Gemma breaks up with her boyfriend of 4 years, she accidentally wants to forget he ever existed. Her best friend Dax is always there for her, but what if he forgot about her the process? This friends to lovers romance has a quirky twist with a love cleanse spell and alternate realities. You won't regret reading this one. I couldn't put it down!

Spicy and fun, a crazy story of a spell gone wrong. Gemma just wants to erase ever meeting her ex. She spent four years of her life with him and boom, he just ends it. Her Aunt Liv suggests a spell she found in a magic book just to do this. It all goes wrong and Gemma has an entirely new past and vastly different life. The bad thing is that her best friend Dax does not remember her. Enjoy the pages as Gemma chases Dax to make him remember and all the decisions she has to make.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Big thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of This Spells Love by Kate Robb. All of the following opinions are formulated on my own.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This was such a cute and funny book to read! When it comes to romance books I usually don't enjoy friends to lovers trope as much. However, this book takes on the trope with a different perspective and was a surprisingly delightful book to read. All of the characters are very likable and relatable from beginning to end. I definitely recommend to those who are looking for more of a fun and lighter read!

If you enjoy reading any of the following you'll probably enjoy this:
- Friends to lovers
- Magical twist on romance
- A few spicy scenes

This was a super cute quick romance that hit all the right notes. Gemma and Dax have been best friends for four years. She loves their relationship and the comfort it holds for her.
The story begins with Gemma dealing with her grief over the loss of her so-so romantic relationship that was at least comfortable and stable, She is working in a well-paying stable job that isn't her dream, but it's adjacent and pays well. So her life is just okay.
When she, her eccentric granny, her busy-stay-at-home-mom Sister, and best friend Dax engage in a spell found in a dusty magic book, Gemma’s real troubles begin.
She wakes up in a completely different version of her life. Dax doesn’t know her, she lives in a dark basement apartment and is the owner of her dream natural skin-care shop. Gemma struggles to find her balance and reclaim the best part of the life she had before the spell. Along the way, she finds out so much about herself and the people that she cares about. It was sweet and a quick read. I would love to read more about Gemma, her family, and friends.

Many thanks to author Lucy Holden, Fehu Press, and NetGalley for the free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

Gemma has broken up with a long-term boyfriend and is in a bit of a funk. She has a job she's not super stoked on and isn't sure how her life should be. What she does have is a pretty amazing best friend named Dax.

After a night of drinking with her sister and eccentric aunt, the three end up casting a love cleansing spell so she can rid her life of the ex and start over. She wakes up in a different timeline, where she wasn't with the ex, but she also doesn't know Dax.

Gemma goes on a journey of self-discovery, deciding what she wants and also becoming more aware of how she treats others and ends up right where she needs to be.

I am going to be honest here: I've been struggling with contemporary friends-to-lovers romances lately. This book completely changed my mind! Dax is a babe. Also, can someone make booze/doughnut shops a reality, please? I struggled a bit in the middle when she was missing cues, but that was part of the point. She figured it out in the end!

I loved this book and couple, and I will read more from this author in the future!

Review posted to goodreads on 6/8.

Thanks to Kate Robb and Random House for letting me review this ARC!

This Spells Love reminds me of the 1990/2000 Rom-Coms that I adore and wish were produced more often. It is super sweet watching Gemma go through a parallel universe, and exploring her relationship with her best friend Dax. I read the entire book in less than six hours, and genuinely cannot wait for the release.

My favorite quote, and one that stood out the most, was "Eventually, you need to stop watering dead plants". We all could stand from letting our dead plants go.

This Spells Love by Kate Robb was fun, light hearted, magical and full of amazing characters.
Robb does a wonderful job of developing the relationship of the MC’s in the story, and it was really lovely to read.
I was completely enchanted my this story and honestly the writing.
This book sucked me in from the beginning and I loved every second of it. This is the romance that I've been needing.
The perfect rom-com debut. With the perfect amount a spice, humor, heart and fun.
A charming, magical friends-to-lovers debut. I can’t wait to see what she creates next!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley, Random House & Dial Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What a stellar debut! I didn’t want to put it down! This was such a cute, fun read. The spice compliments the plot which I always appreciate. I wish I could run out and get more of her books!

*SLIGHT SPOILER ALERTS UP AHEAD* This was an incredibly entertaining book. It was different from the old, regular romance, and had strong paranormal glances but it was mostly real world. I loved Dax and Gemma and the two of them growing closer and happier together. Gemma was slightly unlikeable, but with all her flaws, I love her now. I'm still slightly traumatized by the way Gemma described other world Dax, with no more fire in his eyes. It hit really hard for some reason. I would love to read more books by Kate Robb.

"This Spells Love" by Kate Robb was a quick, easy read. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read another by her.