Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I truly enjoyed this contemporary romance about Hannah and Davey. Hannah receives a call from a wrong number, which leads to forming a friendship with a man (Davey) overseas. We follow each of their lives as they struggle with health issues, relationships, friendships, and life-altering decisions. If you are a fan of Josie Silver or Beth O'Leary, I recommend this one!

What a wonderful, sweet story! To see that the author loved something quite similar made it even sweeter, This reminded me so much of the Richard Curtis love stories I have enjoyed so much over the years.

"The Man I Never Met" has real emotion and avoids overly gushing expressions of love. It tells a unique story with great meaning and authentic, heart-wrenching themes, possibly inspired by the author's own experiences with cancer. The story includes a poignant moment when a character refuses further treatment, reminding the reader of similar experiences with loved ones. The book touches on the difficult and heartbreaking theme of facing terminal illness.
It is the perfect balance between happy and heavy themes. its amazing, and really a story told with love.

I really liked all of the characters in this book (except for the ones I wasn’t supposed to like that it. I didn’t know much about the storyline going in so the direction it went in took me in a bit of a surprise. But I enjoyed it. I see this story being about two people who are meant to be together but have some pain and growing to do before they’re really ready for each other.

The book felt a little long in some points but I think the eventual payoff was very good.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The premise of a wrong-dialed number, a connection for two people across the world was well done. I enjoyed the relationship that blooms between Hannah and Davey. I appreciated that we get an insight into both of our main characters' lives. The relationship that they share is very sweet.
The side characters for both Davey and Hannah were enjoyable. With Davey's best friend and Hannah's neighbor being a stand-out.

**possible spoilers ahead**
My two issues are these:
The side relationships that Hannah and Davey have were very toxic. Hannah's boyfriend is the worst, and I would have appreciated her dumping him LONG before she actually does. His obsessive behavior with her weight and diet was terrible. Add to the fact that he is rude to all her family and friends.
The other issue was something that may have just bothered me. Davey leaves his job, and before he starts his new job he is diagnosed with cancer. He's still in Texas, so where does he get insurance to pay for this? Is he rich enough that he can pay out of pocket? Ok, again this may have just been a thing I had an issue with, but it constantly pulled me out of the story.

Overall, this is a sweet romance that tackles tough topics.

An interesting rom com. And based on the title it doesn’t seem like a rom com. I can’t say to much as I think this one it best to go into not knowing much. But just know it is a good rom com in which noting is as it meets the eye.

I think that this book has the cover of a cutesy romance but the content of something much deeper. I will say some of the subjects talked about this book are hard to read about, but I also think that there needs to be more books that cover topics that are hard to talk about because it does affect so many people. I think from cover to cover this book is just so special. It takes the whole accidental chat trope and adds so many layers. I definitely thing that this is a book that many should pick up and would probably relate to.

I was somewhat skeptical of the premise because I've been hurt too many times before (looking at you, Mr. Wrong Number), but this book pleasantly surprised me. I ate it up.

I loved the authentic and genuine friendship that it felt like Davey and Hannah developed over the course of their "relationship", which then made their eventual romance so much more believable and sweet to root for. To answer the question, "can you fall for someone you have never met?" This book proves, scientifically, yes.

My one gripe was that for a story that was so well paced and spanned a time of nearly two years, the ending itself was more rushed than I would have liked. I think we need to normalize MORE SLOW BURNS in this genre!! I would have been right there with you, Ms. Elle.

Overall, satisfying read that gave me all sorts of feels, and I will be recommending to my romance reader cohort.

I'm torn on this one. It's not the easy, breezy rom-com I expected, but I still enjoyed it. I'd have liked more of Hannah and Davey's romance, rather than the entire book being a build-up to a lovely (albeit totally unrealistic) meeting. It would have been nice to see how they interacted face to face for more than a brief moment near the end.

Slow burn but oh so good!! I’ve been very into sad romance lately

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

This was not what I was expecting, but I loved it! I could definitely see this as a movie, and it’s one where you are screaming at the characters begging them to talk!!! I read this on my kindle and also listened to on audio. I really enjoyed the audio version. I was happy we got a little bit of dual pov, but would have loved more in the beginning. I loved how much you could relate to both main characters, and you could understand the way they were behaving at that time in their lives.

I read a spoiler ahead of time, otherwise I probably would have been pretty devastated halfway through the story!

Thank you PRH audio for my gifted copy in exchange for a honest review.

I simply adored this book. I'm not sure exactly what it was that pulled me in so quickly but I was hooked. I really connected and became attached to the characters and was intent on finding out how their story would end which kept me reading pretty much non-stop.

Hannah and Davey meet 'on the phone' when she answers a misdialed call from him. They find that it's easy to talk to one another so they continue messaging and ultimately talking after that. Their relationship grows and as Davey prepares to move to England, Hannah is eager to see how their relationship will continue to blossom. But a huge, unseen issue arises and you're left wondering if these two will get their happily ever after or not.

If you're looking for a heartwarming book with all the feels, a love that must be fate and some wonderful and heartachingly real characters, then this book is one you should check out. It does get a little gritty and brutal along the way, but it's worth the hard stuff to get to the beautiful parts.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

What starts as a misdial, turns into a year of getting to know you - falling for you - hardships, other relationships, self-discovery, and in the end, fate.

I really really loved the beginning of this book when the two MCs, Hannah, and Davey were getting to know each other. I think the world of online dating, them getting to know each other through text felt very real and ideal. Hannah was so likable, I felt like I was happy for her, and I felt for her. The middle part of the book is a bit sad, and it’s a bit heavy. I feel like George and Charlotte were just waving their red flags high and I just couldn’t wait for Hannah and Davey to get back to each other. I loved Grant and loved his part in this story.

What made this book even better was that I wasn’t sure how the two would find each other again. In the end, I loved the way that they did it.

I’m a huge rom com fan so my expectations were pretty high on this and it honestly met all of them: the witty banter, the character development, and the drama. I really loved this! It’s cheesy and cringy at times, but those are the best parts. Sometimes I felt like I was reading about myself, and that’s always and interesting insight. All in all, I loved this book and I will be reading more from Elle Cook!

Wow this book. I was not expecting the way in which it would punch me in the gut and put me in my feels. ⁣
⁣
I was driving with tears rolling down my cheeks listening to this and continued to intermittently have tears while reading throughout. ⁣
⁣
What a beautiful, heart wrenching but also heart warming book, that I did not see coming. ⁣
⁣
Hannah receives a phone call from the wrong number, and it ends up leading to regular phone calls and face times with a wonderful man Davey who lives in the US, while she is in London.⁣
⁣
These two fall for each other and form this beautiful connection via just chatting. When Hannah goes to pick up Davey from the airport, for them to finally meet, he isn’t there and their hopeful relationship is flipped on it’s head.⁣
⁣
This follows their lives separate from each other, while you desperately hope that some day their paths will cross again. The real and raw emotions portrayed from these characters, I truly felt deep in my core.⁣
⁣
Grab the tissues, but definitely give this a read. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Londoner Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number, she has a brief conversation with an American named Davey who misdialed while trying to call into a job interview. She thinks nothing of it after she wishes him luck. A couple of days later, she receives a text from him saying he got the job. Thus starts their long distance friendship that quickly turns into a relationship with their in person meeting to take place a month later when he moves to London.

But when Hannah goes to meet him at the airport, Davey never shows. After finally getting into contact with him, she finds out the reason for the no show. They start to move apart but that connection is still there - even while they both embark on new relationships.

This book had me in the feels: the giddiness of first contact to almost meeting to Hannah and Davey’s connection throughout the book. I expected more of a light hearted romance than the emotional roller coaster that happened. Hannah and Davey’s connection was well developed and thoughtful. The secondary characters were balanced (except George made me want to throttle him - which I assume was the point of his character arc). I recommend this book if you like romances with a little more meat and depth.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine Books for this ARC. The Man I Never Met is out now.

The book started so sweet and I thought it would be such a happy story. Then it got depressing real quick. This wasn’t your typical romance read, but it was a good story. The ending left me underwhelmed, I wished there was just one more chapter to tie it together better.

A hopeful story of a misdialed call leading to what could be a happy ending. The slow build of this love story to be met with the slight plot twist and the build up of hope ever after kept me hooked to this book. I enjoyed it until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

The Man I Never Met
by Elle Cook
Pub Date: 22 Nov 2022

This is not the first time I have read a book about a wrong text/phone call to someone that leads to an unexpected relationship. I think it is such a fun concept to have a connection with some random stranger and getting to know them before actually seeing them. This story is about Davey who mistakenly calls Hannah instead of the person he is supposed to have a phone interview with. I loved the execution of their love story across the miles and was counting down the days until they would meet face to face. Of course, that would be too easy to end the story there with a happily ever after. Sigh. There is a major setback and heartbreak that follows. This part of the book was harder to enjoy. There was a legitimate reason why their meeting didn't happen, but I hated the separation and Davey forcing Hannah to go on with her life. I really disliked the fact that both of them had other relationships during this time. And while eventually the story comes full circle and has a lovely storybook ending, it took too much of the book to get there. I really would have loved more of the romance highlighted between Davey and Hannah and less of the interlopers standing in their way!

3.5 stars

very intriguing plot, got through it very fast. the plot heavily relies on fate and chance so that seemed a bit unrealistic and overdone at points but i enjoyed the fairytale of it all.