Thank you netgalley for an arc.

This is a fun and humorous romance novel that I surprisingly enjoyed. One of the highlights of the book is its witty humor. The banter between characters is particularly enjoyable, adding depth and charm to the story. A delightful read for anyone who enjoys a good romance novel. With its humorous tone and relatable characters, it's sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart.

“Great Sexpectations” by Kristen Bailey
“Who ya gonna call?”
Bear with me here…
The above line is from the lyrics of Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song to the movie “Ghostbusters”. (You didn’t need telling that, did you?) It seemed to be on the radio constantly back in the mid-80s and I found it especially annoying; in fact I still do. Perhaps that is why I have never seen the film?
My friend, Amit, will roll his eyes at learning I have never seen this movie. He won’t be surprised, though, because “Ghostbusters” is just one of a long list of films – many considered, I believe, to be classics (the “Die Hard” and “Matrix” series, “Dirty Dancing”, “Back To The Future”, etc) – that I never got around to watching.
Amit despairs of me.
It’s not that I’m scared of ghost films. In fact I love a good scary movie. I enjoy thrillers, action adventures and comedies too. And, I’m not against a decent romantic comedy from time to time.
“Great Sexpectations”, the new read from Kristen Bailey, reminds me of those warm, witty, wonderful rom-coms I so enjoyed watching. I am sure that Ms. B hoped her latest book would invoke fond rememberances and associations with the likes of “50 First Dates”, “You’ve Got Mail”, “When Harry Met Sally” and the British tour-de-force that is “Love Actually”.
Well, she nailed it!
I mention the film about busting ghosts simply because it is quite pivotal in the plot of “Great Sexpectations”. Lots of references to it, and from it, are made. Most of which – never having seen the movie – went over my head. But, if like me, you have not seen the film, DO NOT let that put you off reading this terrific story.
(*Plot Spolier* There are no actual ghosts in the book and, in case you were wondering, Pip and Miss Haversham do not appear either.)
“Great Sexpectations” tells the tale of Josie, a twenty-something woman, who had her heart broken by her former boyfriend and is, understandably, reluctant to fall in love again. When she meets Cameron, a movie geek like herself, at a party, Josie finds herself smitten. But, to avoid Cameron discovering that she is the CEO of a sex toy business and that her parents are ex-porn stars – the very reasons her ex-boyfriend dumped her – Josie decides to avoid telling Cameron the truth. And so, as in all the best rom-coms, our tale becomes tangled in all manner of confusions, misunderstandings and comic incidents.
Ms. B is fast becoming very adept at penning books that have the knack of being just the right amount of “funny”; not too OTT that it becomes daft, and not too scarce on the comedy that you wonder if the writer has ever heard a joke before. And, while Ms. B hits just the right note of the laughs front, she also interweaves the perfect dose of tenderness and poignancy in her writing.
Josie, as are the girls in the writers’ five Callaghan Sisters books, is a modern day, fiercely practical and independent woman. Josie is feisty, funny, strong and, alas, broken. She is a wonderful character. As too are her family, especially Nan; you can certainly see where Joise gets her fire from.
There are many entertaining and laugh-out-loud scenes in this book. Many of which leave you wondering at the types of research that the author must have undergone.
In my review of Kristen Bailey’s previous novel, “Am I Allergic To Men?”, I wrote that “This author is really finding her feet and establishing a solid – and immensely enjoyable – body of work.” I feel that she is also now adding layers and nuances to her writing that really pull the reader in and that make the reading of her books such a joy.
I do not know if this is the first in a new series from Ms. B, or if this is simply a “stand alone” book. It is my fervent wish that we see more of Josie in the years to come. Who knows? Maybe Ms. B will treat us – well, me, anyway – and write a tale that combines both Josie and Lucy Callaghan?
In her notes at the end, Kristen asks if the reader spotted the subtle references to the Callaghan Sisters books that she dropped into this book. Well, I will need to reread “Great Sexpectations” in order to find them because, as a fervent fans of the sisters, I completely missed them. Mind you, I did read this while poorly with Covid, so cut me some slack.
Anyway, if you need an uplifting, entertaining and very, very funny read, then you know who to call.

Wow! This story starts in a restaurant and ends in a wedding reception. So many twists and turns for Josie and Cameron. Are they every going to be free with all there past lives and how it changed them both. Read this funny story of how they found love and how it changed in an instant. Great read I could not put it down.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me 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

With this book, Kristen Bailey became one of my favourite romance authors.

Great Sexpectations is a hilarious, naughty, un-putdownable read with heart wrenching scenes and some of the funniest side characters I've ever met.

Josie, our main character, is the CEO of a sex toy shop. Yup. When she meets a man, she lies about her work - because it's embarrassing - and Cameron is so... reserved.

This book is full of independent women, hilarious misunderstandings, and two fabulous characters falling in love. I adored every minute of this, and can't wait to read more of Bailey's work!

This was one of the first books I read by this author and it was a funny and refreshing read.

It allowed me to escape from the real world and I loved connecting with Josie. It was an easy read but one that allowed you to join Josie on her journey as she deals with a break up and moving on as well as starting on a new relationship. It had me laughing out loud at some of the events that happened and also really rooting for Josie that things would work out for her. I think there's some of Josie in all of us and the embarrassing family too.

I was able to feel what Josie was going through as well as Cameron and their 2 very different worlds, caring for both characters shows great writing. I really enjoyed the book and I will definitely be reading more by this author!

Great Sexpectations by Kristen Bailey is the perfect book for anyone looking for a laugh! It’s well paced and has a unique blend of humour and romance. The characters are well-developed and the storyline had me hooked until the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves funny, romantic reads!

Thank you Bookouture and Kristen Bailey to let me read my first ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A solid 3 stars as I’d much prefer to read about her parents story compared to hers since we didn’t focused much into her life as a child from an adult film industry when that seems to be her issue in life even while leading a successful company at a young age.

Josie is a bright typically type A kinda gal but she’s very healthy in regards to her relationship with her sex life which she much learnt from her parents. The story was a fun quick read at the beginning but as we see Josie conflicted about her relationship with Cameron after her recent relationship, the story gets very slow to give a space for her reluctance as well as getting her whole family into deceiving Cameron into thinking what shes not. Thank god we have her father to call her out!

Josie’s parents are my favorite characters in this book maybe because I dont particularly like Josie as a narrator. She’s not a bad character but couldnt get interesting enough for me to get attached so I had a very hard time trying to finish this book.

Josie doesn’t have the most usual family. Her brother is a soap star and her parents have been in the adult entertainment industry. When he last boyfriend dumps her by note she decides that she’s going to bend the truth about her family - what could go wrong?

Oh I loved this book. It was so modern and was absolutely hilarious. I absolutely loved Josie as a character and her attitudes were spot on. She owns a sex shop and I loved how open this made the book - this sort of thing should definitely be spoken about more in conversation. this plot was so good and I just didn’t want it to end. This was my first book by this author but I’ll definitely read more. It was so good.

This. Was. So. Funny! I finished this weeks ago and I’m still laughing. Also loved the sex positivity. Would definitely recommend!

I’m not a romcom person but I actually really enjoyed this book! Great characters with great chemistry and just an overall feel good vibe.

4.5* rounded up!
This does exactly what it says on the tin! A funny rom com read with lovely feel good vibes! I wish I could be part of the Jewell family. Definitely a book to make you smile and one I’d recommend!

It was at a good pace! The characters chemistry was just good good! Definitely something I enjoyed reading.

There was just something about this book that made it not my favourite by Bailey. I can’t put my finger on it but something was off. Just a few small inconsistencies, and I felt like it was two half stories, never getting the full love story with Cameron that was wanted, or the full past heartbreak from Mike.

Overall cutesy with laugh out loud moments. And I always enjoy Bailey, so it was just what the doctor ordered for a quick pick me up.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Josie, who works for the family business - a sex toy "empire" /former porn star parents, meets and falls for Cameron. The story is a romance but also a family saga as Josie's parents and grandmother play a big part in the story. It's funny, sex-positive and I'd happily recommend.

This was a charmingly funny read. I had a real blast! The characters are likeable and they have great chemistry. The concept of the book is that the female protagonist Josie is falling for Cameron but she's trying to hide a secret: her parents are ex porn stars and she (Josie) has an adult toy business. It's sex positive and very light hearted. There was room for more exploration of this aspect of the book. The ending felt a bit abrupt but I won't spoil it for anyone reading, but I was left feeling like there could have been more!

When Josie gets dumped by her boyfriend she tries to take a hold of her life and attend a Halloween party dressed as a ghost buster.

At the party she meets Cameron, a video games designer. She starts to date and fall in love with him. However she's missed out the tiny details of her living at home with her mum and dad
Who happen to be ex-porn stars and also she works in a sextoy shop selling raunchy merchandise. What could go wrong if she doesn't tell him this part of her life?

What an absolute funny and captivating story. Kristen Bailey is a very talented
author who can have you in fit's of giggles with her writing.

This book isn't for the easily offended, however for those with a open mind the story is comical all the way through.

It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Can I immediately petition to join Josie and the Jewell family as a permanent member? This was an absolutely hilarious rom-com filled with all the sex-positivity, witty banter, lovable characters, and just enough of the heartbreak and self-discovery to make this the perfect feel good read.

The storyline feels so absurd and unique that I couldn’t help but love Josie, her parents, nan, and of course Cameron. Parents who are former adult film starts that started a sex toy company that the daughter now runs? This was one big bachelorette styled story and I loved it. Focusing less on actual spicy scenes, the author navigated more of a general sex positivity and shedding the shame surrounding talking about it. I will absolutely be adding a physical copy to my collection and can’t wait to see what is next from Kristin Bailey

When you first meet somebody new
Do you divulge your background too?
What if your job involves selling
But saying just what would really be telling?

For Josie Jewell she's already been broken hearted
After her ex left a note (on the fridge) and then departed.
Now she prefers to initially conceal
What her parents did and what her job is, not either to reveal.

So when she meets Cameron she's amazed to discover
Their interests in movies and more are so like one another!
But should she reveal what her background includes
Or would it be best the facts to elude?

A fun story involving families, romance and joy,
Secrets, betrayal and plenty of toys!
This is a hilarious read, with mischief and fun
Though not for the prudish when all is said and done!

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

What a funny story! This book was a quick read and had many times where I was literally laughing out loud, While some parts of this book could be considered shocking to some people, I think most would still find humor and joy from reading it.