Firstly thank you to @lilyjosephwriter & @netgalley for my arc I absolutely loved it!! I loved how Wren & Nick were always destined to be! I found this a quick pace, cute, funny with laugh out loud moments, rom com vibes read 🫶🏻 also single dad hello!! Loved the will they won't they moments this was a different read for me in this aspect but I couldn't stop myself turning the page to see where it went! I thoroughly enjoyed it and would most definitely recommend reading!

The Near Miss

The idea of The Near Miss piqued my interest so I was really happy to get approved for an ARC from @netgalley and @bookouture. I would be reading along and think "ooh this is it!" Then bam!! Someone is doing first aid or eating shrimp or whittling sticks that almost impale someone and then I'd be all "noooo!!" Slowly but surely our main characters cross paths for real and sparks immediately fly… well once they’re not about to drown.
I REALLY need a ‘Nick meets Alan’ scene courtesy of Wren and both men are like: "what?!" An enjoyable read, a bit of “ugh you’re kidding me?!” because it really feels like when you’re angry and then your hoodie pocket gets stuck on a door handle and you think “nup surely not, this isn’t happening” because it feels like that after each Near Miss but super worth it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Rom Com
- Fated Lovers
- Slooowww burn
- Single dad
- Dual POV

I was instantly intrigued by the concept of this book and once I started I was sucked in! Let me start by saying the Wren and Nick are the definition of invisible string theory! I absolutely loved seeing how their lives and their bad luck streaks were so intertwined with one another!!
This is definitely a sloooowww burn as the main characters don’t meet until well into the story. Even though Wren and Nick don’t have face to face interaction until later in the book, it was so enjoyable to see how closely they were to meeting throughout the story through friends and near death experiences 😅. This book felt like solving a puzzle!! I loved trying to figure out how they’d ALMOST run into each other next! Once these two did meet the connection between them was so beautiful! They had been cracking up and rooting for them from start to finish.
Not only were the main characters captivating, but so were so many of the side characters! Specifically Edie and Libby! I’m all for great main characters but there is something special about a side character that you just absolutely love!
The Near Miss is such a light and funny summer read 📚 I hope to read more from Lily Joseph (maybe a story about Libby or Travis?🤭)

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this e-ARC! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The Near Miss" was, unfortunately pretty much a full miss for me. FMC Wren is with someone else for the first third of the book. She doesn't actually meet MMC Nick until around the 50% point of the book, though they almost cause each other's deaths in ridiculous manners several times before then. It just didn't scream romance. And even after Wren and Nick do finally meet, they don't seem to have a lot of chemistry. Some of this lack might be due to the sheer number of things going on in this book. Just some of the things touched on include hoarding, addiction, parental death, borderline DV, infidelity, divorce, child custody concerns, electrical fires, and obviously all of the various near death shenanigans. I just didn't connect with the characters.

2 stars. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

This was a super cute premise and the "near misses" had me at the edge of my seat, however, most of the instances seemed a little bit too far fetched. There is no way they would have survived had this been a real life story. It was cute. I liked it.

I loved this!! The suspense of all the near misses had me hooked and I was desperate to reach the point that they met. All the little pieces adding up felt like puzzle pieces fitting together. It was cute, fun and I didn’t want to put it down! 4.5/5 stars and would recommend for a fun romance read. Would be a fab holiday read!

This book had a lot going on with side plots and pieces of information that made it feel a bit overwhelming for me. I enjoyed the main characters and found the story to be a cute romance overall, but I didn't find myself itching to pick it up again it like I do while reading most romances. The author did do a great job of writing about what this book promises with the title and book info, so I really am not too disappointed! She did deliver on that and I think I would be open to reading more of her future work. Overall this was just an average story for me with a lot of potential.

I really enjoyed the Near Miss and getting to know Wren and Nick's world - that they shared for 90% of the book before realizing it. Wren and Nick keep missing each other and keep causing issues and missteps in each others lives, only they do not realize it. The universe seemingly wants them together but when they are together it delivers incident after incident.

But somehow they meet while both visiting an entire different country and when they return home are brought back together.

This was an excellent first novel by Lily Joseph.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing the ARC.

Woo boy, this book had me stressing, if only because I feel like these characters would be dead and/or dying in real life.

The number of catastrophic situations that plagued Wren and Nick was already unbelievable, and the fact that they came out of them relatively unscathed was even more so. I understand that there is some suspension of disbelief with most books, but this one was hard for me to get over. Additionally, these 'near misses' were so much of the focus, that the book actually lost me on the romance. What resulted was a somewhat discombobulated mess.

Not my favorite, but I think this book could have definitely developed into something more with the right editor.

This book was very cute! It didn't delve into new literary depths, but it'll make you smile.

Reading the story was much like watching "Sliding Doors." The amount of "near misses" was many, and wildly entertaining.

If you want a light read that's perfect for summer, this is it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was cute! I just don't think I necessarily jived with this book. Just to start, the punctuation drove me crazy. Things also felt... almost too disastrous. To the point where the plot sort of drug along. While I thought Wren was likable and the characters were cute, I didn't really connect with either of them and the actual romance felt a bit underdeveloped.

This charming romance novel explores the serendipitous encounters of Nick and Wren, two strangers destined to meet. Wren desires a quiet life, but her world is momentarily disrupted when a sheet of glass shatters at her feet. Nick, recovering from a painful breakup, is the man responsible for the near miss. Their paths cross repeatedly in unexpected ways, creating a delightful narrative filled with humor, heartache, and hope. The bookshop setting adds charm, while the characters’ evolving connection feels authentic and relatable. The story beautifully balances romantic possibility with life’s unpredictability, making readers root for Nick and Wren to finally seize their chance at love. This heartwarming tale is perfect for anyone who believes in the magic of fate and the power of persistence.

This was an enjoyable read, but I feel as though it was missing something.

Our main protagonists Wren and Nick keep missing each other. This is amusing at first but eventually becomes tiresome after a while (46% of the book for example). Once they have met, it is captivating to see the two work out just how interconnected their lives are - although it occasionally felt unrealistic (the Italy meet 2.0).

Joseph was great at setting the scene, the way she describes atmosphere and landscape was thoroughly engaging, especially those where the characters were abroad.
The main characters were well fleshed out, I found myself hating those we were meant to dislike and liking those we got to meet in more depth. Unfortunately, I do feel as though the chemistry between Wren and Nick was lacking - they felt more like friends than lovers and I struggle to imagine the pair having feelings for each other. This is a shame as the book was marketed as a love story. The love was definitely not there for me.
I also wish that we got to see more of Wren's best friend, she felt like a filler character to fill space which was a shame as she had potential.

I would read more of Joseph's work in the future - depending on the themes. This would be a good holiday poolside book.

Woof. At the rate this book was going, I’m surprised none of the main characters died, even though they should have. Are they superheroes?!

I really like most of the plot of the novel. I liked Wren figuring out her relationship, finding out about the mom, etc. I liked Nick’s story with his grandma and trying to find his father.

What I didn’t like was the lack of a love story. The premise of it sounded good but the near misses were overly exaggerated. It went on for far too long and lacked finding any of the love between our main characters.

I also didn’t like that it felt that the scenes were cut short.

A good premise but just wasn’t executed well unfortunately.


Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Storyline was solid and very cute.
The character development was great, pacing was good.
The lack of actual romance was a bit of a let down for me. I was really looking forward to that. It felt rushed and under developed. Like an after thought?

When they say something that could go wrong, can go wrong, it’s definitely going happen to Wren or Nick. This book was an easy read though it took me far longer to read than it should have because I had such a hard time getting into it. The POV alternates from Wren to Nick each chapter and each chapter sets up the next mishap for the other character. The main characters don’t meet each other until approximately 60% of the way through the book. This book is set in England and there are a lot of English/British jargon which was a little difficult for me as well. I received this book as an ARC for an honest review of Lily Joseph’s first romance.

3.5 stars rounded up. The Near Miss is a cute meet cute starring Wren and Nick, who keep missing each other again and again (and again) in a series of freak accidents and comic trips, I mean the first time they 'meet' Nick nearly drops a pane of glass on Wren's head when he's fitting a window in a first floor flat. The near misses keep ramping up, with numerous encounters and mishaps. When they finally meet on holiday, they dont know that they have nearly missed each other a million times before.
There are lots of coincidences and close calls that you have to overlook in the name of love, but its an entertaining read.

Based on the cover and the description, I so so so so badly wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it was a DNF after the first chapter. The story was good, but the writing style was driving me nutty to the point I couldn't focus on the story at all. Instead of using quotation marks ("xxx") the author used apostrophes ('xxx'). I understand that's a trivial reason to DNF a book but my brain couldn't handle it.

The Near Miss by Lily Joseph is a fantastic debut novel whose plot focuses on the concept of fate & the notion,”meant to be.” Wren & Nick’s journey is filled with chaos & paved with several near misses along the way. I enjoyed the character development & how each one has a purpose in their story . The storyline was so original. I wanted to keep reading to see what disaster was around the next corner for this dynamic duo. I was taken on a journey of jaw dropping moments filled with laughter, “are you kidding me?”, smiling until it hurt and tears of joy moments. I highly recommend this arc I received from Netgalley

"The Near Miss" by Lily Joseph is such a cute romantic story! 😍 I really enjoyed how the characters' lives kept crossing paths but they always narrowly missed each other. It was frustrating in the best way! The book tackles real-world issues which made the characters feel relatable. The ending tied everything together nicely and left me feeling satisfied. That being said, I did feel that it dragged on at times, and some of the accidents felt a little far-fetched. 📚 However, I did enjoy this one, If you're into feel-good romances with a touch of serendipity, this one's definitely worth a read! Thank you to Lily Joseph and Netgalley for the opportunity to review the ARC! 👏