I received this book for free (hey, thanks!) in exchange for an honest review. I promise that this does NOT affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For real.
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Time Travel
Published by Mira Books on May 11, 2023
Format: Audio/eARC (368 pages) • Source: Blog Tour, Scribd
Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes & Noble
If you had the power to change the past…where would you start?
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. One small rewind at a time, Cassie attempts to fix the life she accidentally obliterated, but soon she'll discover she's trying to fix all the wrong things.
Review
I’m a sucker for time travel books or anything involving parallel lives/universes, time loops, Groundhog Day… you name it – if the book messes with time in some way, I’m THERE. This book was on my list a long time ago so I’m thrilled to join the blog tour.
CASSANDRA IN REVERSE centers around Cassandra, who is suddenly given the opportunity to time travel in the midst of a terrible day. Her boyfriend breaks up with her and then she’s fired from her job, so she goes home and takes a nap… only to wake up and it’s the previous morning again. She figures out how to choose when to travel and fix her mistakes. It’s not easy for her to interact with people and pick up on social cues, so having a second chance at certain conversations or situations really helps her figure things out. It was interesting to read a time travel story with someone who could control the power rather than just dealing with the Groundhog Day type of thing.
I couldn’t put this book down and read the first half in one sitting. The second half was equally compelling. There was a portion in the middle where I was getting slightly bored with how she was using the time travel but it very quickly moved to something more intriguing. There were some twists near the end of the book that I didn’t love (and I wasn’t a fan of the final ending/scene very much), which is the only reason this gets 4.5 stars from me instead.
As I mentioned before, Cassandra goes about her life in a very specific way and it’s hard for her to connect with other people. My heart was bursting toward the end of the book when certain relationships starting working out and it seemed like she was humming along nicely. I can’t spoil what I’m talking about but it was really lovely. The concept of someone who seems like they may be on the spectrum having the opportunity to go back in time to fix mistakes and better understand social cues was just such an intriguing concept for a book.
This book was a such a pleasant surprise! It was on my highly anticipated shelf ever since it was announced so I had high expectations, but it certainly exceeded them in many ways.
About the Author & Praise
Author Website // Twitter // Instagram // GoodReads
Holly Smale is the internationally bestselling, award-winning author of the Geek Girl (soon to be a Netflix series) and The Valentines teen series, which have sold 3.4 million copies worldwide. In January 2021, Holly was diagnosed autistic at the age of 39. Suddenly a lot of things made sense. Holly regularly shares, debates about, and celebrates neurodiversity on Twitter and Instagram @holsmale. Cassandra in Reverse is her adult debut and was named A Reese’s Book Club Pick, an Amazon Editors’ Top Pick of the Month, and a June Must Listen on Apple.
A Reese’s Book Club Pick
An Amazon Best Book of June 2023
An Apple June Must Listens Pick
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“Smale [] combines well-developed characters with laugh-out-loud humor as she slowly reveals truths about past events, current troubles, and her protagonist’s undiagnosed autism. Readers will be drawn into Cassie’s life and won’t want to leave. This neurodiverse tale is ripe for discussion and makes a great read-alike for The Rosie Project (2013) by Graeme Simsion, Oona Out of Order (2020) by Margarita Montimore, and The Boys (2022) by Katie Hafner.” —BOOKLIST, Starred Review, Stacey Hayman
“Think Eleanor Oliphant meets time travel… Uber-particular Cassandra discovers she can travel back in time, so she does what any of us would do: She goes back and tries to fix her mistakes. But she discovers that she might be focusing on the wrong things.” -KATIE COURIC MEDIA, What to watch, read, and listen to this week
‘Instantly addictive and totally electric. It’s a gorgeous tale of all kinds of love, and dazzlingly sharp and witty. Cassie is endearing, brilliant, and Holly Smale’s writing is a breath of fresh air. If only I could time travel and experience this story for the first time again!’ —Beth Reekles, author of The Kissing Booth
“A glorious testament to the transformative power of being our own true selves. It’s a brilliantly clever, twisty story that dazzles with its wit whilst touching our hearts. Cassie is a wonderfully nuanced character, whose often bungled endeavors to redirect the path of her life will resonate with any of us who have felt that happiness and success would be assured if only we could behave/speak/act differently. A hugely entertaining book with an important message, [Cassandra in Reverse] is a triumph!” —Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of THE CACTUS
“A pure delight from start to finish. Cassandra Dankworth is a character as unique as she is endearing: hilariously prickly and unapologetically clever yet delicate and tragically misunderstood. Cassandra in Reverse is an unexpected take on time travel, exploring the challenges of human connection. Humorous and insightful, this is an absolute gem of a novel.” —Margarita Montimore, USA Today bestselling author of Oona Out of Order
“Witty, touching and totally absorbing. Cassandra is a funny and sharply-observed character who I loved spending time with.” —Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project
‘Utter genius!’ —Catriona Silvey
‘Sharp, funny, quirky, insightful and so very, very relatable’ —Joanne Harris
‘Everyone should read it and everyone will love it’ —Lindsey Kelk
“Being able to show the lightness and humor of having a neurodivergent brain is no easy task, but Smale does this with the grace and presence of mind it deserves. The deep character work and interesting plot devices make this a deeply enriching and engrossing novel to dive into…. the characters were well-rounded and interesting, the writing style was fun and conversational, and the narrative offered a fresh take on a tried-and-true idea.” –THE GLOSS, 5/5 stars
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