Three women are all stood up on Valentine’s Day. Little do they know that they’ve been stood up by the same man. When all three of them forgive him and let him back into their lives, will it be happily ever after or heartbreak?

I’ll be upfront and admit that this is the first Beth O Leary I’ve read. I’ve heard really great things from other people about her books which is why I wanted to pick this one up. I’m also trying to dip my toe into the slightly scary (for me) world of romance.

The three women at the heart of this book; Siobhan, Miranda and Jane are all very different but all very likeable. Siobhan is a very driven life coach who hooks up with Joseph in London once a month, but does she want something more? Miranda is a tree surgeon who has been dating Carter for 5 months now and is wondering if things will become more serious. And Jane is a quiet charity shop volunteer who makes friend with Joseph through their love of books. But will she be able to keep him in the friend zone?

We meet Joseph through the eyes of these three women and for over half of the book I was conflicted. The Joseph described is kind, caring, smart – basically the ideal man. But as far as we’re concerned, he’s a cheater. And I hate cheating. I was seriously considering dnf-ing this book but then I remembered this is a romance, so there’s clearly something else going on and all is not what it seems.

It was a very brave choice of O’Leary to write it in this way but she managed to pull it off. When everything came together it was both heart-warming and heart-breaking and it takes a good writer to be able to capture both of those things on the same page.

I enjoyed reading this and thought it was a perfectly acceptable romance, with a good story and good writing. Will it change my view on the romance genre? Probably not. But I’m certain other readers will absolutely love it.

As a big fan of Beth O'Leary's previous books I was excited to pick up this new one from her.

O'Leary has a talent for writing believable and interesting characters and telling original and entertaining stories. The tone of The No-Show felt more serious compared to her other books with some heavy subjects being handled with a great deal of care and sensitivity.

The book follows three women, Siobhan, Miranda and Jane who all have something in common - a love interest named Joseph Carter. Their individual stories are told in alternating chapters. I must admit that for at least half of this book I found the plot quite slow and meandering but was curious to see how the three storylines would come together. Once I realised where the story was going I found a huge appreciation for the cleverness of O'Leary's plotting and felt that all three storylines were concluded perfectly.

This book further solidified O'Leary's place as one of my favourite contemporary authors. Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the ARC.

This book was quite the rollercoaster!

I spent the first half of the book hating Joseph Carter - who on earth could have 3 women on the go and stand all of them up on Valentine's Day!

But then the twist came, which I did not expect. Following that reveal, I spent the second half of the book trying to piece together some sort of timeline for everything I'd ignored in the first half due to my hatred for /him/.

As if that twist wasn't enough, along comes another one which I noted as "86% - WHAT?! Oh god, now it all makes sense!"

It's not really a romance book - it's more than the relationships that are shown. It's about the friendship, finding yourself, self-worth, mental health, recovering from past trauma. I adored Miranda, Jane and Siobhan's storyline and character development. My favourite was Miranda - she's badass!

I loved this book. Beth O'Leary is an autobuy author for me anyway. This storyline was not what I expected from her as she usually focuses on the romance in the stereotypical 'boy-meets-girl, boy-and-girl-fall-in-love, major-event-happens, boy-and-girl-split-up, boy-and-girl-make-up' way. However, this was so much more than what I wanted from the blurb. Highly recommend.

Beth O’Leary does it again!
3 women, one boyfriend.

The first half of this book made me think Joseph is a right player, but things soon change, there’s SO much more going on.

This book is so heartwarming yet heartbreaking all at the same time. Beth makes so many unique characters, I loved them ALL. The chapters written in alternative characters so you always get each persons take of what’s happening.

I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to spoil anything but someone gets the best gift EVEERRR at the end! A girl could dream, right?!

Thank you Quercus & Netgalley for this early digital copy.

Jane, Miranda, and Siobhan have all been stood up on valentines day but the same guy Joseph, three women and one man will never end well however there is more to this story than meets the eye. Classed as romantic fiction I found it had a element if mystery too. At first I found it a little hard to get into and get my head around the three women and their lives, after a while I was drawn in and really enjoyed it.

Prefacing this review to say that I read an eARC of the UK edition, so I went in expecting women's fiction and this is pretty much what I got. I will into more details about this towards the end of my review.

I will keep my review vague to avoid spoilers because this story relies on the unexpected and the reader needs to figure things for themselves as the story develops,.

This was a first for me by this author and I found it very readable with strong mystery/suspense element. It is masterfully written with an interesting choice of story-telling, keeping the reader questioning, guessing, trying to figure out what is happening. I liked the disjointed timeline, the unreliability of all the narrators kept me guessing and I was completely engrossed in the story.

I found all the characters to be very well drawn, with strong, distinctive voice, each of them on its own unique journey. Joseph, on the other hand, remained elusive till the final section of the book. It was done on purpose to keep the mystery but it also made it harder for me to relate to him.

I really, really liked the women's stories, different but also similar in their focus on love/family/professional success. They were touching stories about wanting, and loving, the curveballs life throws at us and the way we dodge or take them head on.

At the center of it all were the lies we tell - to others and to ourselves, the time we stay silent for our own sake or for others and ultimately gaining the strength to speak up.

After this praise, I have come to the point near the end that completely threw me off and I couldn't quite accept it. Spoilers ahead:

A main characters dies tragically and then the timelines come together to focus on the hero. I didn't see it coming and I wish the author made a different choice regarding this character. It was framed as necessary for the overall story to happen but deep down it felt wrong to me to kill a main character struggling with mental illness just when they were on the mend and seeing a path forward towards the future they wanted. I felt cheated, this death tainted the HEA for the other characters.

I still want to read more from this author, it is just that I had different expectations of this book based on the blurb.

Now, I want to discuss the marketing of this book. The US blurb describes it as "cute romcom" and I feel this disingenuous and misleading, even harmful to the romance readers. I didn't find the story funny beside a couple of jokes here and there but humour is subjective and I don't want to debate the comedy aspect. My issue is that this story despite being very emotional and moving, exploring different romantic relationships, is not a romance because there is no HEA for all MCs.

CW: mental breakdown, sexual predator, manipulation, side character with dementia, death of an MC

This is just as gripping and beautiful as all the previous Beth O’Leary novels. The characters were relatable and entertaining. It was a pure pleasure to read.

I cried.
It's really very difficult to review without spoilers and I really hope that you get to read this without preconceptions. I picked it purely because I love the author.
It's about love, second chances, friendship and knowing yourself.
Brilliantly interlinked characters and a gut dropping moment when it all comes together, I loved this very much.

Three women, one man.. Joseph Carter seems to have a habit of standing women up on Valentines Day! What is going on with him?

As I was reading this I kept thinking…. What’s going on, where is this book going? And I wasn’t sure it was going to be one that I rated highly and then bam! It hits just after halfway through… Beth O’Leary is such a clever writer, this was brilliant and I absolutely adored the epilogue. (I can’t write too much without it becoming a spoiler)

What a book! Highly recommended… you must read it….

Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC

This book is Beth O'Leary like you've never seen her before!! I've always enjoyed her work but this book just blew the rest out of the water - with twists and turns and hugely complex characters, I never knew what was coming next. It felt like a romance with the suspense of a thriller in the best way, a complete page turner!

I have loved each of Beth O’Leary’s previous books and I was really excited to take a break from my usual thrillers to indulge in another of her stories. As with her other books, reading “The No Show” feels as comforting and uplifting as a long catch up with a great friend with the warmth of snuggling under a duvet.
I was intrigued by the three women stood up by Joseph Carter on Valentine’s Day and how that came to be. It was really easy to get into the plot straight away. Miranda was my favourite, particularly her nighttime adventure with her workmates but honestly every character is wonderfully written. It’s a quick, refreshing read with the right balance of humour and emotion. Whilst The Flatshare remains my favourite of her books, The No Show is a very close second.

Thank you to Beth O’Leary, Quercus and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The No-Show was not what I expected. Unfortunately I didn't spark with Beth's last book (The Road Trip) so I wasn't very hopeful for this one. I'm pleased to report it has reinstated my enjoyment for Beth's books because I loved it.

I'll be honest, I wasn't best pleased with the twist (that's just my preference) and I thought the plot had been tarred for me but I soon found myself appreciating the twist and back enjoying the story.

The No-Show will surprise you in places and it is definitely one worth picking up.

Complicated relationships and an interesting storyline. Ive enjoyed this author’s other books and this was no exception
A perfect holiday read.

Beth O'Leary is back! After a somewhat less impressive 'The Road Trip', her new work The No-Show hit me in the same feels (both heart-wrenching and heart-warming) as her earlier books. This may well have been her most ambitious plotline till date, but it worked out well, and we are treated to the remarkable stories of three really different, but each likable in their own ways, young women, and of course... the story of Joseph, a character you will love to hate and ultimately learn to love. I have to be honest and say I figured out some of the twistiness early on, but that did not take away my enjoyment of the book and putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

I really don't want to give away too much about this book, as I think it is best enjoyed going into it completely blind. What I will say is that, what seems like a light and breezy, slightly predictable rom-com about three women all being stood up by the same man on Valentine's Day (gasp, yes, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for an evening event), turns into a much deeper story about three women finding their way in life. One successful life coach is trying to focus on her success after a less than ideal break-up, but finds she is falling for the person who she considered to be a friend with benefits. One bad-ass tree surgeon thinks she has found the perfect grown-up/has his shit together boyfriend she has always dreamed of. And one lovely young bookworm has fled the bright city lights of London after an incident with her boss, hiding in routines and not allowing herself anything until this young man with a shared passion for books comes around.

Beth O'Leary is fast becoming my favourite ever author. The Flatshare was an absolute triumph and although they didn't quite hit in the same way, I also loved reading The Swtich and The Roadtrip.

With The No-Show, I feel that O'Leary is back to her original success. This book is a classic combination of funny, tear jerking and also presenting the hard hitting topics that you wouldn't normally expect to see in your bog standard romance novel. O'Leary is good at giving us likeable but flawed characters (in the same vein as Marian Keyes) and she always hits the spot.

I've loved all of Beth O' Leary's books so far - this was definitely a bit of a departure and the time shifting aspect of it slightly irritated me to begin with, but made it all the more satisfying once everything dropped into place. It's a really cleverly plotted book but has (as with all her books) complex and real characters.

I’ve got a number of Beth’s books on my shed but bizarrely have never actually read one, they’ve just become an ever-present addition to my tbr shelf. But I jumped at this one. And I’m a little on the fence.

The storyline was not what I expected from the premise. I assumed the three women in question would meet early on and find out they are dating the same man and spend the rest of the book plotting their revenge, but - I won’t spoil it completely - that’s not what happened at all.

I found the women a bit flat and a bit of a pushover; they weren’t the powerful and strong women I was expecting. I also didn’t like Joseph as a character, or even as a villain; and his redeemable features did not do enough for me. I found the three points of view of the women a bit confusing as well but I do understand why she’s written it this way.

It was enjoyable and pleasant to read, funny and sad, but it didn’t hit the dizzying heights I was expecting. It did change pace about 75% of the way through so I am glad I stuck it out, but you do have to invest in it for the payoff to be worth it. Having said all this, I do seem to be in the minority here judging by other advanced reviews.

An enjoyable and easy-to-read book. The author slowly reveals things about the main characters that changes your perspective on them and their actions. I'd recommend this to fans of Lizzy Dent and Sophie Kinsella.

O’Leary is an automatic purchase for me, I love all her work and was so excited to read this. I really enjoyed it. I love her use of multiple perspectives and the shock at the end was so clever. At about 60% I lost the intention and it became static hence only 4 stars. Her work is never mind boggling or life changing but they are always soft romances so a light read and I love that about her style.

Three different women find themselves stood up on Valentine's Day. They're all waiting for the same man but they'll all forgive him when he doesn't show. What is his explanation? What will happen when there very different women find out about each other. ⭐⭐⭐💫/5

It's a plot that's not usually my cup of tea but I read the Flat Share a couple of years ago and Beth O'Leary had stayed on my radar. There is high drama and a complex, multiple-POV structure to this one that slowly unravels towards a surprising conclusion. The women - Siobhan, Miranda and Jane - are very different. All strong and flawed in their own ways, all in love with the same man and struggling to puzzle out his secrets. It's difficult to review without giving too much away but the romances are both heartwarming and frustrating, true to life in that there are pitfalls and misunderstandings. And once again, O'Leary tackled the darker sides of love and attraction with nuance and depth, without overshadowing the romance at the heart of the story.

It did drag a little in the middle and I found myself frustrated with the situation and the characters perpetuating it. But it's worth persevering because there's more to the story than meets the eye and once all is revealed it becomes a cleverly plotted, characterful story