Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

22 reviews

ccassidy98's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Mental illness, Grief, Miscarriage, and Self harm

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Infidelity

lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I went into this book knowing nothing aside from the quick summary on the Libby page and a recommendation from BookTok Swiftie sensation Marta. I recommend you do the same. Anything else is spoiler territory! You’ve been warned!

Content warnings: dementia, grief, abusive workplace relationship

For me, the big twist at 85% or so came too late in the plot for me to retroactively be okay with the whole premise, which is that this one guy is seeing these three women simultaneously. The book summary also made it sound like the three of them meet each other and conspire, which did not happen.

That being said, the big twist DOES result in a lot of compassion and clarity, and almost everything falls into place from there.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Grief

Minor: Miscarriage, Death, and Sexual content

saeruh's review against another edition

emotional reflective

4.0

It was intriguing how all of the three seemingly unconnected plot lines eventually all connected into one massive story. The way O’Leary writes about life makes you understand so much about these characters and their motives. I guessed the twist by the midway point so it wasn’t that shocking to me but i could see how it could have been. Audiobook was performed great, I just think that this is a one and done type of read for me to never think about ever again.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Car accident, Dementia, Miscarriage, Grief, Infidelity, and Stalking

emharris's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Abandonment, Death, Infidelity, and Self harm

b_harrington's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

[spoilers, kinda] 

The structure of this book is fabulous. The layering of the three stories is so clever. I really enjoyed reading it, I devoured it in a day! 

I love the accuracy in the description of grief. I enjoyed the inclusion of the female tree surgeon, the older gay couple’s story, and the fact O’Leary didn’t shy away from topics like sexual harassment, miscarriage, and dementia. I adored AJ’s character, and I think it’s a testament to O’Leary’s writing that none of the side characters felt flat or pointless. The mention of Covid times was beautifully handled too. 

I just love happy endings!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Death, Sexual harassment, Grief, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Car accident

jmmreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

kfmcf's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I'm going to out this entire review in spoiler brackets for my own sanity -

I knew there was a twist, obviously, and I will say that it was not overtly telegraphed which was very well done. When i saw that it was 2019 towards then end right before the reveal, I knew that was significant in some way. However, I don't think the characters Endings were what I would have hoped.

First off, Siobhan was the only character with growth and then she DIED. So that was a big bummer. Miranda was great to start and then n o t h i n g happened with her. And Jane had an interesting plot but as a character only HAD that plot as a trait. I wish she had more layers because I could not understand why he liked her so much. 

Why did Miranda call him Carter. I wish that had been explained. It was kind of weird.

I think this book could have still been fascinating and utilized that twist without Siobhan dying from a traffic accident. Felt like shock value and I just...felt a bit betrayed as a reader in a lot of ways.

I am more intrigued to read O'Leary's other books now. I've been wanting to check out The Road Trip for awhile, but I think I'll definitely add The Switch to my list, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual content, Dementia, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

thefatpaperback's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.0

I knew this book had big twists in it, but I didn’t know what they were. Even knowing their were twists and turns to the story, I was surprised but the way things unraveled and ended. It was a pleasant surprise, too. Not a favorite read, but good wiring and a good story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Dementia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Self harm and Stalking

saffronbunny's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Infidelity

valeria_gzz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4,5 stars because I did not enjoy being bamboozled but that’s all I’ll say besides that it was an odd but fun to try and figure out kind of book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Miscarriage, and Infidelity

Moderate: Self harm and Sexual harassment