Gemma Peters thinks she has it all figured out. An up and coming radio producing career, a lovely and loyal best friend, a lovely and loyal slobbery dog and absolutely no men following a terrible breakup. When Gemma crashes into Jack one morning and ends up covering her favorite blouse in her coffee, she’s glad at least the the guy is cute. But Jack seems to know Gemma, and he knows things about her that should be impossible. Jack insists that they’re stuck in a time loop, and the only way to break out of it is by falling in love. Jack has had enough time to fall in love with Gemma because he remembers all of the looped days, but because her memory resets each night, he only has one day to get her to reciprocate.

Time loop isn’t my favorite trope and I’ve found more misses than hits when I try it. Still, I found the description for this one appealing and I am so glad I gave it a try because I absolutely loved it! The way the time loop is done here is so fresh and fun, where only Jack remembers but the entire story is of just one iteration of the day (not multiple tries at getting it right). Gemma started off so skeptical and closed off but Jack warmed her up to the possibility of the loop through his clear adoration and charm. I loved how Gemma had to address all the parts of her life that were going wrong in order to fall in love with Jack and break the loop. He wasn’t the magic wand, he just helped her find hers. This was one of the sweetest time loop romances I’ve ever read.

Perfect for fans of: ✨ magical realism 🔄 time loops/Groundhog’s Day ❤️ true love saving the day 💔heartbroken and jaded heroine learns to believe in love again 🍭 a sweet and swoony hero 💋 kisses that feel like coming home ✈️ Love Actually style airport dashes 🎸 rock star style grand gestures

This book wasn't in my wheelhouse. It's not the author, it's just my personal preference at this time. I do plan to listen to the audio version to see if that better suits me.

This book was so fun to read! It’s like Groundhog Day meets new contemporary romance. I loved learning more and more about why the characters were stuck in a loop, and there was so much Holly James could do with this book! I think she did a good job keeping not too outlandish, but I do think generally speaking the book was quite long. This book certainly would have been better with his/her point of view, I think the 3rd person narration really removes the reader from the story.

I wish there was a sort of sequel or honestly there was another story in a similar vein of looping timelines or something because that concept was absolutely fascinating to merge with my rom genre. ♥️

Thank you Net Galley and Dutton for this advanced readers copy.

Holly James' Nothing but the Truth was a delightful take on one of my all-time favorite movies (anyone who knows me knows I quote Liar Liar like it's my job) so I was beyond excited to see The Deja Glitch taking inspiration from another cult favorite--Groundhog's day--and couldn't wait to jump in.

Gemma's day starts much like any other, minus the nagging sense of deja vu which becomes all the more apparent when a handsome man runs into her at the coffee shop and she can't shake the feeling that she has met him already.

She has. Many times. And now that she's given him the chance to explain, Gemma has one day to fall in love with Jack or risk being stuck in the time loop.

When I say I devoured this book.

Gemma's voice was everything I want in a romantic protag: quirky, reflective, smart, with a dash of self awareness and endearing flaws that made her endearing. You're invested in her journey from the first page and even with the suspension of disbelief that comes with a time loop, nothing felt out of the realm of possibility. Jack was an excellent counterpoint, and there wasn't a single moment I wasn't rooting for a fairy tale-esque ending.

With refreshing takes on classic tropes, well-rounded characters, and witty dialogue that had me laughing out loud several times, this is one of my favorite books of the year. A feel-good must read with heart, humor, and magic.

Big thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No Spice
 
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Time Loops
- Fate
- Grand Romantic Gestures
- Strangers to Lovers

THIS BOOOOOK! It's been a hot minute since a no spice book had me thinking about it so much but my goodness. The Deja Glitch gave me those butterflies in the stomach feeling for days.

I loathe insta-love but going into this book and knowing it's a time loop set within one day, I knew what I Was getting myself into and Holly James nailed the execution of Gemma and Jack's love story.

Jack and Gemma compliment each other so well. Jack with his romantic gestures and Gemma with her skepticism and guarded heart. Jack was the superior character in this book but I can't blame Gemma for reacting how she does throughout the book. Even if I just want to yell 'LISTEN TO JACK!"

Some may say that all time loop stories are predictable and to a certain extent they are. However, The Deja Glitch kept me on my toes and kept me completely in the dark of how Gemma and Jack would reach their HEA.

The Deja Glitch is the perfect book to binge and I would recommend this one to anyone!

Gemma and Jack have been stuck in the same day for over 5 months, and The Déjà Glitch spans one full day of them trying to figure out their connection to try to break the cycle.

I usually enjoy a good time loop romance, but this one didn't quite work for me. I liked the self-exploration that the main character went through, but there was a lot of telling rather than showing. I also found the writing choppy and redundant at times, and everything tied up a little too neatly at the end.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton via NetGalley for gifting me with an ARC to review!

A time loop romance. He knows what’s happening, but she doesn’t. Jack and Gemma are reliving their meeting many, many times until they can get it right. Gemma’s family and ex-boyfriend issues make the story interesting and a fun read. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me which absolutely kills me as a reader. I love a good time loop plot but this one just falls flats.

The Déjà Glitch was sadly not for me. I LOVE time loop romances so I was very excited to read this new book by Holly James.
Unfortunately, it fell completely flat and I genuinely considered not finishing it. The whole point of a time loop (in my opinion) is that the characters are stuck repeating the same day over and over together and they are the only two people to be experiencing the same day. This can lead to so many fun plot points - doing ridiculous things because there are no repercussions, trying to escape the loop by any means necessary, doing fun things together that they would never normally do. But none of this happens in The Déjà Glitch. In fact, most of the book is set over one day - and what an immensely boring day! Despite a million things being packed in, I could not find any joy in Gemma’s storyline and I really didn’t warm to her as a character, she comes across as immature (although not as immature as her friend Lila). Jack was okay, but honestly he declares his love for Gemma after a few pages of the book and at this point Gemma has only known him for a couple hours and is still trying to figure out if he’s telling the truth about being stuck in this temporal anomaly. Some of the things that Jack says to Gemma are incredibly cringey - I can see why they might be perceived as romantic but for me they just felt very forced and the kind of thing you might expect from star crossed lovers declaring their emotions after years of holding back and pining for one another rather than two people who have basically JUST met. It is also slightly creepy how Jack follows Gemma around all day, it’s supposed to be romantic but it comes across as stalker behaviour when he just pops up out of nowhere and knows lots of information about her when we know nothing at all about him.

The background characters are not much better either, Gemma’s father is a massive narcissist who she is forced to reconcile with, despite the fact that their father / daughter relationship is clearly not a good one. Her brother, Patrick, is stuck in an airport for the duration of the book and I found myself skim reading whenever there was a phone call between the two siblings. As mentioned before, Lila (Gemma’s best friend) is incredibly shallow and immature - she also films Jack and Gemma to post to her huge social media following without the couple’s permission which honestly is just a massive invasion of privacy and not something a friend should do.

I’m desperately trying to think of some redeeming features but the only thing I like is the cover, sorry!
If you want a time loop or well written romance, this is not the one for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the eARC.

This book was too slow for me and putting me in a reading slump. I was very excited for a time loop romance, but the majority of the book takes place on one day with just the prologue, first chapter, and end showing the loop. The time loop expectation made me enjoy this book less. The characters were interesting or very well rounded.

the thing with groundhog day retellings is that is feels very icky to have two people be on uneven footing with each other to start a relationship. it doesn't matter if one person catches feelings for the other beforehand, it's a lot to put on someone to reciprocate a semblance of a connection, let alone love. starting this, i thought this book would be the exception, but i just didn't buy the chemistry.

(it's funny, i had to reread the third act breakup section 2x because i didn't remember what they fought when i was reading the build up to the reconciliation.)

What can I say…I’m a sucker for a time loop, any chance I get I will devour a book with a time loop to be able to see people finally get what they’re supposed to get right…well right. The Déjà Glitch by Holly James really didn’t disappoint and if you’re ready to suspend reality and you enjoy the time loop trope like me, then this is definitely the book for you. I enjoyed how the author took a different approach with her time loop story and instead of seeing the same day repeated over and over with different variations to get the characters unstuck, we meet Jack and Gemma when they’ve already repeated their day numerous times and Jack feels like he has this one final shot to get it all right and stop the time loop for good. Overall, this was a fun read, and my first by Holly James.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Holly James and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This book was adorable and I absolutely loved it. I really liked that it had a bit of a twist on the typical take of groundhog's day. I also really liked that while this is definitely a rom-com, there is more than romance involved. There is self reflection and even healing from past traumas. I loved that we get to watch the main character grow as well as see them fall in love in 24 hours.

You're probably wondering what the .01 star being taken away is about. It's just one scene. Literally one paragraph. It just felt weird and random. The main character drops an F-bomb, which, it's not a big deal, but up until that point, the characters didn't curse really ever. Even the characters acknowledge that it's weird and it just felt out of character? I'm not sure, but honestly, it was such. blip that it didn't even really make that big of a difference to me.

The best friend in the book? She needs her own book. She was so lovely and wonderful. I would love to see a story on her. The main character and the love interest were literal goals but I feel like her bestie and the delivery driver guy have an epic story waiting to be told.

All in all, can't wait for this book to be released because I will be first in line to purchase. I loved this book. love. LOVED. And I will bully everyone into reading it without shame.

A phenomenal read, perfect for the summertime!

I was a little concerned about th 24h time-loop becoming repetitive but that was not the case with this book!

This is definitely a book I will be picking up again after its release date!

*thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Holly James did it again! I love this mix of rom-com classics and a little magic. Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, 50 First Dates- all work so well on film, it’s no surprise they’re so fun in book form. It had a sense of levity without sacrificing plot or humanity, and was a really fun summer escape.

I’ve only read one time loop book before so I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I snagged The Deja Glitch!

I ended up struggling with the first 30% or so and had to take a break but once I came back to it, I started to find the book to be pretty cute. I liked that everyone around Gemma pushed her to do things she didn’t want to do and seeing her growth was great!

I really appreciate that we didn’t have to relive the same day over and over but I didn’t love that Gemma had to fall in love with Jack in a day to try and break the loop. I think it would’ve been helpful to have this be a minor dual POV because then the author could’ve added in breaks like “Day 45 of the time loop” and then we could use those to see Jack actually fall in love. I think this would’ve been a unique way to do the time loop without having Gemma restart her day over and over.

I will say I did end up skimming through a lot of the book because the descriptions of everything were miles long but overall, The Deja Glitch was still a cute read and I really enjoyed the ending/Jack’s grand gesture!

Thank you NetGalley and the Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Deja Glitch by Holly James

Gemma wakes up one morning and has a eerie feeling that she experienced this day before. Then, she runs into Jack who explains to her that he has been stuck in a 24 hour time-loop and she is the only constant. So he needs her help to break out of the time loop. As they try to survive the day, they both run into own inner demons, face challenging conversations, and overcome their struggles.

What a unique rom-com premise! This one was anything but boring! The real-star of this book has to be Lily (Gemma’s best friend) and could use a sequel with Lily! I didn’t think I would enjoy the concept of time-loop but James made it very interesting. I loved Jack, he seemed so sweet and it took me sometime to like Gemma. This was such a cute, nerdy, romantic, hilarious novel! Hope you enjoy!

This was sweet! It’s not the heaviest little book but I will say it packs a soft punch with some familial problems and finding yourself. It’s very cute and I think the perfect summer read for your beach tote. I wish we had gotten a little deeper and had a slower build to the realization that the day was repeating, and a little more intentionality in how to solve that/more trial and error, but overall I enjoyed.

3.75 🌟

"Gemma Peters did not like parties.
Her idea of a good time consisted of a book and a blanket, perhaps a cup of tea."

... Gemma is my spirit animal. 😆

I always get nervous about time glitch books because what if I have to read the same thing... over and over and over?!
That was not the case with the Deja Glitch (phew). I thought that telling the story from Gemma's perspective (who was not fully aware of the glitch) was a fresh take on this troupe.
The romance between Gemma and Jack was believable and the relationship growth she had with her dad and brother only added to this story. Also, if you are drawn to closed door romances, you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

RECEIVED AS AN ARC THROUGH NETGALLEY

Loved how the time loop played into the romance setting up a nice and easy romcom. It reminded me a lot of 50 first dates and groundhog day. A nice easy read