3.5 Stars. A cute romance that I enjoyed. I do recommend it to fellow romance lovers who want a sweet romance with engaging characters.

A delightful romantic comedy that is so much fun, readers simply cannot fail but be charmed by Matt Dunn’s irrepressible new novel, Pug Actually.

It breaks Doug the pug’s heart to see his rescuer Julie so unhappy. Doug would love nothing more than to see Julie with a great big smile on her face and with a man by her side who loves and appreciates her. Julie deserves to be treated like a queen but unfortunately she is wasting her time on her married boss Luke who is making her miserable. Doug hopes that Julie will see the light and break things off with Luke, but she seems very reluctant to leave him as she does not want to end up like her cat-mad neighbor – a prospect which Doug must admit terrifies him too! However, Doug has a plan. A plan that might just provide Julie with the happiness she seeks…

Newly divorced Tom is absolutely perfect for Julie. He is nothing like Luke and Doug is sure he would make Julie so happy – if only she could see it! Doug is willing to play cupid for his rescuer in order for her to stop wasting her life on Luke and realize that Tom is the man who could put the smile back on her face. Will Doug manage to bring Tom and Julie together? Can a little magic draw these two lost souls together? Or is Doug about to be very disappointed?

Matt Dunn’s Pug Actually will melt the heart of even the most jaded readers. Hilariously witty, poignant and brilliantly romantic, Pug Actually is a terrific tale with an adorable dog readers will love and plenty of wicked wit, delicious banter and compelling emotional drama to keep them glued to the pages of this novel.

An irresistible romantic comedy that is absolutely magical, Pug Actually is a fabulous read that will brighten up anyone’s day!

Hey folks, daddy Steve with some more doggiebook talk. This one is a fun rom com type book title Pug Actually by Matt Dunn.

I think I’ve said it before but I am a sucker for romantic comedy books with dogs in there. Now this one, the dog, Doug the Pug, actually narrates the story. I’m an even bigger sucker for dog narrators, I’m sure you could have guessed given how you are here on Malcolm’s page … 😉

That was a fun book for what it was, a cool romance with a fun sense of humor and a narrating dog. And bonus point because it’s a rare such book written by a… MAN! Yup, you don’t see too many of those.

Overall it’s another recommended read. Obviously, the dog doesn’t die in that book. 😅

Huge thanks to NetGalley who provided a free eBook advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is now available to purchase. This is as honest as it gets...

#Malcolmstories #doggiebooks

This was a fun book. While the heroine acted TSTL at times, I loved the anthropomorphism and definitely would recommend this to my friends and other readers as a cute, light-hearted, fun read. After reading the book, I ended up purchasing the audio book.

Doug (The Pug) humor is sarcastic, humorous, and sweet. He wants only the best for the humans that gave him a forever home. He makes the ultimate sacrifices (dog runs, vet visits and more) to bring Julie to her senses.

Pug Actually by Matt Dunn

Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear collars. The dog, Doug, wants to make sure his owner, Julie, is happy in love.

This is a great dog lover’s story. Julia is in a wrong relationship. Her dog, Doug, wants to help correct it.
I liked the way the author portrayed Douig and kept him right up front in the book. Well-liked characters and well-planned plot. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

I did not finish this. I read 12 chapters, so I feel like I gave it a solid shot. I did not like that Doug the Pug was the narrator, but I really didn’t like that Julie was completely fine with having an affair with a married man - even after meeting his pregnant wife. It was just gross.

I really enjoyed this one - it could be because it was written as if I were experiencing the book as the pug in question, and I love dogs more than I love people. This book was a quick, cute read. Once I sat down and really started reading it, it only took me a couple hours to finish. I really liked the characters, especially Doug, and the supporting characters. All in all, would recommend, and would read again - which makes it a 4 star from me.

Adorable cover, cute story. Overall solid romance. LOVE that it is written by a male author. Would recommend!!

Romance | Adult
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Sometimes you just have to judge a book by its cover. And I judged this one a surefire pick. Love the little pug face! Adding to the fun, the point of view is from Doug (the pug), a smart dog who knows how to read, spell, and logic out how to get his human, Julie, to fall in love with the right person, even if that person is a V-E-T. Julie is in a tough place – she’s in a secret relationship with her boss, who is married, but about to leave his wife Sarah. Soon. Honest, Julie, – when the time is right. Right. Everyone but Julie can see this relationship is going nowhere; even Doug is trying to get her to realize Lucas (Luke-Ass) is a jerk. But at 35, having watched her father’s heart get broken when his beloved wife died, Julie is afraid to risk a big love that could lead to a big heartbreak. No matter what, she keeps returning to Luke. Still, she reluctantly agrees to open up her options, but things go almost immediately awry with Tom, recently divorced from a wife who cheated on him. Doug, however, is nothing if not determined. With the help of Julie’s bestie Priya, Doug gets to work helping two unlikely characters overcome their romantic fears, though it’s a bigger job than he realizes to get Julie to see the light! Look past Julie’s frustrating stubbornness and you’ll find this to be a light and fun read; I adored Doug’s thoughts and reasoning; his confusion after his first elevator ride is truly hilarious! Quirky and amusing, this is the latest offering from British rom-com writer Dunn. My thanks to publisher Mira for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55004535

I thought that this book was a very cute read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs, especially pugs! Pug Actually book is perfect for anyone who is looking for a light-hearted read. Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Ridiculously adorable, Doug is a rescue dog who has taken it upon himself to help his hooman. His hooman needs a lot of help. Julie is the quintessential female who exemplifies "nice girls finish last". Quite honestly, I wanted to slap Julie upside the head so many times throughout this book that she would have had brain damage. The sad part? There are people like this in the real world and Julie is one of those who is basically a doormat.

I have to say I'm bias here and I completely lost any respect for Julie. Not because she is the other woman. Or that she dates a married man. The fact that she rationalizes it all and is so stupid about it is what bothers me. Even when all her trusted circle of friends and family are letting her know the harsh truths, she desperately clings onto her booty call status. If it wasn't for Doug keep this book humourous I probably would have rated it a 1 star because of how shallow and silly Julie comes across.

Julie lost all credibility of being a functioning person when she still tosses Tom aside and barely gives him the time of day. Tom is infinitely better than her jerk off married man because... Tom is NOT married and he is considerate. What is it about women like Julie who treat nice guys like trash? Maybe Tom should have treated her a bit more like trash so that Julie would suddenly want his approval and attention. Instead, Doug has to save the day multiple times. The best thing Julie ever did was rescue poor Doug.

I found the point of view from Doug to be hilarious. He is sweet and pretty straight forward. He is so kind hearted and loyal. Exactly what humans think dogs are like. Doug's fear of V.E.T. is too cute. His take on exercising is funny and all too similar to humans. His interaction with his "people" and their interaction with him is what really made this story so awesome. I can see this story as a Disney movie with Zooey Deschanel as Julie and Ryan Gosling as Tom. It would be a delightful Rom-Com.

This contemporary romance is recommended to readers who love dogs and happily ever afters.

Very cute story - loved Doug and reading his point of view.

The humans were quite unlikeable - especially Luke - and the plot of unfaithful husband's and workplace affairs wasn't quite what I like to read about. Doug saved the book.

I received an advance reader copy of this story.

What grabbed me first was the book name, Pug Actually. I fell in love with Doug the Pug but had a tough time with the humans. I picked it up, read a little, and put it back down. The plot is fine but I never connected with the characters and even came to dislike the female lead.

I've never read a book where the dog was the main pov and it was absolutely delightful. There were parts that were very frustrating because Doug (the dog) knew what was up (and thus so do we as the reader) but how would he ever communicate this to the people in his life!?! Pug Actually is a quick and fun read and I look forward to reading more from this author. 3.5 out of 5 wine glasses.

Doug the pug is a rescue, and adores his human Julie. She's dating a married man and unhappy about it, but doesn't think she can find someone better. Newly divorced Tom is actually a good fit, and everyone but the two of them can see that. Doug likes Tom despite the fact that he's a V-E-T, and is willing to endure that to get the two of them together.

Doug has a great voice through all this and is telling the story of Julie's love life from his point of view. In other words, this is a dog's eye view of a rom-com, so there's a little more about people that we understand than he does. We still get plenty of the actual story, both because humans tend to talk to him and because Julie reports just about everything that happens during her weekly Game of Thrones and gab sessions with her best friend Priya. From the start, we see how much of a jerk Luke is, from the way he treats Doug to the words he uses on Julie to get what he wants and turn it all around so that he's the victim when he's the one cheating on his wife. Julie deserves better, which everyone else tells her. We don't know why exactly she doesn't think she can do better than her philandering boss in the beginning, but it's obvious he's all kinds of nasty words that shouldn't be said in polite company.

The banter and almost-flirting between Julie and Tom at times gave me cringey second-hand embarrassment. They're so bad at it! Doug's commentary on it is hilarious, though. Julie has a great dad, a wonderful best friend and her husband, and even Doug all on her side. Their "intervention" is a heartfelt one when it happens so that Julie can take her chance at real love, and not just a pathetic facsimile that she had with Luke. This is a romance novel, so we know she'll date Tom eventually, and that he really is a kind guy and a better choice. It's the getting there that's fun to read, and kept me turning pages to see what happened next and how Doug would be present to find out.

I grabbed this one as I thought it would be great laughs and sweet. Other books I've read with dogs have been wonderful. However, after reading the first chapter I found it wasn't for me. Already way too much content (and very blatant and descriptive) and a heroine who is having an affair with a married man. For some reason I didn't realize that the affair would be quite forward in the start of the story. Unfortunately, I won't be continuing this book. Just not for me.

I'm a sucker for anything narrated by a dog (think the Chet and Bernie series), so I had to try this out, even though I'm not big on romances. Doug is a loveable pug who is determined to see his pawrent, Julie, happily in love. He despises her current boyfriend - pugs can smell poo a mile away - and makes sure both Julie and he know it. When they meet divorced vet Tom, Doug decides that Tom is the one for Julie, despite the fact that he is a v-e-t.
Will Julie dump the loser for the v-e-t? If Doug has anything to say about it, the answer is a resounding "yes"!
#PugActually #NetGalley

"Pug Actually" was a super cute, laugh-out-loud funny, and creative tale narrated by Doug, an adorable pug who was determined to help his rescuer and best friend, Julie, straighten out her love life. I wasn't a big fan of Julie's at first; she was involved in an affair with her married boss, Luke, and didn't seem to see anything wrong with that. She certainly made no effort to be discreet about the situation, not only confiding in her best friend, Priya, and father, Jim, but also telling potential love interest Tom all about it the first time they met. As the story progressed, Julie finally started to realize that her actions had consequences for people other than herself, primarily Luke's wife, Sarah, who wasn't nearly as blind to the situation as everyone thought. More details of how the affair began also came to light and it became clear that Luke had been lying to Julie just as much as he was his wife. For those reasons, I found it much easier to empathize with Julie by the end, though she still seemed kind of selfish to me.

Julie's love interest, veterinarian Tom, seemed to be a nice guy, and I didn't appreciate the way Julie treated him for most of the book. I wasn't convinced that their relationship would ever be more than a rebound for her, coming so close on the heels of her breakup with Luke. Honestly, what Julie needed more than a new boyfriend was time on her own to work through what had happened with Luke, and possibly some counseling to work through the underlying self-esteem issues that had allowed Luke to manipulate her for so long.

Overall, I enjoyed "Pug Actually," but more because of Doug and his humorous antics than because of the actual romance. I would recommend it for chick lit and romantic comedy fans and will plan to check out future books by this author.

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Such a cute story! Told from Doug the Pug’s point of view, this is the tale of not one, but two romances. Doug was rescued by Julie and her dad pronunciation of dog came out “doug”, and that’s how Doug got his name. Doug worked so hard to get Julie and Tom, a V-E-T together, but had problems with both of them. Tom is recently divorced and was bitter because his wife cheated on him with his best friend and eventually left Tom for the other guy. Even though Doug is super smart and knows what a V-E-T is, he likes Tom. What he doesn’t like, is the fact that Julie’s really not into Tom. Right now, she’s completely into Luke, a scumbag who’s currently married, and her boss. She buys into his every lie, and when family and friends try to get her to see the truth, she doesn’t want to. But when she’s confronted with the truth in person, she’s finally ready to let the loser go. Trying to get Julie and Tom together takes a lot of finagling, but Doug is up for the challenge!
But Julie’s not the only romance Doug is working on. He’s also helping Doug’s dad get with Tom’s mother. That was a much easier romance for Doug to facilitate.
This book was completely different from anything I’ve read this year. I don’t even think I’ve read anything where the narrator was an animal. Doug is smart, curious, and dedicated to both his goal and his mistress, and does whatever it takes to make his plans come to fruition.
If you like fun romances, dogs, and a great story, I definitely recommend Pug Actually.

I’m not even all that keen on pugs (shh) but this is just too cute, a romcom (and it’s really a romcom, not a traumatic women’s fiction disguised behind a cute cover!) told from the point of view of the heroine’s pug, Doug. Yes, Doug the pug. It’s absolutely adorable.

Doug’s cuteness is needed to distract from the not-so-friendly feelings you might start off with for the heroine, Julie, when you realise she’s literally the ‘other woman’. But things aren’t black and white. Julie didn’t start out trying to steal a married man. She didn’t know Luke was married until their relationship was well under way, and then he pulled all the tricks out of the bag… his wife doesn’t understand him, they’re on the verge of separating, they’re not intimate any more, and all the rest. Doug, of course, knew all along that Luke was a rat, but since he can’t speak Human, all he can do for Julie is be lovingly supportive when she cries (again) into his neck folds.

Because this is a proper romcom, Julie’s REAL love interest soon shows up, Tom, who is to Doug’s horror a V-E-T, but Doug could forgive even that if it would make Julie happy. Now if love rat Luke would just go away…

Julie’s a bit of a hot mess, to be honest, but because we’re seeing the story through Doug’s eyes - and Doug loves her in the uncritical way only a dog can - it’s hard to judge her even when she’s falling yet again for Luke’s lines. Julie has awesome friends and a loving father (who also gets his own happily ever after) who help her finally come to the understanding that she’s self-sabotaging out of fear.

This reminds me a lot of Bridget Jones, in all the good ways - another hot mess who shambles her way to a happily ever after - but as told through the eyes of a dog, and honestly, it’s really cute. I was entirely delighted with it and I’ll be looking out for more by this author in the future. Five stars.