This Spells Love by Kate Robb

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?

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published December 5, 2023

 by Dial Press Trade Paperback

3/5 stars

This Spells Love is a book that I wanted to love. It is by a Canadian author with a Canadian setting that I am very familiar with. The book started off great with a little bit of magic and a nice blend of characters, Gemma the recently jilted, her sister, and an aunt who dabbles in magically spells. Gemma wants to forget the four years she spent with Stuart. She wishes that they never happened and after one too many margaritas her wish comes true, but with repercussions she never anticipated. Now she has one month to correct it.

There were parts in the beginning that I really struggled with, but once I hit the 60% mark it picked up and I finished it in one sitting. I think my only problem was parts in the first half were a bit disjointed, too convenient and the Insta love didn’t feel authentic. I was hoping for more of a magical feel as the blurb hint to, but alas, the magic played a small part.

All in all This Spells Love was a cute and quick read that redeemed itself in the last half.

This book was part of my 2023 reading off my shelf challenge (#91). My copy was obtained through my November book of the month.