This was a decent romance with exactly the sort of story I enjoy: Hannah answers the phone to Davey, who was trying to dial for a job interview but called Hannah by mistake. She politely wishes him luck, and when he gets the job, he texts her to let her know.

If you like romance plots about characters who are seemingly destined to be together because the circumstances of their relationship seem like fate, you'll love this one! Added bonus - it's ACTUALLY romantic.

I absolutely loved the premise of this, as a die hard You've Got Mail fan. I loved the idea of messaging and getting to know someone with no real idea as to who you're speaking with.

While we spend a lot of time with Hannah, I would have liked to see a little more from Davey and get more of a background on him and his life, especially with his cancer diagnosis. For this reason, I felt the writing style was a little unbalanced and didn't always work for me.

It deals with a tougher topic than I was expecting as I first went in, and I appreciated how it was written and dealt with.

This was a five star book for me. From the very first chapter I was intrigued and drawn into the story. Characters I cared about and that felt very real. I really enjoyed that we only had one persons point of view until the middle of the book and then all the pieces started coming together. I found this story incredibly romantic and I’m now eager to read more by this author.

A very enjoyable book that was a bit like an rollercoaster going from happy to sad.

Hannah receives a call from an American called Davey who has dialled the wrong number, this is the start of a beautiful friendship that looks as though it might turn into a romance. Then of course we think things will go from strength to strength but we have the unexpected in the book and then we have the unhappy period.

I really enjoyed the book and could not put it down.

Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning of this book gave me all of the good feels - the best of which was probably the giddiness. I found myself absorbed in the growing relationship between Hannah and Davey, yet holding myself back and expecting something bad to happen. It was all a little too perfect…

Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted the turn that this book took, I spent the last 200+ pages with my heart in my throat, wondering how what I thought was going to be a ‘nice easy romance’ turned into a fantasy gone wrong. But this is also why I loved this book, it’s real and raw, and so, so relatable.

I was sent a download of this book a long time ago and set myself the goal of finishing it this week with the help of a borrowed copy from my local library. I’m grateful for the push of getting to know this story and the journey it’s taken me on. Whilst still feeling a little heartsick - I can definitely say it’s a book that packs a punch

When I first read about this book, I had the feeling I was going to love it. A man in the US misdials a woman in the UK and they then become friends and slowly fall in love? It sounded just my kind of read. I mean, I don't even know how many times I've watched You've Got Mail and somehow this reminded it of the movie. Lucky for me, The Man I Never Met delivered what it promised and more!

The connection between the two characters is palpable and I loved their long distance interactions. And then, when he disappeared it almost broke me. It was such an emotional and heart-wrenching story. And really well written and paced. I really cared for these characters and I am in awe of Elle Cook and her capacity to create such interesting characters.

If you have loved Josie Silver or Beth O'Leary, then pick this up immediately!

The feeling upon finishing this book is, 'That was nice'. Throughout the book, however, the thoughts are 'What are they doing?', 'Well, that's a weird word choice' and 'Can I bash their heads together?'.

It feels like a fun plot, though strangely executed.

The story of Hannah and Davey is nice; they are likeable characters and one roots for them to succeed, either together or simply as individuals. Yet, they spend so much of the book apart and without contact that their relationship just seems silly when looked at objectively. Crucially, over the course of a year, they have one phone call and one text is sent. That's it.

Unfortunately, it didn't feel like enough of a connection was established between them in the first hundred pages to make their pining for the next two hundred seem anything other than bleurgh. Therefore, the reader follows their insecurities and worries, empathises with them, but still wants to throttle them. Their two months of communicating is nice enough, however, it is written primarily in indirect speech. As such, one is told that they have these lengthy discussions late into the night, in which they bare their souls to each other and form a meaningful connection, but one doesn't get to see it happen. You're told to go with it but without being given the emotion, which feels like lazy writing.

On the subject of the writing, periodically, there is a strange word choice made. For example, Hannah will be calling Davey and then 'turn her phone around' to take a selfie, and she has no urgency to view the flats around London. Complaints about the existence of front-facing cameras and a faux-representation of the housing market aside, the story relies on conveniences. Of course, these will always occur in the microcosm of a book, but they should feel embedded enough so the reader doesn't notice. Although, in fairness, once one element of anything begins to annoy, it's easy to find further faults.

That idea sums up my reading of this book; in a quick thought, the book is good- it has some funny dialogue, it's full of travel, explores some commonly-occurring traumas and discusses relationships of differing kinds- but it doesn't take much dwelling upon to deem that it lacks heart. I truly wouldn't have minded if Hannah and Davey didn't end up together.

Also, why is there a cat on the front and back cover? There are zero cats or mentions of cats in the whole story.

A very good read
Has many emotions in this book
It will pull you in from the first page to the last and you will not want to put it down
Thanks NetGalley

I loved this book and I recommend it to all of my friends! I loved how a wrong phone call could turn into a friendship so quickly as I myself have a friend who lives in America and we talk often!
This book dealt with the difficult issues of cancer, chemo and cutting people off to spare them when you feel you don't have any other choice. I found myself laughing and crying with the characters as the story developed,
I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for an eARC copy. All views are unbiased and my own.

This was amazing. I don't have the words to describe how this book made me feel, and I would honestly love to see it as a movie, which is saying something since the film industry rarely gets book adaptations right. This story was full of near misses, a whirlwind romance, deep heartbreak and a second chance.

I rarely read books set in London, but it was nice to actually recognise, with familiarity, the locations mentioned in the book.

I loved all the main characters (and those that they loved). I love that we got to read about their everyday lives without feeling like it was unnecessary. Even parts that didn't contribute to the main plot were interesting. The character development was honestly inspiring and it even made me do a little bit of self-reflection.

I know some reviews mentioned the ending feeling rushed, but I think that was on purpose and it worked perfectly for the plot. With life-altering events taking place, that changed the course of the romance, it's expected that the end will feel rushed. Our characters are rushing, but after so much time, it's justified. As Joan says 'Death moves fast'.

I honestly loved this book and will be purchasing a physical copy, and I'm so upset it took me so long to finally pick it up.

I love the premise of this book, but really struggled with the main thread. It's obviously super personal to the author, but it was a little bit heavier than I was expecting for a cute holiday read!

This book was the perfect romance. I loved it so much and the long distance thing? Yes please. It was so different to what romance books usually are so that was really refreshing. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

i’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read this book. The whole “will they, won’t they” had me in a chokehold the entire book! & the ending was so perfect it had me squealing and tearing through the pages.

Davey is just beyond perfection and deserves the entire world! George, it is on sight🥊 i hate him with every fibre of my being!!

I literally cannot recommend this book enough!

Great story about a pretty heavy topic that the author covered brilliantly

Not often you can get the balance right between a rom-com and seriousness, but Elle Cook delivered.

I loved reading Hannah & Davey’s story I couldn’t put it down. A captivating,beautiful book. A must read 📚

The Man I Never Met is a meet-cute tale with a difference. Little does Hannah realise that when she answers what she thinks is a spam call that the random stranger on the end of the call would become such an important person in her life.

Davey was supposed to be ringing for a job interview to relocate to London but instead ends up talking to Hannah. Even though they are on different sides of the world, they form an instant connection and over the course of a few months, texts and calls turn into video calls and they begin to make plans for the future when Davey arrives in London.

However, their plans are soon thwarted and have to be put on hold maybe forever. It's hard to say much more without giving spoilers other than something major happens which means that they will both have to pick up the pieces of their lives without the other.

The story is mainly told from Hannah's viewpoint although we do also get chapters from Davey's point of view which enables us to follow how both of them were coping with everything that they are dealing with. I loved both Hannah and Davey but so many times I wanted to bang their heads together to get them to just talk to each other. I could understand why Davey reacted the way he did but why push those who care for you away in your time of need. As for Hannah, I took an instant dislike to her friendship turned relationship with someone who I thought was a toxic character. I didn't like the person she became the more time she spent with him and wanted her to realise that she deserved so much better.

My one criticism, and it's a minor one, is that middle section was a bit too drawn out and that the ending seemed a little rushed. I would have loved maybe a couple more chapters to see how things played out.

Overall I enjoyed The Man I Never Read which I devoured over a 24 hour period.

I have had this book on my Kindle as a NetGalley ARC for months now and I’m honestly cross with myself for not reading it sooner because it was absolutely excellent!

This is an incredibly moving tale of love and heartache between two characters, Hannah and Davey, who live on opposite sides of the Atlantic. A chance phone call to a wrong number, and so begins the moment that two lives change forever. The book starts with Hannah and Davey’s communication gradually increasing from texts to phone calls to video calls, and of course, their feelings for each other gradually increase too. I loved this part of the book. I loved them getting to know each other and reading how excited Hannah was to speak to Davey. Their long distance film date was swoon worthy 😍

For many, this kind of long distance relationship would be hard to maintain, but not for Hannah and Davey, because Davey is moving to London. The rest of their lives together is about to begin. Until it doesn’t. Because life doesn’t always turn out the way you hope it will. I don’t want to spoil the plot and say too much, but there is a strong theme of illness in this book, which whilst explored sensitively, it is also explored realistically which may be hard hitting to some readers.

I don’t want to discuss the plot from there on much more because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it is very emotional and I certainly felt a rollercoaster of emotions whilst reading it.

I loved everything about this book (except George, I didn’t love him, nor Charlotte!!!) from Hannah and Davey, to the plot itself, to all of the other secondary characters like Joan and Geoff, Miranda and Paul, Grant, Clare etc. It was SUCH a good read. It had much more depth than we are led to believe based purely on the synopsis/front cover. I honestly implore anyone who hasn’t read this book to read it because it is so worth it!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not at all what I expected ... in a good way.

I expected a light-hearted romantic comedy about a long-distance relationship full of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. While there were funny scenes and a lot of the dialogue was quippy, I'm not sure I would call this a comedy as the main element keeping Hannah and Davey apart is his cancer diagnosis, an extremely serious topic with which the author has personal experience.

I liked both Davey and Hannah - I think Hannah was very relatable, for most of the book she didn't have everything in life figured out and was more-or-less happy to just go with the flow, often to her own detriment. It was nice to see how she matured as the story progressed. I also though the supporting cast of characters were well developed - everyone who should be likeable, was likeable, and those who weren't supposed to be, were not. I would have liked to see more of Davey's parents.

I didn't really like the writing style at the beginning - it is written in the first person, primarily from Hannah's point of view with some chapters later on from Davey's - and the first few chapters reads like the diary entries of a teenager. It got better though.

Overall, I had a good time reading this. It was nice to revisit London, but to also see the characters in other environments and how differently they behaved.

I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I opened this book. There have been similar premises I have read before which have dealt with the huge “will they, won’t they” topic fantastically. And there are those that haven’t.

What we have here is a novel with characters you will adore. They are really what drives the novel forward.

It is achingly tender and a little bit heartbreaking.

Highly recommended.

I absolutely adored this book. It made me laugh and cry, and then silently scream with excitement at the end.
Hands down my favourite book of the year so far. Also, Steve’s message (in the acknowledgment section) has been passed on to my own husband, so success all round. Thanks so much to Elle Cook and NetGalley for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.