TW: cancer, weight loss, fat phobia.

I’m not a massive romance reader, however this was one that I hugely enjoyed.

I really liked the ‘one that got away’ trope, despite the fact that it equally frustrated and devastated me at times (hello, the airport scene?!).

I really liked Hannah as a character, and enjoyed her friendships. I do feel like she could have had a bit more spark about her at points, especially when I was almost yelling at my kindle for her to sack off George.

I do wish we had more of Davey and Hannah’s relationship included in the book. I feel like it focused a lot more on her and George, and their evidentially awful relationship. I so wish we had more than a couple of pages of Hannah and Davey actually interacting in person.

Other than that, it was a really enjoyable read!

This is the most incredibly romantic and heartbreaking, yet heartwarming stories I've read in a long time. It made me laugh out loud, cry ugly tears and got me right in the feels. Cannot recommend it enough!

What a perfectly lovely book! A solid missed-love romance, with an excellent main character, lovely supporting friends and a will they, won’t they story. I absolutely loved this whole book and absolutely recommend it! Thank you so much for this arc

I couldn’t have loved this book more. It’s a sweet romcom story about serendipity, being in the right place at the right time and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Great characters, an investable plot, and a fun but rushed ending 🥺 There’s some tough topics covered in this story and I found my eyes tearing up a fair bit.

Hannah and Davey meet because he accidentally calls the wrong number when he was meant to call someone about a job interview. That call changed both their lives once. They stayed it touch and planned Davey's move to the UK from Texas.

What changes their lives a second time is when he doesn't turn up in the UK and it's because Davey's been diagnosed with cancer. (Spoiler)

Davey's perspective changes because of his diagnosis and he pushes Hannah away. Heartbreak follows but her life continues.

I did really enjoy the premise of the book and thought it had the potential to be devastating as well as bringing joy. Big shout to Joan, Hannah's neighbour! They are so cute together, meeting for Saturday morning coffee and biscuits over the fence.

I do think George is a wasted character when the whole book I only cared about Hannah and Davey. George is in over 60% of the book and the relationship he has with Hannah doesn't seem right from the start. He's a bit of an idiot.

Hannah should have fought more for what she loves...she was passive in her life so she sticks out the relationship with George till she sees Davey on a train in London and things come to head.

The passage of time in this book was fun as it's spread out just over a year. Getting Davey's pov helped bring his life to the front of the story and show his pain.

Everything gets resolved and two weddings happen in the last 20% of the book. Too much happens too quickly, it's a shame because the middle feels wasted when so much could have been explored.

Overall I enjoyed it but it's not going to be a book I love. I recommend it though..

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher ✨✨

Loved this rom-com book on serendipity.
Hannah receives a wrong number call from Texas, they gel instantly with calls, messaging then video calls ending with the hope of meeting up when Davey moves to London, but things don`t go as planned for them both.
An easy book to read that got me engrossed from the beginning, wanting to know what happened to them. and me shouting at the book telling them what to do.
Well worth a read, would definitely recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Such a brilliant, clever, funny and romantic story. Loved it from start to finish and was totally invested in the characters and their lives. I really didn't want it to end but I really wanted to know what happened!

Thankyou to penguin for this very real and heartfelt book .


romance , General fiction adult , women fiction

can you imagine falling head over heels with someone you will never me neither but wow this book really shows you how it can .

I'm going to try keep this spoiler free for anyone who looking forward to reading this ,This book is like the saying goes don't judge a book by its cover , the story starts off very cute sweet fluffy , but my gosh it soon turns a corner and didn't it pull the rug from under my feet , it did hit me hard and didn't know if i could keep reading but I did and I'm glad I did even with tears in my eyes at times , as the was times of joy .


The characters i loved them both Hannah very chilled and maybe little lonely to start but as the story goes on you really see her character grow its great to read .Davey just as amazing and you can really connect with them both . as the story progresses on it goes in to a dual Pov which I really liked .and how they are trying to navigate their way in a very hard time , its great to see Hannah has a great support system behind her even the hot gym instructor hello .

The only thing that I wasn't sure about was ending I felt was bit rushed but over all a great read .
i give this book 4,5 heartwarming stars .

I really loved this story, chick lit at its best! Great characters that I was quickly invested in, an easy enjoyable read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, 4.5 stars.

I thought I would try something different, but this was too far out of my comfort zone. I just didn't get excited by it and found it slow and dull. Sorry not the book for me.

Wanted to love it and enjoyed what I read but moved onto a subject I just don’t want to read about at all so stopped reading.

I’d seen a lot of hype for this book and therefore really wanted to read it. For me, it didn’t absolutely blow me away but it is a very solid, beautifully romantic, indulgent novel.

Talk about a sloooooow burn 🔥 I honestly couldn’t put it down, I was just dying for the characters to meet. I also found both MCs so likeable! Definitely recommended this, my only criticism is that I would have loved more of an epilogue!

I loved this ARC so much, I read it in practically one sitting. 🙃
Its more plot, very little spice but sometimes that's nice to break up all the smut 🙊

I fell in love with Hannah & Daveys characters from the very beginning & from that very first miss dial I was rooting for them to be together! 💕 George, whilst he had his place as a rebound, I mean the subtle fatphobia & trying to stop her putting biscuits or ice cream in the trolley, sorry get in the bin George, it's a no from me. ✌🏻

I loved Joan. I need a Joan in my life, with her over the fence coffee & biscuit chats every Saturday morning and gossiping about Hannahs love life from an older ladies POV. 🥰

This book drags you through the ringer, I liked how Elle dealt with serious issues whilst keeping things light hearted with humour & friendly banter shown between Grant & Davey. I liked that from about 50% in you finally get Daveys POV, that just made me adore him all the more! I feel his character development was better than Hannahs although she did have some personal growth in there, it just took ten long months to get there.

It's definately a slow burn & fairly predictable, if you've read this you will know I was SCREAMING at the train scene but that's what keeps you on your toes, you know its going to happen but getting there is a slow process.. That last fifteen minutes was EVERYTHING ✨️💕 it did feel slightly rushed & id have liked more once that had happened but over all I loved it. 🤌🏻

Thank you @netgalley, Random House for the ARC copy.

I feel conflicted! This book wasn't what I expected, in a great way - going in, I expected a storyline on ghosting based on the title alone, so was pleasantly surprised to find it's way more complicated than that. However... it's sad! Prepare for that. It also feels incredibly drawn out, covering over a year. The timing felt a bit jumpy occasionally.

Lots of other reviewers have said the same, and I agree - after being so drawn out, it felt frustrating that the ending was rushed, packed into a few sentences.

If you can be in it for the long haul, and you're looking for more character development than a HEA, I think this is the book for you!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 on goodreads.

3.5 stars

Loved the premise of this book and the characters were well written.

I think the initial long distance relationship was addressed in a way many people can relate to. As well as this, the way that Hannah and Davey interacted was so sweet and heartfelt.

It definitely pulled at the heart strings with Davey’s story and I think it was the most realistic description of that event I’ve read. This was most likely helped by the personal connection to it.

I don’t feel I can give it 4 stars because it was VERY predictable and there weren’t many plot twists. The formatting was a bit off but that doesn’t affect the star rating because it was an ARC. I would recommend to people looking for a light, easy, predictable romance. Essentially, don’t have high expectations of a “sweep you of your feet” romance. Still a good book though.

Thank you NetGalley

Oh this was such a good book! I read it over a weekend and just had to find out what would happen next. It is so well written, I really liked the characters and at some points had a tear in my eye and others had a smile on my face. I definitely recommend this book and will be looking out for more books from “Elle”. Thank you #netgalley

DNF Review

1 October 2022

As much as I wanted to enjoy Elle Cook's novel "The Man I Never Met", it just didn't grab me eventually.

The romantic story about a man and a woman from two different parts of the world might appeal to readers who enjoy the long-distance relationship trope.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for letting me give the book a chance anyway.

I like many others started this book thinking it would be a cozy light romantic story of a long distance romance between Davey and Hannah but I found it took on a much deeper serious note which I was not prepared for.

Overall I liked the will they wont they build up but I felt the last few chapters felt rushed and that the ending was missing something for me.

When I went into this I expected to find a romcom, but this was sooooo much better! Elle Cook tugged at all my heartstrings with this and left me crying all the tears!

The story is heartbreaking but lovely. It makes you wonder whether fate does exist and if two people who never really met can actually fall in love. I loved the characters and was immediately rooting for Hannah and Davey. I especially loved the growth both of them went through throughout the book! It felt realistic and relatable to watch them come to terms with their problems.

This left me wanting more and I can’t wait to see what Elle Cook writes next!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for providing this e-arc. In return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review. This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Storygraph accounts as well as my bookstagram within this month.