You know those moments when your life is on fire, but you’re the one gleefully pouring the gasoline while singing karaoke? Yeah—Margot is that girl. And honestly, I loved her for it.

After nuking her ten-year relationship and joyfully sabotaging her career (and maybe a few men on dating apps), Margot starts getting these little movie trailer previews of her future. The catch?
They all come true, down to the awkward pauses and questionable life choices.

Enter Henry, a single dad who walks straight out of one of her visions, and suddenly Margot’s future is more predictable than a Hallmark Christmas plot—but with more cursing and less snow.

This is chaotic main-character energy meets time-loop-lite. It’s smart, funny, and makes you ponder deep things like: If I could see my future, would I fix it or just binge Netflix until it arrived? Spoiler: Margot chooses the slightly more productive option… eventually.

Would I have preferred a little less emotional whiplash and a little more “let’s unpack this time-vision business”? Sure. But it’s witty, heartfelt, and just the right amount of messy—kind of like life.

Perfect for readers who like their rom-coms with a side of existential dread and a main character you want to both hug and smack with a pillow.

4.5 heartfelt stars

How much more can Margot take? Her ten-year relationship is a bust, right before the wedding, and she’s lost one of her best friends. She’s just been scammed online and is losing thousands of followers for her Margot the Meteorologist handle. Now she’s having super weird visions of the future.

Margot has been on 16 dates, and none of the men are worth keeping. OK, maybe she picks unsuitable men on purpose. She takes the men to the same Italian restaurant on Monday nights as she’s all about data and comparing apples to apples. She often has the same waiter, and he’s enjoying the disastrous dates.

As Margot tries to grapple with her life falling apart, she visits her grandfather. I absolutely adored their relationship. This author does an excellent job with emotions, and I felt things right along with Margot.

As the visions start to come true, Margot wonders if she can be as happy with another man as the visions show. Or should she try to change her fate?

I honestly loved this one, and I have to rate it up since I shed some tears at the end. I also loved how the author comes full circle and gives us some thoughts behind the visions.

Shoutouts to Jayme and Kaceey for the great reviews and nudge to read this one. The author’s first book is now on my to be read list.

It’s official. Magical realism is my favorite kind of realism.

Holly Smale’s writing hits every note I love. It’s sharp, funny, and layered with real emotional weight.

After a brutal breakup, meteorologist Margot Wayward launches a twenty-date experiment to prove she’s still “trying.” Spoiler alert – she’s not. Until one day, when Margot has a vision of herself with a man she’s never met before. She doesn’t believe in fate. But when Margot meets single-dad Henry, the vision comes true: exactly as she’d foreseen it. Can she steer her choices toward him? What about the painful, heartbreaking visions? Can she alter her life’s course, or is she locked into a fate she can’t change?

This story has it all. Snappy dialogue, flawed but endearing characters, and a perfect mix of magical realism and emotional depth. Margot’s quick wit kept me engaged, her relationship with her grandpa left me raw, and Henry’s daughter Winter (precocious, hilarious Winter) was pure delight. The only reason it’s not a full five stars is that there’s a reveal at the end that tripped me up a bit, and I had to go back and reread.

If you haven’t already read CASSANDRA IN REVERSE, add it to your TBR now along with I KNOW HOW THIS ENDS. You’ll be very glad you did!

You’re welcome.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I cannot be chill about how much I love this book. Holly Smale’s Cassandra In Reverse was a book that got me back into reading again (my favorite hobby, until life and motherhood and a career got in the way), and I think I may love this even more. Margot’s struggle with coping with her visions of the future, and if everything is predetermined or if there’s any free will is everything. I loved her friend group, her relationship with Henry, and her care for her grandfather. I rooted for her this entire novel and cried at the very end-very few books do that for me! Please-run and get this right away. If you’re a fan of The Time Traveler’s Wife or Cassandra In Reverse-this book will bring you so much joy and heartache.

Thank you to the Hive for this eGalley! I’m so, so grateful I was able to read it.

▹My ⭐ Rating: ★★★★.5 out of 5
▹TL;DR Review: Holly Smale’s writing is for me. It’s funny, it makes me introspective, it makes my heart feel things. This book—much like Smale's "Cassandra in Reverse"—is packed with emotions, character growth, a cast of vibrant characters, and many “what-if” moments.
─────────────────────────
🎯 My Thoughts:
Quick synopsis: Margot has recently endured a shocking heartbreak. But despite her guarded, sharp-tongued self, she’s out to prove that she’s still trying. But is she going about it the right way? Every single guy has a red flag, every situation paints her a martyr, and the controlled setting she’s set to gather data is by her own design. She’s about to give up until she starts having visions of a future with a man who makes her heart flutter, who has a car with red seats, and who makes her laugh like she hasn’t in a long time. How does she ensure that her next steps lead her to this man? Are her visions changeable? And if she knew the outcome, would the pain and work and love be worth it?

If you haven’t yet read "Cassandra in Reverse" or "I Know How This Ends" what are you even doing? Both of these Holly Smale books had me in a chokehold. I related to both female main characters SO MUCH it hurt. Holly has a way of drawing up a realistic look at a 30-something woman who is trying her hardest—despite heartbreak—but is still falling short (because she’s in her own way).

I lol’d several times, but what really did me in was the FMC’s relationship with her grandpa. That, paired with the main turning point of the story, had me ugly crying for the last 20% of the book (not being dramatic). It healed a part of me. I knocked off half a star only because there was a brief stretch in the middle of the book where the pacing was slow and I had to force myself to focus more than the rest of the book.

─────────────────────────
○★○ What to Expect from This Book: ○★○

– FMC: Margot (aka Meg or Megalodon). A British/Australian 36-year-old data-driven meteorologist who—amidst loss—is trying to force life to happen to prove to herself and her friends that she’s trying (and sometimes with the help of visions of the future).
– MMC: Henry. A witty, erudite, open-minded widow with a spunky 6-year-old daughter and a keen eye fixed on Margot. A saint of a man, really.
– Location: Bristol, UK
– POV: Single first-person
– Spice: A few closed-door spicy scenes
– Tropes: strangers to lovers, single dad, magical realism, fate vs. free will, golden retriever MMC
– Triggers: woes of online dating, cheating, betrayal from someone you love, widow
– Representation: Australian-born Brit, side character with fertility issues (endometriosis and embryo transfer treatments), grandfather/granddaughter friendship
─────────────────────────
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:00 ──ㅇ────── 4:12
Now Playing: The Dance by Garth Brooks

╰┈➤ ❝And now, I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance❞

─────────────────────────
Convincing you to read using some of my favorite quotes from the book:

╰┈➤ ❝Get back out there,’ they all said. ‘Plenty more fish in the sea.’ Except nobody pointed out exactly what is swimming around in the depths of the online dating ocean in your thirties and forties: it’s all jelly and teeth and transparent organs and protruding eyes jubilantly announcing that ‘they want to find that special connection’ as long as she’s a ‘nine or above.’ At least now when they ask for my ‘body count,’ I tell them it’s currently zero, but I’m looking to change that and have dug a large hole in my garden.❞

╰┈➤ ❝The problem is that the more you look for red flags, the easier they are to find. Until you’re no longer looking for fire: you’re looking for just the faintest bit of smoke, a hint of heat, a puff of ash, and you’re out of there, running for safety. A fire is a terrifying prospect when you’ve already been burned.❞

╰┈➤ ❝I think maybe I’m a bit screwed-up at the moment.’ Which is like saying it’s a bit drizzly in the middle of a thunderstorm.❞

╰┈➤ ❝Is this what we all do? Just hate ourselves, constantly, for not being perfect? For making mistakes? For somehow not living up to whatever identity we’ve created in our own heads? Are we all just walking around, living in our own guilt and shame and flaws like snails in houses we’ve made from ourselves?❞

I really enjoyed the start of this work with the awful dates and Margot’s social media debacle. The inclusion of meteorology was fun, and I liked how it was used throughout the book.

Margot was a frustrating and somewhat annoying character at times. Many, many times. But these instances occurred less as the book went on, and I came to appreciate how well the character growth was incorporated and shown. I will admit though, Margot almost made me want to stop reading this book for the first quarter. The secondary characters were also really well written, feeling alive and unique, even those that were given minor page time. The age range of the characters was also a bonus, and her relationship with her grandpa was beautiful.

The emotions in this work were portrayed excellently. It was so easy to become sucked into the characters and the events because their emotions were shown so well. This was true throughout the book, but especially near the end for me. I loved the ending, and it was almost enough to make me rate this 5 stars. I also appreciated how the author included the magical realism element and its explanation – it was quite satisfying.

If you enjoy contemporary fiction/romance with light magical realism, then you’ll probably enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thought this was a beautifully written book. Our FMC Margot has had some tragedies in her life. She's a messy character but you can't help but root for her. This is an emotional story, but there is also some humor which I really enjoyed. There was a read pace to the story and I was able to breeze through the book. This is a book that is easy to recommend to a wide variety of readers.


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

I enjoyed Cassandra in Reverse. And was looking forward to reading I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be an extremely interesting.
It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read.
The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished!
Holly Smale came up with such a fun concept for this book!

Thank You NetGalley and MIRA for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Much like Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale, this ended up being so much more than I anticipated. And like a lot of magical realism stories, it’s incredibly hard to review. There’s so much I want to say, but … I can’t. You just have to pick it up yourself, ok?

After a messy breakup, meteorologist Margot Wayward is basically on a bitter path of self-sabotage, relying on dating apps to complete a twenty-date experiment before she officially swears off romance. But then a vision of meeting a single dad comes true—and soon she starts seeing glimpses of their future together!

This witty love story was so tender yet complex. How do you date someone already knowing the crushing lows of your relationship? How do you let yourself fall in love when it feels like fate has already decided the outcome? There’s a bit of a tense, aching feeling as Margot anxiously waits for certain moments to arrive, wondering if she can change what she’s already seen.

It gave me Oona Out of Order vibes, but with a heavier sprinkle of romance! I did get a little tripped up by a reveal toward the end, but for the way it made my heart burst, I’m letting it slide. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. I loved it.

If you could know how your life turns out, would you want to?

Margot Wayward has visions—snapshots of her own future—but she doesn’t recognize the life she sees.

Right now, she’s in the middle of a full-blown meltdown. Her ten-year relationship with Aaron has imploded, taking a close friendship down with it. She’s quit her job—because working alongside your ex every day is an Olympic sport she refuses to attempt. —and her dating profile is flopping harder than her Instagram is flourishing. Margot is leaning all the way into self-destruct mode… until she meets Henry.

She’s certain she’s seen him before—in one of her visions—but she doesn’t know him. What’s happening? Is she losing her mind? Dying? Or is something stranger at play?

From Reese’s Book Club author Holly Smale comes a witty, big-hearted novel about friendship, fate, and the messiness of finding your way—visions, meltdowns, and all. One chapter will have you laughing out loud, the next will have you in tears. Margot is messy, magnetic, and painfully real—and you can’t help but root for her.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trading Publishing, and author Holly Smale for the advanced copy of the book. I Know How This Ends is out on August 12th. All opinions are my own.

I loved it! Margot’s messy, hilarious, and painfully relatable life pulled me in right away, and the touch of magical realism—her visions of a future she can’t change—gave the story real heart. It’s funny, smart, and moving, with moments that made me laugh and others that stayed with me. A warm, thoughtful read about fate, choice, and living fully in the present.

The cover and opening chapter drew me right into this novel. I stayed for the interesting premise.

Readers will want the very best for Margot. They will enjoy spending time with her.

Many thanks to HTP and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Excellent book, five out of five stars! I can’t wait to recommend this. Thank you for providing the ARC.

4.5 stars rounded down.

I read Holly Smale's Cassandra in Reverse and enjoyed it, but didn’t love it like I did a similar book: Oona out of Order (Margarita Montimore). However, I did appreciate Smale’s writing and loved the premise of her new book, I Know How This Ends, so I was quite interested to read it.

The novel delivered what I was hoping for and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are well developed and realistic, with dialogue and behaviors that felt appropriate for the situations. I did find myself wanting to shake Margot at times, but that often happens for me when characters are in situations they could, and should, be avoiding or leaving much sooner. Case in point: being with someone for 10 years, who consistently behaves badly and treats you poorly, but only leaving when you find out, the night before your wedding, that he is cheating on you with one of your best friends!

While I got annoyed somewhat with Margot and her actions/inaction, I found myself loving Henry and Winter. Those characters felt so authentic and the bond between them is palpable. Plus, Winter was just plain fun.

Ultimately, this book uses a tool - vision of the future - to examine love, grief, mental health challenges, courage and healing, to encourage us to really live and be present in our lives. I particularly loved the ending, because it wasn’t what I was expecting, or what you typically see in similar stories. It felt real.

Please note: I received a digital copy from NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

So I knew ten minutes into this book that was a bit too much chick-lit/rom-com for my tastes. 3-1/2 stars for just that reason. But I truly needed and wanted a palate cleanser after my last heavy read, the author's name iS HOLLY and it's summer, plus I never give up on a book. So, for what it is, this is a good, enjoyable book—a quick read with a lot of heart. The main character is a meteorologist (so, there's that, #IYKYK) who has had a terrible break-up that complicates her friend group. She embarks on a data-driving dating extravaganza with not a lot of success and then, well, you can predict...There is an interesting storyline about premonitions/visions that help the main character envision her future (the good and the bad) and a wonderfully, sweet relationship with her grandfather. So, if you are looking for a light, sweet, rom-com, you found it. If not, maybe pass.

It’s not very often a book leaves me crying at 3:30 in the morning- in fact I think this might be a first, but that’s where I find myself after finishing this absolutely beautiful book. Holly Smale has written another fabulous romance sprinkled with just a little bit of time travel and while I enjoyed Cassandra in Reverse, I loved this one so much more.
I actually feel like I’m at a loss for words in trying to describe why I loved this so much but that could be my sleep deprived brain. Margot is a great protagonist. She has so many different emotions and we feel all of them with her. While there is no “com” in this “rom” the lighthearted moments come at exactly the right time. I am usually not a fan of time travel books, but this is done perfectly since it’s not actually time travel, as opposed to mere glimpses into Margot’s future. With those glimpses, we see where Margot’s life will end up taking her. I love how in addition to a three dimensional story there is a thought provoking question that isn’t outright asked- are we in control of our destiny or will things play out how they are meant to be regardless of what decisions we make?
I am so happy I had the opportunity to read this and I greatly look forward to any other books Ms. Smale writes down the road. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this. I Know How This Ends hits the shelves on August 12th.

After reading and enjoying Holly Smale’s Cassandra in Reverse so much a while back, I’d been keeping her on my radar for any future releases. I was a little late hearing about her upcoming I Know How This Ends but jumped at the chance to preview it as soon as I found out about it. With a premise just as fun and quirky as Cassandra in Reverse, Smale continues to explore the idea of how foreknowledge could impact our behavior in the present whether or not it’s a good thing. When you know what’s coming, can you choose to change it? And if you can’t change it, what choices do you have in life? The support (and devastation) that comes through our relationships with family and friends take centerstage and pull their emotional weight through the often-hilarious and heartwarming I Know How This Ends.

Margot is struggling with growing her business as an Instagram personality, using her skills as a meteorologist to engage strangers on the internet about the weather. She hasn’t been able to make herself unpack in her new place. Her parents are halfway across the world having moved back to Australia in their retirement. The only thing she can truly count on (other than her best friends) is that her internet dates will continue to be disappointing in spectacular ways. When Margot gets a flash of déjà vu after one particular disaster of a date, she can’t help but agree to take up the waiter at her regular dating restaurant on his invitation to be the next in her line of first dates. Except what she first thought was déjà vu turns out to be much more – she’s actually seeing and experiencing glimpses of her future and it looks like her waiter Henry is going to be a big part of that future. But after having been burned so badly by her ex-fiancé, Margot is hesitant at best and downright terrified at worst. Will she be able to overcome her fears to embrace the future she’s starting to want for herself? Is there any way she can avoid that future if she decides she doesn’t want it?

I Know How This Ends uses Margot’s struggle to understand her visions and the role of free will versus predestination to spur major self-reflection. Seeing glimpses of a life without context and drawing conclusions necessitates making assumptions about herself and those around her. It is in the reactions she has to what she thinks she’s seeing that she is able to figure out what she truly wants – in her personal life and in her career. For all that there are those mantras about living in the moment, if the present moment sucks, it can become a miserable feedback loop. Being confronted with a reminder that there will be something beyond the present moment and that what that future looks like is partially in your control can help with snapping out of a spiral.

Of course, control and how much of it we have as individuals begins to get into more philosophical territory, but I Know How This Ends is willing to go there too. Linking Margot’s experiences to Macbeth and raising the specter of self-fulfilling prophecy adds a layer of personal accountability to Margot’s self-reflection. Is Margot able to avoid the outcomes she sees in her future by changing her actions? Does she even fully understand what she’s seeing to be able to make those choices that would change things or, like Macbeth, is she misinterpreting things in a way that means her actions ensure they happen a certain way? Where is the line between her trying to control her future and her future controlling her?
Ultimately, I think I Know How This Ends strikes exactly the right balance on this subject and between Margot and the characters around her. The future isn’t down to just one person, but rather it’s a web of choices made but the multitude of individuals as well as circumstances beyond any person’s control. To try to be happy and continue to go forward, simply trying to build something in the face of uncertainty (and assumed certainty) is the best anyone can do.

I Know How This Ends is available August 12, 2025.

📚 ARC/ALC REVIEW 📚

I Know How This Ends By Holly Smale
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Narrator: Alix Dunmore
Publisher: HTP | Mira and Harlequin Audio

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A big thank you to HTP & Mira for the e-ARC, Harlequin Audio for the ALC, and NetGalley for both -- in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

Rom-com readers, drop whatever you're reading right now and START reading I Know How This Ends, the upcoming release from Holly Smale. This laugh-out-loud read had me utterly captivated with its charming characters, its happily-ever-after love story, and its unique blending of rom-com love story and magical realism. I stayed up way too late to finish because I simply could not go to sleep until I knew how it was all going to end. And it was totally worth it.

Listening to this audiobook was like having a super real conversation with your best friend about her dating life - and all its mishaps. It's that book you need to read when it feels like everything around you that COULD go wrong, HAS gone wrong, and you just need a reminder to trust the universe because it's all going to work out. This book found me at a time when the universe knew I really needed to hear its message, and I'm so grateful to have read it when I did.

Margot is in manically gleeful self-destruct mode following the implosion of a ten-year relationship. She’s willfully derailed her successful career, she's joyfully taking down men on dating apps, and she is living in total chaos. Out of the blue, Margot has a vision of herself with a man she’s never met before. And she doesn’t believe in fate. But when Margot meets single-dad Henry, the vision comes true: exactly as she’d foreseen it. As her future continues to reveal itself, a glimpse at a time, Margot realizes she knows exactly what’s going to happen, and when. So she has to decide how to live, how to love again, and how to be herself… Because if you can’t change your destiny, how on earth do you live your present?

There were times I couldn't believe how much Margot reminded me of myself. She's a bit of a self-deprecating and sarcastic potty mouth, she's quirky, and she's got an internal monologue that - I swear - was ripped right out of my own thoughts. The idiosyncrasies of Margot and her best friends made these women some of my favorite characters of any rom-com I've read. And the love story of Margot and Henry? It was one for the ages. I thoroughly enjoyed their banter, the organic way they met, and I swooned time and time again as their relationship developed.

I split this book between advanced copies of the audiobook and e-book, which was perfect for me. Narrator Alix Dunmore was incredible, modulating her voice for various characters and giving the perfect inflections for everything said by everyone. When I picked up the e-book, I still heard those same voices in my head - a testament to the power of her narration!

The mixed genre combo of magical realism and rom-com was so thoroughly enjoyable in this read. Smale's writing was authentic, the dialogue felt so natural, and I was completely immersed in every bit of this story. In case it's not yet clear, I REALLY LOVED this book! 😉 And I truly think you will too. Please don't miss this charming read - I'm giving it all the stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#IKnowHowThisEnds #HollySmale #HTP #Mira #HarlequinAudio #gifted #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #ALC #audiobooks #romcomreads #magicalrealism #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Once in awhile I get an ARC for a book and when I read it, my first thought is I’m so privileged to get to read this before it officially goes out into the world, and will hype it as much as I can. This is one of those cases- I absolutely ADORED this book. I have nothing negative to say about it at all.

I Know How This Ends follows meteorologist Margot, who is in her 30s and putting herself through a series of dates after breaking up with her ex-fiance Aaron, who was cheating on her with one of her best friends. She takes each of her dates to the same Italian restaurant and it’s one dud after another until one day, she has a vision. As they keep occurring, she realizes the man in them is the waiter she keeps ending up with at that restaurant, Henry.

The visions give her flashes into the future with no context, as Margot tries to navigate her life around them while answering the question, “If you could see your future, how would you live now?”

This novel hit every single thing about what I love in a good book. The characters are wonderful and have so much depth to them (even the side characters like Winter, Polly and Eve have such rich backstories), the story is compelling and well-written, the chemistry between Margot and Henry is so captivating, and I just didn’t want the story to end. This is first and foremost a story about love, but not just romantic love- also platonic love between friends, the love between parents and their children, and between grandkids and their grandparents.

This is my first Holly Smale book and I’m not going to read everything she will ever write if it’s the same caliber as this one. It’s one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year (and I read A LOT). Give this one a read- it’s absolutely perfect for the summer and one I know I’ll be revisiting again. Would also love love love love to see this adapted on screen one day! It’s one of those where you wish you could read a book again and again for the first time, but know that every time you do, it’ll still have the same magic.

I loved this book. I am in a position in my life where I possibly have some future forecasting for upcoming health dramas, and I was intrigued by the notion of following a fictional character who has to reconcile knowing bad things and good things are coming. I wanted to see how Margot handled the day to day with her visions. I thought that the author handled this topic spectacularly. The author hits notes on keeping perspective with the big picture as well as how to be present and enjoy the little things. Margot is quite the hot mess at the start of the story, almost to the point of painfulness. However, I though her story arc very well done and realistic and I really did learn to love her in all her mess as she learned to love herself. The friend group and the love interest were all delightful and well executed. Grandpa was almost a saint but the afterword explained that in a way that made me accepting. A very enjoyable read!