My main gripes with this book are to do with how much it does feel very white, cis, and heteronormative—especially given that it’s set in London, which is such a cosmopolitan city, and also given how queer the autistic community tends to be. This also made the book feel initially less like something I’d get into: A novel that on the surface seemed to be about an autistic girl chasing a guy, with some Greek mythology thrown in. But if that impression had made me put the book down, I’d have missed out on a surprising, fun, and very enjoyable read with many thought-provoking depths. 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.

This is a really difficult book to review. There was a lot I liked about this book, but there was also a ton of things that I found jarring. 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. I am a fan of magical realism. I was so ready for the magic. But this magic was pushing me in directions that just didn’t feel fun. Perhaps it was my mood. Other readers who also enjoy Greek mythology, neurodivergent characters, time travel/speculative fiction, just ignore my review. I should have looked at the average rating of this book though before I tried it. It’s not horrible but it’s not as good as most books I read and should not have tried to read it. Many readers loved/liked it but it wasn’t for me. Disappointing because it had a tremendous amount of potential.But that book has the same problem this one does: it's a collection of incredible ideas and questions and setting development bound by a not-very-good thriller plot. Before reading this I really hoped this book would center Cassandra. I’ve read so many (romance) books featuring autistic characters at this point, where there’s always a midway point where the character either gets diagnosed or explains to others around her that she’s autistic. That this book set out with a very obviously autistic person (special interest, struggles with sensory input, gets meltdowns, communicates differently, takes things literally, struggles with certain foods) made me really happy initially, because I thought the focus would be about her living her live as an autistic woman. It would’ve been such a nice change from the other stories I’ve read so far! I thought we’d read about how she finds a job which suits her, about how she finds a friend who loves Greek myths just as much as she does, and generally speaking gets to live her best life. 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. a b Davies, P., "The Cassandra Complex: how to avoid generating a corporate vision that no one buys into" pp. 103–123 in Success in Sight: Visioning (1998) I didn't want it to end, but I also couldn't stop reading. I really, really loved it' Keris Stainton

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.Cassandra Complex" redirects here. For other uses, see Cassandra Complex (disambiguation). Painting of Cassandra by Evelyn De Morgan Well that was a surprise. I really thought after the first chapter or so that I was really going to get irritated or Cassandra was going to get on my nerves but instead I quit trying to read it a bit at a time and read the last half in one go. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Holly Smale is an exceptional writer and this book is a treasure. Everyone should read it and everyone will love it' Lindsey Kelk Eisenstein, L., 'The Cassandra Complex', pp. 37–41 in Haring-Smith, T., New Monologues For Women By Women – Vol II (2005) Bolen suggests that a Cassandra woman (or man) may become increasingly hysterical and irrational when in a dysfunctional relationship with a negative Apollo, and may experience others' disbelief when describing her experiences. [9] Corporate world [ edit ]