Home Cooked Books

Like It’s 1999 by Karen Grey

Published: December 2020 – Home Cooked Books

Audiobook courtesy of Karen Grey

Description:

Love ’em and Leave ’em Alice Kim and “Hot” Steve Lowell are perfect for each other. It’ll only take them ten years to figure that out.

Just because they throw the most bodacious wedding party ever…

Just because they’re perfect partners in pranks…

Just because they love all the same boss movies…

Just because they share one totally bangin’ night of sex together…

Does not mean they’ll break the One Time Rule.

Even if they do… they don’t do relationships.

And they’re never getting married.

Like, ever.

In this friends-to-lovers, marriage-pact novella spanning the last decade of the 20th century, life forces a playboy and a playgirl grow up—and grow apart—before giving them a chance to create a happy-ever-after they can actually be happy about. (publisher)

My take: Like It’s 1999 is a novella and part of Karen Grey’s Boston Classics series. Characters from the previous books are featured in the story. That said, if you haven’t had a chance to read those yet, this novella can stand alone.

I enjoyed the story of Steve and Alice. They meet when their friends get married and they are part of the wedding party. As can happen at these events Steve and Alice get together. But as soon as the celebration is over they go their separate ways. Before leaving they make a pact and leave their fate up to a date ten years hence. A lot of life happens in those ten years.

This novella was just what I needed. It’s light and funny but also hit on a couple of serious issues regarding marriage and parenthood. Novellas usually don’t have the luxury for a lot of background on characters but I felt Karen Grey gave readers a good sense of each character. I liked how Steve and Alice first connected through their love of movie quotes. I have that same connection with people in my life – so much fun.

I enjoyed the narration by Cindy Kay and Ryan West. Their voices fit the characters perfectly and added to the reading experience.

About the author:

KAREN GREY is the pen name for Karen White (assumed not to hide her identity, but because her actual name is already connected with a well-known fiction author). A theatre actor in Boston in the eighties and early nineties, she started working as an audiobook narrator in 1999 after moving to Los Angeles. Having returned her home state of North Carolina, she shares a home with her family and probably too many pets, where she continues to record audiobooks as well as make up stories. Learn more at homecookedbooks.com.

To get a free copy of SIGNED SEALED & DELIVERED, a prequel novellette in the Boston Classics series, join her newsletter at https://www.followkarengrey.com or join her Wicked Smahties FB group at http://bit.ly/WickedSmahtFBgroup

Links:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/Likeits1999ebook

Audible: http://bit.ly/Likeits1999

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/Likeits1999GR

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/Likeits1999BB

Forget About Me by Karen Grey

Narrated by: Emma Wilder and Brian Pallino

Published: November 2020 – Home Cooked Books

Review audio courtesy of Karen Grey

Description:

Ben Porter may be living the dream, but it’s not his.

His dad’s health scare might not be the ideal reason to come home for the summer, but it’s a welcome break from the stellar glitz of Ben’s life in Los Angeles. Even if modeling has him rivaling Marky Mark’s fame, posing isn’t his passion. Landing a role with a Boston Shakespeare theater brings him closer to fulfilling his dreams of being a real actor.

Facing the reason he went west in the first place? That’s another story.

Lucy Minola’s dreams were shattered seven years ago when a drunk driver smashed into her brother’s car. She knows it was her fault. So as penance, she works hard to care for her family, goes to confession faithfully, and buries all the feelings she had for the person who left when she needed him most: her brother’s best friend.

When an injured dog brings them back together, Lucy’s good-girl façade begins to crack. Women everywhere are obsessed with the rad bod they see in magazines, but she’s the only one Ben seems to notice.

She can’t trust herself with the man who walked away…but can she let him go a second time?

This bittersweet romance, book 2 in Karen Grey’s 1980s Boston Classics series, proves that everyone deserves a second chance in love and in life. (publisher)

My take: I enjoyed the first book in The Boston Classics series, What I’m Looking For, so I happily signed on for the second book. This is the wistful story of Lucy and Ben. Tragedy cut their relationship short but 8 years later they are back in the same neighborhood they grew up in. A second chance? Perhaps but they’ll need to work through the reasons they went their separate ways years ago. Karen Grey titled each chapter with an ’80s tune and, like the first book, worked Shakespeare and an adorable dog into the plot. Fans of the 1980s and contemporary romance are sure to enjoy this novel!

I loved the audiobook narrators. Emma Wilder and Brian Pallino were perfectly cast and kept me listening to “one more chapter” each time I listened. I was sorry to learn that Brian Pallino passed away after completing work on this project. His voice will be missed.

About the author:

Karen Grey is the pen name for award-winning narrator Karen White. A stage, screen and radio drama actor in Boston, New York and Los Angeles in the late 20th century, she started recording books in 1999. Now back in her home state of North Carolina, she shares a home with her family and probably too many pets, where she continues to narrate audiobooks as well as make up stories. Her first novel What I’m Looking For released in June 2020.

About the narrators:

Emma Wilder is a classically trained actor and narrator who has worked all over the world on everything from steamy romance novels to Shakespeare. When she isn’t behind a mic, she can be found rescuing and training animals, sipping fine bourbon, and watching home renovation shows.

Brian Pallino is a highly sought-after narrator of contemporary adult and romance books. He has voiced series for multiple award-winning authors, including Lauren Blakely, CD Reiss, and Meredith Wild. He lives in NYC and is an unabashed fan of both the Yankees AND the Mets. Brian is also a musician, and particularly loves playing audiobook characters who are musicians themselves or have musical backgrounds. With a versatile range, Brian is a storyteller who strives to bring books to life and move his listeners.

Sadly, Brian recently passed away. His prodigious musical talent, which included arranging, composing and performing jazz and classical music, co-existed with his skill as an award-winning and prolific audiobooks narrator and voice actor.

“Angelo was passionate, intense, obviously talented, fiercely loyal and loving, very faithful in Christ,” said his mother, Martha A. Di Loreto. “But Angelo lived with the illness of anxiety and depression, and in his final moments the disease took hold of him.”

His mother and his father, Domenic Di Loreto, stressed that their son “lived a full life until the disease overtook him,” with close relationships with his family and many friends.

https://buffalonews.com/obituaries/features/angelo-di-loreto-30-award-winning-pianist-composer-narrator-and-actor/article_328bd322-13ba-11eb-9343-0f4e58387126.html