Alexis Hall is an auto-buy/ Auto-request author for me since he wrote one of my favourite books “Glitterland”.

Admittedly, not all his works have replicated the brilliance of that aforementioned book but they have, at their core, had great writing and interesting characters.

This book had much of the same. It had great writing, characters that had me invested, a plot that had me locked in and witty ridiculousness which I loved. One thing however that could have been better was the romance aspect.

Don’t get me wrong, as a comedic novel, it was a solid piece of work but as a romance, there was still some work left to be done. Jonathan and Sam had the makings of a great couple but unfortunately, what was shown on page was not enough (in my opinion). It barely scratched the surface of the sheer potential they carried. Had the romance been fully explored, this would’ve been a straight 5-Star read.

After all I’ve said above, will I recommend this? Yes, I will for the reading experience.

I would also recommend it if you are in the mood for a solidly written novel full of wit, banter and memorable fleshed-out characters that get stuck in your brain(in the best of ways lol).

This story has Hall's signature wit and humor with several romance tropes that evoke drama and eventually, epiphanies.

This story started strong and the humor and interactions were on point. I am not a huge fan of amnesia plots, but this worked for a while. Unfortunately, the romantic elements of the story felt diluted by the cast of characters that made up Jonathan's family and all of the chaos and drama they brought to the table. I found myself wanting to skip those parts and just see Sam and Jonathan's interactions.

When I did see Jonathan and Sam together there were some nice moments where Jonathan's grumpy demeanor relays a more tender and caring individual. I had a harder time getting a read on Sam. The book is entirely in Sam's viewpoint, yet I felt that I didn't really know him, even when he reveals more about himself at the end; it just felt a little too late in the story to make any impact.

Overall, this story seemed to lack the character growth I am used to seeing in Hall's work and the lack of growth or change left me feeling a bit fatigued with the story by the conclusion. Yet, the few moments that revealed the tenderness between the main protagonists were the highlight of the story and kept me holding out hope until the end.

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for allowing me to respond to this book with my honest opinions.

2.5✨'s

10 Things That Never Happened is a hilariously amusing romance between Jonathan Forest, the head of a bed and bathroom store and his employee, Samwise Becker, who happens to be faking some memory loss issues. From the first sentence, this book reeled me in and took me on a whirlwind adventure full of showroom mishaps, a grumpy cat, an even grumpier love interest, all with some joyous Christmassy goodness to round it all off.

This book isn't a traditional holiday romance, but it's not not a holiday romance either. We've got Christmas parties, tree decorating and chaotic family gatherings that really give you a feel for the holidays. But you also have all sorts of fake-amnesia induced shenanigans, meddling family members and some really in-depth conversations about bed and bathroom fixtures that have me questioning my own choices in that area. But all of it made me laugh-out-loud multiple times and the underlying emotions even made me shed a few tears at the end.

The romance itself kind of snuck up on me. Though the book is about Sam and Jonathan, their relationship was built on so subtly that by the time they actually got to the kissing and the loving, it just felt inevitable that they'd end up there. But there were so many moments on the road to that end that I really adored. From Jonathan's relationship with Sam's cat, the shopping for Christmas decor, the multiple times they cooked each other a chicken (even if it went horribly wrong), and all the other small moments that brought them together were so wonderful and I adored them all so much.

Alexis Hall also has a knack for writing the most unique characters in the simplest of settings. Add in the ability to make readers care for even the smallest of characters with a single interaction and I found myself rooting for every one of them, even if their goals were completely contradictory. All of Sam's employees and Jonathan's family members really helped to bring this book to life and I just wanted them to get along and be happy, just like Sam and Jonathan at the end of this book.

This forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, fake amnesia romance did not go the way I expected it to, but I enjoyed every second of it. I'll admit it was the slight connection to London Calling that drew me in at first, but this book stands out on its own as a charming holiday romance and I can't wait to see what else this series has in store for us!

GREAT SIDE CHARACTERS BUT A FLAT ROMANCE

Alexis Hall has been a real hit or miss reading experience for me. This one fall somewhere in between. The plot was fun, but the romance was not to my liking.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Plot: Though the whole amnesia thing has been done before, I still felt like the plot was fresh and fun. Super quirky and interesting. It worked for me.

Side characters: So many adorable side characters to fall in love with, I especially liked Claire, Gollum and Des. They were each very much their own characters and completely stole every scene they were in. They created a lot of humor and levity.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Romance: Honestly, I just didn't feel the chemistry between Jonathan and Sam. There weren't enough romantic get-to-know-you encounters between them for me to actually feel like they were developing true feeling for one another. And too often they were both being sort of jerks, which made it even harder to believe that they were fall for each other.

Side characters: Yes, I absolutely loved the side characters. Often they were my favourite part of this book. But there were just too many of them. About half of them did not need to be there. They didn't contribute to the story or the characters' arcs. It made it a bit confusing at times, trying to keep everyone straight. A bit of editing here would have done wonders.

“10 Things That Never Happened” is Alexis Hall’s best romcom so far, the perfect blend of sarcasm, compassion and wisdom. Like a fine wine, this top notch author improves with time.

Jonathan owns a chain of home furnishing stores where he chases profits, earning himself scorching nicknames. Sam manages the Sheffield branch. He prefers team--building to earnings. Jonathan orders Sam to London for a reprimand. Instead, Sam repeatedly challenges repeatedly him over the human cost of materialism. Then, Sam accidently falls when Jonathan (almost) fires him, causing a concussion. Sam feigns amnesia for a chance to soften Jonathan and save his branch. Fearful of a lawsuit, Jonathan takes Sam home to monitor. “I’d do the same for any employee who’d had an accident,” he tells Sam.

And Sam thinks, “Any employee who’d had an accident he’d caused maybe.” Soon Sam is soon fuming. “I can’t tell if I disliked Jonathan more when he was trying to micromanage my work or now he’s trying to micromanage my recovery.”

Do NOT read this while in bed with a sleeping mate. The novel features two sad men, grumpier than either acknowledges. And I soon had a third grumpy, who I’d woken with peals of laughter. Mr. Hall’s eye for the absurd and ear for dialect elevates the novel beyond slapstick. Here’s an observation by Sam. “Turns out, going to a supermarket is like wiping your @rse. You mostly do it alone so assume everyone does it the same way you do, but there’s actually a surprising amount of variation.” A scene about fisting a grocery-store chicken, not only made it difficult to catch my breath, it proved the ideal ice breaker for these men to see one another’s humanity.

Then there’s Jonathan’s annoying, surprisingly loving and very funny family, a virtual Monty Python of misadventures. With this background, why is Jonathan so surly? Sam shows him a new perspective. But why doesn’t anyone call to check up if Sam is okay?

As always, Mr. Hall tucks profound thoughts where I least expect them. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the words, ‘I am perfectly calm’ uttered by an actual calm person.” Or, “Knowing when you’re beat isn’t a bad thing. Because now and again, you just are. And trying to hold onto stuff you’ve not got any more helps nobody.”

Beyond its multilayered characters, amusing plot twists, and playful interchanges, “10 Things” is Mr. Hall’s sweetest book, where well-earned bitterness is modulated by understanding and good will. Set at Christmas, it offers Mr. Hall a forum to examine loss and loneliness alongside the joys of family tradition.

Mr. Hall manages to create intrigue, yet saves the best for last, resolving a question that increasingly ate at me. This deepens all the prior byplay between Sam and Jonathan. Lovely!

While “10 Things That Never Happened” can be devoured as a deliciously fluffy confection for the mind and soul, it is much more. It shows true love’s contradictions - where the effortless comfort people find in one another takes hard work. This is why I love Alexis Hall’s romcom, a seemingly effortless gem which bestowed great comfort.

Fun, quirky and unique, 10 Things That Never Happened is a delightful read.

With wonderful characters, full of depth and personality, an unusual plot and so much heart, Jonathan and Sam had me from the get go. While their relationship was built by a lies, assumptions and a very thin thread, it morphs into something sweet, heartwarming and completely unexpected, that's bound to capture any readers heart.

4 stars and a Nexa by MERLYN 8mm Sliding Door Shower Enclosure.

Alexis Hall does it again. So much humor, so much wit - I loved it! Hall is such an amazing storyteller, it’s impossible not to become completely immersed in the characters. The banter between Jonathan and Sam was fantastic, and the progression of their relationship was believable. I loved the growth of both characters throughout the book. I’m so excited for the rest of this series and to hopefully see these two again! (Also if Hall wants them to make a cameo in Father Material I wouldn’t be opposed - I NEED an interaction between these couples)

Thank you to the public for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Grumpy boss? check
Sunny employee with a few quirks? check
An accident and memory loss? well...

I wasn't sure if Jonathon was going to have any redeeming value, but in typical Alexis Hall style, the quirky, sunny character worms his way in and starts to melt the grumpy heart... or guilts him into being nice...

10 Things That Never Happened builds slowly, unravelling each character and showing new elements of the characters in a way that brings out the best in both of them, while still maintaining their personality and flaws. Add in the classic Hall snark and some gritty reality that the characters need to wade through and you have a really good read!

Once again, I truly enjoyed getting to know Jonathon and Sam and look forward to seeing where the next book in the series goes!

After the middling experience I had with Husband Material I was cautiously excited to get back to Alexis Hall's "Material World" novels and I'm so glad to say that this one was back to Boyfriend Material form for me and I had a blast reading it. I loved Sam's voice in narrating the story and while I think the tone of it might not hit with everyone, it worked really well for me and my humor. I thought the fake amnesia plot was a fun kooky set up for a romance novel. I had read an actual amnesia plot before but never a fake amnesia one. Jonathan and Sam's relationship built at a really nice pace I thought, slow enough to hit that slow burn button for me but not the slowest slow burn around either. I also thought the secondary characters in this one were a delight on both sides from Jonathan's family to Sam's store coworkers.

This is charming, swoony, silly, and everything else I appreciate, enjoy, and expect from Alexis Hall's books. I think it's been made clear to readers that this is only tangentially in the same universe as the London Calling series, but it stands alone perfectly while having some of the same sense of humor and the same warm heart.

Alexis Hall is one of those writers where I will pretty much read anything they write. Even in their works that haven't been my favorite, I've always found something to love whether it is his signature wit or the giant groups of characters he brings together.

I was excited for 10 Things That Never Happened as it is in the same universe as one of my favorite literary couples (you know who you are) but are at the same a separate entity. It did take me awhile to warm up to both Sam and Jonathan who start the book as pretty unlikeable characters, probably on purpose. Sam's whole thing is that he is extremely loyal to his store staff, so loyal in fact that he will pretend to have amnesia in order to get close to their curmudgeonly boss so he won't fire all of them.

Because the conceit of this book, while extremely clever and in many ways fun, is rooted in deceit, it is hard to root full-throttled for the relationship while at the same time wanting both of them to fall in love and live happily ever after. Because this is a Hall book, it never goes exactly the way you want it while at the same time giving you a very lovely ending.

I had a lot of fun with this book as it went on and I really loved the ending but if you are expecting Luc and Oliver you are going to be out of luck. That's ok though because Sam and Jonathan are lovely in their own terrible ways.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for letting me read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Always enjoy Alexis Hall's writing, and this was a fun little holiday-set romance starring a minor character from the Boyfriend Material universe (who I honestly didn't remember from reading those books) and a manager at one of his bed and bath stores, who is the narrator. I thought the amnesia aspect of the story was a little silly/unnecessary, and definitely went on far too long - don't love that how it was resolved and then basically glossed over at like 95%. Also think this would've maybe benefited from alternating POVs, since it was entirely in Sam's perspective and I didn't feel like I really got as good a handle on Jonathan's character or how his feelings changed toward Sam. I loved the side characters, especially Jonathan's huge chaotic family, and the overall story was very sweet. Probably not one of my favorite Alexis Hall books, but definitely one I liked quite a bit!

I love Alexis Hall and 10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED continues the streak of funny, heartfelt, occasionally ridiculous releases I can't get enough of.

This book takes place over Christmas, and while the events are quite holiday-centric, it didn't feel like a Christmas romcom to me. I mean that in a very positive way, despite my love of holiday books. 10 Things That Never Happened uses Christmas as a backdrop to a smart, wry, often hilarious story about two people finding themselves and each other.

If you're in the mood for something cozy, funny, heartfelt, and Christmas-adjacent, check this one out!

I'm really sad to say this, but I really didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. I liked how slow-burn this was, especially in the first half. Jonathan is a really hard character to like at first, but you slowly start to see what he's about, just like Sam does. The humor was really hit or miss for me, tbh, especially when it comes to Sam's work colleagues.

I totally get what this book was trying to do with Jonathan's family members, but I'm sorry, I just thought they were super annoying. There would be pages and pages of his family members talking about nothing really and I just couldn't have cared less. The pacing of this book also didn't work for me at all. At the beginning, I enjoyed how slow moving it was, but the plot continued to move sooo slowly that almost all the important part happen way too late in the book, so that they barely have any breathing room, which was very disappointing. There were so many chapters and plot threads that barely seemed to contribute anything to the story and especially in the later half actively dampened my enjoyment of the book.

I can totally see how you can love this book, if you like the family dynamics and at least the relationship between Sam and Jonathan, I did really enjoy. But for me, it ultimately ended up being mostly disappointing.

So, amnesia-related storylines are not my favourite type of romance plots, but generally I have loved Alexis Hall's contemporary romances, so I made a rare foray in to the trope to see what he would do with it. And it's a lot of fun. It made me surprisingly emotional at times - and obviously *faked* amnesia is an easier sell for me than *actual* amnesia - although there are some issue still around how you un-fake the amnesia. It's a grumpy-sunshine sort of thing, and although I'm not sure we really got to understand enough of why Jonathan is the way he is - especially as he's so mean to start off with - and I wanted to know a bit more about Sam - but then when I did, I got what was going on there. I don't think I love it as much as I loved Boyfriend Material, but it's still a really, really good read.

This book had me laughing and crying and then laughing again.

I wasn’t sure how much I would be interested in the faking amnesia plot line initially but the love story between the two characters, Sam and Jonathan takes over to a point that you forget about the amnesia plot. So many raw and real emotions about life around the holidays and navigating that pressure we all feel.

Grumpy/sunshine is one of my favorite tropes and there’s definitely plenty of grumpy in this book. But the two characters balance each other quite well and I would love to see more of their love story develop.

Thank you to Net Galley for this arc read!

sam likes his job, but is not his boss’s biggest fan. when his boss, jonathan, fires him, and sam shortly bumps his head afterward, sam decides he can delay being fired if he fakes having amnesia. as sam works to keep this lie up, he realizes jonathan might just have a soft spot after all, and starts falling for him.

i’ve read a lot of books and fanfiction with the amnesia trope, but never one with a fake amnesia trope. this seemed really interesting to me and a chance for some laughs, and it was!

i really liked the growth that was shown both between the characters and individually. overall, this is a great pick for anyone wanting an adult romance book.

I'm being generous with these three stars but the writing wasn't horrible. This book is so damn long and I still feel like I don't know anything about the characters. Also, they simply had no chemistry. I still think Jonathan is an ass, the author never made me care for him.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This book had a lot of potential and I was excited to pick it up, but it left me wanting so much more.

Samwise (Sam) Becker works for Jonathan Forest, managing one of his bed and bath shop locations pretty poorly. When things look like they’re going south for him and for his team, he does something drastic, adding amnesia on to his concussion diagnosis and staying with Jonathan while he recovers. Jonathan opens up his home to Sam and starts to open up to him a bit while they’re together too. Sam sees a different side of Jonathan than the prick he is at work and actually starts to like him, making his fake amnesia feel like a terrible idea. Once they started actually talking to each other and interacting they were interesting together, but there just wasn’t enough of that. We learn a lot about Jonathan and his backstory, but Sam’s doesn’t come out until way too late, making it frustrating how one-sided things were for the majority of the book.

There’s so much opportunity here with their forced proximity but I felt like something was missing, especially with the growth of both Sam and Jonathan’s characters individually and as love interests. I didn’t feel the romantic connection between them for the majority of the book and really disliked how quickly things fell apart and went back together again at the end - all their problems and conflicts were just brushed under the rug and all of their problems just seemed to disappear.

Jonathan’s family and the staff at Sam’s store were good for a random laugh, but felt like distractions to the story overall. So much of the plot had to do with them and it made me question who the main characters actually were and what I should be invested in.

Overall this one was just fine for me - it had its ups and downs but left me feeling like I wanted more for the majority of the story.

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall is an absurd story about Sam Becker, a manager of a bed and bath store and Jonathan Forest, the owner of the franchise. Jonathan isn’t pleased with the performance of Sam’s branch; after an uncomfortable meeting where Jonathan fires Sam and his employees Sam falls and gets a concussion. Due to a misunderstanding at the hospital Jonathan believes that Sam has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything. Sam and his cat move into Jonathan’s home to recover from the concussion and amnesia. Sam never expected to be living with his boss, never mind falling for him all while pretending to have amnesia and trying to save his employees.

Alexis Hall writes wonderful witty books full of banter and humor. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. This book is full of your favorite tropes - enemies to lovers, slow burn, third act breakup and miscommunication. You do need to suspend realty in order to get into it. This is not a realistic love story. The plot is ridiculous but in a good way.

I did struggle a little bit while reading it because the relationship between Sam and Jonathan is harsh at times. They aren’t kind to one another, especially in the beginning. I can’t imagine speaking to my boss or a house guest in the manner that they talk to each other. As the story goes on they do develop a better relationship and open up to each other. Somehow they make it work and see the best in each other.

I love the family and friends. The side characters are some of the best I’ve read. You can’t help but fall in love with the kooky characters.

Personally I wish the miscommunication was resolved earlier in the book but overall I enjoyed it. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy MM romances, enemies to lovers, slow burn and witty banter.