I really wanted to like this one more than I actually did. There was such good dialogue, banter, and positive friendship in this book. I enjoyed the quick wit and memorable side characters. However, trauma plays a heavy part in this story for both characters. Characters overcoming or dealing with trauma is by no means a new concept in romance. But what didn’t work for me was that the trauma reveals just kept coming relentlessly, with no real sense of closure. While I remained stuck on processing the reveal, the characters in the book had already moved on to the next reveal. It’s true that sometimes this does happen in life, (when it rains it pours) but it was a lot to take in.

I thought Laurie and Jamie were a cute couple, but the ending felt quite rushed. While the summary may suggest that the plot resembles The Hating Game, If I Never Met You is a more serious and deeper take on the office/fake-dating scenario. Based on the summary, I picked this book up expecting a much lighter story. Overall, I did enjoy my time with Jamie and Laurie and I think some readers will absolutely love this book.