Pug, Actually is actually one of the funniest books I have read this year- in a good way. Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for allowing me to have an advanced eARC in exchange for an honest review

Plot summary:
Doug the Pug is a rescue and his owner Julie is dating the very wrong man. She’s secretly dating her boss (who is married) and after a fight Doug is terrified Julie will become a crazy cat-lady- and he hates cats.

Doug is convinced that Tom (a V-E-T) is perfect for Julie- if only they could be in the same room without bickering every 2 seconds. Doug is making it his mission to make Julie happy, no matter the cost.

Review:
Plot – The plot was pretty much as I was expecting- a romance story with a pug at the centre. I was definitely not prepared for Doug to be the voice and narrator of the story. The plot was engaging and actually hilarious at some points and I genuinely found it great to read. It worked really well for the plot and overall I was left satisfied.

Overall pacing of the story was very good and it worked well for the romance side of the story.

Character wise- Doug truly is the star of the show. Just for reference I have a pug and it’s actually one of the reasons I wanted to read this story. I will however say that my pug is definitely nowhere near as smart as Doug so this kind of made me a bit wary- but honestly it’s a story and it’s a fun one to read on a sunny day. Doug’s development was actually really good and he made a great story narrator.

Julie is quite frankly my least favourite character that I have read in so long- she came across really whiny and needy and as much as I can understand the reasoning, her actions did not help and it just made me so frustrated sometimes I struggled to engage.

The host of side characters in the book were all as I expected and all well developed and given enough time in the story to be seen and developed it was really nice to see.


Final Thoughts:
A laugh out loud comedy for some escapism and light-hearted romance- with a pug as the star of the show.

I needed cheering up this weekend and 'Pug, Actually' was just the ticket. Doug the Pug and his human, Julie Newman (Newman the Human, as Doug observes) are the best of friends but Doug's not so sure about Julie's boyfriend, Ryan. Ryan's a wrong'un - he's Julie's boss and he's married. Their 'relationship' is little more than what Julie's friend Priya describes as a series of 'booty calls'. Ryan's a scumbag. He doesn't even like Doug.

But Julie's world has the potential to be better. Her widowed father is lovely and is being given the eye by Dot from the cafe in the park. And Dot's son Tom - the V.E.T. - could be the answer to Julie's problems if only she'd see it.

The book is super. Told from the perspective of a characterful little dog who understands EVERYTHING and will fight the biggest dogs and the nastiest of creepy men to get what Julie needs. It addresses issues around affairs, cheating, lying, divorce, IVF and a ton of other stuff. I expected rather silly chick-lit but instead got something a bit more weighty. It's still fun and frivolous, there aren't too many twists or surprises, but it's life=affirming, endearing, and delightful and almost guaranteed to cheer you up.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy.

This is a wonderful book. I love the way Matt Dunn writes, he injects humour into poignant storylines.

Pug Actually is written from the point of view of the adorable pug, Doug,

Doug wants his owner, Julie, to get together with the lovely V.E.T., Tom, and away from the married and dislikeable Luke.

This is a very enjoyable book, I’ve read it in a day as I couldn’t put it down, and I find it hard to imagine how anyone wouldn’t enjoy it. Or be googling “rescue pugs” when they finish.

“𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 ‘𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲’ 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀…”

Pug Doug finally feels settled, safe and loved with his new pawrent Julie and now he wants her to feel the same, but he knows she won’t find that with her current parter who is her married boss Luke! Doug wants her to feel unconditional love so he sets off on his mission to set up her up with recently divorced Vet Tom.

To be honest, I wanted this book as soon as I saw the cover and it didn’t disappoint, straight from the first chapter I absolutely loved it and finished the whole thing in a day. Pug actually was such a Quirky, funny, cute read which was narrated by the dog 🥺 Amazing! I found myself smiling throughout - what’s not to love?!

Doug the pug is the narrator of this story, and I loved seeing the world from his point of view! His owner Julie is in a relationship with her married boss Luke when the story starts, but Doug is not a fan of Luke's, and we follow him trying to matchmake andfind her a more suitable partner.

I wasn't sure how the story would work with a dog as a narrator, but it made it a fun read. The author cleverly includes Doug in situations dogs may not usually find themselves in, and it works well. A perfect quick holiday read.

A fun read - it took me a while to get in to the story being told from the point of view of Doug the Pug!

At the start of the book, Julie is in a relationship with Luke, her boss. As the story unfolds she finds out he has been keeping secrets from her.

Doug wants her to get together with Tom, even if he is a V-E-T, so sets about trying to make it happen.

I love books about animals & this book was right up my street. I loved Doug. Made me want to get a pug of my own! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.