I am a huge fan of Alexis Hall and all of their books tend to do well at our library. 10 Things That Never Happened was no exception.

This funny little rom-com follows Sam, who doesn't hate his job but is a so-so worker as he fakes amnesia so his boss, Johnathan won't fire him.

It's a bit of he's a 10 but he's your boss, a bit enemies to lovers, and a lot of fake amnesia love story.

A bit heavy on tropes, but it doesn't have to be a literary work of art to be good, fun and/or entertaining. There are a lot of readers out there that love tropes, myself included. It's why they exist.

I wouldn't say it's the strongest of Hall's works, but its still a good book to spend the afternoon reading. Fluffy and lighthearted.

What happens when you throw together two gay men who can't stand each other? They fall in love, of course. At times, 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall feels a bit too trope-heavy, but other moments strike the perfect balance. Despite that, I found myself rooting for the couple and really enjoyed the premise. And hey, in an alternate universe, wouldn’t it be fun if this happened to me? (Don’t answer that! LOL) It was the perfect Sunday read—lighthearted and relaxing, with a few moments of levity thanks to the characters' wonderfully complex families. I needed a break from thrillers this weekend, and this book hit the spot. Definitely recommended!

3.5 stars rounded up

Well. This one doesn't quite packs a punch (feelings-wise) as Alexis Hall's other books as far as I'm concerned. It was. Genuinely funny. Hilarious, even, in parts. Which did confuse me a tad, because I'm used to crying my way through his books (and pretending to hate it...). But this one made me laugh out loud. It was. Comforting. And sweet. And although the romance felt a bit underdeveloped for me, I absolutely adored spending time with Sam and Jonathan. And Gollum the cat. And Jonathan' entire family. It was just a really nice, not-angsty (it feels so weird saying this about an Alexis Hall book...), sweet and funny story.

This is a fun British enemies to lovers, fake amnesia, Christmas love story. So cute! I love both of the main characters, even if I hated one of them at the beginning. Love the Lord of the Rings nods.

I really wanted to like this book and there are definitely parts of it that I enjoyed but overall the plot was not well conceived and I desired so much more from it.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC! This book is classic romance but I am here for it - corny LGBTQ love!

i'll devour whole anything alexis hall reads, and this book was certainly no exception. jam (or jonathan and sam) have my entire heart and then some. (and gollum of course.) watching jonathan's crunchy exterior melt away as sam weaseled his way into his life was sublime. sam getting a family he had been missing for too long was such a balm. this book had me laughing aloud in the middle of my workplace, so thanks for that, alexis. what a wonderful romance that i now get to yell at all my friends to move up on their tbrs.

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

Sam Becker is sentimental and to save his career and friends, he panics to survive and pretends to have amnesia. Jonathan Forest wanted to fire Sam and appoint a better team to the branch of bed and bath store Sam was managing. Things didn’t go as planned. He needs to care and get Sam better!

Now they have to have new first impressions, open talks and support each other. When they understand each other, will they want to stick to the decisions taken before the fake amnesia?

This is was a really fun read! It was hilarious and still impactful in its message. Written well with good character development, I am definitely reading the author again someday!

This was my first Alexis Hall book and it did not disappoint!! I've heard amazing things about their writing, and I loved the representation in this book, and how swoony this romance was. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who wants a cute, LGBTQ+ romance, with lots of cute, sometimes embarrassing, heartfelt moments.

Sam fakes amnesia when he is afraid to face his boss with the possibility of getting fired. Johnathon, his boss, has to decide whether or not to fire Sam, as he originally planned, or deal with the guilt when Sam has suddenly lost his memories and any indication that he was about to be fired. Sam learns that Jonathon has a softer side to him and the two slowly form a friendship and fall in love. The fact that Sam was faking amnesia the entire book and refused to tell Jonathon honestly was comical. I loved that part of the plot and loved the way that Sam and Jonathon slowly showed each other the hidden parts of themselves. I loved how flawed the characters were, and that we got to see the messy parts of them, while seeing Sam and Jonathan grow to love the flawed parts of each other. I loved the feelings of second hand embarrassment for how the characters acted, while also feeling giddy about how cute and how in love they were. This was such a cute romance, that gave me similar feelings to Red White and Royal Blue, which is one of my favorite romances! Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the free book in exchange for my honest review!!

This was my first Alexis Hall book, after hearing so many friends and trusted reviewers rave about their work! I have yet to see reviews of this one pop-up, and let me say... THIS BOOK IS CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED.

If you are debating what format to read for this one > AUDIOBOOK 100%.

This book (keeping it spoiler free) has one of my favorite meet cutes ever, and the narrator adds SO MUCH dimension and humor to the character. I was cackling every other page on this one, it was too good. This book was 5+++ stars and one of my favorite reads of 2024 (and I have read over 70 books to date). No notes, Alexis Hall I am in the fan club, and will be reading more stat.

And to narrator Will Watt- YOU NAILED IT! WELL DONE!!!!!

*Thanks to Netgalley/Sourcebooks Casablanca for my gifted e-book copy, and to Dreamscape Media/LibroFM for my gifted audiobook copy! All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounding down to 3. I enjoyed this story, and I'm looking forward to the others in this series by author Alexis Hall. The basic premise definitely requires a HUGE suspension of disbelief, both as you start the book and as you keep reading, and I'm not sure that the boss was completely believable, either, but... this was definitely an enjoyable story and it kept me engaged and entertained all along the way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Did I spend a lot of this book dreading the truth reveal? Yes. Did I end up loving everything about it in the end? Also yes! The characters in this book are just so inherently likable. They’re easy to root for, quirky, and just so much fun.

As a pretty standard rom-com, the slow burn was gorgeous, the introduction of the cat was stunning, and the shenanigans were cute. It was pretty much everything you expect from a closed-door love story. Jonathan and Sam just work together as main characters in that grumpy/sunshine way that’s so enjoyable to read. The tropes weren’t too heavy-handed and Alexis Hall did an amazing job of telling a fake amnesia story without going cringe.

The humor throughout the book and overall plot points and events made the dread of the reveal and any potential hurt seem just distant enough that it was—at times—easy to forget, but also so much more realistic as the reveal really started creeping up. This book is tomfoolery in the most heartwarming way.

I absolutely recommend reading this if you like slow burn, romantic comedies, and lighthearted love stories set around Christmas.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I tried on multiple occasions to dive into this book but I just cannot get into it. Unfortunately it is a DNF for me.

Alexis Hall is stellar at writing romantic comedies that are actually laugh out loud funny. The only reason I am giving this four stars instead of five is that I have a hard time believing in a HEA when one of the characters has been lying to the other for such a vast majority of the plot / romantic arc. For pacing reasons, I wish that was handled a bit differently here so I could have fully basked in the romance at the end. That quibble aside, I really enjoyed this and hope we continue to see Alexis Hall write more romantic comedies.

I with there was a little more oomph to this one but I did like it!! The storyline was creative but I’m not too keen on a relationship starting off on a lie. I enjoyed their banter while still feeling like it was missing a build of romance. Jonathan was extra grumpy and I’m glad we eventually saw a better side of him but it’s sad to know that he has two sides. I’ve heard great things about her other books and I’m open to reading them to see how they play out.

In order to keep himself and his entire staff from being fired, Sam Becker makes the non-sensical choice to pretend he has amnesia after an accident at work causes a concussion. His boss Jonathan Forest fears that Sam might sue him for the accident, and since Sam has no other family or close friends, Jonathan reluctantly agrees to let Sam and his cat stay with him to ensure that that he has no further effects from the concussion.

As Sam tries to prove his worth to Jonathan so as not to get fired, he is drawn deeper into his boss's life and family and the two eventually grow close. Of course, Sam is still lying about the amnesia and we know at some point Jonathan will find out. So we have a rom-com with some humor and interesting characters (especially in Jonathan's family). But no matter how genuine the feelings that are growing between them may be, Sam is lying the whole time, so it is really hard for me to root for him. Even his cat chooses Jonathan over Sam.

It's a cute book, but I couldn't get invested in the characters. I also don't really understand the title of the book. I see that a foreign version of the book has a different title that makes more sense to me. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the digital ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Do you like your Grumpy extra grumpy with a side of awkward social interactions? How about your Sunshine slightly naïve but chock full of ignored trauma silver linings? If so, you'll probably adore 10 Things That Never Happened.

Jonathan, our grumpiest of grumps, is the owner of a growing bed, bath, and more chain of stores who's eye is always locked onto meeting and surpassing financial goals. Which - sort of spoiler - we learn is due to a deep seated trauma from his childhood, a trend which will continue with Sam and his own childhood trauma.

Sam, the silliest of sunshines, is the manager of one of Jonathan's stores; however, he's more concerned with the human side of things, and how his employees feel, which doesn't always lead to meeting the goals set by Jonathan.

I'm not 100% sure how they ended up falling in love surrounded by Jonathan's loud, large, and slightly overbearing family and Sam's grumpy rescue cat Gollum; but they do, and I'm glad I took a chance on another Alexis Hall book after my issues with Mortal Follies because I enjoyed every second of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC!

Alexis still writes in the way I love, so there's no surprise that I also enjoyed this book! If you love their previous works, please consider picking this up! I assure you, you'll have a good time reading it!

"10 Things That Never Happened" by Alexis Hall is a charming romantic comedy that offers readers a delightful blend of humor, emotional depth, and the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. The story centers on Sam Becker, a bed and bath store manager, and his boss, Jonathan Forest. Following a workplace accident, Sam feigns amnesia to avoid losing his job, leading to a series of comedic and heartfelt events as he unexpectedly becomes a houseguest in Jonathan's home.

The book is widely praised for its engaging tone and entertaining banter, with snappy and amusing dialogue between Sam and Jonathan. Their relationship is a slow burn, with both characters initially barely tolerating each other. These interactions, filled with humor and poignancy, make their eventual connection all the more rewarding for readers.

Beyond the romance, the story explores themes of family, both found and biological, and the importance of cultural traditions during the holiday season. Both Sam and Jonathan are portrayed as flawed but real characters, with the narrative delving into their personal struggles and growth. Particularly noteworthy is Jonathan's journey to let go of control and open up to love.

In conclusion, "10 Things That Never Happened" is a delightful read that successfully combines humor, emotional depth, and well-crafted characters, offering readers an entertaining escape into a world of romantic comedy.

I loved this book so much! The Lord of the Rings references, the cat (I freaking love Gollum and now wish he were mine), and the sassy banter between Sam and Jonathan was just perfection.

I don't know why I waited so long to read this one but I'm so glad I finally got around to it. I need more of them! I really hope we hear news on book 2 soon because I need it now!