Review: How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson

For fans of Matt Haig and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue comes a big-hearted novel following a man who can never be remembered and his journey to become unforgettable...

HOW TO BE REMEMBERED by MICHAEL THOMPSON

Series: n/a

Publication date: June 27, 2023

Published by: Harper/HQ

Genre: romance, magical realism

 

SYNOPSIS

On an ordinary night in an ordinary year, Tommy Llewellyn's doting parents wake in a home without toys and diapers, without photos of their baby scattered about, and without any idea that the small child asleep in his cot is theirs.

That's because Tommy is a boy destined to never be remembered.

On the same day every year, everyone around him forgets he exists, and he grows up enduring his own universal Reset. That is until something extraordinary happens: Tommy Llewellyn falls in love.

Determined to finally carve out a life for himself and land the girl of his dreams, Tommy sets out on a mission to trick the Reset and be remembered. But legacies aren't so easily won, and Tommy must figure out what's more important - the things we leave behind or the people we bring along with us.

How to be Remembered is a heart-warming, poignant and ultimately inspiring novel about the important things in life.

Purchase your copy now!

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Praise for How To Be Remembered:

"How to Be Remembered wears its heart proudly, earnest in the way of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or, dare I say, Forrest Gump." ― The Guardian

"Original, engrossing, sweet" ― Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project

"With turns of poignant hilarity and quiet grief, How to Be Remembered is sure to be a new favorite for readers who enjoyed V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. . .a stunning tale." ― Booklist, STARRED review

"An inspiring novel about how everyone makes an impact, even after the world forgets them." ― Foreword Reviews

"How to Be Remembered is my favorite kind of book: a story with a 'wow' factor. Michael Thompson has taken a fun and intriguing idea -- a big idea -- and turned it into a wonderful, humorous, very human ride." ― Michael Poore, author of Reincarnation Blues

"An engrossing story about keeping determination, hard work and hope steady despite adversities. A coming of age with an intriguing supernatural twist, How to Be Remembered will inspire you to hang on tight to what you hold dear and will rekindle your appreciation for what it means to be human" ― Sarah Jost, author of Five First Chances

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Thompson has been a journalist, producer and media executive for the last fifteen years. He now co-owns a podcast production company called Fear and Greed – home of Australia’s most popular business podcast. He lives in Sydney with his wife, two young children, two cats and his beloved lawn. How to Be Remembered is Michael’s first novel. 

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REVIEW

How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson


Lately, I've been getting into books with magical realism a lot, so when I saw this story pop up on Netgalley, I was excited to give it a try. The plot is quite different from anything I have heard before as well, which is always an encouraging factor when choosing something to read. Tommy Llewellyn is an odd anomaly in a familiar world. He's faced with the herculean task of starting his life over from scratch every single year on the same day-his birthday. Even his own birth parents forget his existence on his first birthday, leaving him to figure out a way to survive and thrive all by himself. It really makes you think about the ramifications of a situation like this. What would it be like to be completely alone in the world, to have the ability to make friends and memories with other people, only to have your existence wiped clean every year? Not only is your existence deleted, but everything you earn, create, possess-every physical, tangible thing you own of sentimental or financial value is taken from you. You are "rebooted" with only the clothes on your back and your wits. It's obviously a very lonely existence because you can never truly share your true self with others when they can only remember a sliver of time with you, and even that is temporary.

One obvious hurdle comes to mind when presented with Tommy's plight: how is he able to find a permanent home to grow up in year after year, as a helpless child? The answer? He becomes part of the government system where everyone knows that incompetency reigns. This was one of the few explanations received about him, and a believable one I thought. At one year old, he arrives at Milkwood House, a home for kids run by a very caring woman named Michelle. No matter how many times she forgets Tommy, she is always there for him year after year. She is the kind of selfless person that puts the children first and works tirelessly in order to help them pave their way in the world. When Tommy's life is "reset" as he calls it, no one understands how he got to be in the house, but assumes that his paperwork has been lost due to human error. This is perhaps the only time bureaucracy could ever actually benefit anyone, but poor Tommy needs all the breaks he can get.

The reader is told about many one year increments of Tommy's life, some of them detailed, and others are merely mentioned or skimmed over. Once he learns how to bluff his way through the beginning of the reset, his focus is building his friendships/relationships with those around him as quickly as he can in the limited time that he has. The faster he can bond with the people he cares about, the more time he will have to enjoy these relationships before they are erased again. For many, it's hard enough to form attachments with others in normal circumstances. I can't even comprehend how hard it must be to constantly have to rebuild the same connections with others-to always be the new person on the scene that nobody knows. It would obviously be extremely challenging, lonely, and discouraging.

Despite the odds always being stacked against Tommy, he manages to stay optimistic even when the worst-case scenario plays out. He finds small victories to celebrate and occasionally tries to find new loopholes that give him an advantage. One year, when he's hit by a car and ends up in the hospital, it ends up being his first gift in disguise. The reset happens while he's in the hospital bed, and he is shown a way to retain physical items into the next year. This is a huge advantage because it means that he can save any money that he makes throughout the year as well as personal identification and paperwork he needs. This is also where he meets one of the few people in his life that he works hard to maintain a connection with. Josh becomes his best friend and business partner. Although Tommy doesn't make friends easily, when he does, he does everything in his power to keep them in the repetitive rhythm of his world.

Tommy's life is told in stages: his first year with his birth parents, his time in Milkwood House, the years at the hostel, and the period when he moves into his girlfriend's apartment. Each stage has a lot of repetition and not a whole lot of expansion of his predicament. The problem is that Tommy is wary of "rocking the boat" so to speak. Once he finds himself in a comfortable spot where he can cruise through resets without much hassle, he's content to do just that. He has goals for the future, but with very little knowledge of how to overcome his erasure, he just cannot make much progress. Frankly, there are chunks of the book that become a bit monotonous. I guess I was hoping that he would explore his magical boundaries more, try theories, and be more proactive in discovering the answers to his odd reality. Instead, what he discovers is very little, and most of it merely by chance. This leaves the reader in a somewhat stagnant plot that becomes mired in predictability. It never felt so slow that I had to force myself to keep reading, or take small, frequent breaks. However, I think it was merely the main character's likability and determination that kept me reading steadily. You really do root for him to find a way to create a permanent life for himself and maybe even someday create a family.

There is a romance in the story, though I would say that it remains in the background for at least half of the book. We meet Tommy's girl Carey in his Milkwood House days, but she doesn't reappear again until much later. He falls hard for her as a young teen, but unfortunately for him, she never notices him in a romantic way. This is why his long-lasting "love" for her does not quite feel realistic to me. It's more of a one-sided crush that he never really gets over. In the back of his mind, he's always wondering if she's okay somewhere out there in the world, and if she's happy. Once he finally does cross paths with her, their relationship escalates quickly. The problem is, we are told of this escalation rather than shown, and I don't think that allows their feelings to develop naturally. This is probably a result of the time constraints that he has, but I do think it could have been explored at a deeper level.

I'm used to reading full fantasy novels as opposed to magical realism, so the lack of explanations takes some getting used to. Apparently, this is a common feature of the genre-not being told why these magical things happen in an otherwise average world. I have so many questions about why things are happening, and just being forced to believe for no reason at all is a hard one for me. For example, what is Richie's significance to Tommy? He is clearly a sociopath based on what he did to him when they were children, however, we never know why he is at the center of these horrible scenarios that upset his hard-won routines. Why does it simply take being in his vicinity to risk not just an erasure, but a total replacement? I thought surely some backstory with Richie would be given at some point, something substantial to make me understand why he seemed to alter Tommy's reality in such a different way. Why is it that when mistakes happen, it's only someone that he despises that replaces him? If it were a friend instead of a sociopath or abuser that takes his place, there wouldn't be the same kind of despair as a result. It begins to feel like a plot device rather than a natural element in the story.

I appreciated Tommy's exploration of his small, lasting impacts in a world that is unable to remember him. We all want to leave our own footprints in the world, making a difference to others in a way that will never be forgotten. For Tommy, he must be satisfied with anonymous impacts like a cactus he plants that gives comfort to a kind nurse, and a window that he fixes that stays fixed long after he's gone. These things are not monumental, though they do give him comfort that his actions can have permanence in a positive way. I really feel like this could have been delved into more. Perhaps he could have tried to make a large impact in the year he's given, to show that even without money or power we can change other people's lives significantly. I just feel like we barely scratched the surface in what he could have experimented with and the ways he could have learned to game the system.

The end rushes up quickly, and I was worried with the small amount of time left that it would end in tragedy. Again, he discovers a huge advantage by chance, and this sets him up to be able to hold onto something very precious to him: a true home. There was one major flaw in the way that this was explained, however, I was glad that he finally got his happy ending.

This was an okay read, I feel that it could have been much more exciting had it lived up to all of its potential. There were so many thought-provoking possibilities that were never touched on, and the characters could have used a lot more detail and definition to flesh out the relationships better. However, I did appreciate the unique idea of the story so I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different with an endearing main character.

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Review: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP by ASHLEY POSTON

Series: n/a

Publication date: June 27, 2023

Published by: Berkley

Genre: romance, magical realism

 

SYNOPSIS

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

Purchase your copy now!

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Praise for The Seven Year Slip:

“I ADORED this book. Ashley is such a talent. The worlds she creates are so warm and specific and beautifully rendered. The Seven Year Slip is a gorgeous love story from one of the finest romance writers out there. I laughed, I cried, I didn’t want it to end. Consider me Ashley Poston’s greatest admirer!”

—Carley Fortune, New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After

“Ashley Poston has again created a world that is off-kilter, romantic, and irresistible. If you love The Lake House but also want some top notch make out scenes, this is the book for you.”

—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

“Warm, funny and heartbreakingly hopeful, The Seven Year Slip is a magical love story, a devastating portrait of grief, and a loving ode to what it means to grow, evolve and blossom.”

—Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Dead Romantics. 

After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, she spent the last decade working in the publishing industry before deciding to pursue writing full-time.

When not writing, she likes trying various arts and crafts (she’s currently addicted to building miniature rooms) and taking long walks as an excuse to listen to Dungeons & Dragons podcasts. She bides her time between South Carolina and New York, and all the bookstores between.

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REVIEW

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Over the last few years, I've noticed feeling a growing cynicism when it comes to reading. I can count on one hand the amount of five star books I've found over the last three years. I've read all of the common tropes in my favorite genres so many times that it's harder and harder to find a book that hits me perfectly in the feels. I can honestly say that I have read a lot of good books. A lot of great books too. But for me, a five star read has a completely different feeling than all the others. That warm glow-euphoric, dreamy...otherwise known as The Book Hangover™. You've been reading with razor sharp focus on those characters, staying up until the early hours of the morning with them as they try to overcome their conflicts, and cry when the ending hits you squarely in your cynical heart. (Okay, the cynical part is all me, but you get the picture.) I am now in the phase where I worry that the next books that follow will fall flat because my head is still stuck in Ashley Poston's fictional world.

I've got to be honest. In the beginning, Clementine didn't make a good first impression on me and I was fully expecting for that to affect my overall enjoyment. She comes off as a very closed-off individual, hyper focused on her career, and somewhat cold. That wall that she has up was off-putting at first, but the author does a wonderful job humanizing her flaws and quickly helping you understand them. Clementine had a very special bond with her aunt Analea, and losing her has had a profound effect on her life. Before losing her, she had a passion for life, chasing adventure across the globe with her aunt, and her future was filled with hope and endless possibilities. After...she used her job as a shield in her romantic relationships, and has forgotten what it feels like to be passionate about anything or anyone. Once you start to understand what's hiding underneath the surface with her, it's very easy to feel empathy for this broken woman. On the outside, she has a lot going for her: two best friends who she gets to work with, a job that she excels at with a possible promotion in the near future, and loving parents who support her. Inside, she feels shattered with grief because she lives in a world where her aunt Analea no longer exists.

Analea was the type of person that lived every day like it was her last. She appreciated each moment for the simple joy it could bring, and was the master at "fake it until you make it." She taught Clementine to seek adventure around every corner and if you didn't feel like you belonged somewhere, it was only a matter of convincing others until you convince yourself. Her aunt was quirky, yes, but also inspiring. If she thought that her apartment was magical, the elevator had a mirror that shows you your past self, and that immortal pigeons nested right outside her window, who was she to judge? It was all part of her distinctive charm.

   She only ever had two rules in this apartment—

one, always take your shoes off by the door. 

And two: never fall in love. Because anyone you 

met here, anyone the apartment let you find, 

could never stay. No one in this apartment 

ever stayed. No one ever would.

Clementine no longer entertained the harmless "fantasies" that her aunt spun to her growing up. Her wondrous stories about the magical apartment that transports you seven years into the past is simply entertainment for a child. She is now living a cruel reality filled with loneliness and heartache-as harsh as it is, it leaves no room for risk or disappointment anymore. Everyone deals with grief in their own personal way, but Clementine is simply numbing herself rather than working through it. Now, faced with moving into the apartment that holds so many painful memories, she knows she's not going to have anywhere to hide anymore.

   The apartment was foreign to me now, missing 

something terribly large, but it still felt like home 

in a way that nothing else ever could. Like a place 

I once knew, but which no longer welcomed me.

I was eagerly anticipating the first time "slip" which would introduce Clem's love interest, Iwan. I loved the movie The Lake House that had a time slip connected to a home, and I was hoping for the feel-good angst of that story. The Seven Year Slip delivered on that. While this was actually time travel happening rather than communicating through time, that was actually a good thing. Clementine and Iwan's story is entirely theirs, and filled with their own brand of heart-wrenching moments. Past and present versions of Clem and Iwan meet and intersect and multiple points, but it's never quite the right moment for them to be able to be together. Even though Iwan has the ability to meet the Clementine of his time, she wouldn't know who he was for another seven years, and she would be a completely different person in that stage of her life. We are always changing and growing throughout life-they have a profound effect on each other when they first meet because those versions of each other connect perfectly. In the present time, things have changed between them. Things that haven't happened in the past yet (for her) have already been experienced by him. So they have a bit of a waiting game for her to travel back however many times she needs to in order to catch up to him. It's very easy to have plot holes with time travel books, and as much as I picked it apart in my mind the plot seemed airtight. It really made their romance come to life off the pages that much more.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some issues I found. Yes, I loved the book to pieces, but it wasn't flawless by any means. Clementine mentions that her aunt told her about a book that writes itself, and an alleyway that leads to the other side of the world in addition to the mysteriously immortal pigeons and the time portal apartment. Those things never came up again in the story, which I found to be odd. In fact, the pigeons were never really explained. They were just there and seemingly always watching the habitants of the apartment through the window. It would have been helpful to get some backstory with them, but it didn't affect my feelings for the romance in the story. Also, at the end of the book, one thing that occurred was considerably frustrating regarding her last interaction with somebody in the past.

Even though there were things that could have been clarified better for my own satisfaction, I fell head over heels for this emotional love story and couldn't give it anything less than a full five stars. For me, the experience was just as magical as that century old apartment on the Upper East Side that brings these soulmates together through time. Even when they had "bad" timing, it was still right. Their brief interactions set one another on a path that would eventually lead them back together where they were supposed to be. It isn't often that a book can make me cry anymore...not just watery eyes, but tears falling-tight chest-heart clenching crying. That's what this book did to me, and that is why it deserves all the stars in the world. I can't recommend this one enough! Read it!

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Review: Remember Me by Mary Balogh

Can Lady Philippa Ware forgive the man who once shattered all her youthful dreams? Discover the passionate and heartwarming new novel on the redemptive power of love from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh.

REMEMBER ME by MARY BALOGH

Series: Ravenswood #2

Publication date: June 20, 2023

Published by: Berkley

Genre: historical romance

 

SYNOPSIS

Philippa, elder daughter of the Earl of Stratton, grew up eagerly anticipating a glittering debut and a brilliant marriage. Then her brother caught their father out in a clandestine affair and denounced him publicly. The whole family was disgraced, and Philippa's hopes grew dim, then were fully shattered when she overheard the dashing, handsome Marquess of Roath viciously insult her upon learning of her father's identity. Only years later does Philippa find the courage to go to London at last to meet the ton. She is an instant success and enjoys a close friendship with the granddaughter of a duke. Only one man can spoil everything for her, but surely he will not be in London this year.

The Duke of Wilby is nearing death and has tasked his grandson and heir, Lucas Arden, Marquess of Roath, with marrying and producing a son before it is too late. Lucas, who usually shuns London, goes there early in the Season in the hope of finding an eligible bride before his grandparents come and find one for him. He is instantly attracted to his sister's new friend, until that young lady asks a simple question: "Remember me?" And suddenly he does remember her, as well as the reason why the daughter of the Earl of Stratton is the one woman he can never marry--even if his heart tells him she is the only woman he wants.

Unfortunately for Philippa and Lucas, the autocratic duke and his duchess have other ideas and believe them to be perfect for each other. They will simply not take no for an answer. Telling Philippa the full truth is the hardest thing Lucas has ever faced, and the discovery of it will change them both before they discover the healing power of love.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.

Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.

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REVIEW

   It was the irony of ironies perhaps that 

he had fallen hard for the very woman 

he had once insulted quite unforgivably.

Believe it or not, this is my first Mary Balogh read! I've been reading historical romance since I was a teenager, so that's a pretty shocking thing to admit. As one of the more established authors in the genre with a large fan base, I was very excited to finally read one of her novels. The synopsis intrigued me quite a bit as there were several themes that I like to read. Second chance, mysteriously forbidden love, and love-to-hate-to-love. The hero unintentionally caused the heroine emotional distress and suffering in the past, and he has to overcome his hurtful behavior before they can be together. Moreover, even if she were to forgive him, he is hiding a monumental secret that he feels unable to reveal to her. It's because of this secret that he decides they could never join their two families in marriage, despite his growing feelings for her. The conflicts are multi-layered and well-developed that are all woven together in a seamless way. For these reasons, Remember Me was a worthwhile and decent read.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that there was no fortune hunting on either side. Maybe it's the fact that a series I recently read was based entirely around that theme, or maybe I've just read it too many times in general, but the absence of it was really refreshing. The protagonists were on common ground financially as well as socially. From the outside looking in, these two seemed to be made to pair together. In addition, Philippa's mother Clarissa is very close friends with Lucas' Aunt Catherine. It would be a dream come true for them to have their families connected.

Lucas' ornery grandfather, the Duke of Stratton has given his emphatic stamp of approval after seeing the two of them together, and that is surely an impossible feat to achieve with him. So it almost seems as if it's a foregone conclusion that Lucas and Philippa will become engaged this season in London. They seem to have a friendly rapport, and even lock eyes across the room on a frequent basis. In everyone's mind, it's only a matter of time before they end up together. What they don't know is that Philippa is putting on a brave face in front of everyone every time she encounters the man whose words once cut her deep to her core. Lucas is ashamed and uncomfortable around her because he shoulders the burden of that terrible, destructive secret. It becomes a dance of sorts, as everyone around them tries nudging them a step closer, and they skittishly back two steps away.

Another unique feature of the plot was the ages of the main characters looking to get married. By Regency period standards, At 22 years old, Philippa is verging on the label of "spinster" by society's standards. She's looking for a husband later than usual because she was too emotionally wounded to enter the marriage mart. Lucas is wife hunting at the age of 26, which is quite early for a man of that time. His grandfather's failing health is a great cause for concern. Both of his grandparents are getting on in age and want to be assured that he is happily married and working on another "spare" heir to pass the title to. If Lucas were to suffer an untimely death like his parents, the estate would pass on to a distant relative whom nobody is particularly fond of. I appreciated this departure from the norm in your average historical romance.

Some cons about the plot were:

•lots of secondary characters taking up page time in book
There was her mother, sister, four brothers, a sister-in-law, his grandparents and aunt, cousins, uncle...etc. I normally like family-centric stories, but their involvement took away from the main couple a bit.

•3rd person POV
My personal preference is to read 1st person POV. Third tends to generally take me outside of the story and make it difficult for me to fully immerse in the story. This is just my own preference, and will not be an issue for many others.

•slow paced
The book dragged for portions where I felt that not enough action was happening to propel the story forward.

•lack of chemistry between characters
As much as I was rooting for the two of them to get together and respected both characters individually flaws and all, I didn't feel any passion or angst in their forbidden love/harmful secret conflict that dragged through most of the book. With themes like these, there was potential to feel some powerful butterflies and thrills, but I was left feeling a little cold. I think Philippa and Lucas resisted each other for a long time, denying themselves the indulgence of even thinking of each other romantically. So when they finally agreed to get engaged, the romance felt stiff, forced, and rushed. Don't get me wrong, they were sweet and caring with one another, but it was like watching two strangers politely navigate their new marriage.

Overall, I appreciated all of the unique aspects of the story, but the romance fell a bit flat in the end while the pace as a whole dragged for longer than I would have liked. I can definitely see why this author has a large fan base, and perhaps I chose the wrong book to introduce myself to her work. I didn't love this one, but there were enough positives that I would like to read another in the future to see if I can mesh with her writing style and a different couple.

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Review: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

If you had the power to change the past…where would you start?

CASSANDRA IN REVERSE

 by HOLLY SMALE

Series: n/a

Publication date: June 6, 2023

Published by: HQ/Mira

Genre: time travel, fantasy

 

SYNOPSIS

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.

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Praise for Cassandra in Reverse:

“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

“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. . . . 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

“Hilarious, insightful, and bright with the whole spectrum of human emotion, Cassandra in Reverse reinvigorates the time loop trope with the perfect match of character and concept. Utter genius!” —Catriona Silvey, internationally bestselling author of Meet Me In Another Life

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Holly is the Number One bestselling, multi-award winning author of the GEEK GIRL series.

She fell in love with writing at five years old, when she realised that books didn't grow on trees like apples. A passion for travel, adventure and wearing no shoes has since led her all over the world: she has visited 27 countries, spent two years working as an English teacher in Japan, volunteered in Nepal, been bartered for in Jamaica and had a number of ear-plugs stolen in Australia, Indonesia and India.

Holly has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Shakespeare, and currently lives in London or at @holsmale.

The GEEK GIRL series has been an internationally bestselling no1. smash-hit. It won the Waterstones Teen Prize of the Year and the Leeds book award, was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Branford Boase award, and was long-listed for the Carnegie.

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REVIEW

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Anytime I see a new book pop up with a time travel theme, I'm automatically excited to read it. I'm a bit obsessed with time travel, and frankly, there isn't enough out there to whet my voracious appetite for it. Let me start off by saying that Cassandra in Reverse started off with a bang.

Cassandra, the main character, has some great philosophical, original thoughts that effortlessly pulled me into the story. As she begins her narration, she even breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the reader. It was a really promising first impression, and even better, she only became more interesting the more I read. I could see how many people might be frustrated or annoyed with her horrible interactions with everyone around her. After all, she hasn't a clue how to engage in small talk or polite, casual conversation. She inevitably manages to offend or anger the person she is speaking to-completely unintentionally. Still, for me, her clumsiness at personal and professional relationships made me feel so sympathetic towards her struggles. The author spent a lot of time explaining Cassandra's differences, daily challenges, and feelings of despair that she couldn't stop pushing people away. Based on all of these things, it became crystal clear very early on that Cassandra is autistic, but was never diagnosed.

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.

Somewhere after this disaster of a day when her life implodes, she discovers that she inexplicably went back and started repeating the day over again. She's stunned to discover that she has a strange ability to manipulate time, rewinding moments and re-doing them to fix what she feels like she broke. The catch is that she can only go back to the beginning of that one day and no further. This time travel aspect is left pretty vague and not at all fleshed out. The rules seem arbitrary and erratic, fluid even. But putting that aside, if you suspend disbelief and explore the yawning possibilities with her, there's still potential.

   When I woke up this morning, it suddenly occurred 

to me that I’m not using my newfound abilities 

to their full capacity. I can travel through time, 

which means I can draw the day in pencil and 

then simply erase it when it’s done. 

I can have a holiday whenever I feel like it.

She struggles with questions of morality: should she even be re-doing so many failures with Will in order to prevent their break-up? If she keeps rewinding situations that end badly until Will is happy with her, isn't that a form of control and manipulation? Eventually, it doesn't sit well with her. She briefly thinks about doing illegal things just because she can and then erasing them, but she is an honest person at heart so she discards the possibility. In the end, what she cares most about is finding out where she went wrong with Will, preventing herself from getting fired, and preventing the day with her roommate Derek that ruins everything at home. So she begins an exhausting effort to reset everything. Along the way, she starts to learn things about herself as well as start to become more friendly with Salini and Sophie. Unfortunately, even with some successes, she keeps hitting walls when it comes to Will and the mystery woman named Diana that keeps popping up no matter what she changes. She starts to think that the harder she tries to put things back together again, perhaps she's just better off letting things fall where they may and accepting her life, flaws and all.

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.

By the end, I was left floundering. I wondered what the lesson was. What was the message, the timeline of anything, the takeaway from everything I just read...? It's so unfortunate, but the promising beginning fizzled out to confusion in the final chapters. Everything I thought the book was about changed to something else, then left completely unresolved and undone. I decided on three stars, but this really was a tough one to rate. I enjoyed the author's writing style a lot, unfortunately the execution left something to be desired. Also, a minor complaint I have is the excessive references/comparisons to ancient Greek Gods. I understand that it was Cassandra's obsession, but there were so many insertions into the story that it became boring and I started skimming over them.

I wish I could have loved this one more, but I ended up having very mixed feelings. I will say that despite my issues, this was an original concept that held my interest pretty much the whole way through. I might be willing to give this author another try in the future if the right synopsis catches my eye again.

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