Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Cassandra in Reverse is the story of an undiagnosed autistic woman who has built a successful life but struggles fitting in to it. After she is dumped and fired on the same day, she learns she can time travel ... albeit within a limited 4 month window. She uses her newfound power to try to understand what specific moments she did wrong the first time around and try to fix herself to better fit into the life she is leading.

I adored Cassandra as a character. I have not read many autistic characters and (AFAIK) I am not myself but, from what I have seen online, this seems like a kind and well done portrayal of what it might be like to go through life until your early thirties without being diagnosed.

I just happened to be reading The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger at the same time and this book is a perfect example of a Heroine's Journey. One of the most important things in this kind of storyline is how the Heroine builds a network around her. On Cassandra's first go through time, her struggles with reading other people hampered her friend network but as she redid certain interactions she learned about the people around her and added them to her in circle in such interesting ways that still felt incredibly true to character.

I'd recommend this to literally everyone but especially those who enjoy seeing a squad get created and/or abundant Greek mythology references.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️🌟
🌶

Content Warnings: ableism, panic attacks, gaslighting, sexual harassment

#CassandrainReverse #NetGalley

I love a time travel story! Our female MC is a neurodivergent, unique protagonist. This book is about learning to change. It's about second chances, self-growth, changing your life path, and learning more about yourself, these are the things I liked most about it.
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I like that the time travel plot gives Cassandra a chance to make different decisions to reach different outcomes, but I found it a little disappointing that it was mostly centered around changing for her boyfriend/to make it work.

Because she’s named after Cassandra, a Trojan woman in Greek mythology, much of the book references Greek mythology, which doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, but many will appreciate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I will admit, I'm a sucker for any time travel story and this one fit the bill. It was a different twist, and I appreciated it! Cassandra is a unique young woman who has had a somewhat difficult life. She lost her parents as a young adult and was never quite the same. Her romantic relationships just don't seem to stick. Then one day she realizes that she is reliving her previous day, and so her story begins.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC! Four stars!

I am always a fan of time travel and was eager to read Cassandra in Reverse. It was nothing like I had expected and I had no idea what was going to happen from one moment to the next. Cassandra was a compelling character and I wanted to see things go right for her....no matter how many times it took to make that happen.

The use of detail made it easy to picture all the characters and settings, which I appreciated. There was also some buildup to answer questions that Cassandra left open-ended at the beginning of the story. I liked that she was a neurodivergent character and it explained a lot about why things had to be a certain way for her at all times. I also like how the time travel ability helped her come into her own a bit more and it gave her some clarity.

It got confusing as to how the time travel ability worked, especially since this one location seemed like a portal for her, but she isn't always there when she rewinds an event or a moment. The story also felt slow at times and the Greek mythology facts took away from everything else that was happening.

Overall, it was an interesting and worthwhile read! I wouldn't mind having Cassandra's time reversal powers...

Movie casting suggestions:
Cassandra: Elinor Machen-Fortune
Will: Tom Bateman
Diana: Millie Brady
Sophie: Georgie Henley
Sal: Ritu Arya
Derek: Josh O'Connor
Barry: James Lance

I've really enjoyed Holly Smalle's writing ever since Geek Girl so it was so nice to see her writing and Adult Fiction and with such a great concept. I really enjoy watching Cassandra live her life and all of her extremely chaotic rewinds. There was a lot of heart in this book as well and I'm so glad I got to read it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me an arc for an honest review.

An unconventional narrator in an unconventional situation makes for an unconventionally delightful story.

Honestly, I was a little thrown in the beginning, but eventually not only found my footing with Cassandra, but began to like her. Then I loved her.

This is not your normal rom com, in all of the best ways. I enjoyed the love story. I loved the sister storyline. I relished Cassandra's inner monolgue. Following Cassandra as she navigated through the everything from the mundane to the marvelous was simply a fun reading experience. I had fun reading this book, I don't know what more needs to be said.

This was like Bridget Jones time travels.Yes, I know I am aging myself but I love Bridget. A lot of funny lines and situations while our main character,Cassandra keeps going back in time to change the trajectory of getting dumped by her six month boyfriend, AND getting fired, AND getting kciked out of her apartment situation. Try as she might, she just can't get it quite right. Some twists lead to an I told you so ending . A cute story worth a quick read.

Copy provided by NetGalley and Publisher

Cassandra has been dating Will for 4 months, her longest relationship and she sure that it's gonna be perfect until he uncerimoniously dumps her and tells her that he's leaving on some work assignment And just doesn't think it's gonna work, they haven't known each other long enough. She then gets fired from her PR job that she can't stand but thinks its the only one for her.
When she decides her life is ending she goes to get a banana muffin from a cafe she goes to daily. Funny thing, they are out. She then decides to hide from everyone in a tiny street corner. Before she realizes it Cassandra has gone back a day in her life and relives all the evil.for a second time. Finally she realizes she has the power To make Wil love her, save her job,and make her flatmates like her.
The concepts of this book was so exciting I couldn't wait to read it. However Sandra was so unlikeable and I found it cringy and hard to read. The ending was blah, the middle was confusing, and Cassandra almost never thought of others. I am giving the book 3 1⁄2 stars because Add middle parts that I can't talk about or they would be spoilers. However, I ended up reading it without cringying.

3.75 ⭐️

I was approved for this book right before it was announced as a @reeses which made it even more surprising to receive.

This book had a lot but it worked. Time travel, relationship and family drama, an unreliable narrator with a mental health rep. And it just all fit together. I quite enjoyed this but found the story started to lose my interest toward the end.

I’ve read stories that are told in reverse before but I’ve never read anything quite like this. Cassandra is having a very bad day; her boyfriend, Will, breaks up with her, she gets fired, and her favorite bakery is out of banana muffins. Cass has a bit of a panic attack and when she comes out of it she goes home and soon after Will shows up and takes her to dinner. At dinner Cass starts to feel a sense of déjà vu and realizes she is reliving the dinner where Will broke up with her the night before. Cass starts to realize that she can move backwards through time at will. She tries to get her life together by going back to different moments to “fix” things. Everything becomes a mess.
This story was so clever and I loved the premise of it. Cassandra is such an interesting character and the way that she tries to solve her problems and justify her reasoning for her actions was entertaining to read. I loved the little bit of mystery about her family and the person who is trying to contact her through out the story and I loved the lessons that Cass learns as she tries to fix her life. Cassandra gives off some Eleanor Oliphant vibes but I found her to be much more fun to read. I absolutely recommend this book!

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.