For all the carnage that transpires in this clever time loop horror novel, nothing is as difficult as getting through as the first chapter, in which our heroine, Willa, mopes through a horrible breakup. Forced to attend a wedding at which her ex is not only present but has brought a date, Willa endures horror on a personal and a cosmic scale.

Willa wakes up, mopes, calls her friend to complain, mopes, drives to the venue, watches the wedding, and flirts with another guest. It’s a beautiful wedding and reception right up until a masked killer appears and starts stabbing everyone in sight. After a struggle for survival, Willa wakes up and realizes that the day is repeating…and repeating…and repeating. The only differences lie in her own actions and in the nature of the threat, which is different every time.

Part of what makes this work, I think, is that every real-life wedding is different but also sort of the same (see the movie Palm Springs for a different, and very good, time-loop wedding story). Also, depression and grief, the emotional states that Willa is experiencing at the start of the story, can feel like their own eternal loop – we describe being “stuck” in depression, and Willa’s friends are frustrated that she can’t move on emotionally from her breakup. Before the wedding even starts, it’s clear that Willa has been feeling the same way for a long time, and is coping in the same way every day.

At the same time, the story never goes stale because in addition to the character development, the nature of the daily threat is different every time. I won’t say what the threats are, but I got a kick out of discovering each new one, each a homage to a different horror subgenre. Willa is, obviously, not as amused, especially since not only does she have to fight for her life every time, but she also has to face her ex over and over again. The scary scenes are truly terrifying. They are also quite gory, so be warned.

I won’t spoil any of the twists of this tale other than to say that we do find out what happens if she just stays home. I found every new thing to be clever and delightful, especially as it pertains to relationships between women and the assumptions that we make about people. I was sure I knew the direction everything was going and I was wrong, in a good way. This was sometimes a harrowing read, but ultimately it was hopeful.