"Newly divorced on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Brynn is sick of heartbreak. She thought she had found her happy ending, but now she’s living with a roommate, Josh, to afford her mortgage, and she’s trying to adjust to her new single life. At least she’s got Carson’s Cove to binge, her beloved 2000s teenage soap. The show ended unexpectantly on a cliffhanger after five seasons, and the two main characters, Sloan and Spencer, never got to declare their love for each other. The show is still perfect in Brynn’s eyes; despite all the drama that goes down, things always have a way of working out in Carson’s Cove . . . unlike her own life.
So when a birthday cake surprisingly shows up on her and Josh’s doorstep, Brynn makes a wish for the one thing she’s always wanted (but has failed to achieve herself): a happily-ever-after.
The next morning, she doesn’t wake up in her apartment. She’s in Carson’s Cove . . . and Josh is there too. Everyone seems to know them, except they’re not Brynn and Josh; they’re Sloan, the sweetheart of Carson’s Cove, and Fletch, the town’s bad boy. And to get home, they have to make Brynn’s wish come true by ensuring Sloan and Spencer, the hometown heartthrob, end up together at last. But as they spend more time together, Brynn and Josh realize that Carson’s Cove might not be as perfect as seen on television . . . especially when they start developing feelings for each other in a plot twist no one has expected. Will they stick to the script, or will real love change the story forever?" -Goodreads

This started off fun, but I did not love the Carson's Cove stuff. Not a favorite, which is a bummer because I loved her last book!

This book had an interesting premise but wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped. Always enjoy a touch of magical realism though!

Such a fun, feel-good read! I loved watching Brynn try to navigate the chaos of suddenly being inside her favorite teen soap, Carson’s Cove. Her chemistry with Josh is electric, and the mix of romance, humor, and heart kept me hooked from start to finish. This book made me laugh, swoon, and secretly wish I could get trapped in a fictional world too.

I unfortunately did not enjoy this book. While the writing was good and flowed well, the storyline wasn't to my liking. It felt sluggish and I found myself losing interest early on. I love this author's writing and her previous work but this one just didn't do it for me. I will definitely read more from her in the future as I know even her less enjoyable work is still excellent writing.

Such a clever premise and a good read.

The idea of Brynn ending up in what she perceived as a perfect world only to discover the truth--perfect. Although I did want to put the book down sometimes.

Other than a rushed ending I felt didn't have a lot of oomph, this was a pleasant read. I would recommend to readers who also love to watch TV.

I thought this book was super cute! The premise was different than most of the typical romance books which made it more interesting. I felt like the ending was a little rushed but other than that it was great!

I love discovering a local author through Netgalley! This was such a fun and sweet read. I’ll be checking out future books of Robb’s for sure
!

Alright I have to admit I enjoyed this one a lot. I read it in one sitting on a flight. I love the main characters and thought their relationship felt normal. There wasn't the overly-sappiness that some romance novels have. It made sense that they fell for each other. I think that is important considering this book relies on magical thinking for the rest of the plot.

Well I’m pretty far behind on reading Prime Time Romance. But it was quite the quick read! Not sure why I put it off for so long.

It’s definitely a different concept but it’s not terrible. I wish there had been more drama!!!
I cackled when Sloane and Spencer kissed the first time. Just cackled. Haha
And the ending may not have been what you were expecting!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a nostalgic, magical fever dream. Brynn wakes up inside her favorite early-2000s teen drama (yes, literally inside the show), and her grumpy-hot roommate Josh is now playing her onscreen love interest. It's like a WB-era soap turned into a magical realism romance novel. YES PLEASE. This is a very, very *me* book.

This was my first book by Kate Robb and it wont be my last. I loved the idea of this book and it definitely delivered. I enjoyed seeing Brynn and Josh’s friendship develop into something more. There was humor, messy and sweet. Their chemistry was undeniable and the slow burn was worth it. Overall this was a cute, sweet and funny romance.

*4.5 stars

I really loved this one!! Where so many other romances can feel focused on fitting characters and the plot into defined tropes (I love enemies-to-lovers as much as the next girl but can we change it up sometimes?), Prime Time Romance feels unique in both its plot and how it tackles the issues the main characters are dealing with. Brynn and Josh just happen to be roommates after her brother moves out and Josh is his former co-worker. They aren't long-time friends or bitter rivals fighting due to a miscommunication from 5 years ago. They feel very real in how they meet and fall in love, which feels wild to say considering the circumstances that push them together.

I tend to prefer romantasy-lite, or books that have just a touch a paranormal edge to them rather than a more drawn out fantasy world, and so seeing a description where the main character is literally pulled into her comfort TV show instantly appealed to me. After starting it though, I realized that beyond a cute concept, it is also a incredibly interesting way to highlight how people can become stuck in their ways and what they find comfortable. Brynn has a hard time moving on, both in the real world as a young divorcee, and as Sloane, her favorite character who she has been cast as in this nightmare scenario. Both of their lives suffer from this and being trapped in Carson’s Cove only makes this blaringly apparent. For Josh, Carson’s Cove is a way to face his failures in not being able to keep his late fathers bar running and whether he wants to give it another shot. It is and interesting way to give the characters the space to discover things about themselves.

The only things that I would change are that I wish we had a bit more development around the familial relationships from both leads, but I understand that would be diffcult considering they are both trapped in a early aughts teen drama. I also wish we had more time to with Josh and Brynn together in the outside world and not only how their relationship is developing, but also how other lessons they both learned changed them. A big part of Brynn's story is becoming friends with the town mean girl, Luce, and seeing how she was misunderstood throughout the series. The friendship they build is so nice and it made me sad to not have any mention of Brynn developing friendships in her new town, especially after moving their to help Josh with his bar. While she has a huge hand in the bar, I just would have liked to have seen more of her life outside it as well!

This book was really hard to keep up with. I was into it for a short bit but then it moved into the weird place and I couldn’t get into it. I finished it but wouldn’t recommend it to friends. I wanted to like this so badly.

Just the right amount of corny and predictable that I wanted when I picked this book up. I loved that it easily could have been written as an “enemies to lovers” story but instead they just were passing roommates that never spoke to each other. It made it more believable for the quick transition from “nothing to something”. I’d definitely read more from this author, her writing flowed easily and was easy to digest.

Brynn is sick of being single, but when she makes a wish to find her happy ending on her 30th birthday, she’s shocked to find out that she’s landed in the town from her favorite TV show (picture Dawson’s Creek) with her surly roommate, Josh.

The town knows her as Sloan, the heroine of Carson’s Cove, and her job is to give Sloan the happy ending she never got on the show, with leading man Spencer. But as Brynn’s feelings for Josh begin to grow, she’s not sure she can fake the ending with Spencer and get them back home.

Why Kirsten likes it
This story is for anyone who’s ever wanted to be in their favorite TV show. The chemistry between the characters was great and I loved all the ’90s CW show vibes!

⭐️⭐️

Prime Time Romance is a breezy contemporary romance novel!

•The plot, I really really loved this plot idea. Gave me 13 Going On 30 vibes with a mixture of One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek.

• I liked Brynn and Josh but I just found the chemistry lacking

• I loved the fact the MMCs were full grown adults with real problems and life exprience.

•The pacing was just too lagy for me, I found myself skimming at most times because I just wanted to be done.

Overall for me it was meh which sucks because the premise sounded amazing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb. All opinions are my own.

This was so good!! The first few chapters I had trouble getting into but once the main conflict is introduced, I was totally sucked in. I read this in one day, I couldn't put it down! Can't wait for her next book.

Omg I loved the concept of this book! As someone who was obsessed with teen dramas I loved the concept of wanting to go back and fix story lines to be better. It was giving great vibes in this book! Loved the story arc of Josh coming into himself with the Carson’s Cove bar and wanting to buy his dads bar back.. Sheldon was a good character that kept the story on track throughout the book. Love that Brynn got some good friendship moments with her former rival, and also some honesty that her BFF wasn’t really looking out for her.

I wish there was one more chapter after they returned back to see the after the story bits a bit more finalized, but was a good overall and a fun/cute read!

3.5 stars

Brynn is feeling unfulfilled in life, and, as she hits her 30th birthday, wishes life could be like that of her favorite teen girl while growing up. when she wakes up, she's not only transported but is now tasked with bringing it to a satisfying ending. Of course, she's not alone, though, and her roommate Josh is there too.

I enjoyed the themes of figuring out your life and that things aren't always this perfect as they seem from an outside perspective. The setup for this story was really original and fun, too, especially as someone who loved watching teen dramas growing up.

The pacing was a bit uneven and legged in the middle. particularly, but this was a good read.

DNF @ 61%

So…I didn’t get it.

Kate Robb made a number of choices in Prime Time Romance that I can’t help feeling were the exact opposite of the choice she should have made. And while I don’t want this entire review to become me just editing the book for what I would have done differently, I can’t help thinking that it would have improved so much if a) the two leads, Josh and Brynn, had known each other just a smidge better before this wild adventure into her favorite television show and b) instead of becoming characters that were part of the show, they’d instead just been cast additions.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown incredibly tired of the trope where the girl is obsessed with getting into a relationship with someone who is not the love interest. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is something that can be done well, but it’s certainly a plotline that has to have some care to it. With Prime Time Romance, this persistency felt incredibly cringy and honestly just kind of left me feeling really bad for Josh and very unwilling to buy their romance.

It also doesn’t help that I never once really felt like I could connect to the characters in Brynn’s favorite show. I’m not entirely sure what the exact fix for this would be, but I can say that I think we definitely needed more of an introduction to the characters and understanding their world and relationships on a visceral level rather than simply being told what we were supposed to believe and think about them. As a reader, I felt like I was going in as blind as Josh was, which made Brynn’s full obsession with the lead couple difficult to connect to. And I get that we’re supposed to self-insert a little bit here, use one of the relationships that we’re deeply invested in from a show we loved, ourselves, but since that journey is so different for everyone, leaving out an opportunity for readers to build a connection makes it difficult for anyone who’s favorites don’t fit the mould of the show present in the book.

And finally, I’m just at a massive loss as to the purpose of this journey. I don’t understand the motives of the person who put them there, why it matters, and why they care. It simply feels like a plot contrivance. I’ll concede, however, that since I did DNF this book that perhaps there is something that arises later on to fully explain the motivation, but I’m also not holding my breath, either.