Lauree is stuck.
She’s stuck in a loveless relationship, a miserable job, and a time loop.
She parties the night away on New Year’s Eve at her best friend’s, Max, place. And she wakes up the next day starting New Year’s Eve all over again, and again, and again.

I enjoyed this novella so much! It’s well written and relatable. I loved that Lauree used the time loop to her advantage, not that she had a choice. It was a fun and short read and now I’m excited for the rest of the series!


Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Midnight, Repeated is a delightful novella: short, sweet, with a touch of steam and a heartwarming journey for the main character, Lauree. Twenty-five year old Lauree starts out on her first run through New Year's Eve stuck in a routine she hates and with a boyfriend who sucks. She's been numbed to these aspects of her life and thinks that what she needs are the things said boyfriend has said: to be more mature and advancing her career at her lackluster job, to somehow become the person he wants her to be. I wanted to give her a hug because Drew is such a condescending prick.

Her first time loop, of course, leads to some initial confusion, with Lauree trying to understand how that's possible and what the circumstances that led to the time loop are, and she starts her self-reflection by taking the first step towards improving her life (quitting her terrible job, breaking up with her terrible boyfriend). As the days repeat and Lauree stays stuck reliving New Year's Eve in a Groundhog Day-type situation, her initial momentum in making her life better slows, but the constant throughout most of her days is seeing her best friend's brother and first (and current) love, Max. Max offers up wisdom to Lauree when she gets stuck, notably by reminding her that she's great just the way she is, and that it's fine to not know who she is just yet and what she wants to do with her life; to figure it out, she should keep trying new things. It's clear why Lauree loves Max and how close of a friendship they have, and it also becomes clear that Max returns Lauree's feelings, but he hasn't acted on them. There's just the right amount of angst as Lauree fears getting out of the time loop means she'll have to stop loving Max because he doesn't return her feelings, making me a little teary-eyed for Lauree. The "I just want to be in love with you a little longer" scene made me cry a little.

I love that this novella focuses on Lauree getting to live for herself, rediscovering who she is and what she wants out of life, and finding joy for herself in all aspects of her life. Seeing how big of a part of her life Max is, from how he supports her and believes in her to how she wants to do things for him, even if he won't remember them the next day, made me root for Lauree to get her HEA. Their unconditional love for each other gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings. Lauree trying her hand at baking and keeping at it because she remembers Max's confidence in her is the sweetest, and I adored seeing Lauree become more confident in herself and determined to advance her life and keep loving Max, regardless of her ability to break the time loop. Her personal growth is so satisfying to watch, and I cheered at the epilogue. The New Year's Eve holiday theme works perfectly for this story, as Lauree gets to keep trying until she gets her new beginning right, this new phase of her life and outlook on everything. The novella length does mean that certain things aren't explored in more detail (what was holding Max back, for instance, which would have been nice to see), but I loved Lauree's journey so much that I'm fine with it. 4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

Thanks to Netgalley and Set the Mood Publishing for the ARC!

what would you do if you had to live the same day over and over again, well of course you would make the man you love fall in love with you to only forget again the next day over and over again!
sometimes i was as frustrated as Lauree whilst reading the book as whatever she tried she wasn’t working.
a fun holiday read

Lauree Miller is stuck. In almost every sense of the word. She's stuck in this day to day life where she's not really satisfied. In a relationship that's really not moving forward, and a job that's unfulfilling. But mostly, she's stuck in love with her best friend's brother, Max.

New Years is the best time to put it all behind her. New Year new Lauree. Except the it's not a new year and Lauree is stuck reliving December 31st over and over again.

I loved the premise of this book and went in super excited. Lauree was likeable enough, but I felt like it was exhausting reading through the same day with her over and over again. Because there were so many days that she repeated, I wish there was a little more variation. Maybe we could have gotten more from the side characters and those relationships she has. I enjoyed the coffee shop scenes between Lauree and Max. A classic mutual pining over each other but too scared to speak up romance. Nothing too exciting and much of their dialogue felt very chunky and scripted. There wasn't the natural flow that you'd expect in a friends to lovers story.

I think this book would have appealed more if it gave more focus to Lauree's personal growth. I found that a lot more satisfying than the romance in this book. I was excited to see how she would change her life with all the chances she was getting.

I think this is a good read if you're in the mood for a super short novella that has friends-to-lovers, a time loop, and a bit of a slow burn.

Thank you Netgalley, Dani McLean, and Set the Mood Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 3 stars

Aww, this was super cute! It's a pretty standard timeloop / Groundhog Dag type of story, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

My only complaint is after all the timeloop buildup, the ending felt a little rushed to me.

Content: one explicit scene at the end which was easy to skip through

3.5

Overview | A modern fairy tale novella about a heroine going through her quarter-life crisis, one day (literally!) at a time.
7.5/10 ⭐️
Tropes | Friends-to-Lovers, Magical Heroine, Shared Pasts, Fairy Tale, Boy Next Door
Heat Level | 🌶, open door, on-page

Summary: Lauree is a mid-20s woman stuck in a dead end relationship and a dead end job. On New Years Eve, at a party hosted by her friend Max, a magical spell takes over. Stuck in a time loop that repeats Dec. 31st over and over, Lauree has a chance to reset her own clock and fight for the Happily Ever After she really wants.
**********
Midnight, Repeated is a short, sweet, heartwarming version of Groundhog Day and Russian Doll.

The choice to make this a novella was wise, as the repeated day structure often wears thin in a full-length novel. Instead, this story is tightly edited down to just Lauree’s inner growth as she contends with her external problem.

The heroine is quirky, but doesn’t ever veer toward manic pixie dream girl territory. Given that I’m in my mid-40s it’s been a long time since I felt adrift in the same way she does. However, her frustrations feel relatable regardless of age.

We aren’t ever in Max’s point of view, but through the eyes of Lauree he’s a cinnamon roll of a hero in the best way. Not hard to see why she’s been pining for him for a decade.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a bite-sized sweet treat of a tale.

**********
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication November 1, 2022.

Urgh wish this had been a full length novel! I could have read more and more of it. It still managed to capture all the angst of a slow burn though. Well worth a read.

Thank you so much to the author and to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review 💖

The idea of this was so adorable, and I loved all of the cute coffee shop/ baking scenes. The time loop was interesting but I honestly wish we’d gotten a little more detail as this was pretty short all things considered.

Max was the perfect golden retriever book boyfriend and we love that for Lauree. He was precious and endlessly supportive.

I wish this had been longer and had a little more detail, I also wish we’d gotten more context in relation to lauree and drew, he was a dick from the beginning and I don’t know why she would be putting herself through that willingly. But honestly with a bit of suspended disbelief this was pretty good, fluffy and sweet.

Midnight, Repeated is a novella where Lauree finds herself in a time loop of a day. She wakes up at New Year’s Eve but at midnight the loops reset to same day. Slowly, she realises that her life is similar to the time loop. She was stuck in her life, letting other’s decision to lead her life without even realisation. She tries new things to get her out of the time loop but nothing worked. After feeling stuck again she starts doing things she actually wished for but never had the courage. In doing so she finds a her long time crush have feelings for her too! But she knows that there’s still something missing.
It was an easy fun read to find out how she finds her calling and gets out of the time loop!

This was a cute one! A super fun and fast read with surprise steaminess at the end (well, I was surprised!). I love groundhog day type stories in general, but I usually find that somewhere during the middle, following the same character rehash the same day gets monotonous for the reader as well, especially when reading in one sitting, so the fact that this was a novella instead of a novel actually really worked in its favor for me! It was fast-paced and entertaining, skipping over a lot of the more boring days.

I liked Lauree, I liked Max. The mutually-requited-love-but-they-both-are-cowards trope holds strong and I was happy when they got together near the end.

If you like friends-to-lovers, spice and HEAs you will probably enjoy this one!

A funny sweet and sexy story about a 25 year old young woman who is in a relationship with a man who does not appreciate her and she is not really loves him . She is in love for the last 10 years with her best friend Max but when she had tried to kiss him he rejected her . Now one day before New Year her resolutions is to forget all about Max and be more ambitious . The morning when she wakes up she realises that it is still December 31st all over again .At first it is funny but when time pass she starts wonderings if there is a reason for these timeloop ? Is there any chance Max will ever love her ? Will she ever find the job that is for her ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well this was fun! Lauree being stuck in a timeloop and trying to find her way out (unsuccessfully) was a nice way to get to know her and Max, her best friend’s brother and longtime crush. I think this novella would have worked well at novel-length too.
Having a couple of more chapters would have added more time for interaction or banter between Lauree and Max and that would have been so great. But given the length, Midnight, Repeated felt well-rounded, complete, and finished anyway.

I was happy to find out Midnight, Repeated to be the first in the Movie Magic Novella series and look forward to reading the future novellas.

3.5 stars

Positives:
- Very fun idea for a story
- All of the scenes at the coffee shop were so fun and cute!
- The physicality and relationship between Max and Lauree was adorable
- I liked Lauree’s internal conflict when it came to Max! It was incredibly believable and definitely important to her character and the progression of the story.
- The “Have you ever been in love?” scene was perfection!
- Lauree’s conception of what she thinks the time loop wants her to do was SO GOOD!
- The “weird dream” from Max added SO MUCH to my enjoyment of the story and I wish it happened more. I was about to go to sleep and then that part happened and I kept reading for another hour.

Downsides:
- None of the side characters (except maybe one) had any effect to the story. It was tiring trying to remember all of their names when they weren’t even important.
- Some scenes and dialogue were clunky and not believable (progression-wise)
- I think this story could have benefited greater if it were novel length. It would have been amazing to see scenes from Lauree and Max’s teenage years to get more insight on why they actually care about each other.

Friends to lovers slow burn with time loop! Such an enjoyable book with some spice
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Set the Mood Publishing for the eARC of this novella!

Short, sweet, and steamy! Midnight, Repeated was fast-paced, so fun, and deliciously romantic. Stuck in a time loop, Lauree experiences New Years Eve over and over again and becomes wrapped up in a journey to figure out her life- Her job, her boyfriend, and her best friends brother who lives just across the hall.

Midnight, Repeated is the first installment in the Movie Magic Novella series.

“You shouldn’t ever have to change for someone, Lauree. You’re great as you are.”

♥️

It’s New Years Eve and Lauree is ready to party the night away, despite the uneasiness she feels about her miserable job, the uncertainty she feels towards her boyfriend and the unrelenting feelings towards her best friend, Max. When she wakes up the next morning, she comes to the stunning realisation that she’s living the same day again. And again and again.

What you’ll find:
⏰ Time loop
♥️ Friends to lovers
🔥 Tension and pining
🧁 Lots of baking
😍 Love confessions
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn
🌶 Spice

I absolutely loved this novella! I wasn’t sure about it going in, but it was an absolute delight. Well written, nicely paced, and from the POV of Lauree, who was a fun character to read. I loved that she used the time loop to really explore her passions, beyond her love for Max. I also enjoyed how their relationship developed, despite him forgetting everything once the day was over. I think this was very well done and I highly recommend it!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to leave an honest review.