📺 Book Review 📺

Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb
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Just like her first book, this book is delightful, charming, quirky, and whimsical. This is peak magical realism. It was light, cozy, and fun. Brynn and Josh get trapped in what’s basically Dawson’s Creek, and if you ever watched any nostalgic 2000s teen tv shows, you will love this book. It had a hint of the paranormal, ridiculous sit-com shenanigans, and a delicious, tension-filled slow burn romance. Brynn and Josh have excellent chemistry, and the build up to them getting together was perfect. This book is ideal for fall. Light a candle, grab a cozy blanket, and settle in to enjoy a sweet and delightful read.
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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
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Read if you like:
▫️magical realism
▫️Dawson’s Creek
▫️roommates to lovers
▫️slow burn
▫️dual POV
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Thank you to Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and Kate Robb for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.75/5 stars
1.5/5 spice

Tropes:
Second chance romance
2000's TV nostalgia
Grumpy/sunshine
Forced proximity
Dual POV

This was an ok read for me... honestly, I was tempted to rate it lower, but overall, I did enjoy some of it. I think if you were a big fan of teen drama shows in the 2000s, then you'd enjoy this book more. I fall in the minority. I never watched shows like Dawson's Creek, and I think my frustrations with shows like that were rampant while reading this book, preventing me from fully enjoying it.

I think since this wasn't really my jam, I'll leave my review at that. There's a specific audience for this book, but it's not me. The writing and spice are good. I really enjoyed the author's other book, so this plot was just not my vibe.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

This was a really sweet book and an easy read. This is the first book I've read from this author although I have This Spells Love on my shelf right now and I have yet to read it. Brynn and Josh are roommates who found themselves in right smack into a cancelled TV show together where they have a chance to change the ending of. The story was whimsical, funny, and relatable being someone who love shows like Dawson's Creek and other 2000s shows. I enjoyed the romance aspect that it did not go on the same route as some romance books normally take. The story is unique and fun. Who wouldnt take a chance to change an ending of a beloved show only to have a letdown of an ending. Although the characters are relatable, I did not feel as much chemistry on the MCs as much as I would like to so it made the story drag on for me. I still enjoyed it nonetheless and would recommend it to someone who is looking got a fresh romance story!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy in exchange for this honest review!

The book introduces us to Brynn, recently divorced and having a bartender as a roommate, Josh, whom she barely knows. In her life, there is one constant and that is her favorite show Carson’s Cove, where she finds the comfort of knowing exactly what happens.
On her birthday a stranger arrives at her doorstep to bring a cake and after making her birthday wish, her life makes an unexpected turn when she wakes up in the fictional town of Carson’s Cove with Josh.
This was a cozy, light funny read, it was fast paced, a little too predictable but overall a nice read.

Kate Robb is two for two on absolute smashes. As someone who has spent untold hours watching the teen dramas that inspired this story, this was exactly up my alley, and I absolutely loved it. Finding the references and Easter eggs was only part of the fun, though, as I absolutely loved Brynn and Josh (the chemistry!). It was such a great story as they fell for each other through their journey to getting home. Kate Robb is amazing at injecting humor into her stories, and this one was honestly just so much fun to read.

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★
Available now!

This was overall a sweet and charming story. It gave all the Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek vibes. I enjoyed the main characters Brynn and Josh and their connections to each other. I loved that Brynn worked to make change in the town they were sent to. I loved that she knew what some of the characters were doing was wrong and she did what she could to fix it. I enjoyed Josh’s story and him working to revamp the bar in town and dreaming of buying back his dad’s bar once they get back to the normal world.

The thing that didn’t work for me was the time travel/going into another world. The way it happened, why it happened, and the end goal just didn’t make sense to me. It was strange what was requested of the characters to be able to go back, they were very specific but they didn’t do those things and still got to go back in the end. This is entirely a personal opinion though. I am more of a logical thinker and tend to only read realistic fiction so this was a step out of my comfort zone.

Brynn has been obsessed with the show Carson’s Cove since she was a teen. It’s her comfort show - the one she rewatches when life feels hard, because everything seems perfect in it. Brynn’s life, on the other hand, is far from perfect. She’s recently divorced, had to move in with a roommate named Josh, and her “friends” forgot about her birthday. When a birthday cake shows up at midnight, Josh makes her have a bite and make a wish. When they wake up the next morning, they are in Carson’s Cove, and Brynn is the main character who has to find her happy ever after ending to get back to real life.

This is a cute small town romcom, full of 90’s/early 00’s nostalgia. It’s super easy to get lost in the story and I enjoyed that there was a mysterious component. Josh’s character was really enjoyable, but I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with Brynn’s character because she’s very opposite of me. I did want a bit more romance between Brynn and Josh. Brynn was busy trying to make the love story from Carson’s Cove happen, which didn’t really involve Josh. I did love that Brynn seemed to grow as a character and gain the confidence needed to go after what she actually wanted towards the end of the book. Overall, this was a fun and whimsical read, and I loved the writing style.

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

This was such a quick and fun read that had all the 90/00s teen TV show nostalgia. I love Kate Robb’s writing style—the banter was perfect, and I can never resist some magical realism in my romance books! I finished this book is less than 12 hours and all I can say is that I wish there was more!

Title: Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb
Publication Date- 09/03/24
Publisher- MacMillan
Overall Rating- 3 out of 5 stars (DNF rated for fairness)

Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: NGL, kinda sad this didn’t work for me. When the book first started, I loved the premise and was super excited for something new and refreshing. I hope that this new trend of magical realism in the romance genre continues, it’s spicing things up. ;)

Okay now that, that cringe is over. Per the usual I will start off by saying who I think would like this. I did DNF it at 35 percent in but feel that I read enough to say my opinions. You will like this, I’ve been saying this a lot recently, but if you want a light-hearted, not too serious rom com, maybe give this a try. Again, the premise is pretty interesting.

My honest thoughts were, nope. This just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t help but think how this premise would be a good horror book, like a campy horror. Not the point though. Once we actually got into the town and started to relive the show is when my distaste started. It became hard to believe and hard to settle in with the characters. Everything felt really surface level and “believe this because I’m telling you it’s so.” Knowing that it’s a romance and guessing the likely ending, made me not care enough to see how the characters get there.

I also didn’t like the side characters, they felt like walking stereotypes of certain characters (not in a harmful way) but just weren't creative. I had so much hope for this being a fun, silly, novel. I mostly struggled with the actions of the characters feeling shallow and hard to believe at times. That being said I do think there is an audience out there for the story.

OMG! I couldn’t love this book more!

Confession: I have never watched the teen dramas that inspired this book, but that absolutely did nothing to reduce my enjoyment of this little slice of magic. I was grinning ear to ear through most of this book, mostly when I wasn’t cursing the day job for making me, you know, WORK.

I loved Brynn and Josh so much—the way they got sucked into this alternate reality and made due as best they could. I loved how they fell for each other, and how it all turned out alright in the end.

Did I want to slap a few characters? Oh, absolutely! But that’s part of what made this story so great.

This book is a treasure, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It was cute in the beginning but the pacing felt off to me.
I thought that the MCs relationship moved forward too fast.

Nevertheless, I loved the concept of starring in your favorite show!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just ok for me, nothing really stood out. The romance was boring and flat, the characters were one dimensional and didn't stand out, and the plot was the reason I'm giving this two stars intead of one.

Brynn is newly divorced and living with a roommate, Josh, to afford her mortgage. She's got Carson's Cove to binge, which is a beloved '90s teenage soap not unlike Dawson's Creek. When a birthday cake shows up on their doorstep, Bryann wishes for a happy ever after. The next morning, she wakes up, in Carson's Cove, and Josh is there too. Will they find real love?

I really wanted to like this book! I loved the cover, and thought the premise was unique and cute, but the execution just fell flat for me. This was unfortunately underwhelming for me.

I liked that Brynn was a divorcee, that was a fun add into the book, especially for the age group of women that would likely be drawn to a book based loosely around Dawson's Creek. I will admit that I never watched Dawson's Creek, which was not by choice, but because I grew up without cable! I always wanted to watch those shows. I appreciated the subtle and not-so-subtle nods to teen dramas of the late 90s and early 2000s, but that unfortunately wasn't enough to improve this one for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

My feelings toward this book are very mixed..
From the first sentence I was invested in the story and find it very funny, but towards the end I felt like a deflated balloon. :))
Things that got me excited for this:
- the cover (amazing)
- the author (I knew about her from “this spells love”)
- the plot (our FMC life is all over the place as a 29ys old divorcee and she thinks she only finds joy in her fav teenage drama on TV where everything is without flaws so she wish for that on her birthday, next thing u know she’s there with her roommate as characters from the show – NOW TELL ME THAT DOESN’T SOUND AWESOME!!)
The problem that appeared:
- I feel like their romance was the subplot of a subplot, I could not feel the connection and wanted the characters to spend more time together and in the end, I have no attachment for the MCs.
Thanks to NetGalley, The Dial Press and Kate Robb for providing me with the ARC for an honest review! 😊

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a cute concept and the fact that I was the queen of watching 2000s tv shows, including Gilmore Girls, Summerland, and more, I knew I had to read it. I hadn’t seen anything like it before either which was another pull for me.

Poor Brynn, newly divorced, wondering how thing needed to this way, turning 30 (which everyone makes out to be a bad thing but really isn’t… why is this such a common theme in the media?) She makes a wish and ends up in her favourite tv show with her roommate as her costar.

I thought this was very cute. I didn’t connect a ton with the characters and found some parts lacking for me and hard to stick with but I liked the overall concept, the writing and the story.

Definitely cute and an easy read!

Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb releases on September 3rd, 2024.

This is a DELIGHTFUL binge-worthy read, perfect for a lazy Saturday where you might otherwise curl up for yet another marathon of your favourite comfort show. After a difficult year, Brynn wishes for better as she blows out the candle on a mysterious birthday cake - and the next morning, she and her roommate, Josh, wake up in what seems to be her favourite television show - Carson's Cove. It seems she needs to fix the unresolved love story between the show's main characters, one of whom she's now guest-starring as. But nothing in this reunion episode is quite as bright and shiny as she remembers - and Josh's guest-starring role as the bad boy bartender, Fletcher, has much more appeal.

I'm a sucker for 90s TV and a former Mary Sue-esque fanfiction writer, so this was *right* up my alley. I loved the Easter eggs the author slipped in for not only Dawson's Creek, but also other 90s cornerstones like Buffy and Saved by the Bell. I read this in a single sunny afternoon and I think it's the perfect light romcom for exactly that - don't overthink it, just let it pull you in....much like rewatching an episode of Dawson's Creek.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved the concept of this book! Brynne, still reeling from her divorce is trying to navigate her life in the wake of this happily ever after failure. Her roommate, Josh is grieving the loss of his father and feelings of failure at the loss of his dad's bar. On the eve of Brynne's 30th birthday, a mysterious stranger drops off a birthday cake. A wish later, they both wake up *in* Brynne's comfort show, Carson's Cove. I loved seeing Brynne and Josh heal and grow in what has always been a place of comfort and nostalgia to then find their way to each other and out of Carson's Cove.

I really loved this unique concept, it was very Pleasantville + 13 Going on 30 + Dawson's Creek that was all around so much fun.

I was excited about the concept but the execution fell flat for me :(

sped through the first third, which was very fun, excited to get to know our characters more and watch everything unravel. but then those things just didn't really happen in any satisfying way

poor characterization made me less invested in the characters and made their big romantic get-together feel less warranted. also—without getting into the weeds of it all—the internal and external situations/stakes got very muddied in ways that didn’t actually make logical sense. stuff like that drives me up the wall bc I’m shouting at the book like NO LET ME EXPLAIN IT TO YOU which obviously can’t change what’s already been published 😅

it had some fun moments but the second half of the second act dragged and that in addition to flat characters made me less excited about the ending, which I do think was a good one.

if it sounds fun then give it a go but just don’t expect a perfectly smooth ride.

I had heard raving reviews about this one, so I was excited to get it! It just… wasn’t for me, unfortunately. I see the premise and loved that, the execution just didn’t keep me engaged.

If you're a fan of the movie Tenn Beach, you're sure to love this story.

Who hasn't had a favorite series, cartoon, anime or movie that they have dreamed of being a part of, well this is what happens to our dear Brynn, a recently divorced woman who doesn't know what direction to take in her life and ends up sharing a house with Josh.

On her birthday she is suddenly dragged into her favorite TV show and not only her, but also Josh, where they both get to play the roles of the main characters of that show.

Brynn soon discovers that to get out of there, she must guide Slone's story to a good ending, but although it sounds easy, many things are happening along the way, which makes her question whether she wants to return to her reality or stay forever in this fictional world she loves so much.

It's been quite a journey and I must say I've had a great time, I think I'm liking the idea of this type of trope, being able to dive into favorite series or books, I think a dream for many and I'm liking how Kate has handled it. She is still on my radar and I will be reading her again for sure.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.