This novel is told from the perspective of Cassandra, a neurodivergent woman in her 30s who gives the term “on the spectrum” a double meaning as she also is able to perceive emotions as sort of colorful auras. The book starts with her having a very bad day, including getting dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her job - and then she accidentally discovers she’s able to go back in time. Not in a time travel to anywhere/anytime way, but more of a time loop, able to essentially rewind her life (but no more than a few months) and relive them, erasing whatever happened before.

As a neurotypical person, I thought this book did a great job in making you see what life was like through a neurodivergent character’s eyes. And interestingly, Cassandra essentially uses time travel largely to stumble along and try to figure out how to act in more socially acceptable ways. It was often sad/depressing/frustrating, both seeing how other characters treated her, but also how she made her own life harder, trying to save a relationship and a job that clearly weren’t right for her, and never advocating for herself. The book takes an interesting turn in the last quarter or so, and I loved most of the developments in that part - only to REALLY frustrate me with the very ending which was just such a let down. Seriously, I would have rated this half a star higher if not for the last page or so!

Unclear to me why Reese’s Book Club picked this one - it’s not bad, there are just so many better books featuring neurodivergent main characters or time travel/time loops.

Thank you for this copy! What a creative and fun story. I really enjoyed the characters, they have great development and interactions. I’ll be rereading this again.

This book was an unexpected delight. Cassandra Dankworth just got dumped by her new boyfriend, lives with a couple that doesn't like her and hates her job. As she says later, she feels "stuck." She's also "different" in that she struggles to read emotions in others. Instead, she sees colors and has to decipher what the different colors indicate about people's feelings and emotions.

After yet another bad day at work, she has a meltdown and discovers that she can time travel. She closes her eyes, and POOF! she can go back in time. Thus she has the brilliant idea to time travel back to when she first met her boyfriend, Will, and redo their relationship so that she can fix her mistakes and can save their relationship.

Unfortunately for Cass, she goes back and forth so much that she loses track of the different "timelines" she's created, and this creates havoc as she learns that changing her timelines is still no match for fate. But in doing so, she learns more about who she is and that she just needs to find other people who understand the way she is wired, instead of trying to conform to meet society's expectations of how to be.

There were several moments in this book that made me laugh out loud, but at the same time, Cassandra's story was poignant and heartbreaking. The characters and storyline both get a 9 out of 10. Overall I give this an A.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book***

This was my kind of book! Holly Smale got it right, and I love the quirky nature of it.

I could finally really relate to a character that is a creature of obsessing habit. Cassandra Penelope Dankworth likes and strongly dislikes what she doesn't. But then it all falls apart......
She's just been dumped.
She's just been fired.
Her local café has run out of banana muffins. This is the funniest scene!

Then, the most amazing thing happens.......Cassie discovers she can go back and change the past. I have to say this made me nervous to read, but I adored it, and I love the originality of this story.

I highly recommend this to readers like me......those who like order and not chaos!

I want to love Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale because representation matters, because I love the opening, and because the character discovers the ability to go back in time and live moments over. Unfortunately, despite all the reasons I want to love the book, I end up not the reader for this book. Unfortunately, the ending makes the whole thing worse. No spoilers, but I really, really wish that the ending was different!

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/07/cassandra-in-reverse.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher’s blog tour.

While this book has been pretty popular since its debut, it just didn't do it for me, but I know others have obviously been enjoying it. I wasn't a fan of Cassandra so I found it hard to get sucked into this book. I do like the autism rep especially considering the author was diagnosed later in life. I wish I liked this book, ugh.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me an eARC of Cassandra in Reverse in exchange for my honest review!

Cassandra in Reverse was such an emotionally enthralling time that got me fully invested in the endearing protagonist's journey. It's such a blast following someone whom people see as cold, harsh, and just plain annoying, but then I'm able to connect with her through the blunt and quirky perspective she has on her world. I found the depiction of her autism and synesthesia to be authentic and fleshed-out, too, and it helps that the author herself was diagnosed with autism at 39. It's hilarious how there were so many moments where I found Cassandra's actions and thought patterns to be painfully relatable (most likely because I suspect I'm on the spectrum myself, though I still need to be tested for that). My only gripe is that the time-travel logic isn't executed all that tightly, getting sidelined in favor of Cassandra's tale and the character arc she undergoes over the course of it.

Overall, I'm rating Cassandra in Reverse 4.5 out of 5 stars, which I'm feeling generous enough to round up to 5 stars on Goodreads. This might even end up being one of my favorite books of 2023.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I still gave it two stars because I truly believe others will like it. It’s more that this book wasn’t for me. I had a hard time connecting with the story and the main character.

I definitely preferred the print version of this book over the audiobook. The narration made it so hard to like any of the characters. The writing was great but the story was a bit of a miss for me - I wasn’t invested and a bit bored at times. Overall it was okay but nothing special for me unfortunately. Hopefully you have better luck if you pick it up!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Cassandra has lost her job and her boyfriend all in one flick. So, she decides to rewind time and fix it. So she does…it doesn’t work out the way she wants it to. So she does it again…and again.

I am in the minority on this one. I found parts of this story monotonous and I was not a huge fan of Cassandra. Now, she did redeem herself in the end. And yes, she is on the spectrum. But that does not excuse all of her behavior. I will be honest, it took me about 50 percent into this book to really decide if I was going to finish it or not. But, it does get better. So, stick with it!

Cassandra changes a bit in the middle of the book. She becomes more forgiving and accepting. She also has some family drama that reveals itself and this makes her more endearing to the reader. So, this book is not all that it seems. It is about acceptance, family and being true to oneself. So, don’t give up!

Need a good family drama and other stuff…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.

Cassandra in Reverse reminded me of a couple of other books I’ve read where the main character was given the opportunity to explore what would have happened had they made a different choice. This one reminded me of those books, but with the distinct difference that, here, the main character can actually travel back in time. Now, time travel can be a very tricky thing, and, indeed, Cassandra discovers all of it, and it was as entertaining and thought-provoking as I expected. I was a little on the fence about this book for the first few chapters, but it rapidly grew on me to the point where I absolutely adored it.

There’s so much to like about Cassandra. She’s clearly different from everyone else, but has no idea she’s on the autism spectrum. Having worked with children with autism, I picked up on it as soon as I started reading about her, and having no idea of the author’s own background. Her daily experiences are impeccably described to the point where I felt like I was stuck in her head and being as overwhelmed as she was by everything. It was so overwhelming at one point that I had to put the book down and just breathe. But, as overwhelming as it was, I loved how it really worked to capture what it might be like for a person with autism to have to live in a world where everyone around them is utterly not like them. Beyond that, I just adored Cassandra. She’s diligent and detail-oriented, but she does become overwhelmed quite easily. She has trouble understanding other people, and her time traveling ability came in quite handy when her first choice(s) didn’t pan out the way she had hoped. I had been afraid this novel would be all about a young woman constantly changing herself to fit what everyone else wanted her to be, but, while there was a bit of that going on, it really showed how strong she is to grow away from that and instead find acceptance for herself and who she is. I loved her growth, and really enjoyed her romps back and forth in time as things slowly unraveled around her. But I think my favorite thing about her was her knowledge of Greek mythology, especially as it pertains to her name, and I absolutely delighted in it because I adore Greek mythology, and this felt like a leap into the mind of someone who loves it as much as I do. I hate it when people mix up Greek and Roman mythology, so I loved that I never had to worry about it once in this book, because the author has impeccable attention to detail.

I have no idea how the time traveling works, though, and, honestly, I don’t care. It may be a big part of the book, but how it works was not really important and, if Cassandra wasn’t going to question it, I saw no reason to question it myself. It did have parameters, though. I liked that she could only travel so far back in time, and her time traveling back kept adding up. I was a little horrified that there were some days where she was awake and functioning for something like eighteen hours because time just kept adding up for her. I can’t imagine how exhausted she must have been, but I admire how dogged and determined she was, and how it led to certain consequences.

Initially, Cassandra began traveling back in order to keep her job and keep her boyfriend and to not get kicked out of her apartment. All of them are fairly miserable circumstances. She actually hates her job and her roommates seem to dislike her and she and her boyfriend just don’t really seem compatible, which was actually kind of excruciating to read because they could not be more different. But she wants to keep it all, so she keeps traveling back in time to tweak her responses to every situation. It sometimes made me feel sorry for her, what with her desperation leading to her frustration, but I really enjoyed how things still just kept unraveling around her and made her adjust because making changes like that can be difficult for even neurotypical people.

But I really enjoyed how Cassandra in Reverse evolved beyond that. It became more about Cassandra growing as a person and learning to accept who she is. She always seemed like the odd one out, and she had to learn to love that about herself. It was also a lovely story of family. The description doesn’t touch on it, so I’m reluctant to say anything about it here, but I really loved that piece of the story, and maybe that was the reason for her ability to time travel all along. There’s a surprising character I wasn’t expecting and, at first, I wasn’t quite sure about them, but my intense curiosity about it all just kept mounting because it was so perfectly and so deftly woven in, like an important little detail that just keeps growing until you can’t ignore it anymore.

Cassandra in Reverse could easily have spun way out of control. There’s a lot to keep track of and multiple time lines to reconcile. It sometimes boggled my mind, and I really have no idea how Cassandra was able to keep up the way she did. Well, until she didn’t. It could have turned this book into a confusing mess. But, because I’m familiar with autism, I put my faith into the author, and she did not fail me once. Everything tied up perfectly. Nothing was forgotten or overlooked. All the ends matched up and everything made perfect sense. Not one detail was astray or relegated to that box I think of as that place where authors put details they don’t want to deal with so pretend they don’t exist anymore. Smale absolutely paid completely attention to detail. This story stood on two very strong legs and never once failed me. It was a dream to read this one, and I absolutely loved how I was never lost or confused. Overwhelmed now and then whenever Cassandra was overwhelmed, but absolutely nothing worse than that.

I loved Cassandra in Reverse. I would gladly read this one over and over and probably never tire of it. It was amazing to read this one. It captured my interest from the first page and never let go. I couldn’t wait to go back into this book. It was fun, the pace was perfect, the characters were entertaining, and the story was absolutely lovely. It warmed my heart all the way through. Despite some early misgivings, this book absolutely delivered.

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to publishers @harlequinbooks and as always @NetGalley for a digital review copy of ᴄᴀssᴀɴᴅʀᴀ ɪɴ ʀᴇᴠᴇʀsᴇ.

ᴄᴀssᴀɴᴅʀᴀ ɪɴ ʀᴇᴠᴇʀsᴇ is a book about self realization, romance, and time travel. I really love all these concepts, and the idea of marrying them into a plot for an ND rep scifi romance was a win. But I didn't really understand the mechanics of the time travel plot device, it was a little loose, and so the narrating character spent an uncomfortable amount of time being self-aware in a badly-formed meta kind of way, and aware of the plot. Also, I don't think characters and narrators should break the fourth wall unless either there's a very good narrative purpose or the effect of the device itself is magnificent. Neither is true in this case.

So it's a pretty good love story and only a pretty functional time travel story. For this reader, that means three stars.

Rating: 👁👁👁 / 5 slow blinks
Recommend? Sure, for the love story
Finished: July 1 2023
Format: Advance Digital, NetGalley
Read this if you like:
⌚️ Time travel
💘 Romance
🟰 ND rep
👤 Internal monologue

Cassandra in Reverse is a wonderful story and would definitely appeal to those who love the movies About Time and Groundhog Day. Weird combination I know...but there is no better way to describe it. As an avid fan of stories involving some form of time travel, I was not one bit disappointed by Holly Smale's tale and found Cassandra in Reverse to be a story that stayed with me long after I finished the final page. In fact, I loved it so much, I went out and immediately bought a copy to give to a friend!

After reading this book, I confess that it took me a while to come and do the review because I'm still processing everything...

Cassandra is a woman of habits, and when those habits are broken beyond her will, a kind of (internal) vortex opens, which allows her to travel through time.

When Will breaks up with her; when she is fired from her job, some trigger forms. And now?

This type of plot is very interesting... when the character has the ability to fix past mistakes to avoid a certain event, but things never turn out as expected, right? By changing one thing in the past, others will also be affected, and it becomes an endless cycle.
Reading was meant to give me pleasure (even if I learned some moral lessons), not distress.
2,5 stars

An enormous thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and of course, Holly Smale for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review; all opinions are my own.

There were a lot of mixed reviews for this book, and I can see where for some, this wouldn’t be the book for them. For me, however, this book was lovely. I’m a sucker for time travel in whatever capacity it comes about, and I loved how this one played out.

Cassandra is a complicated person and I think that in order to see and appreciate her journey, you must witness it in its entirety. Upon finishing this book, I realized that had I stopped reading even halfway through, I probably would still find her antics annoying and thoughtless to others, but she makes a lot of progress by the end.

The side characters were great and authentic and added a great extra layer to the novel as a whole. I adored everyone in their own way, and it was lovely to see everything woven together.

I mean, that ending was so much more mature and satisfying than I could’ve hoped for, and I honestly loved every bit of this book. I ate this up and loved the premise and overall storyline so much.

A really enjoyable book. I loved seeing the protagonist grow as she goes back in time, choosing to make different decisions that reflect this growth.

Cassandra is an adorable character and very likable. We can all relate to her as well! She is given the opportunity to go back and fix things in order to proceed with her future. This is an easy read with a cute plot and likable characters. It has the potential to be a bit deeper if that is what a reader is looking for but it is a great read just like it is.
The story is well thought out and gives us all the feels! I am happy I had the opportunity to read it. Looking forward to Holly Smale's next book! Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA Books for the ARC.

Cassandra in Reverse is a story about Cassandra who is neurodivergent.
She lost her job, that same day her boyfriend breaks up with her, and her living situation is complicated.
Cassandra gains the ability to travel back in time, only 4 months, to try to put her life back together.
She spends most of the time trying to make sure her relationship with her boyfriend doesn't end.
There was also a lot of Greek mythology reference that I found unnecessary.
Ultimately, this book was not for me.

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale is what you get when you mix a contemporary romance and a time travel fantasy. The story is told from the point of view of the lead character who is neurodivergent as she bounces around in time trying to fix her own life after it has fallen apart.

Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is not having a good day when she gets to work only to find the cherry on the rotten cake of the day is she’s being fired. Cassie doesn’t know what to think after starting the day off with a break up before it all spiraled out of control and being a creature of habit this is all just too much for her to handle.

In the blink of an eye though Cassie finds herself right back to the beginning of it all and living the trauma over until she wonders if anything she does can change the outcome. Cassie learns that she can start over if things go wrong and time travel just may be the answer she was looking for to fix her life before it went off the rails.

Holly Smale is an author that I was already familiar with having tried some of her young adult contemporary romance novels. I found her writing a ton of fun and seeing a this was an adult romcom that also mixed in another genre when I love books that mix genres I couldn’t help but get excited. The incredibly great part to this new series for me was finding that an autistic lead was at the front of this story and I couldn’t help but be enamored with it. This one turned into just what I hoped, a ton of laughs along with a lot of character growth as she finds herself and navigates the world so I couldn’t help but to enjoy it as I read along.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The summary of this book reminds me of "the butterfly effect" and I was excited to see how Holly Smale would work this in her plot. While it wasn't my favorite, it was enjoyable. Cassandra has a chance to reverse the bad things that have happened in her life and "make them right". I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the plot and the main character.

If you're a fan of "The Midnight Library", I think you'll enjoy this one as well.