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This was fine. I hated the ending. However, Smale has a good sense of humor and the story is very sweet. If you like Greek mythology, you‘ll be tickled pink by all of the references. Which exact shade of pink? Only Cassandra would know.

It‘s about a woman in her 30‘s, looking for (and ultimately finding) connection, who realizes late in life that she is autistic. It‘s very on-the-nose — albeit, with a time-traveling twist. 👇🏻

“And for the first time in years, I don‘t feel loneliness like a constant seagull cry inside me: screeching and shitting over everything, eating my happiness as soon as I hold it in my hands.”

I read this as the Cassandra complex but same book! Iiked much more than I thought I would. Cassandra is neurodivergent and after a genuinely terrible day realised she can time travel and sets off to fix what went wrong - in the interim learning a huge amount about herself. The main character is obsessed with Greek mythology and so stories of the gods are liberally sprinkled throughout - sometimes in a quite jarring way

I‘m so disappointed in this one. The time travel was the least interesting part, and I didn‘t get into it until more than 2/3rds in.

#SpringSkies

I enjoyed this book with a #Neurodivergent main character.

Cassandra is having a terrible day- her boyfriend dumps her, she gets fired from her job, and her roommates remind her that she's supposed to be finding a new place to live. She has a bit of a meltdown, only to wake up and realized she's time-traveled.

Continued... ⬇️

I wasn't sure about this one initially. It felt like it was going to be a time travel fix-it romance. But that's exactly what the author wants you to think so she can flip your expectations. I doubt I would've read this one without your recommendation for #AudLangSpine @julesG so thank you for that! I'm looking forward to reading some more from your list

#AudLangSpine2024 @monalyisha

This was on pace to be a 4- or 5-star read but I didn't love the "twist" - I saw it coming and it shifted the tone of the book. I didn't care for the ending, it felt like it belonged to another book. That being said, Cassandra was a wonderful character to spend time with, I admired the way Smale made Cassandra's neurodiversity A thing but not THE thing.

And I want to spend time in Cassandra's closet. It sounds amazing.

My #DoubleSpin for Jan.

I am having a tough time finding an audiobook that holds my attention. Hopefully this one breaks the losing streak.

#12Booksof2023 @Andrew65

July - @Cinfhen gave it a good review and I trust her reviews.

Wonderful

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author.

1) this is tough, there are so many 😂😂😂 I guess my weird sense of humour - being able to see the funny side even if things are tough. (my kids would say this is one of my most annoying quirks, just like being nerdy and geeky)

2) Is it okay to say a neurodiverse character is quirky? If so, then the Cassandra is quirky.
Otherwise, a Pratchett book 😉

Tag, you're it! 😁

10-26-23: My 92nd finished book of 2023! Cassie is a little odd. Pushy and opinionated, kind of cold, very candid, and she has a huge love of Greek Mythology. After a series of truly unfortunate events occur, Cassie realizes she can turn back time. She can erase her big mistakes and go back and fix them. Will it work? She has a relationship to fix and a job to save! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣9️⃣2️⃣

Book club read. It was ok. If you have read The Rosie Project and/or The Maid, it‘s a similar main character. But for some reason did not impress me as much.

I never thought of it quite this way. I never really got to that part yet. I didn‘t think about being “on the spectrum.” I was still in the self-discovery, ah-ha stage. This speaks to me, though. It makes far more sense to say that spectrum is part of us, inside of us, than something we are on. It certainly makes more sense with the fact that every single autistic person is uniquely autistic.
#CassandraInReverse #HollySmale #audiobook #autism

🤯🤯🤯
THIS TOO!!! IT‘S LIKE THIS CAME STRAIGHT FROM MY OWN LIFE!!! The fact that this keeps coming up as a theme in books about autism, especially low support needs autism, makes me think this is a part of our overall experience. It breaks my heart that in 2023 we are still teaching kids to hate themselves. (Universe help us all when we get our next republican president.)
#CassandraInReverse #HollySmale #audiobook #autism #busbook

THIS!!! This is such a wonderful description of what it‘s like.
#CassandraInReverse #HollySmale #audiobook #autism #busbook

I wondered how long it would take her to figure this it… but then it seems she didn‘t really do much about it. I want to tell her so bad to just tell Will what things are like for her, but she never does.
#CassandraInReverse #HollySmale #audiobook #busbooks #AutisticCharacters #timetravel

I am enjoying the living day lights out of this one. Thanks for the suggestion @julesG
#CassandraInReverse #HollySmale #audiobook #busbooks #AutisticCharacters #timetravel

No books have been stained…yet. 😬

I am in the minority on this one!

https://reecaspieces.com/2023/07/20/cassandra-in-reverse-by-holly-smale-bookrevi...

1½✨

While I'm 100% in support of the message this book holds, I was not a fan. I couldn't find one single character I liked. The story dragged and I just couldn't engage with it.
If I haven't had it on audio I would definitely have DNF it.

#UnpopularOpinion
@Clwojick #Pantone2023 #CherryTomatoe #IcedMango #BluePerennial #VanillaCream

Thanks for putting this on my radar, @Cinfhen

Excellent narration.

I loved Cassandra and her unexpected gift from the gods. I liked how she tries to fix the relationship with Will and accidentally changing more than her future with him. It got a bit Groundhog Day boring in the middle, but the last third of the story made up for it.

Loved how the author blended in Greek mythology throughout the story.

#JubilantJuly @Andrew65

Another read I'm blaming on @Cinfhen - I really must stop reading your reviews.

#JubilantJuly @Andrew65

This was a groundhog-day romance-trope meh of a book for nearly 2/3 of this story. But I‘m glad I stuck with it because I enjoyed the last third when Cassandra realizes the relationship she thought the universe was giving her the opportunity to revisit might not play out the way she initially desired.

After a shaky start the longer I listened to this audio the more I REALLY enjoyed it. Cassandra is having a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE day-~ her boyfriend has dumped her, she‘s been fired from her job and her flat mate wants her out. But then something extraordinary occurs: Cassandra is able to time loop and has the power to try to change that terrible day.
Loads of nods to Greek mythology which I thought elevated the story. FANTASTIC narration!

That ending killed me. I hated it. The overall message of the book was great (accepting your own or someone else‘s autism), but the execution left a lot to be desired. It reminded me of YA books, which Smale also writes, because it is so centered on immature ideas of romance and sacrifice. The MC did not seem 31. But I liked Cassandra. I rooted for her to make those discoveries about herself. A mixed bag. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you @Eggs for the #WondrousWednesday Tag!🤗

1️⃣ So many! #CampLitsy23 #SundayBuddyRead #Pemberlittens #hashtagbrigade #DiverseCozy #SeriesLove2023 + my library summer reading program, Kindle Summer Challenge & my virtual foodie book club

2️⃣ This was close, but the tagged book was an unexpected delight to read so I‘ll go with it! 💙

3️⃣ I didn‘t hate anything I read but The Kiss Murder for #DiverseCozy was just OK.

Anyone is tagged! 😉

I found this book to be a delight-witty, fun & funny but not too fluffy including more serious themes of grief & feeling different/excluded from the world. Cassandra, the neurodivergent MC, is quirky l, snarky & smart & the time travel/time loop is an interesting premise. I also loved the Greek mythology emphasis.I laughed out loud several times but also got a bit teary too. It ended up being better & more nuanced that I thought it might be. 💙

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With a brilliant take on time travel, this book is a unique, kaleidoscopic, transporting summer read! It was fun and absorbing, but also made me think and feel all the feels. I love that both the protagonist and the author are neurodivergent and thought it beautifully illuminated how our differences are our superpowers. Cassandra‘s voice is so strong - vividly complex, witty, and vulnerable. I‘ll be thinking about her for awhile!

June pick for Reese‘s Book club!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🤣😆😂funny laugh out loud.

Book 85/100 of 100.

Cassandra has been dumped and fired on the same day and starts to meltdown. That‘s when she discovers she can travel through time and her efforts to change things start getting complicated. This is well balanced and I enjoyed the read. Also, Cassandra interfaces with the world in a very particular way, but the publisher doesn‘t mention that in their description so I‘ll keep mum. 🤐

I‘m spending my day reading on my patio. Tomorrow, I will be doing grad school homework but enjoying today!

I will admit that this took me a while to get into. Cassandra is obviously on the spectrum and has internalized all the criticism and judgement she‘s had thrown at her. After an extremely crappy day, she discovers she can time travel and tries to go back and right some of her bad luck. It gets a bit mired in that but the ending ❤️❤️ it‘s lovely and I‘m a fan

A Reece Bookclub pick, not my usual fare but wanted something "light" and fast. This was it, better than I assumed. Still unsure about last twist so 4 ? maybe 4.5. I also enjoyed the Greek mythology references. Great summer read.

Holy cannoli, Aardvark! Apparently this was here Monday, but we don‘t go to the post office often. I wasn‘t expecting this until at least next week! You should seriously call up Book of the Month and explain to them how shipping is done.

My #aardvark pick this month. I think the selection of books and book types is good, but I‘m a little perplexed at the decision to choose 4 books that are already published before the picks dropped, @AardvarkBookClub . I‘ve already read one, am reading another, and have a third on hold, all from my library. One of those I would have added to my box if it hadn‘t pub‘ed yet. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The final #Aardvark clue (pantone colors) is in, and they seem to match all of the books from my last predictions post pretty well. So I'm locking it in... final answer! 📚

June #Aardvark predictions... Take 2 🎬

I spy the goddess Cassandra in their latest clue, so that has officially become my most confident guess. Otherwise... this is hard 🤣

This is not quite a rom-com, but it is a cute, fun read about a woman who is autistic. After a really bad day (being dumped, fired and asked to leave her apartment) she discovers she has the ability to time travel back a little bit and fix things. She also discovers that using this power a lot gets very confusing. The book is really a quirky coming-of-age tale and I enjoyed the story, the characters and the wisdom imparted. 3.75/5 stars.

Reading in the chair at the dentist‘s office.