Sam thinks he's a pretty good manager of a high-end bedding and bath shop, but when his boss calls him down to London, he realizes that His Royal Dickishness aka Jonathan doesn't think he's a good manager at all. In fact, Jonathan fires him, but a fall into a glass display shower stall lands Sam in the hospital and if Jonathan mistakenly thinks Sam has amnesia, that means he won't remember firing Sam. Now Sam is using his fake amnesia to try to save his branch and his employees - but it also involves living in Jonathan's house, planning the company holiday party, and... falling in love?

This was funny and very cute. I loved the contrast between closed-off Jonathan and bumbling, soft-hearted Sam and the third factor in the relationship, Sam's hideous cat Gollum. Sam's employees were also highly amusing. Yes, this had all the tropes of the typical rom-com, but it also had heart and Sam was just so sweet, and you could tell Jonathan had some hurt going on underneath all those walls. Jonathan's family was just a quirky as Sam's staff. The dialogue was the best part and make this story a fast read.

Alexis Hall begins a new series – Material World – with 10 Things That Never Happened, an opposites-attract romance between two very lonely people who come together through some rather unlikely circumstances. All the things I enjoy about Mr. Hall’s books are here – the characters are flawed and very real, it’s often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s insightful, poignant and sometimes absurd while also being wonderfully down-to-earth. It’s perhaps a little more mellow in tone than some of his other recent titles, but it’s ultimately a touching story about family, love and loss, about coming to terms with the past and looking forward to the future.

Sam Becker is the manager of a bed and bathroom shop in Sheffield, one of four in the small Splashes & Snuggles chain owned by Jonathan Forest. Sam is a good boss to his small team, but isn’t great at actually managing the business side of things and the branch isn’t meeting the current sales and profits targets. It looks like the axe is going to fall when Sam is summoned to head office in Croydon by His Royal Dickishness, Jonathan Forest himself, to explain why the store is over budget and under target, and isn’t all that surprised when his hard-nosed, bottom-line-driven, arsehole of a boss tells him he needs to make some big changes if he’s to keep his job – changes which include letting the underperforming staff go, which Sam absolutely doesn’t want to do. Making the rounds of the showroom in the afternoon, Jonathan and Sam get into a bit of an altercation during which Jonathan fires Sam and his whole team, and which ends with Sam catching his foot on a display shower enclosure, which collapses on top of him.

Sam is taken to hospital to be checked out, and when the doctor mentions temporary memory loss as common effect of severe concussion, Sam doesn’t say his memory is fine. He’s still a little confused, but he remembers the argument and Jonathan firing everyone, and is already thinking that maybe this is a way he can save their jobs – he just needs a bit more time to come up with a proper plan. When the doctor assumes Jonathan is going to be the one looking after Sam while he recovers from the concussion – and as Sam doesn’t actually have anyone who can take care of him – Jonathan somewhat reluctantly does the decent thing and takes Sam home. Sam is sure that Jonathan is only doing it because he’s worried Sam will sue the pants off him – but maybe using amnesia as an excuse to spend a bit of time with Jonathan won’t be a bad thing (if they can manage not to kill each other). If Sam can get Jonathan to like him, then maybe Sam will be able to ensure he and his team keep their jobs.

Thanks to some forced proximity – and some completely unexpected generosity on Jonathan’s part when he spends a day driving Sam to his flat in Sheffield (and back) purely so Sam can pick up his cat – Sam starts to realise that while Jonathan might be a high-handed, super-controlling workaholic, there’s a good heart lurking underneath it all, and that his plan to get Jonathan to like him might just be working. He hadn’t, however, banked on the reverse happening, but the more Sam glimpses the Jonathan nobody else gets to see – his rare smiles, the vulnerability deep inside (and his affection for Sam’s slightly ugly cat) – the more he is unable to stop himself liking – and falling for – his grumpy boss. I loved watching these two slowly shedding their misconceptions about one another, and that their growing affection for each other is revealed through small, everyday signs of care and genuine regard such as Sam cooking dinner, making one another tea and sandwiches, watching old TV shows and falling asleep together on the sofa. Jonathan looking after Sam is cute – even when he’s a bit heavy-handed you can tell it comes from a good place – and Sam is secretly pleased to be looked after (although he’d never admit it.) But of course, the longer Sam stays, the bigger hole he’s digging for himself with his fake-amnesia plan, and the more he risks ruining this new and fragile something he and Jonathan are building together. He knows he’s going to have to come clean before he’s rumbled. But how? And will Jonathan ever forgive him?

It’s obvious early on that both men have issues they’re loathe to deal with, and the author shows us why Jonathan is the way he is, where he came from, and that while he undoubtedly can be a bit of a knob, that’s not all he is or who he really wants to be. I didn’t actually realise, until I was over halfway through, that, despite Sam being the PoV character, I knew very little about him because he conceals so much – partly because he’s pretending to have amnesia so has to be careful about what he tells Jonathan, and partly because he’s deliberately locked away some painful things he doesn’t want to think about. Mr. Hall does a great job of scattering little hints throughout the story so that it’s not difficult to guess what Sam is running from, but it still packs a punch when it’s revealed near the end, and we finally slot together the pieces to understand what Sam has been going through and why he is the way he is, especially with regards to his job and the people he works with.

There’s a fairly big secondary cast here, consisting of Sam’s colleagues and Jonathan’s large, loving and somewhat chaotic family, who pretty much adopt Sam from the get-go. Jonathan’s relationship with his family is a complicated one – he obviously loves them, but it’s tied up with a lot of guilt and frustration – and I really liked the thoughtful sub-plot that looks at his relationship with his dad and how it has informed his character. Sam’s colleagues are a colourful bunch who do rally round for him, although some them are pretty awful at their jobs, and I couldn’t entirely blame Jonathan for threatening to sack them!

I didn’t realise when I picked it up that the book is set in December in the run-up to Christmas, so I suppose it could (just about) be categorised as a ‘Christmas Book’. Part of the story revolves around Sam trying to persuade Jonathan to host the family for Christmas that year and part is Sam organising the firm’s Christmas party, but thankfully, it’s the least Christmassy Christmas book I’ve ever read – which is a big plus as far as I’m concerned.

The main problem I have overall is that the final section – from Jonathan finding out the truth to the reconciliation and HEA – happens over two-and-a-half chapters. I liked what we get and where Sam and Jonathan end up, but it feels rushed.

10 Things That Never Happened is one of those books that kinda crept up on me. I read it and enjoyed it – but it was only when I started to really think about it and go back through the highlights on my Kindle that I realised just how much the author has packed in to what seems, at first, to be a light-hearted story full of snarky banter, an ugly cat and a ridiculously oversized Christmas tree. Alongside the romance, there’s a story about connecting and re-connecting, about being true to who you are, and not being afraid to to show that you care. One of the many things Alexis Hall does so well is to have his characters experience personal growth while remaining essentially the same people, and that’s true of Sam and Jonathan here. Sam is still upbeat and prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve and Jonathan is still gruff and aloof and anxious, but they’ve found that special someone who complements them – who understands them, accepts them and loves them for who they are – and together, they’re better.

Yes, the fake-amnesia plot is a bit wobbly, and maybe the deception goes on too long, but neither of those things spoiled the book for me. 10 Things That Never Happened is a lovely mixture of the daft and the meaningful in a tender romance full of humour and feels, and I’m making space for it on my keeper shelf.

Grade: A-/4.5 stars.

Lying to your grumpy boss is never a good idea, as Sam finds out in this laugh-out-loud romcom.

Jonathan was difficult to like and it only got marginally better later on. He lived an extremely regimented life filled with anxiety and letting even a little bit of that go can be very difficult. Sam’s “amnesia” seemed to have turned off his filter. He had no problem telling Jonathan what he thought. Sam forced Jonathan to reevaluate himself and he did make some changes. Enough to let Sam in, anyway. There wasn’t much chemistry, but the two of them did fit well together.

The story is told only from Sam’s point of view. It would’ve been nice to get some insight into Jonathan’s thoughts as well. But it was hilarious dwelling in Sam’s head. The overall tone from him was sarcastic and honest. Which was ironic since he was lying to Jonathan. We got to see Jonathan struggle with the reality of his brusque interactions with other people, but Sam was just a happy-go-lucky kind of guy until closer to the end when we get a very quick glimpse into his own difficult past.

This was a fun read and I can recommend it if you like an MM romance with interesting, multi-faceted characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i have to be honest, i wanted to like this, and listening on audio with great british accents helped a bit, but mostly i was SO FRUSTRATED and annoyed by all the characters (nobody had redeeming qualities? everyone was annoying?) and the general incompetence within their retail store setting, and all the tangled lies within the fake amnesia plot line... i just truly couldn't do it. i DNFed at about 50% through and honestly wish i had quit sooner and I AM SO SORRY TO SAY IT because i have loved other alexis hall books!!! this just was not it for me.

10 Things That Never Happened was exactly what I needed! It's a hilarious and heartwarming Christmas story. It's not quite what I would call grumpy/sunshine, but we definitely have the grumpy half in His Royal Dickishness Jonathan Forest. Sam Becker is hilarious, and his cat Gollum absolutely steals the show. The supporting cast of characters is also fantastic. It was a wonderful, lighthearted read with just the slightest bit of heartbreaking to the point of weeping in the last five percent of the book. The narration on the audiobook was phenomenal as well. You can't go wrong in purchasing either format.

I’ll begin the way I begin every review for an Alexis Hall ARC: when I saw this on Netgalley, it was an absolute no-brainer … OF COURSE I was going to request it. Alexis Hall is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors, and I always jump at the chance to read a new book (since usually I’ve had a physical copy preordered for many many months).

So, to the review. A queer Christmassy romance with the grumpy/sunshine trope - yes, please. The fake amnesia trope/falling for your boss thing - hmmm, not my favorite, but I knew I was going to give it a shot anyway. And I did! And y’know, it wasn’t my favorite Hall book, but it was enjoyable, and I’m glad I read it. I loved both the characters - both very flawed, sad childhoods, etcetera. I loved Gollum the cat! I love that it was set partly in Sheffield (where I lived for a year and have fond memories of), and I loved the happy ending, and I loved that Jonathan’s family was so ridiculous and so heartwarming.

What I didn’t love? It took TOO LONG to progress, and it didn’t feel like a slow burn, it was just a whole lot of Sam feeling really bad about faking amnesia and just saying the same things over and over about it. I also get that a bed & bath superstore is a major part of the book, but referencing the product names EVERY SINGLE TIME got old very quickly. We get that that toilet is this particular brand, but just call it a toilet after the first time, sheesh. And the amnesia trope … I can suspend disbelief for a lot of romance tropes (I don’t read them for the believability), but I just couldn’t do it for this one. I couldn’t believe that Jonathan would believe Sam for THAT long.

But, like I said … it’s Alexis Hall, so I read it, and I’m glad I did. It’s just not my favorite one and I would read many other of his books after this one.

This story is told in first person by Sam(wise). This was my second read by this author and I enjoyed it much more than the first. It was filled with British humor that had me laughing hysterically throughout the book from the collective nickname for the boss “His Royal Dickishness” to Jonathan’s large, loud family as they planned their Christmas celebration at his house much to his dismay.

I enjoyed the slow building of the relationship between Sam and Jonathan though it did start to drag for me eventually. I was curious about Sam’s past and wish that it had been addressed with a little more depth before suddenly coming to a quick resolution. The quirky supporting characters were some of my favorite parts of the book from accident prone Brian to giant Christmas tree happy Del.

Recommended for a light, funny holiday read

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for a copy provided for an honest review.

*3.5 STARS*

I liked this book, but I thought I’d like it a lot more. It took me over a week to read, which is usually an indicator for me that I’m not loving a book.

Here are some things that worked:
• Sam’s cat and the comedic relief he provided.

• That it was a Christmas romance, which I did not expect.

• The banter between Sam and Jonathan. They had a good grumpy/sunshine vibe, and them quipping back and forth was probably my favorite part of the book.

And here is what didn’t work for me:
• Unfortunately, the romance was a little lackluster. This is supposed to be a rom-com, but Sam and Jonathan’s romance often felt like a subplot. I needed more chemistry between them, because it felt like they went from enemies to lovers without much evidence to support their feelings.

• All of the technical talk about the bed and bath business. I really could have done without the name of the shower Sam fell into being repeated 15 times. It was a long name and despite how many times it was said, I still don’t remember its precise title. The same thing happened with a few other products, like Jonathan’s toilet. There was also a lot of talk about budgets and other things I just did not care about. I get that this was a workplace romance, but the work talk was just too much most of the time.

• The fake amnesia storyline grew very tiresome very quickly. So much time was spent on Sam pretending to have amnesia, being conflicted about it, but carrying on anyway. And in my opinion, he was forgiven way too easily.

• Jonathan’s family often felt like the main storyline, which is a bummer when you’re expecting a romance. I liked their characters, but there were a lot of them and sometimes it was hard to keep them all straight. I also didn’t love how much time was spent on Jonathan’s dynamic with his family when so little was spent on Sam. We get one paragraph explaining what happened to his family, after hinting at it for the entire book.

• We only get Sam’s perspective, which I know is common in romances, but I really wanted to hear from Jonathan. Again, we get one paragraph where he tells Sam why he likes him. I want to hear his inner thoughts when he starts spending time with Sam, his feelings on Gollum, etc. I think the romance would have felt stronger and more believable if we had gotten a few chapters from his perspective.


It’s always so hard to review a book when you have mixed feelings. I did like reading it and I think others would too, but it’s hard to ignore the issues I had with it.

*I received a free e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

So for whatever reason, I thought this was connected to Boyfriend Material and Husband Material because "material" was literally in the name of this series. Guess not! So if that was what was holding you back from reading this hilarious amnesiac Christmas romance, let it go.

The holiday season is crazy enough, but when you get fired, fall through a shower door, and wake up in the hospital with your boss all in under an hour? Yeah it's a lot. I found myself laughing out loud so many times during this book, especially with the interactions with the bed & bath crew. I'll happily take a grumpy begrudging romance, a cat named Gollum, and one simple lie that keeps on giving.

*Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review, LibroFM for the gifted ALC, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the gifted physical copy*

Alexis Hall’s 10 Things That Never Happened is a little choppier than the author’s other offerings but still the winning combination of funny-sweet-heartbreaking I’ve come to anticipate. I appreciate that Hall is, once again, determined to show that queer people can be squares too.

Read from October 4th, 2023 to October 17th, 2023. Review written on October 22nd, 2023.

~4.5~

For starters, I do apologize for the delay. Much has happened that did not allow me the time to post this when I should have.

Now, this book was weirdly good! I do have to say I wasn't a fan of the fake amnesia, which is the main thing in the story I know, but apart from that it was so so sweet and I do enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers, though in this case enemies may be to strong a word.

Something I thought was a bit annoying was the names of products from the store where the main characters worked having their full name written, every. single. time. Do we really need it?

Apart from that, the writing is great, the storyline is solid and very engaging, and the ending fits so well with everything that happened in the book; it didn't feel displaced. The characters were very interesting to read and get to know, especially Gollum. Someone feed the cat, please!!

Now, I just took some notes of things I noticed throughout the book that I think maybe need some reviewing?
Notes for the publisher:
Page 23: Who is Bernard? Wasn't it supposed to be Brian?
Page 23: "She's a weird one is Tiff" is that sentence correct? Doesn't sound right to me, but I'm genuinely not sure.
Page 80: Wasn't Brian talking care of his nan? What's this about his mum?
Page 106, line 19: "But I'm, the boss, (...)" There shouldn't be a comma between I'm and the.
Page 165, Line 13: "What's the supposed to mean?" Shouldn't it be "that"?

Really liked this book, Alexis Hall knows how to write gay Brits so well! Enjoy the book now that it is out!

Signing off,
B.

I really enjoyed this book more than Husband Material. I thought I had sworn off Alexis Hall after that but found myself pleasantly surprised by this one.

I enjoyed the premise of Sam trying to save his branch by faking amnesia. What was odd was how it developed into this live in situation with Jonathon. I didn’t hate it but it was just sort of out there that his boss would take him in while he recovered from a head injury.

I digress. The characters felt fresh and new. Not a copy and paste of his previous works. The side characters were great and added to the plot and comedic relief. Albeit there were so many side characters to keep track of.

The story fell apart for me with the romance aspect. The audience didn’t get a lot of “getting to know you” conversation. Jonathan would say “I just know you” when discussing Sam and Sam was convinced Jonathon was a jerk 99% of the time. It felt like the forced proximity created this bond and without exploring their feelings, the two just stuck together. Wish it was more.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #TenThingsthatNeverHappened by Alexis Hall in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations going into this book and then I heard a couple of bad reviews and I got nervous. Having read the entire book, I have to say it's not Hall's best work but it does come together in the end in a really good way. The pacing is off and I got bored in the 1st part or 2 when the story was more about their work than the romance blossoming between them. The book also felt longer than it actually is (another indication that the pacing was off).

I got frustrated with Sam for being so judgemental of Jonathan and began to worry about how they would ever get their HEA. But they got there. It was hard earned too in a way that makes me think they will make it In the end, I'm glad I stuck with this book but I do wish Hall had reworked the pacing issues.

Soooooo, this was the first time I read Alexis Hall. I was expecting a “mainstream” RomCom romance, which I DID get. But I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of the characters and the unique plot that uncovered the many layers of both Jonathan and Sam.

The whole fake amnesia plot? Too cute! I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I really felt Jonathan’s guilt and it was sweet watching Sam go back and forth until he couldn’t resist him anymore.

It was a bit cookie cutter, at least the writing, but it wasn’t too bad either.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley with the understanding I would post an unbiased review.**

I have to admit that Hall has gone from one of my top three favorite authors to someone I read with trepidation. As much as I adore his early books the more recent have been very hit or miss for me. By and large this was a hit for me although it was, as is always the case with his books lately, just too long. It definitely feels like his editors are not doing their jobs lately, even allowing for this being an ARC, editors are meant to improve a story, not just point out missed words and it just doesn't feel like that's happening anymore.

I liked Sam although his tendency to ramble about anything and everything got to be a bit overmuch at times (hello, editors). The repetition of the type of shower door that caused his concussion, for example, started out fun and quickly became something I was skipping over. Jokes, even in romcoms, can be overdone. I would also have liked to know more about Sam's backstory a lot sooner than we got it because, for spending so much time in his head, we don't really find out a lot about his history until the end of the story. I never quite understood why he thought Jonathan was such a jerk, because, while Jonathan wasn't nearly as sympathetic as he could have been neither did he ever really come across as a massive jerk either. I get the feeling that the requirements of running a retail business were either overlooked or misunderstood.

Jonathan was really my favorite character in this because it was obvious from the beginning that he wasn't a jerk just for the sake of it, but because he was massively misunderstood, sometimes it felt like he was even misunderstood by his creator. Hall has gotten into a habit of making one of his characters responsible for everything that is wrong in everyone's lives and there's no sympathy or understanding for that character, maybe this is a thing in romcoms, but it just seems like he's doubled down on it, and I end up feeling bad for that character, and not liking the other characters as much because of it.

I'm not a huge consumer of amnesia stories and I liked that it was pointed out that this is not the way amnesia actually works. The concussion seemed to be handled almost as well so that was nice.

I liked the way their relationship grew slowly over time and how Sam finally realized that Jonathan was not who he thought he was. Jonathan's family honestly sounds exhausting, I'd avoid them too, but they did provide background for Jonathan which Sam obviously needed. I liked that although they accepted Sam right away the integration was still happening at the end of the book.

Overall this is the best book I've read from Hall since Boyfriend Material, it's still not to the level of amazing that he used to write before he leaned so heavily into romcoms, but it was an enjoyable, if slightly too long, read.

I was looking forward to this one as I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material, but this one was about a 3.5 star. I think the main character's (Sam) inner monologue was a bit annoying at times, especially with the back-and-forth on whether or not to tell Jonathan his secret. I also would have liked to see more of the book happening after the big reveal as it felt a little rushed. Overall, I thought it was cute! Having a grumpy character fall in love in a romance novel is one of my favorite things to see: how they fall for their partner, what about their partner balances them out. Jonathan's large family had me laughing out loud because of how chaotic they were. I am still really looking forward to more books in this universe and what will come next from Hall!

This is a spin off from Husband Material, where we briefly met Jonathan. That is the only connection, so you are fine reading this without Boyfriend Material or Husband Material, tho I recommend both.

As is his gift, Alexis Hall wrote about two wonderfully imperfect men falling in love without meaning to. Jonathan has built wall upon wall around himself, and Sam is perpetually cheerful to hide his sorrow. At one point, Jonathan says of Sam “You’ve come into my life like a beam of very annoying sunshine.”

I laughed out loud while listening at work, and Will Watt did a great job with Sam’s Liverpudlian accent.

Decent. Just decent. I don’t know if Alexis needs to continue this series. Nothing compares to Husband Material for me, I fear.

I’m really struggling with this book. At first I was enjoying it but quickly this fizzled out for me and now I can’t seem to pick this back up. I just am not able to connect with the characters at all and I don’t care what happens next which is the kiss of death. I guess I’m not British so I just don’t get it?

Anyways I am going to call it good here and mark it as did not finish. Unfortunately for me I just have a very hit or miss with this authors work and lately it’s all miss for me.

Funny, charming, and delightfully festive, within the first 100 pages of 10 Things That Never Happened I'd already texted my friend to insist she buy this book to take on her honeymoon over Christmas. If you like the London Calling series then you'll love this book too.