I kept putting this one down and then picking it back up again. It just was tugging at my heart and I had to choose the right time to read it. I loved the story, but the topic of cancer, even when it ends happy, is never so fun to read. I really enjoyed the characters, especially the best friends, but this was an emotional read.

This was a hard one to stay with. Before it was heart wrenching and psychologically demoralizing it had that frisson of the beginnings of that tingly kind of love. Constant texts and phone calls, never quite getting him/her off your mind. Imagining, dreaming, hoping and then you are ghosted. Then you are belittling him/her/yourself. Questioning yourself, wondering if you should have said something else, something more, something less.

The eternal question: “Do you remember where you were and what you were doing the moment your life changed forever?” And there it is - the tell that this story is so much more than the one being told.

I liked the book and the story it told and the way it was told. I liked the way the story inspired hope but didn’t turn away from the unknown and potential negative outcome. The main characters, Davey, a six foot two inch blond man from Texas and Hannah living in England, who innocently answers the phone and then goes on vacation with rebound physical trainer, controlling George, are going to circle each other sometimes and hook up sometimes and ghost each other sometimes. The supporting characters are well drawn and appear in the perfect situations adding humor and compassion.

The Author’s Note offers the explanation and the backstory to this love story and as I stated there is so much more to the story than the words on the pages. Thanks to Dell Books- Random House and NetGalley for a copy.

This was a sweet, readable romance novel that will land with a broader audience, not just romance readers. The two main characters were lovely and easy to root for. Their lack of communication was frustrating, but necessary to make the plot work. The controlling fitness-obsessed boyfriend was an infuriating character, and I wish there had been more comeuppance for his despicable behavior towards Hannah.

A beautifully heartbreaking story of love unexpected and heartbreak. Not what I was anticipating (I was expecting a romantic comedy), but not in a bad way. Davey and Hannah met in a stereotypically meet-cute manner: a wrong phone number. But the story is not typical in manner. There is heartbreak for Hannah and Davey throughout their entire relationship: love to illness tearing the young love apart and relationships with other people... all while on different continents. Well written and a story that had me wondering what was going to happen, I turned the pages quicker than I have in a while.

#bookreview

Thanks to @netgalley and #penquinrandomhouse for the chance to read this book.

This was a @theglossbookclub pick and it is not my preferred genre being a contempory romance.

I did like some aspects of this book including that it is not your normal meet cute romance. It was a very easy read and writing style, however I do admit I was somewhat bored with the story line, however those who normally do go for this genre may feel very differently to this book than I did.

There were some Americanisms that threw me out of being immersed in the London setting. With the temperature being in Fahrenheit and the use of commercial instead of advert. This made me surprised to realise the author is British. In the author's notes I can see that she has an US editor so I assume the e-version I read was in fact intended for the American audience.

I would be interested in reading more of the books my this author published in her real name that are of a different genre and may be more my cup of tea. Reading the authors note made me appreciate the story more and I feel it may have better to have a short version as an introduction rather than an afterword.

I'm going to say 2.5 ⭐

#netgalley
#read #lovereading #romancereads #ereader
#literature
#books #lovebooks #bookclub

This story reminds me a little of the movie "An affair to remember" all those missed chances, not wanting to burden someone you care for. I loved both the characters in this story, I felt like I was there on the phone with them. I remember back in the date of land lines, someone would call and it was not the correct number, sometimes you would end up talking to them. Those days of calling people are long gone and texting is the new norm. However, I think we missed the boat on human connection that we all need but don't realize it.

This story shows just how much we do, finding love or friendships. It sparks the joy of finding love in the most unconventional way, almost like fate.

Is it possible to love someone you never met? Hannah receives a call from that is the wrong number from a man named Davey, he misdialed for a job interview. But, then they find themselves texting, then talking and soon face time. Davey lives in America, while Hannah lives in the UK, Davy excepts a new job in the UK. They both decide they need to meet when he gets to the UK, it seems to good to be true. Then when Hannah gets to the airport to pick him up, he is not on flight. Hearts will be broken, but what if this is your soulmate?? Can they find each other again?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this book for my honest review.

In a Nutshell: A contemporary drama that gave me pretty good feels, though it is not perfect. Loveable characters. Good storyline. Emotional plot. NOT lighthearted. NOT a typical romance. Watch out for the trigger.

Story Synopsis:
When Londoner Hannah gets a call from an unknown number, the last thing she expects is that the caller – an American named Davey who misdialled her number while calling for a job interview – would soon become someone special. Davey, who gets the job, messages Hannah to thank her, and soon the two become friends, calling and texting each other regularly. Their feelings grow in due course, and both of them eagerly await the day Davey will land in London.
When the big day arrives after a month, Hannah is all excited, and waiting at the airport with a huge banner. But Davey never comes. The reason, once she learns of it, is devastating. What lies in their future?
The story comes to us in the first person perspectives of Hannah and Davey, with Hannah’s pov getting about 75% of the focus.

Bookish Yays:
😍 Hannah begins the book as a somewhat sheltered 27-year-old who is an easy pushover. Though it takes her long to become self-reliant, her growth is carved in a realistic way, rather than showing an almost instantaneous transition from under-confident to go-getter. Her character is flawed but relatable.
😍 Davey, on the whole, is a loveable person who struggles with what was happening. His emotional journey is one of the best sketched I have seen in this genre for male characters, who are usually shown as stoic and strong. Though there are fewer chapters from his perspective, they are more impactful.
😍 The development of Hannah’s and Davey’s relationship on the phone is charming. Drawn to each other by their connection of mind, the two of them share a healthy virtual correspondence. Their romance was mostly the kind of romance I like reading about, with more focus on the heart than on the body.
😍 Hannah’s elderly neighbour Joan, best friend Miranda, Miranda’s boyfriend Paul, and Davey’s best friend Grant – all are wonderful supporting characters in this book. I love how they had a vital role to play in the plot rather than just being there as add-ons.
😍 Don’t let the pastel cover fool you – this is no lighthearted book. I mostly loved the initial scenes where the relationship between Davey and Hannah blooms. But when the story shifted track after Davey fails to turn up at the airport, I struggled a bit to adjust to the change in emotions. Post this point, the content is a mix of heartbreaking and touching, which worked very well for me once I adapted to the switch in tone. I liked the realism of the characters’ feelings.
😍 Though an emotional story, there are enough moments of humour sprinkled here and there to lighten the situation somewhat. It’s not a romantic comedy though; don’t expect too much comic relief.
😍 There are some smooth coincidences and the mandatory happy ending – both of which are to be expected in this genre. But the predictability didn’t affect my enjoyment as the characters made it easy to root for them all the way.
😍 The depiction of the “issue” that made Davey miss his first meeting with Hannah is written so well! After I read the author’s note, I realised why the entire thing felt so authentic and touching. Well done!
😍 The author’s note at the end is so heartfelt and genuine. I loved her detailed note about the inspiration for this story. My best wishes to her family. (FYI, her name is Lorna Cook, and she writes historical novels under her actual name. Under the pseudonym of ‘Elle Cook’, she writes contemporary fiction, with this being her first contemporary work.)

Bookish Nays:
👀 George is one annoying character, which would have been fine had he been in a minor role. But a great part of the story has him involved with Hannah, who ignores all the red flags in his behaviour. The two together weren’t convincing as a couple, especially as George isn’t a layered character, but mostly clichéd.
👀 The ending is somewhat rushed. After that long build-up, I was hoping for a more extended meeting scene. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t satisfy as well.
👀 Hannah’s perspective involves a lot of talk about her weight. A part of this is because George is a fitness trainer, but even otherwise, she seems obsessed with staying thin either for her own sake or for George’s sake. The content was borderline fatshaming, though none of the characters were even close to being fat.
👀 I am stunned by how much mention alcohol gets in this story. Almost every alternate scene involves at least one glass of some or the other alcoholic drink. What’s worse is that none of the characters think that they drink too much.
👀 Am I the only one who felt awkward when Davey texted Hannah his shirtless photo on their very first virtual photo exchange? What good guy does that?!

Overall, despite some nags about the shortcomings, I quite enjoyed the story. I am not one for cheesy or steamy romances, so a story where romance plays a secondary role to drama always works better for me.
Recommended to readers who would like a contemporary romantic-drama with characters they would love to root for.
Note that Davey stays Hannah’s “the man I never met” for most of the book. So if you are the kind of reader who won’t be satisfied by the lack of an actual meet-cute, or you want the romance to feature in a major role, or you want steamy content, this book isn’t for you. There is steam but all of it is behind closed doors.
If you need to know triggering content, don’t forget to take a look at the tagged trigger because it is a major one.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Man I Never Met”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content warning: <spoiler>cancer, chemotherapy and its side effects.</spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book had all of the things, substance, romance, heartbreak. It follows the lives of two people across the world from one another. After one wrong number, we follow the journey of Hannah and Davey and their stories.

I was expecting to read a light Rom-Com, but this book took me much deeper, in a good way!! I love how the random connection turned into so much more.

The Man I Never Met is a will they won't they story that spans across the Atlantic. Davey accidentally dials Hannah instead of a company he's supposed to be interviewing with. They hit it off after Davey lets her know she got the job and will be moving to London from Texas in a few short weeks. The two make plans to meet up but first they get to know each other texting, calling and video chatting. Davey doesn't make it to London and Hannah has to pick herself up after being crushed by this turn of events.

The first quarter of this book totally sucked me in and I couldn't get enough of Hannah and Davey's story (although I'll admit as an American of similar age I don't know many guys that go by Davey as an adult...). However once the big reveal happened it got a little slower for me. I liked how much Hannah grew up throughout the story and would recommend if you like romance but need something with more depth.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a lot less of a romcom vibe than I thought it would be, more deep/emotional/etc. not bad, just not what I was expecting.

This book was not quite what I expected, but I still ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I think I thought this would be a little lighter, and maybe play with time in an interesting way, but neither of those were the case. This deals with some heavy topics (check content warnings beforehand if you have some things you want to avoid) that I wasn't prepared for, but once I accepted the direction the story took, I really liked it (and read it one day!). This book had great side characters, the London setting was palpable, and the main characters had great chemistry. I'd recommend, just know it's not a light and fluffy romance.

“It was her, standing right there, in front of me…”

Let me start by saying upfront despite the cover and the tags, this is not a RomCom. This is plain and simple a moving, emotional and beautiful love story. I can’t get over how much I loved it or how many surprises there were. It’s also long. No way was I able to finish in one sitting, despite my best efforts. Hannah is wonderful, so real it’s like I really know her personally. And Davey is… well, he’s Davey. I fell totally in love with him. How could I not? No spoilers, just know this book is a keeper and well worth the time to read. It’s just wow!

It took me a while to read this book (sorry!) but I truly enjoyed it! My full review will come, but for now Inwant to highlight how addictive the story was. I found the writing to be so compelling, I just wanted to read one more chapter all the time. Unique books always stay with us.

I'm going to try not to give away many, if any, spoilers but I feel like it lends itself to my review being as it is...Overall, I absolutely LOVED the idea of how they met. It's so well thought out and unique. I feel like, however, there were lulls in the story where I just skipped ahead to see what would happen to the main story line. For example, there was a -LOT- about George and not enough about Davey. (Some of the details on George were a little "graphic" in nature, which I also skipped past) The reader of this story will ultimately love one character over the other as soon as the story begins and I really wish it could have been developed more around that relationship versus the other. This is completely opinion based, and many people might disagree. Either way, great concept, I just wish there was more "meat" (and no - NO pun intended there ha!) on the story about the "favorite" love interest versus the one that filled in the gap. (Sorry this is in code, but I really don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read it!)

I got about 85 pages in before I realized I wasn't paying attention at all. I clearly wasn't connecting so I pushed a little farther before ultimately putting it down. DNF. @30%.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Hannah picks up her phone to find that it's a wrong number. Davey is an American who is calling in for a job interview and has written down the number incorrectly. After having a brief chat, each finds that there is an attraction and agree to contact each other, the ruse being that Hannah wants to know how the interview went. He gets the job and he'll be moving to London soon. The texts go to calls and then become video calls and there's an arrangement that Hannah will pick up Davey at the airport. Then something goes amiss as he doesn't show up. Can you truly love someone you've never met? Will Hannah and Davey ever meet? This was an enjoyable page-turner although it had the frustration for me of a character who doesn't always do what they truly feel. But overall I would recommend this book.

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

This isn't your typical rom com. It has all the feels and goes places I didn't expect it to go. Well-written and I enjoyed it a lot. I definitely would read more from this author! Kudos to her.

Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
I read this one in one night. Just the kind of romance I love. I will look for others by this author.