Reviews with content warning for Car accident - O Ausente

Siobhan is a fiery life coach who has much too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon who is used to being treated like any other worker. Jane is a quiet volunteer at the local charity shop who has no self-esteem.

These three ladies are strangers with only one thing in common: they were all stood up on the same day, Valentine's Day, the worst day to be stood up on. And, unknown to them, they've all been stood up by the same man.

I was completely perplexed for the first 75% of the book. The book moved so slowly. I had to look up the timeline, and one thing I'm thankful about is that there is no formal cheating in this story. The male protagonist was annoying and manipulative in my opinion. I can't believe I knew nothing about this man by the conclusion of the story.

The plot was likewise rushed. Beth O'Leary basically had to cover three romances in under 341 pages. Another point is that until the 80% mark, this book isn't truly a romance novel, unlike what the market sold it to be. They're merely the lives of these women who were dumped by the same guy, as well as their "relationship" with him. None of the characters truly stuck out to me; they all seemed stereotypical and bland.

Speaking about the characters, I found them to be really irritating. Tell me how I know 15-year-old teenagers who can converse with greater maturity than 20-30-year-old adults. They spoke like real toddlers, which I despised. You can't make me like characters I've hated for the previous 200 pages. You should've done it earlier.

Many people advised me to stay for the plot twist component... But where had it gone? I'm not sure if it's because I consume so much media, but I actually predicted the plot twist and it wasn't shocking at all. It was the most transparent plot twist ever. It made me dislike the book even more. If you're going to create a plot twist, make it surprising so your readers will be fascinated.

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imds's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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bxcvi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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knit_the_resistance's review against another edition

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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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my_a's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

The twist and ending really saved this book. I hadn't guessed the twist at all & once it was revealed I appreciated how clever the book was. But before that, I found the book quite boring, the characters seemed under-developed & the plot was slow and repetitive. A clever exploration of modern dating and trauma.

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