Guest post written by The Déjà Glitch author Holly James
Holly James holds a PhD in psychology and has worked in both academia and the tech industry. She loves telling stories with big hearts and a touch of magic. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and dog. The Déjà Glitch is out now.
Stories that play with the convention of time open a world of possibility. Righting wrongs, fixing mistakes, getting to redo life over and over until you get it right. Some of the most memorable recent books that use time as a plot device span across genres and include going forward in time, back in time, and sometimes around and around in time. This chronological flexibility often allows for a deeper look at life’s experiences that can take a reader on an otherwise impossible journey.
In The Déjà Glitch, we meet a pair of strangers in L.A. who are stuck in a 24-hour time loop that only one of them can remember. Jack has been cycling through the same day for five months, and he’s convinced that getting Gemma to fall in love with him is key to breaking the loop. The problems is, Gemma can’t remember the loop and feels like every day is the first day they’ve met. This tale of love, friendship, and family set against the music industry in Hollywood flips the time loop convention on its head and tells the story from Gemma’s perspective – the person who doesn’t realize she’s experiencing the same day over and over. This twist allows us to see what it would be like to have a stranger (who is madly in love with her!) try to convince her that they know each other and everything she’s experiencing has happened before. What’s more, she has to fall for him in one day so that the loop—and her memory—doesn’t reset. In a literal race against the clock, Jack does everything he can to help Gemma remember all the times they’ve met before, and together, they both end up discovering how to help each other move forward in life.
From falling in love to exploring existential questions to solving crimes, here is a roundup of time loop books to get lost in.
The Rehearsals by Annette Christie
Megan and Tom are heading into their dream wedding weekend when their rehearsal dinner goes disastrously wrong. In the thick of the drama, they decide to call the whole thing off—only to wake up the next morning stuck in a time loop of the same terrible day. This charming story of second chances looks at love, secrets, family, and what it means to get a do-over (and over and over) until you get things right.
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Maelyn loves spending every Christmas at a cabin in Utah with her family and the family of her long-time crush Andrew. This will be the last year, though, with Andrew’s family selling the cabin. With her career and love life both stalling out, and the news of the holiday tradition ending, Mae makes a wish for happiness as she drives away from the cabin for the last time. Then, she crashes, and everything goes dark only for her to wake up on the plane to Utah again. Now, stuck in a time loop, Mae has to figure out what is holding her back and if those long-held feelings for Andrew might be key to putting her life on the right track. A perfect holiday (or anytime!) read!
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Katy has spent her life hearing stories of the summer her mother Carol, her very best and closest friend, spent on the Amalfi Coast the year before she became a wife and mother. They planned the trip of a lifetime together for her mom’s 60th birthday, but Carol unexpectedly passes away before they are able to take it. Overwhelmed with grief and unsure how to move forward, Katy decides to take the trip herself. When she arrives in Italy in the very town her mother fell in love with some 30 years prior, she’s shocked to find her mother there in the flesh as a 30-year-old woman enjoying the best summer of her life. This story is a love letter to mothers and daughters and will surely make you want to plan a trip to Italy.
Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey
Thora and Santi have met each other in more lives than they can count. Every time they die, they eventually end up back in the same small German town where they meet each other again. They come back in different types of relationships: spouses, friends, colleagues, siblings, parent and child. When they eventually start to remember their past lives, they question what it all means and why the two of them keep meeting over and over. This clever and unique story juxtaposes faith and science and the mystery of what’s truly going on will keep you turning pages!
How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Dom and Mia got engaged 10 years ago but Dom called it off and has regretted it ever since. When they run into each other in a random coffee shop one day, they make plans to go on a date the next night. When Mia dies in a tragic accident, Dom begins waking up in the same day over and over with Mia dying in a different way each time no matter what he does. Determined to save her, Dom does everything he can to set things right. This dark romantic suspense is set in San Diego and touches on fate, true love, and all the decisions that can change a life.
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
In this twisty thriller, a mother witnesses her teenaged son commit a violent crime with no remorse one night. She then begins to wake each day further and further into the past before the night of the crime. As she tries to understand why it happened and how to prevent it, she relives significant days of her life with a new perspective and learns nothing is what it seemed. This unique twist on a time loop is full of commentary on reliving your life and seeing minutiae in new light—and the twists are truly shocking!
