The Déjà Glitch by Holly James Published by Penguin on August 1, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Magical Realism, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
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. All Gemma needs is to remember him first . . .
Gemma Peters is doing fine. She’s making a name for herself in the L.A. music biz as a radio producer. She’s got a ride-or-die best friend in Lila, and she gets to come home to Rex, her loving Labrador, every night. But ever since her rock star ex-boyfriend used her to get a record deal from her rock legend dad, she’s made a “no musicians” rule when it comes to dating that’s becoming more like a “no dating” rule, period.
So, when Gemma crashes (literally) into Jack one Thursday morning, at first she feels like fate might finally be doing her a favor. After all this guy is cute and, wait, is she imagining it, or is he staring a little too deeply into her eyes? And how does he know her name? Even harder to explain is the funny feeling of déjà vu she gets every time she looks at him. It’s not at all like Gemma to kiss a man and forget him completely, so then how can she explain the dreamlike memory of his lips on hers?
The truth is this is no ordinary Thursday. Not for them. In fact, they’ve lived this day over and over for months. And while Gemma has been totally oblivious to the time loop, Jack has been agonizingly aware of every single iteration. Luckily, Jack has a theory to bring his own personal Groundhog Day to an end. And it’s simple. Before the day is over, he just has to get Gemma to fall in love with him.
My Review
I received an ARC copy of The Deja Glitch by Holly James in return for an honest review. Everything that I write here is completely my own thoughts and opinions. Before I start though I do want to take a moment to thank Netgalley and Holly James for a chance to read this book and review it.
I read this book in a matter of just a few days and at first I was like this is just another Groundhog Day type book but I can say that I was pleasantly surprised. I loved getting to know Gemma Peters, her love of music, and the fact that she was a dog mom. Now these two aspects are not what the book is about but they are two of the things that I loved. Maybe that is because I myself am a dog mom and obsessed with music.
Gemma has a lot of crap in her past having to do with a previous love and the divorce of her parents which in turn make it difficult for her to trust men and fall in love. Oh yeah, it also makes it difficult for her career because she does not want to use her father’s career or reputation to boost herself in any way. I should probably explain that Gemma works in radio on the music side of things and one day she wants to host her own show. Her father is a big wig in the music industry and he has the power to turn people into musical stars or break their careers. He is a very self-absorbed man and one that Gemma is not able to forgive.
Gemma happens to be besties with Lila who is a popular L.A. influencer and they have been friends for years. Lila knows exactly what happened between Gemma and her father not to mention Gemma and her ex-boyfriend. Now Lila is one of the only people that Gemma can confide in about this time loop that she has been in for the past one hundred and forty-four (I think it is 144) days. She has been stuck in it with a man named Jack. He runs into Gemma one morning at the coffee shop causing a huge explosion of coffee to splash over everything including Gemma herself. This happens to be how Jack gets her attention so that he can explain for what seems like the millionth time to him what is happening to them. He has a theory that they are stuck in this time loop and the only way for them to get out of it is if she happens to fall in love with him in one day. She obviously thinks he is gorgeous but possibly crazy as well. She has too much on her mind to take him seriously with her brother traveling back home from across the world and her favorite musician Nigel Black coming to her work for an interview that same day. It isn’t until Jack starts saying things to her that he could not possibly know that gets her rattled and perks her interest.
This is the story of Gemma and Jack. It is a story of them trying to figure out what got them stuck in the first place, dealing with the issues, and trying to stay awake for twenty-four hours in hopes that they magically make it to the next day. This is the story of Jack trying to convince Gemma to fall in love with him the way that he has fallen in love with her during those one hundred and forty-four days. It is also the story of Gemma coming into her own and making discoveries along the way that will change her life forever. So if you are looking for a time-loop romance story then definitely give this one a go because I do not think you will be disappointed. Until next time Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Parental Death
- Divorce
- Infidelity