The beginning had me questioning if it was worth continuing not because i didn't like it BUT because im not used to the long distance type of romance, especially one where they've never met. I did continue though and I don't regret it, im so happy I chose to continue because it was really worth it. What I do wish is that they had more scenes together and to be able to read more about their story other than the beginning. There was a lot of angst and frustration, even had to put my phone down a couple times to rethink. I fell in love with this and will definitely recommend!

The Man I Never Met is filled with delight! On a whim, Hannah answers an unknown number on her phone setting off a chain of events to last a lifetime. On the other end of the line is Davey, an American trying to have a phone interview with an office in London. Their chance encounter turns into a platonic friendship and eventually to one with real possibilities for romance. The only catch is, Davey doesn’t show up at the airport in London. As life begins to unravel, both Hannah and Davey are forced to make decisions in their own best interests. Their connection seems impossible to forget, but how can you love someone you’ve never met? I really liked this exploration of the possibility of how two people can truly be connected and even more the idea of falling in love without having met in person. Elle Cook has written a novel filled with fun, excitement, tragedy, romance and hope all wrapped together. Out in November, The Man I Never Met is perfect for curling up on the coach and getting lost!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book hooked me right away and I loved it instantly. That said, I almost stopped reading it because it deals with cancer and illness, something that is not clear from the summary. Despite it being difficult to read at times, I'm so glad I kept going because it's truly a beautiful love story. I loved both Hannah and Davey and all their friends so much. The author totally had me in suspense right to the end as to how the characters were going to find their HEA. (It's not a spoiler to say they did since this is a romance). Even though the characters were rarely in scenes together, their chemistry shined through.

This book kept me guessing until the last pages! I was not sure how it would turn out and recommend it for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Abby Jimenez.

Well, I had so many feelings while reading this book.
At the beginning, I thought it was going to be a "cat-fishing" book. Then a "ghosted" book. Then I thought it was going to be a sweet vacation romance that turned into a real romance. But then, BAM, what in the world, I did not expect that to happen at all!!!
-- I wish there had been a trigger warning and I wish the acknowledgements had been at the beginning of the eARC and not the end, the story would have been that much more emotional for me, personally.

But weirdly enough, when I thought it was going to be a "cat-fishing" story, I totally turned off my emotions because I did not want to connect with any of the characters. I decided I did not like Davey if he was going to be that kind of guy, and I really did not want to go through all that pain with Hannah.
I enjoyed seeing the growth and maturity of Davey and Hannah via the dual POV.

I am glad I pushed through because it turned out to be such a heart warming second chance romance. I want to book a trip to Tuscany and find a field of poppies.


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for my eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Every. Single. Star.
I loved this story. Not your typical British romcom. Hannah and Davey connect when he calls the wrong number. But they soon become friends and more. But yet having never met. Something changes in their plans to finally meet and they seem destined to never make it to find each other.

I wasn’t sure where this one was headed, but when it arrived I broke for both Davey and Hannah. Their story felt real and I became invested. I couldn’t put this one down and yet didn’t want it to end either.

This book captured me from the beginning and I fell in love with the characters and the storyline. It didn’t go quite the way I expected but I really enjoyed it!

I’m thankful for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review and I look forward to more from this author in the future!

This book was a lot different than I thought it would be. I had to DNF because of the content. Trigger warnings for cancer. I also felt like the writing was a little all over the place and the MC’s thoughts were all over the place.
Also, who takes a shower, puts on a towel, then sits down to call a girl and chats for a while and then takes a pic of yourself practically naked with water droplets all over after about five minutes? It just didn’t work for me.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, I was provided an ARC of The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

***** Publishing November 22,2022*****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A heart wrenching love story that will leave you feeling satisfied in the end!

Hannah lives and works in London. She hasn’t had much luck in the romance department. Her neighbor, Joan is an older women whom she confides in over coffee every morning.

One day, Hannah receives a phone call that is a wrong number, from Davey, an architect, who lives in Texas. When he proceeds to accidentally calls her twice in a row, she gives him advice on how to find the right number for his over the phone job interview. They proceed to text each other and start become more than friends over the phone with video calls. When tragedy strikes, Davey ends the relationship. Will Hannah be able to forgive and forget or will she pursue him? Hannah moves on with her friend George, a personal trainer, but will this relationship be the one? Her heart is still with Davey. Will Hanna end up finding “the one” or will she just have to accept she is better off alone, while her friends are off getting married. This book will have you turning the pages to find out Hannah’s fate.

A book that is hard to put down and will leave you thinking about it long after its done. Perfect for book clubs!

I can't believe I'm saying this but I just had to DNF this one. I had such high expectations for this book but I couldn't bring myself to finish it and to be honest, I can't pinpoint why

* I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely LOVED this book!! I loved Hannah and really liked Davey (we get a little less of him throughout the story). I really liked reading Hannah’s story because it’s includes the ups and downs of a relationship so she felt like a real woman in her twenties. The authors note at the end is very heartfelt and you can tell absolutely inspired this story.

I would recommend over and over.

I mostly loved this this book. It’s a Brit-lit romance oozing with personal growth vibes. It’s very slow burn and the characters are sometimes frustrating but I found myself rooting for them 100%. This reminded me very much of One Day in December by Josie Silver which I thoroughly enjoyed. I think that a little more communication between Davey and Hannah as the book progressed would have been nice as the long-distance pining got a little repetitive. Davey was absolutely an endearing character and his story was done so well. I don’t know if the author has any personal experience with cancer but it read very heartfelt and truthful to me. Overall, this is what I love about Brit-lit…the earnest introspection that borderlines on overthinking but is a nice antidote to the sometimes brash, more obvious American romances.

This book is a very touching and emotional story of life and love. One December Hannah, in London, gets a phone call from Davey in Texas when he dials the wrong number. He is trying to call in for a job interview and promises to call her to let her know if he gets the job and will be moving to London soon. They become friends then life changes everything. A trip for Hannah with George, a personal trainer at her gym, sets her off on a new path. Davey ends up on his own personal journey. Will their separate paths ever bring them back together again? Hannah has quirky neighbors, Joan, who she meets with on weekends and they rate new coffee flavors as they visit and talk about their week. Hannah’s best friend Miranda and her boyfriend Paul meet up with Hannah to keep abreast of her life and share theirs too. There is plenty going on in all their lives to keep the book interesting and the reader invested in it. Parts are sad and other parts sweet and funny. A great read.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the amusing story of a woman who starts a conversation with a man who mistakenly dialed her number, and they plan to meet, but it doesn't happen. She then decides to take a trip with a guy from her gym, and their attraction grows. She never forgets the other guy.

An interesting idea that’s been done a few times. It was interesting but just not as well executed as some others I’ve read

Oh this book! It reminded me a little of Always, December, in that its more of a tragic, missed-connection love story. Davey from Austin, Texas accidently dials Hannah in London instead of the person he was interviewing for a job with. He ends up texting her about the interview after and they start talking. I loved how they got to know each other through texts and calls, as that is how Chris and my relationship started out.

But when Hannah goes to meet him at the airport, he doesn’t show. Why??? The reason changes both of their lives. I felt like the book progressed along very well, and I was very invested in both Davey and Hannah’s lives, as well as the lives of a few of Hannah’s friends that we meet. But but but. The ending was very disappointing for me. Everything else was so long and drawn out, and then the ending came out of no where and the book was over. What??? I wanted a little more, you know?

It was very original and different than many of the books I have read lately, and I quite enjoyed it. I had to know what was going to happen. I just wish we got more from the ending after all that time invested. It took the book from a 5 star read down to like a 3.5 or 4 for me.

Bottom Line: Read it.

**I received a copy of The Man I Never Met from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

This is an interesting story. The premise is that 2 people on either side of the Atlantic ocean "meet" due to a mis-dial on a mobile phone. Hannah lives in London and receives a call from an unknown number and against her better judgement she answers it. This is how the story begins. On the other end of the phone is a gentleman in Texas; confirming his phone interview with a London-based architectural firm. These two become friends over the phone. Then tragedy strikes and throws their budding relationship "under the bus" so to speak.

Hannah is what I call a floater through life; she has no direction/ambition to change her trajectory, she sort of "goes with the flow" and doesn't have the "oomph" to want to change anything. The American is going through trauma and cuts Hannah out of his life. This is such an intense story about how people handle difficult situations and how we can learn to make adjustments to our life in order to "survive" a trauma/difficult situations. Or at least they can make themselves believe they are "handling" life and moving on.

The story flows well and deals with some serious matters. This is not a "fluff" story; it has depth and is emotional. All the characters are well developed and relatable. I enjoyed the story very much.

A misdial introduces Hannah, a London marketer, to Davey, a Texan who is trying to call for an interview at a London architecture firm. Their relationship grows during video chat and they’re counting down the days until he moves to London and they can meet in person. But the big day comes and Hannah is left standing alone at the airport for hours. After she finds out why Davey isn’t moving after all, they both try to move on with their lives. Can Hannah move on from a love with a man she’s never even met?
This was one of the delightful romances I’ve read in a while. When chapters from Davey’s POV popped up, I was so excited and they really added another layer of depth. I didn’t expect the more serious turn of what’s going on with Davey (look up trigger warnings if needed), but I felt like it was handled with care. This issue along with the long-distance between them would create a lot of complexity and I appreciated that the story leaned into it instead of just taking the easy way out that some romances do in acting like love just easily conquers all.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Meh. This is a lot of talking and a lot of “but I thought it was best for you.” And cancer!

I read the note at the end and the Author and her husband went through something similar so I am happy this book was there for her to write and tell her story but it just missed the mark for me.

I laughed out loud many times throughout this book.
The book starts out with a misdialed number and then a relationship starts over phone calls and video chats. I’m floored with the reason that Davey misses his plane. Hannah’s reaction is of someone that has fall in love but doesn’t realize it yet. For much of the book, they’ve lost touch and it’s heartbreaking to read.
The book is from two points of view, but you don’t get Davey’s point of view until about half way through.

There were points in this book where I felt it ran a little slow, so I do think the pacing could have been improved a bit. I wish you got to spend a bit more time with the couple actually being together. Even if that was in an extended or bonus epilogue. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and devoured it in about 2 days.

This book was great. I definitely would recommend it, with the caveat that some areas ran a bit slow.

P.S. This book made me crave Thai food, so go pick some up before you crack open this book and have enough for leftovers so you can eat some as you read this book over a couple of days.