Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC ebook for review. All opinions are my own.

Margot is reeling from a breakup that she didn't see coming. Her husband-to-be left her for another the night before the wedding. It has taken a toll on her self-confidence and shattered her view of men, but eight months later she is getting back out there and dating. All of her dates don't meet the cut, until she meets someone she wasn't expecting. Her heart is still tender and she's not sure she wants to be in a relationship but she begins to have visions of a future with him. But what do these visions mean?

I loved Smale's first book, Cassandra in Reverse, specifically the magical realism. I Know How This Ends was cute and funny and a fast read and had some magical realism as well. The characters were well developed and the storyline was believable.

4 stars

Love love loved this book.

I loved Oona out of Order so I was curious to see if I would like another by the author and this book did not disappoint. I loved the way their story unfolded in little bits and pieces. I loved all the characters. I loved the humor. And most of all, I loved the heart this story has. It will make you feel warm and fuzzy. It will make you laugh out loud. And it will also be bittersweet. How much more can you ask from a book?

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

Margot is trying to see if there is someone out there for her and so she is on date #15, 15 different men, in the same Italian restaurant every Monday evening. But the dates are not working out…

So after date #16 leaves, her waiter, John who has been her waiter for all these miserable dates, makes a suggestion…. Go out with him. Let him be #17. She hasn’t got a lot to lose, so she says yes. Even her grandfather says #17 is a good number.

something is happening to Margot though ever since she agrees to go out with John. She seems to be blanking out for a few seconds here and there and she sees herself in the future.

Now she knows some things she thinks might happen to her, does she continue the path she has been following or does she change things up?

5 stars

( thank you netgalley for the arc )
(Published August 12th 2025)

this ruined me !!!!! ( in a good way I think , but I did bawl my eyes out )
the characters were all so perfect apart from Margots ex ( he can go fucking die , rot in a hole nobody in the world in my brain would care)
such a unique concept for a book I loved it .
I loved going into it blind !!
I did struggle for the first couple of pages ( but I think its cause I was reading other books as well)
but when I started focusing on it it picked up so fast and devoured it .

In I Know How This Ends, Holly Smale delivers a smart, emotionally textured novel that balances magical realism with razor-sharp wit and gut-punching truths about love, time, and what it really means to live in the present.

Think About Time meets Normal People meets The Time Traveler’s Wife, with an added twist of rom-com realism à la Emily Henry. But make no mistake—this isn’t a frothy “meet cute” story. It’s a layered, character-driven exploration of grief, self-sabotage, and healing wrapped in laugh-out-loud moments and hard-earned revelations.

Meet Margot Wayward: meteorologist, hot mess, heartbreak survivor. After a decade-long relationship implodes, Margot does what any emotionally wrecked genius might do: tanks her career, ghosts her friends, and spirals through a series of hilariously awful dates (which she tracks in a spreadsheet, obviously). Then, just as she starts to believe life is nothing but chaos, she begins having visions. Snippets of the future. One in particular—of a man she’s never met.

Enter Henry: single dad, deeply decent human, and the exact person from Margot’s visions—and also not who she expected to fall for or set up a life.

But knowing what’s coming doesn’t make the path to love easier. In fact, it complicates everything. Because if the future is set, what happens to free will? If pain is inevitable, is love still worth it?

Smale masterfully juggles these questions without over-explaining. The result is a story that’s both tender and wildly funny, filled with richly drawn characters and sparkling dialogue. Margot is a delightfully flawed protagonist—cynical yet hopeful, chaotic yet brilliant. And the supporting cast (especially her grandfather and best friend Meg) shine with emotional nuance.

The magic of I Know How This Ends isn’t in the visions—it’s in what they force us to confront: the vulnerability of hope, the futility of control, and the radical act of being fully present. The ending is quietly devastating and unexpectedly profound—an emotional payoff that lingers.

Final Verdict:
A beautifully written, genre-bending novel that tackles destiny, loss, and the courage it takes to live anyway. Perfect for fans of character-rich fiction with a dash of the uncanny. If Cassandra in Reverse was Holly Smale’s warm-up, this is her breakout.

📚 Recommended for fans of:

Emma Straub
Rebecca Serle (In Five Years, The Dinner List)
Romantic comedies with a literary soul
The Netflix Series "One Day"
Slow-burn love stories grounded in emotional realism
Grief, growth, and second chances

🖊️ Favorite Line:
“If you can’t change your future, how do you live your present?”

A thoughtful and funny story about love, timing, and what we would do if we could glimpse the future. Margot’s life is in freefall, her long-term relationship ends, her friend group is unraveling, and she walks away from the job that once grounded her. Then she starts seeing flashes of the future, including moments with someone she hasn’t even met.

This book strikes a perfect balance between charm and emotion. It’s laugh-out-loud funny in places, with lines that made me pause and smile, but also quietly devastating in others. The pacing is strong, the characters feel real, and the central question is, What would you do if you saw what was coming?—is handled with warmth and depth. A definite step up from Cassandra in Reverse, and one I’d recommend for fans of magic realism and romantic comedies with heart.

Margot is a meteorologist who is supposed to let people know what the weather is—predicting the future with some scientific help. When her relationship of 10 years crashes, she quits her good job and moves and starts dating with scientific inquisitiveness. Then she starts getting visions that give her glimpses into the future without totally mapping them out. I normally don’t love magical realism, but this is a fun novel and I was rooting for the characters.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel that RELEASE AUGUST 12, 2025.

I Know How This Ends is such a great book!

I was completely engaged by Margot's experience, wondering how her ability to see flashes of future activity would affect her decisions and relationships in the present. Not only that, but by the end of the story I felt like I had learned something about what it means to live a good life, one day at a time.

Highly recommend.

Thanks very much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in advance of publication.

touching, emotional, magical realism work about predicting the future, knowing what's next, and figuring out how to get yourself back on track. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

A heartwarming read that inspired a surprising amount of introspection! I read the book in one sitting- I couldn’t not know what would happen with each chapter! Will be recommending to everyone I know once it is published.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! This book was amazing. The main character is so funny, and I loved her tracking her dates at the beginning. She is so incredibly smart and I want to be friends with her. I want more of this character so much. I really appreciate being able to read this and now I want to read more of this author! I laughed and my heart sang.

*If you could see glimpses of your future, good and bad, would you try to change anything? Do you lose agency if you play into it? Can you, and should you try and avoid the painful parts you see coming?*

This had me hooked from the first page and didn't let me go (I read it in 2 days). The plot moved along at exactly the right pace for me, so that I never got bored or wanted to stop reading; quite a feat for this length of book. I also never giggled so much through a book, there were so many funny lines, without it ever feeling like a comedy or taking away from the, at the heart, very emotional story. In fact, the last ~15 or so percent I shed tears several times 🙈.

I read the previous book by this author, "Cassandra in Reverse", which was just a 3⭐ for me, but I was too intrigued with the plot pitch for this one to pass it by, and I'm so glad. That is to say, in my opinion, the pitch was very satisfyingly executed and the author improved immensely with this book on plot pacing and writing. Also, for me, the characters in this book work much better; I could connect better with the protagonist's thoughts and choices even when they were "objectively" frustrating, and the side characters were well developed.

Also, a very minor spoiler regarding the love interest that I really appreciated, stop reading here if you want to know *nothing*:
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He is significantly shorter than the female protagonist! So refreshing :).

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc!

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I was pulled into this book from the first minute. The characters are well-summarized and I loved Meg & Henry (version 2) so much! I am a bit jealous of the almost lifelong friend group despite their ups and downs. The dating notes are so much fun and made me cringe with memories about a few of my own online dating experiences from 25+ years ago. (Yes, the internet is that old, my children.) I can't say that I love the ending, but it felt believable.

Wow, what a surprise! It’s clear from the beginning that story involves time travel, but it’s so much more. I loved the storyline, the hot mess that is Margot the Meteorologist and her fantastic character arc, and the the About Time movie vibes. Read through the acknowledgments with a tissue. ❤️

Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley!
I liked this book better the more it went on. In the first half, I sort of felt, okay what, but then it started coming together a little bit, with a heart warming lesson as time went on, and I liked it more and more.
Basically, if you could see the future, how would you live?

Margot is a meteorologist. She has just moved back to Bristol and has gone through a terrible breakup, a loss of friendship and she also quits her job. She feels out of control, and not herself. And then she starts getting little visions.
Basically the book is a page tuner (especially near the end) with interesting plotting and quick readability- this book is also pretty heartwarming when it comes down to it!

Margot's life has gone completely off the rails - her decade-long relationship has blown up, her friend group is in turmoil, and she quits her beloved job as a meteorologist. She goes on a series of terrible dates and has pretty much resigned herself to being alone forever in an unpacked flat when she starts having visions of a future with a man she hasn't met.

I loved Smale's last book (Cassandra in Reverse), so I had high expectations for this one, and I was not disappointed! Quirky (but not annoyingly so) characters, funny dialogue, some heartache, some happiness, some visions of the future -- this was a sweet and delightful read from start to finish. I'm already looking forward to reading more books by Smale (and dipping into her backlist - loved the Geek Girl show and can only assume the books are even better)!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is a heartwarming, magic realism story about love, family, friendship and self acceptance. Margo’s career as a meteorologist and ten year relationship comes to an end. After many disastrous dates, she doesn’t expect to find love again. But then finds it in the most unexpected person. Margo was such a relatable character and I enjoyed this book so much.

Oh, this book was such a great read. I love a good time travel twist, and this one felt fresh and thoughtful. Margot Wayward is falling apart after the end of a long relationship, and her life is in complete disarray. She is avoiding work, going on disastrous dates, and pretending everything is fine. Then she starts getting clear glimpses of her future. Specific moments begin playing out exactly as she saw them, no matter what she does.

One of those moments is meeting Henry, a single dad she has never seen before. And then suddenly he is right in front of her. From there, Margot has to figure out how to live in the present when she already knows what is coming. The story explores what it means to love, to move forward, and to accept the things we cannot control.

I really connected with the characters and appreciated the way the book balanced humor and emotion. The relationship between Margot and her grandfather stood out the most to me. It added so much heart and depth to the story without feeling overly sentimental.

I also listened to parts of this on audio, and the narration was excellent. It matched the tone perfectly and made the experience even more engaging. I struggled a bit to connect with this author’s debut, but this book completely surprised me in the best way and I can't wait to read what she comes up with next.

This would be a great pick for readers who enjoy character-driven stories with a touch of magic and emotional depth. It reminded me of the kind of storytelling you find in books by Emma Straub, Rebecca Serle, and Kate Spencer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thanks for the review copy. This book made me miss my grandpa. I liked her visions. I think this would make a great movie.

I LOVED Cassandra in Reverse so I was so excited to pick up Holly Smale’s latest and it did not disappoint! Whenever I wasn’t reading this, I wished that I was. This novel brings up lots of interesting questions about destiny and how much of a role free will plays into things… I absolutely adored this one. It’s only June but I bet this will be one of my top books of 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.