Grade: B
An ARC was provided by Fierce Reads via a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for review consideration.

The, Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: I loved the concept of a YA Groundhog Day (although Ellie's Monday doesn't repeat as many times as Bill Murray's Groundhog Day); that's why I chose it as one of my first Sixteen 2016 Reads. I guessed by about the third Monday that the plot wasn't really about Ellie stopping Tristan from breaking up with her, and I figured it would focus on her relationships with her family and her best friend, Owen. I neglected to think about Ellie herself. The seventh Monday was definitely my favorite for that reason. A Week of Mondays is a book about being true to yourself and making sure you aren't compromising yourself for someone else while also being considerate of others. Ellie learns to not be so absorbed in her relationship with Tristan, and she helps out her little sister and her parents. It's clear to readers from the beginning that her relationship with Tristan is far from perfect.
I loved seeing how Ellie tried to change things each day, and I felt her despair when she felt like the cycle would never end. I really didn't like the fifth Monday though, and I felt so much secondhand embarrassment during that section. (The first two Mondays were embarrassing for Ellie, too, but it's not like she was making all those crappy decisions on purpose to make things worse.) Also, as much as I liked Owen, I realized when the book was over that Ellie didn't have a single female friend. Yeah, her relationship with her little sister is pretty solid, but that's not enough. I really would've liked to see a more solid friend group for Ellie, girls who were excited for her relationship with Tristan but started getting more concerned as she got wrapped up in him (because trust me, that is realistic).
There's a few unbelievable moments, but A Week of Mondays is definitely like a cute teen movie. (Plus, there's a reference to one of Jessica's other books, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, which was super fun to notice.)
There was some language and a few makeout scenes.

The Verdict: Cute and fun with a few flaws.

I have an obsession with time loops as a plot device. I adore the idea of repeating the same day over and over. And this book fell perfectly into that mold.

Although quite predictable at times (everyone saw the best friend romance coming) I did appreciate how much fun it was to read. I also liked that instead of being about the main character changing herself (which is often the case in this stories), it was about her having the bravery to be herself. It hit on all the fun tropes with just the right sprinkle of heart to make it stick with you.

Finally read something light and something that does not require a lot of brain cells to get through. It was fun reading a book intended for teenagers. At first, I was skeptical to read this kind of book because this is not my cup of tea but what do I know, I really enjoyed it.
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This is a story about a girl named Ellison Sparks and her many Mondays. She thought she screwed up her Monday and wished to the universe to get another chance for a do over. And surprise, she gets to relive the same Monday for a week unless she does the right thing.⠀
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I sought this book out because I love time loop stories. There aren't a whole lot of them out there, but this one came up on a recommendation list. So I was already set up to like this. And I did. I love how during these stories, the character going through it always seems so excited at first. They do whatever they want and they are all happy at the beginning. Then there's the breaking point about halfway through and they hate it. They stop caring and don't do anything. Then the last segment is picking themselves up from their lowest point and doing what they can to make it better. They usually make good changes to themselves and break out of the cycle. I love it. I don't know why, but it's so satisfying watching a character go through all of that and overcome. I wish there more books like this. This one did it well. I enjoyed every minute of reading it.

I also enjoyed that by the end of the book I didn't hate anyone. I wasn't a fan of Tristan and as soon as I got a hint about Owen, I was on that team, but at the end I didn't really hate Tristan either. He said and did some really douchey things depending on the day, but by the end he just didn't have an effect on Ellison. That was nice.

I definitely recommend if you like this trope. It was fun and sweet and left me all warm and fuzzy.

Challenges:
2019 Goodreads Challenge
2019 Mount TBR Challenge

This book was a quick, fluffy, & adorable read. While it was predictable, I still found myself wondering what was going to happen at the end because Ellie didn't break up with Tristan right away. I gave this book four stars because I kinda wish Ellie didn't have a boyfriend at the end (even though I still wanted her to end up with Owen, because c'mon they're PERFECT for each other). I wished that she had just wanted time by herself to appreciate being who she is, while being single. Women do not always need to have a boyfriend to feel validated. We are strong women who can take care of ourselves! Tristan was slightly controlling and Ellie changed herself for him. She and Owen worked as a couple because she could be her true around him. You should never have to change yourself for a guy. If you ever feel like that, please dump his ass! We all need people who appreciate us for who we are. Not people who try to change us and mold us into who they want us to be. They're better off molding a lump of clay! In the end, find yourself a person who compliments you and loves you for who you are, not who they want you to be. I also love the journey of self discovery she went on through this book. She learned a lot Bout herself by reevaluating her life and her values. She realized that its okay to do things different ways as long as you are okay with it. I also loved all of the oldies (but goodies) song references. I'm happy to have read this book.

I read this shortly after reading one of Jessica's other novels In Some Other Life( A book where the MC ends up in a parallel universe). This one has the same concept as Before I Fall, which I loved.
My biggest problem with the book was that Ellie was soo obsessed with fixing her relationship. I wish it hadn't taken her so long to figure out that Tristan wasn't the guy for her. Also how did she not realize that Owen had feelings for her.
I also wasn't a fan of the chapters that took place at the beginning of Ellie and Tristans relationship. I understand what the author was trying to do but I just didn't care.

I was disappointed in how slow the character development for Ellie was. She was really whiny and annoying throughout most of the book.

I really liked that some of the book takes place at a carnival.

I loved the last Monday. I was glad that she managed to fix all of the problems that she had had throughout the book. It was nice to finally see her personality. I also liked how she ended up breaking up with Tristan. I was a little worried that she would stay with him. I'm also really happy that Ellie got together with Owen.

I was hoping for a fun romantic comedy, like the one that obviously served as inspiration for it: Groundhog Day. But it wasn't. Instead, it was the story of a girl who's lost herself in all the things people expect from her. This could be a great topic, as it's very relevant, but unfortunately Ellie proved to be quite an annoying main character: she's shallow, she's not a fast learner (who needs this many do-overs to figure out how things are?), and she never even considers just being herself until the last moment. The ending does make up for a lot, because that's when Ellie finally takes control over her own life and starts seeing people for who they are: with all sorts of different aspects instead of stereotypes.

Love

I love this book! The main character you just fall in love with. You go through with her. I like how the writer has each "Monday" slightly different and how slowly Elle discovers herself.

I did NOT expect to love this so much, but oh man I did. Loved every second.