Gemma has just had her heart broken by her long term boyfriend and the only cure is margaritas with her aunt, her sister, and her best friend Dax.
She’s so heartbroken that when her slightly quirky aunt suggests a spell to go back and make it so that Gemma has never met her ex, Gemma agrees without a second thought. Mostly because there’s no way it will ever work. Right?

After many margaritas, a magic spell and a kiss from Dax to seal the deal, Gemma wakes up in an alternate universe where she never did meet her ex, but that also means that she never met her best friend, Dax. To reverse the spell, Gemma must get Dax to kiss her again which is proving difficult since again, they’ve never met. Gemma has also found that, from a career standpoint, this version of herself has everything she has ever wanted, so does she really want to go back?

This book was sweet. I definitely related to Gemma’s analysis paralysis when it comes to big decisions and sometimes making the riskier one. It would be nice if I could try a few of them out in an alternate universe before applying them to my real life.

I am generally not a fan of a friends to lovers trope however this one worked. Gemma was clearly in denial of a lot of things in her life in fear of change, good or bad, so the denial of her feelings for Dax was believable. The banter was cute and silly and in general it was a very enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a a sweet, funny, friends to lovers romcom, this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin UK, and Kate Robb for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Practical Magic Meets Scrooge

This Spells Love
Kate Robb
Penguin Random House
Release date: 7th Dec 2023

Sometimes what you want, isn’t what you need.
Gemma Wilde is recovering from a breakup with the help of Nana’s Old-Fashioned Doughnuts followed by a night with Aunt Livi’s margaritas and the company of her best friend Dax and sister Kiersten.
When the three get together, it’s time to roast Stu, the predictable and consistent – aka boring – ex, a little like Midnight Margaritas in ‘Practical Magic’.
Aunt Livi lives above her quirky, crystal and incense filled bookstore. Which is where they all end up; looking for a ‘love cleansing’ spell in a book, also ironically called ‘Practical Magic: A Complete Guide for the Modern Mystic’. It’s an old brown-leather-bound book with yellowed pages and old handwriting. And you know that means mischief is afoot.
In erasing Stuart, the ex, she’s somehow extracted Dax from her life, which is an utter and total catastrophe. He’s her best friend, her confidant, her – well, he might just be the most important person no longer in her life.
There’s some great little ‘Easter eggs’ in the book, such as referencing ‘Big’, ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ and the fact that Gemma met Daxton at a ‘dive bar’ called ‘The Prince and Pauper’.
This is very much in the vein of 13 Going on 30 and similar ROM cons, in which one stupid decision – or ridiculous spell – turns Gemma’s life upside down whilst also showing her things she’s only dreamed of.
It’s sweet, funny – hilarious even – emotional, sexy and adorable.
Kooky Aunt Livi is one of the highlights of the book, as is Dax the guy who has pined for years remaining a steadfast friend.
This is the life and love eye-opening experience that she needs, and makes her realise the high powered job with the big salary isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
And everything she wanted was there all along.
Swoon.

So this was a friends to lovers story done in the best way. I’m not really a fan of the friends to lovers trope but here it made such sense and was done in such a fun way that allowed for the character to learn new things about themselves and that’s what made it interesting.

The magical elements were really nicely woven into the story and Gemma and Dax just had the sweetest moments. I will say her aunt was definitely one of my fave side characters but her relationship with her sister was very sweet too. It was an all around nice read.

This book was provided as an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t realise this had a Groundhog-Day trope in it. and unfortunately I’m just really not a fan of them.

Such a cute romantic story. A nice quick and easy read. Will definitely help you get out of a slump, definitely recommend if you would like an easy romcom

The formatting of the book was truly atrocious, never had anything like this from any NetGalley books. Letters were left out of words, etc.
I had to DNF, and I am sad, as I've seen really positive reviews about this one online!

Fun witchy rom com - perfect for anyone looking for an easy night in and a dose of magic! I imagine this title will be most popular in the autumn time around halloween but would be a good pick me up for January readers!

I’m afraid I couldn’t finish this as it had so many word and spelling errors when I tried to read it. It seems to miss most f’s and ff’s which made it really hard to read. I found I was concentrating more on interpreting it than reading the story. I tried deleting and reinstalling but again no luck. I see others have had similar issues
A shame because it sounds like a great book

A really cute witchcraft based book of drunken mistakes leading to possibly one of the cutest revelations of having feelings for your best friend who no longer remembers you. Its genuinely such a great plot, characters are well developed and i loved seeing the romance develop between Gemma and Dax. It was a really light fluffy read for me whilst in the lead up to christmas that was just perfect for a bit of escapism.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF.

The format of this was horrendous. There were letters missing all over which made reading the book really difficult.

The premise does interest me though so I would possibly purchase a physical copy which hopefully does not have the same issues and come back to amend my review.

I honestly have mixed feelings on this one. Overall, it was a cute, fun, and quick read, and I thought that the concept was creative and unique. I really enjoyed the magical elements, it made for a super interesting story (as far as romance books go haha)

My main issues were with the actual format of the book. I have a feeling that maybe my copy got messed up somehow when I transferred it over to my kindle, because letters were missing all over the place and at the start of each chapter half of the first sentence was missing too. It just made for an overall not great reading experience, since having to stop reading to figure out what a word is really takes you out of the story🥲 I haven’t heard anyone else mention having this issue so maybe it was just me… I think if I hadn’t had that issue it would have been much more enjoyable to read, but oh well.

So so cuteeeee

It was such a cute romcom and what I needed
The character
The chemistry
I was laughing half the time

Thank you netgalley, publisher & author for a copy of this eARC in exchange for a review.

I loved this book it was so cute and funny 😄 I really enjoyed it wish there was a bit more magic to it but still a great read!

What a joy to read. This story was a balance off all things I enjoy in romance books. It had a sweet, cute innocence about it while also being spicy and steamy. The tension and angst could be felt through the 'page's as could the humour and magic. This is a must read for rom-com fans and the debut author is definitely one to watch.

Three and a half stars

Great premise; best friends who realise that there is something more than just friendship have the opportunity to develop their relationship further by a crazy aunt with a new age store. It's an intriguing look at what could.have been but Gemma's selfishness and care for her own wellbeing was dragged out a little. Enjoyable read.

You know that movie Sliding Doors or The Butterfly Effect (not the horror/scifi aspect of it) well in this book Gemma gets to see what life would have been like if she had made a different choice on the night she met both Stuart and Dax.

Not only is it fun and cute, but it's a great way to play the what if game.

I really enjoyed it.

A sweet read and an enjoyable love story. I had a rollercoaster of emotions whilst reading and I couldn’t put this down at all ! Highly recommend

This book has so much potential, and it's a bit sad that it only earns a 3-star rating from me.
It had all the right ingredients for a fantastic friends-to-lovers story: a pining cinnamon roll of a man, a second chance at creating something beautiful, and a dash of magical realism. The premise is intriguing, the writing is solid, and it's a quick read perfect for a lazy afternoon.

But it somehow veered into a strangers-to-lovers, who failed to communicate the extent of his struggles and a heroine more focused on herself than others. Gemma's egotism overshadowed everything; it took her a considerable amount of time to realise her selfishness, although she does redeem herself in the end.

I wanted to meet the original-timeline Dax, the one head over heels with our heroine, but it feels like we missed that opportunity. The connection between Dax and Gemma in the alternative timeline wasn't palpable. It seemed as if she was fixated on the original Dax, without truly knowing the parallel version. And for this precise reason, their entire relationship in the parallel universe feels rushed.

Despite the good spice, the repetitive use of the word "penis" made me cringe a bit.

Considering it's a debut novel, I'm looking forward to the author's next book, but I was hoping for more from this one.

.Friends to lovers
.Magic realism
.Second chance
.He falls first

This was absolutely fantastic. It was magical, whimsical and adorable and I had such a great time reading it that I am considering a re read right now as I am writing this.

The magical and witchery elements were super well integrated in the story and I feel like it all made sense. Like, it witchery existed, this is the kind of things that would totally happen.

I fell completely in love with the characters, especially Gemma and Dax, the main characters, but I have to say that all secondary characters were really well rounded up and had their own things going on that complemented the main plot really well.

All in all, a big triumph from Kate Robb for me. Definitely the perfect read to disconnect during the holiday!

I was immediately interested in this book as soon as I read the synopsis. Time travel, different realities, and romance? Sign me up! I love to see how lives would be different, and how one single action could have a larger impact in the future. So, when Gemma decided that she wished she could go back in time and erase her ex-boyfriend, and it magically happened, I was so intrigued about how that would impact her friendship with Dax.
First, I love friends-to-lovers. It is my favourite trope, so I was very keen to see how they would go from friends to lovers. However, when she travels in time, they are no longer friends from his pov, but they are from hers! How incredible is that?
Second, I felt like this book was so much more than a love story, I loved seeing Gemma’s personal growth and realising small things that she was too aloof to realise, like her sister’s dreams or Dax’s struggles.
Gemma and Dax’s love story was truly magical, and swoony, it felt so real that I fell in love with them too. By the time this book finished, it was so hard to accept that this story had an end. I truly and honestly loved this book so much that I’m sure it will be one of those stories that continue forever in the back of my mind, showing up and making me want to pick this book again and again.
Thanks to NetGalley UK and Penguin for sending me this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.