YOU WOKE UP HERE AGAIN Book Review

You Woke Up Here Again¹ by T. Towers, eBook, 306 pages

Synopsis from Amazon: Following a recent promotion, a wildly unprepared Jack Hazel is sent to audit a factory in Hidden Cove. Nestled between a moody beach and misty forest, the town is quaint but unsettling. A journey fraught with mishaps becomes a true nightmare when Jack discovers he cannot leave. Every day is Tuesday the seventeenth. No one remembers him and each day begins free of yesterday’s consequences—no hangovers, no lasting injuries, and worst of all, no record of the audit.

Trapped here, Jack catches the attention of Carla. She’s charming, enigmatic, and the only other person aware of the time loop. Their relationship develops quickly, but it is not without danger. Carla is the girlfriend of a fierce mob boss and Jack cannot fully trust her. When bodies begin to pile up, the limitations of the time loop become terribly clear. Sometimes, the dead don’t come back. With the aid of a grumpy hotel manager, Jack and Carla find themselves in a race to save the town from certain death, and a creature far deadlier than anything they could have ever imagined.

You Woke Up Here Again is a horror romance novel set in a time loop featuring a queer protagonist. Features an M/M romance and an F/M romance with lots of banter and suspense. Perfect for fans of The Twilight Zone and Silent Hill.

BOOK REVIEW: The last part of the synopsis when it says this is perfect for fans of The Twilight Zone and Silent Hill I would agree with The Twilight Zone but not Silent Hill. It has all those weird creepy WTF vibes you get from a good Twilight Zone story but Silent Hill was, for me anyway, startling and suspenseful and sometimes terrifying with those dogs and Pyramid Head...but you don't get those in this book. Granted there is a being that is gross but it's along the WTF vibes for me. With the time loop, it definitely gives the nostalgic feel for the movie "Groundhog's Day".

I'm not sure I have a favorite part to be honest. We get it. Jack lost his wallet and had just enough money to get a candy bar, a muffin, and a gross gas station hot dog every day. After the first few repeated days, I didn't need the constant reminder because there wasn't anything being added to the story. He wasn't having new or different encounters each time. I guess I enjoyed Jack and Carla finally connecting and being the only two people who knew that they were in a time loop.

Here's the thing. I rated this a 3.75. While I enjoyed the vibes and the Groundhog's Day nostalgic reminder, I feel like this went on a little too long. Once Jack and Carla got together, I feel like there were too many days repeating with events that we didn't need to experience with them because, like with the repetition of the food purchased, there wasn't always anything to move the story forward. I got about 80% of the way through this and almost DNF'd it. It was moving way too slow for me. I had hoped that it would get better and it was definitely wrapped up in a Twilight Zone type of ending which I appreciated. I'm glad that I finished it. At the time of this review, the eBook is part of the KU member library if you want to check it out as well as being available in hardback and paperback.

3.75/5 Stars

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