Interesting and fun premise. Had me hooked in the first half, but I was easily distracted during the second. Loved the Dawson's Creek inspo, but I just didn't feel the chemistry between these two characters. I enjoy the authors writing, as she is a new to me author this year, however this read was just ok for me.

Prime Time Romance has an extremely fun premise. Brynn is recently divorced and watching her favorite show Carson's Cove (basically Dawson's Creek) with her hot roommate, Josh, when she receives a birthday wish that lands Josh and her in present day Carson's Cove as two of the show's main characters.

Katie Robb's writing set the scene nicely, but I didn't really feel the romance. There was too much time spent exploring Brynn (as Sloan) with the tv show lead Spencer. While I think some tension was helpful there, it took away time for Brynn and Josh's relationship to sufficiently develop.

Like Kate Robb's last novel, "Prime Time Romance" was an incredibly creative spin on the "romance with a bit of magic" genre. I really enjoyed this book, and liked it better than her last one.

I really liked both Brynn and Josh's stories, I wish we got to dive into them a little more even when they were preoccupied with the events of Carson's Cove. I loved the setting of a 90s drama TV show and how the book explored both the positive and negative sides to the gilded stories these shows portrayed.

While I appreciated that the book was dual-POV, I wish we got a little more from Josh, especially toward the end. (Specifically, I would have loved to see him pine a little when he got sent home without Brynn). And while I understand that in this type of story, the magic isn't necessarily explained or makes sense, I would have liked a little more closure on the paranormal side of things (specifically for the Carson's Cove characters, are they real??).

This one was really fun, and I'm looking forward to what else Robb writes.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press Trade for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This fast paced romance based around a bit of magical realism, was just a middle of the road read for me. I had high hopes for the premise, but it fell a bit flat for me. It was still an enjoyable read. Just not one that would live on my forever shelves.

What I liked:
- the nostalgic throwbacks to some of my favorite tv shows as a teenager. The easter eggs are there if you can recognize them.
- the growth of Brynn's character throughout the book
- the towns ability to change
- Luce's character in general. She's a friend I'd love to have

Where it fell a little short:
- while there was nothing inherently wrong with them, I just didn't connect with either of our MC's
- I couldn't stand Poppy's character. She was needlessly malicious. Granted that's who her character was supposed to portray, but it still grated on me

As always, my hang ups will not necessarily be yours. If you're looking for a fun, nostalgia filled romance, I still recommend checking this one out.

Brynn is turning thirty and her life is nothing like she pictured…divorced, no true friends and she’s just in a rut. She needs a roommate to help pay the rent and in comes Josh. He’s had his own failures and is now a bartender.

She’s obsessed with a TV show from her younger years and it’s become her comfort show that she watches repeatedly. Josh finally watches an episode with her and suddenly a birthday cake is delivered and she makes a wish.

Then magically they become part of the TV show and work to help their characters have a fresh start and a happy ending.

Here are my thoughts…
Cute concept but it really felt like a YA with adult spice which was kinda odd. But it was a fast read and lighthearted for the most part. The romance was some what insta-love and forced. Not sure we needed all of the spice.

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

This book was adorable! After ARC reading for Kate Robb's first book, I fell in love with her whimsical twists on contemporary romance. Prime Time Romance had that same whimsy flare. Fans of A Novel Love Story and 90s/00s teen dramas will eat this up!

Synopsis:
After making a wish for her own happily ever after, Brynn and her roommate Josh wake up in Carson's Cove, the setting of Brynn's favorite bingeable drama from her teenage years. The only way for them to return home is to give the characters the ending they deserve, since the show was suddenly canceled after its 5th season. Will they stick to the script, or will their love change the story forever?

I didn't love this book as much as her first one, but it was very cute. Her books are always good for a quick read to help get you out of a slump. Prime Time Romance had dual pov, and compared to her first book with single pov, I think I enjoyed that one more. The romance and plot was more developed with the single pov, whereas this one felt a little disjointed. Overall, I would definitely recommend for millenials in need of some light, fluffy, nostalgia.

Tropes:
- small town
-roommates
- 90s/00s nostalgia
- dual pov
- a sprinkle of magic

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the gifted copy

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

This was a super cute, palate cleansing, quick and easy read. There is romance, self discovery, magical realism, and friendship.

This book gives Pleasantville vibes as our main characters are thrust into the world of a teen drama TV show that Brynn loved back in high school and still leans on now for comfort in its predictability, as her life is seemingly coming to pieces.

I enjoyed the way the book used the story to deconstruct teen drama TV shows and shed light on how incongruent to real life they truly are. The “villain” was an extra extra and was equal parts funny and annoying. The love story was well paced and swoon worthy.

Overall the was just a fun read. Nothing super deep or impactful. Definitely cheesy at times. But it was enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this unusual romance where the heroine finds herself transported to her favorite teen drama‘s small town as one of the characters, 15 years later. The teen heartthrob is back in town, so is are her frenemies and the bad boy who is back too, but with a twist. Charming and funny with a side of steam, this small town romance has Dawson‘s Creek and Gilmore Girl vibes. Releases 9/3. highly recommend!

📺 Book Review 📺
|| Prime Time Romance ||
|| Author: Kate Robb ||
Format: NetGalley ebook
Release Date: September 3, 2024
Read from: August 29, 2024 to August 29, 2024
2024 RG: 111/100

MCs: Josh and Brynn

🎂 Roommates
🎂 Slow burn
🎂 No 3rd act breakup
🎂 Dual pov
🎂 Dawsons Creek x Pleasantville
🎂 Grumpy x sunshine
🎂 A magical birthday wish


Brynn is a Carson’s Cove fanatic. It’s her absolute comfort show that got her through high school, friend drama, and even a divorce. Her one wish is that her life would be as perfect as her favorite show. On the night of her thirtieth birthday, a man shows up with a cake. And when she wishes for no more plot twists, she wakes up in Carson’s Cove? And the only way back home is to give Sloan (the FMC) the happily ever after ending she didn’t get before? But what if that’s not what Brynn wants?

Josh is bartending on the night of his roommate’s (unknowing) birthday. He can’t let her walk home in the dark alone, so he goes with her. Back at the apartment, the mysterious man has left the cake. He lights the candle because it’s not a real birthday until you make a wish, right? But Brynn’s wish drags him in too and he wakes up in the unfamiliar land of Carson’s Cove- Brynn’s favorite show.

It’s not long until they realize that maybe their dreams are different than they once thought.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

“You can’t start the next episode of your life if you keep rewatching the old one.”

I swear everytime I picked this up, I could hear the sounds of Paula Cole's "I Don't Wanna Wait" playing in my head. I am a tried and true Dawson's Creek Girly. Although I was young when it came out, I wanted to do and watch everything my older cousins watched. then in my early twenties, I did a deep-dive rewatch. Capeside is comfort to me + Pacey Witter is one of my top TV boyfriends. All this to say, there was no universe in which I was not going to enjoy this book.

Brynn is in desperate need of her comfort show - Carson's Cove - on a continuous loop on her TV screen. It's the only way she can escape from her newly divorced reality as she careens towards a birthday she doesn't much feel like celebrating. But when a cake appears on her doorstep, she makes a late-night wish for a happily-ever-after. That wish had magic in it, and the next day both Brynn and her very good looking roommate, Josh, wake up in Carson's Cove. Can they give Brynn's beloved characters a new ending? Will they find a new ending of their own?

This was a fun read with a lot of heart. It was fun to revisit the tropes of a teen sitcom as an adult, and change the ending to leave our beloved Capeside -- err, Carson's Cove -- a better place. The development of Brynn and Josh's relationship was well paced, fun, and full of great banter and tension. Did I picture James Vanderbeek as Spencer? Absolutely. My primary complaint was the closeness of the names Spencer and Sheldon? I had to really think about who was who. [Personal problem, I know!] Plus, I loved, loved, loved the "easter egg" section after the close of the book. I think maybe Kate Robb and I could be besties?

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Brynn is about to turn 30 and feels like her life is taking a first class ticket on the struggle bus. The night before her birthday Brynn tries to relax with her favorite show, Carson’s Cove. Where everything and anyone is beautiful and there’s always a happily ever after. Her roommate Josh asks her to make a birthday wish.

When Brynn wakes up she’s not in her apartment. She’s in Carson’s Cove! She is the main character of favorite series. However time reveals not everything is rainbows and butterflies. And the only way to get home is to give herself a new happily ever after!

I thought this book was really original! I was nervous about the dual timeline/characters but I was pleasantly surprised how well they were written. No confusion at all!

My only criticism is wanting more between Josh and Brynn. I wanted to feel more passion or even tension between them. I was also hoping for more romance between Brynn and Josh post Carson’s Cove!

I loved all the little references to my teenage show, Dawson’s Creek. If you’re a fan, you need to read!

Thank you Dial Press & NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved Kate Robb’s debut so very much, and absolutely was not disappointed with her sophomore novel!

This is a BLAST of a premise: Brynn is a heartbroken, 30 year old divorcee who has found solace in watching her favorite teen drama over… and over. One could cal her the shows biggest fan, and some sort of cosmic force notices this when she makes a wish on her 30th birthday and is transported to the very town she’s fallen in love with on the screen. The catch: her handsome, bartender roommate was sent with her.

This was just so, so incredibly fun. I LOVE a rom-com with a dash of the magical and this had the perfect taste of that. It’s hilarious, suitably cliche (given the premise), swoony and heartfelt. I loved Brynn and Josh, they have electric chemistry both as friends and as more. The antics the two of them find themselves between are so entertaining and upbeat, and the conflict is also really well handled. There’s a serious dash of 🌶️spice to this one, and the way the couple built toward this point was *chefs kiss* 💋

This book was so easy to devour, it’s snappy and witty but also intriguing and different, it has a beautiful romance that is easy to root for, and a premise unlike any I’ve ever read before. The ending felt a liiiiiiittle rushed, which is the only reason I’m giving this 4.5/5 stars. I will absolutely be a Kate Robb fan from here on out, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to Dial Press & NetGalley for this gem of an eArc!

This book was so fun. As a lover of teenage dramas, Prime Time Romance was right up my alley. I have definitely watched a series finale for my favorite show and wished I could change the ending so the idea that Brynn gets to do just that was super interesting to me.

Since I grew up watching all of the 90s and 00s teen drama, this one hit with all of the nostalgia. Carson's Cove was a perfect mix of all the classics (the OC, Riverdale, Gilmore Girls, etc) and the characters fit the mold perfectly. I loved that our two main characters are messy and imperfect and while they don't quite fit in in the picturesque Carson's Cove, they add their own something to the place and unintentionally make it better in the end. Josh and Brynn are complex and complicated and really well suited to bring out the best in each other. While their relationship sometimes felt a little insta-lovey, I didn't mind because I liked them both so much.

The pacing and the plot were incredibly well done. Every scene felt thought out and important to the overall plot. From the first moment Brynn and Josh wake up in Carson's Cove to the end where they meet again in the real world was perfectly timed to push the story forward without moving too fast or two slow. The journey Brynn takes especially from loving being in her favorite tv show to realize it's not as perfect as she always believed was everything I was hoping for to get us to the resolution that the messy real world will always be better.

Overall, I'm a big fan of Prime Time Romance. It was exactly what I was expecting and such a fun time. Kate Robb's writing and her use of magical realism lead to a very fun book.

This book was a gift! I love the way Kate Robb writes alternate universes that seem to take place in the same timeline. The magical realism is delightful! This one just happened to have nostalgic 2000s TV vibes. The alternating POVs were done well and I liked being in both Brynn and Josh's heads. There were so many nods to pop culture and I was a HUGE fan of that. I also so related to Brynn watching her comfort show over again — hello Gilmore Girls for me! I enjoyed the romance immensely but I also enjoyed the various character development. There was no shortage of drama, but there was also a nice sense of community. I had a lot of fun reading this and couldn't put it down! Thank you to Dell Romance for the arc to read and review!

This was so much fun. It literally transported me to the tv dramas I watched in middle school and high school. Dawson creek, the oc… such a cute one! A real life woman is transported into the tv show of her teenage years, with her roommate. When tasked with winning a pageant and falling in love with the boy next door, she finds that the world she once thought was perfect was actually flawed. Will she fall in love? Return home? Find her happily after? The characters were fun, story line was ridiculous… but it has all the feel good drama of my youth. A must read for anyone who loved teenage drama of the early 2000s.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

PRIME TIME ROMANCE is a fun adult romance that's perfect for people who grew up watching 2000s teen dramas and wishing they could be a part of it. brynn, newly divorced and almost 30, has to live with a hot bartender roommate to pay her mortgage. but when a stranger shows up at her door with a birthday cake, brynn wishes for a happily-ever after. only when she wakes up, she's in carson's cove with josh, her roommate. except they're no longer brynn and josh—they're sloan and fletch, the sweetheart and bad boy of carson's cove, respectively.

i grew up watching shows like dawson's creek, gilmore girls, and other 2000s teen dramas, so i knew as soon as i picked up this book that i was going to love it and i wasn't wrong. brynn is such a messy but lovable character and seeing all the chaos and shenanigans she got into in carson's cove had me laughing out loud. i also loved how seeing her and josh fall for each other and how they managed to get home after all.

read if you like:
- 2000s teen dramas
- messy mcs
- tv references

thanks to netgalley and the dial press for the advanced copy! PRIME TIME ROMANCE comes out september 3.

Good, not great
The premise was interesting but the writing fell flat - The emotions were missing and I really hated that

Such an enjoyable, fast-paced, adorable read!

Though this concept has been done before, I really enjoyed reading about Brynn and Josh's adventures in Carson's Cove. Kate Robb really nailed the setting, as I really felt the vibes of Riverdale and Dawson's Creek. It wasn't overly cheesy or cliche, but charming at first and then sickly sweet as you realize more alongside Brynn. I really loved the exploration of the cliched roles people are placed in, how there is little room for growth or change, unless we really push for it and try to see it. The romance was sweet, and overall the story was super cute and fun!

Thank you so much to Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook and to Dial Press for the advanced readers copy.

This is case where I should have read the synopsis before requesting the book. It has to be just the right book with magical realism in it for me to invest myself in the story...and this wasn't it. Brynn makes a wish on her 30th birthday and somehow she and her roommate, Josh, wake up in Carson's Cove, a 2000's teen drama show that ended without resolution. Some guy named Sheldon appears, though I'm not sure who he is, and says they can't go home until she completes the ending of the show.

I had a difficult time with the romance in the book. It was super insta and I didn't feel it. Brynn and Josh had been roommates for a while, but they didn't know each other. As soon as they land in this alternate universe, they have feelings? I didn't buy it. They haven't really spent any time together.

I did mostly listen to this story, and the narrators are Kristyna Ruth Zaharek and Sean Patrick Hopkins. They were both wonderful and definitely helped keep my interest in this story. It is dual POV, too.

Overall, not my favorite, but I will still check out the author's upcoming books.


Reading Progress

I would like to start off with saying that I loved "This Spells Love"! I had very high hopes with this one, the premise seemed like fun.
Kate Robb reminds me of Ashley Poston a lot with the whimsical and magical realism themes of her books.

Unfortunately this one didn't do it for it. I can't really pin point the problem, but from the beginning I found the story disjointed. I didn't connect with the writing, and the plot seemed like it was rushing through. I was not invested in the characters at all and to be honest I had to pause a few times to just refresh my mind and start again. In the end I chose to DNF this one because I found no joy at all in reading it, instead I was actually irritated.

I will not be posting this review anywhere as it's not my intention to spread negativity, but as this is a space where I received this arc for my personal opinion I will share it here.

Thank you so much for the arc, I hope the next one works better with me!