time loop | Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Destination Funeral
Author: Paige Harbison
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: July 21, 2026
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A fresh take on Groundhog Day with a dash of Practical Magic meets the magical escapism of One Italian Summer in this heartfelt and hilarious novel following a friend group so damaged that only a funeral could bring them back together.

When Babe—the complicated, magnetic matriarch of their teenage summers—dies, four estranged friends return to sleepy Mercy Island, a storm-swept stretch of coastal Georgia, summoned by the reading of her will.

Didion arrives at the timeworn pink house to find the friends she never thought she’d see again—along with the tensions, attractions, and unfinished business that once bound them together and broke them apart.

What should be a brief weekend of small talk quickly unravels when they wake up and discover…it’s Saturday. Again. And again. And again.

Trapped in a time loop with no end and no instructions, they’re forced to confront the betrayals, breakups, and buried truths that shattered them all those years ago. Because maybe, just maybe, an endless weekend is exactly what they all need to save their own lives.

Sometimes a book about chosen family hits just right… and Destination Funeral does just that. In this story about friends, estrangement, resentment, and reconciliation, a time loop forces four former friends to face the issues that drove them apart while gathered for a funeral at the place where they spent their teen-aged summers.

When Babe dies, she leaves instructions for her funeral to be held at her sprawling beachside house on Mercy Island, Georgia. Her daughters Didion and Sammie arrive, having not seen or spoken to one another in years. Didion, the older sister, resents having to be the responsible one, watching helplessly as free-spirit Sammie makes one bad choice after another. Their long-time best friend Matt arrives with his four-year-old daughter, and rounding out the foursome of adults is Austin, Didion’s teen love and source of her greatest heartbreaks.

As they arrive that Friday, they learn that Babe has left the house to all four of them, on the condition that they spend the weekend there, without phones or laptops, until the funeral on Sunday. Reluctantly, they agree, spend a tension-filled Saturday coping with being in one another’s presence again after so long, and grit their teeth until they can get over with it and return to their regular lives. But when they wake up the next morning, they soon realize that it’s Saturday… again. And so their Groundhog Day time loop begins, with a seemingly endless stream of Saturdays to relive.

But why? And how? Has Babe somehow made this happen? And if so, what will it take to break out of the loop?

As the four are forced to spend time together, old wounds and secrets resurface… and as the day repeats and repeats, the ice between them begins to thaw. Didion is our point-of-view character, and she’s a fascinating person to watch the world with. Her complicated feelings toward Babe and Sammie stem back to her teens, and her role as the responsible person, the one who has to make sure everyone else is okay, has carried forward through her adult year as a driven, successful chef — who can never relax and think about what she herself needs. Even more complicated is her reunion with Austin, someone whom she once loved whole-heartedly and never got over — but also never truly understood. Now, in the time loop, Didion finally has days on end where she can do nothing but be present, forcing her to reflect, understand where she herself added to the messier moments, and the ways in which she let other people down too.

The storytelling focuses on the now — and the endless Saturdays — with “then” chapters mixed in to show the early years on the island, and how the sisters and their friends experienced life with Babe, including moments of utter bliss (Halloween in July!) as well as the loneliness of having a fun mother who couldn’t or wouldn’t actually take care of them.

The relationships are all beautifully drawn. It takes the full length of the book to learn key facts about Babe and understand some of her actions. Likewise, Didion’s realizations and reconnections with the others come gradually — we’re by her side as she slowly starts to unravel her more harmful thought patterns and understand why and how she’s allowed herself to shut out the people who once formed the center of her life. I loved seeing the way the time loop serves as a catalyst for the emotional healing that these four people so desperately need.

It’s not all dramatic and serious — Destination Funeral has lovely moments of humor and fun, and it’s a wonderful homage to the glory of a summer spent in the sunshine, playing on a beach, eating good food, and enjoying a slower way of life.

The author’s previous book, The Other Side of Now, was one of my surprise favorites from 2025, and I’m delighted that her newest book hits so many high marks for me as well. Destination Funeral is a beautifully told story about the importance of holding onto the special people in our lives — whether family or friends — even when it’s hard or outside stress gets in the way. It’s also a wonderful immersive experience for summer, and definitely deserves a place in any bookish beach bag!

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Title: In a Holidaze
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: October 6, 2020
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

As a rule, I do not read Christmas-themed books. But, rules are made to be broken, especially when the Christmas-themed book in question is by Christina Lauren, the author duo whose books I always seem to love.

In a Holidaze is a feel-good holiday story with a little bit of Groundhog Day mixed in as a twist. Maelyn Jones loves her family’s Christmas tradition. For as long as she can remember, her parents, their college best friends, and the assorted offspring gather at a cabin in Utah to catch up and celebrate. It’s the best sort of found family.

The only downside for Mae is that her teen crush on Andrew Hollis, the older of two brothers who are sons of the cabin owners, has morphed over the years into unrequited love. For ten years, Mae has pined for Andrew, but Andrew has never looked at her as more than a kid sister.

This year, Mae’s holiday gets complicated. On the last night at the cabin, she drunkenly makes out with Andrew’s younger brother Theo, which she instantly regrets. Not only that, but Andrew’s parents inform everyone that they’re selling the cabin, so this is the last year of the traditional Christmas holiday together.

Mae is upset and depressed, and not at all excited about going back to her disappointing life and job back home. A random car accident on the drive back to the airport launches Mae into an impossible new reality — she wakes up back on the airplane on the way to the cabin to start the holiday all over again.

Of course, no one else realizes that anything weird is afoot, but Mae is freaking out. After a couple more reboots, each caused by a seemingly fatal accident, Mae is determined to stop being so cautious and timid and just go for what she wants… and that includes telling Andrew how she feels.

From here, it’s a feel-good romance, as lifelong friends discover passion and deep emotional connection. The setting is such fun — a snowy cabin, a big family, holiday traditions like sledding and setting up the tree and having snowball fights, board games and drinks by the fire. The big extended family is of course very invested in the Mae/Andrew romance, and some complications arise that almost ruin everything. But, this is a holiday romance, so despite some fears along the way, I was pretty confident that things were going to work out just fine.

Christina Lauren books are always a good time, and I really liked this one. I loved the set-up — the large group gathered at the cabin for a week — and how the different friends and family present interact, support one another, act out, make fun of each other, and show just how strong a family of friends can be.

Mae and Andrew are sweet together, and the only issue I had was that I spent the 2nd half of the book holding my breath in case another random reboot would happen and wipe out all the wonderful relationship steps these two managed to take.

In a Holidaze is really a sweet read, and is a perfect choice for when the weather turns colder. Ideally, this book should be read while wearing flannel, under a big cozy blanket, in a comfy chair next to the fireplace, while snow falls outside. Don’t forget the hot chocolate!