What a wonderful, life affirming novel this was.

Based around Ollie Sweet, a journalist who has just been dumped in the most public and humiliating of ways, this story charts his way to recovery while following the advise of some of the readers of his lifestyle column 'Dumped Actually.
Loved this book and found it very funny!

I have very specific criteria on the rare occasion I dare to delve into the realm of romantic comedies: something light-hearted, amusing and with a touch of silliness. This one has all the ingredients for that simple formula, but it was more dirty dishwater than a soothing cup of tea. The MC was a melodramatic, attention-seeking, annoying, kinda creepy man-child. And the Bridgit Jones-esqe situations and scenarios were cringy, contrived and unfunny. Not my cup of tea.

Recommended for fans of Helen Fielding, Matt Dunn, Sophie Kinsella

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the copy.

Dumped Actually by Nick Spalding was a light, funny, entertaining read. I've read many of Nick's books now and will continue to do so in the future

Hilariously funny, Dumped, Actually is brimming with well-crafted characters and a fun and easy storyline to follow.

I absolutely adored this book.

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

Any book of Nick Spalding always has me in hysterics and I love every minute of them. This is no different. Fabulously good, easy reading. Loved it!

This was a decently funny look at getting dumped and bouncing back. Ollie is a journalist and decides to ask his subscribers what they recommend for getting over a break up, leading to a wild adventure of increasingly extreme measures of advice and self-discovery.

So sorry for the late review!
This book is actually fairly short, but it took me a while to finish because it's really not my cup of tea.
This is the kind of story that's often told with a female protagonist, whereas in this book, we follow a male main character. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I just can't stand a man whining about how every girl he's ever dated dumping him. It's cringe-worthy.
Ollie is a man-baby character in my opinion. He's so naive and self-centered at the same time. He views the world through a perfect filter and expects everyone to live their lives the way he wants them to. When they don't (Surprise! Everyone has their own mind, even girls!), he throws a tantrum or tries to throw himself off the roof.
Honestly, I just tried really hard to grind my teeth and get through Ollie's constant complaining and general incompetence. He tries to sell himself as a decent "writer", but I don't think the stuff he writes warrant any attention from anyone! Also, the storyline where he saves the website is so absurd. It's like a classic "villain tries to convert the main character, but the main character has high moral standards and refuses to agree" story line. It's so stale.
I guess I'm just not into "male chick-lit". The premise is good, but I really didn't like the MC. Also, Erica deserves better than being an afterthought.

This book is hilarious, fast paced, cleverly written and uplifting. It follows heartbreak through recovery and self awareness but without feeling too heavy!

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny, light hearted, quick and easy read!!

I like Nick Spaldings books and they normally entertain me hugely. This book however although a decent read wasn't one of my favorites of his, yet still managed to have me snorting with laughter on more than one occasion and I think a rating less than 4 stars is a little churlish with that being the case.

The story is set around Ollie Sweet who is unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend Sam whilst he is proposing. This sets Ollie off on a downward slope and when he finally return to work his Boss suggests he use his experience to write a piece on the Website he works for. What happens is that 'Dumped Actually' (the title of his work) turns out to be a very popular piece if journalism. This sets in motion Ollie taking a path which has half been decided by his readers. 

There are some incredibly funny moments in this book and I really do like Nick Spaldings humour. However, this particular book I think the main character just irritated me that little bit too much for me to be able to love it. It was certainly a very amusing and decent enough read, just not one of my favourites from this author.

A quick read about Ollie, a lifestyle writer, on his quest to find himself after dealing with a breakup. There were definitely some funny parts in the book, but overall this fell a little flat. It was predictable and lacking depth.

** spoiler alert ** This is my fifth or sixth of Nick Spalding's books and it delivered on the laughs. As always with his comedies, there was a deeper, introspective lesson for the protagonist to learn.

I enjoyed the book and thought there was a fresh ending (much appreciated), but in comparing it to others of his, I have to rate it slightly lower.

Points of the book I appreciated:

-Mr. Spalding breaks the fourth wall at one point, causing the most violent of my laugh cycles.
-We are called to reflect about what we idealize (oops, idealise 🇬🇧).
-I adored that Ollie fulfilled every pushover's angry fantasy in that board room! I felt like it took care of some buried anger within me... Which was contradictory to part of the point of the book.
-"I just want an easy f*ing life!" he screams. Don't we all? But with that, there wouldn't be a book, let alone everything else packed into this story.
-As with all of Spalding's books, the physical comedy is easily pictured and laugh-stitch-inducing.

Don't read this if you're easily offended. Is this book going to bring you closer to heaven? No. But it'll give you a laugh.

I am a "religious person" as the author often refers to folks, but I can enjoy a good comedy. God laughs, too. In fact, I think He invented it.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I decided to put this book down. I did not connect with it.

I felt that most of this story was either completely ridiculous or extremely boring. It was not relatable and I found the main character to be very annoying.

Really enjoyed this book. At times it was really funny and I laughed out loud a few times. Loved Ollie's character too.

Dumped Actually is my first read from author, Nick Spalding, and this indeed was something else.

The blurb was promising and I was very curious about it. It felt like a prompt for a series or a movie which is why I decided to request this title. This book is truly light and funny, just like its premise.

Surprisingly, this book did not hit me in the right places. I don’t know where it was coming from but some of the scenes were borderline ridiculous. Some jokes did not appeal to my humor, unfortunately.

Ollie Sweet, the main character, is a little too weird for me and being in his head was not that appealing. He can be quite frustrating and annoying and too immature for me.

This book does tell about the process of grieving and moving on, and everyone goes through it differently, so I guess that part is good. The ending also brought a redeeming arc for this story, thankfully.

In conclusion, I have to say this book is okay. It just didn’t vibe with my own tastes.

Warning: review may contain swooning…

Nick Spalding writes like a girl, and I love him for it. If he were, in fact, a woman "Dumped Actually" would be branded chick lit, but because he's a dude it's probably called 'genre fiction'. Bleurgh! Whatever the label, Spalding is a consistently competent writer. He is an astute observer, skilled in the art of transforming the mundane into utterly hilarious scenarios. His first person narrative is engaging and draws the reader into the story. This latest offering from the Spalding stable is laugh-out-loud funny (as I've come to expect from his work) yet deeply attuned to more sensitive issues. In fact, if Spalding possesses the depth of understanding of relationships and male/female dynamics as suggested in his characterisation and story arcs, then he's not only a brilliant writer but also the perfect man - so everyone else can go home now, thanks. If you want a blokey reference, Nick Spalding is Nick Hornby without the snarky air of superiority. Do yourself a favour and get stuck into his body of work.

Without a doubt the funniest book Nick Spalding has ever written.

Even the scene that really shouldn't have you laughing out loud, due to the serious undertones, was hilarious, with perfect comic timing.

From the opening of the over the top proposal that goes wrong, which has many humourous bits, to everything that comes after it, time and time and again I was giggling, and occasionally probably getting strange looks from those around me.

I tend to find this is an author whose humour is on my wave length and this was no exception.

Whatever you think may be about to happen next, may just surprise you, as it is so well written.

Who knew being dumped publicly could lead to all of this fun!

Ollie Sweet is exactly that, he is sweet, he is a romantic, he's idealistic and a people pleaser and it leads him into to some wonderful situations.

I adored every laugh filled moment of this book and recommend if to for anyone who is looking for some light hearted, fun in their life.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing on Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Journalist Ollie has just been dumped... publicly and humiliatingly. The only thing that is stopping him from debilitating self pity is his new online feature about how to heal a broken heart. With suggestions from subscribers and encouragement from new fiends, Oliver is in a journey of self discovery and life lessons.

With Nicks trademark quirkiness this unconventional comedy is well worth a read.

I very much liked the premise of the book. A guide not on how to find the love of your life, but how to overcome the break-up of your life! And all of this written and experienced from a male perspective. I also liked the beginning, the build-up to the 'grand proposal', although we already know from the title how this will end.

But during the following episodes of Ollie trying out various recommendations of how to overcome his lovesickness, the book verged on becoming a slapstick comedy (which I'm not a big fan of) a bit too often. There were more moments that made me cringe than laugh, and in my book only Mr. Bean can get away with that.

But, in the end there was a nice message for Ollie, and some of it might even be useful to someone who got dumped, who knows. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a self-helf-book for heartbroken people.