Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

When a birthday wish goes wrong, a 30-year-old woman finds herself transported into the world of her favorite teen soap opera. Brynn Smothers thought she’d found her happily-ever-after, but instead she finds herself celebrating her 30th birthday divorced, miserable, and living with Josh, a roommate she barely knows. Her one constant isCarson’s Cove, aDawson’s Creek–like teen drama from the 2000s. Every problem in Carson’s Cove has a way of working itself out by the end of the episode—it’s a place where, as Brynn puts it, “the worst fight can always be fixed with a grand romantic gesture.” That’s nothing like real life, and Brynn longs for things to be that easy. Which is why, when she blows out the candle on the birthday cake that mysteriously gets delivered to her front door, she wishes tofinally get her own happy ending. The next thing she knows, she and Josh are waking up in Carson’s Cove…but they’re no longer Brynn and Josh. Brynn is Sloan, the good girl who loves sundresses and bike rides and should have ended up with the town heartthrob, Spencer. Josh is Fletch, the quintessential town bad boy who works at a bar. And they’re stuck in Carson’s Cove until Brynn makes sure that Spencer and Sloan get a happy ending instead of the cliffhanger the show ended on. But now that Brynn’s living inside her comfort watch, she can’t help noticing that things in Carson’s Cove aren’t as perfect as they seemed on TV. As she and Josh try to find their way out of the show and back into the real world, their feelings for each other develop into something that could wreck the entire town…or, maybe, change it for the better. Anyone who watched the teen shows of the 2000s will find much to appreciate here, including lots of easter eggs from Robb, who's clearly a devotee of the genre. The magic that brings Brynn and Josh to theCarson’s Cove universe gets a little confusing if you think about it too hard, so it’s best to simply enjoy the ride. Brynn and Josh have smoldering chemistry and plenty of heart, making this an incredibly entertaining and smart romance. A fun and nostalgic ode to our favorite teen dramas (with a welcome dose of reality). Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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After a dismal night out for her 30th birthday, Brynn Smothers ends up back at home on the couch with reruns of her beloved Carson's Cove, the old teenage drama series where everyone is perfect and everything ends up okay. When a cake is delivered in the middle of her bingefest, her roommate, Josh Bishop, insists she make a wish and blow out her candle. In the morning, Brynn wakes to find that she and Josh have been transported to Carson's Cove, where they've assumed the role of two characters, Sloan and Fletch. Brynn's wish has somehow brought them here to right the only wrong about Carson's Cove: fixing the epic cliffhanger the series ended on. However, the perfect ending Brynn has planned on might no longer make any sense for the town or for Sloan, and the perfect guy might not be the cute one next door but rather the hot roommate accidentally mixed up in this mess. Brynn and Josh will have to work against unexplainable forces and growing attraction to try and return to their own reality. VERDICT Robb's (This Spells Love) sophomore outing has a swoon-worthy romance that gets an extra kick with the unique supernatural twist.—Kellie Tilton