The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook: Book Review

The Man I Never Met is a story of serendipity and romance after a misdialled phone call. It’s my first 5 star read of 2023.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to my local public library for purchasing this audiobook.

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From The Publisher:

Is it possible to love someone you’ve never met? A young woman finds out in this sweeping will-they-or-won’t-they love story that begins with a chance wrong number dial. . . .

When Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number, she thinks nothing of it–it’s just an easygoing American named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. And when Hannah wishes him luck after clearing up the confusion, she never actually expects to hear from him again.

Then she gets a text saying he got the job and he’ll be moving to London, and she can’t help but smile. Soon their texts become phone calls that turn into video calls, and their friendship becomes a relationship they can’t wait to start in earnest once Davey lands in London in a month’s time.

But when Hannah goes to meet him at the airport, Davey isn’t there–and the reason why changes both of their lives in an instant. With their future together suddenly so uncertain, they don’t know what to do but try to move on from each other.

Though their chance at love seems lost forever, neither is never far from the other’s thoughts. Will fate intervene once more to bring the two together, or will Davey always be the man that Hannah never met?

My Thoughts:

The Man I Never Met had me engaged right from the beginning. I appreciated the flow of the story and the highly likeable, well-developed characters. The story is told in a dual narrative which worked extremely well. This is my first book by Elle Cook and it certainly won’t be my last.

When England-based Hannah receives a misdialled phone call from a U.S. number, she has no idea how much this will change her life. Davey is calling the U.K. for a job interview when he inadvertently calls Hannah. The two have a pleasant, easy conversation which ends with Hannah wishing him luck on his interview.

Fast forward and Davey has interviewed and been offered the position. He feels the need to call Hannah to let her know and ask about the neighbourhoods he should be seeking out for his new home. The two begin a friendship and soon are communicating daily. A romance is clearly developing and is palpable to the reader.

Hannah has agreed to meet Davey at the airport on the day he is to arrive. But fate has other another plan. Without giving anything away, Davey is unable to make it to England. Moreover, he stops all communication with Hannah. She eventually learns from Davey the reason why he hasn’t arrived in England. Davey asks her not to call again.

Serendipity has other ideas for this couple. Despite life’s challenges and other relationships, the couple eventually meets in person. Will this couple finally get together or will the feelings that they have for each other over the many months be for nothing?

I listened to the audiobook version of The Man I Never Met which was narrated by Fiona Button and Chase Brown. Their performances were easy to listen to and added to an already amazing book. The audiobook version is a great choice for all those that enjoy this format.

I highly recommend this book to those that enjoy Women’s Fiction or Romance.

What I Liked:

• The use of dual-narrative to tell the story
• The well-developed and highly likeable characters
• The 1990’s rom-com feel to the book