Beth O'Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over half a million copies and changed her life completely. Her second novel, The Switch, has been optioned for film by Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg's production company. Beth writes her books in the English countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she's not at her desk, you'll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather). You can find her online at BethOLearyAuthor.com, or on social media @BethOLearyAuthor.
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?
Where to start? The novel itself is pretty clever—three women, all jilted by the same man on the same day. The story follows each of the three women through their lives and their relationship with said man, all working towards the discovery of what exactly happened that day, and how he's tied to the other women in the story. It is not a romance, or at least not the type of romance we've gotten so used to these days. Rather, it's a story about women, and life, and how romance for someone and the love of life all play a role in our stories. The writing really captures this very well, in the midst of a plot where it must have been hard to balance all the threads. I really appreciate the warmness of the prose and the overarching goal of the story.
Because it's women's fiction, and not romance, I feel like O'Leary is able to do a lot more than romance authors can with The No-Show—for instance, I love how love of life is a huge takeaway from the novel. We obviously want to know what happened to Joseph in the past (a mystery that gets solved), and we want to know which women Joseph ends up with (another mystery that also gets solved). But in place of all the steamy scenes that the world wants books full of these days, O'Leary presents another option: really taking the time and depth to explore what life and love should be about. I felt like, even though we were being deceived by more than half the novel, O'Leary captured a kind of essence of life within the pages of The No-Show that we don't see in mainstream romance media.
That's not to say the book is without its flaws. Like I mentioned earlier, the plot is clever, albeit predictable (especially if you're seen the movie One Day or read other British women's fiction), and it can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow regarding the deception that comes with that plot. In hindsight, looking at the timeline, it's very easy to tell why Joseph acts differently towards the three women, and why he stands them all up on Valentine's Day. But in the moment, it's difficult to digest, and in the middle of trying to sort it all out, there's a lot of off-the-page action we have to trust is happening to let the rest of it all fall together. I definitely read this book with an open mind, but I have a feeling that people who come to it with specific expectations might be let down.
Nonetheless, I truly think O'Leary's The No-Show is an enjoyable and meaningful read. The writing felt warm, and the overarching goal of the book was successful, even if there were moments of doubt and deceit. All-in-all, can't wait to feature on my bookstagram. For more from Beth O'Leary, you can find her online at BethOLearyAuthor.com, or on social media @BethOLearyAuthor.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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