Cassandra in Reverse: A Reese's Book Club Pick

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Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. A series of time re-runs unveils Cassandra's complex history, her peculiar personality traits, and her relentless quest to avoid a certain woman at all costs. Greek mythology is woven throughout the book as one of Cassandra’s great passions. Outside of her mother being a world-renowned Classics professor at Cambridge, what do you think it is about these tales that draws her to them?

I don't any autistic adults, I know a few children with autism so I don't have anyone in the adult category to go by. I rarely understand what another human is thinking, but I frequently feel it: a wave of emotion that pours out of them into me, like a teapot into a cup. While it fills me up, I have to work out what the hell it is, where it came from and what I’m supposed to do to stop it spilling everywhere.Speaking of Art, I know it was suggested that Cass could have tried to save lives but I think Cass still did save lives in her own way! Sal decided to believe Cass over that trash boyfriend, Sophie got better recognition and (intentional or not) helped Art find her perfect match. It’s your general demeanor I can’t have in this office. You are rude. Insubordinate. Arrogant, frankly. You are not a team player, and do you know what this office needs?” None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? She decides to use this newfound ability to change all the broken parts of her life. Get undumped, unfired. And with time on her side, how hard can it be? Elise Dumpleton is the creator of The Nerd Daily and has a degree in Internet Communications—so all things coding, marketing, and more! She also lives and breathes all things television, musicals, and books.

Cassandra tells Will that her emotional synesthesia is more complicated than simply “red is anger, blue is sadness, yellow is happy.” Can you imagine what it would be like to see emotions as colors? How might it impact the way you interact with others? I am honored by your romantic and/or sexual interest in me given that we’ve only exchanged perfunctory greetings, but I have a long-term boyfriend I am almost definitely in the process of falling in love with. I absolutely ADORED Cassandra. With her passion for Greek mythology threaded throughout, she was such a delight. I loved being in her wonderfully quirky head and genuinely laughed out loud multiple times!

I hope you and your book club will enjoy my discussion reading guide for Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale.✨ Discuss the portrayal of relationships in the novel, both romantic and platonic. How do they evolve and change as Cassandra manipulates time? What insights does the book offer about the complexities of human connections? Cassandra!” My boss appears in the doorway just as I start cleaning down my keyboard with one of my little antiseptic wipes. “What the hell are you doing? I didn’t mean leave right now. Jesus on a yellow bicycle, what is wrong with you? I’d pre­fer you to work out your notice period, please.” It could have been the moment just before I met him, which would have been a more positive beginning. It could have been the day my parents died in a car accident, which would have been considerably less so . Smale [] combines well-developed characters with laugh-out-loud humor….Readers will be drawn into Cassie’s life and won’t want to leave. This neurodiverse tale is ripe for discussion.” —BOOKLIST, Starred Review

But it's not as easy to control time as she first thinks and through a series of time re-runs we discover Cassandra's history, her odd personality traits and who the woman she is trying to avoid at all costs is. The mystery woman, Diana, set the story on a whole new course that I was not expecting. After Cassandra's reconciliation with her, the storyline with Will is completely altered. At first, I was extremely annoyed. After all, wasn't this book partially a romance? Now it wasn't feeling like one so much. Then the more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that maybe there was a reason she and Will keep having issues in every alternate reality she creates. As sweet as he is, perhaps they really are too different, and she was wrong about fate. She can keep altering it, but in the end, things will eventually realign in the way they were meant to go. Different journey, same results. So I adjusted my thinking about her new projected ending. This is all about her deciding not to time travel anymore because she finally accepts herself for who she is, differences and all. Except...she starts making mistakes again with Diana, time traveling again to fix it (after declaring that she won't anymore), and then deciding to contradict everything she claimed to have learned and start COMPLETELY over again. In her professional sphere, Cassandra is described by a client as “relentlessly grating” and “unlikeable.” Do you think her behavior would be perceived differently if she were a man?The book begins with her getting fired from her job, getting dumped by her boyfriend, and her living situation with her roommates is pretty well destroyed. So far, it was reminding me very strongly of Penny Reid's Neanderthal Seeks Human just without the huge dose of humor. (One of my top favorite books, btw) Cassandra doesn't care much for her PR job in the first place, considering she just isn't a people person. However, nobody wants to be fired and lose their financial stability, so she is naturally distraught. Even more upsetting is her unexpected break-up with her lovely boyfriend Will of four months. She truly cares for Will, and was completely blindsided by his sudden extraction from their relationship. Will seemed to genuinely admire Cassandra's intelligence and wasn't put off by her differences. What seemed to be a breaking point for him was her issue with opening up to him about her feelings and sharing herself with him. No matter how many times he asked her to share what she was thinking and feeling, she didn't know how to give that to him. But I wished that the character was not so obsessed in saving a job that she hated or a relationship that wasn’t older than 4 months.