I didn’t get to finish this book, I got a new Amazon prime account and my kindle deleted everything associated with my previous account including all of my downloads and I only just figured out why it wasn’t appearing whenI tried re-sending to my kindle multiple times. Now I’ve finally found the source of my problem and changed/updated the kindle email and can now download books again. It really messed up my reviews for all of the books I’d requested over the past few months, I apologize. I liked what I was able to read so that’s what I’m rating.

This romcom is about finding your person when the timing is right. Key word being timing as there are many near misses along the way. I liked it, but at times found it a bit slow and boring.

Just really not my type of romance. A case of insta-love and telling rather than showing. Quite disappointing cause the description sounded fun.

*thank you to NetGalley for access to this ARC*

Lily Joseph's The Near Miss deals with Nick and Wren, two people who seem to be one accident away from meeting one another always. They're meant to be meet it seems, but every close encounter seems to be fraught with danger.

I think the premise of the book is a fun play on the idea of missed connections and fate. We've read books where they're always ships sailing right by one another, but rarely does it mean they're always causing accidents and misfortunes around one another. While it could be a sign of an even more unfortunate relationship, I appreciate Joseph's take shows how even with all the chaos, it is their belief in wanting to be together that makes them want to try.

I also do appreciate many of the sub-themes of the story like dealing with mental health, struggles of co-parenting and divorce, and identity. They are heavier themes for sure, but they make for some really good beats in the story and I liked how Joseph incorporated them.

That being said, the only criticism I see with the story is there is almost *too* many accidents and mishaps that have the reader seeing Wren and Nick miss one another and almost not enough of them together. While it is understood to be slow-burn, I almost felt their actual interactions as a couple could have been added onto or at least had more substance added to the existing ones.

Build-up to meeting is cute and all, but readers also want to see more of them interacting beyond that meet cute.

Overall, not a bad story, it is still very cute rom-com esque with some meaningful themes.

thank you so much Netgalley for this ARC.

I was really looking forward to read this book but unfortunately i dont have anytime, so therefore i couldn't give any review or thoughts about this book, but i hope this book is as good as i expecting.

The Near Miss by Lily Joseph is a fun, entertaining, and lighthearted novel about love that is just a whisk away.

Wren and Nick are close but never close enough; they always seem to miss each other.
The novel is about fate, life, and falling in love. It will leave you rooting for our two love interests and have your heart fluttering once they finally reach each other and their previous miss turns into a near miss.
While the novel was delightful, I found the ending slightly rushed, which I found to be a shame; I would have loved to explore Wren and Nicks's connection on a deeper level.

In conclusion, I highly recommend checking The Near Miss out if you are looking for a fun rom-com.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the chemistry between them and the story was really interesting.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my book

The plot synopsis sounded great, however it was such a let down and was hard to actually finish! Very disappointing.

The Near Miss by Lily Joseph.
This was a really good read. I loved the cover and blurb. I read this in two sittings. I did like Wren and Nick. I didn't like Alex. I did like the ending. 4*.

"The Near Miss" by Lily Joseph is a captivating and emotionally resonant novel that explores the unpredictable twists of fate and the impact of chance encounters. Joseph’s writing is both insightful and heartfelt, weaving together the lives of characters who are connected by a seemingly minor event that ends up changing everything. The narrative skillfully delves into themes of love, destiny, and the paths not taken, inviting readers to reflect on the moments that shape our lives in unexpected ways.

The characters in "The Near Miss" are richly drawn, each dealing with their own struggles and aspirations, and their interactions are depicted with authenticity and depth. As their stories intertwine, Joseph masterfully builds tension and anticipation, keeping readers engaged as they wonder how these lives will ultimately converge. The novel is a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the power of second chances.

With its blend of romance, drama, and thoughtful exploration of the human condition, "The Near Miss" is a compelling read that will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered "what if?" Lily Joseph has crafted a beautifully written story that captures the essence of life's unpredictability and the magic of serendipity.

I was very fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy from NetGalley but all thoughts are unbiased and my own.

So I really like the idea and concepts of the book, but the execution was off. The idea of you can be really connected to someone and off by one degree until it’s the right time is cute, but I really disliked how something always linking them was terrible accidents. The way it was written switching points of view you always knew what was going to happen because one chapter would so obviously foreshadow the incident that was going to occur to the next character when it switched to their point of view. It was all teed up so you knew what was going to happen so I found it to be quite boring.

The writing style just wasn’t my favorite as well. I struggled with how the dialogue was written. It felt almost too fluffy with adverbs and adjectives all scattered in the text….

I wanted to like this more but I really struggled to get into it.

4.5 ⭐️

I got this book off Netgalley, not thinking much of it. I thought this would be just another fluffy romance. It’s not, y’all! This book is a dogdamn delight!

The Near Miss was such a joy to read. Lily Joseph is a wonderful writer. This book reminded of Mhairi McFarlane (who also broke my heart a few times over, ahem…) Joseph’s characters have so much depth and colour. Her pacing is spot on, the development and focus on story and details are really skilled. Reading some of the reviews, I think a lot of people might have expected a straight up romance — but I think Lily Joseph gives us a much more enjoyable reading journey so I hope a lot of people read this review and understand that the reading they’ll put in will bring them a huge payoff (i.e. a wonderful story).

I would call The Near Miss a literary romance as the two main characters are developed apart from each other for a lot a lot of the first half of the book. And I really loved this — we got to meet Wren and Nick as individuals. Sometimes if you want the immediate slow burn, you won’t get this here. What you do get is very smart story telling and character development: being able to meet these two character separate from each other first makes the development of their relationship so much more satisfying for the reader.

I’m so glad I stumbled across Lily Joseph’s debut because it’s a gem and her writing is phenomenal. I cannot wait for what she has in store for us next! ☺️

I enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half falls flat. The main couple barely had 10-15% of scenes together. The mishaps that kept happening in both their lives were funny.

The characters were underdeveloped and a bit immature. Like why would you randomly shut a walk in freezer close without so much as even glancing inside once especially when you have no business being in that kitchen.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lily Joseph explores the themes of fate versus chance in her debut novel, The Near Miss. While Wren and Nick are connected by a handful of invisible strings, they have never actually met. Is it only a matter of time before the universe thrusts them together, or will it stand in their way?

I found this to be a beautiful story. Joseph’s writing wove together two storylines perfectly. By choosing to write the story in alternating points of view (Wren and Nick) readers were allowed to both to see and hear their individual perspectives.

While I did enjoy this book, I had a few issues with it, mainly how it was marketed. It felt more like women’s fiction than a romantic comedy. I came into this book expecting it to be one thing and I got something completely different. Perhaps if the cover and description had been less whimsical I wouldn’t have been so caught off guard.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Lily Joseph for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for sending me an ARC of this romance novel! The storyline was interesting, but it was very slow and I felt like the same thing kept happening again and again. For example, they would go somewhere and do something which would then cause harm to the other without them ever meeting. I think they should have met sooner than 100 pages into the book, but that is just my opinion. Overall I did enjoy this book and I would try another one of this author’s future novels!

The Near Miss is a fun debut novel for Lily Joseph. I feel like a lot of the romcoms I have been reading lately haven't hit the way that I really want them to, but The Near Miss was pretty refreshing. I love the fate brought them together trope so much. I loved movies like Serendipity and You've Got Mail growing up, and The Near Miss has that same kind of slow burn missed you/found you/need you feeling. Joseph writes characters that are interesting and funny, and I like that the locations in the book aren't completely stagnant, with both characters visiting Italy. I do think that the Wren and Nick could have met a little sooner in person, as after a while the near misses started to become a little bit too much, but with lines like "she felt as inevitable to him as the sun coming up in the morning and setting at night" I guess we can forgive a little bit of drawn-out tension. Especially when the chemistry between Nick and Wren is so good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lily Joseph for providing me with a copy of The Near Miss in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely grateful for having the opportunity to review this debut. I never sent a completed review upon publishing because I did not finishing reading the book.

(Rating just for submission purposes. I do not wish to prove a substantive rating since I did not finish it)

this was a fast-paced, enjoyable read but i feel as though it was missing something, as if the work was incomplete

“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓…𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.”

The premise of this story had me sooo intrigued. The idea of two strangers who are so heavily intertwined with each other, yet they miss each other every single time?? They both just wreak havoc on each others lives without them even knowing.

Wren & Nick were written in the stars for each other, but it was never the right time for them to meet.

I just felt like it took FOREVER for them to meet. I kept thinking “okay this is the moment” but then it wouldn’t happen. After a while it grew tiring. But when they did meet, I loved them! I loved their interactions so much! I just wish we had more of them together.

Also, the disaster after disaster after disaster was actually insane. At first I loved it & found it funny but then it became so extreme & wild. It almost didn’t feel natural anymore & just became crazier.

Either way, they’re fated & I love them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of the arc
Despite the title, the blurb and the cover being absolute bangers, I had to DNF this at 5%. I just couldn't continue.