#kate robb

Solar Eclipse of the Heart: A Novel

by Kate Robb

A 3 star review

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Dial Press

Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2025

Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages

Book blurb:

When a young woman is bequeathed a shuttered dance hall, she begins to dream of its heyday—and learns to see her present-day entanglements in a new light. Jules is stunned when eccentric and glamorous retiree Kitty St. Clair passes away and leaves her a dilapidated dance hall in their quaint lakeside community. That is until Reeve, a charming, successful developer, returns to town, looking for the new owner of the dance hall, intent on turning it into luxury vacation condos. Suddenly Jules has a way to make her lifelong dream of going to medical school a reality. But selling the dance hall will only add to the steadily rising real estate prices, making it harder for the residents of her tiny vacation town to live there, not to mention Reeve also happens to be the man who Jules shared a magical night with two summers ago—and never heard from again. Reeve wants a second chance with Jules and is determined to earn back her trust. But can she let herself fall for him again? Does he want her, or a guaranteed sale? Jules wishes she could talk to Kitty, who always seemed to have the best advice, so she turns to the diary she left her. But as Jules falls asleep reading, she wakes up in the world of the diary, fifty years ago, accompanying a young Kitty to the dance hall in all its glory. Her dream visits to Kitty’s past begin to parallel the questions plaguing her in her own world. Will Kitty’s past hold the keys to unlocking Jules’s future?

My review:

I liked it and I didn't like it. I had more fun and interest in Kitty and the past than Jules and the present. The plot of time travel and using the past as a lesson on life was good, it worked well. What I had a problem with was the character of Jules. She'd had a rough childhood and her present wasn't a bed of roses, it was drawn out and too much of it. Nothing got better until the very end. A chance at a different, better life was dangled in front her her and she ran away each time. I was angry with her silent suffering and indecision - that is really a decision in itself. Being hesitant about a huge life change of course is understandable, 300 pages of it was almost a DNF.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb

Finished: 12th September 2025

Genre: Adult Romcom

May be for you if you like: Dawson's Creek, teen shows, TV tropes, he falls first, good girl/bad boy romance

Synopsis

Newly divorced on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Brynn is sick of heartbreak. She thought she had found her happy ending, but now she’s living with a roommate, Josh, to afford her mortgage, and she’s trying to adjust to her new single life. At least she’s got Carson’s Cove to binge, her beloved 2000s teenage soap. The show ended unexpectantly on a cliffhanger after five seasons, and the two main characters, Sloan and Spencer, never got to declare their love for each other. The show is still perfect in Brynn’s eyes; despite all the drama that goes down, things always have a way of working out in Carson’s Cove . . . unlike her own life.

So when a birthday cake surprisingly shows up on her and Josh’s doorstep, Brynn makes a wish for the one thing she’s always wanted: a happily-ever-after. The next morning, she doesn’t wake up in her apartment. She’s in Carson’s Cove . . . and Josh is there too. Everyone seems to know them, except they’re not Brynn and Josh; they’re Sloan, the sweetheart of Carson’s Cove, and Fletch, the town’s bad boy. And to get home, they have to make Brynn’s wish come true by ensuring Sloan and Spencer, the hometown heartthrob, end up together at last.

Rating: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Idea: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Plot: 🧁🧁🧁

Characters: 🧁🧁🧁

Worldbuilding: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Narration: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Entertainment: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Full Review

Okay so I bought this book because I could relate to the premise a lot and thought it sounded fun. And fun this was, albeit very predictable, but that doesn't really bother me with romcoms. However, there are a few things that really bothered me, so let's get into it shall we?

August Reads rated out of 5 🌟

This Spells Love by Kate Robb: 3 🌟

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden: 4 🌟

The Lost Girl by Rosie Goodwin: 3 🌟

Is love on the small screen better than the real thing?

You're mixing things up, dear. You mean THE MUMMY.

...shame on you