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This romcom is the perfect sweet read for anyone who likes a bit of magic, donuts and Canadian locales!

Gemma Wilde has just had her heart broken by her long time boyfriend, Stuart. I’m a bid to cheer her up she is talked into having a night of drinking with her sister, her Aunt Livi and Daxon McGuire, her best friend. After several shots of tequila, it’s decided she will cast a love cleanse listed in one of Aunt Livi’s books as a way to banish any remaining feelings for Stuart. And when she wakes up the next day, she finds the spell worked! Except, it worked too well! Not only is her life completely different, but Dax doesn’t seem to know who she is!

The author does such a great job of telling this story. It’s sweet, moves at a decent pace and features a cute meet cute. The writing style feels very fresh and almost like it has low stakes, even though they’re pretty big for Gemma. This honestly would make the most perfect hallmark movie! Plus it’s set in Hamilton, Ontario! I used to live there and it was fun to read mentions of landmarks and locations that I used to visit.

Gemma starts off as a bit of a boring character, which is completely by design. She is very set in her ways and doesn’t like risks or change. I loved reading about her coming out of her shell and making decisions and changes. She has an excellent growth arc throughout the book and the ending was extremely satisfying. Dax just seems like such a good guy. Like, top tier book boyfriend material. His devotion to Gemma definitely seems to transcend whatever parallel universe they’re in. The pair of them together was pure perfection and I loved every minute of it!

There is some spicy time action in this book! So maybe hallmark would have to cut that out 😉

I definitely recommend this book for those who wants a cute magical romcom with a great premise and a satisfying outcome!

Thanks very much to Dial Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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If you’re looking for a rom-com with a 13 Going on 30 vibe that involves magic, this one is for you!

When Gemma Wilde gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she, her sister, aunt, and best friend Dax decide to perform a love cleansing spell, which promises to erase Gemma’s ex from her memory. When Gemma wakes up, she realises that this spell has not only erased her ex from her past but has changed her life completely, including her friendship with Dax.

This was such a fun, heartfelt read that I could not put down until I knew how it ended. The plot was so clever and really made me think about how the decisions we make, no matter how simple, could change the trajectory of our lives and those around us. I always find books that revolve around alternate realities to be interesting, and this one was no exception. The friends-to-lovers part was also a bonus!

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I absolutely loved this book! It was such a good read! I can’t wait for the world to be able to read it

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Very fun, sexy rom-com! Loved the character development, all of the characters were very likable. It was. fast-paced read for me and at times it could be a bit steamy! It offered the best of both worlds of a good storyline and an enjoyable romance. Would recommend.

4.5/5 stars

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Such a delightful read! Perfect for fall with a mug of something warm under a blanket. I loved the character development, the sibling relationship, and the love story. Gemma & Dax forever!!

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I really liked this! And there was a lot working against it for me. Let's start with the good stuff:

Gosh, this was cute. Wonderfully illustrative — I've never been to the Toronto area but felt like I knew it by the end. The relationships and friendships in this book are GOOD. But what I liked best was how well the author handled the parallel universe. That is a framework that is hard to get right. This threaded the needle so well. Everything is just kind of vague enough that it makes sense. Sometimes authors try too hard to explain the science or magic behind something like this, and the logic falls apart. I really liked that the author didn't do that here — it actually works so well. I also LOVED the ending. That was an absolutely fantastic ending to this book. It was going to be a 3-star read for me, but the last chapter, and especially the last couple lines, really wrapped this up so well.

Here's what I didn't like, and I will say, SO much of this is just personal taste: I do not usually enjoy books with dislikable female leads. They can be flawed, but I found Gemma to be downright dislikable. She is self-absorbed; she drinks way too much; she's needy and demanding of others; and she takes way too long to start realizing any of this about herself. I also found the spice, and particularly the way Gemma talks about sex, to be gratuitous — but again, that's a personal taste thing. Finally, and this is nitpicky but I feel strongly about it haha, it was weird how often the author talks about these women touching each others boobs. I mean, the word "boobs" is in this book eight times and six of them are in reference to her touching her sister or aunt's boobs. That was honestly my biggest complaint. But it's a pretty silly one! So still a 4-star read for me. Very cute.

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This book was amazing like unbelievably amazing. If the feeling of getting butterflies was put into words and made into a book this would be it. It had me crying laughing within just the first two chapters. I already know this is going to be so many people favorite book of the year cause I know it’s is for me so far. This is a second chance friends to lovers story with a magical twist. It’s freaking hilarious but also gut wrenching. I was on an emotional roller coaster the entire time. Dying laughing one second to screaming, screeching over cuteness and crying the next second. It’s a beautiful and moving story. Her aunt and her sister btw are everything 😂 they are my new role models and they are the comedic relief that we needed. Her relationship with her sister especially moved me and made me wish I had a sister so bad 😭.

I have reviewed it on Goodreads and my book review instagram. Both reviews are live as of today Wednesday May 31, 2023.

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DNF - this book contained content I wasn’t aware of prior to requesting the book. I’m sure it will suit the tastes of other readers. It just simply wasn’t for me

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I couldn't put this down. How do you write a likeable and relatable character that needs to better consider the feelings of those around her? I haven't read many, but Kate Robb did. I can't wait to read more from her.

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i think i just found my new favourite author. this is so good for a debut.
not to mention, a twist in time trope is literally my biggest weakness. and this one is one of the best of it's kind.
i think my favourite thing about this book was the unique plot. the alternative timeline idea, a glitch in matrix, so many new possibilities and choices...can this be any better?
what i didn’t like was part of the romance. i liked both Gemma and Dax, but some dialogues felt too much? idk, might be a me problem. also, i'm sure there would be more editing in the released version
can't wait to see what Kate Robb comes up with next

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I feel like I can't even adequately describe how much I loved this book. Like imagine if the Spiderman Multiverse and Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken had a baby and it was a romance novel... and they enjoyed curling as an activity. I think we all have looked back on decisions in our life and just known had we chosen the other door or the other path that for better or worse our lives would have looked different. This book explores if you could go back to one point and chosen differently how would it have turned out all this time later and would the people around you be the same or different for the choice you made? Robb's debut is thought provoking and tugs at all the right heartstrings.

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Amazing, wonderful, interesting and unique. There are so many other adjectives I could give this book but it was definitely addictive. It had a sliding door vibes. With the main character casting a spell to gain some closure in her life only to create a new life that has her reevaluating her current life. It was a wonderful read. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and couldn't wait to keep reading what was going to happen.

We meet Gemma who has just broken up with her boyfriend Stuart, with her sister and Aunt they cast a spell for her to receive some closure. Dax, her best friend was the final ingredient. It takes her into an alternate time line. I love these multiverse story lines where there are the same people but they have obviously been doing different things, experiencing different things. It was a joy to read through. I loved it.

The relationship that Gemma has with Dax grows into something more, something that wasn't seen in the other multiverse, or maybe she was just blind to the obvious. I just couldn't get enough of the two of them. I hope there are more books like this because it was addicting.

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I want to thank Net galley and Random House Publishing Group/Dial Press trade paperback for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

🌟 4
🌶 1
Where to begin! This Spells Love is Kate Robb's debut book and I loved it!
When heartbreak and a bit of tequila send you into an alternate world where your second chance at love might be your best friend!? What do you do?!

I love that this book embodies something everyone has felt before. That heart break and inner turmoil over a failed relationship. The what if's and never ending scenarios of how things could have been different. Also the hope in new beginnings, the drive to see something through and continue to put one foot in front of the other. I was constantly rooting for Gemma throughout it all.
We all need a crazy family member willing to magic your troubles away, a sister who will bring the donuts and, a best friend willing to complete the spell with a kiss.
This is not by any means intense emotionally. It's a light with a sprinkle of angst kind of read that I can pick up and enjoy any day. A palette cleanser sort of book. I cant wait for its release to have the physical!

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I had low expectations going into this one as romances are always hit or miss for me, but this one is definitely a hit! It's funny, endearing, wholesome, spicy, literally everything you could want in a contemporary romance. Highly recommend if you find the synopsis interesting! I honestly can't imagine anyone disliking it, so pretty sure you'll have a good time with it!

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The writing was good, but I wasn’t a big fan of the frat party vibes, and all of the alcohol constantly being consumed. The story was fun, and I liked the friends-to-lovers relationship between Dax and Gemma. The spice level was way too much for me to feel comfortable recommending this to my friends though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

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What a cute book! Gemma is going through a break up, and through happenstance soles across a book that provides a spell to erase the person she spent the last four years ago from her life. Is her life better or worse without her ex?

The characters are likable and believable. The FMC has a tremendous amount of character growth. And the secondary characters are charming as well. I kind of wanted to know more about where her dream for her business came from and why she wanted that kind of business, but it wasn’t a deal breaker to not know. I would definitely read another of this author’s books!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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I devoured Kate Robb’s THIS SPELLS LOVE in less than a day, folks. It is unputdownable. Robb swiftly charms you in a story that that you will both savor and race to finish, eager to discover how things play out.

Gemma and Dax are spicy soulmates and we are HERE for that kind of will-they-won’t-they slow-burn energy. Full disclosure: I am decidedly NOT a fan of friends-to-lovers storylines (I tend to prefer enemies-to-lovers) but this one managed to win me over from the jump.

All in all, I adored THIS SPELLS LOVE. It’s a book that will romance every reader.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

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This book gives an answer to the question: if you lived a different life, what would change?

& I had a lot of fun with it.

I liked the original Dax more than alternate reality Dax. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I feel like her fascination with his package was a little over the top, but something that I could ignore.

I liked the growth of Gemma because she realized that she needed to make decisions based on the other people around her and not just herself & she really thought about the happiness of others.

The author really made me enjoy this friends to lovers romance, which is not normally my trope of choice. It’s a definite recommend for me!

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the ARC of this book for an honest review!

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A cute story that was a fast and fun read. I loved the concept and all the details the author added were flawless.

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I received an ARC of This Spells Love by Kate Robb from NetGalley!
While the story is fast moving and does keep you intrigued, the characters don't feel fully real. Our protagonist Gemma has some great moments sprinkled in but for the most part she feels like someone ran every single Hallmark movie character into a blender and this is the result. Dax also felt like so wooden he too fell victim to feeling like a a lifetime movie love interest so bland you don't really care to root for him. While the premise of this book will appeal to all sorts of readers ( those spicy scenes are what earned this book a star) the book sinks itself early on due to poor characterization choices.

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