Poppy is a sex therapist dreading her attendance at her little sister’s wedding. Being the pariah in her family Poppy is not expecting love and joy with her arrival. What she gets is angst, unhappiness, and unfortunately, more impromptu therapy sessions than she bargained for.

I love Poppy. She is very good at her job. A job her family doesn’t understand and thinks it’s an embarrassment. The family dynamics are volatile and confrontational at best until the practical and sensible Poppy uses her skills to unlock and resolve some significant and sometimes humorous issues, i.e. the truth about masturbation and addiction to porn, the consequences of sexting, staving off pervy wankers, and advice for virgin brides to name a few. With all of the distress of selfish siblings and bullying parents, Poppy meets a handsome data scientist/surfing instructor named Sam and his charming daughter Jessie who give her a sense of peace in a house full of chaos.

It’s disarming at first how Poppy is treated by her spiteful mother and sisters and it’s understandable why she doesn’t want to be around them. But with patience, humor, and tough love she finally gets everyone to open up. Needless to say, Poppy’s family comes to appreciate her profession and apologize for their nasty behavior.

I found this to be a refreshing take on a dysfunctional family with comedic flair. Yes, there is romance, but as the title clearly states, it’s more about family relationships with a love story added on. I can’t wait to read more from Phoebe MacLeod.

Thank you to the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

Poppy is a sexual and relationship therapist, guiding and advising where she can. But her job isn’t something her mother is happy about; this problem is resolved by distance.

But when her sister is getting married and she is to spend time with everyone on a family holiday, her skills will be needed closer to home.

This novel mainly focuses on Poppy's family drama and relationships; meeting lots of different characters that I found myself very much liking or disliking, I was not too keen on Poppy’s mother, but understand she was made to be this way in the book and is a key character to this narrative at the end.
This is a second narrative running through this book, of Poppy and a love interest, but this is very much a side narrative.


I have read a few novels by this author and they are easily one of my go-to authors

This is the first novel by Phoebe MacLeod that I have read and I was not disappointed. If you ever want to read something that plays out like the perfect Hallmark Movie then this is the one for you. It was a nice break to have a book that covered more family dynamics with the love interest as a side story throughout.

I could relate to this book on so many levels, from weddings and family issues I felt like I could connect with each character in some way.

The plot was well paced and didn't feel to drag at all, I also really liked that the ending wasn't an over the top romantic gesture like other romance books and it just made the whole story more believable.

Also thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

A single woman going for a holiday with her family prior to a family wedding can lead to a lot of awkward situations. With this being Poppy’s younger sister getting married, there’s a lot of pressure on her about her marital status. This is made worse by Poppy’s occupation – a sex therapist – always an embarrasment especially for her mother.

As the holiday continues, Poppy meets up a surfer and sparks fly. But can this connection go any further?

Also can Poppy and her family get closer to each other during this holiday?

Loved this humourous story with underlying layers dealing with family dynamics, the usefulness of the kind of therapy that Poppy practices and of course, a nice romance.

#blogtour

Poppy is a therapist and not the ones that we usually read about. She is a sex therapist and this makes her mother cringe and she has a full week coming up to spend time with all her family members. Will this be a nightmare or disaster waiting to happen? Read this and you will find out.

This was more focused towards Poppy’s journey, resolving issues and misconceptions with her family. It was more of women’s fiction and less of romance or romcom. However, that did not stop me from enjoying the story and how nicely it was executed.

The characters were good except Poppy’s mother but even she did come around. Her development was fantastic and showed us the result of assuming thins and not communicating even as a family.

For me, the story does not do justice to the title and is kinda misleading. Reading this title I would except a romcom in an unusual way though it does say un-romcom. This book is family drama done at its best. The story was unique and something I have not read before. I wish there was more romance or at least an epilogue form Poppy and Sam.

I recommend this if you are interested in family drama or women’s fiction.

I absolutely loved it, just what I needed on a cold, wet day sat under a blanket with a brew laughing, it really cheered me up
For me a definite must read , can't wait to read more by this author

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, cute and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book and will look for other books by this author.

I have a few Phoebe MacLeod books and this didn't disappoint. Relationships Dramas and tense family dynamics made me lose me lose myself in the multiple story threads. This book just felt so real and authentic with the wedding preparation and resulting issues. I loved the chemistry of Sam and Poppy was great and I was rooting for them instantly I was just sad when the book ended so soon.

So this story gives the reader exactly what it says on the cover and (un) romantic comedy. It's full of complex characters and family dynamics. Many characters are not easy to like, but most improve with an acquaintance with Phoebe and her skills as a therapist. It's a humorous story focusing mainly on family members and their dramas. Phoebe does have a chance of romance with an unlikely man, leading to some romantic moments.

I like the humour, the family dramas and the gentle romantic moments.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

It was a good book and really enjoyed it all and rooted for this couple to make it. Love it all. read it today you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

So, I liked this Phoebe MacLeod book much more than her other book 'Let's not be friends'. Redemption baby! A solid 3.5 stars.

The book is about Poppy, our local sex therapist, who has to go on holiday with her family for her baby sister's wedding. Except, she isn't that tight with her family at all. She's at odds with her sisters on the best of days and her mother is disgusted by her job. A jolly mix to spend a week with! Indeed, it goes wrong on the very first night, after which Poppy decides to go to the beach early the next morning to cool off. There she meets our hunk Sam, a surfer with very blue eyes indeed. At first they get off on the wrong foot, but all is well the next day. Before she knows it, she's catching feelings!

Poppy is a quite standard, thirty something character, who's just trying to survive her family on holiday. At times her family treats her so abysmally bad that I was starting to wonder why she didn't cut them off at eighteen and never spoke to them again. However, as the week goes on, she uncovers parts of her family that allow her to understand them better. Not me though, they never would've seen me again. Especially after her mother gives her reasoning for hating her job, my jaw was on the floor. This wasn't even miscommunication, that was an unholy amount of assumption and crude imagination on her mother's side. She thought Poppy watched people have sex???????? I need you to be so honest with yourself and ask yourself why on EARTH you assumed such a thing?????? Also, she did not apologise enough to her daughter for antagonising her over a job she doesn't even do????? I would've committed murder.
Anywayyyssssss. Her love interest, Sam, is a nice enough man that you get to know very limitedly and who will only ever be perfect. also they fall in love in a week. not even a week. five days ish? after which he leaves to go be by his daughter's side after a car crash (VERY UNDERSTANDABLE) but they never exchange numbers or anything so in the end he has to go on a chase to find Poppy. after five days.... I barely like someone after five days, let alone fall in love. but whatever.... whatever floats your boat.

Overall, it was a perfectly fine book that had me giggling at time and I had a flutter in my stomach from time to time. A solid book.

I’m sort of a bit at a loss on how to review this story. I have a rule that I give a book at least five to six chapters to hook me with the story or characters before I decide if I’m going to go on with it. Honestly, I almost DNF’d this one because I was not loving any of the characters. It do manage a good turn here and there, and I liked it okay enough to finish. However, I probably wouldn’t read it again and 3 stars are being generous here, for me. Again, this is my opinion- I’m sure it would be smashing for some.
**Netgalley, thank you for the early read.**

I was fully prepared for this to be a "meh" review, but - well, it's not.

At the beginning, "An (Un)Romantic Comedy" was giving me "basic, but not my type of basic" vibes. I felt like the family of Poppy would be insufferable and that I wouldn't have any fun reading it.

Then, I forgot at which point, it became really really good! Sure, it's predictable and a little cheesy, but hear me out, it's the good kind of cheesy. Reading this book helped me escape from my real-life problems, without being boring, and it was comfort, the all in caps kind of comfort.

We have the characters who are a menace at the beginning, but then some issue gets resolved and they're not bad people after all. We have those characters who are just cool. And then of course we have those who really just *are* a menace so all the other characters can dislike them together. ;)

Poppy is a sex therapist and this is a big theme in this book. I think the author had something to say about prejudices against sex therapists and about bedroom issues in general and I LOVE that she speaks out against these in her book. I wish the things she writes about were common knowledge. (cough, looking at all the men* who have no clue, cough)

At times the dialogues about sex therapy themes felt very "written for the reader" - I could never have those long and deep dialogues the characters have without some reactions in between - but then it was perfect like that, I didn't really need those reactions.

So, all in all, this was a 4.5 star read for me! I enjoyed this book very much and can highly recommend it to you if you're looking for a cute comfort read!

Thank you @netgalley and @bookandtonic for the ARC. My opinion has not been influenced in any way, as always! :)

An (Un) Romantic Comedy follows the week long adventures of Poppy and her family as they travel for her baby sisters wedding. We meet a whole cast of characters: older brother Andrew with wife Zoe and teenage children Sarah and Freddie, older sister Rose with husband Steven and daughters Olivia and Evie, Mom, Dad, and of course our grooms family too, including his baby brother Stuart. Right from the start we find out that Poppy is a sex therapist, think a therapist that focuses on how our sexual relations effect our relationships, and she's quite good at her job, but Mom and family don't really want her making her job title known to the new additions of the family, and Poppy is under strict orders to not discuss her work while they are on this family trip. Of course that goes out the window within the first hour or two of Poppy being in the house. Over the next week we see Poppy interact with her nieces and nephew as they all come to her willingly (or in some cases unwilling) to talk about their problems with sex. We even see her help other members of her family and she quickly changes their minds about what her job actually is and the true benefit behind sex therapy. While these escapades are happening with her family, Poppy also runs into a hunk surfer, Sam, on the beach, who with a little convincing from his teenage daughter, Jessie, also convinces Poppy to take surf lessons with him. As Poppy gets better at surfer, her relationships with Sam and Jessie also grow, until Jessie has to leave to go back to her mom. At this point, with her sister's approval, Poppy asks Sam to come to her sisters wedding with her, which he happily accepts. Unfortunately, he never makes it to the wedding, as Jessie is in a terrible car crash and he rushes to be by her side. Poppy is very upset by this, yet still manages to have an okay time at the wedding, especially since there has been a great improvement in her familial relationships over the past week as well. Out story comes to a close at Poppy's office, with her surfer hunk waiting to ask if they can try their relationship long distance.

Wowza.

For a book that opens in a sex therapists office talking about giant light up thrusting dildos, there was a SURPRISING lack of sex in this book. You talk about vibrators and sex positions on page one but EVERY sex scene, even mild make-out sessions, are fade to black!? MASSIVELY disappointing. Sex was talked about in every single chapter of this book, from thinking about doing it, asking advice about doing, actually doing it, to literally everything in between- and yet there wasn't ONE explicit scene in the ENTIRETY of the book??? It's completely unacceptable.

Not to mention that Poppy's relationship towards sex is completely unbelievable. She finds it hard to find someone to have sex with because of her line of work, but the VERY first eligible bachelor we meet in her story she can't stop thinking about wanting to have sex with? That makes no sense. If it was the 2nd or 3rd guy, yeah I would buy it, but the FIRST? Nope.

There were also just way too many characters in this story. And I get it, they each served a purpose. But 3 siblings, each with spouses, two with two kids each, two sets of parents, a brother in law, a love interest, their daughter, AND a maid of honor? It's just too much. I think I was still struggling to keep track of whose kids were who's up to the last page. This many people was not necessary. And you would think with a cast of characters like this they would all serve a purpose or drive out story along right? Nope. Half of them just existed to say something once (or never at all), be super annoying and act as the group verbal punching bag (Amy), or tell their dad that they should date the pretty girl in front of them. It was just sort of annoying how stupidly huge this cast of characters was and how little purpose most of them served.

And at the end of the day, the story was just boring. Poppy ended up being perfect. Despite the fact that no one approved of her career choice, every single one of them, STILL benefited from her years of training and schooling by the end of our story.

I think a better title for this book would've been "Sex Therapy 101 with no Sex". Just, not a great read in my opinion.

Great book. The characters felt real and I laughed out loud quite a bit. I loved the banter and the sweet ness of it all.

Amusing and fun read with great characters. Being a sex therapist sounds like a fab job! Nothing like a big family wedding to bring out the worst and then best in people, really enjoyed this book and would recommend x

This book was too funny, the beginning had me in tears and even Poppy’s family throughout the book had me laughing so hard. Poppy is the black sheep, since she was a teen, Poppy was always curious about sex, and her family always thought of that as a defect in her. She decided to be a sex and relationship therapist and she’s doing her thing, but to her family, her job is shameful. It was a little painful to see how they treated her but to also see how Poppy help on. She was able to help her family, and her mother was able to finally sit down and talk to Poppy about her career and poppy was able to really communicate with her mom, it was an all around sweet and fun read. Yes I liked the romance brewing between Sam and Poppy but I think her reconciliation with her family was my fave part of this book.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

An (Un) Romantic Comedy was my first time reading a title by Phoebe MacLead and it definitely won’t be my last. We follow Poppy, a sex therapist who is going to spend the week with her not so approving family as they prepare for her sisters wedding. During this hectic week filled with many family conflicts that Poppy finds herself in the middle of, she meets Sam. Sam offers to teach Poppy how to surf and mor begins to blossom. As I was reading, all I could think about was how this book would be such a fun movie if it was ever adapted. I thought it was very different from a lot of romances I read/used to where it is solely on the main character and the love interest and I enjoyed it way more than I expected. I thought the growth the whole family went through with Poppy was so intriguing to read about. I do wish there was a little more at the end with Sam and Poppy. And I also wanted a little more during the actual wedding because it was a big focus point of the book. Thank you for the ARC!

📚 A R C R E V I E W 📚

An (Un) Romantic Comedy
Written By: Phoebe Macleod

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poppy is an intimacy therapist, and her very conservative family does not approve of her profession. She is spending a week with her family in preparation for her sister’s wedding, and suffice to say, she is not looking forward to it.

This book is full of family tension and funny, awkward moments. However, as indicated by the title, there is not a lot of romance in it. Poppy meets Sam, a surf instructor that she gets to know romantically, but there is little emphasis on this relationship. Their meeting and getting together seemed a bit rushed and disingenuous.

I know it was the point to have family tension, but the way her family disrespected and shamed Poppy and her profession was a bit unsettling. This is a highly educated, grown woman and she was essentially being treated like an outcasted, promiscuous teenager all week. It was a bit of overkill.

Interestingly enough, it’s her expertise that helps her family members out of a few sticky situations, despite her mother’s shame of it.

Poppy does have a fun, banter-filled friendship with her sister-in-law, which I really enjoyed reading.

My favourite character was Jessie, Sam’s daughter who is about to start university. She was very self-aware and witty. She added a lot of interest to the romance storyline.

There was a lot of long descriptions of mundane moments - getting dressed, showering, deciding what to wear, going down for breakfast, etc. There wasn’t a lot of plot development, and there were some cringe-worthy moments.

Overall it was a light, quick read.

Have you read any books from this author? She was new to me!

#arcreview #bookstagram #romance#romancereads #books #bookworm #bookaddict #romcoms #romcombooks #contemporaryromance #explore #explorepage #bookish #bookishlife #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #romancebooks #bookreviews #romancereviews #booktok #romanticcomedy

Fun, joyus, made me laugh, made me cry, super easy and fast read. One you'd get your friends to pick up