Annie Jones is stuck repeating Christmas Eve until she finds everything she’s been missing in life in this heartwarming time travel Christmas romance for fans of Miracle on 34th Street, Groundhog Day, and Josie Silver’s A Winter in New York.

Annie Jones works hard designing windows for iconic New York City department store Lawson’s Finest. So when her Christmas window display gets upended by some rambunctious kids on Christmas Eve, the all-too-realistic store Santa gives Annie a little decorating tip on how to start over. With help from friendly security guard Braden Tate, Annie repairs the damage and heads home. But when she wakes the next morning, she’s bewildered to find that it isn’t Christmas day at all, but Christmas Eve all over again.

Trapped in a time loop, Annie doesn’t know how she’ll ever make it back to the present. Luckily, she has an infinite number of chances to get things right. As little everyday choices bring her closer to Braden and to Christmas day, Annie starts to picture what her new life— one full of friendship, love, and community—could look like.

This is the second book I read this holiday season that features the “Groundhog’s Day” trope, and I loved this one even more than the last one I read.

This book focuses on a young woman named Annie Jones who decorates/stages display windows for a large department store called Lawson’s Finest. Annie is a hard worker and looks forward to an upcoming promotion so she can move from fostering her cat to a full-on adoption. The extra money will also provide a little more stability for her. But when Annie goes to work on Christmas Eve, things begin to fall apart. It starts with her boss telling her that the new owner is looking to make cuts, and her position could likely be one that goes to contractors, seeing as how the new owner finds her designs uninspiring. Annie is determined to prove that she is worth keeping around, but when two kids accidentally wreck her display, it seems her fate is doomed. Thanks to a cute security guard named Braden and the store Santa, who looks A LOT like the real Santa, Annie gets the display fixed, but it might be too late.

But then Annie wakes up the following day only to find that it is December 24th all over again. She has a chance to redo her day – and she does – but evidently, she didn’t get it right because the same thing happens the next day – and the next. Annie seems to be stuck in a time loop, but with a bit of help from Braden and the store Santa, she might be able to break the loop, find what she is missing in life, and maybe find love in the process.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book, and they are really what made the book for me. Annie is adorable, and I, too, found myself crushing a little on Braden. The side characters are just as endearing – from the realistic store Santa to the naughty kids who start Annie’s time loop, each character plays a role in shaping Annie’s destiny.

While Annie definitely time loops a lot, surprisingly enough, it didn’t feel repetitive. Each loop offers something new for Annie to discover and try. It also gave her a chance to expand on her relationships both with Braden and the people who live in her building. I almost enjoyed this part of the story more than the Braden/Santa pieces, mainly because Annie is an orphan and doesn’t really have anyone in her life that she is super close with. Watching her find and build a found family was really sweet.

I really enjoyed this one. I felt the story was engaging, the characters were fantastic, and the lessons woven into the narrative were timely and important. The heartwarming themes of love, resilience, and the power of second chances left me feeling uplifted and hopeful. The book is not at all spicy, so rom-com lovers who prefer their books to be spice-free will also enjoy this one. But just because there’s no spice doesn’t mean there’s nothing to love here. The storytelling is full of charm and warmth, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for a heartwarming holiday romance.