I love Matt Dunn's books so I was delighted to receive this one.

A really original twist on the romance novel - told through the eyes of a pug about his owner's love life. I must admit I hadn't read the blurb before starting (I requested, forgot about it, and just jumped straight in) so the first couple of pages I was slightly bemused as I thought it was through the eyes of a housemate...

A really light read - there is nothing challenging here and, like most romance novels, it's pretty predictable, but there are some hilarious moments, great characters and it's well written.

Recommended as a nice holiday read. And now I can't help but wonder what my lab is thinking constantly...

Absolutely brilliant story, told by a pug 🤣 never read anything from a dogs point of you but this was amazing from start to finish, just a dog helping his human work out her love life, and he plays a pretty good Cupid! Laugh out loud hilarious 🤣 thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this brilliant book it’s definitely one of my faves 😍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bit unsure at first a story written from a dogs point of view but I loved it. Read in one go. Tom was lovely .You kept wanting to shout at Julie for being such a fool. A nice love story told by a dog. I loved how they could not say the word Vet!!!!!!

So first off I LOVED this cover and the idea of this book I thought was really clever and a bit different. It sounded like the perfect read to cuddle up on the sofa and swoon and laugh.

Being a massive animal person with dogs and cats, this was so up my street! I would often love to know what is going on in their little heads.

I wasn't all the impressed with Julie's choices in men I must admit! It irritated me that she started off in a relationship with a married man. I also found her all together quite frustrating and found myself wanting more from Doug. I thought his character and narration was brilliant.

Despite some of the negatives it did manage to make me chuckle at times. Just not something that I would pick up again in a hurry. Although, it would be interesting to see this as a film perhaps? Or a short series.

Humorous book told from Doug the pugs point of view. Well written with a good plot. Most of the characters are perfect and fit the story, but I found Julie to be immature and felt she acted more like someone in their early twenties then in her thirties. I would recommend this book. I'd like to thank netgalley for an advanced copy.

After having read a few of Matt Dunn’s previous books I was really pleased to receive an advance copy of his latest upcoming release, ‘Pug Actually’

When Julie Newman is unhappy with her love life, with current squeeze being married and her believing he will one day leave his wife for her, she refuses to believe this won’t happen and holds on to the Hope just so that she doesn’t become like he cat-obsessed neighbour who lives alone. Her dog Doug decides he is the one that can rescue this situation, just like Julie rescued him, and so begins the task of finding the perfect man for her!

As a dog lover this book made me smile from the off when it becomes clear that the story is being told from the perspective of the main canine character, Doug - and yes he’s a pug! It’s very cute and funny to have certain details included through the eyes of a dog (like the first elevator trip) and the story definitely makes you smile. It is an easy read and kept my attention so much that I absorbed it over a rainy 24 hours, got very carried away!

The story may be predictable but this doesn’t stop you wanting to find out how that solution is reached and just how our four legged friend can save the day. As with all of Matt Dunn’s books, the writing style is light hearted and comical at time, keeping you connected with the character and leaving you with that warm fuzzy feeling at the end. A lovely read that would highly recommend to put a smile on your face.

Thank you to Matt Dunn, Netgalley & HQ Digital / Harper Collins for the advanced readers copy

A romantic comedy told through the eyes of Doug the pug? I mean I was sold because there was a dog on the cover. This was a quirky and entertaining book. The humans in this story don't make the wisest decisions, but luckily they all have wise Doug the pug there to look out for them. This was an amusing read that deals with self-worth, self-esteem, romance, and of course Doug the pug. Definitely an entertaining read, though the overall plot and conflicts felt kind of cyclical and I would have enjoyed reading some more Doug induced humorous situations.

Ideal for: Dog Lovers (duh!), romcom fans, if you're looking for a light read and lastly, if you need further convincing to get a dog.
Genre: Romcom, Slice of Life.
This is a marvellously light read that leaves you giggling. Amidst this book that altrnatively leaves you between snorts, laughs and sharing knowing looks with your dog, you find that place of balance. Yes, that balance that "light reads" so rarely achieve i.e., romance, comedy and an honest portrayal of life. This might seem strange seeing as the narrative reads as Doug the pug's POV. But trust me, you will not regret this one bit.
I mean, yes, like most romcoms, you will often question why the humans can't communicate better. But that's a wider question for the world as a whole. Let's just take this oppurtunity to bask in the glory of Doug's wisdom and infinity developed EQ as a rescue dog who knows life- sunny side up, and otherwise.

Pug, Actually is a book uniquely told via the point of view of Doug the pug. So if your a dog lover then this is definitely the book for you! I might even go as far as to say this was my favourite part of the book. He helps play match maker to his owner.

The main character Julie, Doug's owner, is having a affair with Luke her lying, married boss. To make matters worse Luke's wife is pregnant and to top it all off he doesn't like dogs!
There are several over smaller highly amusing character such as Jim, Julie's Scottish farther who has full blown conversation with Doug, Dot, Sarah and Priya.
Followed finally by Tom the V.E.T who is newly divorced but is highly suitably for Julie.
Julie is in a bad relationship and in my opinion it frustrating how long it took her to realise this there for the story makes slow progress.
Apart from this it's a quick and easy to read.

Thanks to Netgallery and the publishers for giving me a copy of a digital copy of this book for a honest review.

Such an easy read, I've read this in less than 24 hours i love Matt Dunn, his books are so simple, full of humour and he writes a woman's point of view so well!! I was in tears of laughter at some parts, highly recommend!! I did find the storyline predictable but that's ok! The fact that the protagonist is a dog just elevated this 🤣🤣🤣 a must read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy of Pug Actually in exchange for a review.
Told from Doug’s perspective, this novel is a cute, funny story that I would recommend to anyone.
A very cute, lighthearted romantic comedy! I really enjoyed reading this one! Its different from what I usually read. And I'm happy for the change!

Many thanks to both NetGalley and to HQ Digital for letting me see an advance reader's copy of Pug, Actually.

Well, what can I say? When I started to read this book and saw that it was written in the present tense, I wanted to hate it. Despite that, the story, or rather the narrative, drew me in and I was hooked.

I loved this story. I love the twist on a famous film. I think I even fell a little in love with the narrator – Doug the pug.

At first, I thought it would be too easy for the heroine, Julie, to sort herself out. But Matt Dunn skilfully threw in twist after turn and then finished it in exactly the right place. And he did so with plenty of smiles along the way.

Gripes ...

There are no chapters. Therefore I wasn't sure while reading it whether or not it was a substantial change or a minor change between parts.

The layout didn't help, but I think that was more to do with this being an advance copy and I assume the print issues will be sorted by the time the book goes live. In particular, the letter 'f' often had a space after it, and right in the middle of the book the page number footers (or headers, can't tell on a Paperwhite) suddenly started to randomly appear.

Also, this is a very British story, set in a very British place, peopled by very British characters, and narrated by a very British dog. And yet there were far too many Americanisms, such as leash instead of lead and cell phone instead of mobile phone.

Surely publishers credit their American readers with sufficient intelligence to know the Britishisms by now? It's like British readers reading a western and having cows instead of steers. Because this grated with me, the review lost its fifth star. It took the edge off what would have otherwise been an excellent read.

Otherwise, a great little smile-along tail ... tale.

Pug Actually is a lighthearted romantic comedy told through the eyes of Doug the dog. I found it amusing and quirky and the author picked up a lot of mannerisms of the dog. I actually saw a lot of my dog in Doug, he's not a pug but he's just as smart and crafty. It is really a case of what is in the blurb you get in the story but it's a great journey and I enjoyed it.

Kinda obvious from the start what was going to happen, but in saying that, it was an enjoyable enough book to read. #TeamDoug!

Very quirky having the dog as the narrator and this book is a fun read, there's no doubt about that, but I would have enjoyed a bit more depth to be honest. Found it a bit predictable and a bit too similar to many other titles that I've read.

This was such a cute book and the best part for me is that it is told from the perspective of Doug the pug.

If you love pugs you should give this one a go it’s a whole lot of fun!

Good fun read especially for those of us who are dog lovers. Matt’s characterisation certainly feels like he has either owned or currently owns a dog as he has achieved a very believable human character for Doug the pug and his human companions.( to those of you who do not like anthropomorphising animals, probably not a good read ) . For me this is a good, solid, easy read suitable for a break from everyday issues or as a get away from it all holiday read. It is well paced, well written and has a believable storyline so thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Not my type of book I would normally read but this was enjoyable and light reading, funny in places.

Doug is a highly intelligent pug who uses his cuteness to advantage. Even though Tom is a V-E-T, Doug thinks he’d be much better for his owner, Julie, than her current married boyfriend Luke. He sets about matchmaking... There’s a budding romance for Julie’s widowed Dad too. A laugh out loud story with lots of fun moments.

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.