Title: The Cassandra Complex
Author: Holly Smale
Publisher: Century
Synopsis:
Cassandra Dankworth has always had more than her name to contend with. But today is a new low. This morning, Cassie’s boyfriend breaks up with her. By lunchtime, she is fired from her PR job for not being a ‘People Person’. This evening, her ex turns up as if nothing happened, and Cassie is too relieved to ask questions. She’s just glad her longest ever romantic relationship (four months) is back on track. Tomorrow, Cassie finds herself being dumped again. By lunchtime, she’s being fired. When Cassie realises she is gifted–or perhaps cursed–with the power to travel back in time, she has a chance to do things differently, but will things keep going wrong for her when she has infinite chances to get them right?
My review:
I love time travel stories, especially when they’re accessible and easy to read like The Cassandra Complex is. It manages to be heartwarming, highly entertaining, and very funny.
This book also has so many of the other elements I love, too – plenty of humour, likeable, convincing characters, avoids too many cliches, and is thoroughly entertaining. I really didn’t want to put it down – if it weren’t for the fact I had visitors staying I would have raced through this novel in a day.
Firstly, Cassie is a complex and likeable protagonist who is easy to root for. She’s a hugely entertaining character who is very different and doesn’t always fit into the narrow boxes that other people expect her to, but this just makes her more likeable in my eyes. We sort of gather from the start that Cassie likely has Autism and her view on life is a breath of fresh air.
Through Cassie’s time travel, and some of her memories, we start to uncover other information about her family and friends that we didn’t realise before, and see why certain people have acted the way they have. I really enjoyed reading about her relationships with others, and I was pleased that, even at the end when everything was ‘concluded’ and there were some heartfelt moments, it didn’t feel too cheesy or over the top.
The time travel element is done SO well in this book; Holly Smale absolutely nails it! It’s fun and entertaining without being too mind-boggling or repetitive, and there were so many humorous moments that made me smile.
I’d highly recommend this brilliant debut (well, adult debut) from Holly Smale and will eagerly watch out for future releases!
My rating: 4.5/5
Many thanks to Century for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.