Rereading the blurb, it’s clear that to some degree I didn’t read closely enough, because one of the assumptions was that this was going to be “three women get together and get revenge on the cad who broke all of their hearts”, which is actually not indicated. The set-up for this sounds like “The Other Woman” with Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The three main female characters were likable as were several secondary characters (especially Miranda’s sisters and the friends that Jane does end up making/realizing she had all along in the course of the book). I was fascinated by the way Joseph genuinely seems like the perfect boyfriend for each of these women. She first tells Joseph she has a boyfriend, so even though there are definite vibes between them, they are platonic.

As the blurb states, each relationship continues for some time after the standing-up in the beginning of the book, and in fact for the majority of the book none of the three even knows about the other two. There were also associated benefits of improving access for urgent patients and a reduction in the overall waiting time. This is the most satisfying conclusion I’ve read in a long time and a wonderfully original take on the romance novel. I would have loved to spend more time with Jane’s 70-something gay friends, who were figuring out how to come out to their one living parent, and Miranda’s snarky twin sisters/roommates felt like they needed their own book.Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they are all in serious danger of falling in love with a man who may have not just one or two but three women on the go…. Without giving away the major twist of the book and ruining the whole reader experience, I think it’s important that readers know that only 2 of the 3 women get a romance HEA. Maybe more than other authors, I compare O’Leary’s books to each other, perhaps because I’ve read them in fairly close succession over the past couple of years.

Siobhan is an ambitious career coach in Dublin, who looks forward to monthly sex dates with Joseph and his magic tongue. She starts a book club with Joseph, and slowly develops a crush, but she’s not sure if he sees her as more than a friend. O.O I’ve only ever read two books in which that happened; in one of them it was an inevitable thing, the whole book was about that, so getting to that point wasn’t a shock. It is possible to reduce the no-show rate by implementing changes to the appointment system and patient communication strategies.Following three intervention PDSAs, mainly addressing communication and appointment flexibility, the post intervention no-show rate dropped to 18% and was sustained below the target of 25% for two years. But they actually occur in completely different years and Joseph’s reason for hiding the fact that he wasn’t alone at breakfast has a reasonable explanation. I loved every female character in this book, but I must admit my heart really did fall for Jane, the sweetest character with a lot of self-doubt and worry, I was really rooting for Janey and so the ending (if you’ve read the book) made my heart swell!

That one felt like chick lit , which I generally dislike and have to be in a very particular mood to read. As joyful as it is heart-breaking, Beth’s fourth novel tackles some hard-hitting themes, and it’s all the richer for it. Meanwhile, Jane is a fragile young woman with a mysterious past trauma who’s starting over in Winchester. The three women are angry, worried, or unsurprised to be stood up, depending on their personal level of self-esteem and patience.

Secondly, in a very odd way, THE NO-SHOW reminded me of the movie “The Crying Game”: once you get past the big “twist,” there isn’t much there; the twist is the whole story.

The twist and the spoiler come out at you, and can I just ask who the hell decided to market this as a rom-con? Prediction: Many patients would re-book or cancel the appointment instead of accepting it and then not attending. The No Showis O’Leary’s savviest book to date (and dare I say her best), and although it’s not quite as ‘cosy’ as The Switch, it’s equally as heartwarming and joyful. Which isn’t to say that heavy material is something I never want to read; I’m just wondering if that’s part of the reason The Flatshare stands out above the others. If you’d like to receive updates in your inbox, visit our subscribe page and sign up for the content you crave!

SusanS: I think for me it goes back to the central conceit just not working great for me, The “manipulative deception” you reference was central to the “twist”, but the instances of what I saw as misdirection – the restaurant bill that Miranda finds, for one – felt heavy-handed and yeah, a little dishonest. Sustaining the gains required vigilance and regular audit of the outcome measure, which is currently one of the key performance indicators for paediatric neurology. In each case, the women’s relationships with Joseph help them grow and heal, even if they don’t end up with him at the end. His big smiles and charming nature melted my heart, similarly to Siobhan, Miranda and Jane (of whom his interactions were my favourite) and despite its sadness, The No-Showmade me feel like I was enveloped in the warmest of hugs from start to finish. Siobhan is stood up on a morning coffee date with Joseph, who before the date had been her monthly friends-with-benefits when she came to London for business (Siobhan is based in Dublin).