Thank you, Holly Smale, Mira, and Netgalley, for the gifted eARC.

Cassandra is having one of the worst days of her life. Her boyfriend broke up with her as soon as she woke up, then she got fired before lunch, and by dinner time, her boyfriend showed up to take her out like everything between them is completely fine. Then she relives that day again. When Cassandra learns that she has the power to go back in time, she uses that power to go back and fix the things she wishes she'd done differently. Only, how many times will she need to go back until things finally go right?

Cassandra in Reverse is a time-loop story that weaves in elements of Greek mythology where the main character Cassandra is very similar to her Greek counterpart. Cassandra uses her newfound gift of time travel to go back to change certain aspects of her life because she's not happy with the path her life is on. I found myself pulling for Cassandra, wanting her to find her perfect timeline where she would get her HEA. Instead of simply changing the past, Cassandra ends up experiencing self-growth. There is also a mystery woman who keeps appearing in all of Cassandra's timelines that add some intrigue to the story. This book is about more than just getting a HEA. It's about the importance of relationships and connections that we build with others.

Smale is a British author of many successful YA novels including the 'Geek Girl' series. She was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 39 and has brought her insights into this neurodiverse world into the title character of this new novel. Cassandra has had a bad week. She was fired from her job, asked to move out of her apartment and been dumped by her boyfriend of four months. When her ex turns up that evening as if nothing has happened, she is confused but happy, however the next day everything happens again. She realizes she has time traveled back a day and uses this new found power like an undo button, trying to get things right. This is a fun read about a woman finding herself amidst the chaos that is her life and is a great recommendation for fans of books such as "The Rosie Project".

I like almost any time travel book, so it isn’t surprising that I loved this one. Smale chose not to try and explain the mechanism of Cassandra’s time traveling ability - a wise choice since it allowed us to concentrate on the story rather than constantly second guessing how it worked. Cassandra was such an interesting character: odd and difficult but ultimately lovable. I enjoyed her journey, and that it led her to a happier place. I especially loved the ending, slightly open-ended, but giving us a love story we didn’t expect at the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my review.

Make sure you set aside some quality time to read this book because you are going to fall in love… quickly! While the “re-do” trope has been done time and again, I promise you this character is so lovable, unique and relatable that this book has never been written before.

Cassandra Dankworth is having a very tough day. She’s lost her job and her boyfriend. Could it get any worse?! Yes, yes it could, her roommate wants her to move out. If only she could have a second chance… Cassandra somehow travels back in time and gets a do-over. And another and another. Time after time Cassandra starts to re-frame her future and her sense of self.

This is a beautiful book of accepting oneself as you are. It’s about forgiveness and love and the beauty of being wholly and completely unique. I related to Cassandra at times and gained immense compassion for others at times. I hope this book is widely read because our society could use the compassion this book promotes. Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CASSANDRA IN REVERSE presents some challenges for me in review. I couldn’t put it down but I’m not sure I liked it (or all of it.) I read it in one sitting but figured out most of the plot twists before they happened. I found the protagonist Cassandra, a fascinating and well-developed character, but thought author Holly Smale overstated Cassandra’s personality to the detriment of plot development. I became tired of the Greek mythology references about halfway through the book. There are a lot of datapoints offered in this tale, as a reflection of Cassandra’s personality and life interests. Sometimes I felt like a character in the book, experiencing Cassandra, rather than a reader; I have mixed feelings about that. The book is definitely worth reading. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

The way I LOVED this book and Cassandra Dankworth is out of this world!!! On the surface this is a Groundhog day/time loop romance but it's soooo much more nuanced and layered than that.

Cassandra is an undiagnosed neurodivergent 30 year old who gets fired from her job and dumped all on the same day. She also discovers she can somehow blink and go back in time as far as four months in the past to start the timeline over again - something she takes advantage of in an attempt to get her boyfriend back and get out of awkward/terrible situations.

This book is full of tender, heartbreaking moments. It's about grief, acceptance of self, forgiveness, the bonds of sisterhood and a whole lot more than I can even voice. The neurodiversity representation in this book is some of the best I've ever read and the audio narration by Kristin Atherton was incredible.

10/10 HIGHLY recommend this one. It is going to be a top contender for my favorite book of the year! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and Librofm for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I looked forward to reading this book because who wouldn’t jump at the chance to travel back in time to fix things.
However this book just wasn’t for me. I found Cassandra to be fairly unlikable and the narrative just didn’t resonate with me.
This book was a pass for me.

First off, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC copy of this book. I initially picked it up thinking that it would be a light and fun read, and on one hand it truly is, but it is so much deeper than I initially anticipated. The book follows the story of Cassandra, who is a perfectionist and can only see the world in black and white (in other words, she has to put everything in categories, and nothing can be in between). At first, I thought it was just a personality quirk of hers, but it was shocking to find out at the end that she is a representation of autism. The fact that they only revealed this at the end makes it an even more enjoyable read, because it allows readers to actually see Cassandra as a normal human being and relate to her, rather than immediately assign labels and preconceptions on her from the beginning.

I personally think that the author did an incredible job in representing her personality and thought processes through this newfound ability of hers to turn back time and fix the events that she experience. However, every time Cassandra changes something, this causes a chain reaction that causes the outcome to still be unsatisfactory. This not only causes her to panic and be even more frustrated, but it forces her to repeat the events again and again and again. In a way, this gradually teaches her that life is imperfect, and a lot of things in life are in fact hard to categorize (instead of black and white, it is multiple shades of grey). And in this process, Cassandra not only is able to find her own voice, but she is able to create much more genuine relationships with so many people around her. This story was so heartwarming and satisfying to read, and I loved seeing Cassandra’s character development. It shows that anybody, regardless of their diverse abilities, are able to be part of the community and further enhance it.

Admittedly, a part of me really wanted Cassandra and Will’s relationship to work out (because they were really cute), and I really was hoping that the person Cassandra’s sister was in a relationship with was not Will. However, even though she lost one important person in her life, Cassandra was able to gain so many more, and this was so heartwarming and hopeful to read. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it for those who enjoy fun, humorous, light and hopeful stories!

This is normally not a genre I enjoy reading. However, in an effort to build up my romance collection, I decided to give this a try. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only did I not hate it, I actually liked it, quite a bit. Cass has trouble seeing shades of gray (not literally), living in a world of strictly black and white. So, when she discovers she has the ability to time travel she has the power to fix the "wrongs" that occurred. However, she finally sees that she is really only changing herself for the sake of others. Will this book make me a regular reader of romance? I do not think so - but it gives me a great option when someone asks for a recommendation.

What a surprising book. I struggled with the first half as Cassandra tests the limits of her powers. Her whole character frustrated me so much. I almost stopped reading many times. As the book shifts and Cassandra starts to grow as a character, I felt myself falling for her. By the end, I was so impressed with her I loved her a little.
BUT then the ending came. I don't want to spoil it, but I wanted to throw the book across the room. I think a lot of people will love the ending, but I feel like Cassandra didn't learn anything. I understood the ending and why it actually showed growth, but I was so frustrated.
I imagine as time passes I will think about this book and character more fondly. Right now, she's that friend that you love, but you need space because she keeps making bad choices.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

I thought the Greek mythology aspect would be too much, but I actually enjoyed it! Fun book, little bit of mystery that was easy to figure out.

I couldn’t put this book down. It features a prickly autistic main character, that inexplicably works in PR, and doesn't particularly like her coworkers or her roommates, and just got dumped. She also has discovered the ability to travel through time.

Her special interest is in The Classics so there is lots of Greek mythology interspersed in this book in a way which I found endearing and not distracting.

I actually went into it thinking it was a romance, but I wasn’t sad that it wasn’t - I ended up with the kind of story I deeply enjoy. Found family, reconnected family, and an ending that I wasn't expecting at all, but one that I really enjoyed.

The beginning is a bit chaotic but in a way that seems intentional and reflects the characters inner life at the time. I loved the letters that dropped by and were immediately tossed in a bin without any explanation.. I loved the miscommunications and misunderstandings and the revelations. It was also very funny, and sometimes absurd in the best ways.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it immensely.

Cassandra’s boyfriend of four months (her longest relationship ever) breaks up with her in the morning, and by lunch she’s fired from her job. Then Will shows up like nothing has happened—and breaks up with her all over again.

When Cassie realizes she has the ability to travel through time, she tries to go back and fix things with Will, with her roommates, with her job. But time travel is exhausting, and while she manages to fix some things, she also creates new mistakes.

This novel is a lot fun. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy of this book, which RELEASES MAY 9, 2023.

This was a fun take on time travel, figuring out what you really want in life, etc. Don't think too hard about the time travel part because it does not make much sense when you look at it closely.
But it is a book about finding out who you really are, and healing the relationships that matter.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book confusing and I struggled to get into it.

DELIGHTFUL.

This book was smart and funny (like laugh out loud funny!) and sweet and strange, and lovely. It was a beautiful love story - celebrating romance, and sisterhood, and friendship, and family, and most importantly: loving yourself. I adored this book!

Cassandra’s life is a mess. Her boyfriend dumped her this morning, and now she is fired from her job. After her panic attack however, Will shows up to take her to dinner like nothing happened. Only for him to dump her again the next morning. Cass slowly realizes she has the ability to turn back time. Can she save her relationship and her job?

So I went into this book expecting it to be a little bit like Oona Out Of Order. I was a bit bummed when it wasn’t, but ultimately glad because Oona is a hard one to compete with! Ultimately I ended up loving Cass and her crazy time travel, but my favorite part was seeing her personal growth throughout the story! It is clear that Cass is on the spectrum, and I thought this book did a great job of explaining how she felt in overwhelming situations, and why she viewed the world in such a black and white way. The greek mythology included didn’t really do it for me, but I could see how it wove into the story. Overall this was a great read, and I highly recommend!

This was an interesting idea, but I struggled with this book. I had read a couple reviews saying the first few chapters were confusing but it all made sense if you stuck with it. That wasn't my experiences - I was confused through much of this book. While I it was interesting to see Cassandra approach a situation differently, it made some sections repetitive and difficult to track. Also, I don't like Greek mythology and likely would not have picked up this book had I known there would be so many references to it. I did enjoy Smale's writing, so I'd certainly check out other work by Smale depending on the book topic.

Cassandra in reverse left me confused and mostly lost the entire novel. Cassandra, an autistic marketing person, was able to rewind time to change a situation. It was difficult to tell when and for how long she could rewind time. The first part of the book contained Cassandra attempting to perfect a relationship with Will that was not perfect, nor was he good for her. Suddenly her sister who was never mentioned in the first half showed up and created more confusion. The smattering of Greek mythology was entertaining, but it did not add to the story or the character development. The concept was interesting, but the story lacked rules and likable characters.

I am a sucker for Groundhog Day stories and I love watching characters pay attention and learn and grow from experiences. Sometimes the trope can get old but in this story it's done wonderfully well and there are parts that are so tender, so beautifully touching that this story will stay with me for a long, long time. It's about fitting in, about family and sisterhood, about doing what we think we should vs what we want, it's about sacrifice.

Sometimes a story comes along that feels so deeply profound in its impact on me and makes me feel so tender and so seen and so deeply touched. This was such a story for me. I don't know if it will have an equivalent impact on others but I am so grateful that I read this book and I won't forget it anytime soon.

with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.