Book: Destination Funeral
Author: Paige Harbison
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an advanced audio copy.
I picked this one up purely for the premise, and then when I started reading it, I forgot the premise. I am so glad I did because this is a time loop book, and I forgot about the time loop until it came, and it made it so much better for me.
Destination Funeral follows a group of estranged friends who reunite on a coastal Georgia island for a funeral, only to find themselves stuck in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over. It sounds like a gimmick, but Harbison earns it. Grief keeps people stuck, and the structure makes that idea impossible to ignore.
What I loved most was how much emotional weight this book carries without ever feeling heavy-handed. Each repeated day peels back another layer of the group’s shared history, and by the end, I genuinely cared about all of them. Didion is a fantastic protagonist, and her growth across the loop felt earned rather than rushed.
My one critique is that the story is slow to develop early on. If you go in expecting things to move quickly, you might find the first act a little tough. Stick with it. The payoff is worth it.
Final score: 4/5
Kristen's Book Korner 
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