💭 📚ARC Book Review📚💭

And another NetGalley read bites the dust - this time round it’s Beth O’Leary’s latest, The No-Show. Swipe ➡️ for the blurb and read on for my thoughts.

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I’m a fan of O’Leary’s books - ever since I stumbled across The Flat Share, I’ve been hooked. And I’m pleased to say that I find her writing maturing more and more with each new book she releases, and The No-Show is another gem. There’s a content warning/potential spoilers - check out at the end if you want to know more.

I’ll start with the premise - three women, waiting to meet up with their elusive dates in Valentine’s Day are all stood up. By the same man. What a swine! But of course there’s more to this story!

Needless to say that O’Leary pulled me along as you learn more about our 3 main female leads: Siobhan, Miranda and Jane. They’re given a rich and engaging backstory each and O’Leary handles their interactions with Joseph and the mystery around it all with such ease. I will admit I was trying to figure out just what was going on (and was partly right) but I was impressed with how the leads’ stories all connected.

We also get a rich and engaging development of Joseph, who I have to say is just lovely. He goes from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and it’s such a rollercoaster. How can you not like him?

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at Quercus, and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

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⚠️Content warning/potential spoilers: there’s reference to harassment, minor self-harm, bereavement, and the after effects on the bereaved ⚠️

I officially got on the Beth O’Leary train and what a ride it was with The No-Show!

Meet Joseph Carter, a man who doesn’t show up to three different dates with three separate women. These women want to know where he is, and as the secrets come out, the true Joseph comes out.

It was fun, sad, and just full of love and hope. It’s one of those books where you just want to hug someone or something after reading it 🥺

I really loved the different relationships Joseph had with each of the women; Sibahon, Miranda and Jane. It was so hard to pick who I wanted Joseph to be with despite how much I was angry with Joseph.

I was shocked yet I loved the way the book ended, as I wasn’t expecting it all. I think this book you would want to read as a buddy or group read because it’s one up for discussion.

Thank you Netgalley and Quercus for the eARC of The No -Show in exchange for a review.

Beth O'Leary has written her best book so far with her latest novel 'The No-Show'. It has all of the love and cosiness of her previous novels but with added clever twists which make this quite the gripping read. At the beginning, we see three women stood up on Valentine's Day by Joseph Carter. We have Siobhan, Irish life coach who is strong, independent and not looking for anything serious, Jane, shy, awkward and running away from her past and Miranda, a kickass tree surgeon who is suspicious of Joseph's real motives in their relationship. We follow all three women through a year with Joseph, waiting for the inevitable moment they all meet!

That, however, is the beauty of this book. It does not go in the direction you are expecting AT ALL. I do not want to spoil anything but go into this knowing as little as possible and you will experience the true wonder of O'Leary's writing. Due to following three relationships at once, I was not completely invested in any one pairing of main or side characters across the novel. This did not really detract from my enjoyment of the story and following the characters on their individual journeys.

Overall, O'Leary has done a fabulous job of building the narrative around the three main women, as well as fleshing out the lives of some wonderful side characters (my favourites being AJ, Miranda's twin sisters, and of course Colin and Mortimer). This was an easy 5 stars to award. As always, I cannot wait for the next O'Leary masterpiece to be published!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One thing that I will say about Beth O Leary is that she knows how to tell a story. I had so many emotions while reading this book and that twist. I didn't see it coming until I was well into the book. Siobhan, Miranda and Jane are all extremely likeable characters and you're drawn into their stories. If you're looking for a love story with a difference then I suggest The No Show.

This one was a DNF' for me at 10%. Just not particularly gelling with the characters or the plot. It's not written badly or anything - I just don't seem to care much for the characters and wherever it's supposed to be headed.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy of the book as part of the social blast.
Meet Siobhan - stood up by Joe Carter for a Valentine’s Day breakfast
Meet Miranda - stood up by Joe Carter for a Valentine’s Day lunch
Meet Jane - stood up by Joe Carter for a Valentine’s Day evening party
Who is Joe Carter and why does he keep standing women up???
I am a huge fan of Beth’s previous novels and was really excited to pick this one up. The book is told through the different women, where we learn more about their lives and what influence Joe Carter had on their lives
Whilst the book was beautifully written, I did feel the plot was quite slow and the ending quite rushed. However, I really loved the way it all came together as I was so curious through reading the book what was going to happen
There is a shock moment towards the end, which I didn’t predict
This book is perfect for any romance fiction lovers

#adprproduct Book Review ✨⠀
The No Show by Beth O'Leary 📖⠀
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Talking about this without spoilers is SO HARD!⠀
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Distinctive characters, whose personalities shine through, and has you soon rooting for them. It's certainly an achievement to create three characters I became so protective of over a few pages. After all they are all dating the same guy 😱⠀
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I felt icky (you know that feeling something isn't right in your tummy) reading this one for a while how could it possibly have anything approaching a happy ending...?⠀
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But a twist turns it on its head & makes it, so much more. It's full of heart & impossible not to love.... if you can trust O'Leary like I did, she won't let you down!⠀

I really enjoyed this book. The story is told through the eyes of 3 women who all get stood up by the same man on Valentines day. I don’t want to reveal too much as you need to read it yourself to experience it the way I did. I had not read the blurb so went into this blind, and I am so pleased I did.
The book is a rollercoaster of emotions and twists but I was so disappointed last night when I realised I had finished reading.
All I can say really is highly recommended and enjoy!

4.5 stars

I loved this book so much! I will admit, I went into the book blind. I saw Beth O'Leary's name and my finger automatically hit the request button on Netgalley. I didn't bother to find out what the book was about (I'll read anything O'Leary writes!) and I am sure this is partly why I loved it so much. I enjoyed getting to know each of the women (Siobhan, Miranda and Jane) with their back stories and reading their interactions with the same guy. ⁣
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And then when the twist was revealed, wow, I was floored! I was pretty sure I had figured out which way the book was heading but boy, was I wrong. This book was fun, sweet and heartbreaking all rolled into one. If you're looking for a romance with a bit of a twist, this one is for you.

Another emotional rollercoaster from Beth O'Leary who is, in my opinion, back to her Flatshare best in this new novel. Such a joyous read!!

Beth O'Leary is back again with another fantastic read! It's not your typical book about romance, but it is still charming and clever, like the rest of O'Leary's novels. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my readers.

The No-Show by @betholearyauthor another @netgalley read. I’m not going to go into to much about what this book is about simply because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. What I will say is if you haven’t read what it’s about is that it’s not what you think, believe me it’s so much more and such a clever idea. At first this book for me felt like your typical rom-com, the plots idea done over and over again and nothing to make this book stand out from the rest. It felt quite a tedious read, 3 women dating the same bloke however stay with it, even though it feels slow getting there, there are clues along the way (I may have missed some of these, but it will make sense). Believe me the WOW moment when things start to be revealed is worth waiting for and is probably one of the best wow moments in a book I’ve read for a while. For me the wow moment was one of those moments which are rare, when suddenly everything before starts to make sense and fall into place and I had to put the kindle down for a few minutes to take in what just happened and wonder what comes next. As the reader I knew that whatever did come next I was a sure as hell going to have one hell of a book hangover because I could already feel it, that feeling that I never wanted this book to end and no other book could too this. All I could hear in my head was ‘wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!’ @betholearyauthor has our done herself with this book, my favourite book so far this year, everything about this books will give you the feels. The author deals with tough subjects with grace and dignity, with a simplicity and sensitivity and with the biggest heart at its core that will have you reaching for the tissues. Yes it’s sad in parts but when I say it will give you the feels, it will have you feeling every emotion. The great thing about this book is that it doesn’t sugarcoat things and make out that everything is easy and rosey, it feels real and this made it feel even more relatable and enjoyable. Despite for me it being a little slow to begin with this book undoubtedly deserves 5 stars and I will be recommending it to everyone. Go and get your copy’s now this one can’t be missed ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book did not have the right to hurt me the way it did!

I honestly didn’t think much of this book when I first started to read it. It was very slow, and there didn’t seem to be much plot, seeing as you’re aware from the start that this man has stood up each of the three women.
But then, as I read on, I really began to fall in love with each of the three protagonists. This story is multi POV and often in these types of stories, there are certain POVs that you prefer to others, and some you don’t like reading, but I adored each point of you. O’Leary really makes you fall in love with these three women, with such interesting relationships, friendships and lives and you can’t help but want to read about them, even if they aren’t getting up to anything exciting.

Just as you start to think you know exactly what’s going on, and that you have the whole book sussed, it hits you. With a number of twists and turns that I absolutely was not expecting and legit made me scream out loud! (If I was reading a physical copy and not on my ipad, I reckon I would have thrown my book across the room - so that’s something to look forward to!)

There's so much that I want to say about Joseph Carter, firstly to apologise for hating him for half the book (although I believe that this is justified, as I'm pretty sure it's what the author intended). But secondly, there was so much more depth and character to him as the book progressed and he genuinely became one of my favourite characters. This book was masterfully written and I enjoyed every twist and turn right up to the very end, none of which I saw coming, and many of which broke my heart!

This book hurt me, and I almost cried multiple times. But it was honestly fantastic. You have to be patient with this one, and it might take you a while to get into it, but it is so worth it! I think this is my favourite Beth O’Leary to date!

Beth O’Leary is one of my instant-buy authors. I’ve read all of the books she has released and adored each and every one of them. Each of them is unique, heart-warming and never fails to bring a smile to my face. So, of course I was excited to read Beth O’Leary’s latest novel, The No-Show which is now my new favourite novel from her.

This book is told from the perspectives of Jane, Miranda and Siobhan who all get stood up by Joseph on Valentine’s day. That one event sends all three off on very different journeys of self-acceptance, love and loss. I absolutely adored all three of the women and the journeys that they go on throughout this book. Joseph on the other hand is a liar and a cheater, amongst other things, but there is certainly more to him than meets the eye.

On the surface, The No-Show seems like a predictable romance novel but it is not at all! I spent most of my time reading the book working out different scenarios in my head about how things would work out for each of the characters but I was completely wrong. There are so many clues along the way about the way the book is going to play out but I missed all of them! It is certainly the most shocked I’ve been whilst reading in a long time.

I adored all the women in this book. We meet Siobhan first, who is an ambitious, fiery and work-oriented women. She is the angriest of the three but we come to learn this is for good reasons due to what she has faced in the past. Then we meet Miranda, who is a tree surgeon, speaks her mind and I felt was the most inspirational of the three women. Finally, we meet Jane who is a bookworm, shy, keeps herself to herself and is healing from past trauma. All three of the women is going through their own issues and facing them in different ways. They are all inspirational and I ended the book loving them all a lot.

It may seem as though this book is going to be completely light-hearted but be prepared for sections that will break your heart and storylines that aren’t the easiest to read. These sections of the book are written beautifully and cover a wide range of themes in a honest and realistic way. I found myself suddenly bursting into tears at one section of the book, so be prepared for that as well.

Beth O’Leary’s writing has developed so much since releasing The Flat Share. This is definitely my favourite book by her and shows off her writing skills in an excellent way. Her writing shows so much emotion, humour and the characters are all developed in a way that makes you feel like you know them all personally.

Overall, The No-Show is an enjoyable, heart-warming and at times a heart-breaking book that I would highly recommend. It made me laugh, cry and left me with a huge smile on my face. I love Beth O’Leary’s books and I cannot recommend them enough, especially The No-Show!

A clever tale that draws you in - first asking why you care who gets this man (for reasons I won't share) as he doesn't seem to be worth the chasing, and then a sudden twist that makes all clear and gives you a reason to care. A very clever concept, beautifully done. Each character reveals more of themselves piece-by-piece, as the story progresses, and we get to know them just as we would in real life. As the novels moves into its final chapters, reveals are made and blows land that have you gripped till the final page. And yes, there is the required, and very satisfactory, happy ending

Beth O'Leary latest romance novel turns out to be more of a romantic mystery with a twist that turns the premise of three different women awaiting a Valentine Day date with a man who is a no-show, on its head. Dublin based Siobhan Kelly shares a home with Fiona, she is in a high pressured professional occupation as a life coach, leaving her with no time for a personal life, a deliberate decision, so whenever she is in London she pursues a casual, but satisfying non-exclusive sexual arrangement at a hotel, and has a breakfast date with him, Joseph Carter. Miranda Rosso lives with her 2 younger sisters, Adele and Frannie, she is a tree surgeon, working with an all male team, with a lunch date with Joseph. The fragile Jane Miller has run away from London, settling on Winchester with its connections with her mother, refusing to talk about her traumatic past to her colleagues at a charity shop where she is a volunteer, Joseph had promised to be her fake boyfriend for the evening.

None of these women are aware of each other's existence, but all their Valentine's dates are with the same man, Joseph, who doesn't turn up at any of them, nor does he contact them to let them know. We get to know Joseph through the eyes of the women, is he the despicable man he appears to be? Each of the women, as we are to learn, despite being let down so badly by Joseph, finding themselves forgiving him, their feelings for him are so deep that they are reluctant to see him disappear from their lives. As we learn about the women, we become caught up in their lives, the problems, the lies, and the trust, gaslighting, heartbreak, trauma and mental health issues, some so serious that they are already broken inside, or become broken due to not addressing issues from their past. Joseph is at their heart of their lives, have they put their trust in the wrong man?

Beth O'Leary plays a blinder in this novel which I am sure many readers will love, although this is not really a rom-com in the traditional sense. It takes quite a long time for us to finally come to understand the real Joseph Carter, who he is, become aware of his vulnerabilities and his own heartbreak. If you are seeking something different in the romance genre, look no further than this book! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved reading and getting to know the three women in this book, miranda, siobhan and jane.

Joseph, leaves each one waiting on valentine’s day, you think you know how the story will end, but what you think, the opposite happens. There’s more to the story and there’s twists which I wasn’t expecting.

But the story was so well written and kept me hooked all the way through. It’s an emotional as well as fun book, and I would recommend it. An unforgettable story, worth the five stars.

Beth O'Leary is back and deliver another riveting and compelling story, well written and gripping.
The three different women and their stories are fascinating and I was surprised by the twists.
I didn't know if I hated, despised or simply wanted to slap Joseph Carter, he's an interesting characters and an important part of this surprising plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wow what a book. At first I thought Joseph was a serial womaniser and I really felt sorry for all 3 women. However we the story unfolded I have never been so glad about being proved wrong. This book is so heartbreaking but also so heartwarming all in one. Definitely recommend this book to everyone.

There is so much that I want to say about ‘The No-Show’ but I can’t, as to do so would reveal all the magic and beauty of this book. So my advice is, to rush out and read this book straight away.
The book focuses on three women, Siobhan, Miranda and Jane, who have all been stood up by Joseph Carter on Valentine’s Day. Yet, whilst they forgive him, he seems mysterious to each of them. Yet, for all that the book suggests, there is more to Joseph than simply being the ‘no-show’. He seems quite confident, reliable and attentive, but there is a fragility to him that he only reveals glimpses of.
This is a book, that will have you going back to the start to read it all again, once you discover the stories of these women and how they are each changed by Joseph Carter, and in turn, how they change his life. What a story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Quercus Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.