Cover Image: The Man I Never Met

The Man I Never Met

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Member Reviews

This book was really amazing. I read it in one day, which says a lot because I don't normally read that fast!
I think it did a great job at tackling some really sensitive issues and quite triggering things that unfortunately a lot of people face. (TW: terminal illnesses). The story was great from the very start, well paced and an interesting plot line. It got even better in the second half when the male's perspective was introduced!
I did find that things slowed down pace wise towards the end of the book and felt there were some things that weren't necessary. That being said though, I still loved it and would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a romance where you are so invested in the characters and hope they can beat all the odds stacked against them!
I felt so sorry for these characters and cried way too many times (which to me, is always a sign of a great book).

4 star rating, because the ending did feel slightly rushed for me and would have loved to get just a bit more detail on where they ended up but nonetheless a great book!

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"I can only think about what it will be like to see him, to meet this man I am 99 per certain I am falling for."

I loved the concept of the book and how it was a story that didn't fall into the typical flow of a romance genre.

The book mainly focused on the POV of the female lead, with dual POV much later in the story. The beginning of the story and the development of the chemistry between the two main leads I enjoyed.

However I found that the middle section of the story struggled to continue the ease of the flow we began reading. I believe as the characters were stuck in places they didn't want to be, the pacing and development slowed to match that.

I would have loved to have had dual POV much earlier in the story, but that is my own preference.

Overall a good book for those wanting a story outside the normal arcs of romance books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an eARC.

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This is the best book I've read in a long time - and I read a lot!
Hannah receives a wrong number call from Davey in the US. They develop a long-distance friendship, then gradually their feelings deepen. Arranging for Hannah to meet Davey at the airport, we wait with bated breath for this love story to explode....but Davey wasn't on the flight and isn't answering his phone.
What follows is heart-wrenching and powerful. I lived through this with these characters, it felt so real to me.
I was on tenterhooks right to the final chapter.
This is a fabulous, brilliantly written book and would make an amazing movie. Please read it!

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This was a very sweet love story (in the end!) and I definitely felt like shouting at both Davey and Hannah to get over themselves and call each other!! Yes, predictable, but also full of warm and fuzzy feelings and a lovely read about falling in love with the person themselves, (and only a little bit their appearance!)

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Firstly, thanks to Elle Cook and Netgalley for allowing me access to this title - it was a fantastic read!!

Elle, you write so beautifully, its so vivid and your characters are great. Their development throughout the book was evident and I loved the concept of the book. I've never read anything like this before and my standards where high and you did not let me down!

I was angry when Davey didn't show up but I was rooting for them. I wanted him to tell Hannah and try work it all out. I was shouting, laughing and aww-ing at times. Highly recommend.

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I was right there with them falling in love and it was such a well written story of how two people in different countries can get to know each other and fall in love. Their romance was a rollercoaster and Elle Cook wrote so well that I felt it all.. my only gripe is the ending, what happened!? Why was it reduced to a summary??? Poor writing or poor editing- but it is the only minor point I can find to mark it down so would be 4.5 stars really but 5 it shall be

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When Hannah answers a call from an unknown number she discovers she's been misdialled from a man in America called Davey whose supposed to be having a job interview. After wishing him luck she thinks nothing of it until she receives a message saying he got the job and hes going to be moving to London and they begin to chat regularly. Romance soon follows and they agree that Hannah will meet Davey at the airport.
But Davey doesn't turn up and when Hannah finds out the reason why it changes both of their lives. Will they find their happily ever after?

This was a really good story. It kept me gripped and I didn't want to put it down there was parts that were heartbreaking.

Every character was very fleshed out and I loved the friendships Hannah had. George was the worst character and honestly have no idea how Hannah could even speak to him.

The ending let's this down a bit I feel the author could've given us more but overall a very enjoyable story and highly recommend.

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I loved this book. Its my read of the summer so far.

I've never read this author before but I really enjoy her writing style.

The book is fun, fast paced, funny and a bit of a roller coaster ride.

I'll definitely be looking out for other things by this author

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This wasn't the romance book I expected to read from the synopsis but over all an enjoyable read. I always enjoy a dual pov so see the internal monologue of more characters. The ending was a big let down which was condensed down to a few sentences.

Thank-you for the ARC.

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This book was an unexpected delight. I loved the romance. It wasn’t your run of the mill cute romance. It goes far deeper than that. A perfect accidental relationship.

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This is such a unique romantic story that I absolutely loved throughout, and I was so invested in Davey and Hannah’s relationship from the start!

The main antagonistic storyline within this novel is quite a hard-hitting topic, and if you struggle with reading novels that surround life or death medical issues, then this may not be the book for you.
When things started to get in the way of Hannah and Davey’s romance, I was aching for things to hurry the hell up and let them be together; they were just so perfect for one another!

Hannah’s character was very relatable, I found parts of myself within her, which helped me empathise with her and the struggles she was going through throughout the book. Davey is the perfect book boyfriend, someone who you wish was a real person (or that men could at least learn from in real life!!) and I was really heartbroken for him when his life was turned upside down.
I also loved the side characters, Miranda, Paul and Joan specifically, were great additions and made me feel all warm and fuzzy that Hannah had such amazing friends and family around her.
I liked George at the beginning of the novel, when he and Hannah first started out, but then he soon starts to show his true colours (not caring about the things Hannah loves, judging her friends, judging her on what she eats!!).

The only thing I did not enjoy about this novel was the ending. It felt rushed and I really wanted a bigger and more in-depth resolution for Hannah and Davey, they'd certainly earned it!

Without saying anything else that may risk spoilers, I would definitely recommend this to any romcom lovers & I look forward to reading more books from Elle!

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3.5
Well… this was cute. I adored the concept and the plot, and although I wanted to strangle them both at times, I gotta say I didn’t want to stop reading and wanted to find out what happened chapter after chapter.
Very adorable. For sure a cozy read for the winter to come.

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#adprproduct 📚 #mustreadmonday⠀
The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook ✨⠀

So I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover but I can't be the only one guilty of it right?!⠀

Based solely on the cover expected this to be a fluffy easy read, you know one you can read before you go to sleep, a cosy I know where this is going kinda read... ⠀

BUT man I was wrong - It was so so much more! It took me by surprise, stole a piece of my heart & secured its place in my top reads of 2022!⠀

I got sucker punched with a twist & after that I couldn't put it down! I stayed up way way past my bedtime because I had to know what was going to happen.⠀

It was jam packed with all kinds of emotion & I absolutely bloomin' loved every moment of it! ⠀

It's not out till November 24th, but I cannot wait to get a real copy to get a copy for my trophy shelf, I'll definitely want to read it again. ⠀

I can't recommend it enough 💕 ⠀

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

🧐 What was the last book that completely took you by surprise in the best way?!

❤️ A BIG thanks to @penguinrandomhouse @cornerstone_press & @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to discover this absolute gem of a read!

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Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't read anything by Elle Cook, and I requested this one because the description intrigued me. I have to say I was impressed by this. I thought this was an easy romantic contemporary read, but honestly, it was so much more than that.

This book deals with cancer, body image, unhealthy relationship, and so much more. The main characters (Hannah and Davey) are likable and realistic. The side characters are likable too (Wish I could read more of Joan). While it's a romantic story, the author writes it realistically.

The only thing I didn't like was how the ending ended, wish we could read more of them, say a few pages more.

But it was an enjoyable read!

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First time in eight years a plot twist surprised me out of a blue and it was a romcom. 😪

I love romcoms, but I think I was not this book's target audience. The start was very simple and very promising — Hannah and Davey fatefully connect with a 'called your number by mistake' trope, develop an attraction, and 1/3 into the book, things are rosy for them with plot geared up to drop the other shoe quite soon.

But then the shoe dropped, it was not in the way I expected. The plot twist came out of the blue and hit me in the face the way truck-kun hits an isekai protagonist. As one can extrapolate from that description alone, I did not enjoy it. As someone who had experienced getting diagnosed seemingly out of nowhere with a condition that fundamentally changes one's life, I did not relish getting blindsided by this development. I didn't see it coming and after double-checking the synopsis, it was not forewarned anywhere. I do not like to use the phrase 'that was triggering,' but honestly, kind of was.

I persevered and finished the book.

I expected the story about ups-and-downs and struggles of a couple whose relationship started long-distance and who had to cope with both learning each other as people face-to-face and with the culture shock of one of them moving overseas. Instead I got a weepy, mawkish, cliche storyline about two people who could have solved roughly 70% of their angst if they communicated better with one another.

The Man I Never Met felt like a navel-gazing, involuntarily jerky flashback into post-A Walk to Remember 2005-era fanfiction.net. I've been there, I lived through that, I don't want more of that.

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

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Was this the rom-com I was expecting? No. But was it a good book? Yes!

I enjoyed the premise of this book a lot & was really rooting for the main characters. Although some of the book was a little slow paced for my liking, I just couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to Random House & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

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The premise of this book had me intrigued from the start, however it isn't as much a long distance romance book as two very different lives taking some hugely emotional & devastating twists and turns. I have to be hones and say I really wish there had been something in the blurb that warned of a cancer/chemotherapy active storyline, I know this probably creates a spoiler and I will mark public reviews as such, but for me personally I would have preferred to know that before embarking on reading it. Having said that,I was hooked on the book by the time that plot emerged and I felt able at the time to persevere, it was handled sensitively and reading the author's notes at the end I can see why, and what an important potential this book has.
I loved both characters, the dual point of view chapter helped with the voice & flow and the peripheral characters, especially Joan, were perfect!

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A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The story follows Hannah, a British gal working in marketing and living a comfortable life. She goes out with her friends every Saturday for drinks, she likes to frequent the gym and have Saturday morning catch-ups with her neighbour, Joan over coffee. An unexpected call from a wrong number leads to a surprise connection with an American hottie named Davey, and the two quickly begin chatting everyday. Their friendship turns into the promise of something more, both looking forward to Davey moving to London. Only Davey doesn't make it to London due to unforeseeable issues. With their relationship in an uncertain place the couple decide the best thing to do is move on from each other at this time. But will fate bring them back together?

Ok so I read the blurb for this book and I thought it sounded promising, a love story, some angst, something that keeps them apart for a little while, all fine and dandy! I usually prefer more romance-based books so this was out of my comfort zone. But the twists this book took I did not expect! I thought this was going to be a romance with some obstacles in the way for the couple to overcome to find their happy ending but what I got was a whole lot of depressing moments, a toxic relationship between the main character and an other man for a majority of the book, and a glimpse of a happy ending on the last couple pages.

Though I didn't really like the storyline, the author did a good job of writing the characters as I was invested in their journeys. There were times I wanted to shake Hannah with the way she let George treat her as well as my excitement as she ran through the train station in that particular scene. I was also massively invested in Davey’s storyline and there was plenty of eye rolling from me in terms of some of his decisions as well as the similar need to give him a good shake. There was definitely chemistry between Hannah and Davey I just didn't get to see enough of it, I would have loved if the end was just a bit longer too!

Overall it's a good complex and emotional book, with character growth and personal journeys, it just wasn't my cup of tea but I'm sure it will be others!

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I COULD NOT put this down. It sent me on an emotional rollercoaster and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The storyline was brilliant (although the sudden cancer plot line threw me for a loop), and the characters were really well developed and loveable (except George. Fuck George.)

I love that this was a love story about two people that hadn't even met yet. I also enjoyed Hannah and Davey's separate journeys of self discovery, until they finally had their happy ending together. Who knew a book could be depressing AND heart warming at the same time?! I'd definitely recommend this as a quick, easy read.

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