6/5 ✨for creativity!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS BOOK! Truly, Lily Jones hit it out of the park for me. The creativity and SEAMLESS flow of the story was a treasure to read! I fell in love with all of the characters I was meant to fall in love with and strongly disliked the characters who deserved it!! (Cough* cough* Alex) It was such a fun read for me! I would strongly recommend reading it if you like near death experiences and fate trying to work its butt off to get you to be with your person. It also was hilarious, fun, and quirky too! Such a good book!

'I feel like you're my lighthouse'

Wren and Nick may have just set the highest bar ever in terms of meet cute.

The Near Miss by Lily Joseph focuses on Wren and Nick, the most unfortunate soulmates the universe has ever thrown together. When Wren leaves her best friends bookstore one morning, and narrowly avoids being crushed by a pane of glass, she can't help but think 'what if I had left the store seconds earlier'. From then on her life seems like a someone's bad idea of a prank, falling from one bad luck scenario to the next, and barley leaving each one unscathed. Nick feels awful, after nearly flattening a woman with a pane of glass, he hopes to put it behind him, but fate seems to have other plans, throwing him into multiple unfortunate happenings. They seem to be careening towards each other, but narrowly avoiding disaster each time, when they finally meet, will it be love at first sight, or does the universe have other plans for them?

I loved this book, the characetrs, all of it! Wren and Nick are so sweetly oblivious to each other but it made me so happy reading each chapter, and finding the little things that I guessed would be the thing in the next chapter that would connect them, (I was wrong more times than I cared to admit). There were so many times where I would be like 'they're both in the same place surely they have to run into each other' or 'ahh so thats why that was mentioned', and it just made the book so much more enjoyable each time. The sort of things that they got themselves into, (being trapped under a bookshelf, and nearly falling from a stair lift spring to mind) were so comical that I was laughing out loud for a lot of this book.

My favourite character by far was Edie, the most grandmotherly nanna to ever be. Her constant use of 'pardon my french' made me smile every time, and the way she was with everyone she came into contact with was the sort of woman I would hope to be when I'm older. I think we could do with having an Edie in our lives. She reminded me a lot of my nanny.

I was hooked on the book from the first 'near miss', and it never let up. I found myself rooting for them both to get what they wanted, found myself laughing at this a lot more than I thought I would, and when they finally met in person, I found myself nearly cheering with excitement. The chemistry that they had when they were in person was so good. I was so incredibly frustrated at how close they came to meeting each other after Italy, but the lightbulb moment was so satisfying that I could forgive it, even if it meant me shedding a few tears.

Overall I really enjoyed this read, and couldn't quite believe it was a debut novel, and I hope to read more by Lily Joseph in the future. I give it 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lily Joseph, and Bookouture, for the opportunity to read this early copy. All thoughts are my own

A really exciting debut novel from Lily Joseph that is all about fate and following your heart. I really enjoyed getting to know Wren and Nick in particular, and their trip to the Amalfi Coast really took me back to my time there!

I would have liked a bit more of Wren and Nick's relationship as I think the build up to them getting together was a bit too long. However, overall, I really enjoyed this one!

ARC Review: This is a 3/5 🌟 book for me. Cute, fluffy closed door romance. 🥰 The cover is really cute - i personally prefer a little more spice in my books. But it was a sweet book about star crossed lovers. I enjoyed it but I would like to see a little more angst, spice and chemistry. But sometimes you need something simple and fluffy to cheer you up. ˙ᵕ˙ Super excited to see what she decides to put out next!!

Also leaving a review on IG @my_bookish_diaries_ 3k followers and on GoodReads @lunaslibrary

Nick and Wren are meant to be. But Nick and Wren have never met. And now, fate is about to change everything. Could true love be just a catastrophe away?
I would highly recommend this book to… anyone and everyone! This book will stay with you long after you've finished it, and in the most fabulous way! Wow…!… I caught myself holding my breath more than once, genuinely worried about what would happen next… a breathless read! It’s definitely an unforgettable story and it just gets more beautiful and moving as it goes on until it reaches its conclusion which is a perfect ending. I absolutely loved it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

What a gorgeous feel-good story! This reminded me of a 90s rom-com when everything is just a little bit over the top, in the best way possible. The book starts off with a bang -almost literally- and doesn't stop from there.

I loved how Wren and Nick were in each other's lives for the entire book, even though they didn't actually meet until halfway through. It was so much fun realizing how the closest people in their lives were actually connected. The Italy portion of the book was so picturesque and perfectly fitting.

This is the perfect book to pick up when you want something light, fun, and feel-good. The setting, the characters, the community- it was such a fun read and would make a great summer book- perfect for reading on the beach on holiday.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this story of two people who keep being pulled together and yet just missing each other. Nick and Wren are both great characters and the author really brings to life these near misses.

Rounded up, you could say a 3.5!! There were certain portions of the book that I felt moved slowly. I loved the premise of the book and the near miss concept but at points it became almost frustrating!! I was rooting for Nick and Wren all along but wished we could have seen more of them actually together. A quick and relatively easy romance, it was a fun one! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

I found "The Near Miss" by Lily Joseph to be a somewhat disappointing read. The characters, incidents, and subplots made the storyline feel convoluted. Despite the promising premise of Wren and Nick's destined connection, the execution felt disjointed, with the narrative thread struggling to weave them together seamlessly. Frankly, I almost gave up on finishing the book due to its scattered focus. Overall, it's a 2 star rating from me.

The elements in this book that deal with the fate of meeting people along the way to find romance are written pretty well. I liked both main characters; the fact that they are trying to fix some problems in their lives and always crossing paths with each other in the process was so interesting to read. Overall, I finished reading this in one sitting and enjoyed it.

I cannot and never will be able to take books seriously when they use ' ' instead of " " for dialogue. It is so easy to get confused, thinking what someone is saying is actually a quote when using ' '. I have had to read multiple sentences again because they didn't make sense. is ' ' a UK thing or something? I get UK authors exist but using ' ' just reads like a bad fanfiction to me, and I can't really focus on anything else when I'm so distracted by the dialogue mess.

2.5 stars

Wren and Nick keep missing each other. I felt like this book was too many near misses and took a while to get into and then was rushed at the end. I wanted more romance

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I loved this book - it was lighthearted and an easy read. I loved both Wren & Nick as characters and each near miss had me feeling disappointed and I became slightly impatient as the story progressed. I found some of the accidents far fetched and repetitive but that didn’t take away from how I felt about the book.
I loved Wren’s character and how she let loose after her break-up with Alex, it was refreshing & exciting.
Nick’s character was so charming & had me rooting for him from the start.
I really loved how everything ties together at the end, but wish we got to see more of Wren & Nick together and how their relationship blossomed.

Thank you NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very clever narrative with the different strands woven together seamlessly, it is almost a stage show where one character walks off stage as the other arrives looking for them. The books is a fascinating series of near misses and connections, both present and past that join up at various points as the plot ebbs and flows. The characters are lovely, well described and well meaning, apart from a weasel of an ex. There are some great surprises alongside the numerous links and mini disasters that strike Nick and Wren. A lovely, chaotic read.

Wren and Nick keep missing each other at home, but when they meet in Capri, in yet another mishap, their heartbeats begin to sync.
Lily Joseph writes great settings, and I could feel the hot sun on my face and see the whitewashed walls while reading about Capri. Sadly, though, this was a disappointing read for me otherwise. While Wren and Nick were lovely characters, there were too many characters, too many incidents, too many sub plots, and a thread that kept thinning when trying to draw them together in a fluid way. I almost did not bother finishing, so it's a 2.5 for me.
That said, this is Joseph's debut romance, and I congratulate her on this effort.

A incredible tale of friendship, fate, loss and of course love.

After a near death experience where Nick the handyman accidentally drops a pain of glass from a height into the street Wren starts to question her life as does Nick. What follows is a hilarious story of near misses for the pair, fate is either trying to bring them together or kill them trying.

I really enjoyed this story, there were funny moments but also a really in depth plot of the characters finding themselves and there lives interconnected but always missing each other. The characters were likeable and relatable and it was a very easy read.
This book was a slow burn and I would of liked to see more of Nick and Wrens actual relationship once they had finally met. As far as a romance goes it was okay but I would sway more on the side of it being literary fiction with magical realism.

I adored the book highlighting the community kitchen and what one place and a group of volunteers can do together to benefit people in need and how easy it is to give back to others.
Overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing more of Lily Josephs work.

Thankyou NetGalley, Lily Joseph and Bookouture for an advanced copy

This book is all about Wren and Nick who were both likeable and relatable characters.
I loved how their lives were intertwined by fate and their romance was just perfect once it got going.
The setting was great and I think Italy really added to the romance.
An easy romantic read with a lovely ending.
Thanks to NetGalley, Lily Joseph and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

3/5! The first bit of the book read more like a literary fiction, where the characters seemed to have some type of existential crisis because of where they’re at in life and situations they keep finding themselves in. I liked how the two main characters had their own individual storylines, but they kept intersecting and just nearly meeting each other. Their circumstances always seemed to draw them apart, however, and I became a little frustrated after this happened time after time. It felt a bit repetitive and like the start of their romance was right in front of me but kept getting taken away. That being said, I love how the invisible string theory was incorporated. It was fun reading from one persons point of view about something and then getting to the next chapter and seeing the same thing from another perspective. I think this is a good book for fans of Rebecca Serle and would recommend to anyone who is looking for a short and sweet romance!

2,5 ⭐️ I liked the idea of their story but it didn’t swiped me off my feet. I think I needed more of them interacting. Their relationship development wasn’t enough for me, they barely interact in the book and suddenly they were together. The book could’ve been longer just to develop a bit more their relationship. I was actually more interested in Travis and Liam’s story than in Wren and Nick’s.

'The Near Miss' is a feel good rom-com, which I absolutely loved. Right from the characters, to the plot, for me, this book had everything. This book is a slow burn romance which may not be to everyones taste, but I for one, absolutely devoured it.

The main characters, Nick and Wren, were so lovable and I was rooting for them throughout the entirety of the book and had me giggling and kicking my feet, as for the secondary characters, Libby and Travis, they were an absolute delight. Ms Joseph, if you see this, I would like a book for Libby please x

As much as I loved the book, I found the ending slightly rushed and wished as a reader, I could've seen more of Nick and Wren as a couple, maybe through a cheeky little epilogue. Overall, 'The Near Miss' by Lily Joseph was a quick and easy light hearted romance, which should definitely not be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.