The Deja Glitch

I'm always down for a good time loop romance, but author Holly James' decision to designate the MMC as the character stuck in the loop instead of the FMC gives the love story an unfortunately creepy vibe. Jack has been reliving the same day for months, each time meeting Gemma, who doesn't remember him because it's a new day to her. But when they meet and flirt at a party, Jack kisses Gemma. The next/same morning, Gemma has a deja vu feeling about the handsome guy she bumps into. Without much ado, James tells Gemma the whole time loop dilemma, including his belief that in order for them both to move on, Gemma must fall in love with him. Today.

Given a different plot, James might be the perfect man, but this one requires him to behave like a stalker, following Gemma around even when she tries to avoid him. They do share some nice moments together, but not enough to compensate for the genuinely icky premise. And then throw in an Evil Ex Girlfriend and the whole thing collapses. Sure, Jack's been living the same day for months, but in real time he broke up with the Ex just days ago. And I always question the judgement of someone who is attracted to an obviously toxic person, even if Jack pleads the unconvincing “I knew the relationship was wrong from the beginning” shtick.

Gemma and her BFF Lila are charming together, and Gemma's complicated family dynamics are handled sensitively. But that's overshadowed by a romance that isn't romantic. YMMV if you don't get triggered by persistence that is uncomfortably close to obsessive stalking.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have a soft spot for time loop stories for some reason. I found it hard to put down. The romance was cute, their run-ins were fun,

I really liked how this book took a unique approach to the Groundhog Day trope. Instead of following a person who keeps repeating the same day, we see the person who's impacted by someone else's time loop.

I liked how the romance was focused on them as separate people as well as them as a unit. The magic of the loop specifically works because of where they are in their lives, and help each other see and achieve what they want out of life.

The one down side of the way the time loop was handled was that the MMC is already in love with the FMC before the book starts, and we don't really get to see why or how this happens. The rest of the book is focused on the FMC figuring out if she can believe him, if she can love him, if she's ready for a relationship etc.

I really liked the side characters, the BFF, the brother, the coworkers, even the scientist. They were endearing and were great additions to the story.

Her broken relationship with her dad is a big part of the story as well. I couldn't tell if her dad was actually a bad father/person, or if her perception of that was very broken. Nothing about their interactions seemed to justify their current relationship. But I don't want to discount years of issues that might have happened. In general though, the book and the characters in it have the stance that family is family, and we should keep our relationship.

Thank you to Dutton Books, Penguin Books and NetGalley for the eARC!
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I adored this book. I was hooked from the second to last sentence of the first chapter - “Please remember me, Gemma”. We've seen time loop stories again and again. But I loved this take because typically in time loops, we see the moment of realization from the only person who knows they're in a time loop. The story progresses by the main character needing to convince everyone around them and/or stop the loop themselves. I love that this inverts this. At the end of chapter 1 we are set up with the understanding that someone else knows they're in a loop but the main character whose perspective we're seeing isn't that person. I also loved the element of familial struggles. The way out of this glitch is not just one event or one person or one choice. Jack has my heart.