Jack meets Kate. They bond over their love for cereals and films. Jack falls in love, and it should be happily ever after. That is until Kate dies, and Jack returns to moments just before he meets Kate, again. Here, Jack faces multiple choices as he’s continuously thrown back to the past when Kate dies. He aims to stop Kate from dying, but that doesn’t come without consequences. And the choices he makes turns deadly elsewhere, and he has to figure out what he’s willing to let go to save everyone he loves.
Opposite of Always took a while to grow on me. I knew it was going to become a bit repetitive, considering the plot, but Reynold’s debut was a sweet coming-of-age story with a fun time travelling twist.
After meeting Kate at a party, Jack embarks on an adorable romance which is cut short and restarts itself when Kate dies. He sees this as a second chance, another chance to save Kate, but every time he changes something to help Kate, some even more drastic happens in the result of it. Each return to the past has devastating impacts if Jack’s not careful. And because of this, the plot builds very slowly, but I found that Opposite of Always was more charming than I had expected.
The dialogue is witty and fun, especially with Jack and his peers. His relationship with his family was dynamic and nuanced. Jack is very loveable, and a well-rounded character. His voice is genuine and real. As well as Kate, something new is revealed about her with every loop. The plot mainly revolves around Jack’s choices and the consequences to said choices, and it was interesting to see how drastic the decisions ended up and how they differed from previous times based on small choices that seem insignificant.
Overall, an exciting novel about choices and living. Opposite of Always is charming, witty and fun. Contemporary isn’t really up my alley, but I definitely recommend.

I’m not sure what to say about this book. It was an implausible (as they invariably are, even without considering the time travel part) Hollywood/Bollywood rom com featuring insta-love and unconvincing motives of the protagonist. Perhaps I’m not the target audience, but this particular YA trope of all-consuming (apparent) love that is later validated by the universe is tiresome. That apart, the premise was interesting and the writing good. There were some parts that were very slow, but otherwise it was fun reading the different possibilities that Jack lived through. The friendship between Jillian, Jack and Franny was brilliantly portrayed, especially the ups and downs in the different timelines.
Thank you NetGalley for a review copy, though the erratic formatting and jumbling of the text in a few parts made it hard to navigate the PDF.
Finally, can someone please explain the end to me? In a DM is fine, or enclosed in spoiler tags. Did Kate live or die? I couldn’t figure that out. And what was the significance of the CapnCrunch box? TIA!

From debut author justin a. reynolds comes The Opposite of Always, a razor-sharp, hilarious and heartfelt novel about the choices we make, the people we choose and the moments that make life worth reliving. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and John Green.

This book from the moment it begins makes for a read that will leave you emotionally drained at the end, you’re gonna suffer, but you’re gonna be glad you did when it comes to this book, as this love story between Jack and Kate unfolds over the next four hundred pages.

The characters throughout this book are so brilliantly developed, especially Jack as he navigates the groundhog day kind of life he is living in this book, and I am not even shocked Kate ends in love with him, you will be in love with him. This book’s characters are beautifully crafted throughout with, love, friendship and life coming together brilliantly to make for a fantastic story.

I can’t really fault this story, when Becky Albertalli is saying, ‘hug this book to your chest’ I take her seriously, and yeah, go do that, you really should, I need this book in physical form as soon as possible as Reynolds crafts a story that makes your heart hurt and burst in equal measure. Roll on April.

2019 is going to be great if books like this are released in it.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

First, thank you NetGalley.
Second, modern Groundhog Day...
Jack meets Kate at a party. Some bumpy moments as he falls in love. Six months later he’s desperately upset when she dies.
Then he wakes up and he’s back in the moment they met. This time, can he learn from before and change events?
Each time we watch Jack at the start of the story, and wonder what tweaks he’ll make this time round. Will he save Kate? Will he focus on friendships?
A very different style to others Reynolds’ books I’ve picked up, but it was quite sweet. I actually preferred the focus on Jack and his best friend, Franny, to the main relationship with Kate but this was an interesting concept.

I really enjoyed this! A fun time-travel love story with very likeable characters and a great main character in Jack. His relationship with his Kate was really sweet, and I really liked the different variations of their story and how Jack's actions affected the people around him. I loved how cinematic the writing was at points, too - the opening and closing scenes in particular felt like they could have been from a film. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed this book! It's very different to what I've read before but I think that was what I loved about it. I especially loved the characters Jack, Franny, Jillian and Kate. I just loved the dynamics between them. The way Jack speaks is what particularly draws you into him as it can be quite quick and witty. I loved Franny particularly too because of his personality and his loyalty even when things go slightly sideways. I also loved the dynamics between Jack and his parents and his parents love for Franny. The plot could have felt a little bit repetitive but it actually draws you in and you want to keep reading just to see how it ends. The ending is definitely gratifying. I would definitely read another book by this author in the future.

What an inspirational book.

I was drawn in by the blurb but what I got was something utterly unexpected but wonderfully life affirming.

A cleverly written story that is filled with love, friendship and an abundance of second chances.

I cannot wait for other people to read this novel next year!

Opposite of Always is a little gem of a YA contemporary that is so brilliantly written and unique, with a host of characters who aren't perfect which makes them so real. I found this book impossible to put down, highly relatable and full of purpose. It's about living and how things can't always be how we want them to be and how every action can have an impact. 

This may be slightly controversial to say, but I do tend to struggle to get into books that I'm unable to relate to - such as teen books set in America or with a lot of diverse characters that I may not have much in common with. So, Opposite of Always, a book set in the black community in a small town in America, is not the sort of book I would expect to find myself particularly enjoying, but I loved it! The way that Justin has created his characters makes them come to life, and, whilst you know which community they represent, it doesn't define the whole book and felt just like reading any other brilliantly written YA book that's sole purpose isn't to be diverse. That in itself felt quite refreshing. Next, add in that I'm not a massive fan of time travel, and we have here a book that in essence I should not have liked! 

I'm so glad that I gave this book a chance and requested it, and I strongly urge fans of authors such as Sara Barnard and Phyllida Shrimpton to get their hands on a copy as soon as they can! It's a wonderful book!

I was really excited to read this book, as I'd heard a lot about it in the bookish blogger world online and felt it was going to be a perfectly romantic and fun read involving diverse characters and time travel!

Opposite of Always is about Jack, a boy in his last year of high school who has always felt average at best in everything he's done. One night, he meets Kate and feels for the first time that she might be his chance for something much more than "almost", something that's everything. But then Kate dies and Jack is somehow sent back in time to the day they met. He relives their time together over and over, each time trying to figure out how to save Kate, his friends and himself.

I really like the premise of this book and for the most part, it delivered a comical and touching story. But I feel like time travel plots as a central arc are a really hard thing to get right and unfortunately with this book I didn't always feel like it was. I struggled getting lost in the story at times and that was partly due to the repetitive nature of the narrative. That is not to say that Jack doesn't do things differently each time he goes back to the past because he certainly does and each time is entertaining in its own way, but there were still certain key plot points that I just found myself being either bored with or frustrated by. It simply didn't grab me as a story as much as I'd hoped. I finished the book because I wanted to know what happened in the end, but I didn't always love the journey there. This meant that I couldn't connect with Jack and Kate's romance as much as I wanted to because the plot felt a little disjointed.

Another reason I struggled with reading this ARC is that it was poorly formatted for kindle. Though of course I appreciate receiving it for free and that it's not the final copy, the lack of proper formatting didn't help my general reading enjoyment.

Moving on from the negatives, there are things that were really strong in this novel that made it a good read. First of all, the characters are dynamic, genuine and hilarious. Jack is a fantastic main character, I really enjoyed his perspective and his overall journey throughout the book. Kate is both sassy and vulnerable, which is an interesting mix especially when you know she's going to die. There are many scenes between the pair that are adorable and funny. Jack's best friends Franny and Jillian are great additions to the story, though I found some of their roles in the plot frustrating and also got annoyed at the way they always told Jack how selfish he was, even though I kind of thought they were being selfish?

Also, a sidenote: do teenagers really say "man" and "baby" a lot? This is not exactly a good thing about the book in my opinion, but maybe it is realistic for a group of teens to all sound very similar? I'm not sure here, just putting that out there as a thought I have.

But moving on.

My favourite part of this book is how Justin A. Reynolds portrays the importance of love and time. The exploration of first love and the importance of never taking your time on this planet for granted is the main purpose and worldly lesson in this book. A very important theme and one that is relevant for every single person living in this world today. So, read this book just for the simple reason that it is a story about making the most of your time and spending it with the people you love. A lovely reminder in the form of a fun and sweet book that isn't without its faults but is certainly worth reading.

While the story had potential, the pacing was way off. The character has to re-live the same few months over and over, and the retellings get more and more rushed. It could have been an opportunity to learn more about the other characters, or talk more about the illness that is a main theme or...anything. Instead, it's told in a rushed 'I just want to get through this' way and that may be what the character felt, but as a reader, it's like why should i waste my time reading this if you couldn't be bothered to put the effort into writing it?

It started well, but after the first third, I just wanted to get through it.

Unfortunate, as there were lots of good potential plot points, just didn't really work as a whole.