This was such a cute Christmas romcom!! I love how Alexis is always able to write such amazing banter between their characters because it makes their relationships just that much stronger in my opinion.

My only very slight issue with this book was the side characters. It took me a long time to distinguish Jonathan’s family members from one another because they were all introduced at once and were often all featured in the same scenes at the same times. Once I got to read scenes with just Les, Wendy and Barbara Jane on their own, their personalities sung and warmed my heart but unfortunately that didn’t start happening until around the 70% mark of the book. I also wish the Sheffield branch team was featured more because I loved their banter that they all had with each other and Sam.

Overall this was another great book by Alexis Hall. It was cozy, adorable and hilariously witty and I’d love to see this book get a sequel!

Alexis Hall has a way with writing voice that is just so, so masterful and filled with humor. I really enjoyed that aspect of things. That said, much like with Boyfriend Material, it felt like this story was about 100 pages longer than it needed to be. And unlike Boyfriend Material, I really struggled to see the chemistry between the two main characters. This is definitely just a me thing since I've seen other reviews say exactly the opposite, but I also struggled with the love interest's extended family--there were too many players, making it hard to really fall in love with or get very invested in any of them.

Despite this, I read this book fairly quickly and really appreciated the temporary vacation from reality.

Summary:
Sam manages a Bed, Bath, & Beyond type store. Jonathan is the CEO of the company. After Jonathan tells Sam he has to fire some of his staff, Sam accidentally runs into a shower door and gets concussed. Sam pretends to have amnesia in order to avoid having to fire his staff. Sam ends up staying at Jonathan’s home for a long period of time and Jonathan takes care of him while he is *recovering* from his fake amnesia.

Overall thoughts:
I enjoyed the grumpy sunshine aspects consistently throughout this one and the funny back and forth banter. However, this was too long, had no steam, and was unexpectedly a Christmas romance.

What worked:
Grumpy sunshine premise and characteristics throughout
Funny banter
Slow character development of the two MCs

What didn’t:
This was a Christmas book? So much of it was about planning a Christmas party
The amnesia element/title of 10 Things That Never Happened wasn’t really as big a part of the plot setup and execution as I thought
Way too long
No steam at all. I thought this was a slow burn and then we only got a few kisses

This was disappointing but still had redeeming qualities if you want a grumpy sunshine Christmas romance.

Publishes October 17, 2023. This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think all of Alexis Hall's books have been exceptional and this lives up to the hype I've felt about his books. The consistent jokes, mixed with the real emotion you can feel from the characters provides this light and lovely read. I fell in love with all of the characters, and it's amazing that all the characters were fleshed out to the point that I could have feelings on the side characters too. I absolutely loved this book and I'm so excited to see what comes next in this series!

This book was fun! I haven't read Hall's other books, but I'd say this book gave me a good first impression. I loved all the characters so much - and there's quite a large cast here, so it's impressive how Hall's able to keep everyone distinct, unique, and lovable. It was also fun and refreshing to read a romance featuring retail employees, and all the bits of humor in the dialogue were delightful (such as everyone always referring to products by their full make, model, name, and description... "Nexa by MERLYN 8mm Sliding Door Enclosure" - exactly my kind of humor).

This book features movie-version amnesia: You have to kind of suspend your disbelief that the love interest is believing any of the narrator's story, and you have to get past some frustration while you're screaming "why couldn't you say you just don't remember the last FEW moments before the accident, why did the story have to be that you forgot LITERALLY everything?!" at the narrator... I'm totally fine with suspending my disbelief, but when there's a super obvious way the lie could have gone over better, it's a bit harder. I wish there was a bit more chemistry in the beginning between the two characters and I wish I didn't start out nearly hating one of them, but it did have a satisfying ending and was overall a fun romance! (And I got over my dislike for the love interest by the end).

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the e-ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebook for this advanced copy.

This book was completely hilarous and sweet at the same time. I loved everything about this

Sam Becker works a job as a manager at a local Bed and Bath chain. The work is terrible but the people there make his job worth it. Just before Christmas, Sam is called to London to meet with his boss, Jonathan Forrest, who is definitely not in the industry to make friends. When a heated discussion between the two leads to Sam hitting his head on a show room shower, Sam pretends to have amnesia to fool his boss into saving his job and his entire store. The ruse, however, becomes hard to keep up when Sam is staying with Jonathan to recover and he discovers that the man does have a heart after all.

This was a delightful rom-com read. Alexis Hall is easily my favorite romance writer. I love how their characters make you laugh but also contain so much depth. 10 Things That Never Happened was just this; A very funny and typical trope (amnesia) that leads to deeper understanding the characters and their hopes and fears. This is what I love about Alexis Hall, every book is more than just a romance plot. The couple for this book (Sam and Jonathan) was very fun to follow and had a great "Grumpy/Sunshine" dynamic. As always, Alexis Hall gives us AMAZING and funny side characters to round out the story. This will be a great read for people around Christmas and I love the themes of family within the story to accompany the holiday cheer!

Well this does it, I'm officially an Alexis Hall fangirl.

This is the perfect enemies to lovers romance, featuring Sam and his boss Jonathan who are temporarily living together due to the fact that Jonathan accidentally caused Sam to have a severe concussion and amnesia. This accident occurs during an argument where Jonathan fires Sam and perhaps a few members of his team as well... Seeing as Sam doesn't have anyone at home that can take care of him (at least not to his knowledge, but to be fair he does have amnesia...), and no recollection of what happened to cause the accident, Jonathan forces Sam to stay with him, mostly to make sure Jonathan isn't looking to sue him and his company. Sam on the other hand, does not have amnesia at all but is taking this opportunity to fake it, and to try and make Jonathan change his mind regarding the firings.

As it turns out, neither Sam nor Jonathan is what the other expected - and sometimes that is exactly what you need.

What makes Alexis Hall such a great writer, is that the characters are so well thought out, and so devestatingly human that it feels surreal to think about the fact that they aren't real people. The humour and warmth with which people are described, and allowed to be flawed, is nothing less than absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to read number two in this series.

After not enjoying Husband Material or Mortal Follies, I was hoping this book would redeem my relationship with Alexis. Unfortunately it did not. I'm not normally a fan of amnesia plots but there are a few books that have enjoyed. This was definitely one of those times that it didn't work for me. I didn't really like any characters (except the cat) and just felt like the amnesia plot line should have been resolved sooner. I'm not sure if I will pick up any future books from Alexis and that saddens me as a fan of their earlier works.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved this and any book Alexis writes is magic.

Honestly, I wasn't in love with this. Pun intended. The fake amnesia/enemies to lovers tropes are usually well and good, but this went on maybe a little longer than it should've. I didn't love the characters as I had with Alexis Hall's other books. By the time I got 3/4 of the way through, I just wanted Sam's deception to end so that the climax could happen, Jonathan confronts him but then realizes he still loves him and takes him back. Jonathan's family oddly reminded me of Clark and Ellen Griswold's families in National Lampoon Christmas Vacation but with accents. And speaking of the accents, as a pathetic American, it was hard to decipher the accent that was written in to the book. A definite 3 out of 5 because it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

Jonathan Forest is an Ass. Also, Sam‘s boss. So when he overhears Sam‘s employee calling him His Royal Dickishness over the phone, Sam has no choice but to follow his demand to show up in the London Location of the Chain of Bed and Bath Stores he works as a manager at. When a stern talking to escalates to harsh words, Jonathan firing both Sam and his entire team and Sam getting a concussion, Sam takes any chance he can to keep his team’s jobs safe. Including faking amnesia and moving into his boss’s house for two weeks. What could go wrong?

This was absolute chaos. Glorious, fun, giggly chaos. I swallowed this book whole. Was Jonathan kind of an ass? Yea. Did Sam just not know when to stop? Also yes. And it made for same damn good banter. The story was honestly silly. The whole premise didn’t really make sense. But it was a really fun, lighthearted romantic comedy about family and personal growth and forgiveness. It could have touched a lot more on specifically Sam‘s past and I’d be happy to read it if something like that came out. But bottom line: this was a fun, silly book that’s just a sweet read. Recommend for a nice read with a lot of character growth and crazy Christmas vibes.

DNF at 73%

Spoilers ahead.....

Let me say that I am an ABSOLUTE fan of this author, and I never in a million years even THOUGHT that I would not end up not finishing. I also don't DNF likely, so this was not an easy choice.

This book started off AMAZING, I have so many pics from my Kindle that I was sending to friends while reading. And laughed out load a few times. I found the premise hilarious, if not overdone "fake amnesia" and a tad toxic lol.

I was not a fan of how rude Jonathan actually was, It was at the point where it was revealed why Jonathan and his dad's relationship was so strained, that I just decided this is too much. for me, personally. One of my FAV tropes is grumpy sunshine and this was not grumpy, this felt more unkind and selfishly hurtful.

40% of the book was Jonathan being rude and Sam telling him he is being rude and them fighting about it.

Its now 73% in where they are on their way to Sam's store, that I became SO ANXIOUS for the 3rd act break up after all this miscommunication, and Im sad to say I could not push through as I know its going to be bad.

I love this author and I will DEFINATELY read future releases - this one was just not for me, and that's totally okay.

I have rated the book 3 stars here and will not be reviewing the books on my Intagram or Tiktok platform as a dnf.

Thank you for approving me for this read.

I loved that neither Sam nor Jonathan was perfect, or perfectly gorgeous, and the family was a bunch of bumbling weirdos too. I did not really like the interactions with the Sheffield group mostly because it was very manic over a generally manic speech anyhow. I adore Alexis's dialogue skills - it's my favorite part - the banter and the general way you can feel the feelings just from the discussions. This was lovely. Brian should have been fired.

My first Alexis Hall book! Thank you to Netgalley for the e-Arc.

This was really fun, and hilarious. I’m a bit of a grump so it’s rare for me to laugh out loud at anything, but I did for this (well, a breathy laugh, it’s as close to laugh out loud as I get). Especially at that chicken scene. I also found great joy in the British-ness of it all, especially that the MC is from the North, not a perspective I read from a lot in books. For extra points, there was a cat.

It got a bit slow in the middle, but the cuteness made up for it. I think I’d also like a bit more character development and growth.

A solid 4.5!

So cute and Alexis Hall writes British witty banter and sarcasm like no other. Really enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope, done very well here, and the cat was an especially nice touch. Lots of Britishisms that were a bit confusing to this American, but that's fair. Really great story and cast of characters.

Perfection! A sort-of spin off to Boyfriend Material/Husband Material- You see a familiar face or two.. 10 Things That Never Happened is like a 1990’s rom com came to life in my hands! I absolutely loved it! Now to wait for the next book!!

This was a solid romance book. The plot was fascinating, the characters were realistic, and the trope was well-played without being too stereotypical. I was expecting the written aspects of Sam's accent to bother me, but they were very well done.

I really enjoyed Alexis Hall's previous similar romcom so I was excited to read this and it ended up being Fine. I felt like the spark that I had enjoyed in her previous works was missing, I didn't feel the need to tear through this one. Protagonist fakes amnesia and ends up living with his grumpy Hunk boss and hijinks ensue. My favorite part of the book was really the Hunk's family dynamics, because they reminded me of my own, and the romance was secondary for me because this alleged relationship built on a big lie felt kinda icky to me and I can't imagine lying to my partner like that. Don't get me wrong, this was still a pleasantly diverting read, but I would describe it overall as nice, nothing more.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and the banter that makes me keep coming back to Alexis Hall's novels.

10 Things That Never Happened weaves together several tropes - slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, grump vs. sunshine - all in to a fake amnesia set in London at Christmas. Hall has the ability to create not only relatable main characters but also distinct supporting cast with their own unbelievable personalitities. From Brian and his tea and coffee misfortunes to Jonathan's family and even Gollum, Sam's cat, the world Alexis Hall creates keeps intrigue throughout the entire novel and leaves the reader hopeful for a sequel.

Overall, another great novel by Alexis Hall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review.