Five First Chances by Sarah Jost is a Women's Lit book that focuses around the character Lou as she falls through time, again and again, learning to become the person she wants to be.

I couldn't put this book down. I am a sucker for time loop novels, especially ones that include romance. And while this book includes romance, it is not a romance book. This book is heartbreaking and inspirational, and it will make you cry so hard you can't see the words on the page.

But don't let the "heartbreak" deter you from reading this book. The Time Loop is done wonderfully, and in a way I hadn't seen done before, which is good, because I read a lot of time loop books. The characters are beautifully written. The growth Lou and Nick make after each loop is noticeable and appreciated. And reading the book never feels repetitive, which is hard in books like these.

I highly recommend this book. But make sure you set aside ample time to read it, because you will not want to stop. And also, make sure you have a box of tissue next to you. You're going to need it.

This is a decent debut, but it is not the cute romance or rom-com that I was expecting. This is a heavier tragic love story.

I was intrigued by the time loop, and I was happy and relieved that it wasn't written in a repetitive way. There were some very slow parts where I found that I was pushing myself to keep reading. I didn't find Louise to be very likeable through most of the book which made me feel disconnected from her. However, she somewhat changed throughout the book, and I liked her more in the end.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lou feels isolated and lonely. She thinks she knows the exact moment where it all went wrong. Maybe she was right, maybe the moment she didn’t text someone back was the moment it all went wrong, but maybe it isn’t for the reason she thinks? The concept is similar to that of the Midnight Library wherein Lou gets five chances to redo a moment and see where it all takes her. The book explores romantic relationships, familial relationships and friendships.

Because Lou doesn’t remember what happened on the last failed chance or even the original trajectory of her life, and only has some vague notion that something is happening, this book lacks the kind of emotional depth and self-exploration I want out of this concept. She does grow with each chance she gets but it’s more that she knows what she wants as an end result and doesn’t really do any self-reflection or understand the personal work required to get there. I think the ending would have had more of an impact if there was more opportunity for self-reflection. It was still gut-wrenching but I just wanted more from Lou and didn’t really relate to her.

The book also never explains how Lou ends up with this opportunity or what kind of magic allowed this to happen. It just does happen to her. Towards the ending there is a fleeting mention that she sort of wills the next chance into existence but again how? Why?

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmarked for providing a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy from NetGalley for review

Was this a book you’re supposed to read in one sitting? Probably not, especially with how sad the end is (spoiler: it’s not a HEA), but I did anyway. It’s now 1230 in the morning as I finish this and I’m so sad. Like yes the story is like Groundhog Day but it gives you hope that the main couple ends up together in the end and like..they do but also to get out of the time loop some shit has to happen.

I will say the story definitely dragged at times on the middle. I think it was the second or third time loop that was the worst one. It was super tough to get through because I didn’t feel like Lou learned a ton. By the end you figure out what she learned in each loop and how it affects her relationship with not only Nick but her other friends/family members.

So you know the hero dies but this time loop novel sees Louise's relationship with Nick change each time they morph in time. To be honest, I got a little confused (and somewhat weary) about halfway through but it's such an interesting conceit that I kept reading. Also I liked the characters. Louise left home in Switzerland after a break up with Romain (definitely wasn't meant to be in any of the loops) to live and teach French in the UK. She meets Yuki; they are room mates until they aren't, but they are always friends and it is courtesy Yuki that she meets others such as, well, Nick and Ben. Nick is also a teacher and that's how they bond at first but then their relationship grows (it's different in each iteration but there's always the zoo). The loop also changes things for Louise's mother and sister Marion. And for Nick's sister Charlotte. There are, as you might expect, some twists here and Jost manages to keep all the balls in the air. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A patient reader will be rewarded.

“There’s a difference between sadness and regrets.”

Lou feels like she is stuck on the wrong path: alone, in a city far from home, watching other people be happy. When the man she's in love with announces his engagement to someone else, Lou is consumed by 'what ifs'. That's when she finds herself slipping back in time to a night two years ago, where one small decision changed everything... Suddenly, Lou has a chance to fix her mistakes. But as her choices lead her down roads she never could have imagined, she finds herself stuck in a time loop of her own making. And with each slip, Lou notices her life intersecting with one person again and again. A friend of a friend who once lived on the periphery, who is slowly becoming the one person who makes her feel like she might finally be on the right track. Lou is about to realize that our greatest love stories aren't always the ones we expected, but are the ones we choose to fight for.

I was not expecting this book to be such an emotional read. This is not the book to read if you’re looking for a light and happy read. The Groundhog’s Day trope, was well written. I didn’t feel like the time loop was too repetitive. However, the pacing was definitely a bit slower than I would’ve liked. We get to see different sides to the characters throughout the time loop. Some characters were likable from the start, while others may have to grow on you. This is definitely a book you probably have to be in the mood for to fully enjoy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
💜 Romances
⛅️ Groundhogs Day
🥈 Second Chances
🧠 Mental Health Rep


This one was so well done! I loved that the character didn’t realize what was happening at first but slowly started to realize and then go through her five chances for her second chance to get things right.

This book covers a lot of heavy topics but does them so well and includes really well done mental health representation.

I highly recommend checking this one out for a different type of romance.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my review!

You only get one chance at a first impression…or so we’ve been told. But how many chances are we allotted for major course corrections? In Five First Chances, Sarah Jost takes readers on a journey of what-ifs, romance, time travel, friendship, and self-reflection—quite the undertaking for a debut author. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for supplying me with an ARC copy to review.

Our protagonist, Lou, kicks off the story with a profound moment of honesty that helps her acknowledge that somewhere along the way, she really screwed up her chance at happiness. Even better (or worse, depending on how one chooses to look at it), she may even know exactly which of her decisions marked the beginning of her life’s downhill slump. I’ll admit, this approach came across as a slower, wordier start than I would have preferred. Self-awareness is important—don’t get me wrong—and definitely something that fiction writers ought to consider in terms of character development and making said characters more relatable even as they confront unrealistic situations and hurdles. That being said, a little often goes a long way, and let us not forget the trusty adage show, don’t tell. To this reader, Five First Chances began with a rather lengthy conversation that we revisit every time Lou uses up another chance to get herself back on track.

The plot does pick up the pace when readers find themselves jerked back in time alongside Lou. It seems the universe sees fit to give her another shot (or maybe a few more) at love, friendship, and true happiness. But, as the title suggests, more than one take is needed for her to see what’s been right in front of her the whole time. This, I feel, is one of the most relatable aspects of Lou’s character and her misadventures. After all, who’s lucky enough to get anything as important as the rest of one’s life right the first go-round? What might make or break certain readers’ perception, though, is that it’s not just one day on repeat five times. Lou is allowed to live two specific years again and again without being fully aware that that’s what’s going on. It makes for a complex ride and provides plenty of chances to see the story from multiple angles, but some may crack this title open anticipating something more along the lines of Groundhog Day, where one day is the main focal point. Interested readers: think less Bill Murray and more Sandra Bullock (criss-crossed timelines and romantic drama of The Lake House, anyone?).

For those looking for a more whimsical and obviously fictional version of the journey of self-discovery in Eat, Pray, Love or who live to reread (see what I did there?) The Time Traveler’s Wife, Five First Chances may be just the title to add to your TBR list.

A unique time loop story, the novel begins with death and had me confused until I saw the beautiful trajectory of main character Louise, whose reaction to people who stay the same throughout her chances is a wonderful thing to read. A heartbreakingly sweet love story is folded in, but ultimately this story is about personal growth and it is beautifully portrayed.

I love a good time loop novel. Inevitable we all have moments in which we wonder "what would have happened had I made a different choice?" I was engrossed in this story and the characters.

I love, love, LOVE time loops, but especially when paired with a tragic storyline. Once you finish this one, the title hits the heart a little harder.

It took me a bit to wrap my brain around the situation, as there's quite a few characters and individual conflicts. But I became instantly hooked once I had everything straight.

As Lou slowly realizes she's being continually transported back two years to Saturday, July 15th, 2017—repeating the same period of time—it's a story of small moments making monumental rippling effects.

As always with books like this, a review feels impossible to adequately capture the beauty and bittersweet message of this story.

I loved seeing Lou rebuild each version of her life into something she truly wants. There's moments of repairing friendships, acknowledging that some people will never change despite multiple chances, finding love and attempting to hold onto it ... and more!

The ending wrecked me, I must say. But I loved it anyways!

I was so excited to read Five First Chances by Sarah Jost. I found the synopsis to be intriguing and I’m a sucker for a good love story. I can totally relate to Lou’s struggles with “what ifs” and wondering how things would have been different had she made different choices.

Sadly, I struggled with this book a lot. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was about the writing style that I found so difficult, but it made it so difficult for me to get into the story and the book in general.

The time looping was also just too much for me. The plot had so much promise, and with all of the positive reviews, I truly thought I would love this one. I hate to say it just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Five First Chances is a Groundhog Day esk story. This was a different take on the Groundhog Day theme though, its starts with a chance encounter and resets every two years when an extremely painful event happens for our main character. This seems to trigger the do over.

In Five First Chances, the main character isn't aware that she is getting a do over, at first. Instead she has this overwhelming sense of deja vu. Not knowing she is getting these do overs, means she can't consciously make different choices, but unconsciously she seems to sense where she needs to do things differently. This actually makes her a stronger person, without even really realizing its happening to her. She starts out as this really awkward person that just let's life happen to her, to becoming someone who takes charge and makes life happen. But at some point when she does realize what is happening she trys to force things, which only makes things worse, but finally helps her to achieve some clarity in order to get out of her loop.

What I really liked about the story - I liked that it was a very different take on the Groundhog Day type theme. I think the ending came together really nicely. It ended the way it should, even if it was incredibly bittersweet.

What I struggled with - I found it could be a bit confusing because we were following over a couple years each do over. It was hard to keep track of what had been significant to that day in the last do over. A major challenge with a Groundhog Day type theme is the repetitiveness of the story, which affects the pacing. I think if this story had been just a bit shorter it would have helped it move along at a better pace and could have avoided some of that repetitiveness.

The ending of this story was just so well written, that overall I ended up coming away with a good feeling about the book.

I was truly looking forward to a time loop romance. Sadly, Five First Chances didn't look up to my hopes. The main character didn't understand she was in a loop at first, which made for a confusing read. Even after she figured it out, I didn't find her particularly engaging. I was most interested in another character, Nick.

Louisa is reliving the same few months over and over. She gets five chances to re-live her friend's birthday party and the few months following it. In each case she is surrounded by the same handful of people and most of the same events unfold. But she has some awareness of what is happening and can make different choices based on what she has learned from the past. With each pass she is able to face the truths of her life, help her friends and decide who she truly wants to be.

This one is Groundhog Day meets Me Before You and In Five Years with a dash of Sliding Doors. Be prepared for heavy emotion and little explanation of the time slip. It was a 'like' not a 'love' read for me. Something was missing for me in the main Lou relationship that drove the story. It was sad but I was not as bought into it as I wanted to be. Also folks looking for a traditional HEA should be braced for something quite different.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

This book broke my heart. I was not expecting that ending. And there was some laugh out loud moments, especially with the otters.

I enjoyed all the different chances that Lou took. Everyone was so unique. I also liked looking at the snapshots of the days that made a difference. I loved all the different characters. How each of their stories changed a tiny bit as well or you saw them in different situations. Each chance had you building on the information that you learned from the characters.

It was fun when Lou figured out she was in a time loop. Those are always the best reactions.

I would have loved to get some POV from Nick.

This book has content that was really heavy: cancer & treatments, death, suicidal thoughts, bereavement, grief and miscarriage (to name a few). This book will most likely you feel so many emotions and cry. I cried a lot.

This book was a pleasant surprise to me! I was captivated by the premise and it kept me engaged! The Midnight Library is one of my favorite books and themes in this reminded me of that book! I can tell this won’t be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it!

This book emotionally wrecked me.

As someone who doesn't cry in books often, this one had me in tears multiple times. Sarah's story had me in my feels and the premise of this story kept me intrigued from the start. The time-bending aspect was beautifully orchestrated.

Lou's character development was *chefs kiss* in this book – you can see Lou finding herself more and more as each chance flies by. The love story that develops as a result left me gutted, in the best way.

I really enjoyed this time loop premise as it was unique in the way that the character doesn’t know it’s happening right away and she slowly realizes it bit by bit as she goes through her five chances. I was surprised by how sad this story was, romance novels are usually of the cutesy kind. I also loved how all the secondary characters were essential to the story in some way.

Lou was such an endearing main character and I couldn’t help but be carried away on her journey and cheer her on to find happiness. There is a lot of heavy subject matter in the book..miscarriage, mental health issues, cancer, death and bereavement. But they are all central to the story and are used sensitively and not in a gratuitous way. The ending has a twist and I did not see it coming and was an oh my gosh moment. This was an excellent debut and honestly, I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I feel like you either like or hate time loop stories, and I personally really enjoy them. I appreciate this one for doing something different and having the main character, Louise, getting 5 chances at living 2 years of her life, as opposed to just one day. But the way the book was structured and how the characters handled the loops could’ve been better. Louise certainly starts off pretty unlikable, but as someone who struggles with anxiety, her journey completely made sense and she had some great growth (finally) by the very end of the novel. I also really liked seeing her interaction with recurring situations and characters because, while some things never changed, Louise’s reactions always did and I just thought Jost did such a great job utilizing the time loop device and doing something profound with what has the danger of coming across as repetitive to the reader.

Usually a book that makes me cry is automatically 4-5 stars because I’m easy like that, and this definitely packed an emotional punch. And boy, did I sob! But it took me a long time to get into the story. The romance was touching and I loved the love interest, wish we got to see him more. Jost touches on so many important themes in this book and it serves as a great reminder to live your life fully with no regrets (a cliche for a reason). Overall, I think there are better emotional time loop stories out there, but I’m glad I read this one. It’s hard to say specific as to what could’ve been better without spoiling the story but if you like these types of books, definitely worth checking out.

3.5 ⭐️