Book Review: See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Posted May 23, 2022 by WendyW in Book Review, bookblogger / 20 Comments

See You Yesterday
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Half a Flame

by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Publication Date May 17, 2022
Published by Simon and Schuster
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Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Young Adult Fiction / Science Fiction / Time Travel
Pages: 432
Format: ARC

***I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.***


From the author of Today Tonight Tomorrow comes a magical romance in the vein of Groundhog Day about a girl forced to relive her disastrous first day of college—only to discover that her nemesis is stuck in the time loop with her.

Barrett Bloom is hoping college will be a fresh start after a messy high school experience. But when school begins on September 21st, everything goes wrong. She’s humiliated by the know-it-all in her physics class, she botches her interview for the college paper, and at a party that night, she accidentally sets a frat on fire. She panics and flees, and when she realizes her roommate locked her out of their dorm, she falls asleep in the common room.

The next morning, Barrett’s perplexed to find herself back in her dorm room bed, no longer smelling of ashes and crushed dreams. It’s September 21st. Again. And after a confrontation with Miles, the guy from Physics 101, she learns she’s not alone—he’s been trapped for months.

When her attempts to fix her timeline fail, she agrees to work with Miles to find a way out. Soon they’re exploring the mysterious underbelly of the university and going on wild, romantic adventures. As they start falling for each other, they face the universe’s biggest unanswered question yet: what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?


See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a wonderful book that surprised me so much.  It has the perfect amount of romance, and characters so complex and endearing, that I couldn’t put this book down!  It’s simply adorable, and I loved the way the author handled the time loop plot with a combination of a scientific explanation mixed with a bit of spiritual mystery. 

Barrett Bloom is hoping that starting her new life in college will help her forget her high school years and the humiliation of her prom.  But, her first day of class is less than spectacular. Her arch-nemesis from High School, Lucie Lamont is assigned as her roommate, then on her first day of physics class she is humiliated by the know-it-all sitting next to her, and finally, she blows her interview for the university paper.  But, that evening, when she accidentally sets fire to a frat house at a party, she knows her freshman year at The University of Washington is doomed.  

But, when she wakes up the next morning, it isn’t the next morning at all, but the same first day of school.  It takes her a while, but she eventually figures out she’s in some sort of time loop, and she’s the only one who is waking up on the same day, over and over again.  Until she finds out that the annoying boy who sat next to her in physics class is also in a time loop.  Can they figure out how to escape the time loop together?  And what happens when the loop is over and they have to figure out what comes next?

I enjoyed the Groundhog Day vibes of this book.  Like the movie, these characters grow and become more self-aware as the book progresses, and they find not only a love for each other but respect and love for themselves.  

I didn’t warm up to Barret at first as I thought she was too cynical and caustic for my taste, but after a while, she dropped some of her walls and became a very endearing character.  And after learning her backstory,  I understood her much better.  And Miles is so wonderful.  He also has his issues and isn’t perfect, but so endearing that I just knew he would be perfect for Barrett, but of course, they don’t realize this for a while.  The relationship between Barrett and Miles was the highlight of this book, and I just loved them together and how they balanced each other out.  

I loved the adventures Barrett and Miles went on, and how they tried to enjoy being in a time loop.  The author did a great job of explaining the time loop, so it did seem like a possibility, but she also gave us a plausible spiritual explanation as well.  

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

About Rachel Lynn Solomon

Rachel Lynn Solomon is the bestselling author of The Ex Talk, Today Tonight Tomorrow, Weather Girl, and more. Her romantic comedies for teens and adults have received praise from The New York Times, NPR, and Entertainment Weekly, as well as starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal.

In high school, Rachel sang and played keyboard in an all-girl band, and she was once part of a group of people who broke a Guinness World Record for the most natural redheads in one place. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism, she worked for Northwest media outlets such as The Seattle Times and KUOW Public Radio.

Originally from Seattle, she’s currently navigating expat life with her husband in Amsterdam, where she's on a mission to try as many Dutch sweets as possible.

20 responses to “Book Review: See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

  1. Reading through the blurb I was thinking “hard pass” until I came to the groundhog day twist. This sounds like an interesting read even though you didn’t warm to Barrett at first.

  2. Oh, both Miles and Bennett know they’re in a time loop? I like that! I just got a library audio copy and hope to start it soon. Glad to see it was a 5 star read for you!

  3. I love the sound of the plot–the only time loop book I’ve read is Evelyn Hardcastle, but this one sounds a lot lighter and fun. Great review, Wendy.

  4. Finding out Miles has been trapped in the same day for months totally made me laugh. Now I have to read this one! 😀

  5. The groundhog theme opens up so many possibilities, doesn’t it. I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Wendy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  6. Rosie

    The groundhog day theme reminds me of another ya book which I have recently read. Ghosted by Emily Barr.