Don’t let the title fool you…heck, don’t let the genre or marketing campaign fool you: this is not a romance novel.

Am I Allergic to Men? by author Kristen Bailey, published this month by Accent Press and available in print or on e-Readers, is a desperately funny and heartfelt novel about one woman’s journey to rediscover her self and her sense of purpose after an accident erases the last ten years of her memory.

Unfortunately, the book’s title and cover art don’t convey the true nature of this novel, which isn’t about allergies, or even really about men. The main character is Lucy Callaghan, an almost thirty-something actress who lives in a communal flat with a half-dozen other people, and pays the bills by appearing as various Disney princesses at kids’ birthday parties.

Lucy (like author Kristen Bailey) is a British, a Londoner to be precise, so some of the slang and references might be unfamiliar to American readers, but it’s no impediment to enjoying Lucy’s story. Lucy is a force of nature: the youngest of five sisters, she is incautious and loud-mouthed and loves her family and friends fiercely.

The book opens up on Lucy’s 18th birthday bash, a raucous affair involving all five sisters and way too much alcohol. Lucy spies her boyfriend snogging another girl in the loo and a five-sister all-out brawl breaks out. Cut to ten-plus years later, and Lucy is again alone, and by the looks of it unsuccessful in her career, especially compared to her sisters, one of whom is a cardiac surgeon and all of whom are mothers.

Lucy takes a last-minute gig to play Elsa at a party, and in her haste to get there, is hit by a bus. She wakes up in the hospital with a shorn head, some painful injuries, and no memories of her life beyond that birthday party.

Instead of returning to her life, the one she can’t remember, Lucy returns to the parental home, and her sisters take a leave of absence from their lives to help try to jump start her memories. They escort her on a tour of her life, hoping that visiting old landmarks and reaquainting herself with her friends and companions from the last ten years will shake something loose in her brain. One clue that needs solving is a notation in her diary that merely says “Oscar, Februrary 9th.”

While Lucy does meet up with old lovers, finding both acrimony and sparks of something more, depending on the person, this book is not about that, and indeed there is no over-arching romance in this story. It’s all the better for that though, because the character of Lucy is so engaging, so well-realized, that she really doesn’t need anyone else with her on her journey. Lucy finds out that her life, while unconventional, is anything but a failure.

The solution to the Oscar mystery turns out to be quite moving, as is the camaraderie between the sisters, all of whom star in their own books by Bailey. Each one has a unique voice, and their stories are also enjoyable reads, and not as frothy throwaway stories as the covers might suggest.

While you don’t need to start reading with the first book, which is eldest sister Meg’s story, it wouldn’t hurt, though the books can be read in any order. Am I Allergic to Men? stands on its own as a novel, both as part of the series and as compared to a lot of other books out there. You can find out more about the books and author Kristen Bailey here.