Book Review: The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me by Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice

Title: The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me
Author: Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice
Publisher: Corgi
Publishing Date: July 3rd 2014
Length: 320 pages
Keywords: Adult, romance, chick lit, friendship, London
Source: Publisher

Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly has learnt that life isn't about seizing the moment. She might have harboured dreams about travelling the world as a teenager, but she let go of those - just as she let go of Alex.

But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a new city, and he knows that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Well, probably.

How do you know if it was meant to be. or never meant to happen at all? 

Summary by Goodreads

In THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice explore what everyone and especially every curious and devoted reader is wondering about. The what-ifs and could-have-beens in life. How could Holly and Alex's story turned out differently if Alex would've just listened to Holly declaring her feelings for him before they both left for college. Now after about 10 years not seeing each other they meet again. This is the start of a great second chance at friendship. And maybe even more?

Switching between chapters told from Holly and Alex's point of view and scenes set in 1999 and 2010, Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice are telling the story of two teens who have grown into two adults that have shared history and now meet again in London. So many of my favourite chick lit stories are set in London where anything is possible after all. 

Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice's writing fit together smoothly. It never felt like there were any inconsistencies due to the two authors working on the same story. They wrote their joined story with refreshing humour, wit and candor.

Alex and Holly are or have been in different relationships since the time they went to school together. Holly is with Richard now and she's happy. Isn't she? Alex is dating in London. So what's there not to be happy about? There is just as much about Alex and Holly's other romantic relationships as their own, so be prepared to wait some time for an update on their relationship status.
It was great to see that the old familiarity was still there between Alex and Holly and their old friendship rekindled pretty fast. But there were also new things to learn about the other, some that brought them even closer together than before. In the end I really enjoyed both sides of Alex and Holly's relationship, their romantic and friendly moments. Now are Alex and Holly best friends who are destined to be lovers or lovers who are better off friends? It will take us quite some time to find out in THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME. 

I'm sure readers who enjoyed ONE DAY by David Nicholls will find a like in THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME because of its honesty and its many facets in the relationship between a teenage girl and boy growing up to meet ten years later in London with more than one possible outcome.

4/5 **** THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME - A funny and hopeful read to brighten your day!

Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice find just the right balance between Alex and Holly's 1999 and 2010 chapters to build a believable and well-founded friendship that sure has the potential to grow into a more affectionate and romantic bond. Laura and Jimmy are a British author duo not be missed. I'm really looking forward to find out what their next novel will be all about.

"'Hello, you massive, sad, old cat lady.'

As far as 'Happy birthdays' go, it's not THE friendliest I've ever had. It's Jemma saying it, though, and if I took offence at every offensive thing she said I'd constantly look like the dude on the bridge in The Scream painting." ― p.28

THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME you might enjoy ATTACHMENTS by Rainbow Rowell, ONE PERFECT SUMMER by Paige Toon and ONE DAY by David Nicholls.

* "We have to submit our second novel to @harrietbourton one week today. Laura's chapters are annoyingly much funnier than mine JR" - Twitter update by Laura and Jimmy on August 4th 2014.

* Click here for an excerpt of THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME.

*For more information about Laura, Jimmy and their books follow them on Twitter.

* Thanks to Corgi for sending me a copy of THE BEST THING THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME for review!