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.

My three positives and a negative because the world needs more positivity:
+ This book’s premise was my perfect bait. Time travel? Yes, please. I was thrilled when it was featured during a Gloss Book Club preview event. The time travel was well done - the protagonist, Cassandra, can go back in time - but only by a few months. How this plays out is both hilarious and heartbreaking
+ Cassandra, who has autism, experiences the world with such pain and angst. The author translates her challenges in creative ways. For example, she sees emotions with colors; when people touch her, she experiences physical pain. These helped put me in her shoes (as horrifying as that would be to her). On first blush, I was frustrated that Cassandra doesn’t know she is on the spectrum. But, then I realize that why would she? While she suspects that others don’t struggle like she does - how would you ever really know?
+ The surprise reveal on what relationship Cassandra really needs to repair was most welcome. Boyfriends, roommates, co-workers, bosses all play a role, but the real learning hits much deeper. I love the ying and yang of the interactions
- I loved and hated the ending. On one hand, it almost could not be prevented. But, on the other, really?!?! After all Cassandra has been through, this is what the author does. I feel like perhaps things could have worked out differently - but maybe not

A thank you to Gloss and NetGalley for this ARC

I almost gave up on this one but I’m glad I did not because it really turns around towards the second half. By her very nature Cassandra is hard for both the people in her life and the reader to get to know. She’s abrasive and cold and very different. Her sudden ability to move through time is just a weird plot device by it’s suddenness and how she uses it. This is really a book about accepting oneself and opening up to the possibilities around you. It does not dwell on the idea of destiny but I really liked how in her different time loops there was often a similarity and a clearness about what is meant or not meant to be. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cassandra in Reverse is the story of a unique, neurodiverse woman and the various things that occur in her life after she suddenly has the ability to go back in time and change the past.

Cassandra has been fired and dumped by her boyfriend in the same day, and her body appears to just shut down. After she makes her way home, she realizes that she is suddenly reliving the previous day. She slowly figures out how to tweak this new power to go back to the beginning of her relationship and try to keep both her boyfriend and her job. Of course, things don't always go quite as planned, and the many backtracked moments start to erase other moments until Cassandra is even confused about what is happening in her current timeline.

I found the tone of the book to be very unique and loved the little asides (Cassandra does not play well with others, etc). I felt a lot of empathy for Cassandra, as it was clear that she finds it extremely hard to understand emotions or how to interact with other people. She tries to look up ways to be a people person on the internet, and her struggle is likely one felt by so many people in the world. Of course since I felt so much empathy for her, I couldn't stand the characters who were mean or didn't try to understand her and adored those who allowed her to be freely herself.

I did struggle with the pacing a bit in the middle, as part of the book felt overly long. I also struggled with all of the references to Greek mythology, but when I got to the end I understood a bit more why those were sprinkled so liberally throughout the book. Unfortunately those did tend to slow me down or even make me skip a section involving yet another story of a Greek God.

I found the time loop parts to be funny, especially when Cassandra is on a date and things go horribly wrong time and time again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/ MIRA for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and Invitd for the eARC if this book

Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is a creature of habit. She likes what she likes (museums, jumpsuits, her boyfriend, Will) and strongly dislikes what she doesn't (mess, change, her boss drinking out of her mug). Her life runs in a pleasing, predictable order…until now.
She's just been dumped.
She's just been fired.
Her local café has run out of banana muffins.
Then, something truly unexpected happens: Cassie discovers she can go back and change the past.
Now, Cassie should be able to find a way to fix the life she accidentally obliterated. And with time on her side, how hard can it be?

When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought it had great potential, even though I am not a huge fan of time travel books.. However it fell a little short of the mark for me. I couldn't get truly invested in the characters.

It's been rare for me to feel so invested in a novel's character, especially when she is so different from me. But I found myself really feeling for Cassandra and rooting for her. Each version that emerged from the latest incarnation of time travel revealed a slightly better version of Cassandra; not in the sense of how others viewed her, but in the confidence and awareness that she gained from the experiences. I really enjoyed this novel.

I am a fan of time travel stories. How much can you change your life if you get to start the worst day of your life over and over. This book is funny and heartwarming. Definitely recommended.

Fun premise, but it fell a bit short. I was engaged at the beginning, but things fell apart shortly after. I found myself not really caring about the characters, and there was far more of a Greek mythology angle than expected. I was expecting more of a time-travel angle.

Fantastic read that will have you rooted for Cassandra to just get it right this time, okay, now this time, or maybe now. It is genuinely fun to read through all of her attempts to get something *just right* after learning how to time travel. Cassandra is a mess, but she's a mess we can empathize with. We want her to succeed, because she's just so earnest in her own quest for understanding and self improvement.