I wanted to like this story more than I did. It fell a bit flat for me. I guess the characters didn't seem developed enough, or have a complex enough personality...I'm not exactly sure what through me off from this book!
Pretty sure my favorite part about the entire book was the Christmas feel-even though it's not supposed to be a holiday book! But give me a holiday setting and I'm total putty!
Sam and Jonathan have a very cute and subtle romance, built from a slow-burn friendship. I wouldn't say there was undeniable chemistry, but the feel of knowing you found your person. And that's all we really want in life isn't it? What's passion and chemistry when we really want a life-long friend we can relax with and be ourselves around.
Totally adorable and worth the read if you really love romance novels!

My primary struggle with this story revolved around the romantic aspect. While the book is categorized as a romance, I found it challenging to connect with the characters' chemistry. Jonathan's demeanor often leaned too heavily towards being overly confrontational, and any attempts to reveal a softer side seemed abrupt and out of place. I longed for a more organic development of their romantic relationship, with moments of genuine "getting to know you" interactions. The conflicts in the narrative dragged on for an extended period, and I felt that I didn't delve as deeply into Jonathan's character as I did with the ones in Boyfriend Material or other successful works by Alexis Hall.

A lot of fun, with Alexis Hall's signature wit, humor, and deft use of language. I wasn't sure I would come around to rooting for Jonathan, but somehow, Alexis Hall got me to like him.

Jonathan Forest is isn't the kind of boss you take lightly. He's a perfectionist, has high expectations and everyone who works for him kind of hates him.
Sam Becker is the kind of boss that seems really chill, but no one takes seriously because he can be kind of a pushover. So when Sam has to report to Jonathan in London for a stern discussion about the state of the Sheffield store he's managing, he panics. During the discussion he trips, bumps his head, and fakes amnesia...only until he can figure out how not to get fired.

But in trying to "recuperate" and "not get caught out" Sam realizes that Jonathan isn't as bad as he seems. There's a softer side to his boss that takes care of his family, is good to Sam's cat, and the more time Sam spends with Jonathan, the more Sam realizes he's, maybe?, falling in love with him. With their whole burgeoning relationship based on a lie, Sam has to be clever in how he gets out of this mess.

This is a Christmas slow burn in the best possible way. The crazy family antics around the holidays, the expectations, and finally, the way that two people need to forgive themselves for their perceived failures, while being able to see only the best in each other. I adored it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun book! And I loved Alexis Hall's note at the beginning that the narrator is from Liverpool and directed the reader to a few famous Liverpudlians to get a sense of their accents.

This is only my second book by Alexis Hall, but I'm sure it won't be my last. Hall does a wonderful job of really fleshing out the characters, which is a challenge when one of them has a big, noisy giant family. But I felt like I knew Jonathan and Sam like old friends.

Sam runs a bedding and bath shop in Sheffield, England. Jonathan is the owner of this branch and two others and is based in London. Sam's shop isn't doing well and his staff are a mess so naturally Jonathan makes Sam head down to London to tell him to make changes so his branch can hit budget. But while Sam's visiting Jonathan walks toward him and he falls into a display shower door (a highly specific shower door that's 8mm thick and very heavy). Sam hits his head and when prompted, may make some statements that could cause someone (Jonathan) to think he has amnesia and take him in for a couple of weeks to recover. But Sam doesn't have amnesia--he's hoping that Jonathan will take pity on him and not fire anyone from the Sheffield branch. So while he's recuperating in Jonathan's home, he finds out that there's more to His Royal Dickishness (the Sheffield Branch's nickname for Jonathan) than what he's experienced. And Jonathan learns that maybe being a little vulnerable and opening up sometimes can be a good thing.

A lovely enemies-to-lovers Christmas rom com with great characters. Again, I have to give Alexis Hall credit for having Jonathan's massive family members have unique characteristics--I never got confused when Les and Del were talking or when Barb and Barbara Jean were. Fantastic secondary characters I really enjoyed. This was a great rom com and was closed door (not steamy).

My only real negative comment (and it's really not a negative because learning slang is fun!) is a very American one. There were a few terms that were very scouse-specific and I used my favorite reference guide to clarify: my northern English husband who knew all but one reference.

Loved this, and can't wait to read more by Alexis Hall.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre/trope: romance, mm, grumpy/sunshine, workplace, forced proximity

Man, do I get excited whenever there’s a new Alexis Hall book available!

Sam(wise) is a manager of Splashes & Snuggles, a bed and bath retailer where his management skill is called into question by the owner, Jonathan. His location isn’t doing well, so Jonathan calls him up to London for a meeting. Jonathan doesn’t people. He’s blunt and rather humorless. Sam is fond of people, looks out for them, and funny. Neither see eye to eye about how Sam’s branch should be run, and Jonathan insists on drastic changes. During a public row in Jonathan’s store, Sam’s injured, and due to a misunderstanding is misdiagnosed with amnesia at the hospital. With nowhere to go, Jonathan insists he convalesce at his home until his memory returns. Feeling guilty but also seeing an opportunity here, Sam agrees so that he can work on softening Jonathan so he can save his employees’ jobs.

It’s all honestly so silly, but enjoyable. Hall’s characters can tend to be ridiculously quirky, but they’re not overpowered by that here. I loved the mess Sam got himself into. And poor, exasperated Jonathan! I could just picture his cluelessness about how to interact. Funnily enough it’s Sam’s cat, Gollum that softens him. Then Sam makes it worse when he starts falling for his workaholic boss. With all that’s at stake there’s no way this can end without getting messier.

This takes place around the holidays with Sam coming to the rescue to save Christmas, Jonathan’s family, and the store, giving it a slight A Christmas Carol kind of vibe. I laughed, I giggled, I “awed” during sweet moments. The banter was top notch. I totally enjoyed it! So yes, do read this!

My thanks to @netgalley & @sourcebookscasa for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I generally like Alexis Hall, and I enjoyed the overall plot arc of this book. But it's very hard to grow warm fuzzy feelings about a romance when the primary love interest is just so very objectionable as a person. Jonathan was so stubborn, hard-headed and generally horrible that I couldn't root for him and Sam to end up with their HEA, which then undermined my investment in the book as a whole.

dnf @ ~20%.

i just could not get into this book for some reason. i went back and forth with picking it up, reading about a chapter then getting bored with it and then putting it down. i’m pretty sure it’s a me thing, maybe this book just wasn’t for me.

I had thought this was a sequel to the Boyfriend Material. It is not. This love story involves Sam and Jonathan.
That being said, onto the review.

It was a good story but I couldn't get that invested in the main characters, ebbing and flowing between Sam and Jonathan. There's just something standoffish about Jonathan's personality and the "Oh NOOOO" or "Are you for real?!" reaction towards Sam. If I can't love the main characters, something deep inside me, starts to slow down my exuberance of reading a rom-com.

For me, this was not my favorite by the author. It was just an "okay" read for me.

Note: It is revolving around the Christmas Holiday so if you don't like that troupe, you have been notified.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall has quickly become one of my favorite romance authors. I love the characters that they create. They have such a sense of humor that comes across effortlessly within the pages. The relationships may start off in a ridiculous kind of way, such as fake amnesia, but they become very realistic from a genuine connection standpoint. I love how Hall takes their time developing the romance. It never feels rushed or forced.

I can’t wait to read Hall’s backlist to zero!!!!

Alexis Hall does it again. From the fake amnesia to the grumpy/ sunshine, forced proximity romance - I was all in. The banter and the quirky humor were great. Jonathan's family - LOVED them! They were so much fun with their loving but meddlesome ways.

Ok so... the premise - Jonathan Forest owns the store where Sam is manager.
He wants to discuss downsizing the underproductive store and Sam wants nothing more than to protect his employees - who are quite the ragtag bunch. Sam trips and bumps his head during their meeting, leaving Jonathan feeling responsible and thinking that Sam has amnesia. he invites him into his home to help take care of him until he recovers. As they spend time getting to know each other, feelings start to form. Can they overcome the lies and their work related issues to be a couple?

The side characters are such a wonderful addition to the romance. I just found them so entertaining - the family, the store workers & the CAT! The romance was definitely a slow burn and while I didn't love these two as much as I have characters from other Alexis Hall books - I definitely enjoyed them. I liked them, individually. I just never felt that big sense of connection with them as a couple.
Maybe because there were so few real romantic moments between them. I just needed a bit more to really feel all in with them.

Sweet and charming as I always anticipate from an Alexis Hall book! I hate the fake amnesia trope bit it seriously was so well done that I have zero complaints!

Very fun easy read! I enjoyed all the character dynamics I found myself comparing it slightly to the show superstore. I didn’t really like how long the deception went on for but besides that I enjoyed it !

This book made me so happy! I'm completely in love with Alexis Hall's writing style. The story is hilarious and absolutely adorable. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I read 10 Things That Never Happened. I even found myself laughing throughout different parts of the story. I'm sure I looked like a weirdo.

Sam and Jonathan were just the cutest couple, and I'm a big fan of amnesia as a storyline in romance. Whether it's fake or not. I loved everything about this book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Because for some unfathomable reason the one living being in the entire world Jonathan Forest has chosen to be emotionally open with is a cat with a face that looks like other cats yse it as a scratching post."


After my last Alexis Hall read (Husband Material), I was kind of wary about picking this one up. I won't get into my issues here because I've already gone into them in my review for that particular book and this review is about 10 Things That Never Happened. Which I enjoyed a good amount. Hall's style of writing is very witty and I really like how they do banter. Whenever Jonathan and Sam got into their little verbal sparring it would make me laugh. Those were some of my favorite moments.


"I'm aware...that this is absurd because I only saw you this morning. But I miss you."


There wasn't a ton of romantic moments in the book, but that would be because both men claim they aren't the romantic sort. They did have their sweet moments and I gobbled those ones up as quick as I could. Those small vulnerable moments were what endeared me to Jonathan, who as an MC is kind of the unlikable sort. Which I believe is on purpose. I mean the whole plotline is the fact that Sam is faking amnesia to make sure his jerk of a boss doesn't fire everyone he works with, including him. You can't then expect said boss to be all rainbows and unicorns. Jonathan did have a good amount of growth as a character. I think it was a Christmas miracle that Sam was able to help that man let his hair down a bit.

If you're looking for a steamy enemies to lovers romance you aren't going to find that here. There is absolutely no descriptive steam at all. What you will get is a witty, sarcastic pair of MCs, a hideously ugly cat named Gollem whom has taken a liking to Jonathan, and a wonderfully meddling family whose antics are sure to make you laugh.

10 Things That Never Happened is an absolutely charming installation in to Alexis Hall's already stack works of brilliant contemporary romance. With fantastic characters, a mess of a fantastical bratty cat and a mishap with a very large shower door that leads to a very romantic "IF YALL DONT KISS ALREADY" turn of events will have readers devouring each chapter. I would pay everything I have for a second installment with JAM at the helm easily!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at around 20%.

For me, at 20% in I didn't care about the characters, what happened to them in the past, or what may happen in the future. I think part of it was that the story was very british and I didn't relate to much of the language used. I think this is a "me" problem not something inherently wrong with the book.

I think this could be good for someone who wants the story to gently unfold and doesn't mind British jargon.

I have been devouring 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall over the last few days, and it is a definite favourite. I couldn't possibly rush my way through this book, I needed to savour the wit and humour on every page. Alexis Hall writes the most relatable main characters, I love how unapologetically British the whole cast of characters are. I can easily picture every character in real life, they are all perfectly imperfect.
Alexis Hall writes British humour like no other for me. Reading this book felt like discovering Boyfriend Material all over again. I just love the entirety of it and I didn't want it to end. I hope there are many more books in the series or world to come.

T R O P E S
🇬🇧 MM Romance
🇬🇧 Workplace Romance
🇬🇧 Holiday Romance
🇬🇧 Grumpy/Sunshine
🇬🇧 Closed Door

R E V I E W
While I enjoyed this book, I’ve really struggled to love a book from Alexis Hall since reading Boyfriend Material (although I enjoyed Paris Daillencourt well enough). I got this book as an eARC and started to read it and honestly, kept putting it down. It wasn’t until after release and I got the audio book that I was really able to get into the book. Once the audio hooked me, I was able to bounce back and forth between ebook and audiobook. And while I liked it well enough, and it worked as a good audio to have in the background, I struggled to super being in love with the romance aspect of the story. This is why my review/rating is a mixed bag. It’s about a 3.5-3.75ish for me, where I enjoyed it, but don’t know that I would recommend it widely or reread it. It was a pretty easy fine/good book for me.

We follow Jonathan, the owner of a bed and bath company and Sam (Samwise), an employee and manager at one of the branch stores. Essentially, Sam’s branch is filled with a bunch of misfit workers, so their production is down (one guy continuously ruins expensive merchandise, which gave me so much anxiety). Jonathan is peeved at how poorly this branch performs and how they aren’t hitting their targets, so he invites Sam down to his main store so he can see how to be a proper manager, and also so he can discuss Sam making cuts at his store. Once there, Jonathan and Sam have a disagreement, Jonathan fires Sam, then Sam manages to crash into a shower display, get a concussion, and determines the best way to save his store and employees is to fake amnesia. Jonathan, feeling guilty, brings Sam home from the hospital after the accident and begins taking care of him (because with his “amnesia” he doesn’t know of anyone who can help). Sam’s new mission is to try to humanize Jonathan, whom all the employees hate and think is a prick. One thing leads to another, and they end up falling for each other during this time. There is then a bunch of funny family anecdotes, Christmas party planning, and a whole bunch of “do I tell him, what have I done” bits.

I think the characters individually were interesting, and had some depth, although it still felt pretty surface level to me. Sam turns out to have been kind of depressed and apathetic due to his past but puts on a happy go lucky facade. Jonathan is a workaholic because he doesn’t want to end up how his dad was. The problem I had was not really connecting to them as a couple. They were cute, but I didn’t really see the relationship developing so I was just kind of meh about it all.

I enjoyed all the bits with Sam’s employees and Jonathans family. They were a funny addition and I liked all of their scenes (although the Merry/Mary Christmas joke confusion didn’t work for me in the end as an American because we pronounce it the same way. I had to ask British friends to pronounce the two words so I could understand the bit in the book).

It was decently paced and had a good plot. Was a fun book to get me in the holiday spirit. I don’t know that I’d recommend it too widely, but for anyone looking for a lighthearted, clean romance, holiday book, I’d probably point them in this direction.

I received a copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read a few books by Alexis Hall and am now a confirmed fan of her romcoms.

Put the Overboard and While You Were Sleeping movies into a blender, and this is one possible result. Sam runs a branch of Jonathan’s bed and bath company but hates his boss. His branch is underperforming and when he’s summoned to Jonathan’s office in another city, Sam needs to convince him not to fire him or his staff. Things seem to be headed in the wrong direction until Sam is injured on the job while talking to Jonathan. Chaos ensues and through a sort of kind of misunderstanding, Sam fakes amnesia. With a concussion and far away from his home, Jonathan has no other option but to take Sam to his own and care for him until his memory returns or he’s medically cleared to return home.

If you enjoy the grumpy/sunshine type of romance, Jonathan and Sam are poster kids for that dynamic. They’re complete opposites. Watching them learn first impressions aren’t always correct as they spend more time together and unexpected layers to their personalities are revealed was such fun. Sam’s cat, Gollum, is a scene stealer. I’m convinced the author has a cat because she nails their narcissistic demeanor. And Jonathan’s family? They’re loud, intrusive, and occasionally overbearing, but I adored their chaotic scenes and laughed out loud several times. They love each other, but express it in different ways. Along with the laughs come some heartfelt scenes, things that are hinted about – just a warning that some readers may need to keep tissues handy.

I enjoyed every page of this novel and highly recommend it to romcom fans. It’s set during the holidays and would be a perfect read for that time of year. The cover is similar to the author’s duology Boyfriend Material/Husband Material, but this isn’t a sequel. Although set in the same world, it’s not necessary to read that series first.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.