I'm really not sure where this one fell flat. Because I was really enjoying the first half of it. But then, suddenly I didn't care about reading it anymore. Instead of looking forward to the latest development in Jonathon and Sam's relationship, I was reading because I felt like I had to. And now, thinking about it, that may be because this wasn't dual POV. Having only Sam's POV really robbed Jonathon of the depth he so desperately needed. I don't think that's the only reason this one was so meh, but it's the only one I can pin down right now. Something was just off with it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Humor with heart, another great romance from Alexis Hall featuring characters that are real, really messy, and real fun!

Another absolutely splendid title from Alexis Hall!

I was greatly anticipating this book, wondering how Hall would get me to care about Jonathan, the side character from Husband Material, who was so briefly seen at Miles and JoJo's wedding talking to Luc.

Hall made me more than care! I am completely devoted to Jonathan and Sam! This book has shot up my list of favorite books by Hall and I can't wait for the final copy in my hands and the audio book!

Sam, the narrator and protagonist, is an immediately engaging character. He's kind, he's observant, he's funny, but also detached in a subtle way. He is mostly happy at his job, as long as he's not having to think about things too much, and is fiercely devoted to his staff which brings him into conflict with his micromanaging, detail oriented, annoying boss Jonathan.

Jonathan is the owner of a small bed and bath chain and he has an unparalleled zeal for the bottom line and details of the business. He's on top of things and way too involved in the day to day for Sam.

A workplace mishap leads to Sam faking amnesia to keep Jonathan from firing his whole staff and Jonathan into keeping an eye on Sam. Forced proximity at the holidays. What could go wrong? Or right?

Plenty of things! Jonathan's loud, vociferous, and motley assorted family members descend on him, Christmas party planning goes awry, Sam and Jonathan's proximity leads to feelings, a Christmas tree shopping expedition leads to house renovations, and a cat proves to be disloyal to his owner.

This book is laugh out loud funny, thought provoking on family love, friendship, workplaces and contains all the wry humor, nuanced personalities, and social commentary I've come to love in Alexis Hall books.

I didn't know what to expect with this one, being in the London Calling universe but not about Luc and Oliver. I couldn't be happier. Jonathan and Sam have my whole heart. This book is a triumph and so worth the read. I am so grateful Hall chose to share Jonathan and Sam's story with us.

My heart is full.

Highly recommended. All the stars.

My thanks to net galley and the publisher for this ARC.

Alexis Hall has done it again! Another spectacular book that engages you from the first page and makes you love characters so deeply, you want to keep reading more of their story.

10 Things That Never Happened is a book that is part of the London Calling universe, but follows one of the minor characters in Husband Material–Jonathan–who owns a small empire of bed and bath shops and his store manager, Sam.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It had me laughing out loud, reveling in the Lord of the Rings references, crying and tearing up again and again.

This book has all the wonderful moments you get with Hall's books: humor, witticisms, three dimensional characters, relatable situations, social commentary, heaps of romance, the many facets of love, emotionally resonant communication, and the reality that love makes things better but it doesn't magically fix everything and doesn't need to.

Sam is the protagonist and narrator and his voice is unique, engaging, and oh so dear to me. I honestly can't wait for the audiobook, to hear his voice out loud. Sam manages one of Jonathan's stores. He is capable, kind, observant and devoted to his staff. His staff, though only in the book for short bursts of time, are all memorable and distinct and quite funny. The attention to detail of retail jargon and the nuances of corporate structure are all so well developed and exposed here. I laughed every time Sam detailed exactly what brand/model/style product he observed. Anyone who has worked in retail will find resonance, even if your store didn't focus on bath and bed.

Jonathan is the grumpy owner of the bed and bath chain. He has a few stores and is growing his brand but he is extremely hands on and quite the micromanager. Sam's store is the weakest performer of his chain and Jonathan is determined to do something about that. At a visit to the store (to likely cut costs by cutting personnel) Jonathan ends up involved in a mishap that leads to Sam being injured and coming up with the idea of faking amnesia as a last ditch effort to save his staff.

Jonathan is tasked with Sam's care in the aftermath and their relationships develops as they are forced into proximity by this arrangement thrust upon them by the harried and busy A&E physicians. Jonathan and Sam are both complicated characters, with pasts that have shaped them and continue to resonate in their daily lives, with hidden (and not so hidden) traumas that affect them and how they interact with the people and world around them. And with each other.

The Christmas setting and Jonathan's unique, eccentric, and utterly relatable family add to the depth of the story. Hall's side characters are always so engaging and vibrant, people you feel you know and want to know more about. I would gladly read books about almost any of his side characters. I am so glad he chose Jonathan–someone I would never have expected to be a protagonist in his own book–someone I found somewhat irritating in Husband Material and now find myself completely devoted to. I would do anything for this man. Anything.

And for Sam as well.

Hall gives us characters with flaws, with their own issues and pasts, characters who grow and progress as the story progresses but who aren't magically fixed by love, or another person, or a new situation. They remain themselves, flawed and unique and relatable, and with a deeper understanding of themselves and each other. With someone at their sides who gets them for who they are and how they are and has compassion and understanding and takes them as they are.

Everyone has a story arc in this book. Jonathan. Sam. The staff at the store. Jonathan's family. Gollum the cat. Everyone.

I laughed. I cried. I literally wanted to hug this book when I finished it. I did not expect to get so fiercely attached to Jonathan and Sam and the rest of the crew in this book but here we are. Hall has done it again. An absolute triumph of a book. One I wanted to start reading again as soon as I finished it, to find all the deeper nuance and care in the storytelling that I might have missed the first time.

Splendid book. I can't recommend it enough. It is a such a wonderful book. It has my whole heart.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Another cute read from Alexis Hall. I wasn't counting so I'm not quite sure I get the title and what the 10 things are, but this was a fun enemies-to-lovers with a side of fake amnesia! The one thing I didn't love was that there was SO much buildup - about 270 pages worth - and then only about 30 pages of conflict and resolution. For what a major player the amnesia was, it didn't get a lot of air time when it came to the big reveal, so to speak, and I with there had been more around that. Also a closed door romance. 4/5 and no eggplants.

OMG I loved this! I was little wary at first because amnesia tropes can be tricky and make you not feel good about the relationship but this did a great job of working with it and commenting on it. I was also worried at first how Jonathan was going to develop as a character because he is not very likeable in the beginning. What I love about Alexis Hall's characters is how developed they are, how they have real conversations and not everything is perfect. There's backsliding and discussions about how everyone messes up but how you can work past that. Another great thing is the full cast of characters who never disappoint. The only one that really stressed me out was Brian, I could not with him. But I couldn't stop talking about this book once I started reading it and kept reading parts out loud to my friends even though they had no idea what was going on in the book. So cute!

Really enjoyed this one—had all of the romcom elements that I love and, as usual, the perfect amount of depth and feeling without being maudlin. Alexis Hall has such a remarkable ability to write deftly across a whole spectrum of romance, and I felt like this installment had exactly the tone I was looking for.

4.5 stars, rounding to 5

If you've read Alexis Hall books, you'll enjoy his familiar wit/humour, social commentary, and his ability to leave the reader gripping their book/device until the absolute last possible moment.

If you've never read an Alexis Hall book, you're in for a lot of fun.

One thing that always strikes me, is that Alexis Hall manages to pick up on subtle nuances in situations that, unless you've lived them, might not have the same level of impact. For instance, if you've worked retail/retail management, the level of detail between product model names, customer interactions, upper management interactions and well, even the, uh, inappropriate use of display model toilets. If you've worked in this world, these moments will hit different for you.

Jonathan is the grumpy, micromanaging owner of the bed and bath company with three locations, while Sam (Samwise, yes, THAT Samwise) is the manager of one, particularly struggling, store location. Sam's staff is a vibrant mix of characters that, once again, if you've managed in retail, you've likely had every one of these people on your team, including Brian. In an effort to save his team's jobs, as well as his own, Sam resorts to faking amnesia after an in-store incident.

Sam and Jonathan's relationship develops in an honest and sweet way, in typical Alexis Hall fashion. Both Jonathan and Sam are flawed individuals in very real ways. Another appreciated characteristic of Alexis Hall's writing, is that one character does not bounce into the relationship and fix ALL THE THINGS. They remain flawed individuals, but they remain flawed together, with considerably more understanding for each other. Alexis Hall also has an innate ability to create incredibly layered side characters and since this book takes place during the holidays, Jonathan's family, with their complicated family dynamics (and Sam, with his own), play a significant role. The holiday theme adds an extra emotional element to the story of Jonathan and Sam navigating these dynamics. And there's Gollum, the cat. Even Gollum has a fabulous story arc.

I couldn't wait for this book and I am so excited to have had the chance to read the digital ARC. Big thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks!

Was delighted to recieve an advance reader copy of this!

I started this novel expecting a witty rom-com about fake amnesia - and while '10 Things That Never Happened' is a witty rom-com about fake amnesia, it is also a touching story about family, love, loss, and about how two people make each other better, and help each other reach for happiness. It's heartwarming and emotional and at times sad, and I absolutely loved how many feelings these wonderful characters made me feel. I adored it!

In '10 Things That Never Happened' we meet Sam, who manages the Sheffield branch of a bed-and-bath type store and who's having trouble meeting the specific sales targets of his grumpy boss, Jonathan. In an effort not to be fired from said job - as well as to save the jobs of every other employee at the Sheffield branch - Sam ends up faking having temporary amnesia, which leads to Jonathan taking care of him while he 'recovers'. But what starts as a ploy to score sympathy points with the boss soon turns very, very complicated. Because while Jonathan is unsurprisingly a bit of a dick, that's not all that he is, and it's definitely not the person he truly wants to be. With Christmas just around the corner and Jonathan's family showing up on the scene, Sam must navigate trying not to lose his job, and trying not to fall in love with his boss, and trying not to think too hard on his own past, and his family, and what truly matters in his life going forward. So long as he can save the Sheffield branch, everything will be okay. Right?

One thing I love about Alexis Hall's books is that they always make me think so much, and this one's no exception. Yes, there is humour, and banter, and a bed-and-bath store called 'Splashes & Snuggles', but between it all there's a profound story about struggling to come to terms with the past, and about making the best of one's future. I was turning the pages so fast from the middle of the book to the end, desperate to know how things would finally work out for Sam and Jonathan. Both characters really grew on me during the course of the novel, and I absolutely loved so many of their conversations - maybe especially the difficult ones. This book has wit and levity, but also so much heart. And that's a classic Alexis Hall story if I ever saw one!

Rated four stars because I felt the beginning of the narrative could've been a little more engaging, but once we learn a little more about the characters I absolutely couldn't put this one down!

Four and a half stars.

Sam Becker is the manager of a bed and bath showroom in Sheffield, one of four owned by Jonathan Forest. Sam is a good boss to the bunch of misfits who work there, but he's not such a great store manager; they are over-budget and missing their sales targets. When he's called down to the Croydon head office and store by Jonathan he's told to shape up, fire the most unproductive staff, and cut costs, or he'll be fired. Long story short, things get a bit heated between Sam and Jonathan, Jonathan screams that Sam is fired and so are all the staff of his store, and Sam ends up falling through a Nexa by MERLYN 8mm sliding door shower enclosure, cutting his head and getting a concussion.

When Sam first comes around he is a bit disorientated, so when the doctor asks what he can remember he says he can't quite remember. Then when Jonathan arrives and starts being nice, Sam goes to say 'Who are you, and what have you done with Jonathan Forest' but only gets the first bit out before Jonathan thinks he's got amnesia. Sam decides to play along, firstly because its funny, and secondly because he hopes temporary amnesia will mean he and the other staff from the Sheffield store aren't fired. Later Sam also thinks that if Jonathan gets to know him better, he might see that a less dictatorial leadership style would work better.

With no-one to look after Sam, Jonathan agrees to look after him for a couple of weeks, until the amnesia clears up and the doctor gives the all-clear on the concussion. Sam may have been a teensy bit influenced by that rom-com classic Overboard starring Goldie Hawn :).

Jonathan lives in a palatial home, but he's all alone and doesn't seem to have friends (or a boyfriend), he doesn't cook, or have a hobby, all he does is work 24/7. But stuck at home watching Pointless all day long is driving Sam around the bend, so he offers to cook dinner. The next thing you know, Sam is brokering peace between Jonathan and his extremely voluble family (parents, grandparents, aunts, cousins, sister etc) over why Jonathan won't host the family Christmas in his five bedroom, three reception room, mansion. Oh and he's also offered to arrange the works Christmas party.

This is Alexis Hall at their best, its not just the cover that's reminiscent of Boyfriend Material, its also that light-hearted fun, frothy writing that just seems effortless. I'm not sure where the title comes from - but who cares. My only quibble was that Alexis says that they wrote Sam as a Scouser, but all I heard in my head was Newcastle, although TBH I'm pretty useless at accents.

Anyway, a lovely, lovely holiday romance, featuring far more toilet seats than I would normally expect in a romance, an amnesia prank that gets out of hand, and a crabby boss with a soft heart.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this one! Workplace romance meets enemies to lovers but make it queer. Alexis Hall really nailed this one with two characters that I really enjoyed in Samwise, the manager of a home store and Jonathan, his boss on the verge of firing him. Toss in a little fake amnesia, a wild and woolly group of family members that are endearing and frustrating and overwhelming, a real Gollum of a cat and then add the Christmas season for good measure and you have an adorable romcom that you won’t want to miss.

Oh, how I adored this book! Alexis Hall is the WORLD LEADER of unique devices and best humor. The amount of times I laughed out loud while reading this book… too many to count!

If you loved Boyfriend Material, you’ll love this. The magic and banter Luc and Oliver had in BM is present here, but in a refreshing way. I was completely engrossed in this story and didn’t put it down until I finished.

I can’t wait for everyone to read 10 Things That Never Happened!

*ARC received from NetGalley with thanks in exchange for an honest review*

Take one sunshine with hidden hurts, a grumpy git with a secret cinnamon centre, and unfortunate yet handy concussion courtesy of Nexa by MERLYN 8mm sliding door shower enclosure, one grumpy cat, an unruly lock of white streaked hair, a mahoossive Christmas tree and you get a pretty perfect holiday read to clutch upon your chest.

Set in the same universe as Boyfriend Material and Husband Material, 10 things that never happened is the first book in the Material World Series. In bears all the AJH hallmarks I’ve come to expect from his writing: highly nuanced, imperfect yet most lovable characters, laugh out loud humour, touching moments of togetherness, grief and longing. If you like your books with a keen, intelligent and always kind and compassionate take on human fallibility and lovability, here’s yet another book for you. It was in equal measures funny and very very moving, yet another reminder of Hall’s mastery as a rom com writer.

Samwise Becker is like no other AJH character I’ve met. Born and raised in Liverpool, a laid back northern lad through and through, we meet him as a kindly, staff oriented manager of a Sheffield based bath and bedroom superstore. He’d internalised the company ethos and the products therein in just the right irreverent piss taking way. Sam’s team of employees is far from perfect and stain free, yet he leads them with kindness and fond exasperation. Much as he cares for his impervious cat Gollum. Sam’s levels of tolerance for imperfection are tested by his encounters with the owner of the chain of stores, Jonathan Forest (who we first met at Miles and Jojo’s wedding in HM where Luc refers to him as a human version of a Christmas cracker joke - bringing people together by getting them to agree how awful the joke is. My poor baby!). Gruff and grumpy and aloof and anxious with a soft cuddly centre in all the best ways. Thrown together by circumstance in a forced proximity set up, we get to see and enjoy the layers being uncovered one by one as the argument gets made as to why these two are such an excellent fit. Not despite their flaws and hurts but very much because of them.

I loved getting to know the main characters and watching them inevitably drawn towards one another as both their stories gradually unfold. I wish more books utilised a cat as a judge of character. The amnesia plot is deftly handled and held my interest all the way through. As ever, the cast of side characters, here mainly Sam’s colleagues and Jonathan’s larger (and louder) than life family preparing for Christmas, are sketched and brought to life with such attention to detail! I cannot wait to listen to the audio once available and super look forward to continuing this series. A will most definitely read again 5⭐️ from me.

This stand-alone rom-com is so funny, witty, and adorable. I devoured this book in one day and laughed the whole way through. I struggled a bit to get into it at first because the first couple chapters are a whole lot of retail management. As someone who worked in retail management for quite some time and absolutely hated every minute of it, it was a tad bit hard to push through the first 2-3 chapters since it literally feels like you're there in the showroom working with the characters. Which kudos to the author there for writing it so well that it really feels like you're there working it. Otherwise, I loved every single bit of this story. I love the SUPER grump and sunshine dynamic between Samwise and Johnathan. Johnathans family dynamic was also super relatable. By the end of this book you will have fallen in love with all the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this book ahead of the release date in exchange for a honest review. All opinions stated are fully my own.

This was a delightful installment from Alexis Hall that I'm thrilled to recommend to other rom com lovers. This is a classic grumpyxsunshine romance with two characters who are both in need of change and, of course, romance. As with other Alexis Hall books, the grumpy character is sometimes so startlingly grumpy at the beginning that I feel confused as to how these two characters will connect, but inevitably they fit together really well.

This is a really feel-good rom com that feels perfect for a movie, and I think Hall's fans (particularly fans of Boyfriend Material) will love it!

You want a romcom, Alexis Hall is your guy.

This was such an enjoyable read from start to finish. As is typical for Alexis Hall, he writes characters that are flawed in such relatable ways that there isn’t any reason to not root for them.

Sam is a personable, easy-going manager who thinks of his employees (and they are certainly hilariously quirky and unique and perhaps not as good at their jobs as they should be) as people first and employees second. Jonathan is the opposite. He’s as grumpy and set in his ways as Roy Kent…he’s also Sam’s boss and naturally far more concerned with profits and budgets and keeping his businesses afloat. In a moment where they are butting heads, Sam trips and then pretends that he has amnesia in order to get himself some time to figure out how to save his job and the jobs of everyone that works under him. With nowhere else to go and so far from home, and Sam both amnesiac and with a concussion there is nowhere else he can go but to Jonathan’s house.

It is a recipe in disaster, hilarity, and so much fun for the reader. Truly it does not disappoint. From the moments where they are butting heads and arguing, to them getting to actually know each other and finding value in their opposing perspectives.

This book is also set at Christmas time which serves to bring forth Jonathan’s very loud and very loving family and while at first it’s just full of quirky and fun characters that help to paint a better picture of Jonathan, they are also so essential to the story in terms of everything that Sam is going through and because they are all so warm and welcoming and cozy in a way that family is supposed to be while also of course getting in each other’s nerves.

The best stories are full of depth and nuance in a way that isn’t immediately noticeable. This is one of those. Absolutely such a good read.

10 Things That Never Happened is a wonderful addition to the London Calling series. Just as in Boyfriend Material/Husband Material (and most of his books for that matter), Hall created two perfectly imperfect characters that somehow fit together- and the reader can’t help loving. Combine that with a set of zany circumstances and the whole book is rather delightful.

Well, this book absolutely blew me away, and I devoured it in a day.

10 Things That Never Happened follows Sam(wise), the manager for a struggling branch of midsize bed & bath store Splashes and Snuggles, and his accidental romance with company CEO Jonathan. Sam and his team dread Jonathan's calls, especially when he tells Sam to lay off employees before the holidays, but in a twist of fate, Sam slips and falls in front of Jonathan and ends up faking amnesia while Jonathan becomes his caregiver. Initially, it's to save his team and his own job, but as he discovers who Jonathan is behind his stony facade, he just might be falling in love...

I loved everything about this book. The premise is absolutely bonkers but executed well, the banter is top-notch, and the side characters are hilarious (I'm starting to think Hall does side characters very, very well, because I adored the side characters in Mortal Follies, too). I love how Hall pulls off both the grumpy/sunshine and the enemies(?)/lovers; it feels believable, and though there is a good deal of miscommunication, it didn't feel over the top or annoying. I think the romance between Sam and Jonathan is well developed. I also like Sam's narrative voice a lot; I didn't read an audiobook, but I can imagine the narration would be excellent. If there's one critique, it's that the middle felt a bit weighed down, because some of the banter between the members of Jonathan's (very large) family dragged on.

10 Things That Never Happened lifted me out of my reading slump and scratched my oddly specific itch for a rom-com with the energy of Superstore. It's festive, cute, and heartfelt, and I can imagine it's going to be such a hit this holiday season.

This is my first Alexis Hall rom-com (unless Mortal Follies counts?!), and it definitely won't be my last. Many thanks to NetGalley, SourceBooksCasa, and Alexis Hall for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was an enjoyable grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, fake amnesia romance. Both MCs are average-looking people(!), who are very flawed, but know their flaws and spend the book working on them like real adults. It’s very British, so many of the more regional culture-specific stuff went over my head but not in a way that affected my comprehension of the story itself (maybe a glossary of sorts might help American readers?). Set in the same world as Boyfriend/Husband Material, but a very different vibe. Also, it’s an AJH book, so you’re getting an HFN (vs HEA). This works for me, but your mileage may vary. Oh! And there’s an ugly cat named Gollum who definitely should have gotten cover illustration billing (is it too late for that?). I hope Joe Jameson does the audiobook because his work on the Boyfriend Material books is perfect 🤩

I am begging Alexis Hall to stop writing accents into their dialogue. Please. I am B E G G I N G

tl;dr all the signs pointed to me disliking this but I really liked this

I'm going to get the bad out of the way first: I have a love-hate relationship with Alexis Hall's books in that I usually love the concepts and main characters, but I hate the side characters and b-plots throughout the entire book. 10 Things wasn't different in that regard. Our side characters consist of a chaotic and smarmy extended family, a chaotic and smarmy group of coworkers (this is the group in which we find our token Idiot, which has become a character trope in the Hall-verse in an of itself), and a smarmy cat. I couldn't have cared less about any of them -- maybe three of the whole set got redeeming scenes throughout the book, but there were just! too! many! side! characters!

I also think the publisher should stop advertising this as being set in the same universe as Boyfriend Material, because the lack of any substantial crossover was disappointing considering the marketing for it.

One thing I did not expect when cracking this open (metaphorically, thank you Netgalley for a digital copy, send me a physical one too please, thanks, kisses xoxo) was how much I'd enjoy the conflict between the main couple. I'm not an amnesia fan - it's not a trope I've ever cared about -- so I was predisposed to dislike how strongly that featured in this book. I was wrong. I loved it. It was totally ridiculous and unbelievable, but I still loved it.

Jonathan and Sam are the selling point in this book. They're both more grounded than the other protagonist-pairs I've read of Hall's, and their conflict and developing relationship feels genuine despite the outlandish circumstances surrounding Sam's fake amnesia. That Jonathan could legitimately fall for it became less and less believable over time, and I think I would have liked the twist that he figured it out but went along with it at some point, but that isn't what we get. Still, I liked it, and Hall was never late to the witty banter, which was what drew me to reading Boyfriend Material in the first place.

I think this is probably the best book of Hall's I've read so far, but I do think it's odd only three or four books were listed on the "also by" page when Hall has like .... 20 books on their website...

P.S: I get that writing out the accents is supposed to help us imagine their voices, but after the note that Sam is supposed to sound like The Vivienne, nobody needed to see yez written out every two pages. We only need the reminder one time.

4 out of 5 Stars.