A sweet teen romance along the lines of Groundhog Day meets PG Netflix''s Russian Doll. It's nicely written and a will make for a good summer read. For me personally, the characters, particularly Kate, lacked depth and so I found it hard to be invested in the romance. I wondered if the plot was going to try and say something more than it did in the end, but it's still an enjoyable ride and Reynolds is one to watch out for on the YA scene.

Lovely, sweet, sad, quirky teen romance. I wish I could say more, but this wasn't necessarily something for me. Having said that, I have no doubt my students would 100% love it. It took me a while to read - I kept dipping in and out of it, but I think that's just because this is one of those YA novels that will (and I'm sure already does, as it's been published already) satisfy its intended audience more than adults. Obviously this isn't an issue as it's a YA book, but there are times you stumble across a YA novel that you fall in love with at any age. Props to reynolds for his lovely story, brilliant protagonist, and important message of love and time.

The plot of this book definitely pulled me in and I was excited to see how it would develop.

However I think the writing style put me off slightly and for myself personally made it hard to continue to read through the book

This was a fun read about time travel, teen romance and illness. Jack King, used to 'almost' getting what he wants, is in love with his best friend Jillian who, inconveniently, is in a relationship with their other best friend Franny. Nevertheless, on a campus trip to Whittier University, Jack feels the need to tell Jillian how he feels. At the same party, before he's able to do this, he meets Kate who he quickly falls for. The budding romance between the two is lovely and full of gorgeous little moments that characterise falling in love. When he discovers Kate has a terminal illness Jack is crushed and more so when Kate dies. So he's both baffled and delighted to find himself moments letter back at the same moment in time and place where he first met her. With no comprehension as to why this is happening he decides it's his job to help save her. I enjoyed all the funny moments where Jack knowing what's about to happen has to be explained away and all the errors and gains he makes in doing this. His relationships with everyone are probably the strongest part of the book. The history between characters and the interaction between this is unique to each person in the novel and their voices are strong. That said I found the concept started to get a little laboured around half way through the book and I didn't understand some of Jack's choices whatsoever. I'd say this is a teen book that really should mostly be read by teens. While, as an adult, I enjoyed the reading experience I definitely felt that I'd have enjoyed it a lot more as a younger reader. Which is, of course, the intended audience! That said this is a novel with heart and a lot of love.

The characters and relationships were relatable and engaging and I found this book hard to put down. I loved the loop we were thrown in, it was addictive and keeps you on on edge as the constant changes that occurred due to him wanting to change the future, added different elements and layers to the story and to the wonderful cast of characters. Well worth a read.

This time-travel contemporary had me so excited going into it. Lots of representation, characters from a variety of different backgrounds and a odd but endearing reason for the time slip – go and save the girl you love. This quickly however started to go downhill for me. Jack is a very self-deprecating character, constantly having a mental monologue about he’s just missed out on everything in his life. While at first this is charming, it quickly becomes quite old, as everyone around him is constantly disproving the things he thinks about himself. I realize that it’s his own self image that’s affecting his behaviour, but there’s only so much I can handle before I just zone out during those bits of the story. Kate starts interesting and entertaining but also soon slips into quirky dream girl, that loses any and all autonomy over her disease – something that I really couldn’t get behind. I couldn’t help but feel slightly skeptical about the romance, where Jack is risking life, limb and family for a girl that he’s only known for about 6 months at that point – most of which we only get snippets of so it felt even shorter to me. This one really wasn’t for me, which is so disappointing!

I love going into these kind of stories without knowing a thing about it. All I knew was I liked the quirky looking cover, I have never read anything by this author before and the title intrigued me.
And I was pleasantly surprised, this was so cute! And although Goodreads says this is 460+ pages, I read it in 3 short days.
Opposite of Always was a definite page-turner and a 'just one more chapter' kinda read... And a brilliantly written romance at that.

Its follows the story Jack King, a nerdy high school student about to graduate with his 2 best friends Franny & Jillian. Jack and Jillian spend a weekend visiting the college they are going to be starting, when Jack meets Kate at a house party.
Kate and Jack hit it off but Jack soon seems to think hes way more into her than she is him. As the relationship progresses we realize Kate's stand-offish behavior is because she has a life threatening disease... Only Jack doesn't make it to her in time.
Jack then find himself in a time-travel loop where he comes to realize there is something he needs to change over the period of those 6 months in order to break the time loop possibly save the love of his life.
It really kept my attention wanting to see how all the possibilities played out each time & Jack's parents are also the most lovable characters EVER, they are so understanding and supportive of their son and his friends, I just thought they had the ultimate loving marriage, honestly it gave me warm fuzzy feelings.

This was so enjoyable and Justin A. Reynolds successfully portrays the meaning of second chances, true friendship & real family bonds. I would definitely read any future books by this Author.

I really wanted to love this, however I felt the story just dragged in the middle, which was disappointing as I found the concept and first part of the novel so interesting. Also, I loved the author's style of writing and the banter between the main characters, plus Jack's narrative voice really stands out.

A time travelling contemporary young adult novel, I was so prepared to love this novel! Unfortunately it didn't amaze me. The beginning was great, I was hooked on the story! I enjoyed the cheesy writing style where Jack sort of interacted with the reader, the explanation of the time travel aspect and of course the introduction of Jack and his best friends.

By the time I reached halfway the story felt slow, the pace wasn't moving along as quickly as I liked and it felt as though the writing lost some of its humour. By the end of the novel the pace had picked up again but I really felt as though I was pushing myself through the middle.

Saving the sick girl trope isn't one of my favourites, but I was looking forward to the added time travel element. But add insta-love to that and you've lost me, in my opinion Jack attempting to save one of his best friends would have been a more believable story. As a reader I felt as though I hardly knew Kate, so how could Jack possibly think he loved her?

It was extremely refreshing to read a contemporary novel with black main characters, particularly a novel without a political or racial theme, these softer novels need to be told alongside the powerful stories of Angie Thomas.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but this story didn't have the effect I was hoping for, paired with the cringy insta-love, there was no happy ending for me and this novel! It's a decent attempt as a debut novel and I'm definitely excited to read any future books by this author.

What a totally gorgeous read, loved it from beginning to end, a tender story all about the things you'll do for love and friendship, really loved the time travel aspect too

As Jack falls in love with Kate, again and again, you’ll fall in love with Jack. Over the course of Kate’s lives we watch him learn and grow, and feel his frustration at the chain of events unfolding, as well as his utter despair at the prospect of losing Kate, who he will do anything to protect. Inevitably, each do-over results in a different course of events with new consequences, but the story is a testament to the power of love, *even* as a teenager, and the importance of perseverance and resilience.

This is pretty good reading as an adult. I enjoyed it, and whilst some of the characterisation was clunky, it still read well. Also passed to my eldest son who thought it was great!

I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis was great, and the characters were set up to be very interesting. Unfortunately, the structure wasn’t quite right for me - it was too fast-paced, and I couldn’t quite digest everything before the next part happened. The final cycle, especially, was very rushed, and the impact was lost on me. I also thought character relationships were very jerky - so many attitudes jumped around even during conversations, and it was hard to keep track of them.

It’s a shame - it would make an excellent film or tv show, but book-wise, it just didn’t work for me.

Thanks to netgalley for the preview.

A contemporary like no other, Opposite of Always stood out to me almost instantly. I mean, who doesn't like a bit of time travel mixed in with their romance? Add in some sarcastic humour, and a few friendships to die for, and this made for a cute, lovely, hilarious read!

This story took me completely by surprise. I'd stumbled across it on Netgalley, and after reading the synopsis, thought I'd give it a shot, and it was probably one of the better decisions I've made...

This book starts in the middle of the action. Jack's been stopped by the police, Kate's in hospital, and it's clear that things are stressful. But the humour this book brings with it is unlike anything I've read for a while. I'm used to contemporaries written from the female perspective, full of self-doubt or dreamy prose. Justin injects sarcasm and amplifies it, and the result is brilliant!
Jack was such a lovely, relatable character. Self-titled king of almost, he's used to things not going his way. He's in love with his best friend, used to coming second, and completely unaware of everything that's about to happen. Because what happens next is the thing that fuels this story, and provides him with a fantastic story arc. He meets Kate.
Normally, I hate 'insta-love'. I hate watching things happen too quickly for real-life (even if there are the odd exceptions) and this is very reminiscent of that. Thing's move quickly between him and Kate, and the story is thrown into the deep-end a little bit as things unravel, until suddenly things start again. And I think that's the thing that saved it from my hatred for all thing's insta-love.
This plot isn't straight forward. There are twists and turns, and things don't always work out how you think they will. Sure, things move quickly, and for the first arc of this, it's almost that little bit too quickly, but the subsequent arcs make sense moving this quickly.
I mean... isn't that the point of repetitive time-travel?

With each arc, something new was tackled, and the characters developed further, almost like unraveling their DNA. We learn something new each time, and this allows for a 'connection' to each character that builds with the story. And watching Jack deal with each hurdle is fantastic.

If you're looking for a plot that keeps you guessing, and relationships that are so thoroughly thought through and realistic, this is definitely the read for you. And if you're a sucker for all things time-travel, or even just Groundhog Day, consider this... I promise you won't regret it!

A bit of a slow burner for me. I loved the message about the time travel paradox. I'm not totally sure I ship Jack with Late OR Jillian. I loved Franny, and how much Jack's family embraced him. Great representation in this book - POC characters at the forefront.

I’m always on the lookout for diverse reads and so when I saw the cover for this book I may have squealed a little bit, and the fact that it’s own voices was even better! Besides the cover, the synopsis for this one really intrigued me, because I couldn’t imagine how the time travel element of the story was going to work and because Jack and Kate’s story sounded so cute. I can confidently assure you all, that the time travel aspect definitely worked and was as fascinating as it sounds, now we don’t get a real explanation as to how and why Jack is able to time travel, but I didn’t mind at all. For me it was more what Jack took from his ability to time travel that was the most important thing, as he now has what we all wish we had at some point or another – the ability to correct our mistakes, or just do things differently. What’s so ironic about Jack’s new found ability is that he’s the ‘king of almost’, but now he has a chance to do things over and over to get the result that he wants – which in this case, is for Kate to live.

Our story starts when Jack is at a college party, pining after his best friend Jillian, when he meets Kate. Jack instantly can’t get enough of her, he even likes her enough that he chooses to spend time with her over Jillian. The two then develop a relationship over 6 months, which we catch glimpses of, until Kate eventually passes away. In his grief, Jack has an accident and upon awaking, expecting to find himself in a coma or something as dire, he finds himself back at the party that he and Kate met at. After his initial puzzlement as to what’s happening to him and why, he comes to the conclusion that he’s been giving a chance to save Kate and he makes that his mission. However, as he’s a good way into his ‘do over’ time he realises that maybe Kate’s not the only one in his life that needs his help. Now, Jack has a total of four do overs and we see him approach each one differently, as he tries to learn from his previous mistakes, and even still makes the same ones. It’s in these do overs that we get to have a closer look at Jack and Kate’s relationship.

I was slightly confused at first, because before the do overs happen, we didn’t get to fully see Jack and Kate’s relationship. But my confusion ended when I realised that the do overs were going to give us a chance to see their relationship and I loved every second of it! Jack and Kate are two of my favourite characters, as they’re just both stellar individuals. They’re both funny as hell, caring and dorky, and you can’t help but fall in love with them, and consequently, see why they fell for each other, “Except when I kiss Kate, I also hear trumpets”. Jack’s not insecure I would say, but more unsure of himself, he’s just so laughably awkward. Kate on the other hand is self assured and bold. But when the two come together sparks truly fly, my favourite aspect about their relationship though was the banter, they were constantly going back and forth with each other and it was so entertaining. Kate doesn’t tell Jack that she’s ill the first time around and so her death is completely unexpected, but in the do overs, Jack’s able to get her to confide in him a lot sooner and, therefore, be there for her in a way that he couldn’t before. With each do over, their relationship becomes stronger and stronger and so, even though he knows it’s coming, no matter what he does to try and prevent it, her death doesn’t hurt any less, “The only thing worse than loosing someone you love is losing them again”. They were an unforgettable duo and are probably one of the best, realistic and funny literary couples and I deeply cherish them.

As I said before though, this story isn’t just about Jack and Kate’s relationship. I absolutely adored all of the different relationship dynamics in this book, like the sheer variety of relationships we explored was astounding and they were all so well done to boot. We had the relationship between Jack and his parents (who I love) which was so sweet and comical at times. Jack’s relationship with Jillian, as he works through his feelings for her. Jack and his other best friend Franny (protect him at all costs), who just so happens to be Jillian’s boyfriend (yikes) and helping him with the fact that his dad is getting out of prison. There’s also Jack’s parents relationship with Franny, as they’ve taken him under their wing, as it’s just him and his abuela. They see Franny like a second son, even meaning that they are furious with Jack when he jeopardises their friendship, with his mum still planning never to miss one of Franny’s games (lmao). Then there’s the relationship, or lack thereof, between Franny and his dad. I thought that it was so important to show this relationship and how it affected Franny, “So, tell me the truth. What’s so wrong with me that my dad would go out of his way to not be around me?”. It was so beautiful to see such a multicultural community reflected so honestly in a book, with both its strengths and short comings acknowledged, ‘Abluea’s raised him since he was nine. I’m lucky, though, he’s always saying. A lot of kids in my hood don’t even have one person they can count on’.

I knew that this book was going to bring forth an array of emotions in me and I was not wrong. Opposite of always tackles the subject of loss and how hard it is to let go, how you can become preoccupied with all the things that you didn’t get to do with someone, instead of focusing on and cherishing the memories that you do have, ‘And I hate the moon. I hate the stars…I hate hospitals. And beds with sheets…keep her alive, that was the one thing they had to do’. What I enjoyed most about this, alongside all of the relationships and Jack being a fantastic protagonist, was that I got to see Kate and Jack fall in love, over and over again and it was a beautiful experience. I’m so excited to read more stories about awkward, funny and nerdy kids of colour and just more work from Justin A. Reynolds in general, as Jack so beautifully points out, “I’ve always loved reading. But there aren’t a lot of books about kids like me. And I just think every kid deserves a book that looks like them”. The writing in this was amazing and I tabbed so many pages because of it, it truly is some of the most enjoyable writing I’ve ever come across. Even the acknowledgments for this book were amazing, I honestly can’t wait to see what Reynolds writes next, because I’ll be picking it up for sure. Please, please, please pick this up for yourself.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Jack's self-deprecating voice was perfect and added a wonderful dose of humour to a story that got more serious as it went on. I loved the time-travelling twist on a typical teenage love story, the interweaving stories of friendship and family, the sense of fun, urgency, love and anger that permeated the book.

This was one of those books that you're simultaneously desperate to finish in order to find out how it all ends, and don't want to finish as it will all then be over. I'd definitely recommend it.

I'm not your typical YA reader, but I do enjoy some books, and this was a pretty cool read.

Maybe I was just a little too old to read it and be wowed by the concept, as all I kept on thinking about was Groundhog day!

A story of friendship, loyalty and never-ending love.

Jack Jillian and Franny are a tight threesome bunch of friends until Jack meets Kate.

Who he falls for, but doesn't know is possibly terminally ill.

The story follows Jack embarking upon a loop of time travel, to try and make things right for his girl, his friends and family.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book and it didn’t let me down, a real emotional read, full of feels. This author knows how to pack a punch , felt like I was reading something completely new and fresh. Funny, sad, clever and heartbreaking, this s a great read, have the tissues at the ready

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I wanted to enjoy this so much but my interest waned after 75%. The premise was super interesting and I liked the characters but this simply did not hold my attention. The premise was super cool but it was not for me.