Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Three women. Three dates. One missing man…
8.52. Siobhan’s been looking forward to her breakfast date with Joseph. She was surprised when he suggested it – she normally sees him late at night in her hotel room. Breakfast with Joseph on Valentine’s Day surely means something … so where is he?
14.43. Miranda’s hoping that a Valentine’s Day lunch with Carter will be the perfect way to celebrate her new job. It’s a fresh start and a sign that her grown-up life is finally falling into place: she’s been dating Carter for five months now and things are getting serious. But why hasn’t he shown up?
18.30. Joseph Carter agreed to be Jane’s fake boyfriend at a colleague’s engagement party. They’ve not known each other long but their friendship is fast becoming the brightest part of her new life in Winchester. Joseph promised to save Jane tonight. But he’s not here…
Meet Joseph Carter. That is, if you can find him.
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!
Loisreadsbooks 