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A review by readwithmeeks
10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
3.0
*3.5 STARS*
I liked this book, but I thought I’d like it a lot more. It took me over a week to read, which is usually an indicator for me that I’m not loving a book.
Here are some things that worked:
• Sam’s cat and the comedic relief he provided.
• That it was a Christmas romance, which I did not expect.
• The banter between Sam and Jonathan. They had a good grumpy/sunshine vibe, and them quipping back and forth was probably my favorite part of the book.
And here is what didn’t work for me:
• Unfortunately, the romance was a little lackluster. This is supposed to be a rom-com, but Sam and Jonathan’s romance often felt like a subplot. I needed more chemistry between them, because it felt like they went from enemies to lovers without much evidence to support their feelings.
• All of the technical talk about the bed and bath business. I really could have done without the name of the shower Sam fell into being repeated 15 times. It was a long name and despite how many times it was said, I still don’t remember its precise title. The same thing happened with a few other products, like Jonathan’s toilet. There was also a lot of talk about budgets and other things I just did not care about. I get that this was a workplace romance, but the work talk was just too much most of the time.
• The fake amnesia storyline grew very tiresome very quickly. So much time was spent on Sam pretending to have amnesia, being conflicted about it, but carrying on anyway. And in my opinion, he was forgiven way too easily.
• Jonathan’s family often felt like the main storyline, which is a bummer when you’re expecting a romance. I liked their characters, but there were a lot of them and sometimes it was hard to keep them all straight. I also didn’t love how much time was spent on Jonathan’s dynamic with his family when so little was spent on Sam. We get one paragraph explaining what happened to his family, after hinting at it for the entire book.
• We only get Sam’s perspective, which I know is common in romances, but I really wanted to hear from Jonathan. Again, we get one paragraph where he tells Sam why he likes him. I want to hear his inner thoughts when he starts spending time with Sam, his feelings on Gollum, etc. I think the romance would have felt stronger and more believable if we had gotten a few chapters from his perspective.
It’s always so hard to review a book when you have mixed feelings. I did like reading it and I think others would too, but it’s hard to ignore the issues I had with it.
*I received a free e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I liked this book, but I thought I’d like it a lot more. It took me over a week to read, which is usually an indicator for me that I’m not loving a book.
Here are some things that worked:
• Sam’s cat and the comedic relief he provided.
• That it was a Christmas romance, which I did not expect.
• The banter between Sam and Jonathan. They had a good grumpy/sunshine vibe, and them quipping back and forth was probably my favorite part of the book.
And here is what didn’t work for me:
• Unfortunately, the romance was a little lackluster. This is supposed to be a rom-com, but Sam and Jonathan’s romance often felt like a subplot. I needed more chemistry between them, because it felt like they went from enemies to lovers without much evidence to support their feelings.
• All of the technical talk about the bed and bath business. I really could have done without the name of the shower Sam fell into being repeated 15 times. It was a long name and despite how many times it was said, I still don’t remember its precise title. The same thing happened with a few other products, like Jonathan’s toilet. There was also a lot of talk about budgets and other things I just did not care about. I get that this was a workplace romance, but the work talk was just too much most of the time.
• The fake amnesia storyline grew very tiresome very quickly. So much time was spent on Sam pretending to have amnesia, being conflicted about it, but carrying on anyway. And in my opinion, he was forgiven way too easily.
• Jonathan’s family often felt like the main storyline, which is a bummer when you’re expecting a romance. I liked their characters, but there were a lot of them and sometimes it was hard to keep them all straight. I also didn’t love how much time was spent on Jonathan’s dynamic with his family when so little was spent on Sam. We get one paragraph explaining what happened to his family, after hinting at it for the entire book.
• We only get Sam’s perspective, which I know is common in romances, but I really wanted to hear from Jonathan. Again, we get one paragraph where he tells Sam why he likes him. I want to hear his inner thoughts when he starts spending time with Sam, his feelings on Gollum, etc. I think the romance would have felt stronger and more believable if we had gotten a few chapters from his perspective.
It’s always so hard to review a book when you have mixed feelings. I did like reading it and I think others would too, but it’s hard to ignore the issues I had with it.
*I received a free e-ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*