Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

77 reviews

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

nicksalex's review

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Minor: Miscarriage

rosereadsalot's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

susanna22's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very clever and satisfying to read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Death

sophsg88's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

samchase112's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

Mehhhh. Just, meh. I found myself skimming this one quite early as it trudged along to the big finale twist. Honestly, none of the characters grabbed me — except maybe Miranda and her flirtation with AJ — and I really didn't care about what happened to them, Joseph Carter–related or not. O'Leary certainly went for an interesting experiment with this one, but for me, at least, it simply didn't land.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Cursing

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Sexual content

kshertz's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m fascinated by this premise! It’s so clever! It’s like, you know there’s more to the story than this guy being a dick and standing up all these women but you can never figure out what’s happening until it’s explained. I liked being tricked in this way. I thought it was very smart and well done! Be prepared for the rollercoaster!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, Miscarriage, Dementia, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

knit_the_resistance's review against another edition

sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I loved The Flatshare so much that I've really wanted to love the rest of Beth O'Leary's books but I haven't. I found this plot really confusing until the big reveal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

drphillgucci's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Miscarriage

pagesandplanets's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy and Miscarriage