Title: This Spells Love
Author: Kate Robb
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Romance
Trigger Warnings: None I can think of.
Spice Level: Low-to-mid
Summary: Reeling from a recent breakup, a young woman tries to heal heartbreak with a spell–only to wake up in an alternate reality where she’s lost more than she wished for–in this witty, whimsical friends-to-lovers debut rom-com.

“Once lovers, now enemies, soon to be strangers with some memories, this love cleanse will rid you of your woes.”

When Gemma Wilde 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, and performing a love cleansing spell to forget all about her ex. Sure, it sounds a little crazy, but nothing else has worked, so why not try it? They follow the instructions, complete with an absolutely platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal, and Gemma falls asleep in a margarita haze, thinking nothing of it.

But when she wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only has she never dated her ex; her life looks completely different –and spoiler alert, the grass is not greener in the alternate reality. The worst part of all: Dax has no idea who she is.

To get back to her old life, Gemma must reverse the spell before the next full moon. That means she has one month to convince a now near-stranger, Dax, to become friends with her in order to get his kiss. But as Gemma carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him, and begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things were…

First thing’s first, this is not an unfamiliar concept in romance, especially if you’re one of those people who loves to watch Hallmark romance movies around the holiday.

Wishing to forget something in life and having it work, only to realize you’ve messed up royally? Yep. We’ve all seen it before. That being said.

I freaking love it.

The reason she realizes that it was a mistake is a spoiler so stop reading now.

Her best friend. The bestest of friends. Someone who is totally awesome, like I fell in love with him from the moment he appeared on the page.

I understand her distress for sure. I would miss him too.

I appreciated both versions of Dax though, as both of them were kind, but tough and tried their best at everything they did.

One version of Gemma might have ended up a little tougher than the other in the end, and I really appreciated her plight before and after the wish had been made.

This is friends to lovers in the best way, with no real third act breakup. And for those who might be worried about the magic in this book? It’s not so crazy out there as you might expect.