Review: 'The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me' by Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice (2014)

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?
I was SO incredibly excited when I found a review copy of ‘The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me’ in my mailbox! As soon as I heard about Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice’s debut novel, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I continued to only hear positive things from other bloggers and everyone was just incredibly excited about this recent e-book release (the paperback will be available from the 3rd of July). Thankfully, I was lucky enough to receive a review copy as well and now it’s my turn to share in the excitement!
When they were teenagers, Holly and Alex were really good friends. Whenever Holly got herself into trouble, Alex would be waiting by the phone for her call. Yet, the two never realised that they both secretly wanted their friendship to turn into something more. Now, 11 years later, Holly has a slightly boring job working as a PA for her boss Richard, whom she is also sleeping with. Alex has decided to leave his hometown behind and move to London to start a challenging job as a teacher at a secondary school. He gets into touch with Holly to catch up now that they are both living in the same part of the country again. But can the two of them get back to their friendship after all this time or are there still traces of their true feelings for one another...?
L-O-V-E. That’s not just the main topic of this fabulous read, but also the only thing I felt while reading this book: pure and unquestionable love. I honestly loved every single thing about it, from the storyline to the characters to the writing to the gorgeous cover. From the flashback on the first page, I liked both Holly and Alex and warmed to both of them as the story progressed. Holly is a bit more carefree and spontaneous, while Alex is the more serious and loyal one and it was great to see both of them as teenagers and adults. Next to the main characters, there’s also a wonderful cast of secondary characters such as Holly’s colleague Jemma (who managed to make me laugh out loud continually) and Alex’s best friend Kev.  
The fact that the book is written by two authors actually convinced me even more that I needed to check out this novel. It immediately reminded me of Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees whose books I love and used to read over and over again when I was younger. Just like them, Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice prove that a book written by two authors can work brilliantly. I loved the fact that the book was written from both a male and female point of view, and the writing style in general was well-paced and managed to keep my complete attention page after page. I could continue gushing about this novel, but I hope I’ve managed to make my opinion quite clear: ‘The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me’ is a sparklingly captivating, funny, warm and feel-good read, filled to the brim with love. Without a doubt a duo to keep your eye on, I honestly can’t wait to see what they come up with next! Rating:

10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk/ Amazon.com/ Goodreads       Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.