Reading Sydney and Marcus's story was such a journey. It differs from the formulaic YA, delving into the deeper themes of grief, coping, and life after loss with the added twist of fate.
I was so invested in Sydney and Marcus: the individuals as well as who they could be together. I appreciated the dual POV for precisely this reason. The end definitely threw me for a loop. It wasn't what I expected or even wanted, but upon reflecting more, it was exactly what I needed.
There is some smooching, but that's about it. These are children, y'all.
This book was heartwarming, heartwrenching, and brought me to tears multiple times. Y'all know I'm a triple OG. Tears don't drop without reason.
Take this emotional ride - you'll be glad you did.

I really tried with this one. It’s super cute and I totally get what the author was going for. The premise is great — a chance meeting that turns into a magical day in NYC, followed by a time loop that forces the characters to confront love, grief, and everything in between. I especially loved how it tackled real issues like loss and healing between two young people just trying to figure things out.

That said, the story started to feel a bit repetitive for me. The relived days kind of pulled me out of the flow, and I found myself getting distracted at times. That could totally be a me thing, but I do think younger readers or anyone who enjoys a slow burn with emotional depth will really connect with this.

Overall, it’s a sweet story with a lot of heart. Just wasn’t a perfect fit for my attention span, but I’m glad I gave it a shot.

This was an enjoyable read. In my opinion it started a little slow and the time jumping was a bit hard to follow. Though I would recommend the book to others, it wasn’t quite my taste.

This book is ideal for readers who enjoy emotionally layered stories blending the excitement of new love with profound explorations of grief and self-discovery, all wrapped in a thought-provoking, time-loop narrative.

“Maybe there is a whole bunch of messed up people out there trying like hell to keep it together. And we’re not so alone after all.”

I signed up for this one immediately because of its time loop premise and the journey it has taken me on is just amazing to say the least. I may not have expected it to have so much wisdom packed amidst its pages but that’s always the best surprise. I’ve certainly gobbled up every single wisdom nugget because believers of the universe and of fate will forever be that way, after all!

“Maybe we’re never really gone as long as someone we love is still here.”

“Because maybe…maybe if we want tomorrow to get here, we have to face today first.”

Charlene Thomas truly delivered with It’s You Every Time. I feel like there’s so little I can say without spoiling the experience, but just know this story took me on an emotional ride I didn’t see coming. Sydney skips school and meets Marcus at Dunkin’. What starts as a spontaneous, beautiful day quickly becomes something much deeper as that same day begins repeating. Watching their dynamic shift as the loop continues was powerful, emotional, and surprisingly tender. This is easily one of my favorite YA romances of the year.

I'm not really into romance, but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try this title out. It was actually cute! I really enjoyed reading it and watch the characters fall for one another.

4.5 stars. This was a great read. Marcus and Sydney were so cute and were such well rounded characters. The Groundhog Day plot is a bit overdone, so that was my only tiny gripe. I thought it was really well done though and had some unique twists. Both Sydney and Marcus’s backstories were so heartbreaking but it was so heartwarming to see their grief and healing journeys.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc !

This was good and tough to read. I really enjoyed this one - this story had so many good things! Both of the main characters were so adorable! I especially loved Marcus, he was such a sweetie! This was my first time loop story that I’ve ever read! And it was so good! I was worried that it would be redundant, however this was such a rich story!

I think in some ways, so so similar to Marcus, there was some things in this book that held a mirror to the things I also was avoiding, especially after the death of my dearest friend in 2017. I cried so so hard at the ending of this - through the ending of Marcus’s story. All of the pain and feelings of guilt were so palpable! The more I have sat with this story, the more I find myself thinking about it fondly - it really hit me in the chest in ways I wasn’t expecting. This book was really like unraveling an onion, as the days kept repeating, more and more was revealed about Marcus and Sydney.

One sentence summary - Sydney is stuck literally in the same day, but once she figures out that Marcus is also stuck, a beautiful love story unfolds as they both navigate difficulties related to death and grief, figuring out how to follow their dreams lives, learning vulnerability with another person, and family issues!

I would recommend this book for readers who love time loops, sweet but adorable main characters, stories set in NYC, young adult novels where the main characters are just trying their best, books about navigating grief, and slow burn love stories.

I’m not usually a fan of books that have the groundhog day type nature because they usually get to be too boring, but this one wasn’t like that. This one had some some of the same scenes in the beginning, but it got more and more wild as the book went on.

Ok so the reason why I don’t usually like these type of time travel books is because of the repetitive nature. This time I was ready for it. It took me a while to read this because I had to read it with my eyeballs. And honestly I think that was a good thing. I was able to break it up and reading the repetitiveness didn’t bother me as much. I just read what I could before I fell asleep and that was enough. And it actually went well. But there was also the fact that the author kept a bunch of stuff out of the beginning of the story. Both of the characters were holding a bunch of guilt and I was glad that it gave me something to look forward to.

This actually also made me a little mad at the characters tho. Because we KNEW that there was something more that was going on with Marcus but Sydney had kept hers a seceret. And Marcus was so sweet! I was mad that she kept this from him but got mad at him. She knew that she hadn’t done everything that she could think of too. Idk, maybe it’s just me. I think I was just mad because she tried to play Marcus. And I don’t think he deserved it.

The romance was so cute. They loved each other and it was obvious. And in this short little time. I loved it so much because it was so much like the Jackie Lau book I just finished where they fell in love so quickly, but not really because they had been with each other for months at a time because of the days repeating. It was sweet but also sad. When they finally got the days sorted I was surprised tho. Thomas had me shocked with what she chose for them. I was a little afraid at first. Especially with the title lol But I didn’t have to. She made everything fit and it actually made for a more interesting ending.

This was a cute lil ol book. I got way more than I was expecting with it too. Definitely didn’t know that it was going to tear me apart like it did. I almost shed some tears. This one is going to get some poor unspecting reader like it almost got me and I love that for them. This is the third smash hit from Thomas and I can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve!

Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. I love a good Groundhog Day / time loop plot, and "It's You Every Time" added a fresh spin to the genre by tackling teen grief in this format, and having two characters (here, Sydney and Marcus) experience it together. I will say that it's TOUGH to not make a repetitive story not FEEL so repetitive to the reader that it's tedious to read, while emphasizing how tedious it must be to live through for the characters. I think this was written so well, that there was entertaining variety to read about, even though the characters kept coming back to similar themes and encounters during their September 24 day. I found the grief topic to be handled sensitively and authentically, and there were some beautifully poignant discoveries throughout about those days you just need to escape from it all - versus those days you simply must power through the pain.

I also know that I'm either going to love or hate a time loop story's ending, because I'm either going to really enjoy how the leads get themselves out of it (or not get out!) or hate how it ends - and unfortunately, without any spoilers, I didn't love this book's ending. I did appreciate how Sydney and Marcus came to know themselves better through their reflections of what was really important in each of their lives, but it just didn't come together the way I was rooting for!

I feel like there's so little I can say about this book without giving things away. Sydney spends a shockingly beautiful day with a boy (Marcus) that she meets in Dunking Donuts after making the decision to cut school and the test that's waiting for her. Versions of that day continue over and over and over again. It's so hard to talk about this book without spoilers.

This is one of my favorite YA romance reads of the year. Marcus and Sydney felt like real people especially the longer they were in the time loop. While they both enjoy the time they get to spend with each other, over time, their feelings about begin in the time loop diverge and we learn a lot more about them and what kind of day they're truly living though.

This is absolutely one of my favorite books of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic | Scholastic Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. I loved the storyline and thought the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book is for the young lovers! I loved this story and would compare it to the current craze around Netflix's "Forever." The story is so sweet and has so many thoughtful elements. I will definitely be handselling and would love for the author to visit my store.

The end of this book almost made me throw my phone. They went through all of this for it to end like that?! I'm really happy there was another chapter that cleared everything up and gave me what I wanted.

This is why I read YA. You get a little bit of angst and a little bit of cute without all the drama. I somehow forgot about the grief that I was warned about in the beginning. When we got there, it hit hard. It was emotional, sad, and it knew where to pull at the heartstrings. I highly recommend this one.

Thanks for the ARC! It’s You Every Time is a moving, beautifully structured story about grief, connection, and the moments that shape us. The time loop element added an emotional weight without feeling gimmicky, and Sydney’s growth felt real and earned. A few scenes felt a bit repetitive by design, but the payoff is tender and thought-provoking. A heartfelt read that lingers.

Rating: 3.75
Reading Age: 14+

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Charlene Thomas for providing me with an arc of this book!

When Sydney wakes up one morning and decides to go to Dunkin for a quick breakfast, it changes the trajectory of her life forever. There she meets Marcus and together they end up having the most perfect day ever, spending time in NYC doing all the things they love, having instantly hit it off. But when they go to bed the next day and realize it’s the same day all over again it throws them in a interesting situation. The more days that go by repeating the more frustrated Sydney gets. Together they have to work together to find a solution to their problem.

Wow! I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Normally I do not like the groundhog day trope but I think Charlene Thomas did a really good job with it. The themes of grief and loss had a heavy emphasis in this book and I think that gave it the emotional dimension the story needed. This was not another fluffy ya romance. And I while I didn’t like the ending and was confused a bit at first, I would still highly recommend this book.

This was definitely a solid 4 star YA read for me. I loved how sweet, fun, & enjoyable this story was even though it did cover a heavy topic like grief. Sydney & Marcus bump into each other at Dunkin Donuts & he suggests that she spends time with him which she takes him up on. They have a full day of adventures & start falling for one another where they feel like they don’t want the day to end. Well as time goes on they are stuck with one another in more ways than one as “time” progresses. I really thought the author did a beautiful job telling this story & making you have such a soft spot for these characters. Grateful for my complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this story of love and grief among strangers that turn more. Sydney and Marcus can make one remember that young love feeling. That feeling of wonder and opportunity and vulnerability one shared with those they feel the most connected to. Although life seems to be on repeat, these two make the best of their situation and they do it together.

I really liked it! I’m not the target audience for the book, but I’ll definitely get this book to put in my class room library.