Like It's 1999

A Boston Classics Novella

By: Karen Grey

Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Ryan West

Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Love ‘em and Leave ‘em" Alice Kim and “Hot” Steve Lowell are perfect for each other. It’ll only take them 10 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 to grow up - and grow apart - before giving them a chance to create a happy-ever-after they can actually be happy about!

©2020 Karen Grey (P)2021 Karen Grey

Like It’s 1999

An entertaining love story with lots of fantastic, nostalgic references. Alice and Steve were perfect together, even if it took them 10 years to figure it out!

Karen Grey created the perfect characters for this story. I loved their personalities and how they all interacted. Oh, and I loved all the movie quotes woven throughout!

Both Cindy Kay and Ryan West did a great job of portraying the characters. Their narration made for an enjoyable listen.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Boston Classics Book Two.Five

Boston Classics Book Two.Five.

Alice Kim is extremely happy for her friend, Kate, who is getting married! However, she doesn't think she will ever be ready for that kind of commitment. "Hot" Steve Lowell is determined to be the best Man of Honor ever! Alice and Steve set out to give the most bodacious parties for their friends, but they are also adamant that they will not be a couple. After both have been married and divorced, will Kate finally be victorious in getting the two of them together?

If you loved "Hot" Steve's puppy-dog personality and Alice's wicked wit, this is definitely the book for you!

Great novella

Fun novella that took me back to the good old days! Characters were great! Narration was fantastic!

I enjoyed it

I have loved the two full books in this series and "Hot" Steve was one of my favorite characters from the first book and so I was excited to read about him and Alice.

It was a short but sweet book about two people who never wanted to settle down and how their paths go different ways but they end up back together many years later.

If you like contemporary romances then you will enjoy this series even this novella! :)

Fun, nostalgic romance!

I’ve only read the 2nd book in this series, and so I feel like I didn’t know Hot Steve or Alice that well. But that’s okay, because I really did get to know them through this story, which I have to say I ended up loving!

Probably my favorite part of the story was how the two of them quoted movies at each other or the other people in their lives constantly. Because that is something that my family and myself do all the time. I find that I even think in movie quotes to myself a lot of the time as well.

Another thing I loved is that Alice was able to be “love em and leave em” and that she wasn’t made to feel as if that made her loose or immoral. I like that we can have a female character get to do the same things as a male character would do with no problem. Something that should be more normalized in both stories and real life if you ask me.

The end we had a lot of jumping around, missing out on what exactly what was happening and why, even though I could kind of guess based on the characters, as well as the author did explain it through the story as well.

I liked the female narrator, and the male narrator wasn’t bad, I just didn’t feel his voice fit my image of that character.

Loved the nostalgic look back at some good times in my own life with the time periods this book took place in. And I need to go read all the other books in the series now as well!

A fun, romantic novella

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.

Trip down memory lane

For someone who was in their 20s in the 1990s this was a great nostalgic look back at the good old days. The movie quotes were classic and on point and brought back the feeling of being young and trying to figure everything out. I did feel sorry for Alice for a while that her life was so dictated by her parents for so long. And I was sympathetic to Steve for trying to find his dream and his direction. This was an emotional ride through Alice and Steve’s lives full of ups and downs and hope and second chances. Not a lot of steam but beautifully written. Cindy Kay was a new to me narrator and I enjoyed both her and Ryan West bringing this book to life.

Fun and Flirty

This short novella is part of the Boston Classics Series, a Series of interconnected stories. This is the story of Kate’s best friends from What I'm Looking For, the first book in the Series. You can listen to this story as a standalone. This is the perfect friends-to-lovers between a playboy and a playgirl. Alice and Steve are such alike. They both have a noncommittal behavior, and they complement each other. Their journey is fun, flirty, and sweet. Some scenes are hilarious. This is a fun throwback in the last decade of the 20th century, with its nostalgic references. I like the friendship in this story. Cindy Kay and Ryan West did a great job with the narration. I love their voices together. I enjoyed it.

Fun book

This book was absolutely adorable. What a fun, unique romance with humor and a little bit of spice. Both Alice and “Hot” Steve (H/h) are allergic to commitment. Alice is afraid of letting down her family and Steve just hasn’t found the right girl. They are both “bridesmaids” in their friend’s wedding. This book spans over a decade. Every time they meet, they just can’t quite find their way back to each other—until all the cards come together. Great novella. Great narrator. Fun book.

This series is so much fun!

Like It’s 1999 was fun, fun, fun, beginning to end. The Boston Classics started with a bang with What I’m Looking For and the story of Kate and Will, and this novella continues the tradition. Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Alice Kim is Kate’s best friend from childhood, and “Hot” Steve Lowell is her ex-coworker. Their nicknames say all you need to know about them and their approach to life so far. They each have a One Time Rule, and neither of them does relationships or intends to ever, ever, ever get married. So that makes them perfect for each other, and on New Year’s Eve 1988 when Will and Kate announce they are getting married and want both Alice and Steve to be in the wedding, the fact that these two can’t keep their eyes, hands or anything else off each other and hook up for one night of wild, steamy, amazing, fantastic (you get the picture) sex isn’t going to be a problem, right? There’s the One Time Rule, their shared aversion to commitment, and their absolute conviction that they won’t cause Will and Kate any problems by becoming a couple. But as they say, famous last words . . . .

Steve and Alice plan a wild wedding party complete with a perfect prank that frightens poor Will and Kate half to death. And they do just fine, thank you, with sticking to their Nope, Once Is All There Is rule. For a while, anyway. They toss movie lines and other cultural references back and forth and work together so well, having fun, knowing what to expect from the other, having sexy thoughts, letting little words like maybe forever creep into their minds – but wait. What about THE RULE? They have a little bitty slip again at the wedding, and while it’s amazing, they love it, it’s marvelous, etc. etc. etc., there is also a lot of guilt. So they make a vow, a pact. Neither of them is ever going to get married anyway, so if they are both still single in 10 years why not just go ahead and get married and be friends with a marriage certificate and those terrific benefits?

A lot can – and does – happen in 10 years. And here we are, Kate and Will’s anniversary, their children, Will’s ex-roommates and their children. And Alice and Steve. Still attracted to each other? Well, duh. Still single? No spoilers here. You’ll have to read Like It’s 1999 to find that out.

I listened to an audiobook version of Like It’s 1999. This series is at its best narrated. Hearing the words just brings it to life. Thanks to author Karen Grey and StoryOrigin for providing a copy of Like It’s 1999 for my listening pleasure and honest review. Listening was most definitely a pleasure. This story is funny and sweet and sexy and transports you to the 1980’s and 1990’s. It keeps you guessing and wanting to shake Steve and Alice on more than one occasion. I loved it! I recommend this book and this series and this author without hesitation. All opinions are my own.