This romance was a fun easy read which is perfect for snuggling under a blanket on the sofa with. The characters are the kind of people you’d love to have a cuppa and a chat with. It initially felt like Nick and Wren would never meet which is always a fun trope. From the minute Nick nearly kills Wren with a falling glass window, they keep causing each other strange accidents. But they were obviously just meant to be together. I enjoyed the backstory detail of both families of the characters, which lifts this story and gives you that warm happy feeling by the end. Which is all I want from reading a romance really!

The Near Miss ARC by Lily Joseph — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Tropes 🌷
— slow burn
— found family
— invisible string

“It’s strange. We keep trying to kill each other. But I’ve never felt so safe.” — Wren

This was such a feel-good rom-com book! The plot hooked me, and the story itself was such a roller coaster ride, full of mishaps, accidents, and near-death experiences for Wren and Nick. 🌸

It was also hilarious and exhilarating reading ‘Near Miss.’ I was laughing out loud and giggling every time they missed meeting each other. The slow burn and angst this book has brought to me were so good. 🌷✨

I really enjoyed reading this so much, and I can’t wait for people to get the same feels when it’s finally released on July 10, 2024. 💗✨

Such a refreshing debut novel from @lilyjosephwriter 🫶🏻 I can’t wait to read more of her books. 💗💗💗

Thank you so much for this ARC, @bookouture and @netgalley 🫶🏻✨

#TheNearMiss

I love slow-burn romances, but this one was too slow for my taste. The chemistry between the main female character (fmc) and main male character (mmc) was lacking, possibly because they only met halfway through the story. I think if they had met earlier, their relationship could have been more developed.

The constant near misses with accidents became repetitive and tiresome, making me wish the book would progress into a proper romance sooner.

The secondary characters were fantastic and actually outshined the main couple for me. I found myself more interested in Libby and her story, wanting to see more of her life.

The multitude of characters, incidents, and subplots made the plot feel overly complex. Despite the intriguing idea of Wren and Nick's destined connection, the execution felt disjointed, struggling to blend their stories together smoothly. I almost gave up on finishing the book due to its scattered focus. I couldn't make it past chapter 4 sadly because the back and forth from the main characters was quite confusing at times annd I felt lost in the story. Overall, I would rate it 2 stars.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with this (ARC).

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and Sophie Ranald for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“i feel like you’re my lighthouse.”

nick and wren keep missing each other. it takes broken windows, a near car crash and a trip to italy for fate to throw them together. misfortune follows misfortune and when they finally meet, is it cupid’s arrow or plain old love at first sight?

i thought this was a cute debut. i do think that disaster after disaster got a little much and i would’ve preferred for their relationship to actually undergo some kind of development instead of having them finally meet and it being instant connection. i liked wren and nick as individual characters and one of my favourite parts of the novel was nick’s relationship with ruby. the familial dynamics presented in this were interesting, but overall my main critique is that 80% of the book was buildup and i felt like we didn’t really see much of them together as a couple so i struggled to see them as a collective unit.

The Near Miss - 3 ★

The Near Miss is exactly the shake-up I was looking for in my reading. Wren and Alex near misses are clever and believable and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if *this* near miss would be the one that finally brought them together.

We first meet Wren as she almost walks into a sheet of glass as it falls from where handyman, Nick is repairing windows at Wren's friend Lola's bookstore. The thing stopping the near accident is a text from Wren's boyfriend, Alex asking her to pick up milk. Wren is shaken but moves on. What follows is a series of mishaps caused by the actions of both Nick and Wren in which each comes within a hair of danger but also one step closer to a different and perhaps, better life.

When Wren, a journalist by trade, starts profiling a beloved community member, Edie Macmillan, she starts to unravel some secrets in her own life that she never knew were present and as Nick is trying to rebuild his own life and with each near miss, the two get closer and closer to finally meeting. When a chance (and near death) encounter brings Wren and Nick together, their lives are more entwined then they could have imagined.

To me, the hallmark of a really good book is if I want to spend time with the characters and I certainly did with the characters in this book. Wren is a loving, supportive friend and daughter. Nick is a doting single dad while also being there for his brother, his grandmother, and his own mother. The supporting cast is one you can't help but root for, Edie, Lola, Travis, Alan, even Wren's boss and colleagues at the newspaper are people whose company you'd like to keep.

Pick up The Near MIss for all your poolside, beachside, lakeside reading! If you miss it, you'll be sad (puns intended):

I like the idea of this book but the author missed on some things for me. Yes, they had near misses of meeting hence the title however I would have liked more interaction for the connection of the characters. They meet too late in the book for me. Enjoyed how they met and after that it was a cute story but took a while. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest feedback.

This was a lot. Too many subplots, characters and things happening. The idea was there but execution fell short.

The Near Miss follows Nick and Wren as they go through a period where they are constantly nearly meeting each other. This involves a wild amount of near-death (or at least seriously injury-inducing) incidents, some of which were much more farfetched than others. I went into this having read a handful of reviews warning that the near misses go on for a very, very large portion of the book, and I truly think having that knowledge saved me from getting frustrated at having to wait so long for them to finally meet. I genuinely shouted “FINALLY!!” when they had their first true interaction. (I think I took a good year off my husband’s life because I startled him so much.)

There were a handful of characters I didn’t care for, but for the most part, I enjoyed following Wren and Nick as we dove into the dramas of their individual lives. I loved seeing how their stories were so connected even before they finally met, and it made me wonder how many people I am so close to knowing! I do wish that Nick and Wren’s romance had more of a focus earlier on; however, the universe was so determined to get them together that it was hard to argue that their spark wouldn’t be almost instantaneous upon meeting. I just love a romantic comedy that is heavier on the, well, romance!

All-in-all, The Near Miss was an enjoyable read and it was different from any romantic comedy I’ve read recently. I would recommend this if you like stories with dual POVs, unique concepts, and slower-paced books that focus more on the individual lives of the to-be couple rather than the actual romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

Summary: 'The Near Miss' is a feel good rom-com, revolving around the two main characters Nick and Wren. When Wren heads to Italy on what should have been a trip for two, she has no idea that Nick is there too. And when a totally coincidental, nearly fatal meet-cute finally throws them together in the magical Blue Grotto in Capri, sparks fly. But Nick and Wren soon find out their lives are even more entwined than they could ever imagine. Will their love survive, or will it be another near miss?

My Review: I found this book to be good, but a little confusing to follow. There were so many subplots and side chracters. The saving grace, was it was a quick paced read so I finished it quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Near Miss was a very cute romance, with a little Italian adventure in the middle and a lot of very fun (well… and dangerous) near misses for both our main characters, always caused by the other but largely unknown to them. We meet Wren (or Serenity) our female main character as she and Nick (our male main character) each navigate interesting relationships with love interests, ex love interests, family and friends. Eventually our two MCs get to meet and realize they're special to one another, but the near misses apply to their ability to forge a relationship from there as well. I enjoyed the interconnected hijinks and the two MCs, both alone and together. I agree with others that this may have dragged a little longer than was needed leading to their meet up, but in general I think fans of romance will enjoy this sweet read.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 🤍
3,5💫

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦."

After a few chapters of a disturbing amount of weird incidents connecting them but without them knowing each other, I was super eager to read the scene where the actually meet. Really, the amount of accidents and life threatening situations that happen with Wren and Nick are extremely improbable and preoccupying (⚠️ note: suspension of disbelief needed).

The book is quite slow paced, something I didn't expected from the book synopsis, and have a very atmospheric writing. The descriptions of Northumberland beautiful landscape had me googling locations all the time (please don't judge me, I know you would do the same), as well as the Italian islands (there are a few chapters that take place in Italy). The way Joseph was able to make the dual POV chapters overlap was simply chef's kiss.

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."

I don't want to go too deep into their relationship because even though this is a romance, I feel like this book is more on the literary fiction spectrum. I mean, although it has some funny situations, it is not your typical tiktok hyped rom-com. When Nick and Wren finally meet, everything makes sense, and I think Lily Joseph is a genius for writing such an intricate love story (😭💘)

"𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘞𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦."

Other aspects of the book that are worth mentioning:
• Edie was by far the funniest character, with all of her 'pardon my French' thing.
• The Community Kitchen was such am integral part of the story, that it acted almost like a character.
• I couldn't help but to feel a tug in my heart when Nick's relationship with Ruby, his daughter, was brought up.
• There are a few little subplots that helped to keep the story going that I really enjoyed.

Thank you so much to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC!
I received a complimentary copy of this book and all the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really wanted to love this book, but the push and pull was a bit too much for my liking. The writing was well done, which is saying a lot because the dual storylines started getting a bit complex, but I got exhausted about halfway through and found it difficult to finish. Overall, the concept and plot was good, but I would've like to have seen their romance developed a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

I really liked the concept of this book but I just wasn’t crazy about the storytelling.

In my opinion, the romance was way too slow for me. I feel like I got about halfway through the book before the love interests met. And even afterwards there wasn’t a super unique chemistry between them it felt very logistical at some points. Like they were only communicating to move the plot along.

I also didn’t fall in love with either Wren or Nick. I found Wren’s best friend & Edie to be the most entertaining characters to read personally.

I did enjoy their near misses and how creative it felt like these were. But since it didn’t directly contribute to the plot as neither Wren nor Nick seemed particularly angry or annoyed with the others mishaps I felt a bit confused as to what the purpose of all these mishaps were.

Nice touch on the theme of family, that felt really consistent throughout and central to both the characters.

I loved the plot and the concept but the execution wasn’t there. Although, I enjoyed the Near Miss I felt like the story was really drawn out. What happened over nearly 10-12 chapters could have easily fit into 2 so that more focus could be given to the romance which weirdly enough felt very rushed.

Summary: Wren, a reporter seeking peace, has a series of fateful encounters with Nick, a handyman recovering from heartbreak.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture Publishing for a chance to read this as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will be honest, I really liked the story line and where this book was going in the first 5 chapters. After that I didn’t love it. I felt like it drug on and on. I was hoping it was just one of those books that starts good, for boring, and got really good. But it didn’t.

what an amazing book!! i'm so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early!! it was just so much fun and exciting and sweet!! i had a great time reading this one and you should pick it up!!!

Firstly, thank you to the team at Bookouture and netgallery for letting me read near miss.
We meet Wren and nick, who is destined to meet eachother, and many tips to a&e on the way.
Sometimes fate has a funny way of pushing two people together.

I very much enjoyed the duel PoV of both Wren and nick and seeing each part from the eyes.
Was such a sweet ending, and such a good message to look out for your local community and be thankful to volunteers too

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Lily Joseph for the ARC!

Release Date: July 10, 2024

Nick and Wren cross paths and effect each others lives without even knowing it. Nick drops a window frame from the second story of the bookshop Wren’s best friend owns, nearly crushing Wren in the process. Wren sets down a sandwich onto the wrong plate and Nick picks it up and has an allergic reaction. They just keep NEARLY MISSING each other… until they both (separately) go away to Italy.

I am not going to lie. I was FED up with this book. I just could not stand how long it took for the characters to actually meet. It’s a short book and super cute and I did maybe cry at the end, but I was so frustrated with just how many chapters went by and they had crossed paths but didn’t realize it yet.

i’m going to be completely honest and say that i just did not like this book. there were so many disasters that kept happening and it was so slow and i just kept asking myself when it was going to end. i had high expectations and LOVED the idea of this book, but i think it was just poorly executed.

thank you to netgalley and bookouture for the arc!

This book has lots of potential, there were just a few things that I didn't jive with. The first and biggest one was the amount of times the word "pet" was used. I live in the US, and I understand the lingo is different in different parts of the world but I have never read a book where a term of endearment was used SO many times. 41 to be exact.

Next, I think it would have been a lot better if just the first near-miss happened. Or it could have been something a little more drastic and that could have just been the *one* thing. They could still have the connection with Wren's mom & Nick's grandma, but all the accidents got so old and were completely unnecessary imo.

I really loved Wren and Nick's characters, they were both super likeable and I was rooting for them. I also really loved Edie, even though I cringed almost every time she talked because of the number of times she said "pet." Maybe this is a super common thing and people use it all the time, but I've read so many books set in England and I have never heard it before.

Overall, for this being Ms. Joseph's debut novel, I can confidently say she has a bright future ahead of her and I will be looking forward to her second novel, coming in 2025.