10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

TL;DR: I think the tropes in this just weren’t for me.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much!

Plot: Fake Amnesia to bring together a boss and employee with lots of family in the mix
Characters: I liked Sam! Not really Jonathon though and that was probably the issue for me.
Setting: I have very little to no recollection of any strong setting, but that wasn’t the point here.
Romance: Ehhhhhhh….

Summary:

Sam Becker loves―or, okay, likes―his job. Sure, managing a bed and bath retailer isn’t exactly glamorous, but it’s good work and he gets on well with the band of misfits who keep the store running. He could see himself being content here for the long haul. Too bad, then, that the owner is an infuriating git.

Jonathan Forest should never have hired Sam. It was a sentimental decision, and Jonathan didn’t get where he is by following his heart. Determined to set things right, Jonathan orders Sam down to London for a difficult talk…only for a panicking Sam to trip, bump his head, and maybe accidentally imply he doesn’t remember anything?

Faking amnesia seemed like a good idea when Sam was afraid he was getting sacked, but now he has to deal with the reality of Jonathan’s guilt―as well as the unsettling fact that his surly boss might have a softer side to him. There’s an unexpected freedom in getting a second shot at a first impression…but as Sam and Jonathan grow closer, can Sam really bring himself to tell the truth, or will their future be built entirely on one impulsive lie?

Thoughts:

So amnesia is not my thing. Even legitimate amnesia in stories, I’m not a bug fan. I genuinely think it’s my age. I’m a millennial and the amount of amnesia stories we had on tv and in books growing up, it was like quicksand. I thought it was everywhere and everyone got it at some point for some reason. So faking amnesia? Oh that just makes it worse. And that’s the base on this. Sam fakes amnesia and Jonathon gets caught up feeling guilty about.

From here we’re supposed to watch these two fall in love. That’s fine, I could probably have looked past it but Jonathon is such a grumpy guss. He’s straight up a dick in a lot of situations and I truly could not handle this bit. I am not a confrontational person. I grew up in a place were conflict was constant and as such I hate it. I don’t like assholes, it takes a good amount for me to enjoy them. And sadly this one was not endeared to me.

So that’s probably what killed my enjoyment here. Past that it was fine! The family was a lot, but I like big families. Sam was an optimistic cutie, besides his lies. So overall it would have been fine but I think this particular combination of things, it just didn’t hit for me. Sad day, sad day. But it could work for you if you don’t mind those!