I’ve read every Beth O’Leary novel and had very different reactions to all of them—I hated The Road Trip, loved The Flatshare, and The Switch was somewhere in between—as they are all radically different books with different interests. What I really love about O’Leary is her focus on writing what is been labeled as relationship fiction. Yes there is romance, but it also focuses on friendships and family and the emotional state of the characters. All of the characters come alive on the page and feel real. The No-Show has been my favorite since The Flatshare. I don’t often read contemporary fiction, yet O’Leary has pulled me in once again with this book.

I will admit that about half-way through the book I was impatiently waiting for something to finally happen. I came to the book with my own ideas of what the story would be, but she somehow managed to build a lot of suspense just within the everyday moments of these characters lives. The twists and turns and slow reveals were brilliant and I was really impressed with this novel. And at the end of it all were the fuzzy feelings that made me smile.

I’ve had some ups and downs with O’Leary’s books, but I’ve always said I would read everything she wrote and The No-Show is a reminder of why that is: complex characters, interesting relationships, a balance of serious issues and warmth, and an overall great reading experience. I can’t wait to see what O’Leary writes next. Based on her previous books I can only assume it is going to be entirely different from what’s she’s written before.

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A light bit of romantic fluff. Good comfort read when you can’t muster much energy to read in bed at night. ( )

As I'm not a real fan of the romance genre, I was a little tentative to start this book. I did listen to this book on audible, and that may have helped. The book follows three very different women who are all involved with the same man. Siobhan is a quick thinking lifestyle coach and her back story, as it is revealed, we learn leaves her very vulnerable and afraid to let herself fall for someone. Miranda is a tree surgeon, and her job takes her up in the air to the tops of trees. Miranda also has a backstory, and handles her disappointments and search for a soul mate by her job. Jane is a severely damaged young woman who is under-employed at a charity shop and she is trying to put her life back together again after a traumatic breakup with undertones of coercion and assault. Each of the women really don't don't the man that they are involved with, but a single traumatic incident brings everything to light. Each woman eventually finds their soul-mate and things all fall into place at last. I did enjoy this story. ( )

more like 2.5 ( )

I finished this a while ago and forgot I hadn't reviewed it yet! This is another fun, witty, cleverly-written story by Beth O'Leary. She makes me want to be her friend and hang out in her insightful, warm-fuzzy world of characters.
It took me a bit to get into the story, but knew it would be worth it, and it was. We immediately are distrustful of Carter (Joseph) and why he is cheating on these three already (emotionally) wounded women. But of course, there is so much more to the story than what we read at first. Stick with the story and know it touches on some delicate subjects, but also know that it is much more than a love story, and one that is so worth it! ( )