Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

60 reviews

mgcalder's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

It may be that it was a very timely read but I thought that it was an absolutely gorgeous book and the way in which the story was told just added an extra layer of intrigue and interest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Mental illness, Stalking, Dementia, Grief, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

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

limap's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

Moderate: Death and Car accident

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

leofro's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Alcoholism

hilarylouise's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Stalking, and Car accident

ottersallthewaydown's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Death of parent

lindsay424's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Spoiler-this is my favourite book by Beth O'Leary that I have read so far. The writing for this was extremely clever and I didn't see the plot twist coming. Once the plot twist was revealed it was clear what why one of the main characters was doing what he was doing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Self harm, Cursing, Dementia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

tashab's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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, Death, Stalking, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Car accident

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