The No-Show

Interesting story about Joseph Carter, and the three women with whom he is involved. I enjoyed this story and Volle reading. I got the impression we’re not getting the full story. It turns out I was correct. We were introduced to the three women. Joseph stood up on Valentine’s Day. This is not happening at the same time.I liked the story and watched the evolution of Joseph’s priorities and growth.You’ll have to read the book because I don’t want to give away too much information. It’s involving, aggravating, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth. These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: they’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up—Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man. Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they are all in serious danger of falling in love with a man who may have not just one or two but three women on the go…. Is there more to him than meets the eye? Where was he on Valentine’s Day? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?My Thoughts:The No-Show is an intriguing tale of romantic entanglements that will connect three women who are strangers.They all share one man at different points in their lives.With these connections happening, it seemed that the women might have bumped into each other at some point, but by the end of the story, we learn that these “no-show” events happened in different years. And one of the women preceded the other two by some time; in fact her story has an unexpected conclusion.The one man seemed ordinary, although he is called “handsome.” From descriptions of him, he seemed quirky more than interesting. He had apparent social issues that led him down this path. Or so we think. But when we finally reach the conclusion, we realized there is much more to his story.I enjoyed this book, for the most part, although the time frame was a bit confusing, and a lot of pages were spent describing the women and their other relationships, including friendships. The ending was the best part, in my opinion, as we learn, finally, what led this man to behave the way he did. 4 stars.

As I read the first 3/4 of this book I was going to rate the book poorly. It didn’t hold my interest a lot and it took me significantly longer to finish this book than normal. However, at the plot turn it completely changed my outlook and made me love this book. It was unexpected and honestly heart warming and sad. I would recommend!

First I just want to say thank you to all who left reviews. You are the reason I decided to read this book. I stayed up a little to late just so I could finish it. Once I was 75% of the way through it I just had to finish it. Parts of the story were a bit frustrating because of the way it is set up but it just made me want to get through it that much faster. Just stick with it. It all clicks together.(Sorry if this isn't the best review but it's almost 2am.)

Definitely almost as good as her debut novel. I have to admit I was intrigued when I read the synopsis. I love a good mystery and I was definitely dying to find out what was going on.I have to admit reading the first half of this book took a bit longer. I was confused and it was hard not to judge Joseph Carter.The twist was something I never saw coming and boy did it make me think. It made the second half of this book fly by. It bumped up my like for this book. It really makes you think. That's how I would explain this book. It makes you think.I definitely would consider it more women's fiction than romance despite the romance aspect. I did enjoy the bits of romance there was but it was so much more than just that.Overall, I enjoyed the journey this book took me on and will be thinking about it for days.

This book is not my favorite book that Beth O’Leary has written. I much prefer The Flatshare or even The Switch to this book. The worst thing is that I cannot tell you what bothered me about this book without too many spoilers. I felt misled by the way that the story is told. And it is my fault for not reading as closely as I should have. My suspicion is that the author would not be surprised that a reader missed the telling details. Even so, there are things that I liked about the book. The review must stay cursory.

This book is about three women, Siobhan, Miranda and Jane. Siobhan is a life coach from Dublin who is regularly in London for business. When she’s in London she meets Joseph for sex – it’s only sex and they are both happy with the non-exclusive arrangement. It works for them. Miranda is a tree surgeon and is dating a man called Carter. Jane has moved to Winchester from London and is volunteering in a charity shop. She has made a friend called Joseph Carter and although to start with it’s purely friendship, Janes feelings progress in to something more than friendship. You guessed it – they are all the same guy.If I’m totally honest I found the first half of this book slow and I was worried that this book wouldn’t live up to the very high pedestal I have put Beth O’Leary on. But then it got to about halfway through and my opinion totally changed. I found this book really well written and the twists to be very clever.There’s something comforting about Beth’s books, like when you’re reading them you know instantly you are reading one of her books.

From the premise, Joseph sounds like a prick for standing up those women. And it also sounds like he’s cheating on them with the other. And you might think, “why would I read a story about a jerk?!”. But there‘s more to the story so it’s (sort of) worth sticking it out to the end and giving it a chance. Hence, best to go into it blindly and without prejudice.I didn’t get into it till about 40% of the way through where I thought the story just got a teeny bit more interesting. It definitely doesn’t fall into a romantic comedy category but I don’t think it’s romance either. There’s some mystery involved so... romance mystery perhaps?Pros:- VERY clever concept/plot/plot twist- Beth O’Leary writes beautifully (as always)Cons:- Slow paced, plot twist reveal seemed too late in the book- Too many stories of the different people made less room for each to fully develop. Also makes it harder to ‘connect’ to these characters.Overall, for a book I was super excited about, it was a bit of a letdown.

Our Beth has done it again!I adore her writing, the chapter for every character’s point of view (so much so that I miss it when I read books from different authors), and this story.I’ve read all her books, and I have to say this one is second only to The Flatshare. And just because it has a bit of a slow start (for good reason though, as a good old plot twist awaits).It is not a romcom, but a complex story of three remarkable women, love and friendship. It is a warm hug, yet a page turner. I adored it!

Three women all involved with one man - the charming, and slightly mysterious, Joseph Carter.Siobham is focused on her career; after an earlier disastrous relationship she is determined that her affair with Joseph will just be a bit of light-hearted fun - until one day, it isn’t.Miranda is still trying to work out her feelings for Carter; she likes him, she really does, only there are a few things that just don’t add up.Jane is hiding out in her old home town, filling her days with charity shop work, and dodging questions about her past. She likes Joseph but is aware of a connection that he doesn’t remember. And what will his reaction be when he finds out the truth?I enjoyed the book and the ending is very clever. If I have one niggle it’s that it went on a bit too long with the constant analysing and examining of everyone’s feelings. About half way through I found myself getting a bit bored with it all. But as I’ve said - a clever book, just could have used a little cutting to pick up the pace a bit.

I really, really loved this book. I love all Beth O'Leary books but this one is probably my favourite (if I had to choose).The way this book is written, is so clever. You kind of know that there must be more to the story, as you read on. However, the reveal is not one that I was expecting.It is an emotional book and I warmed to each and every character.I also appreciated the small reference and inclusion of the Covid-19 lockdowns, which occurs at the very end of the book. There haven't been many books that I've seen to acknowledge this period of time, even though they are supposedly taking place during it.