It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I was first introduced to Holly James’ writing with the debut of Nothing But The Truth [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM], which I was obsessed with. But here we are. It’s been a year and Holly has a brand new novel out…. one that I read in a hilariously jumbo format, thanks to the lovely people over at Dutton who sent me a manuscript copy. Here for it!

This new novel is called The Déja Glitch [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] and is another magical realism novel set in Los Angeles. This time, we’re hanging out with Gemma. Her dad is a famous musician, but she’s never wanted to use his name to get ahead since he ditched her family when she was a kid. Now, she’s a radio producer and doing just fine… until she meets Jack in a bar at her best friend’s birthday party. They kiss before she leaves, and something feels familiar about it… but she just met him so how could it be?

The next morning, she wakes up and it’s the day of her best friend’s birthday. She literally runs into Jack at a coffee shop, and gets that déja vu vibe. Jack informs her that they are in a time loop and been living the same day for months, but things are slightly different this time around.

The Déja Glitch is a bit different from most Groundhog Day type stories because we’re following someone who doesn’t know they are in the time loop for hundreds of days, instead of the majority, where we get the perspective of the person who knows what’s going on. It made it feel different, which I appreciated.

No spoilers, but I will say the Hollywood Bowl scenes are an absolute delight. Cackle worthy, really. I can’t say much more than that, just know, it’s something to look forward to.

Also worth looking forward to: the subtle Easter egg for Nothing But The Truth. I cracked a big ol’ smile at that.

James’ writing carries some depth to her characters, which I attribute to her being a PhD in psychology. She’s also pretty funny, so unless something dramatically changes, her books will always be an auto-buy for me.

Note: I can receive compensation for qualifying purchases through links on this site at no additional cost to you.