This unfortunately turned into another DNF for me. I loved the idea of this book and once we get to the loss of memories it wasn't what I thought it would be. I didn't make it to far into it before I decided not to finish this. I don't think I will go back and try to read this story or finish it.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Can I just say, right from the start of this review, that…

…I love Lucy.

I finished reading Ms. Bailey’s latest book - the fifth in her excellent series about the Callaghan girls - in the wee hours of this morning (Saturday 22nd January 2022).

After which I snapped my Kindle shut - this was a preview copy supplied to me by Bookouture for review purposes ahead of a “virtual book tour” that begins on February 3rd - and let my head fall onto my pillow. Instead of sleeping, I tossed and turned. And so, with the clock edging towards 0200, I found myself stood at the kitchen worktop munching a bowl of honey-flavoured cereal shapes while filling in a crossword puzzle. I wasn’t even hungry. Or filling in the answers correctly.

Why couldn’t you sleep? I hear you ask. Well, read on and I will tell you.

Instead of falling peacefully into the land of Nod, my mind was racing with thoughts on how best to tackle my review about Lucy Callaghan - the youngest and my most favourite - of the fiesty siblings of which Ms. B writes so well.

You see, there are five Callaghan girls. And, as alluded to earlier, this is the fifth in the series. Now, I am no great mathematician and, even at two in the morning and despite my crossword failings, I can deduct five from five and realise that the zero I have left is precisely how many further Callaghan books I have to look forward to.

Zero. Zilch. Nada. None. Nowt. Bugger all.

So, on waking this morning, I have determined to start my review of “Am I Allergic To Men?” with a few complaints.

The first is directed at Bookouture.

COMPLAINT A:
Dear Folk at Bookouture,
Who among your, normally superb team, dropped the ball and didn’t suggest to Kristen Bailey that only five Callaghan sisters wasn’t enough? Why didn’t somebody insist on ten, or even fifteen, girls?
Yours,
Miffed Reader, Yorkshire.

There. I think that is a suitably harsh rebuke aimed at the publishers.

Now, onto my second complaint. This one to the lovely Ms. B. herself.
(I had not read any “blurb” ahead of this book - it being a Kristen Bailey read was simply enough of an enticement for me - and was therefore unaware of the basic premise of the storyline to come. So, please forgive me if the following is something of a plot spoiler.)

COMPLAINT B:
Dear Ms. B.
I am very annoyed at you.
How could you let Lucy get hit by a bus? How can you create such a wonderful, lively, lovely and life-affirming Lucy and then twat her with a ruby-red Routemaster?*
What sort of deranged monster are you?
Yours,
Miffed Reader, Yorkshire.

But, being serious for a brief moment, I loved this book. After all, this is the installment in the series I have most looked forward to. This book is all about the irrepressible Luce Cannon - this is her own gig.

I felt it was a slightly less crazy and chaotic Lucy that we meet in this read. I suppose face-planting a double-decker will mellow even the liveliest of folk. Even so, this is another terrific chapter in the series. Lucy is aided and abetted by her siblings, each one bringing their own vibe to her tale and propelling us along in the narrative. Even Ma Callaghan pops uo to show us just why her girls are the way they are.

There are some terrifically funny bits, some fabulous one-liners and, possibly a little unexpected given this is Lucy’s story, some genuinely tender moments within this book. We do see a few unexpected twists and surprises along the way. Lucy is a gal that constanty surprises. That’s why we (well, this reader anyway) adore her.

As stated at the top of the page…I love Lucy.

However, it did upset me a little to see Lucy get hurt and damaged and to suffer doubts and insecurities. After all, no one likes their favorite characters to come to harm. As readers we want only the best for our on-page heroines.

But that is the skill of Ms. B’s writing. She has penned characters that this reader cares for and feels strongly about. Lucy and her sisters Beth, Grace, Emma and Meg no longer exist only in the mind of their creator, they reside fully in mine. The sisters are - as much as fictional folk can be - fully fledged and whole beings. They live and they breathe. This author is really finding her feet and establishing a solid - and immensely enjoyable - body of work.

It has been a joy and privilege to follow the improvement, enhancement and progress of Kristen’s work during this series. My four adventures “on tour” with Ms. B. and the Callaghan clan have been great fun while reading and reviewing her books.

It has been a joy and a pleasure to read these books. Some readers may give little regard to titles in this genre - these books fall under the general area of romantic comedies - and possibly pooh-pooh others who read them. In her notes at the end, Ms. B writes that she “never tell(s) people I write romantic comedies because, to me, romance is kinda corny.” Instead, she insists that she writes about love and the multitude of ways that it is felt, shown and delivered. I plant my flag firmly in the camp of "read whatever the heck you want to read, as long as folk are reading then that's all good”.

With the world the way is- was, always has been, will be..? - what is wrong with a little romance? Last year, the previous book in the series, “How Much Wine Will Fix My Broken Heart?”, went a long way towards fixing my broken mind. I will be forever grateful to Ms. B’s words that helped nudge me a little closer back to being me.

We could all do with a bit of love. We coud do with sharing more of it too. As readers new to the series will discover between these pages, Lucy is a proud exponent of freely sharing love!

So, if you haven’t read any of the five books yet, I urge you to do so. And, if you decide to take the trip into the world of the Callaghan’s, then I envy you. Because you have all five to look forward to.

But, while you enjoy them and laugh and cry along with the five sisters, please spare a thought for me…

For Ms. B. Has left me with a world without a new Callaghan girls’ book to anticipate.

Bad Ms. B.

* I do know that Routemaster buses were withdrawn from service during the early part of the 2000s but I really liked the alliteration of “ruby-red Routemaster”.

Brilliantly witty story about a woman who after an accident, loses her memory from the last 10 years.

The narrator was wonderful and fitted the story perfectly.

Great audiobook, I wish I made it last a few more days.

Upon waking up from a coma, Lucy has lost the last 10 years of her life. What? Her very close (and at times a little too close for my comfort) family tries all they can to help her regain the lost years. Lucy is a free spirit who has always lived her life by her own rules. The search to finding herself all over again is funny, poignant and filled with family. Well worth the listen. Wonderful narration added to the experience.

A beautiful, funny and amazing journey from teenager to adulthood in a blink of an eye. After a very serious accident, Lucy wakes up from a coma thinking she is still seventeen. More than ten years of her life are lost in her memories. Her family, friends and everyone of the people that love Lucy help her to get back her life. The audiobook is great.

4 stars

Am I Allergic To Men? was funny and entertaining read. Lucy after meeting with an accident loses her memory of the last 10 years. In her head, she is just a 17 year old girl about to join uni. Along with her families' help, she tries to regain her memory.

The British accent was nice to go with it . The narration was hilarious, I had laughing fits throughout the book. I would surely recommend it . The author's writing style was really good. I love how Lucy interacts with kids. All along I keep wonder who Oscar was, It was a nice surprise. The illustrated cover was cute.

The book is out 3rd February.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to say about this book to be honest, there were several things that I just didn't like but the point of a review is to be as honest as possible about MY EXPERIENCE with the story to here it goes...The main reason why I was drawn to it was because of its title, which by the way I don't really think it makes sense to the story line but that's just my opinion. I was given the audiobook version so I think that made it a bit more enjoyable I don't think I would have been able to read it all and actually finish. The main character, Lucy, is such an unlikable character. She is a 30 yr old women that has an accident which causes her to loose her memory which makes her think she's 17 again. This shows promise right ? unfortunately it wasn't developed well. All throughout the book we have Lucy finding out "how amazing she is" and to be honest she wasn't very funny. I don't tend to like books where the author is forcing you to like the main character I think that's something that should happen as the story progresses, but this one was written in way that I just did not believe what any of the secondary characters said about Lucy. She thought of herself as being a feminist, hilarious and open minded women but I don't think this was portrayed well. I found myself cringing the more I read and the more I found out about her. The only reason why I gave her 2 stars was because of the relationship that she has with her sisters. I thought that was a good representation of what sisters should be like although I think that they should have been characters that were written to help Lucy grow instead of enabling her. There is no character growth in the book, all she basically realizes is that she's great... that's it.
I generally don't DNF books because I like to read the entire book before I can say its good/or bad, sometimes I get a pleasant surprise and the book turns around, this wasn't one of those cases. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. This is also part of a series but I don't think ill be picking up any of the other ones I think one sister was enough and I didn't really learn too much of the sisters to what to get to know their story

*Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review*

2,5 stars

First of all, I hated the narrator. I got used to her over time, but the way she talked and expressed the emotion in the book just wasn’t my cup of tea. It also was my first time listening to an audiobook, so maybe I just need to get used to the idea.

I searched hard and long after the romance bit, that it was tagged as on Goodreads, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. There is a bunch of love in it, love between Lucy and her sisters, love between Lucy and her family in general, but not really a romance part. There are guys in it, and loads of them, but not one where I would classify it as romance, not really.

It was however an entertaining book, I did laugh throughout it and I also got a bit emotional, but at the same time it is kind of an average book. It didn’t do anything to me or to my life, maybe that wasn’t intended, but I quite like a book that make me feel different afterwards, that makes me miss it a little, like saying goodbye to a part of yourself. This book did not do that to me. It is an average book with fun parts and strong women and loads of women.

The title of this one, does not make any sense to me, it doesn’t match with the content of the book and there is not a time in the book where she is ill or can’t speak to man. So, the title just doesn’t make sense to me.

It have potential, and it’s a fun, quick book to read, but it’s not more than that.

This is a story more about family relationships and friendships rather than romantic relationships in case you head into this thinking that this a straight up romance novel. I loved the humour in this, Lucy is so sassy and honest with a good heart. I also love the relationships between the 5 sisters as well, there is great comedy between them but also great heart for each other.
The funniest part of this book I thought was when they headed to one of Lucy’s places of work. I did laugh out loud at the outrageousness of it all!
I didn’t realise this book was a part of a series but I already have two of the books in this series lined up on my kindle after listening to this one (the narrator was excellent). There are 5 books in total, one based on each sister.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Am I Allergic To Men?' by Kristen Bailey.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Kristen Bailey, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 3rd February 2022.

This is the second book I have read by this author. It is also the fifth book in the 'The Callaghan Sisters' series but can be read as a standalone. I have also read the fourth book in this series called 'How Much Wine Will Fix My Broken Heart?' which is the fourth book in this series and which I loved and would definitely recommend.


I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'The perfect page-turner for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek.' I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Kristen Bailey and if this is half as good as' How Much Wine Will Fix A Broken Heart?' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 21 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in England, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. The fact that this book is based in Ireland is even better as I have been on holiday in England many times so may even recognise some places Kristen has set the book around.

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonist is Lucy. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.

'Am I Allergic To Men' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Kristen discusses/includes strong language and sexual content. Due to these I would recommend reading age of 16 plus.

OMG!!!! I CANNOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I LAUGHED SO MUCH!!! What an absolutely page turning, refreshing, laugh a minute read!!!! It is perfectly written to hook the reader in and the title, cover and synopsis is perfect for the storyline.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this book which got me hook, line and sinker!! I absolutely devoured it in one reading and was completely absorbed throughout!! I loved that it feels that Lucy is talking directly to me over a cup of tea at the kitchen table. I coinldnt stop laughing from the first page to the end. I adore the fact that although there are quite sad moments and emotional times that within minutes Kristen has you laughing until you are in tears again. As a parent myself I can completely relate to some parts of this storyline and to many of the parents, which made it all the more belivable and lovable. This book is a complete breathe of fresh air and is the perfect mix of 'Bridesmaids' and 'The Hangover' and 'Bridget Jones Diaries' but funnier!!!! I genuinely couldn't recommend this book any more!!!! This is the most hilarious book I have read this year, and more and if you are looking for a light hearted read filled with romance, alcohol, love, comedy, sadness, family and so, so much more you are in the right place!! Some parts of the book were quite serious and Kiersten delves into the medical world at several points. There was a lovely part where they finally found out who a certain someone was which was so sweet. The fact that Kristen has done her research absolutely shines through so a HUGE well done there!! There's nothing worse than a book filled with silly errors because the author has not looked into what they are writing about. I was devastated when I realised this was the last book of the Callaghan sisters however I have yet to read Meg, Megan and Beth's story so I am thoroughly looking forward to reading them. I also adored the fact that in the epilogue you find out what each of the sisters ended up doing which was lovely as they have become friends even though I have just read the two books which shows just how amazing Kirsten's writing is.

I was devastated when I came to the end of this book but I absolutely LOVED reading Kirsten's letter at the end and even the acknowledgements where her personality absolutely shines through!!

Although this is the fifth book in the series I had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.

The characters were all an eclectic mix and each one of them were realistic and strong. I was completely invested in them especially Lucy who I thought was an absolute kick @#& b#*ch and who I absolutely LOVED getting to know!!! Lucy teaches women everywhere to live life to their fullest. She is wild, free and a hundred laughs a minute but has a deep side too which was lovely to see. Lucy is my absolute hero and is an inspiration to many!!! She really does embrace life to the fullest and even when she contemplates what she has done with her life she still gives people s+*%!!! Good on you Lucy. She really comes to life in this book with her larger than life personality she is definitely someone I would love to meet!!! I had tears streaming down my eyes I was laughing so much with her!!! This book is much more realistic than many romantic comedy's I have previously read. It wasn't just Lucy who I loved though but all her absolutely fantastic sisters who made the most amazing family I have ever met!!! They love, fight, laugh and are everything anyone could want in a family. I love the fact that Grace is such a down to Earth and realistic character and I genuinely felt like I bonded with her. Emma seems to be the success story of the sistersand I love that although she is highly thought of by her Mum and she has a fantastic career she has a naughty side and will throw it all aside so stick up for Lucy and the rest of her sisters. I'm glad she seems to have found love. Meg and Beth made me laugh out loud several times and although I've not read their stories along with Emma's yet they also shocked me several times with some of their hilarious stories. You would not want to mess with any of these girls or their family as they will all hunt you down!!! I loved their mum and dad and thought they made a great team and remind me in some ways of my parents. This family will stay with you for a long time. It wasn't only Lucy I was invested in. I also really enjoyed 'meeting' all 'the sisters' again, Igor who had patience of a Saint and a wicked sense of humour, Tony who made me LOL and made an absolutely amazing friend along with Darren and Cass, Tia and the velvet boulevard gang, Sam and so many more characters who will stay with me for a long tim. I absolutely adored Lucy's relationship with all her sisters, I would love to have such amazing sisters around me!!! Each sister had such a unique personality with their own pros and cons and they are each going to be hard to forget. I really am going to miss this fantastic gang and would love to meet them all again when I read Meg, Emma and Beth's stories.

If you have never met this family you my friend are SERIOUSLY missing out!! This is a family you will never forget and will have tears streaming down your face in laughter and fill you with love and warmth!!

A MASSIVE WELL DONE to Kristen on a HUGE success!!! I loved every page of your book and I cannot wait to read more of your past and hopefully future books. This is why you are my favourite author to go to when I need a pick me up!!

Overall a laugh a minute, heart warming, addictive genuine page turner that will have you crying with laughter.


Some of my favourite quotes in this book include the following:

😂 "‘Not worth the drama,’ Craig retorts. ‘In your dreams, home haircut…’"

😂 "She laughs again, with her whole body. ‘Emma told us it was lucky as normally you prefer to go commando.’ I do? I am pretty sure I don’t as Beth told me that spiders can crawl up my minnie while I’m asleep. Their leftover legs then stick to you and become pubes."

I could go on and on there were so many but then I'd never finish this review and would end up using at least half of the book 😂


Genres covered in this book include Romance Novel, Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Romance and Domestic Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of JoJo Moyes, Cecilia Ahern, Sophie Kinsella, 'Bridesmaids', 'The Hangover', 'Bridget Jones Diaries' and anyone looking for one hell of a laugh!!!


305 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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While our main character Lucy may as well be allergic to men, this book was so much more. It was about love and finding yourself and being true to you.

I am not the biggest fan of audio books and this one (being an English book) was difficult to understand with the accent. It took me longer to get though than it would’ve with a physical copy, but it was still such a good read.

I absolutely loved Lucy’s personality and how confident she was. She knew exactly who she was and never held back. She never felt pressure to conform to societal norms or act/dress a certain way out of fear of being judged. She was brave and fierce and badass.

Her journey was beautiful; after a near death incident wiped her memory away, she had to put the pieces of her life back together and try to figure out what made Lucy, Lucy. She woke up thinking she was 17 years-old, not an almost 30 year-old.

It was also so fun to read about how close her family was. From her 4 sisters and their children, to her parents to her “mates” she was so loved. Her community was so strong, it’s no wonder where she got her go-get’em attitude from.

This was an inspiring, fun and easy read and definitely recommend to anyone looking for a feel good read. While Lucy lived a unconventional lifestyle, you couldn’t help but fall in love with her and she learned to fall back in love with herself. 

Book Rating: 4/5
Spice Rating: 3/5

I'll admit that this is not a fair way to review a book -- but this was not the book I expected to read and that really tainted my experience. I wanted this to be a rom-com and I think I was led on by the title to that decision. This book felt far too similar to Sophie Kinsella's 'Remember Me', but it was not as successful. I didn't mind the character of Lucy, but I didn't find her story quite so interesting and I felt like there were large plot points that were left unanswered.

Am I Allergic to Men? by Kristen Bailey

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily

You think you’ve got it bad? I lost my memory, I’m so single I’ve basically got an allergy to men, and my own cat despises me.

‘Lucy! If you can hear me, squeeze my hand!’

That’s the first thing I hear when I wake up in hospital. Then my sister drops a bombshell: I’ve been in a coma.

*I have read this book as a stand-alone*

This is the first book I have read by Kristen - I listened to this audiobook within a day. It is a funny book. I didn't realise that this book was part of a series, you learn about Lucy as she learns about herself. A fun and heart-warming story about Lucy and the bond she has with her sisters.

Rating 4/5

This book was marvellous. Lucy's accident gives her the opportunity to know what her 17-year-old self would think about her choices and the paths her life has taken in the last 12 years, because she wakes up and finds out she forgot everything that happened in that period of time.
It was great to see how her sisters (she's the youngest of five) would defend her own life and choices from herself. In fact, the whole description of the relationship between Lucy and her sisters was wonderful, because you could feel the love and acceptance among all of them and their parents.

And of course, it was completely understandable that the 17-year-old version of Lucy would find her actual 30-year-old life so strange. Our dreams and plans for the future when we are 17 change as we grow up and figure out who we truly are. That's the beauty of this story: it makes you think about how that would go for you. Maybe you've achieved everything you wanted when you were 17, but more often, you'll find out your life took an unexpected turn and find yourself somewhere you've never imagined you'd be.

I love the characters, I love Lucy and her free spirit, I love the fun parts and the whole deep meaning there's behind it. I laughed out loud but I've also been touched by the Callaghan sisters. In fact, I'll definitely check out the previous books in this series.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was amazing as well.

Well, it was a rather funny story to listen to.
But I have to be honest - I just don't understand the title!?
With all the sex she is having, she is clearly not allergic to men...

I think that's why so many are disappointed with this book, because the title seems to indicate that this is a book about love, relationships, or something like it... And I can't say that I blame them. Luckily, I was prepared and knew what I got...
But I really think somebody should change the title to avoid the confusion.

Lucy wakes up from Coma and realizes she has lost the last 10 years of her memory. In her head, she is still 17. We follow her journey of reflecting back on the lost 10 years of her life.
I expected a romance based on the title and the cover but instead got a story about a girl that had so many boyfriends she wonders if she’s allergic to men.

Loved this book. Nice easy read and have just found out that there are books about the other sisters so can't wait to get stuck into them. Very easy to follow with lots of laugh out loud moments. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to my friends.

I didn't realize that this was part of a series (and I haven't read any of the other books or anything from this author before) I started the first few chapters and was confused at what was going on. I couldn't get into this one because the writing style and humour just wasn't my taste so I had to give up on it. I think if I had more background of what was going on it would have been better.

The book went from what I thought would be light and deep and heavy quickly after the main character Lucy loses years of memory after being hit by a bus. Her family shows up to support her and help her remember the lost years. It was a very moving, fun, and heartwarming story!

Lucy’s mission to remember the lost years is funny yet heartwarming. It examines the importance of family and knowing who your people are. Everything is different, and Lucy must learn what she missed and who she is.

I will say that I thought this book would be a rom-com due to the title and book cover. However, this book is definitely realistic fiction and heavier than expected. I still enjoyed it a lot and would recommend this book.

I read this as an audiobook and found the narrator enjoyable to listen to.

What drew me to this was both the title and the "You’ll laugh so much your abs ache!" blurb. Unfortunately I didn't find it terribly humorous. This isn't one of my favorite books I have read. It was okay. The first chapter was chaotic and mostly unenjoyable for me. The rest of the novel kind of grew on me. From the cover and the title I assumed that this would have an element of romance. It doesn't. It has plenty of sex with various people and lots of family affection. But there is no defining romantic relationship that's at the center of this novel. This reads more like a chicklit novel.

At the beginning it was giving me some "Bridget Jones's Diary" (the book, not the movie) vibes. I'm not sure if that's a good thing for me. I only gave the first "Bridget Jones's Diary" novel three stars. It was hard to stay engaged in this book. It all kind of ran together and I was ready for it to end after a while.

As a side note, this was set in 2022 and I was expecting more evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout Lucy's recovery and everyday life. For example the wearing of masks, talking of vaccinations, social distancing, etc. Especially because we do start off the present day timeline with a children's party, transitioning into her hospital stay. If anywhere, hospitals are where evidence would be most prevalent. Apparently, no one in London wears a mask anymore...

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy!