It's hard to rate this book. I would say it's more of a 2.5 for me, but I'm rounding it up to 3 because I do want to recognize O'Leary as a clever writer. She's great at telling stories from multiple perspectives and weaving various threads into a complete story like putting together puzzle pieces. Her stories have multiple layers and surprises. She comes up with intriguing premises and her short chapters keep readers turning pages.

This particular book had another interesting premise. Three women (so we get three points of view in this one!) get stood up on Valentine's Day. By the same man.

Having three different voices ended up contributing to it being hard for me to get into this book. I struggled with keeping characters and their stories straight, and I didn't automatically care about any of them. I actually continued to not care about any of them and wasn't really rooting for anyone. However, I kept with the story mostly because the pacing kicked up and I did kind of want to see how it all went down in the end.

Looking back at my review of THE ROAD TRIP by this author, I can see similarities in my overall feelings. I didn't like the characters (though some redeemable qualities are more revealed towards the end... but it takes reading the whole book to get there!). I don't feel like I'm the right audience (as in I'm probably too old). And both books were less light and fluffy than I wanted/needed. (This book had some disturbing parts that really brought me down.) But I liked THE FLAT SHARE by this author enough that I keep wanting to read more by her. And, like I said, O'Leary is a clever and talented author. But maybe I need to accept that I'm not the right reader for these books.

At first I thought I wasn't going to like this book and that it was moving to slow. I've read other books by the author and have adored them. And then about halfway through I was hooked. This is a complicated story about 1 guy and 3 women - relationship and life. I recommend it. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #TheNoShow

I will preface this review by stating that I am not the target audience for this novel. It is aimed at millennial women, and I am older. However, it was recommended to me by someone in that demographic who really liked it.
Much of what might appeal to millennial women frankly put me off. I am not fond of an author relying heavily on texting, social media and pop culture references to tell a story. There was so much of that in this book, I wondered if it was written to intentionally exclude other readers.
The timelines were strange. At one point, I thought I had found an error. The author was talking about various New Years Eve celebrations in different years. This was ~80% into the novel. I realized these women were involved with the male lead in different years. I did not have a problem following the POVs of the 3 women, but the timelines became confusing.
This book got rave reviews from many people. I just don't think it's that good. Parts of it are very messy and difficult to follow. I believe this would be the case for a millennial reader as well. The story did not start coming together until well over halfway through. However, I am giving it the benefit of the doubt with 3 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Heartbreakingly good, and possibly my favourite of O'Leary's 4 novels now. I envy her ability to write characters who don't make all the *best * choices all the time as they struggle with grief and insecurity and fear of abandonment, each one affected by prior wounds, yet we root for these characters with all our hearts. The plotting in this one is especially brilliant, and as the story unfolds, O'Leary plants little clues about where it's going but she leaves it entirely up to us to pick up on those clues the way we might if we were reading Agatha Christie, searching for the murderer (though I promise, this is not a whodunit!) or to simply let the story unfold of its own accord. What we end up with is a story about a network of characters whose lives intersect and impact each other in profound ways, sometimes joyous, sometimes achingly painful. I stayed up way too late reading this one, unable to put it down. My ONLY complaint: can we PLEASE stop marketing every book as a rom-com. Is this romantic? Absolutely. Comedic? Brilliantly so. But it's more of a thematic look at how we love and how we make ourselves available for love, rather than a jaunty take on a dude trying to date three women while antics ensue. If you're a fan of complex books about friendship and love and family and moving through the things that close us off until we learn to open again, grab this one. It's amazing.

The No-Show is unlike any book I’ve ever read. I highly recommend going in blind and not reading spoilers because there were so many twists in this book. It follows Joseph Carter and three woman that he stood up on Valentine’s Day. The chapters alternate between each woman’s POV and they have never met each other, so it is almost like reading three different stories at once. I liked the book a lot, but found myself getting less interested as it went on. However, I absolutely loved the ending.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

3.5 rounded up. In The No Show, three different women are all stood up by Joseph Carter on Valentine’s Day. Siobhan hasn’t let anyone in her heart since her last boyfriend left her unceremoniously, but she’d been looking forward to this breakfast date. Miranda has been dating him for a while now, but when he doesn’t show up for lunch, and when she discovers a receipt she can’t explain, she wonders if he’s telling her the truth about his life. Then there’s Jane, who fled London after something bad happened, and Joseph agreed to be her pretend boyfriend for an engagement party. Except he doesn’t show, which disappoints her more than a pretend boyfriend should. Their friendship has meant a lot to her since started over in a new town, even if she doesn’t want to tell him about the events that led her to doing what she’s doing now.

I liked the backstory and the present stories of these different women and Joseph. All is not what they seem to each other and to us, the readers. This deals with some heavy topics in a manner that is generally light.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 12, 2022.

Three women, one man. What will time tell?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I loved the characters, both main and secondary. I loved the story, enough twists to leave you guessing, but well-paced and enough detail given to each female perspective. I love the writing, Beth O’Leary is such a creative storyteller. There is complexity that elicits emotions and captures feelings connected with the character. A story of love, loss, acceptance, and forgiveness; fate and second chances.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for this ARC. This would be a great book club book and I appreciate the questions at the end. This is one that I look forward to the audiobook to experience it again!

Not your standard chick lit! Three very different women are stood up on Valentine’s Day — by the same man! It’s not what you think and the end is a genuine surprise. Does a nice job of messing with your assumptions about people!

This one really surprised me; what a fabulous twist to what I thought was a traditional story. Highly recommend.

I remember there being a sweetness to The Flatshare that felt noticeably absent from the first twenty percent of this book. Which isn’t to say that this book isn’t sweet - even the first twenty percent. But I got to this point where I had to stop. I became uncomfortable with the…ahem…situation as I grew to care for the characters.
I actually set the book aside for several days. Once I came back to it it became a mystery that I was nearly obsessed with resolving.
And then we arrived at a point when I was convinced that OLeary couldn’t save things. I mean - I had this idea - I’m not sure when it developed but it quietly buzzed in my brain. I poked at it. I tried to make the pieces fit. But it didn’t seem likely. And I had real concerns that I was going to be super angry. But my little guess was correct.
And I was also wrong. Bc this book was far far far better than I gave it credit for.
A wonderful read for those that love the sticky, the complicated, the sweet and messy.
And ps - I hope you’re not reading this review before you read the book. You really should go into this one blind.

As always - a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to offer my unbiased opinion.

Another lovely book by Beth O'Leary! This one is fairly deep, there's some real issues here. I thought the characters were believable and likable, great story!

Beth O'Leary's stories have a great blend of charm, emotion and hope. I could tell there was more to the story than the beginning led you to believe and I kept turning the pages to complete the puzzle. It reminded me a little of Love Actually in the way you discover how the characters are intertwined. Joseph seems to be dating 3 women, yet was so charming and add the big mystery of why he stood 3 women up on Valentine's. I was trying to piece this together the whole time. I loved following the three women and adored them all. Some may be leery to read a books that are about cheating, but give this a chance... you may be surprised!

Beth O'Leary is such a fantastic writer and after reading The Flatshare and The Road Trip, I was excited for The No-Show. The writing is even more superb than her other two books because this book is doing something really different and she executes it flawlessly. It's hard to talk about the plot too much without giving it all away but there are 3 female protagonists who all have a different relationship with the lone male protagonist. You think the story is going one way and then all of of sudden it's something else entirely. It's a book about love, relationships, grief, and the ripple effects of choices made. Highly recommend.

Beth O'Leary is a must-read for me, and The No Show does not disappoint!

The story starts with three women getting stood up on Valentine's Day. From there, O'Leary weaves a web between these three very different women in her signature funny, quirky, and immersive way. I always love her female characters and the twists and turns that await as pages turn.

If you have not read any Beth O'Leary books yet and you are a fan of Mhairi McFarlane or Jill Mansell, you are in for a treat!

For the majority of this book, you are waiting for the shoe to drop. You know it’s going to. You just don’t know when, or what the shoe is — a boot, a sneaker? (Bear with me.) And then, starting at the 70% mark, come three increasingly brutal plot twists.

I’ve seen this described in some Goodreads reviews as starting off lighthearted like The Flatshare before becoming darker and more Road Trip–like. I don’t think this is like The Road Trip — with its increasingly maniacal chaos and vicious interpersonal dynamics — at all.

There are some happily-ever-afters here, and the book closes on a hopeful and heartwarming note. But those three plot twists make this much sadder than The Flatshare. And while The Flatshare had a (traditional romance) structure that made clear we were meant to root for Tiffy and Leon, the structure of The No-Show leaves you wondering who you should be most invested in and increasingly dubious about (while also increasingly being drawn to) the male lead.

So, as another reviewer has said here: this is a good read. But don’t be misled by the contemporary romance–evocative cover and cutesy marketing copy: this is not a sweet and uplifting romance.

Beth O’Leary’s latest novel is an interesting mash-up of romance and mystery novel tropes. I enjoyed it but not quite as much as her more straight forward romantic comedies, The Flatshare and The Switch.

On Valentine’s Day, three different women are stood up: Siobhan at brunch, Miranda at lunch, and Jane in the evening. The real strength of the novel lies in Ms O’Leary’s skill in creating three very different and very relatable women. Siobhan is a hugely successful motivational speaker, very organized and driven, but emotionally fragile after a break-up. She was going to be meeting a man that she hooks up with on her monthly visits to London. Miranda is the most stable of the three. She’s a tree surgeon (fascinating choice of job!) and is part of an otherwise all male crew. Her boyfriend, Carter, didn’t make it to lunch but turns up the next day to apologize. Something Happened to Jane when she lived in London and she fled to a quiet backwater in Winchester. To stop the gossip at work, she’s invented a boyfriend and has rather desperately asked her dishy new friend Joseph to play the role at a work event - but he doesn’t show.

Putting the romances aside, Ms O’Leary has done a great job of fully building these characters, their backstories, and their friend circles. Over the course of the novel, each woman comes to terms with her past and, aided by her personal support group, is able to face her future with more conviction and self-understanding. Siobhan and Jane have much more serious problems with their mental health than Miranda, and their issues are treated respectfully, if a little glibly.

But for the plot, I feel I need to slip behind the spoilers curtain as, if you’re like me, you want to come to the novel fresh. Ms O’Leary dips into the mystery novel chest of twists: and there are two big ones which are even more surprising because I wasn’t expecting them in a romance. Firstly it turns out that all three women were expecting to spend some of their Valentine’s Day with the same man: Joseph Carter! (Grrr - this is given away in the book’s blurb - don’t do that publisher!) Secondly, and this really was taking a leaf from thrillers like The Wife Between Us, we make the assumption that it is the same Valentine’s Day but it turns out that it’s in different years!

Unfortunately this isn’t made clear until about two-thirds of the way through the book - when we get to New Year’s Eve - and here’s my biggest problem with the book: Joseph Carter. As a character he never quite meshes for me. I understand that people can show different faces in different relationships but, because we think this is all concurrent, he comes over as an untrustworthy cad and one that none of these women should give the time of day to. Of course, once the big revelations are made, it becomes clear that he, like Siobhan and Jane, is struggling to overcome challenges from his past. But I’d invested so much in him being a rotter that I never quite got to grips with him being a good guy after all and he never really came into focus for me.

I really appreciate that Ms O’Leary is trying new ideas in the romance genre and I think this was successful in many ways. For me, the biggest success is the creation of vivid, wholly realized women who, though emotionally damaged, are strong enough and have strong enough relationships to be able to take control of their lives.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

This book was not at all what I was expecting.

I went into it completely blind (I didn’t even read the premise and only checked it halfway through), and what I thought was a cute, fun rom-com read, was not at all that.

The triple POV was interesting, though I did find it quite hard to jump into each character’s lives, before you find out how they connect. For instance, I found myself skimming Siobhan’s perspectives, and even sometimes Miranda’s or Jane’s, though once it came together, I appreciated it.

The pacing seemed slightly off, but that’s because of the plot twists/how the book is set up, so I grew to appreciate that. The one thing I will say, though, is that I felt Miranda’s storyline was drawn out. I don’t think there was a way around that to fit within the book’s timeline constraints, but her character seemed stagnant while the other two were growing.

And, this was in present tense, which we all know is a pet peeve of mine.

BUT…I wasn’t expecting such a clever, well-connected book. The characters were each wildly different and nuanced, which I liked.

I think this is a solid 3.5 star read for me, rounded up because I suspect this will hold up better on a reread.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow, what a book. This is a story of healing and growth. It's written in third-person - we get Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane's stories - and as their stories unfold, we see how they intertwine with other. They are all stood up by one Mr. Joseph Carter, who we don't really get to know except through these women, who see him as a good and perfect man. I won't say much more, to avoid spoilers, but things are certainly not as they seem with Joseph. Beth O'Leary's writing is so genius with "The No-Show". I typically dislike books with multiple POVs but I loved the pacing of this one. As the book unravels, you will absolutely be engrossed.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me a advanced digital readers copy of this book via NetGalley!

This was poignant and sweet and lovely, and I devoured the whole thing in one evening. 💜 Beth O’Leary is the best!

Wow wow wow. Another amazing novel from Beth O'Leary author of the flat share. For most of the book I had no idea what the heck was going on and wanted to dislike everyone involved, but then WHAM the book and all my preconceived notions were blown apart. Read this book immediately.