This Spells Love

A Novel

By: Kate Robb

Narrated by: Khaya Fraites

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK • “A romcom-meets-magic delight!”—Sarah Adams, New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect

A young woman tries to heal her heartbreak by casting a spell to erase her ex from her past, but she wakes up in an alternate reality where she’s lost more than she wished for in this witty, whimsical friends-to-lovers debut.

What if one little wish changed everything?

When Gemma gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she reacts the way any reasonable twenty-eight-year-old would: by getting drunk with her sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax. After one too many margaritas, they decide to perform a love- cleansing spell, which promises to erase Gemma’s ex from her memory. They follow all the instructions, including a platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal.

When Gemma wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only does it seem that she never dated her ex, but the rest of her life is completely unrecognizable. The worst part: Dax has no idea who she is.

To reverse the spell and get back to her old life, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him—hard. Soon, Gemma begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things once were. What if Dax was The One all along?

©2023 Kate Robb (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“This Spells Love is a romcom-meets-magic delight, and absolutely perfect for the friends-to-lovers enthusiasts who are looking for something unique! Dax is my new book boyfriend, and no one else can have him.”—Sarah Adams, New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect

“This Spells Love is a delightful debut! Kate Robb’s writing is as smooth as an oat milk latte and sweet as a donut, giving us characters to love and to root for, no matter which timeline they’re in. While Gemma gets to explore life if she had made different choices, love in all its forms—family, sisterly, romantic—remains a constant. We should all be so lucky if we get the chance for a do-over!”—Jen DeLuca, national bestselling author of Well Met

“Kate Robb’s enchanting debut, This Spells Love, hits all the right beats for a can’t-put-it-down romcom: sparkling humor, satisfying heat, and characters you’ll fall in love with. This book was a joy to read!”—Karma Brown, #1 internationally bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

Loved this!!

This was so sweet, fun and left me all warm and fuzzy. It was such a fun romcom,

The characters were amazing, and the growth of the mc was so inspirational. I highly recommend this, especially if you enjoy a good romcom!!

Also, the narration was fantastic!!

Exceeded my expectations!

Well, that was a lovely surprise! Charming story, like a lighter, steamier The Good Part (Sophie Cousens). Terrific narrator too—sounded the right age for the character. Looking forward to more of Kate’s books!

Charming bit of an oddity

I wasn’t prepared for the story to turn…magical? Drifting from one time period to another by merely sleeping. But it was moving, at times amusing and has a well resolved solution to what could have been a heartbreaking problem.

To be or not to be...

Great twist on a choose your own adventure crossed with witty rom-com vibes. Enjoyed the experience of the story and the narrator was spot on.

Made me tear up

The kind of romance story that keeps you on the edge waiting to see what happens next! Loved it! Couldn’t put it down!

My new favorite

I laughed, I cried, I swooned. I loved it and highly recommend if you need something with all the feels

Good story progression

I liked how they added little things from the present and past together. I liked how Gemma grew as a person and sister

Such a cute love story

Loved the story and had me on edge. Definitely giving it three flames I loved the romance scenes executed very nicely and gave me the ending I wanted!

witty & fun

a little predictable but overall enjoyable! the characters were fun. I listened to the whole book in 2 days!

One of the best rom coms I read in over a year!

I enjoyed this book so very much! It is one of the cutest, funniest, most romantic rom coms I ever read. I love that it has a best friend’s trope with a little bit of magic. Gem and Dax are best friends. They met four years ago in a bar and hit it off over a Guinness. Then Gem met Stuart that same night while Dax ran home to change his shirt after someone spilled some beer on it. Stuart made his move and Gem and him began dating. Fast forward four years, Stuart breaks up with Gem, as he just fell out of love with her. Heartbroken and sad, Gem turns to her best friend, Dax,her sister, Kiersten, and Aunt Vivi, for comfort. Aunt Vivi has the perfect thing to help Gem out of this rut. A spell for never meeting a person, donuts and margaritas. Kiersten, Dax, and Gem are all there for the margaritas, of course. Until, the spell to forget Stuart needs to be sealed with a kiss. Dax’s kiss! Gem is drunk, and refuses to finish the spell, but when she is tucked in by her BFF, and things just feel so good. She doesn’t want you to be alone, but Dax is on his way out, until she chases him and tells him that he can’t leave until the spell is finished. This kiss was powerful. A simple kiss, no tongue, no hands, but it left butterflies, electric!

Oh, but the next morning!

Gem is not in her bed! Where was she?

Waking up in a different timeline, and things are very much changed. An alternate universe where she never met Stuart. Great, right?! Except she never goes to that bar, and never meets Dax. Everything is in her favor, she has a small, yet thriving business. Her dream! Is it worth it without her best friend? Sister and Aunt are the same, maybe they think she is slightly cookoo for the alternate timeline but. “Lay off the tequila, Gem!” Gem freaks out and is dying to go back to her universe, for her BFF. He doesn’t know her here, but can she get him to kiss her by the next waning gibbous moon in a month. This is going to be a struggle.
Becoming friends with Dax all over again, and having her store, things aren’t that bad in this reality. Would it be so bad if she doesn’t go back? Would she really miss out on that four years of friendship? Dax is and isn’t quite right?
Then a series of foul events and things take a turn. Is this her selfish way of getting what she wants, but at what cost?

This is one of the most comical romantic stories I have read in almost a year. I absolutely love the best friend trope. The idea that we all become a greater version of ourselves because of the people in our lives and the relationships that we make. I know I wouldn’t be who I am without the friends I made whether they stayed in my life for a month or a lifetime.