I received a gifted galley of THE NO-SHOW by Beth O’Leary for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

THE NO-SHOW follows three very different women all with one thing in common, they’ve been stood up on Valentine’s Day. Siobhan is a life coach with breakfast plans with her guy, but she winds up sitting all alone in her red dress. Miranda is a tree surgeon with a lunch date that doesn’t make it. Jane is a volunteer in a local charity shop left waiting for her date to an engagement party. Each gets a very vague response on why they’ve been ditched and worst yet… they’ve all been stood up by the same guy!

I went into this book knowing almost nothing about what to expect and I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to like where the story was going. Love triangles (pyramids with three women involved?) and cheating are not generally my cup of tea, but I was willing to give the story the opportunity to convince me otherwise. Without spoilers all I can really say is that this is a book where you need to roll with it and let the author take you to the reveals because it is worth it!

I really wound up liking each of the leading ladies and wanting them to get the answers they needed from the man who left them hanging (figuratively and literally in the case of our poor tree surgeon in one instance). Each of these women has their own life dramas and insecurities going on and I was rooting for the best outcome for all of them!

THE NO-SHOW wound up being a fantastic read that I consumed in less than 24-hours! This is one worth adding to your TBR! THE NO-SHOW is available now!

This book totally surprised me, and I loved it. About 25% in, I felt it kind of dragging and I didn't really know where it was heading. But someone else had told me just to get over the hump and it would be worth it...She was totally right. Soon after, I was so riveted, I could not put the book down. This definitely re captured the magic of The Flat Share for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

The No-Show is the story of 3 women who were stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man.

I went into this book not knowing much more than what the above sentence—and I highly recommend going in as blind as possible.

Everyone has their own flaws and/or secrets—especially one Joseph Carter. And I really enjoyed getting to know each woman: Siobhan the life coach, Miranda the tree surgeon, and Jane the quiet thrift shop volunteer.

This story has depth far greater than your run-of-the-mill romcom. While this may be a turnoff for some readers, I believe this is an excellent read if you’re a contemporary romance and/or women’s fiction fan in general. Expect to run through the gamut of feelings—from happiness to sadness and everything in between.

Beth O’Leary strikes gold once more in The No-Show.

Special thanks to NetGalley & Berkley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Stick with me here y’all because it gets better.

I’m not gonna lie…I struggled hard with this one. I’ve been reading it for over a week. Which I typically get through a book in three days max. It took a while for me to connect with or even like any of the characters (Miranda was my favorite though). I couldn’t stand Joseph Carter and wanted to kick him in his shins. Even if he seemed like he was more than a cheating jerk face.

Then the twists starting coming and I went 🤯 and then I went 😭 and then I went 😍

I tore through the last 35% of the book. I wish it wouldn’t have taken me that long to get into it because in retrospect, what a great book by @betholearyauthor 💜

Definitely recommend picking this one up!

What’s the last book that took you completely off guard?

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

“𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿”

“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆. 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆”

Okay friends. I am going to try hard to organize my thoughts as I’m writing this review because there’s so many things I want to say about this book but the first thing I’d want to say is that if you are single right now, I highly HIGHLY recommend you read this book!

Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane. Three women who don’t know each other but had one thing in common: They all got stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man!

Now if that doesn’t make you curious to read this book, I don’t know what to tell you 😂

I wanted to give this book 5⭐️ for the depth of the story but I had to be honest, I struggled reading the middle part of the book, but when it started getting interesting, I couldn’t put it down (I literally slept at 4am this morning just so I could finish this😂)

I don’t even know if this is purely romance because I feel like it should be a genre of it’s own but it definitely has some romance elements in it that would make you smile. :)

The three female leads have different personalities and I feel like every reader could totally relate to either one of these women.

This book is a literal journey towards healing, letting guards down, appreciating friendships, and honestly, if you just want to make your soul better, you should read this! It is such a reflective read and I highly appreciate books that give you that feeling of self reflection.

This book is worth your time, guys! It will get slow 40-60% into the book, but after that, it’s a definite page turner! I hope you get to read this one ♥️


Thank you also to @netgalley for providing me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane have one thing in common…they were all stood up by Joseph on Valentines day. Each ends up forgiving him, but as they relationships grow, is he dating 3 women at the same time? How long until they find out about the others? Or is there more to Joseph?

Ok you got me for sure Beth O’Leary! I was definitely expecting a John Tucker Must Die situation here, I was waiting for the women to find out about each other and become friends and confront him or mess with him. I don’t want to say too much or give any spoilers, but I really enjoyed this book! Beth has certainly become an auto-buy author for me, and this one did not disappoint!

I honestly didn’t know what to make of this book at the beginning because it was such a slow burn. I thought of dnfing but I’m sure glad that I didn’t because it left me surprised and stunned in a very good way. The No Show has a mystery component and if you make it pass the first half, all the pieces fall together beautifully. It was more than a traditional romance novel, it had so much depth and an unexpected twist that was quite emotional and moving. Some may even shed a few tears while reading.

Giving this one a 4 star only bc it was slow at the beginning. But I highly recommend picking this one up.

Three women, all complete strangers plus one man who seems to be involved with each of them and stands them all up on a Valentine's day.

How these four lives are intertwined is a truly wonderful and heartbreaking story but I enjoyed it so much. Jane and Joseph bond over books and I was rooting for these two 'friends' to finally get together the whole way through. I also loved Miranda's character and her unusual career of tree surgeon.

Perfect for fans of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle and great on audio with a full cast of narrators. I will say I found it a litlte confusing at times keeping straight which storyline I was listening to when the POVs and timelines switched, but overall still thoroughly enjoyable! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they've all been stood up on valentine's Day… by the same man. One stood-up date won't stand in their way to true happiness. Will they be able to untangle the truth before their hearts get broken?

CW: Parent with dementia.

Before reading this book I hadn't read the synopsis, and I'm so glad I didn't. It would have scared me off from this gem. Beth O'Leary is back with a romance that doesn't look like one at first glance, but truly is. Beautiful writing skills, incredible craft and witty ingenuity are the foundation of this book, but don't let it fool you, it is also highly romantic and emotional. I love how the main character, Joseph Carter is shown through the lens of the women who love him, it made for a very interesting and unconventional read. I loved how different they all were, and how all their relationship were so different, with their own set of issues and their own love and strength to overcome the difficulties. It was a well-worth-it rollercoaster of emotion that left me bawling my heart out, but also laugh, swoon and be highly suspicious through every little moment.

I highly recommend you give this one a shot, but be prepared.

Another super fun title from O'Leary. Would highly recommend for modern romance fans! Idk what it is about the British writers, but the dryness really helps with the humanity of the story

I was VERY unsure early on if I would like this but I've loved Beth O'Leary's other books so I knew I had to give it a go. Spoiler alert: O'Leary is amazing and this story was quite a feat.

Right off the bat I loved each woman and was wary of Joseph, for obvious reasons. I'm never one to jump at a plot about cheating but I'm glad I stuck this out because there was definitely more going on here than you originally believe. By the end I came to see Joseph as a caring and loveable guy.

The further I got into this book I could not put it down - I had to unravel the mystery around Joseph Carter, and O'Leary wove the three perspectives together masterfully.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy!

Thank you Berkley for the gifted e-copy.

I went into this book blind, which both was good and bad. A few chapters in, I was like wait WHAT? 3 women, both stood up on Valentine's Day by apparently the same man? How is this possible?

As the story went on, I was able to fit bits and pieces together and I started forming ideas...I was partly right, but once I got to the "twist" I was blown away, and my heart was just mush. I almost want to read it again knowing the twist, to try and get another view of the story knowing what happened.

Definitely better than her last book, but not as good as the first one.

At first glance Joseph Carter seems like a womanizer. But is he really? He's a good guy, with lots of charisma and charm. And he just happens to like three different women. Three women who couldn't be more different. Siobhan is a smart and savvy life coach. Miranda is a tree surgeon. Jane is a quiet, isolated woman who volunteers at a charity shop.

The only thing they have in common is Joseph Carter, and being stood up by him on Valentine's Day.

What I loved about this book is the clever use of point of view. We get to see three women navigate their lives, and their reasons for keeping Joseph around. You can never quite hate Joseph. And you can never quite blame the women for their choices. But what's clever about the book is also what makes it confusing at times. By the end, when it all made sense, I found myself wondering exactly happened and feeling kind of lost.

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary is a women’s fiction or chicklit title that does have some romance and humor. The story in The No-Show is one that is told by changing the point of view between the women in the story.

Siobhan, Miranda and Jane were all three stood up for their special Valentine’s Day dates. The three women each thought that their relationship was special and they’d met the one. The problem though was that one in each of their lives was the same man, Joseph Carter.

Picking up The No-Show by Beth O’Leary I went into the story expecting to find one thing after reading the blurb but finding something that I enjoyed so much more instead. Perhaps that is due to the surprise of what I found while reading but if it is I will not say much more so others will find the same but I will say it kept me completely engaged and wanting more. I will say this one did have humor, romance, suspicion and some lies all wrapped together and when finishing it made me want to read this author again.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Three different women were stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man…

This was not a cute rom-com, it’s more of a women’s fiction filled with emotions and a sprinkle of romance. It initially reads like a sweet read told by the POV’s of the three women and then - bam, you’re hit with a twist and then the plot is seen in a new light. I was actually struggling with the book until the twist because it was a slow burn, but once the twist was revealed I was hooked. The book is more about everyone’s personal, individual journeys then finding a happily ever after. There are also a lot of trigger warnings that I highly suggest looking into before reading. It was a very different read than I anticipated, but I'm not mad about it.

A huge thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Beth O'Leary is back with all my favorite things about her writing in The No-Show. Quippy, funny dialogue guides you through the story, and the characters that you feel you could be best friends with are so lovely and memorable. Readers of her previous novels will be surprised with a plot that doesn't go quite as you expect it will in this one, but everything else about this story is so charming you can't help but go along for the ride. O'Leary will continue to be an auto-buy author for me!

3.75 stars

Three very different women stood up by one Joseph Carter on Valentine's Day is the rather gimmicky concept for Beth O'Leary's latest. It is to the credit of her warm and sensitive storytelling and deft, unpredictable plot that it quickly left the gimmick behind and plunged us into the lives and minds of Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane, the trio of women in question.

This is very much a story that focuses their individual personal journeys rather than their romances with JC who, of course, features in them all but we don't really get to know until much later. This is, as it turns out, not really a story about him. Even after the twist late in the story when we find out more about his motivations and situation, I never really warmed to him (also because there wasn't enough time by then). But that didn't matter because the author has done a good job creating three very real women we root for.

This is also a very unlike rom-com narrative, more women's fiction, and there are a raft of trigger warnings (death of a loved one, sexual harassment, gaslighting, miscarriage, grief, graphic portrayal of death), so don't go in expecting fun and frothy or even a HEA, though there is that for some. I'm wondering why the promotion of this title has been so different between the US and the UK. I suspect that many a reader might be disappointed without knowing what it is that they're really in for.

One of the things I love about Beth as a writer is that she is unafraid to take risks and venture into new territory with each book and The No-Show is no different. Sometimes it doesn't all pull together (like The Road Trip, for me personally), other times it's sparkling and perfect (like The Flatshare, still my favourite by her). With both The Switch and this, I had mixed feelings in that I loved as much of them as am on the fence about other parts (the twist, in particular and how it affected everything else - if you've read it, please slide into my DMs so we can discuss!).

However, I will always be the first in line to read a Beth O'Leary book and cannot wait to see where she takes us next.

Here’s my advice about reading The No-Show: go into this book blind. Do your best to avoid any possible spoilers and read it asap!! It took me a while to get into the characters, maybe because of the rotating POVs. But there’s a point in the book where things just clicked and I couldn’t put it down. Okay that’s all I’m saying. Go read it. For real. Get your copy now.

Thank you to @berkleyromance for the digital ARC and the #gifted physical book.

I am currently in recovery from this book. Wow. I don’t know what I expected to happen, but that was not it. This book hurt my feelings, but in a beautiful way. The first half of this books was fun, drama, and suspense. The second half completely ripped a piece of my heart out and just blew me away. I loved the characters, Siobhan was my favorite with Jane close in second. I liked Miranda’s character and her ending! Joseph Carter was a mystery and I think that fueled my determination to finish the book fast so I could know his secrets. The big secret was painful and I’m still trying to process what I just read. I think Beth O’Leary did an incredible job with the direction this book took. This is up there with The Flatshare as one of my favorites. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review.

Thanks NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

The No Show is the second book I've read by Beth O'Leary and I liked it a lot. With stories like this (a man dating three women at once) there's always anticipation for the moment the women cross paths and as I read it, I initially found that it took too long for the moment to happen. But when I realized the story wasn't going in the comical revenge plot direction I anticipated, I realized the timing was pretty perfect.

Definitely a clever, heartfelt book worth reading.