4.5/5

Alexis Hall has an uncanny way of marrying deep introspection with witty, hysterical banter and endearing romance that I eat up every single time. Sam and Jonathan were so sweet and I squealed so many times listening to the audiobook. The side characters are so real and heart warming. I love how you can see both of them grow and affect each other over the course of the book, it just feels natural.

My only slight quivels were the slight absurdity of the amnesia, even though it definitely feels like something Sam would do, and the lack of Sam background. For the POV character, theres a startling lack of background for Sam. I think it works for the story, but I would have liked to see Jonathan and Sam interact more with it.

Overall, loved it. Excellent writing. Hilarious storytelling. Amazing holiday romcom.

I was very excited to finally review this title. However, I am choosing to withhold my review due to Hall’s recent comments regarding JKR and HP references in the Pansies re-release.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to @macmillan.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

A Charming and Witty Rom-Com

Alexis Hall's 10 Things That Never Happened is a delightful romantic comedy that delivers on its promise of witty banter and heartwarming romance. The story follows Jonathan, a grumpy and privileged businessman, and Sam, a charming and resourceful employee.

Hall's signature style is evident throughout the novel, with sharp dialogue, witty observations, and a healthy dose of British humor. The author's ability to create relatable and endearing characters is on full display, as Jonathan and Sam slowly but surely develop a deep connection.

While the plot is predictable at times, the execution is flawless. The author's attention to detail and ability to craft believable and engaging characters elevates the story.

The audiobook narration by Will Watt is excellent. His performance captures the unique voices and accents of the characters, enhancing the listening experience.

Overall, 10 Things That Never Happened is a delightful and heartwarming read that will leave you smiling.

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillanaudio #10thingsthatneverhappened #alexishall

Short synopsis: Sam is pretty sure he’s getting fired by his infuriating boss. On his way to their meeting Sam trips and bumps his head, feigning amnesia.

My thoughts: This was such a fun adorable escapist read. If you’ve ever worked in retail before you’ll get lots of fun little anecdotes, the good the bad and the ugly.

I loved the way the characters interacted with each other and the growth both of them went through. It wasn’t easy for their chemistry to work, but eventually it did.

Read if you love:
- Workplace romance
- Fake amnesia
- LGBTQ+ characters
- Grumpy Sunshine

I absolutely love Alexis Hall. I love his writing, his characters, and his plots. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one. I wasn’t interested, nor was I entertained. I’ll definitely read more from Alexis Hall, but this one wasn’t it.

I really love this story! Two broken and imperfect people, a boss and his subordinate, are comically force-proximity-ed together as Sam gets a concussion and accidently implies he has amnesia right after his entire branch got shut down by the owner, Jonathon. As Sam discovers other sides to Jonathon, he has to navigate keeping up the lie, dealing with Jonathon's family, and planning a Christmas party all while falling hard for his boss.

The narration of the audio was incredible. It made the jokes funnier and highlighted the funniest gimmick of the story, that is giving full product names to what the store sells. That was so absurd it put me in a good mood for the rest of it. The relationship is complicated, and the characters feel real with their flaws and hardheaded-ness. I really enjoyed watching Jonathon open up and how blunt yet communicative they were about their relationship as it unfolded. I do really wish it was open door but I understand not every romance needs to be- I just think it'd fit these characters well.

The cover doesn't match the story at all. I honestly thought this was apart of Hall's other series and avoided it as I prefer picking up stand-alones. A new cover would do the story so much more justice! Maybe making it wintery could help.

I always know that Hall is going to gift me a lighthearted, funny, and emotional romance. Throw in a touch of enemies-to-lovers tension and I am in romance heaven! "10 Things That Never Happened" features a fake amnesia plot that leads to a delicious enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Sam and Jonathan. With its blend of humor, heart, and romance, this is another win from Hall. I found her books to be the perfect blind of love and humor, a dose of real life with serious moment but characters who know that in the end, love conquers all.

Holy misleading cover, Batman. I did not realize this is 100% a Christmas book. Better than a typical Christmas romcom, though! This was Alexis Hall at his best--hilarious, heartwarming, with a colorful cast of characters and an adorable romance for an unlikely pair. It was a little too long in my opinion, so I might not add it to a holiday rotation of re-reads, but it was immensely enjoyable.

I am a huge fan of Alexis Hall and all of their books tend to do well at our library. 10 Things That Never Happened was no exception.

This funny little rom-com follows Sam, who doesn't hate his job but is a so-so worker as he fakes amnesia so his boss, Johnathan won't fire him.

It's a bit of he's a 10 but he's your boss, a bit enemies to lovers, and a lot of fake amnesia love story.

A bit heavy on tropes, but it doesn't have to be a literary work of art to be good, fun and/or entertaining. There are a lot of readers out there that love tropes, myself included. It's why they exist.

I wouldn't say it's the strongest of Hall's works, but its still a good book to spend the afternoon reading. Fluffy and lighthearted.

What happens when you throw together two gay men who can't stand each other? They fall in love, of course. At times, 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall feels a bit too trope-heavy, but other moments strike the perfect balance. Despite that, I found myself rooting for the couple and really enjoyed the premise. And hey, in an alternate universe, wouldn’t it be fun if this happened to me? (Don’t answer that! LOL) It was the perfect Sunday read—lighthearted and relaxing, with a few moments of levity thanks to the characters' wonderfully complex families. I needed a break from thrillers this weekend, and this book hit the spot. Definitely recommended!

3.5 stars rounded up

Well. This one doesn't quite packs a punch (feelings-wise) as Alexis Hall's other books as far as I'm concerned. It was. Genuinely funny. Hilarious, even, in parts. Which did confuse me a tad, because I'm used to crying my way through his books (and pretending to hate it...). But this one made me laugh out loud. It was. Comforting. And sweet. And although the romance felt a bit underdeveloped for me, I absolutely adored spending time with Sam and Jonathan. And Gollum the cat. And Jonathan' entire family. It was just a really nice, not-angsty (it feels so weird saying this about an Alexis Hall book...), sweet and funny story.

This is a fun British enemies to lovers, fake amnesia, Christmas love story. So cute! I love both of the main characters, even if I hated one of them at the beginning. Love the Lord of the Rings nods.

I really wanted to like this book and there are definitely parts of it that I enjoyed but overall the plot was not well conceived and I desired so much more from it.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC! This book is classic romance but I am here for it - corny LGBTQ love!

i'll devour whole anything alexis hall reads, and this book was certainly no exception. jam (or jonathan and sam) have my entire heart and then some. (and gollum of course.) watching jonathan's crunchy exterior melt away as sam weaseled his way into his life was sublime. sam getting a family he had been missing for too long was such a balm. this book had me laughing aloud in the middle of my workplace, so thanks for that, alexis. what a wonderful romance that i now get to yell at all my friends to move up on their tbrs.

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

Sam Becker is sentimental and to save his career and friends, he panics to survive and pretends to have amnesia. Jonathan Forest wanted to fire Sam and appoint a better team to the branch of bed and bath store Sam was managing. Things didn’t go as planned. He needs to care and get Sam better!

Now they have to have new first impressions, open talks and support each other. When they understand each other, will they want to stick to the decisions taken before the fake amnesia?

This is was a really fun read! It was hilarious and still impactful in its message. Written well with good character development, I am definitely reading the author again someday!

This was my first Alexis Hall book and it did not disappoint!! I've heard amazing things about their writing, and I loved the representation in this book, and how swoony this romance was. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who wants a cute, LGBTQ+ romance, with lots of cute, sometimes embarrassing, heartfelt moments.

Sam fakes amnesia when he is afraid to face his boss with the possibility of getting fired. Johnathon, his boss, has to decide whether or not to fire Sam, as he originally planned, or deal with the guilt when Sam has suddenly lost his memories and any indication that he was about to be fired. Sam learns that Jonathon has a softer side to him and the two slowly form a friendship and fall in love. The fact that Sam was faking amnesia the entire book and refused to tell Jonathon honestly was comical. I loved that part of the plot and loved the way that Sam and Jonathon slowly showed each other the hidden parts of themselves. I loved how flawed the characters were, and that we got to see the messy parts of them, while seeing Sam and Jonathan grow to love the flawed parts of each other. I loved the feelings of second hand embarrassment for how the characters acted, while also feeling giddy about how cute and how in love they were. This was such a cute romance, that gave me similar feelings to Red White and Royal Blue, which is one of my favorite romances! Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the free book in exchange for my honest review!!

This was my first Alexis Hall book, after hearing so many friends and trusted reviewers rave about their work! I have yet to see reviews of this one pop-up, and let me say... THIS BOOK IS CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED.

If you are debating what format to read for this one > AUDIOBOOK 100%.

This book (keeping it spoiler free) has one of my favorite meet cutes ever, and the narrator adds SO MUCH dimension and humor to the character. I was cackling every other page on this one, it was too good. This book was 5+++ stars and one of my favorite reads of 2024 (and I have read over 70 books to date). No notes, Alexis Hall I am in the fan club, and will be reading more stat.

And to narrator Will Watt- YOU NAILED IT! WELL DONE!!!!!

*Thanks to Netgalley/Sourcebooks Casablanca for my gifted e-book copy, and to Dreamscape Media/LibroFM for my gifted audiobook copy! All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounding down to 3. I enjoyed this story, and I'm looking forward to the others in this series by author Alexis Hall. The basic premise definitely requires a HUGE suspension of disbelief, both as you start the book and as you keep reading, and I'm not sure that the boss was completely believable, either, but... this was definitely an enjoyable story and it kept me engaged and entertained all along the way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Did I spend a lot of this book dreading the truth reveal? Yes. Did I end up loving everything about it in the end? Also yes! The characters in this book are just so inherently likable. They’re easy to root for, quirky, and just so much fun.

As a pretty standard rom-com, the slow burn was gorgeous, the introduction of the cat was stunning, and the shenanigans were cute. It was pretty much everything you expect from a closed-door love story. Jonathan and Sam just work together as main characters in that grumpy/sunshine way that’s so enjoyable to read. The tropes weren’t too heavy-handed and Alexis Hall did an amazing job of telling a fake amnesia story without going cringe.

The humor throughout the book and overall plot points and events made the dread of the reveal and any potential hurt seem just distant enough that it was—at times—easy to forget, but also so much more realistic as the reveal really started creeping up. This book is tomfoolery in the most heartwarming way.

I absolutely recommend reading this if you like slow burn, romantic comedies, and lighthearted love stories set around Christmas.