“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.

I did not finish this book. I made it about halfway before putting it down. There were a few things that stood out to me that I couldn't get past. One of my biggest issues was how there was a lot of repetition and it felt like it was simply to add to the word count. For example in Chapter 9 when the housekeeper and Sam are having a conversation and they are discussing the shower model. I was also put off by the amount of cursing and how the same words were used over and over (dick and fuck). While I do not mind cursing in a book, and mostly enjoy it, I felt the sheer volume lacked creativity. I also felt there was a lot of "fluff". There were meaningless back & forth conversations, that again, felt like it was not value added and there to add to the length of the story.

Outside of the writing style, I did not fully connect with the characters, especially Jonathan. I think in order for a reader to connect with an unlikable character like Jonathan, we needed to see some positives about him earlier. Unfortunately, all we received was negativity (lack of empathy, aggressive, selfish, etc.). He wasn't a villain I was rooting for to improve because I didn't get any of the "good" in him. No little glimpses to offset the bad I received. As a reader, it was challenging to want to keep going.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me.

This story was my first by Alexis Hall, and I loved it so much that I went out and bought almost the full back catalog!

Sam is a slightly lonely, slightly lost branch manager of a bed and bath retailer, and Jonathan -- or his Royal Dickishness -- is the grumpy and deeply unhappy owner of the chain. One day they enter into a fight and as a result Jonathan fires Sam and his entire team. And here's where the story would have ended, if not for the Nexa by MERLYN 8mm sliding door shower enclosure, which meets Sam's head when he falls in it, causing him to lose his memory. Except that's not true, only a result of a mild miscommunication. A miscommunication that gives Sam a chance to start fresh, rebuild his relationship with Jonathan and save his job and his team's jobs.

While Sam stays in Jonathan’s huge apartment to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion, they start to get to know each other day by day, and we get to know them as very different but nevertheless equally kind and vulnerable people.

I loved everything about this story: the tender friendship Jonathan developed with Sam's ugly cat, the caring and yet dickheaded way Jonathan was protective over Sam. The slow and careful buildup of feelings between Sam and Jonathan makes my heart squeeze even now while I am writing this review. Sam is so brave in expressing his emotions (even though for most of the book he is a big big liar), and the way Jonathan lets himself be vulnerable with him, while admitting how scared he is just heartbreaking. Jonathan knows that he is not an easy person to love, and it is incredibly rewarding to watch Sam prove him wrong.

I found myself agreeing with Jonathan on an alarming number of occasions -- honestly, his family would have put me on edge too! But Sam turns out to be a perfect addition to the family, as he smooths out Jonathan’s sharp edges and calms down his family’s crazy.

And in addition to all that heartwarming emotion this is also a very funny book! I highlighted like half of it -- witty jokes and observations, inventive insults and one-liners. Sam is a wonderful protagonist, I was delighted to spend hours in his head. I admit the book is kind of long, but I wouldn't remove a word from it!

The story reads like a warm Christmas movie. In fact, I am planning a reread for one of those cold weeks when the snow falls slowly outside my window, and I am warm under my blanket with a cup of tea and my kindle. That is if snow decides to make an appearance in Belgium this December.

I don't think I'll shut up about this story any time soon and I am not even a little bit sorry. Just remembering moments from the book brings a smile to my face. A huge thank you to Alexis Hall for this story. You have got yourself a fan for life.

10 Things That Never Happened was an absolutely perfect book to bring a smile to my face. It is the story of Sam, a man working at a bed, bath and beyond kind of place for a horrible boss, Jonathan, when Sam has an accident at work (involving said boss) and after such accident, Sam fakes amnesia to avoid getting fired along with his team. Oh, I loved this book so much. The banter is hilarious, oozing with sarcasm and clever one liners. The romance feels like a warm hug and the supporting characters are absolutely brilliant, particularly Sam’s co-workers. Sam getting sucked into Jonathan’s chaotic family and their antics at Christmas is the perfect escapism for all of us. Life is stressful right now. Do yourself a favor and read a book that will make you happy.

I loved the grumpy/sunshine aspect, I loved the side characters, and I loved the humor and honestly the storyline in general. As a gen-fic book, this was great. As a romance, it was a bit lackluster. I never really felt the chemistry between the characters, nor did I feel like they were a good match. I am starting to realize that this author just may not be for me outside of a couple random books, and that's ok! Not every author is a match for every reader.