Thank you for the ARC but this rom-com was alright. This was my first book by this author and I somewhat enjoyed it. Its a 3.5 ⭐️ for me

This is a cute comedy about finding someone rediscovering their identity after suffering amnesia. When it started off, I thought I would find the MC too abrasive and poorly written. So much was going on at once, and I found it a bit confusing. However, after the author and the book find its own pace, the story gets to be quite delightful. When I thought the book was going to devolve into a simp after men situation with constant complaints of singleness, it actually took a turn and instead focuses on self-development. I really like how the novel concluded, the lessons learned, and seeing the FMC interact with her family. My only real issue is that by calling the novel "Am I Allergic to Men?" it seems like the bi- part of Lucy's identity, but I get that the title needs to be catchy and fun (and is in fact the reason why I was interested in first reading this anyways)

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy.

I found the main character quite annoying and really struggled to finish the book.

I love the title, unfortunately I don’t think it fits the story at all. I was expecting a cute rom-com.

I would not recommend this book.

I'm sorry, but I found the mc, Lucy, just so annoying. She honestly dragged the book down, and the fact thst she seemed to think that she's the epitome of hilarious was just the cherry on top. The sibling relationships are the only good parts, but sometimes there's too much of it. Especially in the beginning. I half-thought this wasn't a romance after all and is a contemporary fiction following these sisters' lives instead.

This is the first book i read by this author, it wasn't bad, i like some parts and the relationship between the sisters.

I really like the fact that this story was about finding yourself more than something about relationships but i was expecting some kind of romance.

But everything was nice. Hope in the future i can read more about this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

'Am I Allergic to Men?' follows Lucy, an almost 30 year-old that is involved in an accident on Waterloo Bridge resulting in amnesia. This leads her to forgetting a decade of her life, so she undertakes the assignment to track down her exes whilst reflecting on her life during her late teens and early twenties.

Many parts were humorous but I do feel the story would have moved along just fine without all the excessive descriptions and focus for each character. Like several other readers, I was expecting romance (perhaps that was my poor judgement solely based on the title) but I was disappointed to find it didn't quite fit into that genre. The amnesia plot which is the central focus of this novel did appear a tad far-fetched, but I can imagine it being portrayed well in a comical film so all hope is not lost!

Lucy's character was rather annoying on several occasions; whilst I could relate to her bluntness, her obnoxious nature overpowered her direct approach and use of sarcasm, which was rather off-putting. I was expecting more character development than we received and less of her self-obsessed attitude.

Lucy's supportive relationship with her sisters was a highlight but I understand why some thought they were overwhelming - they were very involved throughout the entirety of the novel. I also learnt that this is part of a series based on all the five Callaghan sisters, perhaps the others might be more my cup of tea!

As much as I wanted to love this and give it a four/five stars, I would have to be honest and say it's three stars from me.

Thank you to netgallery and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a completely honest review.

The title of this book totally roped me in, but I honestly cannot finish it. I am nearly 60% done this book and I cannot see how the title of the book relates the storyline at all. I thought this would be a cute romantic comedy, but 60% into the book and I had enjoyed 0 romance and 0 comedy.

Lucy, underemployed part-time actress and costume party for-hire gets hit by a bus and wakes up from a coma thinking she's 17 again. In order to help her maybe gain back her memory again (didn't get far enough to know if she did or not), her sisters all move back home with her parents. The highlight of the book was the relationship that Lucy had with her sisters, which reminded me and made me feel thankful of my relationship with my siblings.

In summary, if you want romance or humor, this book is not for you.

I had to DNF this book. It’s not particularly bad or anything like that, it’s just very clearly not a book for me. I don’t like the humour and didn’t really care for the story. I gave it fair chance, reading over half of the book and then skimming an additional 25ish pages only to realize I got as much out of the skimming as I did with the parts I actually read. But this book isn’t for me. I think some people could enjoy it, but there was no real differentiation between the sisters, it seems like the story is trying so hard to be quirky along with its try-too-hard humour. I’m all about a female character who’s confident in her body and her sexual choices, but it seemed like these details were just there for shock value or to drive home the idea that she’s the fun, cool girl. We get it. I got it the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Am I Allergic to Men? follows Lucy Callaghan who after an accident wakes up thinking she's 17, and can't remember anything or anyone from the last decade of her life.

In order to help get her life back to what it was, Lucy and all of her grown up sisters move back into the family home.

Am I Allergic to Men? is laugh out loud funny - full of brilliant British humour and quips which I really enjoyed. I went into it thinking it was going to be a romantic comedy (I think maybe the title is a tad misleading) but it's not, it focuses more on family relationships and sisterhood. I really loved it. I loved the message that the love of your life doesn’t have to be a romantic partner - sometimes it’s your best friend or your sisters. A lot of books i’ve read recently have kind of had relationships as the be all and end of all of life which in 2022 is just not the case anymore!

This is the last book in a series, but it does work as a standalone (I haven’t read any of the others and still enjoyed it).

If you like books by Lucy Vine, Dolly Alderton’s memoir or Sisterhood by Daisy Buchanan I think you’ll like this.

First off, I love the premise of this book. I thought the story was cute, it took me a few days to get through it. I don’t want to say too much about the plot bc I don’t want to give any spoilers. But I recommend!

Some real laugh out loud and heart warming moments in this book, however i feel like if I knew somebody like Lucy on real life I wouldn't really like her. She's a bit full on. I admire her confidence and I love the humour but she was a bit much at times. This isn't a romance book which surprised me, but a book about friendship, family, the love that is found within them and also about finding yourself when you literally have no recollection about who you are. Also, just to add "I've seen better fake tan on a garden fence" is my new favourite insult.

A freak accident - Lucy on a bicycle collided with a bus and while in the hospital her and her sisters come to find out that she has lost all her memory from the last 10 years and they must help her regain it all back.

The fifth book in a series where each book focused on a different sister in this family. At the time of reading this book, I had only read the book right before, book four and while I may have missed out on some back history with some of the sisters, it didn't make me feel lost at all while reading this one.

Before her accident, Lucy was a happily struggling artist trying to pay her bills and enjoying a life with little responsibilities. After her accident, she is grappling with where her life went and where she now wants her life to go. I loved how Lucy went back through her past and connected the dots and while she wanted to keep some of the things, she was able to reevaluate and send her life down a different path.

After finishing this book, I am motivated to read the first three in this series and continue to read Kristen Bailey as she hopefully writes more books with women at the center. Women who are trying to find their true north whether that be on their own or with a partner by their side.

Let me be honest, I got interested in this book because of its title. If you stumbled across a book called "Am I Allergic to Men", you're bound to be interested. I thought it would be an entertaining rom-com discussing some themes of feminism. But in reality, it provided none of these....

"Am I Allergic to Men" follows a woman called Lucy. One day, she wakes up from Coma and realizes she has lost the last 10 years of her memory. In her mind, she's still 17. Throughout the story, we follow her journey of reflecting back on the lost 10 years of her life.

I didn't like our main character Lucy. She was annoying .She thought herself incredibly funny and hilarious. But her actions gave me serious level of cringe. She was obnoxious as hell; irresponsible and irritating. Lucy's character totally fell flat and failed to meet my expectations (my expectations were very low. I guess that says a lot.)

The siblings dynamic between Lucy and her elder sisters played a major role in this book. I personally didn't like her sisters. All of their characters seemed two dimensional and boring to me.

The humor would receive a big "No" from me. The book wasn't funny at all.

The writing was also bad. I had to read some of the paragraphs several times to understand what was going on. To be honest, I skimmed lots of page of the book. I was getting angry and I just wanted to finish it one way or another.

I never wanted to give an arc such lower rating. But I am helpless in this case. I am only being unbiased and completely honest. Forgive me if I have offended anyone.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Am I Allergic to Men? By Kristen Bailey

Published: February 3, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 275
Genre: Comedy/ Humor
KKECReads Rating:
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Kristen Bailey is a mother-of-four, rum-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She used to write short fiction before her first two novels were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and had since joined the Bookouture family. HAS ANYONE SEEN MY SEX LIFE? CAN I GIVE MY HUSBAND BACK? and DID MY LOVE LIFE SHRINK IN THE WASH? Follow the Callaghan sisters and are a fresh take on modern life, love, and family. Apparently, they're funny, but her husband likes to tell her different. She lives in Hampshire, UK. She also is a whizz at world capitals and thinks pineapple belongs on pizza. Don't fight her on this.

“We will need glitter, all the goddamn glitter.”

Lucy is fierce- the baby of her family, confident, intelligent, she isn’t afraid to do or say what she likes. She’s devoted to her four older sisters, parents, and nieces and nephews. When Lucy is in a terrible accident, she wakes up thinking she is 17 again. Now, her sisters are determined to do whatever they can to help Lucy find herself again, no matter the cost.

This was such a cute story. I loved the bond the sisters had, and I loved the unity and strength each character possessed.

Lucy is a wild card. She is fierce, bold, outgoing, outspoken, and comfortable with who she is. She sees the best in every situation, and she isn’t afraid to use her voice.

The sisters were all so great. I loved how they each represented something within their dynamic, and I loved the banter between them.

This was an emotional story, filled with heartwarming moments, funny bits, and the overwhelming truth that sisterhood is a bond that can’t be broken.

This is a must-read! Everyone should be a little bit like Lucy.

Based on the book cover and synopsis, I went into this expecting a cute, stand alone rom com. Unfortunately this was none of the above. I tried to get into it but I found it silly, immature and I wasn’t interested enough to continue after 30%. I listened to the audio version and I was irritated by the narrator’s voice because I didn’t think it matched the main character’s behavior. Oh yeah, and this is the fifth book in a series which I didn’t find out until I looked at some other reviews to see if it got better. I’m sure some will absolutely love it but it just wasn’t for me.

Second chances are very hard to notice, usually, they go by without us even realizing we just lost an opportunity.

The same thing happens with freedom. And we can actually be as happy as we want to be, as long as we allowed our soul to be free and be aware that there is always a chance for us to try and start all over again.

This book, besides all the life lessons I gather, was fun and peaceful, the kind of book that reminds you what, who and why you are yourself. Main message: Don't Stop Believing!

This ARC was granted to me through NetGalley and approved by Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an electronic ARC of this book.

This is one of those times when the cover and the blurb don't match the actual book. The cover looks like this will be a sweet rom-com, right? The blurb makes it sound a bit more comedic. But in reality, for me, it was neither.

We follow Lucy Callaghan, the youngest of five sisters, who gets into an accident while dressed as Disney's Elsa and loses her memory. The other four sisters have already gotten their own books and I didn't read them so I'm missing a bit of the historic context for them. But on the page, none of the sisters seemed to be very distinct. Sure, they had their own thing, like Emma was the doctor, but honestly, they didn't seem to add much to the story.

Lucy was supposed to be a party girl, a strong woman who was charting her own path and living life unconventionally. Maybe it's that she wakes up thinking she's 17, but she came across as extremely immature. Honestly, even before the accident, she wasn't particularly compelling.

Strangely, Kristen Bailey wrote the plot without any tension. At no point did it feel like Lucy was dying to know who she really was, she meandered around with her sisters, exes, acting 17.

There's little to no romance, too. Not in the traditional sense of a romance book, so that was a disappointment.

Overall, I'm afraid that this book truly wasn't for me. One of the comps in the blurb was to Sophie Kinsella, who has her own -superior in my opinion - novel with a protagonist who has lost all memory of the past 10 years. I wish I had felt more of a connection to characters that Kinsella brings to her stories.

a great story I loved, with an important message.
Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for providing me with an EArc of "Am I Allergic to Men" in exchange for an honest review.

Am I Allergic to Men? Is actually the 5th in the Callaghan Sisters Series. I didn't know this, but it explained how there could be so much previously established information. Luckily this is written in a way that I didn't need to read the 4 books first.

This had some positives, let's cover those first.
➕️ The sisters relationship was my favorite thing. As a Hufflepuff I value loyalty and they had it in spades. There was so much pure sister love, I'd recommend this book for adult fans of Frozen.
➕️ Bad Ass Mama.
➕️ Lucy has a big reveal at the end that I really respect but can't really talk about without spoilers. It's not a popular decision for most women, that's all I'll say.
➕️ Sex positive. This book has such a positive open view on sex that was refreshing. Lucy is bisexual and active and she's never judged for that. She even apparently works in a kink club in Mayfair and yet everyone is a HUMAN not a whore.

The negatives now.
Y'all don't judge a book by the cover. I DID and therefore I ended up feeling hella tricked.

Lucy, a 30 year woman of dubious success (She's a children's party princess and bartender but ALSO a West End actress?) gets hit by a bus and wakes up with amnesia to the point where she believes she's still 17. She lost 13 years of her life, and is struggling to cope with the person everyone is telling her she became.
➖️ There is no actual romance. Every man not her father or married to her sister is a piece of shit.
➖️ "A completely laugh-out-loud and addictive page turner!" Umm. Not really? She's an oversharer with no filter and a taste for crude or crass, but I don't think I laughed at all. Maybe it's funny to the British? It's set in London.
➖️ An absurd amount of page time was given to intimate piercings and photos of genitalia on the phone. Still not funny. Am I missing something?

3 stars/5 from me.
This would be PERFECT for people who love Sophie Kinsella and British Women's Fiction or anyone looking for some sister fiction.

Am I Allergic to Men? Follows Lucy who for all intents and purposes is out in the world living her life to the fullest. Until, one day she gets hit by a buses and loses over ten years of her memory. Now, Lucy has a string of exes and the random name of Oscar to help give her clues into who she was.

When I saw the description of this book I was so excited to read it. It gave the vibes of a smutty book where the girl meets with her exes, until she finds the one. I was under the impression that this was a romance book; however, the description was a little misleading. The book was well-written, and I absolutely loved the relationship between the sisters. If this book was marketed more as a general fiction with more of a description focusing on Lucy’s growth as a person, I may have known more of what to expect.

Overall, this was a solid book with good writing and lovable characters. Lucy’s growth throughout the story was amazing to read about, and I even liked the reveal of who Oscar was because it felt very her.