A Time Loop Romance

Gemma runs into Jack, literally. She’s been off romance, but Jack attracts her looking deep into her eyes. The next day is a day Gemma and Jack have experienced many times before. Jack is caught in a time loop. The way he can break out of it is to get Gemme to fall in love with him. This is not as easy as it seems because while he remembers her, she doesn’t remember him.

This is a cute romance. Gemma and Jack are likable characters. You can’t help rooting for them to get together. The writing is good. It pulls you into the story and makes you keep reading. A few times, I thought the author was over-explaining, but it didn’t detract too much from the action.

The setting was perfect for the story. The characters were great, including Lila, Gemma’s best friend.
If you enjoy romance with a different background, I think you’ll like this book. I did.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy.

I really liked this book! I would definitely read more by this author. I think the only thing I would’ve liked more was if we had some of Jake’s pov. That might’ve been fun throughout the book here and there just to get some more of the time loop aspects. But I did appreciate that last chapter!!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥

Jack is living the same 24 hours over and over again, and the key to breaking the cycle is to get Gemma to fall for him. Unfortunately, only he knows they are stuck in a time loop, and Gemma has a "no dating" rule. How can he convince someone who considers him a stranger to get to know him, much less, love him in a day?

I was absolutely in love with the premise and was ready to tackle the promise of a more romantic version of 50 First Dates. I was disappointed that we're dropped into the story on the 150th iteration of the time loop, and we only go through it just once (or one and a half?). The single iteration provided readers with a lot of details as if we ourselves were getting to know Jack and Gemma within that limited time, and does it count as insta-love if one of the characters has been at it for 147 days?

This was a fun, whimsical read for fans of closed-door romance. You know I love spice, so I am always going to wish for it, but I thought this was cute and enjoyable for what we got.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Holly James, Dutton, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

My favorite movie ever is Groundhog Day so time loop stories have to be amazing because I compare them to the movie. And I am happy to say this one did a great job. The three main characters were fun, like-able and mostly relatable. Lila, the best friend, was a little out there but supportive and a perfect twenty something (she’s an Instagram influencer). Jack is the guy trying to move time forward after being trapped in a day that’s repeated 147 times. He is absolutely adorable and makes the crazy stuff believable. Gemma was a great foil to Jack and Lila. She’s trying to believe Jack but it’s a bit of a hard sell. I really enjoyed the book and am hoping for a movie someday in the future. Can’t wait for Holly’s next book! I’m a fan!

This was a great time loop story and I was so excited to dive into this one! The story started off so strong and I loved how it was never repetitive and flowed into the situation of Gemma and Jack being stuck in the same day for 147 days.

There was plenty of conflict for each character to overcome in order to break their time loop. Gemma deals with issues at work, her relationship with her father, an awful ex who used her for a record deal, and her overprotectiveness of her younger brother Patrick.

Jack, who has been aware of the time loop the entire time, realizes that he and Gemma are meant to be together and he’s been trying the entire time to get her to remember her. He thinks the key is for them to fall in love in order to break the loop. This sounds outrageous, but it’s been 5 months for him while to Gemma, she only meets him that morning in a coffee shop after a series of bizarre events happen to her.

For me, the conversational dialogue didn’t flow right in the story. Sentences were choppy in parts and at the end there’s an entire chapter of Gemma and Jack just stating what happened that day. It seemed unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the book for me. I also felt like there was so much being described in the book all around Gemma that she would be internally assessing that just filled the page but didn’t add anything to the story for me.

Lila was the best friend and side character and I found myself so attached to her. Many of the scenarios were funny and I think if this were to be made into a movie would showcase every part of Los Angeles. Which also leads me to note that having been to LA and lived in Southern California for a time, there’s no wayyyy Gemma got all over to all of her locations in one whole day 😂

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House/ Dutton for this advance readers copy in exchange for my review!

I’ve read a lot of time loop novels over the last few years, but this has a different feel to it. Once Gemma meets Jack once at her best friend’s birthday and kisses him, she only wakes up onto a new day once more. I think the starting over can get old quickly so I enjoy that this skipped that element. I also liked that he was convinced she needed to fall in love with him to break the time loop. They still had a lot of interesting adventures and to me it felt like the perfect amount for their day.

There were so many great moments like her securing the interview of her dreams to Jack convincing her favorite musician to play her favorite song from HS. This was a really swoon worthy moment! I listened to the audiobook thanks to PRH audio and really enjoyed the narration!

I wasn't expecting this to be so much fun! The first book I read by this author wasn't my fav so I didn't have high hopes for this book, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Thank you Dutton for the copy of the Deja Glitch. Consider me a fan of Holly James, I was surprised in a good way by Nothing But The Truth with how it approached the I can't tell a lie trope and here I got to enjoy her take on the time loop/Groundhog day trope. I really like an author who can find a way to take a popular, and loved, trope and make it their own and James is good at this, little notes of depth and nuance make the plot stronger and the themes more discussion worthy than they could be a in a more skim the surface type read.
looking for a quick but satisfying romance for the end of the summer? Something for a book club that's fun, not too long, but good for discussion? Here you go!

I look forward to Holly James next read.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: Just kissing

The Deja Glitch was super cute and very reminiscent of all those romcom movies we know and love. The story follows Gemma and Jack who are stuck in a time loop. Jack relives the same day for almost 150 days while continuously running into Gemma in the hopes that she’ll remember him.

I enjoyed seeing Gemma and Jack confront their issues and fears. Gemma has a ton of growth throughout her journey with her brother, father, and job all with the help of Jack supporting her in her decisions. Overall, I enjoyed this story, but found myself skimming here and there. Jack was a little golden retriever, but Gemma didn’t stand out. Her story felt very cliche, and I usually don’t mind cliche and normally love it, but this one didn’t shine as much as I was hoping.

TL;DR- Cute, but very cliche.

This was a fun rom-com that was so enjoyable to read. It felt like watching a movie and a great summer read.

Are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? Is it only until we learn something that we can move forward? I enjoy stories that involve a time loop, a parallel universe, or time travel. Throw in a contemporary romance, and I'm ecstatic!

Living in Los Angeles, Gemma works in radio, has a fun BFF, adores her dog, and has a rock star ex-boyfriend who has soured any desire for her to get back into dating. That is until she meets a cute guy at her BFF's birthday party and feels like something clicks with him, especially when he gives her a deep, meaningful kiss before she gets into her Uber at the night's end. This starts a chain of events the next morning involving running all over the city, looking for why this time loop keeps happening.

This book was fun because it felt like a mystery and comedy. We also got to know the important people in Gemma's life. We did get a little bit of a scientific explanation of time loops. However, this was not an in-depth study of the phenomena. It was a light read, and while I could have read it in a day or so, I have been pretty busy, so this was an easy read to pick up and put down in the evenings to help me relax.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5719253159
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5ed11554-5b3f-43ba-9e57-bb924d6232fc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvNH5A8h3up/

I absolutely adored Holly James' debut Nothing But The Truth, so I knew I wanted to read her sophomore novel!

The Deja Glitch is a loveable time loop romance with a sprinkle of he fell first and shes a skeptic.

Gemma Peters is living her normal life, but she has a feeling she has lived these experiences before.. when getting her morning coffee, she bumps into a man and spills coffee all over herself. She doesn't know the man... or does she??? He tells her she does.. and that they've met 147 times before.

Jack is living the same day over and over again and believes that Gemma is part of the solution to get out of the time loop. He's lived the day 147 different ways, some things continue to happen, and some are brand new to this day.

Will Jack get out of the loop? Does Gemma help? Read this book to see!

I'm starting to think that I am a magical realism girlie?! This was a fun read of what will happen over the course of this day, and what changes are made. I recommend it to fans of Groundhogs Day! I love that Holly James is basically re-creating movies that I loved in more of a rom-com book way!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

💫 ARC REVIEW 💫
⏰ To break out of a 24-hour time loop, all Jack needs is for Gemma to fall in love with him in a single day in The Deja Glitch by @hellohollyjames

📣 OUT TODAY - 8/1 !! 📣

⏳ MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this Groundhog Day vibed romance. Jack has been reliving the same day over and over again, trying to get Gemma to fall in love with him in order to break the cycle and be able to move forward in time. Gemma and Jack were so sweet and it was heartwarming the lengths he went for her.

As they work through their day, they realize they both have emotional and relational issues they need to work on in order to move forward. It was fun and heartwarming to go on that journey with them.

Read for:
🔮 Time Loop
🔁 Forced Proximity
🩶 Strangers to Lovers
☕️ Meet Cute
📍 L.A. Setting

✨ A huge thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the ARC in exchange for an always honest review ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice level: 🧼

What would you do if a stranger told you that they had been stuck in a time loop for over a hundred days, and they thought you were the key to getting out of the loop - but first, you had to fall in love?

The premise may sound crazy, but Holly James makes it work. Gemma collides with Jack outside a coffee shop, and her whole world is thrown off its axis by his crazy premise. However, she can't deny that she has the strangest sense that she's met him somewhere before, so she goes along with his claim - and finds out a lot about herself along the way.

There's a LOT jam packed into this one day in the time loop, including family angst, overcoming the wounds from a bad breakup, and learning to trust a stranger, but somehow it works. The frenetic pace makes this a quick read; I read it in one day. There's undeniable chemistry between Jack and Gemma but the spice is pretty tame; this romance is more about the way bonds form between people, as opposed to the physical realization of those connections. I also really enjoyed the side characters, especially Lila, Gemma's best friend, who strikes the perfect blend of being game for anything, nudging her friend toward true love while also being ready to jump in to protect her if it seems like she might get hurt.

I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it!

This was a fun time-loop romantic comedy. Super easy read, perfect for summer vacation. Very binge-able, I practically read it in one sitting. You have to suspend disbelief here and just go along for the ride. It is a time-loop story after all, so let's also forgive the unrealistic TSA encounters and non-existent LA traffic while we're at it. I enjoyed the two main characters, but the side characters were definitely a highlight.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The way my brain works so hard to try to keep up with a time loop or time travel book :o ;) .

When a strange cute man tells Gemma Peters that they’ve met over & over again, part of her is dismayed & scared bc she’s never met him. But the other part feels this wisp of familiarity that grows as they spend more time together, with both leads running all over LA.

While most time loop books I’ve read share multiple of the days on page, The Déjà Glitch keeps it on the simple-ish side: Gemma Peters & Jack experience only two days together on page—all other iterations of the same day they’ve been living over & over again for 5 months (!) are just referred to.

Those two days they spend together are full of so many emotions: yearning & wistfulness, annoyance, broken-heartedness, pride, & love—some of it between the two of them & some of it with other people as Gemma works through some big baggage she’s been carrying—that the book itself doesn’t feel superficial. It feels like a microscope has been pointed on the things weighing Gemma down & she’s ready to finally tackle all of them.

But the romance arc doesn’t have the same effect for me, unfortunately. While the growth Gemma experiences is heartwarming, I was overall a bit less convinced by the romance.

Still, this is a sweet read—closed door—with a heroine who goes through a lot of emotional work on this time loop day & who finds her way to something—dare I say, even more magical: love ;).

3.5⭐️. Out now!

CWs: Gemma’s dad cheated on mother previously & has been emotionally negligent in past. Jack’s dad died previous to action in book.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook next to zinnia flowers. Off to the right a black & blue & yellow butterfly drinks from an orange zinnia.]

It's been 147 days of the same random Thursday over and over on a time loop and Jack seems to be the only one aware of it. He's tried so many things to break out of it until he discovers that Gemma is the key. If he can make her fall in love with him in 24 hours, maybe time can move on. But every morning, it's the same thing with her looking at him like a stranger as he falls even more in love with her. Until one night at her best friend's birthday party, he leaves her with a kiss and the plea to "please, remember me!". The next morning, Gemma has an odd feeling of déjà vu as she goes through her morning routine until she crashes into an oddly familiar stranger. She has no memory of who he is, but as she looks at his face, she can picture the best kiss of her life while her favorite song plays. Could the 148th Thursday be the day they fall in love?
My problem with time loop books is the repetitive scenes and the feeling of wasting my time reading the same thing over. This book didn't do that. The story starts with the kiss that shocked things out of pattern, and Gemma and Jack's decisions the next day that change everything. We don't have to slog through 147 things that didn't work, although some are briefly mentioned. I love Jack's determination to start over every day trying something new and living with the heartbreak of Gemma looking at him like a stranger. I thought the book was a sweet and unique clean romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Déjà Glitch is as if The Time Traveler’s Wife and Groundhog Day had a baby.

The book follows Gemma as she realizes things throughout her day seem familiar, like they have happened before. Jack, on the other hand, remembers every single day of the never ending loop. After reliving the same day for months, he realizes Gemma is the key to breaking it.

This insta love romcom was incredibly cute! I instantly fell in love with Jack and Gemma, and I loved getting to know about her family and ex boyfriend. Lila is such an amazing best friend and a wonderful addition to the story. By about the 25% mark I was obsessed and sped through it!

Thank you you to Holly James, Netgalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Dutton for a digital ARC copy of this book.

I had so much fun reading this book. I typically enjoy time loop stories, but it can be difficult to keep me interested throughout. This book kept me interested because, while it is a time loop, our narrator, Gemma, isn't the one who is aware of the time loop. Instead the love interest, Jack, is the who who has been living the same day over and over again. In this loop, he's been falling in love with Gemma.

I loved Gemma and Jack together, and I loved that their personal journeys were just as important as their love story. I did find it frustrating how Gemma continually walked away from her problems and Jack, but I loved how resilient Jack was. It just made me like him even more. It also made me appreciate Gemma's arc from the beginning of the book to the end.

I’ve always been a big fan of the Groundhog’s Day-esque time loop trope & what that entails. The amnesia-adjacent plot line & the discovery of what is actually happening I feel like always adds an air of mystery & intrigue, which I enjoy. I also appreciated the twist on this trope with the hero being the one in the loop & fully aware & the heroine slowly discovering what is happening.

It’s a story that’s outrageous & almost unbelievable but has enough science, heart & entertainment that if you give it a chance, it is a fun ride.

I will say that because the majority of the story only takes course over one really long day, I didn’t get to know the characters as much as I would’ve like. I would’ve enjoyed developing a deeper bond with them through more of their story/history at the beginning perhaps, but I still thought it was a cute story & I was definitely rooting for them.

To my fellow time loop fans & anyone looking for a quick & cute read, this would be a good recommendation for you!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Dutton for the gifted arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.