Cassandra in Reverse reminded me a little bit of the Midnight Library and Oona Out of Order, both of which I really loved. I always love books that give people a second chance to go back and re-evaluate their life and what really matters. This book hit the feel good spots that I so much enjoy about the time loop trope and also simultaneously had me re-evaluating where I am in life. I always love when a book relates to what you are experiencing in your own life, and for that reason, this book will hold a special place in my heart. It felt a little too relatable at times, in the best way possible of course. It was easy to keep track of the time loop and where Cassandra was in the time loop. Overall would recommend this book!

CASSANDRA IN REVERSE is a refreshing story that drew me in me from the very start! Cassandra Dankworth is having a horrible day. Her boyfriend just dumped her, she's been fired from her job at a PR firm, and her favorite café is out of banana muffins. By the end of the day, Cassandra is ready for it all to be over—but then she discovers that she can time travel, leaving her to experience the same day over and over again and shape those moments to her advantage. Can Cassandra undo her mistakes and make everything turn out the way she wants it? And how long will it take her to "get things right?"

I always enjoy books with the "time-loop" trope, so it was no surprise that I really liked this one! The Greek mythology references were also a great added touch to understanding more about Cassandra's character. Additionally, Cassandra was a fantastic main character. She's witty, honest, strong and it was a joy to follow her journey, watching her grow and learn more about herself, how her quest to change the past and "fix" what she felt like was so wrong about herself actually led to her discovering who she truly was. I was cheering her on the whole way through! I think many people will be able to relate to different aspects of Cassandra's character, and for those who don't, her story will still give them more insight and understanding that they might not have had before. Overall, this story is a unique, engaging take on time travel that you won't be able to put down! Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

I was very excited to read this book because I read somewhere that it was a cross between the movies Sliding Doors and Groundhog Day and had a romantic twist. I love both those movies, and I love reading contemporary romance because I thought it would be a natural fit. But unfortunately, this was not the book for me.

Cass, our neurodivergent main character, takes things literally and sees the world in black and white. It affects her personal and romantic relationships. In addition, we learn that she is named after a princess in Greek mythology, so she speaks a lot about that topic.

I’m sure this book will be popular with many others, but it wasn’t for me. I felt like there was too much going on in the book, and while I love time travel, there was just so much bouncing around that I couldn’t keep things straight.



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Cassandra works in PR, shares a flat with two near strangers, and is in a relationship with Will ... It quickly becomes apparent that Cassandra is autistic to everyone who meets her, except her.
One day her flatmates decide she needs to move out, Will breaks up with her and she gets fired. She realizes she's all alone in the world and melts down.... During which she travels back in time. Cassandra puts this to use with the plan of winning Will over...

Wow! I finished this book late last evening and really needed time to process everything about it. The main character, Cassandra, is different, She's obviously wired differently, whether we call it Autism, "on the spectrum' or neuro-divergent. Cass is very much her own person. She has very strong likes and dislikes and she needs things around her to be organized. She has a specific schedule, she doesn't like to be touched, and she's strongly vegan, (refers to eggs as "chicken periods") She's not a people person, yet she works in a PR firm. She shares an apartment with people she doesn't really like and who don't seem to like her either. We learn that she lost both of her parents in a car crash and that she has no family.

The book opens with Cass being fired from her job, her boyfriend, Will, breaking up with her and her roommates deciding she needs to move out--all on the same day! Everything happening all at once causes Cass to have a sort of breakdown. Once she pulls herself back together she discovers that she can time travel! She time travels repeatedly in hopes of preventing her breakup, her job loss and the loss of living quarters.

As Cass time travels, she learns more about herself and we learn more about her. This is a very powerful book because we see things through Cass's perspective and the author has clearly done her research on how the world impacts people with autism. The smells, the sounds, the touch...all the extra stimuli that impact a sensitive nervous system. We feel Cassandra's pain and discomfort and we are rooting for her all the way!

I loved this book. So much to think about and experience through Cassandra's eyes. There are secrets revealed and thankfully a happy ending.

Cassandra in Reverse explores what we do with our experiences if we have the opportunity to do them over and over again. Perhaps there are things we just can’t change. I really liked how the main character described people’s emotions as colors. It was a fun read.

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Pre-ordering this book! A neurodivergent main character written by a neurodivergent author? Yes please. Representation! I ADORED Cassandra, she was endearing and so strong and stayed true to herself while learning and growing. The writing was great, the plot was excellent, and I can’t think of anything that would make me like this book better. The ending tugged at my heartstrings because it felt unfair to her after all her hard work, but it was on Cassandra’s terms and I wouldn’t necessarily change it. My main concern when I figured out what was happening at the beginning of the book (autistic heroine with time travel abilities) was that she’d become “less autistic” or lose what made her herself in order to fit in with the world more. I was so happy that that wasn’t at all what happened, and given the author’s own experience, that makes sense! Loved this from every angle.

Full 5/5

There’s an interesting premise in this novel, and initially i was happily sucked in. However, I found myself floundering about halfway through, not really caring much about the characters,

Wow, this was so many things I like all in one. Time travel. Powerful and interesting female characters who have agency and interact with each other to drive the plot. An Unlikeable Narrator with a highly eccentric lens. A focus on mental health. There's even (I think) a lesbian couple hanging out in the background and if they had had any more attention then the book really would have been perfect.
As someone with severe anxiety, Cassandra's story and narrative really resonated with me. It's the story of a woman who realizes she has the ability to control time - and uses it exclusively to control the comfort of her environment and correct social errors. On a deeper level, it's also the story of a woman who learns to advocate for herself and her needs. Yes, Cassandra becomes uniquely powerful at the beginning of the book. But I really felt amazed by her as a person as she learned to trust herself, trust in the good of others, and see herself in a different way.
I would love a follow-up in which Artemis gets a cool power of her own!

I absolutely LOVE time travel in contemporary fiction, but I really struggled with this one. This first half was a slog to get though, and it was hard to see what the point was. After the big reveal, things started to pick up and feel more genuine and interesting. I have to say, nowhere did the synopsis mention Greek Mythology or that the main character was on the spectrum, which is essentially what this book is about…not time travel.

Cassandra is having a terrible day. Her boyfriend of four months, her longest relationship to date, inexplicably dumps her. She is fired by her boss at the marketing agency she worked for, her favorite café is out of banana muffins, and she is just done. She melts down and discovers…she is living the same terrible day over. It’s the very worst form of déjà vu. As the cycle repeats itself, she begins to realize that she does have some control over this time travel, she desperately seeks to see what she could do to make things different, and better. Cassandra realizes people don’t like her, but she cannot fully understand why this is the case. There are pointed references to the classical Cassandra who is cursed to prophesize but not be believed-this Cassandra feels a kinship, pointing things she considers helpful out to others, who are by turns defensive, insulted, or outraged by her comments. The author does a really good job of making a Cassandra a sympathetic character. We are offered clues that Cassandra is undiagnosed autistic; she also has synesthesia, a condition in which she sees emotions as colors. Unfortunately, seeing the colors doesn’t help her analyze emotional cues and she is constantly trying to understand emotions and social cues- she sees the colors (emotions) coming off of people change in response to her actions, but doesn’t always understand the cause for the changes. We are rooting for her to find the key to her happiness, even as we are frustrated by her inability to see it. A delightful story of a quirky character, who just happens to be a time traveler.

I was so excited for this one! I mean the cover alone, come on! It's so stinking adorable!

The concept seemed like a spin on time travel, which is a little overdone, but I was still hopeful the author could offer a new take on a tired idea.

I really enjoyed the beginning and thought Cassandra was fun and quirky... Following her through her worst day ever was an entertaining ride for sure!

Unfortunately things sort of dragged on a little after that and I struggled to have the motivation to pick it back up.

I think there will be a big fan base for this and wish the author success!

Thanks Harlequin for the ARC!

Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is having a very bad week.

In a short stretch of time, she loses her boyfriend, her job, and her apartment. On top of all that, the nearby café is out of her favorite banana muffins. Cassandra prefers routine. She has a schedule for her clothing, eats banana muffins EVERY day, and does not deal well with the unexpected. Things like losing her boyfriend (though she's never had one long), her job, and her apartment tend to be exceedingly traumatic for her. And then, equally traumatic but welcome, Cassie discovers she can manipulate short stretches of time and change the past. So she does. She wants to get back her boyfriend, her job, and her place to live. But it's exhausting to try to keep everything straight and juggle all the different ways she has tweaked time to her advantage. Cassandra hasn't felt 'right' since her parents died in a car accident years ago.

Holly Sma;le, author of the Geek Girls series, brings us another quirky character who makes it easy to smile at but commiserate with and relate to at the same time. If you enjoyed the author's other books, you'll like this one too.

Books about time loops/alternate life paths are right in my wheelhouse, which means I get excited about them and at the same time am easily disappointed because I've already seen all the usual approaches and want new angles. With that in mind, I'm happy to say I really liked Cassandra in Reverse.

It started strong, and I very much enjoyed being inside the head of the neurodivergent main character. There was a point around halfway through when it lagged a little and I was concerned the ending would let me down, but this was not at all the case. Instead, it gave me much to reflect on, and I'll definitely be recommending it widely.

Cassie has the worst day ever and she's reliving those 24 hours over again and again. Will she be able to fix it.

Cassie is an interesting character. She's not a people person and is prickly and is on the spectrum. The book is witty and sharp. I love time-loop/magical books ever since Groundhog Day. I enjoy it a lot. I like the greek mythology references especially.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Perfectly satisfying and enjoyable. I would call this magical realism over sci fi, because there was no science in the time travel (and I stand by that) but I particularly enjoyed this take on a neurodiverse protagonist and her sudden ability to manipulate time to her advantage.

Not a love story, and the Greek metaphors were a bit heavy handed, but overall an enjoyable read, even if it's not one that I plan to go back to.

Cassandra Dankworth is having a really bad day, dumped by her boyfriend, fired, and getting thrown out of her apartment; but she gets the chance to start it over and fix what went wrong. Not only that, she discovers that she can go back a few months in time, or only a few moments to repair even the smallest of mistakes. What she can’t do is go back ten years, as she would like, to fix the most life-changing moment of all.

Cassandra has always been told that she is not a people person, doesn’t understand the emotions of others, and is difficult to get along with. She has spent a lifetime seeing the colors of other’s emotions but not knowing what they mean, nor do others understand her. Once she realizes that she has some control over time, she sets out to fix herself and her encounters with the people around her, in hopes of not having that opening horrible day again.

Through her pitfalls and do-overs we learn about Cassandra’s life and relationships that have helped make her who she is, with a dose of Greek mythology thrown in. In the end, she has also learned more about herself, who she is, and who she does and doesn’t want to be.

I have always been fascinated with time travel and read every time travel novel I find. The time loop is also fascinating, and though this treatment of the time loop is a bit different, it is a refreshing change. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review of Cassandra in Reverse.

Will give feedback and my review when the HCP union gets a fair contract. Thank you so much for the book and can't wait to leave a review in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Cassandra in Reverse.

Going back in time is the newest trend in novels.

I've read more novels with this premise last year than the year before and I'm sure I'll see more novels with this narrative this year.

I liked the premise but I found it hard to like Cassandra. I get that she's autistic, on the spectrum, and likes things a certain way.

Another trend; main characters who are on the spectrum and/or socially awkward.

I don't mind these characters but I do find it hard to like them.

I didn't understand how the concept of time travel worked in this novel - Cassandra just closes her eyes?

Seems kind of silly.

Then, she spends the majority of the book trying to re-establish her relationship with her boyfriend. That got boring fast.

I did enjoy the Greek mythology references but I found Cassandra a not quite likable character. I didn't dislike her. I just didn't care about her.

The narrative dragged toward the end until the appearance of Cassandra's sister, but by that time I found it hard to maintain interest in the story.

There’s an interesting premise in this novel, and initially i was happily sucked in. However, I found myself floundering about halfway through, not really caring much about the characters, Maybe it was me? I found it hard to finish.