The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook is such an interesting read. Davey calls Hannah by accident while trying to reach someone else and they start a virtual friendship. Davey is coming from Texas to start a job in London where Hannah lives. The story asks the questions: Can you fall in love with someone you have never met?

I appreciated the depth of this story. It is definitely different from your typical romance or romantic comedy and is more women’s fiction with some romance. The author weaves themes into the story such as how do we love someone who is suffering, how do friends support you and help in finding love, and learning to love yourself before you love someone else? The characters were very likable and we got to hear from both Davey and Hannah in the story.

This is a different kind of story that I really loved. I enjoyed the meet cute, the depth, Hannah’s relationship with her family, and the friendships on both sides of the pond. I was glad I was able to discuss The Man I Never Met with someone else after reading. I highly recommend.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

Do you believe you can fall in love with someone you've never physically met?

Hannah was skeptical. But when Davey accidentally calls her - twice - and they strike up a friendly conversation, she's shocked to find herself falling in love with a man that lives 5000 miles away. With Davey set to move to London in a few weeks, maintaining the long distance, FaceTime relationship is feasible. That is, until life decides to make other plans.

This wasn't your typical romance and I loved it for that. It was definitely a pretty unique plot and I think the whole "can you fall in love with someone you've never met" question is super relevant to many people with online dating. However, I also liked that this wasn't related to online dating!

Davey and Hannah's relationship felt authentic to me. I really do believe you can get closer to someone without ever meeting them - it almost relieves the pressure and you're more yourself. Davey and Hannah seemed to open up to each other in ways that they didn't with the people who were physically present in their lives. I was interested to see what would happen once Davey actually got to London. The fact that he didn't, just made it all the more interesting.

While I find all romances predictable, I did like that this book tried to shake up the standard meet, fall in love, break up, get back together storyline. Maybe it didn't totally succeed but I did still really enjoy this one because it felt different. The story stalled a bit for me here and there and it took me quite a while to get through, but overall, it is one of the better romance books I've read!

If you love a good romance but want it to be a little messy this is definitely for you.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This book was touching in so many ways. It made me laugh, feel sad, hope, dispair, and delight.

One misdialed phone number connects Hannah in Lond with Davey in Texas. He's trying to reach a prospective employer in London for an interview. They hang up and she wishes him luck.

Imagine her surprise when he texts her to tell her he got the job! And they begin a text conversation, which leads to phone calls, and video chats. And feelings.

Hannah goes to the airport to pick up Davey with a cheesy sign the day he arrives to start his job and new life in London. When he doesn't show, she's concerned. When a couple days pass, she's really worried.

He has a good reason, which I can't tell or it will spoil the book. And my heart broke right along with Hannah's. Life goes on, things happen, and you wonder if they will ever cross paths again. Keep reading! It's worth it.

I loved the friendships both Hannah and Davey had. Their friends loved them fiercely.

I knew nothing of this book going in, and I would recommend doing that. This one will have you believe in fate. It ended perfectly!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Despite a strong start, this book was just not for me.

Throughout the first 25%, I found the story charming and the banter between Hannah and her spunky 70-year-old neighbor, Joan, was giving me life. I loved Hannah’s escapades with her friends Miranda and Paul and was intrigued by the budding romance sparking between Hannah and this random American man, Davey.

Unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. I am not a fan of instant connection and aside from Hannah and Davey commenting on what a connection they were feeling, I did not get that from the story itself. By 70%, I was thoroughly bored and by 85%, I started skimming to the end.

This ended up being dual POV, but we didn’t get Davey’s POV until nearly halfway through the book. Ultimately, his chapters were flat and his chapters seemed to only serve the purpose of moving the plot forward—he didn’t feel fully fleshed out.

There is a shocking amount of fat shaming and diet talk in this book. What I initially considered to be just a content warning is now a critique. With every bite of food Hannah brought to her mouth, there was an internal dialogue regarding what the food would do to her waistline. Couple that with how often a character would mention hoping someone would be “fit,” and I was near constant eye rolling by the end of the story. Is this 1995? I found the obsession with weight so very strange, unnecessary and irrelevant to the plot line. That this was never addressed by the author in either the story or in her author’s note is somewhat appalling to me as I assume that to mean she thinks this a normal topic to obsess over.

TW: fat shaming, diet culture

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this gifted eARC in exchange for my opinion.

TL; DR - If you enjoy closed door romances, instant connection and are unbothered by fat shaming/diet culture, then you might enjoy this book.

3.5 stars rounded up for GoodReads.

We follow Hannah as she gets a random call from a man looking to interview for a job, but he dialed the wrong number. He apologized, hung up, and called back thinking he misdialed it the first time. From this, Hannah and the man (Davey) stayed in contact. Davey was going to be coming to London from Austin in a few months for a job, so why not make a new friend?

Hannah goes to the airport to pick Davey up, but he doesn't show and she doesn't hear from him for a while. When she finds out why he didn't show, it was interesting. We follow the story after what happens and how fate intervenes with life.

This was a very slow paced book, until the last 20 percent, where I felt that is was rushed? It was hard for me to get really into this book from the first 35% in, and then it picked up, but I didn't really like any of the characters, other than Hannah's next door neighbor.

I was only going to give this book 3 stars, but one of the last few chapters changed that for me.

If you're into slow burns and fate love stories, you'd enjoy this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for this advanced copy!

I requested this because of the synopsis, just the allure of two people who've never met but made this profound connection. I'm such a sucker for books about fate, meant-to-bes, and soulmates so how can I say no to that?

A man misdialling and who didn't turn out to be a creep, quite the luck Hannah has one night while she was standing outside a gym. I love how they 'met' but didn't, and how their chance 'encounter' developed into messaging each other regularly, video-calling, and even making plans for date nights, albeit thousands of miles away. I was fascinated through it all.

Until I wasn't. This could've been a heartwarming read but somehow fell flat for me. I don't really mind slow-burns but I want to at least be gripped by something from what I'm reading. However, midway through, I was just reading just to find out how they end up back to each other. I appreciated the scene towards the ending, though.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, NetGalley and the author for providing me my early copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

I absolutely devoured this book! I loved the characters Hannah and Davey and the accidental misdial immediately pulled me into their story. I loved reading about them growing closer together over late night FaceTimes and texts back and forth.
This book really wrecked me, though. I was so upset in the middle, thinking that this fluffy romance book was going to become a tragedy. Throughout the entire book I was obviously rooting for them. I felt their connection was so heartwarming and genuine, that I couldn't help but hope these two ended up together.
The author did such an excellent job in writing such a propulsive novel. I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to #NetGalley #RandomHouse #Ballantine for early access to #TheManINeverMet to read and review.

This made me smile. Hannah and Davey "meet" when he mistakenly dials her number and their friendship grows from there. A friendship separated by the Atlantic Ocean but one they hope to bring to fruition when he arrives in London to take a new job. Except he doesn't and Hannah is left at the airport, having been ghosted. Then there's a twist and we get Davey's POV and learn it's not that simple. Hannah, meanwhile, heads off to Thailand with George, the trainer from her gym who is meant to be a platonic companion but well, things change. They change a lot and these two, despite their differences (among other things, she hates kale) become a couple until.....No spoilers because there are a fair number of surprises along the way in this well crafted albeit it occasionally trope-y novel that has terrific characters. Pay attention to Joan, Hannah's neighbor with whom she shares coffee on weekend mornings. I went into this thinking it would be a fast light read but it turned out to be so much more. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. And it made me watch Room with A View again.....

Heartfelt.
Heartbreaking.
A roller coaster ride of emotions: despair, joy, resignation.
When the romance between Davey and Hannah had some bumps I almost walked away from the book because I don’t need more sadness. However, I stuck it out and I’m glad I did.
One never knows where life and relationships will lead us. You must have to stick it out.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Man I Never Met" by Elle Cook was a beautifully written, funny, heartbreaking & original book about a non-traditional take on a love story.
It had me smiling & crying the whole time.
I would definitely read another book by Ms. Cook.

This is seriously the most fun way to get to know someone and I am dreaming of this becoming a movie! Please tell me that's happening! The next door neighbor is a gem, and I hope I become her later in life. Hannah is so perfectly written - she's flawed enough to be believable and likable but she's not a bumbling idiot like a slap-stick romcom book. I loved this!

I went into this book completely blind and I am so glad that I did. If I had assummed it was a rom-com, I would have been very disappointed, as this book is most certainly not a rom-com. What it is, is a wonderful blend of contemporary romance with a whole lot of heart and the best of women’s fiction.

This story takes us on the journey of Hannah and Davey. What starts as an accidental text becomes a love story. But what happens when life gets in the way? What happen’s when the romantic HEAs of novels doesn’t happen in real life? This book is less about the happy ending and so much more about the journey to figure out where we belong, where we want to end up, and what we are willing to risk to get where we want to in life.

I loved each of these characters and felt for them, and their struggles, as if they were my close friends. The author’s character developement is so well rounded and detailed, I can see them existing completely off of the page and in the real world.

I listened to this on audio, and while both narrators were excellent, I have completely fallen in love with Fiona Button’s narration (this is the second book I have listened to her narrate). The pain she manges to depict on audio is breathtaking, and there were many tmes while listening, I could feel myself tearing up.

This was such a great read and I highly recommend it especially if you are looking for romance with a bit more depth. I cannot wait to read more from Elle Cook.

Read if you like:
•accidental meetings
•meet cutes
•romance with depth
•women’s fiction
•book by emily stone

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC, as well as Dell and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchage for my honest review.

thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. This book surprised me, mostly because I thought that it was going to be an easy, light read, and I found myself laughing and then crying. There were some points in the book that I skimmed through as it seemed a little dry, but for the most part I really enjoyed this. Looking forward to reading the next book by Elle Cook.

4.5 start. Thank you to Netgalley for granting me this wish on this E-Arc. I lovveed loooveed this story. I kept screaming at my tablet and then I would laugh and I would cry. This had all the ingredients of a beautiful story and not just the MCs but I felt the friends had good story time as well.

I really loved the concept behind this story. This book really felt different than the usual romance books and I loved it! Knowing each other through an accidental phone call and slowly getting to know each other without meeting? Such a great concept!

Be ready for all the emotions in this book! I definitely recommend giving this a read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number and meets an American man named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. She never expects to hear from him again. But when he gets the job overseas he and Hannah strike up a digital friendship which they hope will lead to a real life friendship, or maybe more, when he moves to London. But when Hannah goes to meet him at the airport, Davey isn’t there—and the reason why changes both of their lives in an instant. With their future together suddenly so uncertain, they don’t know what to do but try to move on from each other. Though their chance at love seems lost forever, neither is never far from the other’s thoughts. Will fate intervene once more to bring the two together, or will Davey always be the man that Hannah never met?

I thoroughly enjoyed this read! The will they wont they the whole book was so suspenseful. I originally read the description and found it interesting but totally forgot about what it was by the time I read it. At first glance I wondered if this was gonna be a love story that was based around a scam, but maybe I just listened to too many true crime podcasts! I'm so glad it wasn't. This was so heartbreaking and wholesome. I loved the dual perspective. Davey and Hannah's friends were so precious. Their romantic partners were truly awful and a foil to what they were leaving behind. I couldn't put this book down! I had to see what would happen.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 11/22

There was so much I wanted to love about this story! The premise was unique when Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number, she thinks nothing of it—it’s just an easygoing American named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. And when Hannah wishes him luck after clearing up the confusion, she never actually expects to hear from him again.

However, once you got into the meat of the story, it felt like there was a lot going on that didn’t need to. It was almost as if there were two stories going on at once. I did love the different travel scenes (I now want to plan a trip to Tuscany), and Hannah’s next door neighbor was a hoot!!

I was so in love with this story from the start. A wrong digit dialed led to a friendship and some deeper feelings as well. It was like the universe meant for Hannah and Davey to find each other. Then, right when they were finally going to meet, things changed drastically. This was when I realized the book wasn’t the rom-com I thought it was going to be, but honestly, I still adored this story.

Despite the bumps in the road and the difficult journeys both characters had to take, the universe never stopped trying to make this couple happen. I LOVE THAT! Fate, happenstance, whatever you want to call it, I delighted in the role it played in this story. Though waiting to find out if Davey+Hannah would happen was trying at times, I did appreciate watching them grow and make some major life decisions when they were apart.

An emotional roller coaster for sure! There was laughter and tears, happiness and heartbreak, and in the end, lots of warm and fuzzy feelings.

This felt original and refreshing to me! Two people meet through an international wrong number and gradually fall for each other through texts and video chats. I definitely didn’t see the twist coming but I appreciate and respect that the author let each character’s arc run its course rather than rushing them so the MCs could be together. Super fast read and oh so cute!

I was fully prepared for The Man I Never Met to be emotional, but it was also sweet and light-hearted, despite some heavier topics. But if you go into this one expecting a rom-com, you’ll probably be disappointed. While the first few chapters do read like a romance, including an adorable meet-cute, the book does take a more serious turn, but still manages to hold on to its joyful tone. I found myself not wanting to set this one aside, almost reading it within twenty-four hours.

Reminiscent of classic rom-com films like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, I loved Hannah, I loved Davey, and I loved their friendship. An accidental call that turns into more, it may sound predictable, but their story is consuming. While they both go through a difficult journey, there is happiness ahead.

Hannah’s story opens at Christmastime and covers several years. I enjoyed spending the changing seasons with Hannah, traveling with her, and experiencing several different locales with her, including London. The author surprised me, introducing Davey’s point of view almost halfway into the story at a pivotal moment, and it worked! The second point of view increased the emotion and the anticipation.

Cook has also filled the book with wonderful side characters. I wanted to be friends with Hannah’s friends—and Davey’s best friend Grant may need his own book. Everyone should have a friend like him.

The Man I Never Met reminded me of Emily Stone’s books (Always, In December and One Last Gift), as well as The Certainty of Chance by Jacquelyn Middleton, which is set in London at Christmas. All books I’ve enjoyed. If you’re a fan of any of these authors, you’ll probably enjoy this one, as well!

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