Reviews with content warning for Grief - 10 Things That Never Happened

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

28 reviews

katievallin's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED follows Sam, a manager of a bed-and-bath retailer whose boss, Jonathan, is a dick. His royal dickishness. Generally a frustrating person to work for, someone who is currently determined to fire a number of people proportional to how much Sam has managed to irritate him during Sam's visit to the main branch. Except, right after Jonathan fires everyone in Sam's branch, Sam trips, hits his head, and accidentally lets Jonathan think he has amnesia. Then he purposefully lets him think he has amnesia. What he definitely has is a head injury/concussion, so Sam needs to spend a few weeks at Jonathan's place so someone is looking after him. Jonathan has an enormous, empty house that he refuses to let be filled with his (loud, often annoying) family for Christmas.

They key to the success of 10 THINGS as a(n enemies to lovers) romance is that Jonathan has reasons, very understandable ones, for all the frustrating things he does. Sometimes he's probably right, sometimes he's just very wrong and hasn't had anyone willing to endure his ire long enough to show him a different (gentler) way to do things. He lives for his work, barely uses his enormous house, and only contacts his housekeeper via text message. Even when he is right, he doesn't seem willing to take the time to explain his reasons, which makes him look like a petty tyrant. Sam can't live like that, not even for a couple of weeks. As Sam tries to make a good impression so that Jonathan won't fire everyone for real at the end of this, he starts to understand Jonathan and genuinely like him as a person.

This is the start of a new series, but a few details midway through establish this as occurring in the same universe as BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, some time after the events of HUSBAND MATERIAL. It's not enough to spoil either of those books in any way, but specific enough to be an obvious reference.

This has a lot of genuine sweetness in it, with a melancholy thread which pays off towards the end. The main plot resolves in a way which doesn't specifically indicate what might happen next, I could easily see this series continuing to follow Sam and Jonathan, or following a new couple where at least one person was present in this first book.

Things I love, in no particular order: Sam's cat, everyone listing exact models of the bed/bath furnishings, Jonathan's family, the way the fake amnesia is handled.

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historical_drama_queen's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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pho_ar's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I honestly just hugged a book, but it deserved it because I felt like it was giving me a hug this whole time.

Jonathan and Sam are great and their chemistry and how well they get to know each other is so sweet and heart warming.

Did not realize it was a Christmas book, but Christmas is April is seldom a bad thing, it felt nice having the Christmas cheer and family and rom com shennaigans during this stressful time, I honestly wished I could stay there.

The fake amnesia plot was great in setting stakes and just being so laughable, but also like would I do the same, like the probability is not zero.

All in all I had a good time and just couldn't stop smiling/crying(there are some heart wrenching parts too).

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13_dear_reader_13's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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gale_bruckner's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A lie is a terrible way to begin a relationship and that's sort of Sam's entire problem. Because he's been lying to himself so long I don't think he considers the ramifications of what he's about until it's far too late. But it's also sort of the best thing he's ever done because that lie, and all the reasons for it force him and Jonathan to spend time together, gives them a chance to really see each other, and time to come to grip about how much they like what they see. I do think accountability is important; I also think they're taking a note from Elizabeth Bennett about good memories begin unpardonable.

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