Cover Image: Pug Actually

Pug Actually

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

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⭐️ 3 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Pug Actually is a fun, easy read and I really enjoyed the fact that it was narrated by a dog.

Well-written, with fully rounded (if not a bit annoying) characters. I can’t say I particularly liked or connected with any of the characters apart from Doug the pug, but I thought he well and truly made up for the rest of the cast.

A witty, light-hearted, entertaining read.

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This was a fun rom-com with the added twist of being set from Doug, The Pugs, perspective. At times it was a bit predictable but nevertheless a good story.

Although I personally couldn't really relate with the characters, I didn't find any fault with them. Looking at the story objectively, it hots on all the perfect points; humor, love between humans, the unconditional love of a pet, and the trials and tribulations of dating.

Definitely have several friends who have read it upon my recommendation and have loved it as they can relate to the plot a bit more than myself.

All things considered though, still thought Matt did a wonderful job with Doug, Julie and Tom.

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This book was absolutely adorable. I'm talking "this needs to be made into a romantic comedy Netflix Original Movie ASAP" adorable. So let's get on that, shall we?

Pug Actually not only HAS a dog, but it is fully NARRATED by said dog. His name is Doug and *spoiler* he DOES NOT DIE in the book! That's always a huge concern for any book/movie with dogs in it.

Doug is a pug (get it?) who was rescued by his owner Julie and now wants to return the favor. He wants Julie to be happy and to fall in love with someone much better than the man she's currently seeing. When she meets Tom, they don't exactly hit it off, but Doug knows they'd be good for each other if they just tried. He pulls some shenanigans to force the two of them to spend time together, hoping they'll some day see it as well. Obviously, this is a romance, so do with that what you will.

Super cute. There's a super cute dog. There's a sweet male lead. Solid book.

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Wanted to love this one...but the POV of the dog, while fresh and 'novel' at first, grew a tad repetitive throughout. Not to mention some of the dog stuff mentioned was disgusting at times... The humour did add some good balance, but it all came crashing down because of Julie's character. Being so set on her married lover made her unsympathetic and just not likeable at all, like why should I root for her when she doesn't seem to even want to make an effort?
Sadly, there was a lot of potential for this one, but maybe as a short/er story rather than a novel-length book

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This is a fun read told from the dog's point of view..I like the idea that our pets are invested in our personal lives. Julie is generally likable even though she does believe her married boyfriend will leave his wife. Doug sets out to make Julie see the truth and get her life back on track.
This was a pretty quick read perfect for the holidays.

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𝙋𝙪𝙜, 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩 𝘿𝙪𝙣𝙣

As a pug Mumma, I knew I just had to read this as soon as I saw the cover on Netgalley. When I realised it was narrated by Doug the pug himself, I was a bit unsure at first but I think it really worked for this book. Dunn has written this very cleverly to make sure Doug is always there for every part of the storyline. The personality traits and quirks of a pug were SO accurate and I found myself imagining the whole book written by my pug Ralph— I swear he too understands everything said!

The characters (apart from Doug obviously) let this book down for me unfortunately. I hated Luke, which I could have lived with, except I found Julie so immensely irritating too— the fact the book started with her being with a married man annoyed me from the off and I didn’t like her any more by the end. She was whiny, negative and self-obsessed and I found myself wanting to reach into the book and shake her. Hunny if he’s cheating with you, he’ll no doubt cheat on you! Open your eyes! I think because of this, I really didn’t feel any connection or spark between her and Tom when they met or were getting to know each other. Tom definitely had some cute traits but I feel like the book didn’t focus enough on him and Julie, and wasted too much time on awful Luke.

This style of writing/genre isn’t something I’d normally reach for but it was a fun, relatable and easy read with some hilarious laugh out loud moments. Despite not loving the humans in this, I absolutely devoured this book because Doug was just perfect and let’s be honest, dogs over humans any day anyway!

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

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I once had a pug is called Milton P Mugglesworth (Mugs) and he was quite possibly the best boy in the whole world. I fell in love with him at first sight and for 12 wonderful years he was my very best friend. Even though Mugs has passed away he has never left my heart and my soft spot for pugs will never fade--I think they are fabulous dogs and I just love their cinnamon roll tails, piggy grunts and smooshed little faces. I adore them so much that I can't resist picking up a book simply because it has a sweet puggy face on the cover.

Doug is a great pug and I definitely saw an echo of Mugs in his personality, mainly in his unconditional love and his good nature. I like to think that my Mugs was just as happy when I met my husband and our relationship got serious and he was delighted with our little family. (He was not so happy when a baby was thrown in the mix, but that's a story for another time).

Julie made me want to shake her and tell her to pull herself together, but sweet Doug made me laugh and even get a bit teary as I missed my Mugs something fierce.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC.

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A fun, light hearted read ideal for a holiday. The pug is probably less central to the story than you’d expect from the title!

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I will never look at dog the same now ! What a funny read ! I paused my reading for a while because I felt like it was not the right time and it was a great decision because I enjoyed it so much more when I picked it out a few days ago !

Doug is so hilarious, endearing and entertaining, I couldn’t put this book down because I wanted to now what it’s next adventure would be !

A dog playing cupid ? I say yes !

I would’ve appreciated this book so much more if the main character didn’t upset me so much ! I just couldn’t understand her.

I love books that are told from an original point of view, and this one, trust me, is different !

It was a really quick and interesting reading, I just couldn’t come to like nor understand Julie and her choices and that’s why it’s a 3.5.

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A lovely, cute funny easy read.

When your dog is the Match maker, do you think they will do a better job a setting you up?

Told from Doug the Pugs point of view, he sees things his owner Julie doesn't and understands what see needs more than she herself does.
Dunn has really got the mannerisms of the dog down to a tee. Even when Doug had to wear a cone, you really felt how embarrassed he was....poor Doug.

All the characters are lovable and I feel relatable to alot of people.

Such a unique concept....

Would you trust a dog to find your match?

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A lovely and funny book. I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

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Pig Actually by Matt Dun was a cute, fun, easy read as told by Doug the Oyg! Who can resist an adorablepug?

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This is deliciously cheesy and clichéd but great fun. A pug called Doug (well, the clue's in the title) becomes the matchmaker between Julie, who's in a not-going-anywhere relationship with a married man, Luke, ("it's complicated"), and the much-better-suited Tom the vet (or rather, Vee E Tee, so Doug doesn't freak out).

It's told from Doug's point of view (endorsing the fact that dogs are frightfully perceptive and intelligent!). It's funny, it's endearing and delightfully feel-good.

My only niggles are that, from what I can make out, Dunn is British…so why the very annoying Americanisms, spelling and punctuation...'gotten', 'color', 'honor', etc.? That and that the characters never seem to be able to finish a sentence and Julie, quite frankly, needed a damned good shake over her infatuation with the unctuous toad that is Luke. The present-tense narrative, never my favourite, was just unnecessary.

However, my enjoyment far, far outweighed those little bugs, and I'm delighted to find that the author has penned a dozen or so other books, which I shall certainly seek out when I need some humorous, witty and light-hearted entertainment.

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Doug the Pug wants his owner Julie to be happy. Countless times he’s had to watch her be upset because of the man she’s in love with. A married man.

Doug makes it his mission to find her someone who cares about her as much as she cares about Doug.

I really liked this book. I have never read a book before that is written from the perspective of a dog before and it was brilliant. Doug has such a comedic voice and never once did I think it was a person talking.

Matt Dunn has really got the mannerisms of a dog down to a tee. Even when Doug had to wear a cone, you really felt how embarrassed he was.

All the characters in the book are so loveable (apart from Luke) and I really loved getting a look in their lives through Doug’s eyes.

It was fun, it was emotional, but I flew through it as it was such an easy read!

4/5 stars.
A lovely novel from start to finish.

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Love any story that involves pugs. Great story line with fun and interesting characters. Love that the pug is the match maker that bring the characters together.

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A lovely fun book, who couldn't enjoy a story with a pug! I love Matt Dunn's work and this didn't disappoint.

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What a delightful twist on a classic story about a woman finding out her married boyfriend is really not the man she wants or needs. The fact that this story is told by Doug, her get cute and smart pug is what sets this take so far above the rest. Loved it!

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Different concept for a book - being told from the dogs point of view. Not a straight forward romance novel, which I enjoyed. The characters were very believable, as was the story actually. For any dog lover, I think they would enjoy reading this. It is an easy read, for light relief. I think I would have loved this even more if the book actually moved around different characters POV's for different chapters, as it would have been good to see different perceptions of the events. Overall, a loveable Pug's tale.

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This was a funny book in places. It is a certain different concept as it is in the dog’s perspective.

Julie is having an affair with Luke her boss who is married. Doug is Julie’s dog who is a good judge of character but he does not like Luke and tries everything to break them up. Will he succeed and do that and will Julie end up with someone else.

It was a bit unusual and good the book with romance and fun parts.

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