Cover Image: Pug Actually

Pug Actually

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Loved this book and Doug the Pug is just brilliant. Hope to read more of his adventures very soon. Who wouldn't love a pet like him to sort out their lives.

Was this review helpful?

Being a dog lover currently owned by two furry demon's, this book appealed to me the second I laid eyes on it!

Pug Actually is a wonderfully fun book, I love that the story is told through the eyes of little Doug the Pug. Our lovely little 'hero' wants his mum Julie to be happy and this starts off an utterly heart-warming and thoughtful story of absolute love in the truest of forms. After all a dogs love is not like any others, is it?

It's absolutely fascinating to see what our lives could look like through the eyes of our dogs. I would love to know what my two terrors thought on a daily basis it would be something like 'Oh mam's talking I'll look the other way, Oh, mam's saying come here again - oh look a squirrel or brothers got my toy, it's my toy, get off my toy, no my toy' you get the idea of how my two are ;-)

Pug Actually is a unique, fun and highly entertaining read. It's super sweet and very emotional at times, and yet I laughed so much with Doug's thoughts and exploits. It's heartwarming, tender, sweetly moving and very funny, it touches the heart and soul and I cannot recommend this book enough.

Was this review helpful?

Matt Dunn has all the best ideas for rom coms, and to have this one narrated via the eyes of Doug the Pug is truly inspired,

Doug is a clever dog and able to understand everything the humans are saying and can sometimes even get them to do things too!

He is determined to help Julie see that Luke isn't right for her, and that the most likely best candidate for her to fall for is Tom.

And that is despite as Doug says that Tom is a V-E-T - which is how it's phrased continually, so as not to alarm Doug!

I love books written from an animal point of view, and it's great getting into the mind of Doug which is rather realistic - at least I like to think that dogs can think that way.

This is so enjoyable and light hearted and fun, it was a pleasure to read.

Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. It has dogs. YEAH

Was this review helpful?

Oh my goodness, isn’t Doug the cutest little pug. I honestly could just give him a big squishy cuddle and what a clever little character he is.

Pug Actually is told from Doug’s point of view, his owner Julie is in a relationship with a married man called Luke who’s also her boss and Doug really doesn’t like him. Julies Dad and her best friend both try to get Julie to see what a big mistake she’s making with no luck so Doug makes his mission to set Julie up, the only problem is the man in mind Tom, well he’s a V-E-T.

Julie to start with really irritated me, she’s so gullible and naive and I just want to tell her to open her eyes, I also felt so sorry for her because she thinks she’s in love and her head is being filled with so many lies and she’s at that stage in her life where she’s scared she’s going to end up lonely.

Doug on the other hand I loved from beginning to end. It might sound strange that a dog is the narrator of this book but it works so well and he’s a funny little chap. Honestly he will go straight to your heart.

Pug Actually is such a fun read, it’s quirky, unique and I just loved it. It’s a story that you pick up and just don’t want to put down. It’s a book the is guaranteed to cheer you up and I just loved it and will definitely be highly recommending it.

Was this review helpful?

Well, this was an odd book for me. It is a book told by a Pug named Doug.
Doug is Julie’s dog, and he wants Julie to be happy. But he knows that is not going to happen because the man Julie is dating her married boss. She has hopes that he can prove them all wrong, but everyone can see he is not the man she should be with, and Doug does everything he can to make her see she needs to dump this guy and find a man that is right for her.
If it had not been for me really liking Doug so much, I am not sure I could have finished reading this book. Julie was a woman that is just not someone I could ever be friends with in real life.
Thank you NetGalley, Matt Dunn and HQ Digital for the copy of the book Pug Actually.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fun book as it’s from the perspective of Doug (the pug). However, that also meant that I didn’t care as much about the romance and the couple getting together because we missed out on their thoughts and feelings.

Was this review helpful?

Hello Matt Dunn! My first for a while and I can't believe I've not read another for so long. It's a good while since I've laughed out loud at a book and I can't wait for his next to repeat the process!
My thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for the reading copy.

Was this review helpful?

As a pug mom to 3 pugs, the cover totally got me! The absolute best part of this book is Doug the Pug. The story is told from his point of view, and that was so cute and funny. He's the best part, because the human characters are idiots!
I thought this was a easy, light read that's perfect for someone who loves dogs.

Was this review helpful?

A brilliant light hearted read that will have you chuckling to yourself the whole way through- if you need a book to lift your spirits/get you out of a reading slump - this book is perfect! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed the story, written from Doug’s point of view. Doug is Julie’ s dog, and he is a very intelligent Pug. Julie is having an affair with her boss Luke, who keeps promising to leave his wife, but always has an excuse as to why he cannot do so. He also manages to never have his wallet with him on the rare occasions they go out, or even order in! Then Julie meets his wife, and realises that despite all Luke says, she is heavily pregnant with twins, and her own adulterous relationship with him predates their conception.
Despite her friends telling her she should finish with him she clings to the hope that they will get married one day, and when she at last realises that is never going to happen she turns to wine for comfort. Our clever little pug does all he can to steer her towards someone more available, and in the park she meets Tom. He is a vet, and rescues Doug when he gets attacked by an Alsatian. Julie likes him, but neither of them have the gumption to do much about it. It takes our hero Doug to get it sorted!
It acts out like a farce in some ways, lots of misunderstandings and not enough ‘oomph’ between Julie and Tom to get their relationship going. It takes several events happening almost together to set them on the right track. There are a lot of humorous moments, mostly created by Doug, definitely the star of the show.

Was this review helpful?

This is such a fun and funny story with a pug as the main narrator! Pug Doug’s owner Julie is dating her boss Luke but Luke isn’t good for Julie, and Doug knows it. When Luke comes around to Julie’s house after work one evening, Doug manages to ward him off with his evil stares. But it’ll take more than that to get rid of Luke for good, and Doug is determined to help Julie see that Luke is bad news for her, by finding her a new romantic partner. There’s only one problem though, the potential perfect guy just happens to also be a V-E-T!

This is such a fun story and I instantly fell in love with Doug the pug’s narration from the start! The whole story is told from Doug’s point of view and I love this interesting take on the typical romantic comedy, as there are lots of fun references to things that Doug does. Doug’s owner Julie can’t see that the relationship she’s in is bad for her, how her boss Luke is only stringing her along and isn’t really committed to a long term relationship with her. Julie’s character was a bit naive, but I still loved how this story went with Julie slowly wising up to how things really are in her current relationship and what Luke is really like, the further the story goes on.

Quite a few things happen with some great and funny moments, and heart-warming ones too, while Doug tries to not only sort out Julie’s love life, but also gets involved with her dad’s life as well. Doug’s character is so likeable and I love how intelligent he is and how the whole story keeps being shown from his point of view, with the odd funny doggy reference to things like an ‘aromatic lamp post’!. The story is good, if a little predictable in places, with some great moments, especially when we later see Sarah and also the slow development of things with Tom. There are some moments that I really enjoyed like what happens at the event Julie puts on for work and later the brilliant way things end up for all the characters at the end of the story.

I like the ending and it was one that really made me smile. Doug’s final act in that chapter is just perfect and I love how this book’s ending just put a big smile on my face. I also like how things ended up with Luke and Julie’s neighbour too. It was just such a great ending and one which just seemed perfect for the story! There are a few uses of the f and s swear words in the book, but only very occasionally. The story feels as if it’s meant to be set in Britain with the way people talk and references to things like corner shops, carrier bags costing “5 pee”, as Doug narrates it, and the whole feel of the story, the way Dot and Jim talk and the use of the word pavement. However what did annoy me a little was that there were quite a few American terms or spellings in this book too, at least in the digital arc copy I got (which might not be in the finished version), like favour, elevator and Q-tips instead of their British English counterparts which made the story feel a little off whenever I read one of these words. It didn’t spoil the overall narrative and atmosphere of the story, but it was something that was a bit annoying for me personally.

Overall this is such a fun and lovely story and I’d recommend everyone to try this book if you’re looking for a fun romantic comedy with a canine narrator! I just loved the cover of this book and the story is so funny, with moments where I actually laughed out loud, and my only big disappointment is that I can’t spend more time with Doug and his owners as I just really loved having him as the narrator to this love story!

Was this review helpful?

So yeah this was a first time for me to see a story through a dog. Doughs owner Julie has a relationship with a married man. And Doug wants his Julie to be happy. Luckily for him, Julie finds very soon that Luke is more than once lied to her, and like a good boy he finds Julie a new man. I have a few issues especially with Julie like how she more than once justified Luka's behavior and blindly believed him, and I'm sorry but all those Wine come one- promoting alcoholism one big no. I so didn't like her not at first she improves toward the end. I like Tom he is a good guy, don't forget Doug the pug such a god boy.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

This is a wonderful heartwarming story of Doug the rescue pug. I love that the story is told from Doug's point of view and I laughed along with it, it's a nice quick read too.

Was this review helpful?

I thought this would be a cute whimsical read. But actually, the silliness of a pug dog narrating the story just grated on me. Not for me. DNF at 25%. An extra star for the title though!

Was this review helpful?

The pug was definitely the saving grace of this book. The main character Julie was an idiot and I did not feel sorry for her at all. I was definitely drawn to the pug on the cover and had i took more time to read the synopsis I may have not read it but I did and it just wasn't for me.

Was this review helpful?

A story told by a pug? Well that's a no brainer. I like a bit of light relief between thrillers & police procedurals so this seemed to be perfect. I loved Doug. He was definitely the most sensible person in the house because his owner Julie drove me demented! Being alone &unmarried isn't the end of the world but Julie is so desperate she hangs on the Luke, her married boss. If Julie is one of the most annoying characters I've read in a long while, Luke must be the most obnoxious! Attempts by Doug, her best friend Priya, her Dad & Dot, the local cafe owner to steer her in another direction seem doomed. Doug even puts him in the position where he needs to go the the V-E-T to set her up with Dot's son Tom (who is much nicer that Luke but at times as irritating as Julie!!)

Irritating characters aside, I couldn't help loving Doug & that kept me reading right to the end. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I'm off to read a police procedural- at least the characters should be a bit more sensible!

Was this review helpful?

First of all I’d like to say a big thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for accepting my request to read this book because it is everything that I wanted. I mean it’s a story told by a Pug, called Doug with romance and humour.

This story was just so cute, from the very beginning I could not put this down because I wanted to hear more from Doug and what he was going to do about his owners poor relationship with, let’s face it, an arsehole. I loved seeing the situations that he got himself as well as Julie into. And the part with the pet exercise and how Doug feels about it? Utter perfection.

Apart from the cute narrator we also get a charming and well intentioned love interest called Tom and Dunn could not have written a better love interest. I could not put this book down until I got to read about Julie’s happy ever after.

Was this review helpful?

Pug Actually is a sweet and light hearted read, with the story narrated by Doug the Pug, a dog with a big heart and a sight more intelligence than many humans!

Determined to break his best friend Julie up from her awful married boyfriend, Doug goes to extraordinary lengths to make her see the truth. Together with Julie's best friend Priya and her wonderful Dad, Jim, Julie is forced to confront some uncomfortable home truths.

And in all good romances, the path of true love does not run smoothly but ultimately Doug's heroic actions save the day.

Nothing heavy or mind blowing, but a lovely, uplifting story.

Was this review helpful?

I was so excited to read Pug Actually as it sounded like a cute story, but unfortunately, I was not a fan of this one. I loved the idea of the book being from Doug the pug's POV but I just could not stand Julie's character. The bulk of the book is Julie trying to justify her relationship with Luke, a married man, to her friends and family, while Doug tries to set her up with someone better. I don't think that her character grew throughout the story and it just wasn't my cup of tea. I would definitely read other books written from a dog's POV though, as I thought that was  really neat!

Was this review helpful?