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! 👏

Lily Joseph’s “The Near Miss” has an interesting premise to me. The reader knows from the start that Nick and Wren are “meant to be,” but they have not met each other yet.

The book was a little uneven to me in the beginning. I also eventually found some of the near misses to be unrealistic or unnecessary. Luckily, the book hit its stride for me about a third of the way in and I enjoyed the way Nick and Wren met.

I will admit to being hesitant to read this book based on some of the reviews I saw when I was deciding which book to read next from my TBR list. I’m glad I decided to give the book a chance because I found it enjoyable.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Can two people meant to be together but at the same time skip meeting and finding themselves in dangerous situations? While you read Wren and Nick’s sweet and chaotic story you can help but be rotting for them to meet and fall in love, even if it seems dangerous.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this amazing ARC!

The Near Miss is a very sweet book about taking risks, fate and family.
Enjoyed Wren's and Nick's POV so much, especially after they'd finally met. I was a bit afraid that their meeting each other would happen in the last few pages, but thankfully, it happened earlier (btw it was very cute! and eventful hehe) :)

I loved how this book, while being a funny summery romance, still had some very important topics in it. The sense of community throughout the book is great!

Wren and Nick keep almost - almost- meeting one another but it's not until they both get to Capri that.....They're both dealing with romantic issues, both are thoughtful, both just miss being seriously injured at each of their near misses. It's a little disconcerting at first, and perhaps unrealistic, but I found myself rolling with the plot because I became fond of the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Well, this story certainly took us on a wild ride!
It took me awhile to get into the plot. Once I got to the Italy part of the story, I was hooked.
How many near misses can one have before something changes?????
I really enjoyed the humor throughout the story.
I could have used a bit more romance between the two main characters, Wren and Nick.
A fun, fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

hank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This book is a delightful romance and I recommend to anyone who enjoys Sophie Cousens or Sophia Kinsella. This book is seriously adorable and fun and just made me so happy to read. It was like being wrapped up in a big hug and it gave me all the feels. This is the ultimate summer romance!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Wren and Nick have these near misses that continuously put them in each other's paths...the near misses that nearly kill them both at multiple times. I found this book to be a bit unrealistic in how their paths kept crossing but they didn't meet until they were in Italy.

I have a hard time to get into this book and find myself to almost dnf it. The concept was cool, but I feel like the story is all over the place to the point it got me confused. Also, it takes way too long for them to meet and when they did, we didn't get more of their 'romance' scene.

Overall, I would still recommend it if you want a short summer kind of read.

This funny British romcom is a closed door slowburn with a whole lot of coincidental moments and mishaps between Nick and Wren, two lovely people who (eventually) find each other .

Both are grown-ups and have been in relationships (Wren is working through one) and it’s great to read about adults, who largely have their stuff together, connecting. The near-misses are great fun and there’s a thoughtfulness about fate.

It’s dual point of view in third person and we can see all the interlinking ties between these two over the weeks before they meet in Italy and then afterwards. There’s no real darkness here, it’s more texture and frustration so it’s an easy light read. Nick’s family situation includes some negotiating and Wren is also disentangling herself. There’s a bookshop, a bestie, a birth, a death, a holiday in Italy, plus extended and found family so there’s lots to enjoy...

It’s charming fun, and doesn’t feel as messy as some British romcoms. What a great debut for Lily Joseph!

Rounded up to four stars ✨ Thank you NetGalley, Lily and Bookouture for the ARC. Opinions on my own.

Now hear me out… I'm gonna be brutally honest. So please don't come run for me, cause we can't like everything the world offers us.

Two stars for effort. Because the end was okay-ish. I was looking forward to this one cause the description and cover intrigued me. But no… I just couldn't.
This book left me really confused throughout the entire thing. I had quite a hard time wrapping my finger around the story cause it is quite literally all over the place. So engaging with it was hard.

I had multiple occasions while reading the book where I was desperate to just close it and never open it again.. but I kept going just because I wanted to know if the story was going to be interesting or if it was going to tickle my fancy at any point.

It was towards the end of the book where I was like: "Okay! This is it! It's happening." And the ending was fine. I was just missing the engagement of it all.

The Near Miss is a slow burn romance which may not be everyone's cup of tea but I have to say I did enjoy it. It was a very pleasant story and the characters were so cute, however there was a lot of accidents which did become too repetitive and unrealistic. The accidents although described well did start to get a little boring as they went on and some were truly unnecessary. But I have to say it was exciting to read how the two characters Wren and Nick were going to interact without knowing anything about one another at the start.

I really enjoyed where the story lead to in Capri and Lily Josephs ability to set the scenes were so detailed I could imagine being in the sun myself. This book does help solidify my beliefs in fate.

Although I liked the story, I felt that there was a lot going on and at times not enough to tie it all back together. I would have really liked a bit more content on Wren and Nick getting together, as the ending was rather rushed in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 stars for me. I really wanted to like this book but it was a miss for me. I felt like the story was over complicated. There were to many mini stories going on, it took forever for the two to actually meet. The title really did match the story but it just felt like it dragged on.

I loved this book!! It took a long time to get the characters together, and I loved every bit of the build up. I almost enjoyed it more than when they finally met!! It was a quick, captivating read that kept me on the edge throughout. I loved the ride.

A slow burn look into how 'fate' can bring two people together eventually, after almost bumping into each other several times. The book entwines the lives of Nick and Wren; a handyman recovering from a breakup, and a local reporter who craves normalcy. I think that this a feel-good romantic comedy, more for the lovers of slow burn and fun getaway plots.

Thank you for the advance reader copy, all opinions are my own!