4.5 ⭐️

I got this book off Netgalley, not thinking much of it. I thought this would be just another fluffy romance. It’s not, y’all! This book is a dogdamn delight!

The Near Miss was such a joy to read. Lily Joseph is a wonderful writer. This book reminded of Mhairi McFarlane (who also broke my heart a few times over, ahem…) Joseph’s characters have so much depth and colour. Her pacing is spot on, the development and focus on story and details are really skilled. Reading some of the reviews, I think a lot of people might have expected a straight up romance — but I think Lily Joseph gives us a much more enjoyable reading journey so I hope a lot of people read this review and understand that the reading they’ll put in will bring them a huge payoff (i.e. a wonderful story).

I would call The Near Miss a literary romance as the two main characters are developed apart from each other for a lot a lot of the first half of the book. And I really loved this — we got to meet Wren and Nick as individuals. Sometimes if you want the immediate slow burn, you won’t get this here. What you do get is very smart story telling and character development: being able to meet these two character separate from each other first makes the development of their relationship so much more satisfying for the reader.

I’m so glad I stumbled across Lily Joseph’s debut because it’s a gem and her writing is phenomenal. I cannot wait for what she has in store for us next! ☺️

I enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half falls flat. The main couple barely had 10-15% of scenes together. The mishaps that kept happening in both their lives were funny.

The characters were underdeveloped and a bit immature. Like why would you randomly shut a walk in freezer close without so much as even glancing inside once especially when you have no business being in that kitchen.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lily Joseph explores the themes of fate versus chance in her debut novel, The Near Miss. While Wren and Nick are connected by a handful of invisible strings, they have never actually met. Is it only a matter of time before the universe thrusts them together, or will it stand in their way?

I found this to be a beautiful story. Joseph’s writing wove together two storylines perfectly. By choosing to write the story in alternating points of view (Wren and Nick) readers were allowed to both to see and hear their individual perspectives.

While I did enjoy this book, I had a few issues with it, mainly how it was marketed. It felt more like women’s fiction than a romantic comedy. I came into this book expecting it to be one thing and I got something completely different. Perhaps if the cover and description had been less whimsical I wouldn’t have been so caught off guard.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Lily Joseph for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Near Miss is a fun debut novel for Lily Joseph. I feel like a lot of the romcoms I have been reading lately haven't hit the way that I really want them to, but The Near Miss was pretty refreshing. I love the fate brought them together trope so much. I loved movies like Serendipity and You've Got Mail growing up, and The Near Miss has that same kind of slow burn missed you/found you/need you feeling. Joseph writes characters that are interesting and funny, and I like that the locations in the book aren't completely stagnant, with both characters visiting Italy. I do think that the Wren and Nick could have met a little sooner in person, as after a while the near misses started to become a little bit too much, but with lines like "she felt as inevitable to him as the sun coming up in the morning and setting at night" I guess we can forgive a little bit of drawn-out tension. Especially when the chemistry between Nick and Wren is so good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lily Joseph for providing me with a copy of The Near Miss in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely grateful for having the opportunity to review this debut. I never sent a completed review upon publishing because I did not finishing reading the book.

(Rating just for submission purposes. I do not wish to prove a substantive rating since I did not finish it)

this was a fast-paced, enjoyable read but i feel as though it was missing something, as if the work was incomplete

“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓…𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.”

The premise of this story had me sooo intrigued. The idea of two strangers who are so heavily intertwined with each other, yet they miss each other every single time?? They both just wreak havoc on each others lives without them even knowing.

Wren & Nick were written in the stars for each other, but it was never the right time for them to meet.

I just felt like it took FOREVER for them to meet. I kept thinking “okay this is the moment” but then it wouldn’t happen. After a while it grew tiring. But when they did meet, I loved them! I loved their interactions so much! I just wish we had more of them together.

Also, the disaster after disaster after disaster was actually insane. At first I loved it & found it funny but then it became so extreme & wild. It almost didn’t feel natural anymore & just became crazier.

Either way, they’re fated & I love them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of the arc
Despite the title, the blurb and the cover being absolute bangers, I had to DNF this at 5%. I just couldn't continue.

DNF At 5%

The premise seems extremely interesting but being American I genuinely can’t get past the British slang. It’s not that I don’t like Britain it’s just that I’m not familiar with the slang so it throws me off and out of the “reading experience”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is quite a cute story about fate/destiny and only meeting people at the right time in your life. Wren and Nick keep missing each other by minutes all while experiencing near-miss accidents that leave them battered and bruised.

While I though the story was quite cute, it took quite awhile for the two of them to actually meet - which they did while both on Capri but then they went their separate ways and didn't meet again until they ran into each other in the hospital lobby in their home town which was pretty much the end of the book by that point.

I feel like the characters lacked a bit of depth and their backstory's could have been fleshed out a little more, especially with Wren's mum and Nick's dad. There was a lot of build up to finding out the truth about both but then it fell flat and we didn't get more than a few lines about each character.

I also would have liked to have seen Wren's ex, Alex, be outed to his current girlfriend (and Nick's friend) Laura. She didn't know Alex was cheating on Wren to be with her and I felt like this is something that Nick should have told her about. Alex really deserved to end up alone and struggling, but I'm pleased Wren didn't go back to him when he came begging.

Thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Not my type of book but nevertheless it was an easy read and a way to while away time. I’m not sure that I will read anything else by the author - just not my genre.

The premise was very interesting. Plot and characters were bit boring for me. The situations seems be bit contrived.

Wren's life takes a chaotic turn after a near-miss accident, leading to a series of increasingly bizarre encounters with Nick. Their paths continually cross, yet they seem to miss each other (and the chance of finding love) every single time.

This is an endearing story of fate, friendship, family, and finding love in the most unexpected places. I did find some of the storyline to be a little repetitive in places, as you quickly start to notice a pattern between Wren and Nick’s encounters. However, it was still a wholesome, easy read, and I would definitely give more of Lily Joseph’s books a go in the future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars from me!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

@currentlyreading__
Book 50 of 2024

What a debut! When I was sent ‘The Near Miss’ by @lilyjosephwriter I had high hopes - the cover was cute, the promise was that it was feel-good and that it would be an accidental love story. It certainly was feel-good and for my first book of the month it set the standard very high. I absolutely devoured it and was so invested in this beautiful love story.

The book has a dual narrative alternating between our FMC and MMC Wren and Nick. And what beautiful characters they were. I loved the fact that both characters were damaged and hiding their grief from others - it made them immensely relatable and their potential pairing one that was written in the stars.

But they are certainly star-crossed with, as the title states, many near misses, some of which could be catastrophic. Between a mugging, being trapped in a freezer, a fire, a pane of glass plummeting towards one character and many other near misses, both characters were intertwined and sometimes they just didn’t know it.

If you like stories with bucket loads of serendipity, chemistry and good old fate working away in the background this is for you. It’s out now and the perfect accompaniment for your summer reading list.

#bookworm #iamreading #bookreview #kindle #bookreviews #bibliophile #netgalley #lilyjoseph #thenearmiss #netgalley #bookouture

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

This was overall a really cute, fun, and easy read. Nothing too memorable stood out but it was funny and sweet. I loved reading and learning about all the side characters, not just the main characters. This book really makes you think how many missed opportunities and near misses there are between people. Fate pulls you together at just the right moment. I really wished there was more of an ending or an epilogue than what was given. I wanted more bad things to happen to Alex for cheating and being a complete prick to 2 women. I wanted to know more about the budding romance between the debut author and Libby. I felt like there were too many stories and plots going on and none of them really finishing. This could have been a series with each book being about a different character/couple. Like Nick finding his dad was really anticlimactic. I enjoyed the fast pace of the book but I wanted complete stories and endings.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

IDF saddle this story could not keep my interest. Although I did try picking it up a few times it just was not for me

My thoughts




Narrative and Plot



The Near Miss is a rom-com with a series of unfortunate events and a cosmic touch that links the two main leads. At the beginning of the story, I was really looking forward to the meeting of the leads after a couple of near misses. However, when you hit the 80% mark and there is still no chance of them connecting the dots, it gets frustrating.


The story was just all over the place and many of the set-ups never paid off. It makes wonder if you needed all those events or you could have simply focused on a narrowed down storyline because these characters and the settings definitely have potential. But the romance was too little too late.






Characters and Conflicts







Both Wren and Nick are well flushed out characters. The brief moment they had together radiated with electrifying chemistry. The only problem is you don't get enough of them.


However, they were definitely three-dimensional human beings with different lives going on. I was even invested in the internal conflict that both Wren and Nick experienced in their lives regarding their absent parent. But the story took upon more side quests than it can chew upon. It left is wanting more of the main quest which felt sidelined. Also,   it could have redeemed if the ending landed smoothly by making them realise all the loose ends. There was even a potential for a central conflict once all the pieces clicked. Instead, we get the initial jitters of two people coming together for the first time, and that's it.




Conclusion





The Near Miss was a one time read for me. It is a fun closed door romance novel if you are in the mood for that. But keep your expectations low because this is more of a coming of age for two adults than romance.

I enjoyed Wren and Nick's individual stories in this book and seeing the highs and lows of their personal lives, as well as their relationships with different people in their lives. The crossovers between their two worlds, and all of their 'near misses' which seem fated, are interesting and left me eager for these two to finally meet and discover how close they'd been since the window smashed at the beginning of the book. In terms of the romance however, I was left wanting. Despite their proximity to each other throughout the story, Wren and Nick barely spend any time together on the pages of the book and so their romance didn't have an opportunity to fully develop and it was disappointing to miss out on that. There perhaps could have been less 'near misses' - especially dangerous once caused by Wren's actions, rather than accidents - and more of these two getting to know each other and building the chemistry and intimacy I enjoy in a romance. Overall, it was a nice read but not enough romance!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

The story of Wren and Nick, who finally meet after a series of near misses in random places. A great read, and I liked how it was told from both points of view.

Thank you to Lily Joseph, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an eARC of The Near Miss.

If you're looking for a light hearted, summer romance this is NOT it. From the description I felt like this book had some rom-com vibes but the overall feel is a much more serious tone and while there were some moments where I huffed a laugh this was not the read I thought it would be. Maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

The concept of this book is really cool - is there someone whose path we have almost crossed so many times, but have never actually met? It made me think about all the places I frequent and the other people who go to those places, too. Is there someone I have been missing by mere seconds who could be my next bff? The problem with this book is that the reader knows its a romance and that Nick and Wren are going to meet. They just missed each other so many times that I got frustrated and, true to the title, every time they almost met, someone almost died! This didn't give me warm and fuzzy, these-two-people-should-be-together vibes. Instead I got the DANGER DANGER flashing red light vibes feeling as though these two people should move to opposite sides of the country and stay as far away from each other as possible.

To top it off, both characters are dealing with some heavy ish. Nick and Wren are each carrying some serious baggage and even though I wanted to root for them, I couldn't help but feel as though they both needed to work through their trauma before jumping into a relationship. So while their meet-disaster (it wasn't a meet cute!) had me smiling, looking at the big picture made it very difficult for me too truly root for this couple.

In the end, this book just wasn't it for me. I'd rate it a 2.5 out of 5.