Beth O'Leary (The Switch; The Flatshare) presents another beautifully nuanced romance in The No-Show. Not as comedic as some of O'Leary's other novels, this is a lovely look at the nature of love and how to tell if someone is the right person for right now--or the right person for always.
The No-Show revolves around three young British women, strangers to one another and living vastly different lives. Siobhan is a fierce and outspoken life coach, enjoying the whirlwind of modern dating; Jane is a timid, nervous charity shop employee, who uses her strict routines to keep her grounded; and Miranda is a gutsy tree surgeon, who is okay with just being one of the guys. But they all have one thing in common: they were stood up on Valentine's Day and, as it turns out, they were all ghosted by the same man. As the three women untangle their feelings for their date and the dramas happening in their own lives, O'Leary uses their widely varied personalities to explore love from multiple perspectives.
Poignant and compelling--and surprisingly informative about the risks arborists undertake--The No-Show is an engrossing novel. Readers are sure to have strong opinions about who should end up with whom as the story moves among the lives of Siobhan, Jane and Miranda--and the man they're all dating. O'Leary does an excellent job, as always, of creating a charming, realistically flawed romance, while simultaneously tapping into the darkly funny side of life. --Jessica Howard, freelance book reviewer