The Man I Didn’t Marry By Anna Bell

‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ is the latest book by Anna Bell.

Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years. Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right? As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?

Even though Anna Bell has released nine books, this is the first one that I’ve read by her and it was an uplifting yet poignant story.

The story is seen through the narrative of Ellie, who falls in love and marries her teenage crush Max, who’s the brother of her best friend called Rachel. Pregnant with their second child, they’re looking forward to expanding their family until one day Max just randomly loses his memory and can’t remember the last 5 years. The most significant years of his life, falling in love, getting married and becoming a father. Now, Ellie is left with a man who likes to flirt with strange women in front and she’s terrified that his memory will never recover, so she decides to recreate some of the most important moments in the hope that it will jog his memory.

I loved this story, it’s witty, it’s fun and it’s downright scary how someone’s memory can just disappear. Ellie is a great character, she’s nerdy which she is not apologetic for and is still in awe after marrying her crush but she’s consumed by a fear that she will lose him so she tries to ignite the memories with disastrous dates from drunken beer pong to horrible French restaurants. Her love for Max is evident and it’s hard not to fall for him, as he’s sweet, handsome with his roguish behaviour. It’s sweet and somewhat sad as he veers between the joy of rediscovering his new life and his fear of his memory not returning fully.

The plot line is an interesting one and made this quite the snappy read. Whilst trying to help Max reclaim his memory, Ellie has also joined a maternity group and they are a fun addition to the story, from the snobbish Anneka who’s always got a story to tell to the outspoken and incredibly horny Helen!

Fun from the first page with relatable characters that made for enjoyable reading. This emotional rollercoaster is a romantic comedy at its finest, teamed with witty one liners and the odd tearjerker moment, ‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ is a captivating comedy about a second chance at love.

You can buy ‘The Man I Didn’t Marry’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops.