This book is a very touching and emotional story of life and love. One December Hannah, in London, gets a phone call from Davey in Texas when he dials the wrong number. He is trying to call in for a job interview and promises to call her to let her know if he gets the job and will be moving to London soon. They become friends then life changes everything. A trip for Hannah with George, a personal trainer at her gym, sets her off on a new path. Davey ends up on his own personal journey. Will their separate paths ever bring them back together again? Hannah has quirky neighbors, Joan, who she meets with on weekends and they rate new coffee flavors as they visit and talk about their week. Hannah’s best friend Miranda and her boyfriend Paul meet up with Hannah to keep abreast of her life and share theirs too. There is plenty going on in all their lives to keep the book interesting and the reader invested in it. Parts are sad and other parts sweet and funny. A great read.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the amusing story of a woman who starts a conversation with a man who mistakenly dialed her number, and they plan to meet, but it doesn't happen. She then decides to take a trip with a guy from her gym, and their attraction grows. She never forgets the other guy.

An interesting idea that’s been done a few times. It was interesting but just not as well executed as some others I’ve read

Oh this book! It reminded me a little of Always, December, in that its more of a tragic, missed-connection love story. Davey from Austin, Texas accidently dials Hannah in London instead of the person he was interviewing for a job with. He ends up texting her about the interview after and they start talking. I loved how they got to know each other through texts and calls, as that is how Chris and my relationship started out.

But when Hannah goes to meet him at the airport, he doesn’t show. Why??? The reason changes both of their lives. I felt like the book progressed along very well, and I was very invested in both Davey and Hannah’s lives, as well as the lives of a few of Hannah’s friends that we meet. But but but. The ending was very disappointing for me. Everything else was so long and drawn out, and then the ending came out of no where and the book was over. What??? I wanted a little more, you know?

It was very original and different than many of the books I have read lately, and I quite enjoyed it. I had to know what was going to happen. I just wish we got more from the ending after all that time invested. It took the book from a 5 star read down to like a 3.5 or 4 for me.

Bottom Line: Read it.

**I received a copy of The Man I Never Met from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

This is an interesting story. The premise is that 2 people on either side of the Atlantic ocean "meet" due to a mis-dial on a mobile phone. Hannah lives in London and receives a call from an unknown number and against her better judgement she answers it. This is how the story begins. On the other end of the phone is a gentleman in Texas; confirming his phone interview with a London-based architectural firm. These two become friends over the phone. Then tragedy strikes and throws their budding relationship "under the bus" so to speak.

Hannah is what I call a floater through life; she has no direction/ambition to change her trajectory, she sort of "goes with the flow" and doesn't have the "oomph" to want to change anything. The American is going through trauma and cuts Hannah out of his life. This is such an intense story about how people handle difficult situations and how we can learn to make adjustments to our life in order to "survive" a trauma/difficult situations. Or at least they can make themselves believe they are "handling" life and moving on.

The story flows well and deals with some serious matters. This is not a "fluff" story; it has depth and is emotional. All the characters are well developed and relatable. I enjoyed the story very much.

A misdial introduces Hannah, a London marketer, to Davey, a Texan who is trying to call for an interview at a London architecture firm. Their relationship grows during video chat and they’re counting down the days until he moves to London and they can meet in person. But the big day comes and Hannah is left standing alone at the airport for hours. After she finds out why Davey isn’t moving after all, they both try to move on with their lives. Can Hannah move on from a love with a man she’s never even met?
This was one of the delightful romances I’ve read in a while. When chapters from Davey’s POV popped up, I was so excited and they really added another layer of depth. I didn’t expect the more serious turn of what’s going on with Davey (look up trigger warnings if needed), but I felt like it was handled with care. This issue along with the long-distance between them would create a lot of complexity and I appreciated that the story leaned into it instead of just taking the easy way out that some romances do in acting like love just easily conquers all.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Meh. This is a lot of talking and a lot of “but I thought it was best for you.” And cancer!

I read the note at the end and the Author and her husband went through something similar so I am happy this book was there for her to write and tell her story but it just missed the mark for me.

I laughed out loud many times throughout this book.
The book starts out with a misdialed number and then a relationship starts over phone calls and video chats. I’m floored with the reason that Davey misses his plane. Hannah’s reaction is of someone that has fall in love but doesn’t realize it yet. For much of the book, they’ve lost touch and it’s heartbreaking to read.
The book is from two points of view, but you don’t get Davey’s point of view until about half way through.

There were points in this book where I felt it ran a little slow, so I do think the pacing could have been improved a bit. I wish you got to spend a bit more time with the couple actually being together. Even if that was in an extended or bonus epilogue. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and devoured it in about 2 days.

This book was great. I definitely would recommend it, with the caveat that some areas ran a bit slow.

P.S. This book made me crave Thai food, so go pick some up before you crack open this book and have enough for leftovers so you can eat some as you read this book over a couple of days.

The Man I Never Met is a charming and poignant book. Hannah and Davey are an endearing couple who never meet in person—Hannah lives in London, and Davey lives in Texas—but they begin a relationship of phone calls and video chats. Fate brings them together, life intervenes, and destiny seems to keep playing a hand in their lives. I was there for the highs and lows, for the laughter and the tears, for the love and the disappointment. I highly recommend this lovely story.

Loved it! Flew through it so quickly!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review! Make sure you read this one!

All the stars, all the feels, all the emotions!
I absolutely went into this book thinking it was a romcom set in London….right up my alley - I didn’t even read the synopsis.

I picked it up and read the dedication and immediately knew I was in for much more than romcom. I was in for something special. This book has the light and airy joy romcoms bring us all, but then it has depth, it has heart,. It has real life struggle and “life isn’t fair” moments. I love that having read the dedication, then the book and finishing with the author’s note at the end, it all came full circle. You can clearly feel the heart and emotion the author put into this story, pulling from her own life’s experiences to make this one hit home.

I absolutely loved this. Hannah and Davey felt real. They were attractive, quirky, funny, self deprecating and flawed. Their relationship felt real and you felt their pain. I absolutely loved that this could have been a phone it home rom com, but it had real grit and depth to it that I absolutely savored and loved.

Hoping and praying this finds its way to Hollywood for an adaptation, because this was special!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first started this book I was completely expecting a normal book of this genre with its normal tropes and was completely blindsided. I am so happy that I was. If I knew going in what this book would have entailed I will be honest to say that I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I would have automatically assumed it would have been a sob story and it so isn't.

This story is heartwarming and shows how a quick connection can mean so much. I loved this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this book! This book started off good and I was excited to see where it would lead…but I did not expect that plot twist! I definitely was not looking to read a sad book at the moment but it was good! I will say it does get slow at times. I felt like it took way too long for the the characters to get together which I understand is a big part of the book but I just wanted a little more of them together in the book. I do love how the ending was perfect for them in the way that it matched with their first date.

The Man I Never Met really surprised me. Hannah gets a call from a wrong number from an American man, Davey, who is trying to get in touch with a potential employer. She wishes him luck and expects to never hear from him again, except he gets the job and is London bound, and a romance blooms with a series of texts, picture, phone calls and video calls. But when tragedy hits Davey, everything changes. This book felt intimate and genuine. It had me smiling so hard I cried and had me heartbroken where I was crying with Davey and Hannah as they struggled with life’s challenges. It has some hallmark movie vibes and it’s just addicting. These characters are great and flawed and frustrating at time and I just loved them so much. The ensemble cast was lively and realistic. Davey’s journey was heartbreaking and Hannah is just an absolutely wonderful character. She’s witty and honest and authentic. I got some Sophie Cousens vibes in the writing style too. The Man I Never Met is smart and fun and sweet, I adored the idea of fate throughout this and the journeys these characters went on to find their happy endings. Just a gem of a book and I highly recommend it!!

I couldn’t finish it. I rarely dnf a book but sometimes I just have to and this was unfortunately one of those books. It was cutesy but just not for me. I was not a fan of the writing style.

3.5 stars rounded up it was cute and sweet but I felt like the resolution took forever to get to. I felt like Hannah gave up on things too easily, which although was part of her character, was kind of annoying. I wanted her to stand up for herself more and not just take whatever affection a guy was willing to bestow upon her. I loved her relationship with her neighbor Joan, that was one of the highlights for me. Overall, a worthwhile read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this one!

Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number from an American named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. She thinks nothing of it & wishes him luck, expecting to never hear from him again. When Davey texts her saying he got the job & will be moving to London, she can’t help but be pleased. Soon texts turn into phone calls & video chats, & their friendship grows into a relationship they are eager to start. But when Hannah goes to meet Davey at the airport, he isn’t there, the reason why changes both their lives in instant.

While most books follow a three-act structure, I really felt it in this book. The first act is really quite sweet, with Hannah & Davey starting off as strangers & becoming friends as they continue to text each other. The author really captures the ease in which you can share such intimate details with a stranger, & form a close bond despite, or because of, the distance between each other. Their texts and calls are filled with butterflies and longing, & the hope that their growing relationship could become a reality.

Then act two brings all of that to a crashing halt as Hannah is waiting at the airport for Davey for hours, but he never shows. At this point my cynical brain wondered, was it all a scam, is Davey even who he says he is, was all this just a bit of cruel fun? But no, the answer is less conspiracy & more depressing. The sharp turn from lovely to misery & hardship was a real downer.

Act three, a bit rushed, a bit of a movie-like ending, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted for the characters in the end. I think the first act was a real delight, the author captured the beginning stages of romance building in a way that rang true. I understand the importance of the story she was telling, but I do wish the first act wasn’t violently smashed to pieces to make way for act two. My last parting thought, when I read the description I wasn’t sure if it was a romance or not, & now having read it, I am still not sure it is a romance in the general formulaic sense, perhaps closer to women’s fiction with the heavier topics it follows.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook comes out November 22, 2022!

Thank you @netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook in exchange for an honest review. 🤍

The Man I Never Met is a slow-burn, second chance romance about Davey, a 29-year old easy-going architect from Texas who misdials Hannah's number, thinking it was the number for his job interview. The misdials turns into something more romantic as halfway across the world, Hannah from England and Davey from Texas begin their long-distance friendship. The texts turned into phone calls, then video calls. They share everything about their lives. Until the day Davey is supposed to move to England for his new job, the most unfortunate thing happens to him.

Have you ever read a love story where the main characters never really physically meet towards the end? The Man I Never Met is such a slow burn that if I wasn't so curuious of what will happen next, I would have DNFed this. The emotions I felt while reading this went from being "kilig" to frustrated to angry. It was a roller coaster of emotions. I wanted to scream at Hannah and Davey for the choices they have made, if they chose differently, they would have been together sooner!

I loved the part when they were getting to know each other. The pining and joy that a new budding relationships bring - it was just heartwarming. I loved that Hannah and Davey's relationship grew through just sharing each other's thoughts and what happened throughout their day. I loved Hannah's friends Joan, Miranda and Paul - they're the emotional support everyone needs.

What I didn't really like is the part with Hannah's relationship with George. He was sweet at the beginning but was quite controlling in a sense all throughout. I wished I didn't have to read through those parts.

Rating The Man I Never Met ⭐⭐⭐.5/5. Would recommend if you love slow-burn romances! Out on November 22, 2022.

What happens if you fall in love with someone you have never met?

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC. All opinions are mine alone.

The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook is about Hannah, a twenty-something-year-old Londoner, who receives a misdialed call from Davey, an easy-going American who is calling into a job interview. What starts as a misdial turns into something more.

I felt so many emotions with this book from the "new love" excitement when Hannah and Davey reconnect post misdial by phone to sadness, frustration, hope, annoyance, and final happiness at the end. Even though this was a long-distance relationship, the excitement or "honeymoon stage" of a new relationship was so palpable between Hannah and Davey.

If you enjoy fish out of the water, second chance romance, and destined to be together tropes you will certainly be entertained by Hannah and Davey's story.

The Man I Never Met will be widely available November 22nd 2022.

The Man I Never Met opens with a fantastic opening line- “do you remember where you were and what you were doing the moment your life changed forever?” I was instantly hooked by that intriguing line, and loved so many things about this beautiful story.

Hannah gets a wrong number call from Davey when he is attempting to call overseas for an interview, and something about the interaction piques both of their interest to the point that they begin to text and chat. Their meet cute occurs over the phone, and they begin to share their lives from afar. Davey is from America but gets the job in England where Hannah lives, and both are excited to finally meet in person. But then on the day of his flight, Davey never shows up. The rest of the book deals with the fallout from that day, his reason for not coming, and the next two years of their lives.

I went in to this book expecting a lighthearted rom com, and it went so much deeper and ended up being incredibly touching. I don’t want to spoil why Davey doesn’t show up on the promised day, so I will just say it becomes a bit heartbreaking and makes you hurt for them through the middle chapters. The story is beautifully written and made me tear up at times, but also made me laugh and made me love the interactions between the characters. Davey’s best friend, Hannah’s next door neighbor…these characters are people you would want in your own life! Also be sure to read the author’s note at the end of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.