Thank you to netgalley for the advance copy of this ebook*

Even though it’s been awhile that I’ve read anything by the author, i was glad that I’ve jumped in this book. It had the enemies to lovers trope along with forced proximity mixed along with the chaos that is both Sam and Jonathan when one of them takes amnesia after an accident. Add in co workers and family along with a cat named gollum and you got yourself a good story though it was a bit slow paced at times however, i couldn’t recommend this enough and can’t wait for the next book.

This was a fun read with well-developed characters and a believable enemies-to-lovers story line. Alexis Hall is combining so many different tried and true Romance tropes here (sunshine/grump, enemies to loves, office romance) and manages to do so without bogging the story down! Office romances are not for me, but for someone who likes that trope, they're sure to fall in love with Jonathan and Sam (and their whole extended pet and human families!). I admit I'm not sure how the title relates to the content, and I kept waiting for this book to align somehow with 10 Things I Hate About You (which it never did). Four stars are because I was hoping Hall would bring something fresh to the "fake amnesia" plot, but this mostly hits well-trod ground, making the plot fairly predictable. But absolutely still worth a read!

This is a tough book for me to rate! I admit to starting this book and almost DNFing it, which is rare for me, especially with an Alexis Hall book. I had a hard time with the initial premise here. I actually think the fake amnesia plot unfolds quite naturally and cleverly, so that wasn't my problem. Rather, I really struggled with the characters - not so much with Jonathan, the mean, cold-hearted boss everyone seems to hate, but with our POV character Sam, who is so terribly insubordinate it made it very much not fun to read. I had to put the book down at around the 15% mark, and didn't return to it for over a month, but I am glad I eventually went back to it.

When this book worked for me it REALLY worked, especially in the moments where the romance was allowed to shine. I typically enjoy Hall's expansive casts of characters but I do think between Sam's co-workers and Jonathan's family there were a few too many here and they did pull focus a bit, even if they were largely enjoyable (esp. the family). It also took me reading this book to realize what I don't ultimately love about a lot of holiday romances - they often veer saccharine, whereas I loved how this book really highlighted how exhausting and frustrating family and the holidays can be even if quiet moments of tradition make it all worth it. In this way the book really reminded me of my own family and our own brand of chaos and I enjoyed that very much. I even appreciated the nods to Christmas Vacation, a film I actively dislike, because they worked so well in this setting. And I do think by the end of the book I appreciated the journeys both Jonathan and Sam went on such that I can understand their earlier behavior. (Though the blurb says Jonathan has sentimental reasons for hiring Sam to begin with, which are never explained??)

As always with Hall's books I felt the happy ending was too brief if well-earned but all in all I am glad I stuck with this one.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

I really love Alexis Hall’s writing. The banter in this book is A+ and I enjoyed it all the way through.

10 Things That Never Happened is my first Alexis Hall book and I was so excited to read it when I received it from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of times I found myself laughing out loud and couldn’t help but smile as I read the book. I really liked that this was a book set around the holidays and we had two strong male leads. Was this a “traditional” romance story that you expect to find? No, and I think that was one of the many reasons I enjoyed this book! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read with humor and just enough sass from the lead characters.

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall is a unique boss & employee romance set during the holidays with an outlandish premise & delightful results. In the midst of him & his entire team being fired, a heavyweight shower falls on top of San Becker & he stumbles into his grumpy boss, Jonathon Forest, who assumes he has amnesia. During his concussion, Sam kind of accidentally plays into the fake amnesia to try to save him & his friends’ jobs. A whirlwind relationship is formed as they live together to look after Sam’s head & learn & get to know each other all during the holiday season.

10 Things That Never Happened is great for fans of…
❤️MM Romance
❤️Amnesia trope
❤️Boss & Employee
❤️Forced Proximity
❤️Grumpy/Sunshine

Alexis Hall has a trademark writing style with precarious situations, dry humor, fast-paced banter & just lovely love stories throughout. It took me a bit to get into this story, but I enjoyed the way it came together. It’s a bit of an outlandish tale but it’s one of you stick around for, you’ll quite enjoy the ride along the way.

Something I appreciated in this story particularly is the bountiful, realistic & genuine nature that was one of the lead’s perfectly imperfect family. They were messy & bickering, but also relentlessly loyal, always showing up & authentic. Being set at the holidays I couldn’t help but be reminded of the big family from Home Alone.

If you are looking for a MM romance &/or are a fan of Alexis Hall, 10 Things That Never Happened is out now!


Massive thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I started reading this on a night that was absolutely chaotic and miserable. And let me say, within the first chapter, I had a smile on my face, lost myself in this rom-com and I didn’t put this book down. I guess that’s the joy of books honestly.

Anything that ever references a classic of Ms. Hawn’s fine works like Overboard is going to be gold. And yes is the premise of this book impossible to believe? Absolutely. But the humor I found throughout this book was just spot on that I found myself snorting out loud many times. The entire cast of characters from the MCs to Jonathan’s family and Sam’s co-workers just work together so well. And let’s not forget Gollum cause there’s nothing more precious and necessary than an ugly cat.

Jonathan is the perfect grump - he’s beyond grump actually. And he knows it, his family knows it and his employees know it. Sam knows it but in the course of his misadventure in the land of fake amnesia, he learns more about the other side of Jonathan that absolutely no one ever sees at all. I loved the stumbling, awkward side that Sam seems to bring out in him at times. One who’s not so sure of himself despite having created a successful bath and bedroom franchise. I really enjoyed the ending for these two and for the whole cast of characters basically. All the puzzle pieces seem to fall into their own chaotic place and it all just makes sense. If you are looking for a lot of steam and love you declarations, this isn’t that but if you are looking for a romantic comedy that puts a smile on your face with a hilarious cast of characters, this may be for you.

“If our only hope is to actually get better at doing our jobs, we are mega, mega shafted.“
Samwise Eoin Becker, our narrator in 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall, is one of my favorite characters ever. I had the busiest work period and got home exhausted every day, but reconnecting with sassy, dark, and messy Sam was the best part of my day.

“It probably says good things about modern Britain—or maybe just about modern Liverpool—that when I was growing up, I got way less shit for being gay than I got for being named after a hobbit.“

Sam is the manager of a bed and bath store that is not meeting sales expectations. His team is chaotic but loveable, so when the big boss, Jonathan, calls him to headquarters and threatens to fire the poorest performers, Sam is desperate to find a workaround. The solution “knocks him over” when Jonathan corners him into a walk-in shower, and Sam falls through the enclosure. When at the hospital to treat the resulting concussion, Sam takes advantage of a miscommunication and makes Jonathan believe he has amnesia. Scrappy Sam decides this will buy him time to break through “His Royal Dickishness” and save his team. But Sam didn’t think he would end up falling for Jonathan.

This is where the story falls apart a tiny bit. I found it hard to understand how the chemistry between Sam and Jonathan developed, and it made me really impatient. I loved reading from Sam’s perspective about how he got close to Jonathan and invaded every space in his life, but I am unsure I understand how he fell for him. This part dragged. I needed more connection, more chemistry, more mutual romantic or sexual tension.

HOWEVER…
The resolution to their love journey had me in happy tears. When they finally got together, I thought everything was pretty perfect, and I didn’t care that this book had such a slow burn and big leap.

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall was full of wit, banter, and the most loveable characters …except Jonathan, although he gets tons of points at the end.

P.S. Check out Bee Val’s review of Husband Material, also by Alexis Hall!

Alexis Hall writes such entertaining stories. Any genre from contemporary, historical fiction, and adult, they write in such a fun way. There is a great plot and great queer representation in every book. Highly recommend to read their books.

This was my first Alexis Hall book and it didn’t disappoint. I read this in a day because I just wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I went into it without reading the blurb and that made it so much fun. I mean who doesn’t love the fake amnesia with the overbearing boss trope.

I really loved Sam’s character. The way he cared so strongly for all the people who worked for him and would do anything to protect their jobs. He was just a big lost sweetie trying to muddle his way through life. I feel like he truly wanted what was best for everyone even if they were crap at their job or not very kind. Honestly, Jonathan was not my favorite at first. He was pretty unlikable to all those around him but he did grow on me throughout the book and I love when that happens. I love a good journey and growth in a book. I really wish we could have had dual POV because I really wanted to get inside Jonathan’s head. I can’t wait to jump into another Alexis Hall book ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

3 stars

I'm as surprised as you are that I didn't completely hate this book after the last several tries with AJH. I'd even go as far to say I quite enjoyed it. Sure it had the very annoying thing where -y is added to the end of words to be cutesy (see what I did there) and it is written in what I assume is a northern accent so if i never see a sentence end in "like" again it'll be too soon. But the amensia plot was kind of fun, I liked the two MCs, and the meddling family and meddling coworkers were rather enjoyable. What's keeping it three stars is the rather predictable 95% breakup, the 97% Christmas Death (ugh we were so close to a mostly death free Christmas! But no here they are kissing in a cemetery wtf), and the aforementioned annoyingly accenty (lol) narrative. It helped a lot that the POV character, Sam, wasn't completely full of anxiety or self-loathing, I think. It kept the hijinks and comedy closer to Boyfriend Material than anything contemporary AJH has written after. It's worth a read if you liked Boyfriend Material and are still willing to give AJH's books a try. (But watch me totally regret saying this when Father Material comes out)

I Iaughed so much while reading this book. After Boyfriend Material I kept trying to find another book by Alexis Hall that was just as fun, and I was disappointed every time. This mostly proves how much I love Boyfriend Material and how much I believed Alexis Hall could write a book that can live up to those expectations.
And 10 things that never happened is that book. Of course the amnesia trick isn't a very good base for a good story, and I'm begging you to just go with it and just enjoy the story.
Sam and Jonathan are both very loveable. Jonathan is a grumpy, bossy boss and Sam definitely has golden retriever vibes and they have so much chemistry. I loved how I felt the love before they did. I was rooting for them from the beginning. *happy grin*
The emotional part of this book was done perfectly, just like the chaotic family trope.
Again, the plot is very thin, but just get past that and enjoy this grumpy sunshine romance. I know I did, every page of it.

Jonathan Forest is an easy character to dislike up front. When Sam, a manager at a bad&bath store, is called for a meeting at thr main branch with his boss, Jonathan Forest, he is (a) sure he's about to be fired, along with his team, and (b) not going to just sit down and take it. When he accidently falls into a display shower while Jonathan is berating him and has the glass shower door slammed into his head, he exhibits a little confusion from his concussion that leads to Jonathan believing he has amnesia and the doctor saying Sam should stay with Jonathan for a couple of weeks for monitoring.
Of course, Sam starts to see that Jonathan isn't tough and mean all the way through. And maybe, he's even kinda hot?
Cute, completely unbelievably believable romance - I definitely wanted to keep reading and make sure they ended up together.

What an outstanding story! These are the best characters I’ve read in ages, and the explanation of dialect adds so much to the story. Hilarious portrayal of the ridiculous ways people behave at work, from the top to the bottom. Will be featured on a future episode of Your Rainbow Reads podcast.

This was a little bit ridiculous, a whole lot gorgeous, and I did not want it to end.
I was laughing right from the first page, and shed a few tears on others, and am now gushing about it to anyone who will listen.
As much as some of it is unbelievable, OK a lot of it is unbelievable, it is just so darn relatable and lovely and I just want it to be real. I'd be happy with a small screen version of real, but I've seen there's also an audio so now I want to go back and relive this again, with voices!
All the stars!!!!!!!

“10 Things That Never Happened” is the story of Sam and Jonathan. Sam is the store manager of Splashes and Snuggles - which Jonathan is the owner of - however, his store isn’t quite meeting their goals. When Jonathan schedules a meeting with Sam to discuss the possibility of letting his employees go, Sam tries to come up with a plan to save his work family. However, his plan ends up with him being under the care of Jonathan after an accident leaves Sam with “amnesia.” While Jonathan seems to be a workaholic with no emotions, there’s much to uncover under his cold exterior, and Sam is just the man the break down those walls. But what happens when Jonathan finds out Sam’s been faking his memory lost all along?

This book had me laughing in every chapter. From Sam’s humor to his work family and Jonathan’s family - this book was a lot of fun to read. I will note that it’s written in only Sam’s POV. My only complaint is that it ended too soon. I wish there were more to Sam and Jonathan’s relationship. It took a while for them to get together, and when they did, it was pretty quick and then the book was over. I would’ve liked to have seen more in the epilogue. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and would recommend to those that love rom-com! Thank you NetGalley and Alexis Hall for the ARC copy!

"Because I don’t think he was born a prick. I think he had prickness thrust upon him."
_
FAKE AMNESIA. REAL FEELINGS? REAL PROBLEMS.
_
This was such a fun and busy adventure. The hilarious family type group at the mattress/bath store, the lowest performing store in the lineup.

Loved all their different personalities, always love the one that causes the most mess esp when they are so naive and smiley. I don't know why I do but not everyone is a perfect worker.
In an effort to save his store and his coworkers jobs Sam the manager speaks with their awful boss in London. Though in the process gets injured and in a confused moment they think he has amnesia.

Liked how these two characters who turned out to have a lot in common would not have been able to dig deep and get to know each other had the forced proximity not happened. Sam also helped him bid Jonathan reconnect with his family and himself since he was a bit lost in his success and ambition.

And of course the humor and banter was great! This also had a Christmas holiday party as a big to do so this could be considered a holiday book.

Thank you sourcebookscasa for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

This story left me spellbound, evoking a rollercoaster of emotions. Sam Becker's story, a mix of workplace struggles and unexpected romance, felt remarkably genuine. His witty, flawed boss, Jonathan Forest, made the narrative rich with depth. Despite initial reservations, I found solace in their unconventional love story, appreciating Hall's knack for crafting imperfect yet relatable characters. The novel delved into complex family dynamics, adding layers of authenticity to the plot. Hall's writing was raw and honest, making me laugh, cry, and reflect deeply. While the romance was unconventional, its genuine portrayal of human connection made it an emotionally resonant read, leaving me profoundly moved by the characters' journey.

I confess that it took me a bit to settle into this book, but once I did, I was all in. Such a wonderful read.. It was so much more than a romance between two people. It was also a story of friendship and family as well.

Sam and Jonathan couldn't be a more unlikely pair. Sam works for Jonathan's company and their working relationship isn't very strong. So, when the opportunity presents itself after an accident occurs for Sam to pretend he has amnesia in order to protect not only his own job but also that of his team, he takes it. As you would expect, this will haunt him down the road.

While Jonathan is keeping watch over Sam to be sure he doesn't have a deadly reaction to his concussion, they learn more about one another. Neither person is who the other had believed them to be. Not just that, Jonathan's family becomes attached to Sam as well. Meanwhile, the two of them keep reminding everyone that they are only friends. Yet as time goes on, they each find that they may just want it to be something more.

These two men were both a little broken in different ways. It was heartbreaking and yet also encouraging to see them trying to fight their way through their insecurities to make a go with one another. This book definitely made me sniffle a time or two.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The audio was done quite well with the accents and so forth. It was quite enjoyable all the way around. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for both the ebook and audiobook. I chose to read/listen to them both and review them and the opinions contained within are my own.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to LibroFM and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Sam knows he is being fired when he is injured at work. When he wakes with a concussion, his boss Jonathon believes he has amnesia. Sam goes along with faking it to try to save his own job and those of all the employees he manages.

I am especially grateful for the audiobook, as that helped me get into this book. I found the beginning of the story very slow, and I didn't connect with either character. The plot took a lot of suspension of disbelief as well. But the narrator's amazing accent and warmth kept me going when I switched to the audio format.

Though I came to appreciate the characters more as the story continued, I never fully connected with Sam. I ended up preferring Jonathon, the grumpy miser who clearly did have a warm heart underneath (always trust the cat's judgement). But I didn't really see Sam as a mature adult ready for a relationship, and so I didn't really buy the two of them together.

This one didn't hit for me with the mix of charm and authentic characters that I typically find in an Alexis Hall book. But I think Alexis Hall fans will enjoy the banter and snark, the setting, and more. It all has a Christmas holiday background that makes it especially appropriate if you are looking for a book that is set at the time but breaks the mold of a traditional, sweet, holiday romance.