Man. I am a big Alexis Hall fan. I usually live a grumpy locked up hero mixed with a chaotic potential partner.
However, this was a tough read for me. The first half of the book took forever to get through. Neither if the characters was easy to connect to/ feel for. They were both irritating in different ways. I am a fast reader and books this length are usually quick reads. This book took awhile & almost put it down.
The last half moves faster and was more enjoyable for me. It isn’t my favorite book by this author.

As far as I'm concerned, Alexis Hall is one of the best authors out there when it comes to LGBTQ+ Romance and I'm honestly convinced he's incapable of writing a bad book. While I had a couple of issues with 10 Things That Never Happened, mainly with the pacing, Hall's character work was incredibly well done and overshadows any pacing problems I may have. Alexis Hall had such a strong sense of who Sam was as an individual that his narration effortlessly brought me into the story, ensuring 10 Things That Never Happened would be one to remember.

Thank you @netgalley for sending me an ARC of 10 Things that Never Happened in exchange for an honest review!
This is an enjoyable romcom! I was quite fond of how Jonathan warmed up to Sam! He turns into a sweet character, though still very grumpy. As much as I understand Sam not wanting his coworkers to be fired, I understand Jonathan's perspective. They keep damaging material and keep not showing up to work, obviously they're not good employees. I didn't enjoy how this got blamed on Sam tho. Even Tiff says she slacked off because she knew she could with Sam, but that's her problem. She's the problem, not him. You have to be responsible, I belive it's obvious that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
The side character's antics can be a bit annoying. Sometimes the main character will try to have a serious conversation with them and they'll just start rambling about verything and anythigd and it's a little irritating to the reader. To be honest, I wasn't fond of Sam's friends at all. They don't appreciate him enough. He sacrificed himself for them and they just say they're better of without him, I honestly would'vre dropped them way sooner.
Jonathan is such an asshole to his dad. His dad got fired and tried his best to support his family, I don't understand how Jonathan can't see that. He says that getting a low payig job is "failing at life", but also wants to fire his employess. In the end he's a huge hypocrite when it comes to classism.
I don't understand how Wendy doesn't care that Sam was lying to Jonathan during the whole relationship. Her son was being lied to constantly and she was just expecting him to not care. That very irrealistic. No mother would want her son to be in a relationship with a liar.
Overall, the romance is interesting as is the growth of the main characters, but the rest of the characters and plots fall flat.

TW:sexual content, amnesia, head-hitting.

Sam likes his job but hates his boss, Jonathan. Jonathan seems to ONLY love his job and nothing else. After an ill-fated employment standards meeting, an accident and a concussion, Jonathan makes Sam move into his London mansion to keep an eye on him after his concussion & supposed amnesia.

I really wanted to love his. I like the happy Vs grumpy RomCom trope but this just fell flat for me. It's a bit too long & I never really fell for any of the characters. It genuinely felt like there was never a plan to this book and it just ended abruptly. The third act mis-understanding came so late in the book, it was just swept under the rug in 2 lines in the epilogue. It was an unsatisfactory ending as a reader.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thank you Netgalley for this book!

I must say it got me a couple of pages until I was completely into the story. But once I was I LOVED it!

Sam, Gollum and his chaotic Coworkers
Jonathan and his messy and loud family

It was a fantastic read and really funny - Sam, Sam, how on earth did you end up in this situation! And Johnny MCGrumpy ( at the beginning I could've slapped him left and right lol ) but I really warmed towards him and I love them both!

As a fan of Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material / Husband Material series, I was delighted to see another queer romance from this author. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the novel, and was tickled by the fake-amnesia plot which is just so ridiculous it works.

My one complaint is that the two main characters are (and they admit this) terrible people! While that is refreshingly honest, they did get a bit annoying. Conflict is, of course, what you want and need from a book like this, but they were way too argumentative for my liking.

However, Alexis Hall fills out the story with a bunch of amusing side-characters to compensate, and the author's trademark wit and sense of humour is a constant and enjoyable presence.

Characters: 4/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Ending 3.5/5
Humour: 4.5/5
Enjoyability: 4/5

As a big big fan of both BF Material and HB Material, I love the Alexis Hall's writing and this one did not disappoint! Getting to know these characters were a ball and the interactions with one another are incredibly amusing. This kind of reminded me of the movie While You Were Sleeping (this book and the movie both share the plot points of amnesia and meeting a huge family during Christmas), but otherwise not at all the same.

I think I may have been a little disappointed with the ending. The character development was also great up until the 5th of the book... not usually a big issue with me, but it almost brought my rating down to 3 stars because of it.

Sam works for Jonathan at a bed and bath store and is not very good at his job. Jonathan, your classic grumpy character, is regretting hiring him and sits him down for a tough conversation. Sam trips during the meeting, hits his head, and to avoid being fired decides to fake amnesia. Now Jonathan is feeling guilty and the two are getting closer as they get to know each other again for the ‘first’ time. This is set in the same world as Boyfriend/Husband Material but not the same characters. I really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

A little formulaic, but in a kind of comforting way. A "I've read this author before and know what to expect, so I'll grab the tissues" kind of way.

Some parts were a little frustrating--like how Sam's past is danced around until the very end, and that he is Never Once Described--but overall it was a cute romcom with Hall's usual banter and quirky large cast.

My favorite thing about Alexis Hall books is that I get to say “I get that reference” as an American and chuckle to myself. My other favorite things about Alexis Hall books is that every single one I read is better than the last.
I was one paragraph into this book when I decided I loved it. And about 100 pages into it when I couldn’t put it down. I just needed to know what was going to happen, and how many references to absurd little bed and bathroom items could pop up throughout the book. Turns out, many more than I could possibly have anticipated, and I laughed at every single one of them.
In all seriousness, this book is special. It has two flawed people who make mistakes, make some really absurd mistakes, which in turn had me rooting for them even more so than I thought I could. The characters made choices that, at first glance seem ridiculous, but make complete sense once you get to see the whole picture, and just in turn tells a really funny and heartwarming story.
Plus, there’s a cat named gollum. Which makes everything just a bit better.

Tropes:
- opposites attract
- amnesia plot
- forced proximity
- slow burn
- super grumpy/sunshine
- boss/employee

I do enjoy a good old amnesia plot! This was a fun read, started off really well, sort of dragged a bit in the middle. The story delves into both character's families and how each dynamic has impacted their current state. I liked the grumpy/sunshine aspect and how very opposite these characters were. Two lonely men, finding each other in the strangest of circumstances and falling in love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an eARC of this novel! I loved Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall so I was pleased to receive this copy.

I was born in Lancashire and went to high school in Liverpool, so I identified with many of the north of England aspects of this book. I laughed out loud quite a bit a some of the funnier parts of the book, much to the annoyance of my husband. And right at the end I bawled my eyes out.

This was a slow burn, not a riveting one, but rewarding. Thanks again for letting me read it.

Alexis Hall always writes an entertaining story, and 10 Things That Never Happened is thoroughly enjoyable. A sweet slow-burn, enemies to lovers romance, this one is super charming.

Hall sets a mellow pace in 10 Things That Never Happened. The characters gradually reveal themselves, and we get to watch as their connection grows from dislike to friendship, and finally to mutual respect and sprking hot attraction.

What a pleasure!

Leave it up to Alexis Hall to come up with a plot that seems impossible to write and still turn it into something perfect.

10 Things is a (Christmas) story about two lonely people finding each other in the strangest of ways. Sam fakes amnesia to keep his Scrooge-like boss, Jonathan, from firing him and his entire branch. This leads to Sam having to live with his boss for weeks so that Jonathan can make sure Sam's all right (and won't sue him).

Throughout the story, a lot of silly, hilarious stuff happens, but it's the tender, emotional moments (the guinea-pig!! 🥺) that I loved the most. And I LOVED Jonathan + Gollum the cat. It was both hilarious and adorable at the same time.

For a long time, I wondered how they could possibly fix their relationship once the truth came out because it seems like quite a big deal to me to find out someone you love has faked amnesia. I expected lots of drama, big apologetic gestures, etc. But what actually happened was way better.

Simply loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an eARC of this novel! I love Alexis Hall's other novels, so I was super excited to get my hands on this one. I am always a huge fan of grumpy-sunshine romances, and this one certainly hit the mark on that. Far and away the best part was when Jonathan was finally admitting his (quite obvious) feelings for Sam and he basically said how could I not like the ray of sunshine that you are. I also thought Jonathan's family was wonderful. Other than that though, this didn't have anything particularly special. It was a little too long and a little too slow, and while of course the amnesia plot is inherently cheesy, it could have been done a little less eye-roll-inducingly.

I absolutely loved this book! The characters felt really earnest and relatable, especially when talking about their bodies towards the end and how his minor betrayal wasn't resolved immediately. It was wonderful and I'll definitely recommend it for people who want something Red White & Royal Blue adjacent :)

I was absolutely thrilled to receive an ARC of 10 Things That Never Happened. Alexis Hall is an auto-read author and the premise of this one seemed particularly comical/sweet. Unfortunately this is the first Hall book I’ve read and disliked. It has so many of the things I love about Hall’s romcoms - unlikely love interests, extreme situations, excellent supporting characters. My issue was with our two MC’s. I found Sam to be surprisingly unintelligent (a major rarity for Hall), Brian to be boring (even rarer), and both to be somewhat insufferable. There was a very good attempt at charm here, that I’m sure many readers will appreciate. Admittedly, my expectations for this was very high, but I’m still sad to share they weren’t met.

Thank you to sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to see a new story in Boyfriend Material universe!

Let me first say that Alexia Hall is a pro at banter. This book was sweet, and funny and the characters all had distinct and interesting personalities. Sam's sunshine vs Johnathan's grumpy was *chefs kiss* and I want to catnap Gollum.

Although the amount of characters was at points overwhelming and it became hard to keep some of the family straight, it was lovely to see Sam being included in what he obviously missed. Both of these men were lost and lonely in their own ways and it was a delight to get to see them find each other and open up to each other.

I loved the Christmas setting and would love to reread this around the holidays. I flew through this book and it gave me the warmest fuzzies. I want to put Sam and Johnathan in my pocket and keep them both!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hilarious, emotional, and completely adorable! Alexis Hall truly never disappoints and always brings one-of-a-kind romcoms.

4.25 stars

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

overall i really liked this!! the forced proximity-grumpy/sunshine vibes were excellent and i loved the characters - especially sam! also the found family was great although i couldn't always keep up with who was who in jonathan's family. alexis hall tends to be a fan of quite late resolution which can feel a tad jarring, but overall i'd recommend this book. really liked the northern rep as i don't see it a lot.