I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

So, at first, I thought this book was amusing. Ellie and Max seemed to have the perfect relationship, but this novel clearly underlined that not all is as it seems, as Ellie quickly finds her relationship isn't as flawless as she believed.

It was distressing to consider that someone may wake up one day and forget a significant portion of their life. I truly felt for Ellie when Max didn't remember her, and I felt he didn't stand up or even try at first. It was very cleverly designed to make us detest Max and forget what he must be going through!

Throughout, there was a sense of mystery. It was pretty frightening to contemplate on how much may change in a relatively short amount of time, as well as how quickly technological advances as human life evolves and develops.

The ending was really good though and I was happy with how it all came together <3

I really enjoyed this book, it’s the first book in a while that I would say I’ve got a little lost in, I found myself just wanting to keep reading and before I knew it I’d practically finished the book and stayed up way past my usual bed time.

A really lovely sentiment but with some little comedy moments put in as well, there were a few moments when I could feel myself fighting back a few tears as it did get a little emotional. I really liked experiencing Max and Ellie falling in love all over again and seeing him interact with Sasha was magical and this gave the book such a lift.

it was a really touching, emotional and heartfelt book that will leave you with a smile on your face and you’ll find yourself wanting to know what all of the characters get up to next!

Another fab read from Bell.
An intriguing plot & I couldn't wait to see how it played out!
Ellie is a brilliant character and the supporting cast are good fun too.

This book was different to what I was expecting, but in a good way. It wasn’t all hearts and flowers romance, it actually had more depth to it whilst still maintaining its overall Romance genre. It also actually made me really think, what would I do if I was in Ellie’s predicament and my husband had lost his memory of us meeting, dating and getting married? Very sweet story overall, , really enjoyed it. Yet another great book from Anna, the third book of her’s Ive read.

I absolutely love Anna Bell books and they are now an autobuy for me. Which I did with this book as well as having it from netgalley. This was such a lovely read and I struggled to put it down from start to finish.

Wanted to like this book more than I actually did... The start, at least until Max loses his memory, dragged a bit and I had to force myself to push through. What really interested me was how these two would get their relationship on track again after such a big spanner thrown into the works. Enjoyed that part, though it did leave me with an enduring level of sadness.
This is not a breezy, feel-good read, so be warned this one is very sad and emotional.
The ending also didn't really live up, but the core of the book was finding love again amidst amnesia, and that was okay. Just, sad in a bitter-sweet way

The Man I Didn’t Marry by Anna Bell is the story of Ellie who is married to her best friend’s brother Max with a daughter and another on the way. When Max suddenly loses his memory he forgets the last five years of his life and consequently forgets that he is married to Ellie, only remembering her as his sister’s shy and nerdy friend.

To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect with this and although I’ve enjoyed previous books by Bell, I wasn’t keen on We Just Clicked so I approached with caution. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised and I enjoyed this a lot! I did listen to parts of this on audio, and I thought that the story worked well in this format as it felt conversational- particularly when characters were chatting.

When it became apparent that Max had lost his memory following a traumatic event, Ellie and his family were keen to find out what had happened and I enjoyed the sleuthing element of the story. Although it was obviously important to find out what triggered his memory loss, I felt that it was well-balanced with other aspects, such as Max learning about events which had happened (such as Brexit and Brighton being promoted to the Premier League) and Max and Ellie working through their marriage. I enjoyed the scenes of Ellie trying to recreate dates that she and Max went on and how she helps him bond with his daughter again as well, as well reading about Ellie’s friendship with Rach, Max’s with Owen and also the introduction of her NCT friends. I thought that the final events in the story worked well with the different people included. I will say, though, that I wish that the storyline with Max’s parents had been shorter, as I felt like it dragged a bit and wasn’t very funny.

Even though the subject matter could have been dealt with in a very serious and quite sad manner (as it is clearly very traumatic), I never felt that this was the case here. The book felt light-hearted and upbeat even when dealing with something distressing and succeeded in acknowledging the severity without making the story upsetting.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: amnesia/memory loss

I've been in love with Anna Bell and her writing style for years, so I knew I was going to love this before I'd even picked it up - if there's one thing Anna Bell is, it's a reliably fantastic writer!

Ellie is married to her best friend's big brother, Max, with a toddler already and a baby on the way. When her husband suffers a traumatic incident he forgets the last five years, which includes all the time they've been together. Now he only remembers her from years ago, as his sister's nerdy friend from school.

I felt there was something a little magical / time-travel like about Ellie trying to recreate past dates and win Max over again. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and found it a hard book to put down. It's really funny too.

I really enjoyed this book. Full of great characters and humour, which is much needed right now. I did find it a little difficult to get into at first but then found I couldn't put it down. Another excellent read from Ann Bell

I enjoyed this; a bit far-fetched but sometimes that’s what you need!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This was such a lovely read and I enjoyed it thoroughly from start to finish.

The subject matter is potentially a difficult one, especially if readers have experienced loved ones with memory loss and the pain that comes with it. However, I think the writer has approached this in a light-hearted, warm way that does not try to explore the suffering that is associated with such a disease. For Max, he seems to have suffered an emotional trauma causing him to lose his memories of the past five years. It’s called dissociative amnesia and the doctors are confident that Max’s memories would return ‘any day now’. Of course, this is not the case and Max’s family try and evaluate what news he really needs to know and what they can spare him from. This entails many funny scenes as his wife and parents determine whether Max needs to learn about Brexit, the state of American politics and presidency and, more closer to home, the breakdown of his parents’ marriage! Poor Ellie is frantic because she is heavily pregnant with daughter number two and Max has no memory of their first born. Not only does Ellie have the task of encouraging Max they do have a successful marriage, she needs him to re-bond with their daughter.

Yet, this does not become a straight-forward task, as you would expect. This is what keeps the story light-hearted and so warming. From Ellie tweaking Max’s memories so she gets a better ‘version two’, to the charade that Max’s parents try to maintain to convince their son they are still happily married, the story follows the couple as Max re-learns who he is. At the same time, Ellie is making new friends from her ante-natal classes and I loved how this added a further dimension to the story. They are a great bunch of supporting characters and I liked watching how both circles came together in the final scenes.

What I liked so much about this story was that whilst the memory loss seems quite an unusual occurrence, the characters are all very realistic and likeable; there was not a single character I disliked. Bell portrays the lead-up to Ellie’s birth as something that provoked many personal memories and I think the writer truly explores what it is like to be heavily pregnant, trying to juggle parenthood, whilst having a very absent husband at the same time.

Although this is a fun, sweet story, with many laugh-out-loud moments, I liked the more serious note to Ellie and Max’s reunion. Despite Ellie trying to recover the Max she once knew, I think she comes to realise that learning to love each other again does have its advantages. There is a wobble in this path as Ellie starts to doubt the moments leading up to his amnesia, but I think the couple come out stronger than ever. Max has a lot to learn again but I also believe that Ellie recognises a different aspect to their relationship that needs to be treasured going forwards.

A lovely read that had me engrossed from start to finish. There were plenty of laughs and smiles as man and wife start from scratch in their relationship, despite the second baby arriving imminently!

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A story with amnesia, count me in!

Ellie is pregnant with her second child, feels like her marriage to Max is going perfectly. Then she gets a call saying something is wrong with her husband, she rushed to him to find out he's forgotten the last 5 years of his life.
Max remembers her as his little sisters best friend and calls her spider, bad times.

I devoured this book for 70% ish and then once we found out how Max was triggered to loose his memory I was out. I was into the mystery and wanted to figure it out but I think because I was attached to Ellie and Max so much it just made me roll my eyes.

The author can certainly write but the twist left me wanting more after investing my time.

3 Stars

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this like We Just Clicked but it wasn't it for me. I liked the writing and the characters for the most part but i didn't like the story that much. I would read another book by Anna Bell as I love her as a writer but i don't think this was the book for me.

I enjoyed this book on the whole but parts of it felt totally false and unbelievable . I didn’t love it.

‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ is the latest book by Anna Bell.

Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years. Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right? As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?

Even though Anna Bell has released nine books, this is the first one that I’ve read by her and it was an uplifting yet poignant story.

The story is seen through the narrative of Ellie, who falls in love and marries her teenage crush Max, who’s the brother of her best friend called Rachel. Pregnant with their second child, they’re looking forward to expanding their family until one day Max just randomly loses his memory and can’t remember the last 5 years. The most significant years of his life, falling in love, getting married and becoming a father. Now, Ellie is left with a man who likes to flirt with strange women in front and she’s terrified that his memory will never recover, so she decides to recreate some of the most important moments in the hope that it will jog his memory.

I loved this story, it’s witty, it’s fun and it’s downright scary how someone’s memory can just disappear. Ellie is a great character, she’s nerdy which she is not apologetic for and is still in awe after marrying her crush but she’s consumed by a fear that she will lose him so she tries to ignite the memories with disastrous dates from drunken beer pong to horrible French restaurants. Her love for Max is evident and it’s hard not to fall for him, as he’s sweet, handsome with his roguish behaviour. It’s sweet and somewhat sad as he veers between the joy of rediscovering his new life and his fear of his memory not returning fully.

The plot line is an interesting one and made this quite the snappy read. Whilst trying to help Max reclaim his memory, Ellie has also joined a maternity group and they are a fun addition to the story, from the snobbish Anneka who’s always got a story to tell to the outspoken and incredibly horny Helen!

Fun from the first page with relatable characters that made for enjoyable reading. This emotional rollercoaster is a romantic comedy at its finest, teamed with witty one liners and the odd tearjerker moment, ‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ is a captivating comedy about a second chance at love.

You can buy ‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops.

Well I was always going to be hooked on a book that starts with a mention of Comic Con, as it just appeals to my inner geek, and well Ellie is a bit of a geeky girl at heart! And the first time she re-meets her long time crush while dressed as Wonder Woman is just fabulous.

And that is just a bit of the prologue, fast forward a few years and Ellie and Max now have a daughter, and a couple of months away from being parents again, when Max suddenly develops amnesia and forgets everything about the previous 5 years about his life.

He doesn't remember being married, having a child, that his parent's have divorced, but on the other hand he did forget about Donal Trump's presidency and Brexit! And although apparently the memory could return at any time, Ellie decides she needs to get Max to fall in love with her all over again.

We also get to know her new group of friends from the antenatal class, and the situation with Max's parents and the farce of what is going on with them culminates in an absolutely hilarious scene that I was laughing out loud at.

In fact there are a lot of laughs to be had, as well as the mystery as to what on earth Max was really doing the day he lost his memory. I loved how the couple try to reconnect and there are some humorously disastrous dates, and all manner of brand new memorable moments being created!

There are many side storylines too, which were also engaging and I loved pretty much all the characters, and they all felt quite real. I was really caught up in their lives during the afternoon I spent devouring this book.

It was Anna Bell at her very best, a humorous but memorable story about making your husband fall in love with you all over again, and more..

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Anna Bell's writing, she has to be up there with one of my favourite romance/women's fiction writers of all time, and this book was absolutely no exception to her talent. I loved how creative the storyline was, and all the different elements that were included in this book. There were multiple parts of the story which all intertwined into one which I absolutely loved and it was a very easy story to follow. I loved the relationship between Ellie and Max and the way that we see it grow.

Four years ago on a night out with friends, Ellie bumps into her high school crush, Max. They hit it off and end up together with their second child on the way. However, life changes overnight for them when Max suddenly can't remember the last few years of his life. Thinking that Ellie is still just his little sister's nerdy friend, forgetting all about family dramas in his life etc.

Whilst there is hope that Max will regain his memory, Ellie dedicates her time to get him to fall back in love with her and discover the life that they once had. Although there is a different version of Max appearing and Ellie begins to like this one more than the one she married.

Brilliant book. Funny and relatable, a totally addictive read. Would recommend this book to anyone.