In The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook, Hannah rarely gets phone calls, most of her friends and 
family opting to text her, so when she sees an American number come up, curiosity gets the better of her. It turns out to be a wrong number. But the man with the sexy voice who was trying to reach a London-based architecture firm for a job is difficult to forget. When Hannah gets a text from the same man, Davey, she wonders if this is the universe trying to tell her they are meant to know each other for some unknown reason. As Davey explains he was hired and will be moving to London in the next month or two, they agree to stay in contact–as friends. But could there be something more on the horizon?
‘Our friendship–our connection–is, I know, quite strange in terms of how it’s happened, but it’s lovely.’
Hannah counts down the days until she’ll be able to see Davey in real life in her city. And after countless phone calls, texts, and even some video chats, she feels like she knows him better than anyone else she’s ever dated or crushed on. So when Davey doesn’t show up at the airport as expected, Hannah is left reeling. How could he do this to her? To them? There has to be some sort of explanation. By the time she finds out the reason, it’s evident that they won’t be able to meet. And as decisions are made that change the course of both of their lives, Davey and Hannah each will go on their own journey to find the better version of themselves so that maybe one day they might get a second chance at love.
‘He doesn’t call. But that can’t be it. For all these weeks–for all the nuanced conversation, the plans we’d made, the moments we’d shared–that cannot be it. But I fear it is.’
A meet cute via phone that turned into something solid and real, The Man I Never Met explored the ripple effect from choices we make, fate, and the lasting power of true connections and love.
‘Even if we will never be together…I love Davey. This man I’ve never met. This man who took a piece of my heart.’
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
After seeing mixed reviews online when I read the book’s synopsis, I didn’t go looking for spoilers but wanted to see why there was such a dichotomy in opinions. So I knew there was some sort of big plot twist that would cause an emotional upheaval in Hannah and Davey’s lives that would keep them apart. But reading about it at around a quarter of the way through? Heartbreaking. And real. I think I was rather fortunate that I was expecting the rug to get pulled out from under Davey and Hannah because if I went blindly into their romance, I might have needed to put the book aside briefly to come to terms with it. Which, in my opinion, is the mark of a talented storyteller. Because Elle Cook (pen name of historical author Lorna Cook) certainly brought out strong, painful emotions after first wrapping us up in the joy of the couple’s unexpected growing admiration for each other.
As much as I cherished the wonderful banter between Hannah and Davey while watching them build a long-distance relationship until he could move to London, the decisions they both made after the plot twist had me frustrated and at times scratching my head. I did understand on some level why Davey and Hannah did what they did. It was the back and forth of will they contact each other again or will they completely move on that had me speeding through the pages. (Way past my bedtime!) And whether or not you believe in fate or even serendipity, the way Cook toyed with the characters possibly meeting up over the months in various ways only to just miss each other felt pretty real to me–which made their full-circle ending that much sweeter.
FYI: It’s worth a few minutes to read the Author’s Note at the end as it explains what happened in real life to her husband that made its way into Davey’s story–it also explains why the scenes/chapters from his POV were so realistic.
QOTD: Do you believe in fate or moments of serendipity?
Book Info:
Publication: Published November 22nd 2022 | by Dell |
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?
Hooked By That Book
This is on my list. Glad to know that you liked it.