Wow! I really enjoyed this book. In the first couple of chapters I did not know if I would enjoy Margot as a character because she had a lot of really unlikable traits. Throughout the book she really grew as a person and I ended up rooting for her and enjoying how she developed over time. I loved her relationship with Henry and the touch of magical realism that made this book unique from others. I will pick up another book by this author!

I almost skipped this one, thinking that it would be a familiar plot but that would have been a big mistake because it's actually a heartwarmer with good, sympathetic characters I found myself rooting for. Margot, a meteorologist, is on a quest to do 20 Tinder dates. It's not going well but then she has a sort of vision and there's Henry and his little daughter Winter. One problem-Margot can also see the end of their story. But of course there's a twist. The magical realism works, the storytelling is good, and it's a fine read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I enjoyed this.

Interesting And Atypical Use Of Time. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for a "glimpse" based story. What makes this one stand out is that instead of spending an extended period of time in the alternate world and coming back to some realization or another, here our main character jumps sporadically and uncontrollably somewhat similar to The Time Traveller's Wife, and just like in that tale, it turns out she *is* seeing at least one possible future. Unlike Time Traveller's Wife, the expansions really are just a few moments at a time before the "snap back" to the actual reality/ timeline. So it presents a very interesting dynamic and storytelling choice.

As to the overall tale itself, kind of a Gilmore Girls/ Hallmarkie type mashup where you've got a woman with an interesting yet quirky (by the time we encounter her) career in a seemingly small ish town with a single dad parent with a tragic backstory of his own that is full of family and banter. There's a lot here that hits a lot of solid notes for many readers, and I do think most readers will enjoy this book.

One thing to note is that there are a few moments throughout where the room gets a bit dusty, or perhaps a few onions are being cut in the middle of the page. If the light to moderate dust/ onions don't get to you, be prepared for quite a bit more in a much more concentrated dose in the Author's Note after the end of the tale. Seriously, if the tale itself doesn't break you, the Author's Note *will*.

Overall a solid romantic drama more than anything, with enough comedy to keep it from being too heavy. Perfect for a late summer release (and it is, in the middle of August), as it hits those "beginning to get more serious" notes quite well while still having just enough light "there's still fun to be had" after notes.

Very much recommended.

Smale's second adult novel - after the incredible [book:Cassandra in Reverse|61987507] - is a smart, sweet romance with a touch of magical realism. Margot the Meteorologist thinks she is piecing her life back together after leaving her job and ending her engagement. But what she's really doing is treading water, sabotaging her blind dates and refusing to unpack her new apartment.

Until she meets Henry and begins to see visions of their future together. She puts aside her reservations and begins to develop feelings for him. But what happens when her predictions are not always so rosy?

I loved pretty much everything about this novel: the main character's analytical narration; the nuanced female friendships; the imperfect but lovely romance. Readers of <i>Cassandra in Reverse</i> will find much to enjoy, and others might find this one - with a milder time travel premise and a a less neurodivergent main character - more relatable.

This incredibly lovely book was not on my radar this year. I’m so lucky to have crossed paths with it. Five magical stars for a story that will squeeze your heart until the very end.

Margot Wayward’s life is a bit of a mess. She is dealing with trauma, grief, and betrayal on a variety of levels. Everything is chaos. She doesn’t seem to see a path forward.

Then she begins to have visions. Margot isn’t sure what to make of them, but she wants to see how this plays out. She crosses paths with a man named Henry, and her life begins to change in many ways.

I have so much to say about this incredible book. It is life affirming, resilient, hopeful, and inspiring. I love Margot. She is messy and complicated and real. The supporting characters are terrific as well. And Henry is an absolute gem. I was truly sad when this book ended - but I loved the ending! It was perfect for me.

Alix Dunmore does a wonderful job narrating this phenomenal book! She is Margot and Henry. This audiobook is a wonderful listening experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA Books, and Harlequin Audio for the digital and audiobook editions of this wonderful book! I cannot wait to read more from this author. This book releases on August 12th - I highly recommend it!

🎧 Audiobook +📗 eBook: I Know How This Ends

✍🏾 Author: Holly Smale-Read Cassandra in Reverse-4 ⭐

📃Page Count: 416

📅Publication date: 8-12-25 | Read: 8-6-25

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 10:54

🌎 Setting: Bristol

👆🏾POV: 1st person single

Genre: Adult Fic, Contemporary Romance, Time Travel

Tropes: magical realism, single dad, free will, friend group/found family, 3rd act breakup

⚠️TW: cheating, death of loved ones, cancer, infertility/IVF

🗣️Narrator: Alix Dunmore voices all the characters with standouts from Margot, Eve, and Jules. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

Summary: Trying to "get back out there" after betrayal, Margot has gone on fifteen terrible dates. Meeting Henry online is too good to be true, and suddenly Margot has visions of her future life with him.

👩🏾 Heroine: Margot "Meg" Wayward-36, a meteorologist (15 yrs.)

👨🏾 Hero: Henry -39, a waiter. Widowed- wife Amy transitioned 5 yrs. ago

🎭 Side Characters:
* Eve +Jules-Margot's BFFs
* Margot's grandfather- has the same "gift" as Meg
* Lily +Aaron-Margot's ex BFF and ex-fiancé
* Winter-6, Henry's daughter
* George + Joanne-Margot's parents
* Polly-helps Margot with her career, her husband- Peter

🤔 My Thoughts: If you read CiR, you will love this. Meg and Henry were fated to be together. With the support of her BFFs, Meg got through the worse time in her life. Her forgiveness of betrayal took time, but "Other Margot" showed her the way. It was refreshing not to get a traditional HEA but possibilities.

*Spice: 1/5 🌶️ off page, kissing
*Emotion: 5/5 🥲
*Couple: 5/5 🧑
*Rating: 4/5 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing| MIRA, Harlequin Audio, and Holly Smale for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I read and really enjoyed 'Cassandra in Reverse,' so I was looking forward to this book. Needless to say, I was NOT disappointed! I've been a bit tired of dating, so I immediately related to Margot's plight of going through the motions. While she can be a frustrating character at times, I felt all sorts of emotions for her. Henry was lovely, and Margot's grandad and Winter were witty and likeable. The premise teaches a good lesson. I read this in one day!

WOW. I almost skipped this book—almost. I told myself it probably wasn’t for me, but something kept pulling me back… and thank goodness it did, because this book swept me away. 🥹

There’s something about grief that changes how certain stories hit you, and this one? It hit right in the heart. Then that author’s note at the end? Full-on ugly cry mode. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Margot Wayward is a beautiful mess at the start—chaotic, reeling from betrayal, and basically lighting her life on fire with dating app disasters and career implosions. But beneath the sass and sarcasm is someone who’s hurting, and oh, I felt that.

Enter Henry. Steady, sweet, single-dad Henry who sees Margot’s weirdness and just gets her. No fixing, no judging—just love. And then the visions begin. Glimpses of what could be. And with each flash forward, Margot grows, heals, and slowly starts choosing hope again.

She mends broken relationships, makes bold moves in her career (still our favorite quirky weather girl 💁‍♀️☁️), and holds tight to the sweetest bond with her granddad—a relationship that made me want to call my own loved ones immediately.

This book made me laugh, cry, reflect, and maybe even believe a little in fate. It’s whimsical, heartfelt, and so unapologetically human. One of my absolute favorites of 2025. Don’t let this one pass you by—some stories are just meant to find you.

“How do you start from the beginning when you’ve seen chapters of a story, written in the wrong order? How do I fall in love again, knowing that I have to?”

From the very first page, I Know How This Ends had me hooked. Margot, a quirky and brilliant meteorologist obsessed with data, embarks on a personal experiment: 20 dates, all in the name of science. But her project to analyze modern dating and red flags takes an unexpected turn when she begins having inexplicable glimpses of her future—one that seems to hinge on Date #17.

Is it fate? Science? Or something entirely else?

Margot’s voice is fresh and unforgettable. I instantly fell in love with her, Henry, and Winter—the trio at the heart of this story. The book balances humor, insight, and deep emotional resonance so beautifully. It’s heartwarming, yes—but also heartbreaking in the best, most cathartic way.

By the final page, I was in tears. Joy and sorrow rolled into one in this unforgettable story about love, choice, and what it means to know (or not know) your ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one is a must-read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The life I want is ahead of me, not behind me." 🥹🥲

"I Know How This Ends" is a delightful rom-com with a dash of magical realism. I loved Holly Smale's adult debut, "Cassandra In Reverse," and I was excited to start this one. It did not disappoint! This book was so sweet and funny and heartwarming and just wonderful. It made me laugh out loud and wipe away a few tears. The characters were quirky, charming, and fun. The main character, Margot, was flawed, but she grew so much throughout the story. Her boyfriend, Henry, was loving and caring, and Henry's daughter, Winter, was the perfect comic relief. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. I just loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mira, and The Hive for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.25/5
I am going to be completely honest, I went into this book with pretty low expectations. The description was interesting and corny at the same time. But, I was soo wrong. It surprised me in the best way!

This story breathes life into the saying "when it rains it pours" (pun slightly intended) into Margot through her emotional storm of life. You feel everything alongside her: the heartbreak, the frustration, the joy, aching loneliness.

But what truly made me love this book was the ending. It wasn’t just satisfying, it was soul-stirring. It left me believing that love, even when it seems like it’s over, still has the power to shape us. Because sometimes, love doesn’t end. It just changes.

***Thank you Harlequin and netgalley for the ARC***

If you like your magical realism served with a heaping helping of snark and sarcasm, this is the book for you. Margot is a train wreck and, like any good train wreck, you can’t look away.

On the heels of a devastating event in her life, she is on a mission to self sabotage. She’s burning down everything around her—career, friendships, family connections —and she doesn’t care. She takes on the challenge of going on twenty first dates with the mission of finding something disqualifying with all of them. Her summary of the first sixteen dates had tears streaming down my face. (Alix Dunmore’s narration is sublime here and through the book.)

Suddenly she starts getting bizarre visions. No context. No timeline. No explanation. She begins to think they may be glimpses into her future and she isn’t sure what, if anything, she can do to alter the trajectory of her life.

Along the way Margot comes face to face with realities she would prefer to avoid. She learns a great deal about herself and what she wants in life. Her journey is both touching and hilarious.

The supporting characters in this book shine, but Margot is the brightest star. Dysfunctional and disillusioned? Yes, but also delightfully vulnerable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Harlequin Audio for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for allowing me to read an ARC of I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale, in exchange for my honest review.

All of the stars (and clouds)!

You know those books that you want to rush through to see what happens? Or, those books you want to read slowly to savor every single word? This was both - an exceptionally written story of love and loss, happiness and sadness, mistakes and forgiveness, healing and growth, all sprinkled with magical realism.

The characters were all well-written, relatable, and felt like friends.

Holly Smale, I see you, and I adore you. Thank you so much for this story.

This book is an unexpected gem.

Margot is in the midst of an implosive spiral after a bad breakup. Readers get bits and pieces of this throughout the novel.

We meet her as she's going on one of a data set of bad dates she's taking in hopes of proving she should end up alone. As the reader wallows with her and learns more about what put her in that spiral, it's easy to see why she's in this unforgiving cycle.

I do wish we got more of a glimpse of the pre-Margot in these areas. Aside from her friends telling her she is getting worse, we don't see the full de-evolution.

A dash of magic is introduced after one such date, and Margot starts seeing bits and pieces of a future that she has no idea how or what to get there.

I'm not usually a fan of books with these elements, but I did like this aspect of Margot's life. It became a mystery of how she ends up where she does in those visions and how something she does now could change them.

It also becomes a novel about a woman rebuilding her life after letting someone dull her and forcing her to change herself for his norms.

Margot learns lessons that everyone should take note of for their lives.

On a personal note Margot's relationship with her grandfather is one of the sweetest and most emotional of the entire book. Also, as someone whose grandmother was her best friend, I had a bit of a weeping fit reading about them.

Margot Wayward. Meteorologist, is not getting any younger and finds herself in a dating spiral whilst trying to overcome betrayal by her best friend and fiancé. She has quit her job and now makes popular Instagram videos about weather. When her future keeps popping up in little snippets, she finds herself navigating through the turbulence of life where she learns to weather love, heartache, friendship, and perhaps a little bit of magic.

This is the first novel by Holly Smale I have read, and I have to say it was one of the best I've read in a while! The story was engaging from the outset. Margot has a charismatic way about her that draws you in and makes you want her as a friend. Sure she has insecurities as we all do, but they are relatable. Character development is excellent, and there are some laugh out loud moments.

I did not want this story to end, but I will have to settle for the next Smale tale!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this excellent, engaging book! I love stories that include strong characters and particularly strong friendships and 'I Know How This Ends' delivered masterfully for both. This is a love story on many levels - amongst family, between friends, with new and previous romantic partners - but especially love for oneself. The story follows Margot, the main character, who begins having visions of her future. I liked that the author left the concept of how the visions were occurring a little vague; she concentrated more on what the visions meant rather than how they were happening. This was a great story had me rooting for the characters while leading me towards thoughts about myself and my own relationships. I highly recommend this book (I already did on my Facebook account!) and am better for having read it!

The Publisher’s blurb asks…”If you knew how your life would turn out, what would you change now?

Meet Margot Wayward.

She has recently called off her wedding, quit her job, and moved. Determined to show all of her friends that she is doing just FINE-she has thrown herself back into the dating world with a vengeance! Every Monday, she meets a different man from her dating APP for dinner, at a nearby Italian restaurant looking for love.

SHE ISN’T FOOLING ANYONE

All she finds on those dates are 🚩 red flags, and really, her concerns are legitimate.

Until the day, when Margot has a vision of herself in the future, deliriously happy.
And, then realizes that she has met THAT man.

And, he’s a man who has been hurt and needs a second chance at happiness too.

As her future continues to reveal itself, randomly, one glimpse at a time, she finds the courage to move forward-Until she sees something she doesn’t like.

Margot realizes what will happen and that she can’t change the future-

KNOWING WHAT SHE KNOWS- CAN SHE RISK HEARTBREAK AGAIN?

⚠️ Margot could be an extremely frustrating character at times!

But What struck me most about this book is how the author writes EMOTIONS-
I felt the PAIN, I felt the VULNERABILITY. I felt the HOPE. And, I felt the JOY.

And, I felt the love that Margot had for her grandfather (this book is dedicated to her own) and for her friends, and for the cat who changes her mind about cats!

This book really resonated with me for that reason.
These characters were so relatable, so human.

I’m so GLAD that I met them, and you can too on August 12, 2025.

Thank You to Mira for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Having forced myself to keep going I’m giving up at about 20%. I liked her last book in many ways so I was intrigued by this premise but sadly that’s really not what is here. Instead of the fun described we really get a neurotic mess of a woman. Frankly I understand why her dates are sick of her because so was I! There is also way too much time spent on her friends which I loathe in books. They are the boring and unnecessary filler characters I despise. I was annoyed and bored and giving up hope of it improving.

Margo has lost a long term boyfriend and here life is going in the toilet. She starts dating again and it is going as you might expect. She is a Meteorologist who realizes that she can see stipites of her future. She then tries to influence her future. What results is a comical, wild ride of emotions and situations. Will she be able to change her own ending?

The characters were developed in a way that kept me engaged in the story and I loved her relationship with her Grandfather and Winter. I look forward to reading more Holly Smile in the future.

Thank you Net Galley, Holly Smale and Harlequin Trade for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.
I Know How This Ends is expected to be released Aug. 12, 2025

Having read Cassandra in Reverse, I jumped at the chance to read Holly Smale’s newest novel. I love the rich, flawed feel of her characters, and I love the way that the story fits together like a puzzle, and you’re fed one engaging piece at a time.