Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

52 reviews

itisallmydoing's review against another edition

emotional hopeful relaxing 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

5.0

I loved this. It's such a unique storytelling technique, and I had fun formulating my theories along the way. I loved the ending in spite of (or perhaps because of) the tears. More than any romantic relationship, though, I loved the friendships. We should all have people like this in our lives.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Death of parent, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Alcohol

amandaweis05's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Dementia

nyree42's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.5

This starts off as the kind of novel where you don't understand what's going on and then start to hate the cheating bastard who appears to be leading three women on at the same time...

Or is he?

You might get immersed in the tale, hoping it's a revenge fantasy, waiting to cackle with glee once the philanderer gets caught in one room with all the women, who then realize exactly what he's been doing...

But wait...

At the last section of the book, suddenly the reader is thrown for a loop when they are shown that they were NOT reading the story they thought they were, nor is Joseph Carter the man they assumed that he was.

This is a character study about mysterious behaviour, miscommunication, erroneous assumptions and misunderstandings - all of which are incredibly annoying to deal with in real life while dating somebody. In this case, yes, it is primarily Joseph at fault for not explaining himself clearly, but the reader will be shown "why" he is that way so that they will have more sympathy. (You'll understand if you read it.)

Don't read if you don't like those tropes - but if you tolerate them, I promise that you will be treated to the happily-ever-after ending you'd hope for in a romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Stalking, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Dementia, Grief, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Miscarriage, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

ajourneythroughpages's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Dementia

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Stalking, and Emotional abuse

imds's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Car accident, Death of parent, Dementia, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

megelizabeth's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

"...how futile it was to try not to love Joseph Carter; accepting the agony of it all has been a peculiar kind of relief."

This is a difficult book for me to review, as it essentially consists of three intertwined storylines and two of them I adored but one I absolutely couldn't stand. I did largely work out where the overarching plot was going, but that didn't bother me, as I still thought it was so ambitious and cleverly-done, and also because there was so much I loved in Jane's and Siobhan's storylines; there are brilliantly important conversations, excellent building of tension, relationships that feel agonisingly real, and climaxes that shattered my heart and then went some way to putting it back together.

I found Miranda annoying and difficult to connect to all the way through (and you're clearly supposed to root for all three protagonists), but I'd feel more forgiving because of how much I was drawn into everything else that was happening if it wasn't for the way Miranda's last chapter ended. I just cannot fathom how the author possibly thought what happened could be seen as anything other than downright insensitive, let alone supposedly 'romantic'.

So, yeah, very mixed feelings on this one. It definitely had a huge impact on me, and I'd still say I'm glad I read it because it has an extremely intriguing set-up and because I loved Jane's and Siobhan's characters so much; it just could have been so much better with an equally compelling third protagonist and a far less frustrating end to her story. I did, however, apparently unlike a lot of reviewers, really like Joseph for the most part, and I definitely found his character arc to be a super compelling one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage and Self harm

Minor: Death of parent

bookishjae's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

Moderate: Dementia, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

olivia_v's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Beth O’Leary is one of my favourite authors and this was another good read (although not my favourite of hers). 

It’s so cleverly written that when the different timelines are revealed everything falls perfectly in to place. I spent the majority of the book flipping between rooting for and hating Joseph, and being so perplexed how he was juggling three women at once. When you get that first clue that it’s not all happening at the same time, it really makes your brain tick with trying to figure it all out.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Self harm, Dementia, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Mental illness

t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.75

4.75 Stars
CAWPILE = 8.96

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity, Death, and Stalking

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

jentrevellan's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Dementia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Minor: Infidelity