I truly loved the creative concept behind this story. Being transported to your favorite tv show…Sign me up! I loved the message that not everything is what it appears at the surface and that change can be positive. This story felt light and charming, while exploring difficult topics. The chemistry between Brynn and Josh was jumping off the pages and I loved their friendship and support for one another. This was a lot of fun to read and I love the magical components.

This was a cute premise but unfortunately it really wasn’t for me. I decided to DNF at 25% in. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

The premise of the book is intriguing, combining the charm of a high school tv show with a romantic adventure. (What would I do if I was suddenly dropped into Meredith Grey's shoes?) However, the transition from Brynn’s reality to the fictional world of Carson’s Cove felt abrupt and somewhat elusive.

As Brynn and Josh navigate their new roles, the novel struggles to balance its whimsical premise with deeper character development. While the romantic potential between Brynn and Josh is evident, the relationship feels underdeveloped. The chemistry between the characters is there, but their romance could have been explored in more depth to make their emotional journey more compelling.

Overall, Prime Time Romance is an imaginative read with a fun concept that occasionally falters in execution. It offers a light-hearted escape into a world of your favorite TV show.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb in exchange for my true thoughts.

Definitely came for the Dawson's Creek vibes, and this book absolutely delivered on that. However, I never got fully invested in the romance between Brynn and Josh - I personally needed more build up/development. But, the plot was interesting and the writing was solid, so I'd be open to reading more from this author.

Ultimate alternate reality TV.
Brynn's go-to comfort show is Carson's Cove. It's her fictional happy place that she's watched a million times over and over.
Set in a quaint little oceanside town in New England where everything always wraps up nicely and turns out perfect. Where Sloan has always pined for her high school bestie Spencer but he is forever clueless to her love (think Dawson's Creek). The fifth season finale ended with the ultimate cliffhanger - Sloan was just about to tell Spencer how she felt before they parted ways. But during the summer the show got canceled! That became the series finale and no one knows what their happily ever after would have been. Brynn was devastated.

A mysterious birthday cake delivered by a strange little man and a wish for her own happily ever after finds her waking up the next day in Carson's Cove as Sloan 15 years after the show ended. And she somehow drug her roommate Josh along too where he is the town's bad boy, Fletcher. Her job is to give Spencer and Sloan the happily ever after they deserve and never got.
As she starts to navigate her perfect Carson's Cove and the relationships Sloan had with the people, things aren't exactly the way it seems on the TV screen. Especially as an adult. She starts to realize the grass isn't exactly greener in the real Carson's Cove universe. So what actually is the happily ever after Sloan deserves? Can Brynn (with Josh's help) finish Spencer and Sloan's love story?

I loved this book!! I can totally relate to being so enamored with a show as a kid and wishing I could be part of it. But there is always that "be careful what you wish for" aspect here.
It's an awesome 'what if?' situation and a realization that you can't write every storyline and force it to happen in real life.
So much fun!!

Brynn is recently divorced, heartbroken and living with Josh (a bartender) in order to afford her mortgage. She has ONE thing right now that makes her happy - and it’s binging her favorite series, Carson’s Cove!

I liked a lot of things in this story, and a few things that irritated me. I LOVED the homage to teen dramas of my past like Dawson’s Creek and Pleasantville. I liked the message the author was trying to express like, “The grass isn’t greener.” I didn’t really like some things were censored- like cussing, but other things were not censored- like sex. I just felt all of it should have been “censored,” if that was the route you were going…

*This book is for you if you like: nostalgic tv series, friends to lovers trope, and second chance love.

Prime Time Romance blends comedy and romance with a sprinkling of fantasy.

Brynn turns thirty not too long after her divorce is finalized. Looking to escape the parts of her life she wants to forget, she turns to her favorite early-2000s comfort show Carson’s Cove. After a wish-gone-amiss, Brynn and her roommate, Josh, wind up as the main characters in Carson’s Cove. Brynn attempts to resolve the show’s unsatisfying cliffhanger ending while she processes her feelings about her divorce. As Brynn and Josh navigate their new “reality” Brynn and Josh grapple with the issues they tried to evade in the real world. They also discover newfound feelings for each other.

As a fan of early-2000s teen soaps like One Tree Hill and The O.C., I was excited about the plot to Prime Time Romance. Early 2000s soaps have a blend of nostalgia and heightened emotion. The fantasy element to them is a draw. Robb does a great job of bringing all of the things that make teen soaps compelling to the forefront. She also acknowledges their heightened fantasy elements and how differently relationships play out on T.V. than they do in real life. She also addresses how differently teen soaps look when you’re watching them as an adult.

Josh and Brynn’s soap opera storylines within the story were entertaining. Robb gave both characters their own storylines and issues to work on separately, which made the characters more relatable. The Carson’s Cove setting and characters reminded me of Dawson’s Creek in the best ways. The small-town setting with quirky characters and heightened emotions was the perfect backdrop for Josh and Brynn’s budding relationship.

I also love Robb’s writing style. Her prose and dialogue flow easily, making this a quick and fun read. Her writing has elements of humor and wit. She paced the plot well. Robb included both Josh and Brynn’s perspectives, which helped empathize with both characters and their challenges.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the story line. I did feel like the end was rushed a bit to get to the HEA but still a unique story line.

The premise of this book is so good and I think it was definitely written and executed well, but there was just something about it that I couldn't get into.

I feel like we got so much of Josh in the beginning, which I loved -- he seemed like the only sane character honestly (besides maybe Luce), but I feel like he fell off toward the end to make room for our main female character, Brynn. There was so much more I wanted to see from Josh. I would've loved to see him wake up after the wish was made and at the auction and see him wrestle with buying his dad's old bar and talking to his mom about what he learned being "away". I also feel like his and Brynn's reunion at the end was so rushed and the Josh she ended up with seemed so different form the Josh she got to know while stuck in Carson's Cove.

I also liked the idea of Sheldon's character but I feel like his character got so dark in random moments that it didn't really make sense in some spots, it felt a little awkward. I still don't even know *how* he was able to get them into Carson's Cove considering he *worked* on that set -- how did he come to be this magical being or a being that wields the power to make magical things? That part of the storyline was a little confusing.

I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook while you read, because the narrators definitely helped me lean into the story more. All in all, I enjoyed the characters -- especially Luce and Josh and the bar-owner in Carson's Cove (I forgot her name </3)

While I definitely have a few questions and wishes for the book, I still had a lot of fun reading it! The premise is truly very unique.

This one gives me all the Dawson Creek vibes! (Team Pacey forever)

Read this if you love…
✨magical realism
✨roommates to lovers
✨cheesy 2000’s sitcoms

I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I enjoyed This Spells Live, but this one was even better!

We got dual POV! My favorite! I will continue to read from this author. This book might have made her an autobuy author!

5/5

This was such a cute, fun, nostalgic read. The magical realism was satisfying, and the main characters were so lovable! I definitely got Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, and The Good Place (holy forking shirt-balls!) vibes from Kate Robb’s Prime Time Romance. Loved! Would recommend.

Thank you @prhaudio for the free audiobook and @netgalley & Random House for an eARC.
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Be still my teen drama loving heart. Imagine yourself transported back to 90210 or any number of other shows from your teen years. The dual narration was perfect and this was such a fun book!

The morning after her 30th birthday, Brynn and her roommate Josh wake up to find themselves in Carson's Cove, the small town setting of Brynn's favorite TV drama from the 2000s. The show ended abruptly on a cliffhanger, leaving fans extremely upset. In order to get home, Brynn must step into the role of the show's leading character and give her the happy ending she deserves.

This one was very cute! It definitely felt like a Hallmark/Disney movie (minus the steamy scenes) in book form. I loved the magical realism and the premise of them going into the world of Brynn's comfort TV show. Carson's Cove definitely felt like a true 2000s teen show that we all would have watched when we were younger! I did find the book to be corny and almost YA (again, minus the steam) but I believe that was the point given the setting. There were definitely some funny moments, especially when they couldn't curse, and I liked the growth in the characters. I do wish there was a bit more explanation as to how Sheldon made it all happen in the first place, that part seemed glossed over.

The whole book I kept thinking of the movie Pleasantville. So much nostalgia packed in these pages and an easy one to binge!

3.5 stars rounded up!

Prime Time Romance reminds me of the movie Pleasantville. Instead of brother and sister going in the tv it’s two roommates.

The way Brynn and Josh end up in the tv show Carson’s Cove is a little strange. Josh and Brynn live in our world where there is no magic so the fact they both get sucked into the fictional world of Carson’s Cove makes zero sense to me.

Sheldon makes even less sense to me. I understand his place in the show but I don’t fully understand his motivation (it is explained in the book but I don’t get how he is able to orchestrate everything) and the end with him….just didn’t work for me.

Once Josh and Brynn are in the show playing two of the characters the story isn’t bad. If the getting there and back made more sense or played a little more like Wizard of Oz I would have rated a little higher.

This was heavy on the nostalgia and it definitely worked for me! I loved the alternate reality and Josh and Brynn’s relationship. It was very feel-good and fun!

FMC gets thrown into an alternate universe along with her roommate she barely speaks to and finds that it is the exact town of her favorite off air teen drama, and everyone thinks she's the main character. Roommate Josh also has a role, but not of her love interest as much as they find more time together they might have had a connection all along.

I really read this so quickly because I was having so much fun with it. I am a major fan of Dawson's Creek, every once in awhile I need a comfort rewatch and I picked up on all the references. There's an author's note at the end with some of her inspo and it's not all Dawson's Creek which just keeps it fun throwing in more Easter eggs.

I also loved the romance. It felt like a more mature TV show romance in itself with how much the FMC feels like she needs to play out with the show's lead and lost love when her true love all along could be the bad boy MMC. There are about 2ish open door scenes and so fire.

Unfortunately, the magic system kind of let me down by the end. This Spells Love (author's first book) was one of my top reads last year and I felt it was perfectly magical and made total sense to me, open shut case. This is obviously a different world/different story and so even with a fresh scheme of reference it didn't fully make sense and I still have so many questions I feel should have been answered. That's my reasoning even though it pains me to not give this 5 stars because I really thought it was well written otherwise. Thank you to Dial/Random House for the eARC!

This was really fun. I loved that there were two couples chasing their happily ever after, and that there was some suspense in which one would get it. The message of the book about what happily ever after actually means and what it also means to love yourself really came through and added to the book a lot. It was different from a lot of other books that I’ve read lately and that’s one thing that I really appreciated it about it.

Unfortunately, Prime Time Romance was a huge miss for me. I just couldn’t connect with the characters, and I felt like the story was just all over the place. I almost DNF’d it, but I powered through.

I loved the first book I read by Kate Robb but this one didn't start out good for me and I just don't care. I read the first chapter, took a break for a few days and couldn't even remember what I had read. There are too many other books out there that I want to read for this one to be meh! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

This was literally such a good time! I forgot how much I love Kate Robb’s writing. This book felt too appropriate to read during my Gilmore Girl’s rewatch, since the whole premise works because the fmc, Brynn, thinks life will be better in her fictional favorite TV show.

This was truly such a fun time. I enjoyed the whole magical realism aspect of the plot, and cannot wait for Kate Robb’s next book. Also the cover?? Stunning.

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy!