Okay... this book was so good!! I am so here for the time loops and I love how the characters really have chemistry with each other. Gemma in the beginning is having a hard time understanding what is happening. There was even some comic relief in this book from time to time which I admired.

What a delightful time loop romance! Gemma and Jack are lovable, and the story’s focus on one specific day adds a unique twist. The characters are well-developed, and the instant love aspect is heartwarming. It’s a joy to read their journey over a single day. The book is self-aware and full of heartwarming gestures. Lila is adorable, and I hope she gets her own book! A must-read for romance lovers!

Gemma is a radio producer who has been unhappy for a while. Her brother is working overseas and she has a strained - see: nonexistent - relationship with her famous father, and she has closed her heart off to love after being used by her last boyfriend. She meets Jack, a handsome TV writer... and keeps meeting him, and meeting him, for five months, but she can never remember him - until they kiss. On the other hand, Jack has been reliving the same day over and over, fully aware that he is stuck in a time loop, and he thinks the way out of it is for Gemma to fall in love with him too, all within the span of a single day.

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars rounded up! It took me a while to get into this story, but once I did, I did like it. Jack was so dreamy and I loved that we saw the journey Gemma went on both within her relationship with Jack, and the other men in her life. I do wish that there was a little more showing rather than telling when it came to Gemma and Jack falling for each other, but this was a sweet story with a unique plot and I'm glad I read it.

TW: Strained family relationships, mention of the death of a parent

What a fun, lighthearted read! I love time loop stories, and absolutely ate this up. Gemma and Jack are such a lovable couple, and I thought it was so interesting to read this from Gemma's perspective — Jack is the one that's "stuck" and knows it, and it's hilarious to watch him convince Gemma, and see what they get up to over the course of a day.

Both Gemma and Jack had some real problems in their own lives to solve, and the conflict between the two of them felt as real as it could have, and didn't feel forced. I'd say there was no third act breakup, but there were plenty of grand gestures! It felt like so much happened, and I can't believe that it really does take course over just a single day.

Spice rating ends up being 0/5, but I wasn't too mad about it, considering that Gemma and Jack really "just met." Highly recommend as a fun easy read!

Thank you to Holly James, Dutton, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was cute. It is about Gemma and Jack who get stuck in a loop, reliving the same day over and over again.

I like Holly's style of writing. This isn't the first book by her that I have read, but I could not connect to the characters in this one. Gemma was a little childish to me. The conflicts she had with her brother and father were resolved rather too quickly for me. This was also a bit predictable.

Gemma and Jack's story is a cute one, with an element of "Groundhog Day" thrown in. Jack is bound to repeat the same day until he figures out why he's stuck in it. And Gemma turns out to be the key.

Yet, as others have commented, there isn't any real depth to the story. We don't know why Jack's stuck even though he's certain he has to get Gemma to fall in love with him. As we learn partway through the story, he doesn't even remember his life prior to getting stuck, that's how relevant it was.

Through Jack's efforts to get her to fall in love with him, Gemma comes to realize how shallow and controlling she can be, and she grows as a result of that refelction.

I did enjoy the Nigel Black character, but it was funny that no one ever referred to him as just Nigel. I'm assuming Black is his surname...

Anyway, it's a cute, lighthearted story that's worth a read. But don't expect anything earthshaking or thought-provoking. It's purely heartwarming.

Thank you to Holly James, Penguin and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I love time-loops in books. There’s just something about them that makes my heart and my interest gravitate towards them. While I specifically love time-loops, the fact that this story focuses on one specific day in the loop and does not have the continuous restarting of the day, made it more interesting and stood out to me. The characters themselves were all perfectly developed, having their own idiosyncrasies that had them standing apart from more than just the characters in the book. A lot of criticism I have seen revolves around the dislike of the insta-love. However, this aspect of the book was my favorite part. To me, it did not feel like instant love. The readers only see one day of the entire time-loop and this love had been blooming for days. The readers just had the chance to see it blossom. I believe the author did an amazing job at making the plot seem believable, with the characters lovable, and the perfect read for all romance lovers.

Time-loops are one of my favorite things in books and movies. It's always interesting to see how the characters deal with things like this. It usually makes for a funny story. Which this one for the most part was. My issue was that there wasn't anything else that was really catching my attention. The story just kind of went on page by page and it kind of felt like the same old same old.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the eARC! I’ll start with what I liked about this book: the title is clever, the premise is interesting, the ending and epilogue are very cute!
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me. It felt like insta-love with underdeveloped characters and there wasn’t much time travel involved even though that’s heavily highlighted with the title and tagline. I would’ve loved to see more repeats of the day and more of Jack’s perspective and how he grew as a person and fell in love with Gemma. The side characters were caricatures and added nothing to the story. Lila felt like a mere plot device. While the way this was done was unique I think the execution lacked depth and I found myself disappointed in this. 2.5 stars!

I adored this book! Great premise, and a really great follow through. It was truly a book that I got lost in. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book.

What a delightfully self aware time loop romance!! I loved Gemma, who was sweet and focused and a great friend and has a great sogy, but is also still very hurt by things she's experienced. Jack was adorable!! I love the lengths he went through to convince Gemma of their situation. Imagine spending five months reliving the same day, trying to get the person of your dreams to remember you - talk about commitment!!! I love the million things that go wrong so that everything can go right eventually.

Also, I adored Lila and I really hope she gets her own book!!!

We all know how I feel about instalove, but this was totally lovely and embraced that trope in a fantastic way with a closed-off skeptical character who needed to take a leap of faith, but was well aware it was so. This was raucous and fun, taking us all over LA with some super fun musician celebrity encounters. Such a good time!

Also, Rex!!!

⭐️ 4/5 | 🌶️ 1/5

Groundhog's Day meets Hallmark Movie? Sign me up! This breezy read was such a fun romp through the other side of a man on a mission - and that mission is (on a much deeper level) love!

This had just the right amount of magic to not completely give into the "science behind the time loop" trope that can often drag down this genre. I had a fun time watching Jack try to figure out what his priorities were in the midst of the chaos, and seeing his relationship with Gemma evolve on each repeat from her perspective.

A light, sweet ride perfect for a summer read!

Thank you Holly James and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book!

Time warp books seem to be a popular theme lately and this was exactly that. The story was good, a lot of growth on Gemma's side of things, which also seems like the popular way to go. I enjoyed the book, not sure I would read it again. I would recommend it to others though!

Jack is trapped in a Thursday and to make it to Friday he must make Gemma fall in love with him. I went in thinking this was going to be like every other stuck in a loop book/movie and I was pleasantly surprised. We don't have to see the hundreds of times it happens (which always tends to bore me after the third or fourth time), Holly James gets right to the point and I loved it. It was a very cute story and I enjoyed the read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

"The night is young and who knows , this might be our only chance to live this version of it."
_
This was so fun! It was like Groundhog Day but told from the person not stuck in the time loop. This day was different though cause she remembered one of the looped days which makes this day set apart. We get to follow them on a fun adventure since this whole book takes place in one day (fun for a bingo square).
Loved how she goes along with him since she feels like she remembers.. Time loops sound intense- I would hate to be the person stuck.. But to be the person that breaks the loop is a lot of pressure. Definitely pick up this fun book. Also she's a rock star's child trying to make it on her own and he's a screenwriter. This is set in LA.

🕧 He Falls First
⌛ Time Loop
🕰️ Insta love (it was 5 months for one, 1 day for the other so kind of😂)

Thank you randomhouse for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

I received an arc of this book for an honest review. I both love and hate time loop stories and movies. Often the science is too….much, or not enough or just needlessly explained but this one was just the right amount of magic and science and sweet love story. It’s all set in a day so it moves quickly. Fun music themed for music fans.

Hallmark movie with a bit of fanciful magic. Suggestion: go into this read willing to suspend all disbelief, don’t expect any spice (zero, zip, zilch), and enjoy the ride.

Beginning really pulled me in because of the premise: <i>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 . . .</i>

Gemma feels sparks and the earth moving under her feet every time there is eye contact or physical contact with Jack. All day she’s getting feelings of deja vu, but just cannot explain it. What could possibly be happening? Then she (literally) runs into Jack.

I was excited and curious as to how this book would handle a couple stuck in a glitch in the timeline. The idea of Groundhog Day/Russian Doll (minus any dying) loop has always intrigued me. Like what would you do if you literally lived each day over and over again on an endless repeat?

This is a single POV from Gemma the entire (major majority) of the book. And we really went on an emotional journey with Gemma as she worked through fears of falling in love, anger at her father, pain of being far from her baby brother, and doubt at her ability in her chosen career path.

I loved the way Jack is fighting for Gemma. With Gemma’s reluctance to hear Jack’s time loop theories out, I just wanted to push her aside and be like “I volunteer as tribute!” I was hoping there would be more focus on Jack and Gemma, and while that is the overarching storyline, we get a lot of the book with Gemma on her own and dealing with her family and career issues. And we also find that Jack also has his personal life obstacles he has to conquer.

There is kissing and that. is. it. 💋 no spice. It’s a sweet and cute storyline that has an element of magic. Recommend if you are looking for something without any spice, a romance where the characters have to do some self-work and introspection on their own a lot, but there are a lot of fun elements that don’t get too serious.

3.5 ⭐️/5.0
0.0 🌶️/5.0

Thank you to Penguin Dutton and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.

uhh can I plz be in a time glitch to re-read this immediately?
This book follows our two main characters, Gemma and Jack, as Gemma finds out she is living a time-loop and has 24-hours to prevent the fat looping again. All she has to do is fall in love with Jack, how has nearly a 150 day head start!

Beyond Gemma and Jack’s relationship, I really enjoyed the music components (can I please see Nigel Black in concert?!), family dynamics, and self-belief. I thought that the author did a really great job of making this feel believable—I was rooting for Gemma and Jack the entire time!

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for sharing an e-copy with me!

Thank you to Holly James & Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC!

my first time loop story! it was very nice to read something with low drama and conflict, but I prefer stories with more of an emotional stake to them. both jack and gemma are really likable.