Like It's 1999 audiobook
Like It's 1999 audiobook
a wedding-pact, friends-to-lovers, holiday novella
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐200+ 5-star reviews
- purchase the audiobook
- receive an email from Bookfunnel with your download link
- download the Bookfunnel app
- open the app and add your new book(s)
- Connect to your headphones
- Enjoy!
Narrated by Cindy Kay & Ryan West
3.3 hours
Sassy party girl Alice Kim and Lothario Steve Lowell agree on all the important stuff: movies, music and pranking their mutual best friend. And of course, there's the One Time Rule. They'll be the best bridesmaid and bridesman ever, but they don’t do relationships. And they’re never getting married. Like, ever.
Book Description
Book Description
★★★★★ "Full of humor and on-point nostalgia references and movie quotes. Makes me long for the last decades of the 20th century when times were simpler and fun.” - Comfy Chair Books
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 we throw the most bodacious wedding party ever…
Just because we’re perfect partners in pranks…
Just because we love all the same boss movies…
Just because we share one totally bangin’ night of sex together…
Does not mean either of us will break the One Time Rule.
Even if we do… we don’t do relationships.
And we're never getting married.
Like, ever.
In this friends-to-lovers, marriage-pact holiday 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.
Look inside
Look inside
ALICE
On New Year’s Eve, a few hours before the clock will tick over to 1989, I race from the warmth of a cab to the promise of warmth inside a cozily lit old Victorian in Somerville. On my heels are my best friend Kate, her best guy friend Steve, and Kate’s boyfriend’s ex-roommate Pam. It’s Pam’s house, so I step aside to let her open the front door, but I’m first inside. “I can’t believe you guys talked me into traipsing around downtown in the cold for hours!” I whine, stamping the snow off my boots.
“Come on, those ice sculptures were the bomb,” Pam says as she picks up her dog. “Hush, Rufus.”
Kate, coat still on, hugs herself as she jumps up and down. “Can we build a fire?”
“When should Will and Deb be back?” I ask, rubbing my arms. “Or, more to the point, when can we start drinking?”
Kate’s boyfriend, Will, is performing in a holiday show tonight. Pam’s girlfriend, Deb, is on the same production as costumer... which was the argument behind going downtown to check out Boston’s famous First Night celebration. If we’d stayed in, we’d have been tempted to start partying early and we’d be wasted by the time the others got home. I’ll never admit it, but it was pretty cool seeing downtown all lit up and full of people. The bands were great and we saw some choice art exhibits. But it’s twenty-five degrees outside, and I’m a southern girl—born in South Korea, raised in the American South.
Pam checks the clock over the mantel. “They’ll be home from the show in an hour or so. But I say we need to warm up—inside and out.” She points at Steve and me. “You two, make the fire. Kate, you help me get the drinks since you know where every‐ thing is.”
Steve moves the screen away from the hearth. “Works for me.” He nods at the pile of newspapers nearby. “Can you ball those up and stick them under the grate?”
I salute him. “Yes, sir.”
We get the fire laid quickly, but every time he tries to light the kindling, the match blows out. “I can’t believe this. This has never happened to me before.” He shakes a finger at me. “Don’t tell anyone. ‘It would devastate my reputation as a dude.’”
“Sixteen Candles. Good quote,” I manage through chattering teeth. When he finally gets it lit, I stand as close as possible to the flames. “Is it just me, or do they keep the heat really low in this house?”
“It is a little drafty,” he says, putting an arm around my shoulder.
“Man, you’re like a furnace.” I’ve never actually been this close to Steve. Funnily enough, I’ve never spent a whole lot of time with him. Katie and I were college roommates. Kate met Steve at her first job after college. Even though we’re all in Boston, we live in different neighborhoods and work in different fields. Plus, while Kate’s close to him now, she complained an awful lot about him when she started traveling with him, said he was just another self-centered, self-involved, self-aggrandizing sales guy. She never really explained what made her change her mind about the man that the women at the firm dubbed “Hot Steve.”
I’m pretty sure the moniker refers to his preppy good looks, but from where I’m sitting, he’s literally toasty. The longer I’m up close and personal with him though, the more my shivers shift from full body to one particular location. Not sure if that’s a good idea or not. I mean, I’m always up for a sexual adventure. But maybe not with my best friend’s best friend.
Share
I found this one on Hoopla thanks to my local library.
Like it’s 1999: a Boston Classics novella
by Karen Grey
narrated by Cindy Kay & Ryan West
Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook Rating: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥 (0-5) closed door
What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Retro 80s romcom! Historical romance 1980s style!
🤩 Gorgeous and fun voice narration. So entertaining and well matched to MCs.
🤩 One night only.
🤩 Bridal party and wedding fun—those 80s formal dresses!
🤩 Making marriage deals—love them!
🤩 Asian American (Korean American), mixed-race representation.
🤩 Movie quotes.
What I’m Wishing:
💫 I’m a little picky about . . . and then my notes stop. But, you know me, it’s always the physical connection & lusty feels I need more of no matter the steam level.
The minute I finished the first book in Karen Grey’s Boston Classics series, What I’m Looking For, I immediately wanted a book about “Hot” Steve. While I don’t think you have to read the other books in the series to enjoy Like It’s 1999, I do think that you’d appreciate some of the references more if you’ve read or listened to at least book 1.
Like It’s 1999 is a fun novella featuring Kate’s best-friends “Hot” Steve and Alice as they become co-bridesmaids…er… bridespeople for Kate & Will’s wedding. Grey’s writing style definitely works for me and in this case there were some parallels in my relationship with my personal “Hot” Steve. Hubby and I are known for constantly throwing movie lines at each other, we started dating on New Year’s Eve, and once we got together everyone was pretty much, “What took you so long?”
While this is a relationship slow burn, Grey gives us a few steamy scenes and lots of interactions to know that Steve & Alice could be great together. They have a lot of fun and the movie lines definitely kept me grounded in the late 80’s. Unfortunately, the timing isn’t right. For 10 years. We get to catch up with Will & Kate and get a peek into their future. Or, maybe their past? (insert Back to the Future time-bending here) No worries. Steve & Alice’s story gets a cute and happy ending.
Narration:
Cindy Kay and Ryan West were fantabulous. This production was perfectly in sync. I also really liked Kay’s male voices and West’s female voices.