I read this entire book on a six hour flight. It was an incredibly fast, perfect for the plane kind of read. Really easy to digest, and I enjoyed it but a few lingering things that stop me from giving it a higher rating.

I think what it was for me was that I never really bought into the two as a couple. I never truly felt the chemistry and perhaps because of what was so differentiated (the calls v. texts) but I just never really got it. The build up you'd get over seeing their text banter was lost when they switched over to calls and perhaps the author fell short of selling it to me because by the 40% where they're supposedly so into each other and going to meet it fell short.

Honestly, at one point I forgot it was a romance and for a second thought it would be a thriller or murder mystery because since they're meeting so early in the book you just know something bad was going to happen. But the punch was lost when you then had to read the rest of the book and they're both completely off in their own spirals. I felt bad for George and Charlotte tbh. And I would've read/was more invested in Grant than Davey. It was cute mostly but droned on for a bit longer without any real substance.

I received an ARC of THE MAN I NEVER MET by Elle Cook from NetGalley and Random House in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Romance
Heat Level: Low-Med. (the bedroom door is cracked open)
Language: Medium (about every word in there but not on every page)

Elle Cook is a new author for me. I wondered how on earth this would work as a romance when the main character has only talked to this man, who misdialed her number.

Surprise! It worked.

Hannah has terrible luck with men and continues to be the third wheel for her best friend and her boyfriend. Davey is across the ocean in America—and apparently can't dial a number correctly when nervous for a phone interview. He's quite nice, and Hannah thinks nothing more of it.

AND then. . . he calls back to say he got the job.

So they start chatting and eventually FaceTime each other. In fact, it's the best part of Hannah's day. She might even have romantic feelings for Davey—but how when she's never met him in person?

And since things are going so well, everything blows up!

It had to or I would have complained about being bored. But still. Did the author really need to break my heartstrings? Apparently so.

I keep seeing Hannah and Davey making tough choices, and I'm reeling from it. And I kept wondering if this is really going to be a romance or should I have filed it under women's fiction? I thought there were surprising choices. And after reading the back matter, I understand even more about why the author decided to do things the way she did. But I was definitely surprised but also satisfied by the ending.

I would recommend this book.

DNF @ 29% - I’m sorry to do this to an ARC but I got to THE chapter when he’s telling her he didn’t come to london because he has cancer and she’s making it about her. I’m sorry I just can’t.

Highly recommend this super sweet book for fans of British romances like Sophie Cousens, Emily Stone, and Josie Silver. This is a very Hallmark movie type book that is so charming and will put a smile on your face, but also has some hard moments. This was very binegable and I flew through this desperate to know when/if these two would ever meet. This is highly predictable but just a feel good type of book! I loved Hannah's neighbor, Joan and their coffee rating scale, and Davey's friend Grant, who deserves a spin off story of his own. I couldn't wait for a different character to exit the book who lingered on too long.

There is also a fantastic author's note at the end about her experience and how she dealt with something a character goes through. I loved how the author was able to tell both POVs so emphatically.

I had mixed feelings about this book. It started out very cute. I was delighted to see the international relationship via phone and text develop. I had a good idea that he wouldn't actually make it to London because of the title, or he'd arrived and ghost her and really be someone else. I was not happy that the twist was cancer, and I feel like there should have been a trigger warning. As a disabled person myself I didn't like how the breakup was handled so early on. Davey was of course allowed to feel however he wanted about his diagnosis, but a lot of the thoughts about him being a burden or in the way of her living her life we're never untangled or handled with nuance. And that's the part that bothered me. There should have been more of that so that the reader could also learn that people who get sick are not burdens and it's not their fault. It felt like the narrative only celebrated them being together once he was healthy again . As an aside, I liked the discussions with George about not wearing condoms, and that she didn't cave into his selfish demands. The author did a good job of showing that that relationship wasn't good for her.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book, which I waited too long to start and then finished in a day because I could not put it down. This is SUCH a phenomenal book. I knew very little of the plot going in, which I actually appreciated as I think it made the emotional journey that much more emotional for me as a reader. So I won’t give a plot overview here, but I will say that in addition to the wonderful writing, fantastic storyline, and genuine characters, there are a few things I think the author did here that made this book a standout in the genre and one of the best books I’ve read this year. Other than the surprising turn the story takes and the personal nature of the subject matter—which I only found out about by reading the author’s note after I finished the book (yes, I read those, and you should too!)—I really appreciated that for the first part of this book, we only got one perspective. I think bringing in the second perspective when she did was a genius move, because it served a purpose for the rest of the story, without ever feeling unnecessary or repetitive. We were always along for the ride with Hannah, the MC, and we got the second character’s POV only when we needed it. We were firmly established within the story before a second POV was brought in, which felt right. And the POV shifts becoming more frequent at the story’s climax was perfectly done. This book has all the makings of a classic romcom novel — a couple to root for, a pairing that’s so clearly not right but only you as the reader can fully see it, and even a destination wedding. But it’s so much more than that, too. In many books like this I’ve read recently, the female protagonist is so oblivious as to become unlikeable, which really affects the book. While Hannah is not a perfect person, she is for the most part self-aware and, for lack of a better phrase, not an annoying main character. I was able to root for her and (most) of her decisions throughout the book, and she definitely grew and changed over the course of the story, but in a way that was really believable and subtle. I didn’t feel hit over the head at all during the book. The story took a few unexpected turns in the best way. I don’t think I’ve ever written a review this long, and I am rambling, but WOW I loved this book. I cannot wait for Elle Cook’s next one!

Can one misdialed call change your life and can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met? Those are the questions that Hannah and Davey are faced with in Elle Cook’s The Man I Never Met, a completely unique romance. The setup is cute and I felt fairly certain how things would go until Cook throws our would be couple a massive gut punch of a curveball. The story definitely addresses more serious issues than your average romantic comedy, but it’s quite a touching story. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Man I Never Met.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RSHXI58RZXCHS/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Wow!
Such a heartbreaking yet heartbreaking read.
I went into reading this thinking it was going to be a light read. It did have some lighter moments but not many.
A story about friends, love and taking second chances.
Well thought out characters helped move the story along.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice, lighthearted read with heartfelt characters and a great storyline.

This was a slow burn romance in which Davey accidentally dials a Hannah when he is calling London looking for a job and they make a connection despite the misdial. They decide to keep communicating, gradually going from quick texts and calls to FaceTime calls to finally making plans to be together when Davey gets ready to move to London for his job. Hannah is afraid to admit her feelings for him but she decides that when she meets him at the airport she’s going to tell him how she feels, but when he doesn’t turn up, everything in their world implodes and they have to rebuild. The main issue with their relationship was communicating. That would have solved most of their issues, but it also would have made for a super short book.
There are several great supporting characters as well-I loved Joan!
Thanks to Random house and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book, but it is difficult to review without giving what I consider to be spoilers. So I will try to elaborate on things already mentioned in the blurb.
Davey misdials Hannah, and they strike up a quick friendship which turns into more of a relationship. They have lots of great phone and then video calls and flirty messages, as he prepares to move to the UK for his new job.
Then she's waiting in the airport, and he doesn't come, and as a reader you feel her crushing disappointment. Finding out why doesn't make it any better.
They do try to move on once it's clear he won't be moving. It's a bit painful reading about what they independently do for the next year-plus. Let's just say heartbreak leads them both to some choices I think they know deep down aren't right, but since they can't be together like they really want, they settle.
I particularly loved the friend side characters - Joan (Hannah's neighbor), Miranda and Paul (her best friends), and Grant (Davey's best friend).
I liked the way the book ended, I just wish Hannah and Davey hadn't spent so much time pining for each other.

This has You’ve Got Mail vibes written all over it. I’m not a fan of that movie and i wasn’t a fan of this book. I found it to be very slow for my liking. I really had to force myself to finish. I usually DNF books but i decided to give this one a try to see if it would turn around and see if i would end up loving it.. wasnt the case

I loved the story of Hannah and Davey. Their “meet cute” couldn’t be any cuter. Hannah is super relatable and Davey sounds dreamy!

Thanks to @netgalley and Dell Publishing for a free copy in return for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for allowing/inviting me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you enjoy reading stories by Josie Silver, you will fall head over heels for Elle Cook's The Man I Never Met.

Hannah receives an unexpected call from a man thousand miles away from her in Texas. What starts as a wrong number dial steadily becomes a sweet romance between Hannah and Davey. When Davey asks Hannah to meet him at the airport an unexpected life changing moment keeps the two apart.

I love, love this book. My eyes were never dry and I adored every bittersweet moment the story has to offer. The writing keeps you on your toes and the dual POV consistently makes you wonder if Hannah and Davey will ever meet. I will definitely be on the look out for more from Elle Cook in the future.

5 stars

The Man I Never Met is an unexpected, wonderfully surprising, engaging story of sight unseen love and the perils which come with it.

Hannah, who lives in England answers her cell phone one day. It’s Davey from America who has a job interview in England and has a question. She tells him he has the wrong number but wishes him good luck before she hangs up.

What she never expected to happen was to get another call from Davey, telling her his good news. He got the job and is moving to England. This starts their sight unseen relationship. They begin texting each other about themselves and their lives. Then the relationship takes a new turn when they send a picture of themselves to each other. As they seem to both like what they see, they spend more time together via FaceTime, watching movies together, falling asleep together, and Hannah showing him England. They finally decide to take this relationship to a new level and with Davey coming in less than thirty days, Hannah begins to apartment hunt for him.

Then the big day arrives, and Hannah is bursting with excitement as she waits at the airport to finally meet the man of her phone dreams. But when everyone has disembarked, there is no Davey. Quite confused, she doesn’t understand what this could mean.

And then she discovers the shocking reason which will change the destiny of both their lives forever.

They try to move on, even though they cannot stop thinking about the other, many times picking their phone up to send a text to the other, but that never happens. Life goes on and yes, they both go on but with a sadness they seem never to be able to let go of.

But sometimes if the love is meant to be, no matter how hard you try to deny it, no matter how long it takes you can possibly one day find a way back to what could have been. Even though Hannah and Davey never fully met, perhaps kismet could possibly intervene, but only if they choose to listen to their feelings.

The Man I Never Met tugs at your heart and with each passing page gives hope to the hopelessness and elation to the despair as they try to find their way back to each other.

Thank you #NetGalley #Dell/RandomHouse #TheManINeverMet #ElleCook/LornaCook for the advanced copy.

The Man I never Met is the love affair we need for the holidays. Hannah, who lives near London, answers a call from the states only to realize its a misdial and then same guy proceeds to make the same mistake again. They strike-up a conversation after he finally reaches the correct person for a job he's interviewing for in the city.

Davey relocated to Texas when he was young lad with his family, and now he wishes to come back to country he was born to work as an adult. Hannah finds herself his virtual tour guide as he packs-up his life to move across the ocean. Their What'sAPP messaging goes from texting, to voice calls to video calls - what they discover is that they just "click."

Together, they count down the days until Davey arrives after the holiday. Can you find love with someone you have never met?

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the complimentary copy.

“Do you remember where you were and what you were doing the moment your life changed forever?” The book opens with this line and immediately had me intrigued. I expected to go into a lighthearted “will they or won’t they” romance, but it ended up quite heavy with grief at times.

Hannah receives a wrong number phone call from Davey, which sets the course of their lives on a different path. Davey is trying to call to London for a phone interview but accidentally dials hannah twice, and ends up texting her later to tell her he got the job. A relationship starts to form between the two, and as they make plans for a future, Hannah goes to pick him up from the airport and he never arrives. The story takes off over a 2 year journey of love, heartbreak, grief and fate over why Davey never arrives.

The characters in this story were so well developed and beautifully written. I loved the main characters, their friends were people I’d want in my own life, and it was just such a beautiful journey to read through. My ONLY complaint is the ending. I wanted so much more from it, and I feel like it was cut short in a quick chapter explanation. Also, read the authors note! It was such an important insight into the story and added even more meaning to it for me. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 just because of the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

This was one powerful story. A misdial that connects two people who become friends and it is slowly leading to more, when suddenly everything stops. She understands why he breaks it off, but doesn't agree.

Then she thinks she sees him in different places and doesn't think it is really him. I think the story was moving, heartbreaking at times and full of hope at others. I really liked the characters in the story (even George) but he really didn't have a chance with Hannah. I think even though she hadn't seen Davey in person, she was bonded with him.

I got this story from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was an entertaining well-written book. It was sweet, fun and held my interest. I wanted to find out how things would turn out. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

The Man I Never Met was one of the best books I’ve read all year. What a unique meet cute - I was hooked into this story immediately. The twists and turns were expected, but still surprising and enjoyable.

This story kept my attention, and it was hard to put down the book. I’m excited for more people to read it upon release!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishes for the advanced copy of this book.