this was more of a womens fiction novel than a romance, and more of a rom dram than a rom com, than i expected. 3 povs felt like too many, and also the fact that one romance felt based on workplace harassment when the two other characters had sad backstories related to that topic felt inappropriate. i like beth o'leary but this one wasn't for me!

Relationships are put to the test in this beautifully woven tale about love, friendship, and second chances.

Our story follows the narratives of three women who are all stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man. As each tackles their conflicting feelings and growing connection to him, we see that there may be more beneath the surface of this mysterious no-show.

Wow, just WOW. O'Leary captures you, heart and soul, with her imaginative storytelling and endearing charm with this touching story that will sweep you off your feet into the lives of three strong, inspiring women. Each character and their emotional journey brought so much to the story. Every detail was meticulously cared for with thoughtfulness and finesse, leaving room for the narrative to grow in complexity and impact.

Overall, this is my new favorite novel of hers, and I can’t WAIT to see what else she will write! I was flipping pages like crazy, clutching this book to my heart, and wiping tears from my eyes. It’s not what you expect, and that’s the best thing about it!

4.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

The No Show by Beth O’Leary is a standalone novel. The story revolves around three women, who end up being stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man, Joseph Carter. At the start, we get to meet each of the three ladies.

Siobhan, is a beautiful woman, who was a workaholic, she started seeing Joseph, and when he doesn’t show up for their breakfast meeting, she walks away unhappy, as she had a bad past relationship previously.
Miranda, is a tree surgeon, and just started her new job climbing trees, and working closely with men who were hunks; she did look forward to meeting Carter for lunch, and he did not show up. Miranda, despite her wanting to be with Carter, finds herself attracted to one of her coworkers.

Jane, used to work at Joseph’s work place, and remained friends with him, even though she left the job due a past drama. Jane was very shy, a book reader, who loved to talk to Joseph about the books she reads; when she needs to attend an engagement party on Valentine’s day, she asks Joseph to be her fake date, and he doesn’t show up.

They all forgive him for standing them up, and continue to date him. We learn more about Joseph Carter, as we see him dating each of the women, coming across not only handsome, but a bit of a nerd; he also seems to express how he cares for each of them. At first, I did not like Joseph, as he seemed to be a jerk, and a cheating womanizer. We get to appreciate all three women, their lives, and see how much they care about Joseph.

What follows is some surprising twists that we did not see coming, and as we begin to understand more, as the pieces fall into place. To tell too much more will spoil it for you. But Joseph will turn out to be a very nice person, who also must learn to deal with life and what happens. I did enjoy the book, especially the last third of the story line that blew me away. The No Show was well written by Beth O’Leary.

Joseph Carter is a charming and caring man- except for when he’s standing up three different women on Valentines Day. So where is Joseph if not meeting Siobhan for breakfast, Miranda for a romantic lunch date, or Jane as her fake boyfriend at an engagement party?

I loved the telling of this story from the perspectives of the three women. I was congratulating myself for being clever enough to figure out the premise of the book early on, only for the twist to prove me completely wrong.

This was not your typical love story! This was heart warming and made me cry all at the same time. I loved reading the storylines of each woman and seeing all the characters (including Joseph!) grow and evolve throughout the book. I really enjoyed this book to the point where I wish I could read it again from the beginning with no knowledge of the plot just to experience it again for the first time. I would call this a summer must read for romance fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reading copy of this book!

Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane are three women who do not know each other, and on a normal day, their paths would never cross. Their lives are such that they do not really have anything in common, they don't run in the same crowds. Siobhan is an over-worked life coach, Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being considered "one of the guys", and Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer worker in a charity shop.

But coincidentally, each of these women is stood up on Valentine's Day. Furthermore, they're all stood up by the same man.

Because I've read other books by Beth O'Leary before, I knew I was going to read The No-Show. So I think that's why I only vaguely glanced at the synopsis once before I began reading. So, if you're like me, you do realize pretty early on that the man Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane are talking about is the same man. Then the thing about the story becomes an anticipation of when this fact will come to light for each of the women and in what way. Until then, we get these three separate storylines following three different women. It took a bit for me to acclimate myself to the progression of the story. As soon as I would settle in on a section about one of the women, things would switch to a different one. It kind of keeps the pacing very languid.

There is a certain point where things turn. I will not say more, but when you read the book you will know what I'm talking about. It's at this point that things start to speed up.

I think it's important to go into the story with very little knowledge about how things transpire beside the basics stated within the synopsis.

I liked the rumination on relationships and who we are when we're in them as opposed to who we are when we're single and how the people we let into our lives have the power to influence us in both good and bad ways. And just the mere journey of a relationship with someone leave it's mark upon your persona.

I won't say much more. If you've read books by Beth O'Leary before you'll recognize the same hallmarks of her writing. Although I'll go out on a limb and say that I found The No-Show to be a slight departure in terms of tone, it still exhibits a strong message about love and resiliency.

I really wish I would've loved this one. Beth O'Leary is an amazing author.
However, this story just didn't do it for me. I found myself kind of bored over this one. I know that I was supposed to care what was going on with each of the main characters, and wonder how they all fit together, but I just had a very huge case of ennui over it all.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

CW: abuse, grief/death. It was a far different book than what I expected, but major props to O'Leary for pulling it off so skillfully. This is definitely one of those cases that I really can't say much more without spoiling everything! However, I'm not entirely sure it qualifies as a romance, which I think her previous works were.

Beth O’Leary, you clever gal! The No-Show is a delightful and life-affirming story centered on three women and the man who captures their hearts. Readers, let’s adopt the Wordle honor code and not spoil the twist for each other. It’s not without heartbreak, but it is lovely and worth every tear.

The No-Show explores the stories of three women in her latest contemporary offering. While I struggle to call this a romance, it veers more into women's fiction territory with romantic aspects for me, there is a happy ending. The novel begins with each woman being stood up and following their lives from that moment. Miranda is a badass tree surgeon with a steady boyfriend. Siobhan is a life coach giving it her all, while squeezing in a monthly visit with her lover. Jane is a kind and generous volunteer at a charity shop, with a secret past and who adores her two person book club. Each woman is given equal page time which allowed for me to become attached to their stories and rooting for their happiness. O'Leary handles complex emotional conflicts for each character in a respectful manner while still managing to put a smile on my face. Beth O'Leary grabbed me, made me think the worst but managed to turn everything around with this story. If you enjoy an emotional contemporary read with multiple POVs and some romance, The No-Show is for you!

CW: self-harm, OCD, grief, abuse of power in the workplace, harassment

💋 Romance
👯‍♀️ Female Friendship
🧩 Puzzle
💨 Quick Read

This one was a bit of a dark horse for me and I ended up loving it!

Three women with seemingly nothing in common come to find out they’re involved with the same man.

📝 The writing is flawless. There is quite a bit of dialog but it flows effortlessly.

💋 There is plenty of romance to be had here! You’re actually introduced to multiple couples that start to sort of slowly mesh together.

🧩 This book is a bit of a puzzle which I wasn’t expecting. At first, I felt like the story was a bit off putting bc of the women all being involved with the same man but about halfway through things came together in an unexpected way and I’m so glad I stuck with it! Trust me, stay with it! 😂

👯‍♀️ One of my favorite parts of this one is the female friendships. All of the women involved have these strong female support systems that I just loved to see.

😭 By the end I was teary eyed and really felt moved by the story overall.

💨 This was a quick, poignant read!

If you like stories about complicated relationships and strong female friendships then this would be a great pick for you!

🎁 Thank you @netgalley #NetGalley @berkleypub @betholearyauthor for the #gifted copy of #TheNoShow !! Available April 12th!

This was so much more than I was expecting.

I got about 25% into this book and had a clear understanding of what I had got myself into… I was a little bit disappointed by the way things were moving because there are tropes at play here that I don’t tend to go for because I don’t like them.

But by the end I had fully changed my mind about this book. The No-Show surprised me on many levels. What seemed like a lighthearted rom-com morphed into something… more! There is so much more at play here than just three women all being duped by dating the same guy. This turns rather deep and emotional towards the end and I really loved it!

Don’t take this book at face value! There is so much heartache and beauty in these pages and I am so glad I read it.

I'm just kinda meh about this one.
I liked ot enough but I wasn't as invested as I wanted to be.

There were so many characters. After figuring out what's actually going on in the story yeah I get the addition of all these supporting people but it definitely took me a minute to get them all straight.

I still wasn't a big fan of Joseph by the end of the book. He could've been a bit more honest. At the very least his so called gfs should've been asking more questions to get to know him before admitting love confessions.

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

THE NO-SHOW – Beth O’Leary

Jove

ISBN: 978-0593438442

April 12, 2022

Contemporary Fiction



England – Present Day



Three women who don’t know each other are connected in a way none of them would ever imagine. They are all stood up on a date by the same man on Valentine's Day.



Siobhan is a stressed-out life coach who is trying to calmly work with her most pestering client, Richard. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Carter, is casual, yet after a pregnancy scare, she tries to stop seeing him. But Siobhan can’t stay away from Carter, and they are soon back together. But will he be her future?



Miranda is a tree surgeon (she cuts down trees) and “one of the guys” in her unit. AJ, one of her fellow workers, has her feeling aware of him but would it violate some unspoken rule where you don’t get involved with co-workers? Carter enters Miranda’s life, and while things are going great with him, she senses that he is keeping secrets from her.



Jane is what some would call a “mouse.” She works at a charity store and lives an austere life. When she runs into Carter, he doesn’t recognize her, though she knows him from her past. They continue to have a friendly off-and-on relationship. But like Miranda, she wonders why he is so secretive.



In THE NO-SHOW, the path for the three women to collide is finally explained about two-thirds way through. I won’t spoil what happens, but even I wasn’t expecting it and it all makes sense. Is Carter a two-timing (or is that three-timing?) louse who doesn’t deserve any of the ladies? The women are different from each other, yet they all have Carter in common. Is he such a charmer that he can fool each of them and keep a secret life going on? Yes, this tale is complicated at times, but once you realize what is really going on, it makes sense. The author, Beth O’Leary, pens a lovely story with its intriguing characters and plots. No matter which female you gravitate toward, you will sympathize with each one.



In THE NO-SHOW, it seems that Jane makes the biggest growth. She went through something painful at her old job and is now hiding in plain sight. Having Carter in her life, even if it isn’t constant, is helpful for her growth. When her past is confronted, she then realizes what she must do. Siobhan has to learn to let her life slow down. She thought she could live without Carter, but it is she who initiates his return. Does he feel the same way? Miranda is unsure about her feelings for Carter, though they have a good time together. But AJ is always there as if he’s waiting…



It didn’t take long for me to get engrossed in THE NO-SHOW, not wanting to put it down. Each story arc of the three women is intriguing and makes you want to root for them. Readers will need to decide if Carter is the villain…or a victim. If you love a well-written story that makes you want to learn what happens to the characters, then be sure to put THE NO-SHOW on your book shopping list.



Patti Fischer

Three women are all ghosted on Valentine's Day and each must decide if they are going to forgive and forget. Siobhan is a life coach, but while she may be able to help others get their lives together she is struggling to get hers in order. Miranda is a tree surgeon - she spends her days climbing trees with her crew and cuts down trees that are diseased. Finally, Jane is a volunteer at a charity shop and the reader quickly finds out that she has left London for a mysterious reason and is just trying to lay low.

It will be so hard to review this book without divulging the big things that happen. These three women have a less than stellar Valentine's Day and all because of one man but as the story progresses you come to realize it may not be at all what you think. I loved how I went into this story assuming one thing and everything got flipped upside down once a few details were revealed!

My first Beth O'Leary book and will absolutely not be my last! I loved how the typical romance pieces were in this book, but there was more!

Book Review:
The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

I have SO much I want to say about this book, but I don't want to give anything away! 🤐

What I can say is that I loved it so much and it's so well-written. Three very different women are involved with the same man and life ensues. Each of them gets stood up by him on Valentine's Day which sparks a journey of self-acceptance and love. Whatever your preconceived notions are as you start the book will be destroyed by the end 😍

Make sure that you add The No-Show to your TBR! It releases April 12th.

Thanks @netgalley and @berkleypub for this advanced reader!

#BookReview #BookRecommendations #Bookstagram #BethOLeary #TheNoShow #BerkleyBooks #BookiahLife #Reading #InstaBooks #BookPhotography #Bibliophile #GirlsWhoRead #BookNerd #RomanceBooks #RomanceBookStagram

Favorite Quotes:

There’s something about shiny things that appeals to Siobhan. Expensive jewelry, luxury lingerie, handsome men with perfect smiles. She knows they’re probably too good to be true, but she just can’t help wanting them all the same.

Is it one of those hangovers where your insides are all burny, like they’re mad at you and inflicting their punishment from the inside out?

“He cheese-grated the whole of the front of his body on the trunk of a sycamore,” AJ tells Miranda, leaning forward. “You should have seen the state of the man’s dick after that, it looked like a half-chewed stick of pepperoni.” “Salami,” Trey says sulkily. “Not pepperoni. Big salami. Girthy salami.”

I’m ninety-six, Colin. When you get to my age you don’t give enough of a shit about anything to have ‘objections.’

It makes her itch to think that she’ll never know the why behind it all. Miranda is just one of those people: she picks the label off her beer bottle, she itches mosquito bites. She can’t leave things alone.

My Review:

This tale was full of surprises. I am now totally enamored with Beth O’Leary as she is a wily minx who led me astray, and now I’m feeling an April fool. Her engaging and cleverly amusing storylines were unpredictable and expertly paced to keep my curiosity primed. I thought I had Joseph pegged, but I was so far off the mark I wasn’t even near the target. I adored these complicated characters, each was uniquely quirky, multi-layered, and well-textured. This agile storyteller has climbed to the top of my favorites list.

4.5 STARS
Three women are stood up on the worst day of the year for it to happen: Valentine’s Day and all by the same man, Joseph Carter. Siobhan had a breakfast date with him; they got together whenever she was in London on business. As a life coach, Siobhan has had to talk her clients through some rough times, but when she is in the hot seat, it is quite different. Miranda had a lunch date with her boyfriend who mysteriously not only left her hanging, but did not message any explanation. As a female tree trimmer who works with a male crew, she knows what men get up to with women as they treat her as one of the guys. Jane, a shy and retiring, thrift shop volunteer had an engagement party to attend. As someone who does not people very well, she is particularly upset to be stood up as she had been counting on Joseph as a buffer.

Joseph Carter seems to be juggling three very different women who have no clue, initially, about the others. He has a friend with benefits relationship with Siobhan; however, they both have urges for it to be something more though she was badly burned by a prior relationship and so keeps Joseph at bay. Miranda believes Carter, as she calls him, is her boyfriend and that they are in a committed relationship. After his big apology, that nearly turns into a disaster, they go back to normal; however, two things are causing Miranda concern: a man she is attracted to she works with, and indications are that Carter may not be faithful to her. Jane left her job in London after a workplace affair caused major problems. She was quite traumatized and has only been able to deal with having Joseph as a friend until her feelings for him begin to change.

Each of these three women sees a different side of Joseph Carter. And while at the outset, he seems to be a philanderer, there is more going on than it appears on the surface. Joseph is a rather emotional kind of guy and is often brought to tears on more than one occasion. Living with and caring for his elderly mother, he does not seem to be the player type. This story is cleverly done and will keep readers guessing about what is really going on until the big reveal. It definitely has the theme of love hurts, and then hurts some more. Despite some reviews, I would not categorize this story as a rom-com though there are humorous moments; women’s fiction would be more appropriate because of some tragic elements. Fans of Ms. O’Leary will be well pleased with latest addition to her entertaining tales.

Jump into this book for the cover (one of my favorites this year) and then enjoy getting to know Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane. As with her other titles, O'Leary manages to gracefully insert some serious themes like sexual harassment, grief, ghosting, and dementia. Meanwhile we get three very different women who are relatable and one is a tree surgeon! There is at least one man in this book who is a complete arsehole, but decent and thoughtful ones, too. This is meant to be a "no spoiler" review, so I am keeping it short. Really enjoyed this new title and the reading guide was a great way to wind it up.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

<b>3 stars for the last 20%</b>

We went into this book thinking it was a rom-com, it's more like women's fiction, to be honest. This hampered our enjoyment slightly. We almost DNF'd a few times along the way but something kept us going.

A very slow read that felt like not much happened until the latter part of the book. The pacing was off and we didn't feel like we were getting anywhere or even where the story was going. The characters were interesting but their stories felt fractious and when in 3rd person that made it hard to form a connection.

Hurrah for the last 20%...that's when it got good, interesting, and compelling. Well worth it, so we're glad we didn't give up.

what a interesting book about 3 different women and the main guy who has interacted with all of them. There is some romance and some trials during the book. I liked that miranda found love with someone I was rooting for ...also loved jane and sioban . Great story about the day that he was a no show.