I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I Know How This Ends is a sharp, funny romp through the spacetime-continuum. Smale takes what is fast becoming a tired trope (lovelorn Margot sometimes slips through time and peeks at her own romantic future) and, through craft and narrative voice, spins a delightful tale. Margot, done with dating after a brutal breakup, is ready to swear off men when a vision of the future entices her to accept a date she otherwise wouldn't. From there, it doesn't take clairvoyance to see exactly where the narrative is going, but, as in life, it's not the destination but the journey.
Margot's story is populated with vibrant, well-drawn characters. Each of her friends have their own voice and plays into the narrative like pieces into a puzzle. The dialog is snappy. Like, Gilmore Girls or West Wing levels of snappy. The prose is also wonderful, unafraid to be silly and serious. Allusions to Macbeth feel just as home here as blue streaks. Smale is able to juggle humor and pathos without it ever feeling forced or saccharine.
Smale's only real misstep is a lack of trust in the readers' ability to parse clues. There is a habit of spelling out plot points already made clear. For example, its obvious Margot's ex-fiancé Aaron and her ex-friend Lily were seeing each other behind Margot's back, yet the point is awkwardly withheld and then hammered home. The book also ends not one, not two!, but three! times. We reach a natural stopping point with about 25 percent of the book left, only for the narrative to go on. And then, after the narrative reaches a rather satisfying conclusion, we get an added chapter, a 15-year time jump that only serves to soften what was already a near-perfect ending.
The missteps are far outweighed, though, by Smale's charming writing. I Know How This Ends stands out among its peers as a fun time-traveling rom-com.
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