I don't often get emotionally wrecked by a book, (cold as ice) but this knocked me around. I thought I was going to be reading a cute rom-com, and loved the chance "meeting" of Hannah in London, and Davey, an American in Texas, when he accidentally called her number instead of the job interview he was supposed to be on. After his interview, he texts her to let her know that he got the job, and they start a friendship via texting, that soon evolves to phone calls and video calls. I loved the modern day epistolary vibes as they communicated, and felt it reminiscent of classic 90's rom-coms like You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Soon the countdown is on for Davey to fly to London to start his new job, and Hannah waits for him at the airport, but he never arrives. Then, everything took a rather unexpected dark turn, when Davey explains why he didn't come, and tells Hannah that he can no longer speak to her. They both move on with their lives and difficult situations, while never fully letting go of each other, and always turn back to their old messages and photos they sent to each other, catching glimpses of one another being online or typing a message that never gets sent.

Being a contemporary romance there of course is a HEA, but I feel like I can't go much further into it without giving away the major plot points/twist. But suffice it to say I found this a heartbreakingly relatable story. It's not the book I was expecting to read, but it made me think and it made me feel all the feels.

This story was interesting and engaging, but it took a dark and unexpected turn that was a little surprising in light of the description and over of the book. That being said, I did enjoy the book, and I would recommend it to a friend. I am anxious to see what Elle Cook writes next!

Thank you to Random House Publishing for my advanced copy!

Imagine that you get a random wrong number call one day. But, instead of quickly passing it by, you started to talk to and even fall in love with that person. That’s the premise of The Man I Never Met. Even worse, when it finally comes time to meet, it seems like forces beyond your control are keeping you apart.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought the premise was really intriguing and I’m a sap for long distance relationships with witty banter back in forth in messages. (Think The Flatshare if you’ve read that.)

This one does include alternating POVs, but introduces that aspect a little late in the game in my opinion. It made definite sense narratively, just surprised me.

Oh my beating heart!

I love this book! This is the type of love story that if it was a movie, it will be something I can watch over and over, or read more than once. I barely put it down for the last twenty four hours and thank the heavens it was the weekend or I would have not been effective at work.

Hannah is from London and she received a misdialed call- twice, from a man named Davey who was in Austin TX and was calling for a supposed to be job interview. Davey finally got the number right and sends Hannah a message later telling her that he made the interview and was offered the job. Few more text exchanges and they found themselves in some sort of an unlabelled relationship. Davey is relocating to England for the job and Hannah is meeting him at the airport, but Davey did not come, he was not on the plane and Hannah was lost.

What happened after the airport was the thing that made this book unputdownable. Believe it or not, it got me. I was teary eyed. I can not fathom of how good and decadent this curve ball was but it was realistically heart tugging. I love the ups and down of the plot, I enjoyed all the characters in their little perfect parts, I was on the edge of my seat rooting for a great ending to give me a romantic, hopeful and sweet satisfaction.

It was serendipity. It made me pick up my copy of Room with a View and will probably give it another go because it was special in this book and add a visit to the poppies field in Tuscany to my bucket list. How can I not?

Thank you Dell Publishing via Netgalley and PRH Audio for the gifted copied in exchange of my honest review.

I was bored. Hannah was very lame, how did she not know George liked her? And the whole can't facetime without makeup boom testicular cancer. It was slow, yet exceedingly rushed when feelings were involved. I DNFd at 25%

I enjoyed this one! I liked that it wasn’t overwhelmingly gushy. I loved the start of Hannah and Davey’s relationship and how their feelings quickly developed. I felt that middle dragged on, mostly because I hated George so much. Overall, very sweet! 3.5⭐️ rounded up

What I Liked

The book is mostly narrated by Hannah, but we get occasional pop-in perspectives from Davey that shed additional light on what’s happening for him. I really thought this choice worked well and felt more natural than the books that force a chapter-by-chapter alternating POV. 

Hannah and Davey both have to grow and change throughout the book, and I enjoyed seeing them develop as characters. This arc felt quite real and authentic, and I appreciated that they both made mistakes and learned from them. 

I thought the friendships in this book were really well done overall, and I loved getting to know all of the characters and seeing what they mean to one another. 

The Man I Never Met takes on some heavy topics, and I thought they were overall handled fairly well, save maybe one thing I’ll mention briefly below. 

What I Didn’t Like

I thought the book was a bit slow to start. We spend a good deal of time with Hannah and Davey planning for the future the synopsis has already told us isn’t going to go to plan, and I felt like I wanted to get to the heart of things a bit more swiftly. 

This next bit will be perhaps a minor spoiler, so skip to “SPOILER OVER” you don’t want small plot hints. 

I had a really hard time with Hannah’s rebound relationship in the book. It felt quite controlling and unhealthy, but that’s never really addressed or unpacked. This is something I’m personally sensitive to, so I’m not sure how much it would bother other readers. 

SPOILER OVER

In all, The Man I Never Met is a touching story about missed connections, timing, and a little bit about fate. I very much enjoyed this book, even if I had to take my time a bit due to the emotional weight of it. I recommend this book for fans of love stories that stray to the serious side of life while still adding a sprinkle of true love magic.

I couldn't put this down! I lost sleep because I kept thinking I'd read just a few more pages. The idea of falling in love with a stranger that lives thousands of miles away after a miss dialed phone call? An irresistible storyline I thought, not prepared of the reality that would come crashing into this cozy idea of a cute happily ever after for Hannah and Davey. Suddenly, I felt pulled into an emotional ride, not knowing how the future for these two would turn out, until I had read way longer than intended and needing major caffeine the following day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this star crossed romance but felt that it dragged a little in the middle. The ending was also a tad convenient, but I enjoyed the characters and appreciated their stories ans growth throughout the book.

something about this is just so cute to me. I love books where these kinds of things could happen in real life and yet they will probably never happen to me. it reminds me of another book that had the sale concept but this one did it so much better. I highly recommend if you are looking for something different.

This is a romance book unlike anything I’ve ever read. When Will accidentally calls Hannah while applying for a job in London, they become fast friends. But soon, they are making plans to meet up when he moves to England.

When the fateful day comes, Will stands Hannah up. When Hannah learns the reason why, Will ends their blossoming love and friendship.

As we see their life paths split, we see them constantly thinking about one another. You will be cheering by the end of this second-chance romance!

wow…… like wow….. i had read the synopsis and been interested in it but this one really surprised me! i was already expecting to like it. it seemed like it had everything i usually like but there was another added element to it that just threw my entire expectations out of the water.

davey and hannah were such sweet characters to follow and seeing them fall in love on paper was just so warm. it seemed like fate. just so absolutely perfect and then… boom! the book was laid out in such a way where i was rooting for their happiness regardless of a HEA because i couldn’t even imagine the struggle either one of them felt. the pain seemed so personal and it was clear from cook’s author’s note that it was in a way. i appreciated that.

i really was so invested in hannah and davey’s life apart and together. their growth in character really made it so mych better. i really love a “right person wrong time”/second chance trope. it breaks my heart and glues it back together in such a meaningful way and cook got it perfect. love love loved it!

This book was such a balm to my soul. After recently reading another meet-cute romance, I expected it to be similar, but the character development of Hannah and Davey were moving and I felt so invested in their futures. After reading the book, the author discussed her own experiences with what Davey and Hannah had gone through and for that the book felt more meaningful and thoughtful.

Cute, cute, cute!!! I love text/email romance stories. Those are my favorites my only issue with this book was the separation of the text. Like who was saying what. It got kind of confusing but other than that this author did amazing in the writing.

Sadly this one was a DNF for me. Thank you again for the ARC but I will not be reviewing on platforms. It just didn't meet what I expected of the book.

Super cute romcom that was easy to get lost in. I loved the way they met (wrong number moment) and the path it leads them down.

Great book to get your mind off of anything crazy or heavy!

Elle Cook's The Man I Never Met is an easy read, told from alternating viewpoints. The premise: two strangers on opposite continents cross paths virtually, strike up a friendship, and then it evolves into something with more potential. The conflict: the long-anticipated meetup cannot happen; is it over between them? Is there still hope for more?

We follow Davey and Hannah in their respective lives, watching them struggle but also find a measure of contentment and peace apart from each other.

As a whole, my main criticism of this book boils down to me believing that there is not only one soulmate for anyone. My husband and I are approaching our twentieth anniversary; we are well suited to each other and continue to be friends and care about and love each other. I am better because of him being in my life. However, if we had not met, I have no doubt we both could have had happiness with another partner, even if our lives would have looked different and we'd taken different paths. This book supposes that if the soulmate gets away, there is no hope for a truly happy future with another. This can lead to the alternate partners to be portrayed with almost-suitable-but-not-quite characterizations. On the surface, they seem as if they would suit, but then glaring issues arise. I fully recognize my view of the world doesn't translate well to a meaningful story, but all the same, I would have preferred the substitutes wouldn't have been such sub-par alternatives.

I always appreciate hearing of what motivations lead an author to write, and we learn at the close of the book that this genre was a departure for the author, having come about during the pandemic as well as some inspiration from her husband's life. It's a pleasant read, even with my minor quibbles.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

This one was definitely hard to put down towards the end, and should definitely be made into a movie! There were so many times I could feel the suspense, the buildup, the excitement, and could hear the appropriate music in my head as I was reading it! The beginning was a little all over the place which made it hard to get into at first, but I'm so glad I stuck with it! I loved all the protagonists, and I especially loved to hate the antagonists! Most people have probably dealt with these kinds of people in their lives too.

I feel like this is a great case for the phrase "people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime" as always, make sure you read the author's notes.

Who would have thought that an accidental misdial would lead to some of the most honest conversations Hannah has ever had in her life and then to suddenly have them taken away leaving Hannah heartbroken and confused. Hannah and Davey start out slowly getting to know each other via texts then phone calls and video chats until Davey finally arrives in London only for their plans to halt completely when Davey is diagnosed with cancer and cuts Hannah off. Hannah and Davey “move on” with their lives making choices but always thinking or trying not to think of the other until fate intervenes again in an unexpected place.

I liked the realness of this story and liked that it was told in dual POVs but I wish we got more of Davey’s pov especially early on. I wanted to see things from Davey’s view and to really feel what he was going through especially early on when he and Hannah were getting to know each other. Miranda (and Paul) and Joan are the perfect friends for Hannah and really supported her. I was not a fan of George from the get go and how he made her so self conscious. I wish the story didn’t wrap up so quickly- I wanted to see more of Hannah and Davey actually together.


Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

From reading the premise, I knew I was going to enjoy this book and it hit all the right points for me. Romantic, fate, meant to be, believe, trust and following your heart through the good and bad. I adored this story and thought the plot was brilliant. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.