Pete is a very simple man whose life goal is to make a perfect burrito. His life is turned upside down when he gets sucked up by a time travel experiment gone wrong. That doesn't change his primary goal at all, though.

This book is an absurdist time travel adventure, which means what is most important is for the reader to have fun. Which I didn't have, not at the beginning at least.

Most of the jokes in the first half were centered on Pete being very stupid and they weren't particularly funny. While I was slightly interested in the story and the other main character's POV, I decided to DNF as it felt like a waste of my time. I would have been fine continuing with an audiobook, but there isn't one. Then I got the idea of trying to use text-to-speech and finish the book that way. (The AI emotionless voice kind of worked with the absurdity of the story). And I am kind of glad I did.

The second part was way better. Pete stopped being just the dumb guy to make jokes about and gets acknowledged as a useful part of the group. Consequently, I started having more fun with the book and actually enjoyed the jokes too. Somewhere along the way, the characters grew on me and I started to care about the story.

Also, the cat is indeed part of the story, although it appears only toward the end, and it's super cute.

This book is part of a series, but works as a standalone. ( )

A book with a cover of a calico cat seated on a burrito flying at full speed in outer space? Count me in!

The gags start immediately in Time Burrito. Within the first two pages, we know our unlikely hero Pete Jaramillo is the struggling owner of the worst burrito food truck in New Mexico's State University. Rumored to be made of rat meat and reeking of piss, Pete's burritos are so bad that frats use them for pranks. The only reason why he doesn't go out of business is because even a horrible burrito food truck can stay afloat when the burritos are priced at 1 dollar.

I like the idea of having a good natured but (usually) clueless middle aged overweight guy as a book's hero for a change. What Pete lacks in looks and common sense are compensated by his bravery, friendliness and good intentions. Also, he loves Metallica and is knowledgeable about all sorts of obscure music history facts. His hidden smarts help him more than once in the story.

Things get weird when he sees a college professor thrown into the air and presumed deceased. Worse, a mysterious machine sucks him and a young female scientist named Clare inside. Whoa! Time machine story! And yes, Time Burrito takes some good homages to a few of the good tropes of Back to the future with lots of don't screw up the future by leaving stuff behind and... did Pete bring a caveman into the future? Unk's POV chapters are very funny. And oh, oh, are they now in a future where justice is imparted from reality tv shows?

I won't spoil much more of the plot. Just a head's up, this story has a sapphic romance. ;)

With danger lurking in every corner, Pete's constant screw-ups and a male calico cat that makes the best flour tortillas in the world, maybe Pete's dream of creating the world's best burrito is attainable after all!

This book is great and I am certainly interested in reading the sequels soon. 5 stars! ( )

the writing kept this from being a better book... the main character was stupid as the day is long, and the author never tried to humanise him. interesting plot dynamics, but other than that, at best it's worth a singular read... ( )