Am I Allergic to Men? – review (AD)
I was kindly given an electronic copy of Am I Allergic to Men? by Kristen Bailey in exchange for an honest review*.
Am I Allergic to Men? book blurb
What if you lost over ten years of your life… and found out you’re single AF, your cat hates you, and your biggest commitment is to Netflix?
I’m Lucy. Out-of-work actress, part-time princess impersonator, Dorito enthusiast. Oh, and I’ve lost my memory.
I got knocked off a bicycle on my way to a children’s party, dressed as Elsa, and accidentally flashed my thong. Now, in my head, it’s 2009 and I’m seventeen years old. Not nearly thirty and starting to wrinkle.
By this stage of my life, I thought I’d be married, with kids and a mortgage. Instead, I’ve got a phone full of dick pics and my longest relationship is with Pinot Grigio.
Determined to fill the gaps, I track down ex-boyfriends, friends with benefits and one-night stands.
There’s some questionable activity – including a guy with a goatee who fixes fridges, a fling with a man in a Batman costume, and Tony who likes a dance-off.
As I make my way through my contacts list – and try to jog my memory – I can’t help asking: am I allergic to love? Commitment? Men?
And is there a cure?
Better than a workout, you’ll laugh so much your abs ache!
The perfect page-turner for anyone who has ever felt a little lost or needed a helping hand to love themselves.
Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek will fall head over heels for this romantic comedy.
My overall thoughts on Am I Allergic to Men?
I absolutely loved Am I Allergic to Men, it was the first book I read of 2022 and what a corker – five stars from me!
Although I have not read any of Kristin Baileys previous books and this is number 5 in the Callaghan Sisters series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
The main character is Lucy who will not be everyone’s cup of tea – but I really loved her!
Lucy is speeding through London dresses as Elsa from Frozen when she crashes into a bus on Waterloo Bridge.
She wakes from her coma with no recollection of the last 10 years and thinks she’s 17.
Lucy doesn’t remember becoming an auntie, or Netflix and smartphones, living through a pandemic, discovering her sexuality and her passions or even her tattoos.
We follow her on her journey to try to get her memory back and along the way revisit (some of the funniest and most memorable) moments from her sisters.
As she desperately tries to piece together the past decade of her life and find out who she is now, the friends, the jobs, the lovers – she can’t help but look at her sister’s lives and compare them to her own.
They’re stable, secure, sure about their path – so can Lucy find the thing she’s been missing when she can’t even remember who she is?
From the first line, I fell in love with Lucy – she was powerful, sassy, and unapologetic and despite making the same stupid and questionable decisions many of us made at some point she’s real and I loved her.
Much like Elsa, Lucy doesn’t need a man to save her – she’s a strong independent woman!
While the title and blurb might make it seem like this is another story about a girl who finds love and it solves everything Am I Allergic to Men? is so much more than this!
Bailey creates such complex and beautiful characters – from mothers to lovers, doctors to dancers and each of them are strong, unique and fiercely feminist in their own right.
I really loved the relationship the sisters have and when they moved back home and fell back into their younger selves and each tried to help Lucy regain her memory we learnt more about each of them – I loved the family dynamics.
Full of laughs and tears, Bailey asks the important questions like When is it acceptable to drop kick a child? and Why haven’t Disney written any songs about smoked salmon yet? all while weaving a beautifully uplifting story about an unforgettable journey while showing how imperfect real life is.
At times I had tears streaming down my face when I read some of Lucy’s escapades – she’s such a character!
There’s a lot of laughs but also plenty of tender and beautiful moments as Lucy pieces together the memories she’s lost and comes to terms with who she really is now in the present day.
Am I Allergic to Men? is really a love story of Lucy and her family and I loved it.
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given an advance copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
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