Jonathan + Sam

Sam is managing Jonathan's Bed & Bath store in Sheffield.
He's pretty happy doing it too. It's not his dream life - but he's content.
But his employees are another story. They're not really ... the best at what they do. And that's why Sam is called down to London to ... get fired? Or at least to listen to the big boss tell him what to do differently. Aka firing some of his people.
But it kinda doesn't come to that because while arguing with his boss, Sam crashes into a Nexa by MERLYN 8mm sliding door shower enclosure! And since it kinda was his boss's fault - he has to move in with grumpy Jonathan for a while until the concussion is gone and until the accidentally faked amnesia gets better. LOL!
Forced Proximity?? LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN!

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ADORABLE!
This was another amazing Alexis Hall book!
It was so funny and so very British and Sheffieldy and Christmassy and grumpy and kinda slow and comfy somehow. I just adored reading about Sam and Jonathan. And all the co-stars. The employees and especially Jonathan's crazy family! Such a hilarious group of people. And the cat! Gollum and Jonathan need a spin-off or a calendar or their own tiktok!
Just everything in that book was perfect or rather perfectly unperfect.
I so need to see this on TV one day!
This was the perfect autumn/winter book somehow.
A cozy, slightly crazy, slighty sad finding-your-forever-ever-after-place-in-life kind of love story.
I just adored it!

P.S. the Nexa by MERLYN 8mm sliding door shower enclosure also should get it's own spin-off or tiktok - I lost count how many times it was mentioned. LOL!

10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED was such a funny and comfy love story! Adorable + hilarious + christmassy + British + just all the good things!

In the signature Alexis Hall fashion the banter in this book is so very good. I loved Jonathan’s grumpy ass, misunderstood character. His Royal Dickishness is the best nickname. I wanted to smack Sam a time or two but enjoyed his growth and realizations about himself. A fake amnesia plotline, forced proximity and found family - nothing to complain about here. All the stars. Thank you NetGalley for the arc! Fans of Boyfriend Material and Husband Material will love.

I'm quite confused as to how to rate this book. I was charmed by the first pages and then completely turned off by the second chapter. What had been clever and witty devolved into a Benny Hill episode of rapid-fire nonsense that I found annoying. I was ready to throw in the towel while wading through it. But... I persevered, and I was glad I did.

Things calmed down and went back to a more normal pace, losing a lot of the ridiculousness of the co-workers in Sam's store. However, the pacing continued to be erratic here and there, depending on the set of characters being portrayed at any given time.

I don't know if this is the normal style of writing Alexis Hall uses, because the author is new to me. I may try more books. There were parts that broke my heart, healed my heart, made me laugh, and made me want to quit reading. But it did get my attention, so there's that in the book's favor. The characters were over-the-top and almost cartoonish sometimes, and dead serious at others. Those were the parts I loved. The brilliance of the writing shines through Sam's understanding of Jonathan and his family and it's beautiful. I just wish all of the book had been crafted as skillfully.

I didn’t really like either of the main characters but I don’t think I was supposed to. It was cute and I loved Jonathan’s family

great addition to the london calling series! and I have to be honest I found a bit annoying both main characters but the storyline was really enjoyable, looking forward to the next book

I love, love, love Alexis Hall’s quirky characters. He writes funny, believable characters that I would love to meet in real life.

Samwise Becker is the kind of boss most people would love. He’s laidback, he’s forgiving of any mistakes, including wrecking very expensive stock. He’s protective of his team, and he’s prepared to tell his boss Jonathan Forest that he’s a dick.

I wasn’t sure if I liked Jonathan Forest, but then if a cat like Gollum decides he’s alright, then he must be. He is a bit of a dick though.

I loved reading the progress of Jonathan’s character from being an uppity annoying person, who I would gladly beat around the head with a toilet seat, to his showing his soft vulnerable side. A bit like when the angry killing machine that is our neighbourhood cat rolls around on my floor begging for belly tickles. Honestly him fisting a chicken with a lemon made me guffaw. NB no live chickens were assaulted in this book. Also, I meant Jonathan fisting a chicken, not my neighbourhood cat.

Sam is a sweetheart. Northern folk are the best (said a northern bird). Salt of the flipping earth. I just adored him. I want to buy him a fancy Christmas decoration to put on my Christmas tree.

This book is so very well observed. Families are sometimes too much but when you have a lovely one, even if they never shut up, you should love them while you can. That said, Jonathan’s family are a bit Only Fools and Horses, but you can’t not love Delboy.

4.5/5 stars

This book was everything I wanted in a romance novel. I absolutely loved watching the two main characters and all the hijinks and hilarity that occurred.

Sam and Jonathan don’t like each other. But when Sam has to visit Jonathan at the main office all sorts of trouble ensues leaving Jonathan to care for Sam with fake amnesia and a very real concussion. Jonathan and Sam are suddenly forced together and each begin to learn that maybe they do in-fact find somethings about each other charming.

Reading this book inspired many laughs, smiles, and all around cheer. Watching the main character fall for each other was endearing and the side character are excellent.

If you love slow burn romance, forced proximity, kinda enemies to lovers, and well developed characters I absolutely encourage you to pick up this book! This book gave me the best warm and fuzzy feelings. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have read about everything out by Alexis Hall and I find that I love some books more than others. I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material and was somewhat disappointed in Husband Material. I just wanted that book to go in a place it didn't go. But I think 10 Things that Never Happened is the best of all Hall's novels. Yes it was filled with outlandish situations and quirky Brit humor and also some of the best characters who I came to really care about. This book is the grump and the sunshine trope and I adored Sam the Sunshine and was obsessed with Jonathan the grump. He may be my favorite grump in fiction as well. When the book ends he is still a grump and I really appreciated that. You absolutely don't need to read the two Material books before this one. But I do encourage everyone to read it.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I wasn't entirely sure what this book was going to be like. It's in the same Universe at the London Calling series, but is a separate book, so I knew that it would not be Luc and Oliver 2.0 (3.0?) BUT wasn't sure exactly how that would work out in practice. It did manage to keep a lot of the things that I liked, there is still a 90's Movie Rom Com vibe, with a ridiculous amnesia plot, a quirky cast of characters and a romantic connection, but it also goes some really insightful places around family that I was not expecting, but really loved.

Sam runs a branch of Splashes & Snuggles (a Bed, Bath and Beyond type store) in Sheffield, which is not meeting it's targets. Jonathan, who has a variety of offensive nicknames, is the owner of the S&S and he is not happy with the Sheffield's branches performance and is threatening Sam and his whole team. Sam backs into a situation where he fakes amnesia and ends up in Jonathan's care until he's back to full health. For as likable as Sam is, why doesn't he have anyone to stay with? For as acerbic as Jonathan is, why is he so dedicated to ensuring Sam is ok? Including a 8 hour road trip to collect Sam's cat, Gollum!

The accent notes were really helpful to get me started with hearing Sam's voice. I really loved getting to hear about uni from Jonathan's perspective. No names were given, but Jonathan's uni mates were easily identifiable from London Calling. It felt very much like when you have two mutual friends and they don't get along, and you know each of them well enough to both like your friends as they are, but also understand why they kinda hate each other. This is a feeling that I frequently get in Alexis Hall books (especially through the Spires series) and it was lovely to get that again here.

If there was anything I would have liked from this book that I didn't get it was MORE, I would have loved to hear more about how Sam ended up how he did, or more context for Jonathan becoming so grumpy (and more on Barbara Jane's failed marriage, but I admit that's just nosiness, probably not relevant to the story or it would have been included). More backstory and filling in the gaps. But I think being able to see the context of the story through the gaps of what ISN'T said, as much was what is, was a clear choice, and while I DO have some burning curiosity, I did enjoy it as a form of storytelling.

I guess what I am saying is that IF there happened to be a sequel to this book, I wouldn't be mad.... ;)

4.5 stars

Featuring Hall’s signature humour and heart with a wonderful balance of lighthearted (and wonderfully bonkers) fun and heavier topics (like grief and family issues), 10 Things That Never Happened was a delight.

This book is trope-tastic, with grumpy/sunshine, boss/employee, opposites attract, roommates, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers, among others. It features two lost and lonely men who think they’re doing just fine on their own, but who are actually miserable without realizing it. I loved watching uptight, grumpy, control freak Jonathan soften and let his guard down (but not completely…he definitely remained a loveable grump even after Sam wore him down somewhat). As with all of Hall’s books, 10 Things features two deeply flawed people who are doing their best, and it’s both fun and moving to watch them navigate their relationships with each other and the people around them. I loved Jonathan’s huge, wacky family, and Sam’s equally huge, wacky group of coworkers, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sam’s cat Gollum, and how much I loved what ended up basically being a side love story between Jonathan and Gollum.

Hilarious and heartwarming, 10 Things That Never Happened is officially my second favourite of Hall’s books that I’ve read, with Boyfriend Material remaining in the #1 spot.

This was the perfect holiday romance book. Samwise Becker is a manager of Splashes and Snuggles a bed and bathroom store. The store is not making its sales goals and is over budget. Sam’s staff are all a bit quirky and it is funny to see them and all their flaws. The shenanigans with Claire and the jokes about Jonathon Forrest being a dick boss were hilarious. Sam gets summoned to a meeting with his boss.

Jonathon wants Sam to shadow him for a day to see how he should manage his team. Things get heated and and Jonathon says he will fire Sam and his whole team then Sam trips into glass bathroom enclosure and ends up with concussion. Sam is drowsy when he wakes up and is confused so with miscommunication it is believed Sam has amnesia. Doctor says he must be watched and can’t be alone so Jonathon is forced to take him home.

Sam is thinking he can use this to his advantage to save his team. Living with Jonathon he starts to see another side of him and begins to understand why he is the way he is. Jonathon has family that long to be closer so they show up and push Jonathon to host Christmas.

What I really enjoyed was all the family dynamics and how they joked around. Gollum the cat who seemed to melt Jonathan’s heart.

This was a fun grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, holiday romance that warms your heart and makes you smile and laugh.

I had a fun time with this book, it's exactly what you can expect from Alexis Hall. It's very British and I had a fun time feeling like I was dropped into the lives of Sam and Jonathan, and their friends and family. The fake-amensia plot does feel very rom com movie-esque, and I feel like while some of the logistics surrounding a manager losing his memory and moving in with his boss are explained, it does feel like something you have to go along with rather than figure out how it would actually work (and I do kind of wish they were honest with each other earlier in the book). But still an enjoyable read, and with a lot of fun Christmastime events and conversation - probably one of the best Christmas romance books I've read!

Also, it's maybe a strange reference, but if you like the dynamic between Jonathan and Martin in the Magnus Archives, or the main characters in TJ Klune's Under the Whispering Door, you'll probably also enjoy Jonathan's very grumpy personality, and Sam's generally positive but with a sad undertone attitude, that these two leads have.

Always love a good enemies to lovers 🤌🏻🤌🏻
Also the banter in Alexis’ books is always top tier.

Enemies to lovers/age gap/millionaire boss romance

In 10 Things That Never Happened, we follow Samwise, or Sam for short, manager of a bed and bath retailer, and too nice to do anything about the misfit group of employees who cause more problems than they solve. The big boss, Jonathan Forest, calls Sam down to London with the intent to fire him and his team, but in the middle of this – Sam trips and falls into one of the showers on the shop floor, and comes out with a concussion. In an accidental turn of events, Sam accidentally implies he has amnesia and remembers nothing in a bid to not get himself and his team fired. This leads to Jonathan reluctantly having to take Sam in, and forced proximity ensues. They say opposites attract and it’s so true with this couple, with a good dose of enemies to lovers thrown in too!

I loved this book; it was so easy to read, constantly entertaining, and really funny. Sam and Jonathan’s back and forth and arguing was very entertaining, and I loved how they really went from enemies to lovers. It felt really natural as they got closer, and as Sam made himself at home with Jonathan and his family. Jonathan’s grumpy personality worked really well, and juxtaposed Sam’s relatable personality. Although really funny and cute, Alexis also brought a really mature tone in the discussion of family relationships and trauma, especially parent-child relationships.

This book felt so British in the best ways, and as a British person it was so refreshing to read! There were so many British sayings, accents, landmarks and just general culture that really rooted this book in a strong sense of place. I loved the northern representation too.

Gollum the cat was great, and the Christmas setting was awesome. I don’t normally like holiday romance settings, but this was so, so good. It’s the middle of summer but it had me longing for Christmas!

I really need to read more of Alexis Hall’s novels, especially since I’ve heard Jonathan shows up in Husband Material from the popular London Calling series!

I absolutely ADORED this read.

I have a real struggle with the miscommunication trope, and while this is next level miscommunication in a way that surpasses miscommunication and hits downright lying, I was totally here for it! Alexis Hall has created the situation with the just the right amount of uncomfortable tension with this trope, but not too much.

Sam is about to get fired by his uptight boss when he falls and hits his head, putting him in the hospital briefly. When he inadvertently claims amnesia, it starts to benefit him and his own small team of employees that would have also got sacked. When his boss, Jonathan has no other choice but to house Sam in his beautiful home for the duration of his concussion, Sam sees this as an opportunity to find a way to not get himself and his team fired… he just needs a little time to work it all out.

This was a very slow burn romance and it killed me in the best way! This is a low loooooowwwww heat romance, but there is the perfect romantic tension between them. I loved the ways in which the two grew together. Jonathan is an overbearing man who is closed off emotionally, while Sam is a golden retriever in human form, always filling silences and making people like him. So the opposites attract trope was fantastic.

I really loved the family element in this book. Jonathan has a big family with a lot of baggage and a lot of drama and it gave so much to the story. On the other hand, the one thing I didn’t care for was Sam’s team of employees. They weren’t terrible, but they just weren’t it for me.

I highly recommend this one if you like slow burn, grump/sunshine, opposites attract, and forced proximity.

Also, it’s set at Christmas time and what’s not to live about that?

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy of 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall!

I enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud from the humor and giggling from the flirting. I loved the grumpy boss trope, the fake amnesia, the big loving family, the Lord of the Ring references, especially the main character being named Samwise and having a cat with a deformed face named Gollum. I loved that it was a Christmas book without being completely centered around Christmas. It was a lot of fun to read! I had a hard time putting it down and stayed up late just to read more! I highly recommend this book when it comes out October 17, 2023!

THIS IS A GREAT READ AND I WANT TO SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS. I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone. I will be recommending this to buy for my library.

Another banger from Alexis Hall. An author that constantly hits all the right beats, and a narrative voice that's so engaging and funny, it's difficult to put down.

Sam Becker, the manager of a bed and bath retailer, is probably good- or maybe okay enough- at his job. Their store is over budget and under target, and his boss, Jonathan Forest, is a bit of a dick. When h'es called up to London, a good fou-hour trip, it's to be there in person while he's fired, and possibly so is the rest of his team. Except he falls into a display shower and knocks his head, then there's a concussion, but not amnesia, except now his boss thinks there's amnesia,,, and maybe that's for the best.
Now he's got to stay with Jonathan until he's all better, and Jonathan's family keeps popping up, and god dammit, he just wants a home-cooked meal, and Jonathan is such a dick, but maybe he's a dick with hidden depths? Honestly, it's a right mess.

There's something so comforting about watching two messes figure out they really like each other, and while we're waiting for that to happen, Sam stumbles his way into a found family that don't just welcome him, but outright engulf him. We get absolutely hilarious and frustrating family dynamics, quick-witted banter, and quality sibling griping, all against the backdrop of the Christmas season.

A beautiful, funny, emotional read .

Full five stars, if only for the chicken stuffing scene.

I really enjoy Alexis Hall's contemporaries (less so his historicals) and this one shares the same fun, cheeky voice and the same kind of entertaining side characters with Boyfriend Material and Husband Material. Unfortunately, it doesn't share the pacing, and I found 10 Things to be overlong and pretty slow. I was not as convinced by the enemies-to-lovers transition as I was with Boyfriend Material...it just seemed unlikely. A comparative disappointment.

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