Review copy was received from Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Forget About Me by Karen Grey Narrator: Emma Wilder, Brian Pallino
Series: Boston Classics #2
on November 23, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 8 hours, 59 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
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 facade begins to crack. Women everywhere are obsessed with the rad body 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?
I was delighted to continue listening to the Boston Classics series, which is set in the 1980s. I was actually about the age of the characters during this time period. While it is set about 30 years ago, and I recognized many of the songs, it felt contemporary.
Lucy and Ben knew each other since they were very young and they fell in love in high school. Ben was 3 years older than Lucy which caused them to hide the relationship from their families. Their youth separated them as much as Tony’s death. Neither one of them handled the grief well. They also had a long ways to go in growing up and knowing what they really wanted.
Seven years later, Ben is back in town and they have both figured out what they want in life. Some of their dreams are found as they spend time together over a few months. But knowing what you want and getting it are two different things. While they spend glorious time together, they struggle to figure out how to make the future work. They also have guilt they share over the loss of Tony.
I appreciated their emotional struggles and their happiness together. It was so exciting when they figured out how to get what they wanted for their careers. Their families were wonderful. As they worked towards their new relationship, I was crying the last half hour of this story.
Narration:
I’ve listened to these narrators before and they are well experienced. Emma Wilder performed the chapters for Lucy’s point of view; Brian Pallino voiced the ones from Ben’s perspective. I enjoyed the additional emotional appeal of the narration. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Karen Grey
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.
Karen White is a classically trained actress who has been recording audio books since 1999 and has well over 150 books to her credit and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Honored to be included inAudiofile’s Best Voices 2010 and 2011, she’s also an Audie Finalist and Best Audiobook of the Year winner for 2009, 2010 and 2011 (The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon Reed, Too Good to be True by Erin Arvedlund, and Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor) and she has earned multiple Audiofile Earphones Awards, recently for and You Had Me at Woof by Julie Klam and Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. Publishers Weekly says of Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, “Karen White delivers a stunning reading, her character interpretations are confident and well-rounded, and she forges a strong bond with the audience.” Speaking of Audiobooks says of her, “Karen is one of my auto-buy narrators – if I think a book may interest me, her narration will sway me to give it a try.”
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Wonderful review, Anne? Im looking forward to this next book in the series.
It’s great and the dog(s) play a real role which I enjoy.
This sounds like fun, Anne. I do enjoy stories of two people meeting again and seeing all the hurdles they have to overcome.
Second chance romance is the biggest trop ever. If you look at my reviews for this past week, three of them fall into that category. It’s a feel good winner.
I was so happy to see you review this one, Anne! This one only came on my radar a couple days ago when I saw a random review (by someone I didn’t know). I’m unfamiliar with the author and series, but the 80’s setting sure caught my eye. That was my era so it’s super nostalgic… plus I love a second chance romance. I might have to pick this one up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one!
Thank you Tanya. It’s wonderful. I reviewed the first one also. You wouldn’t have to read it first but they are both great. I was about the same age as the characters in these stories at this point in time so it’s fun. You would LOVE all the music references, they are nostalgic for me. Karen is a narrator turned author. I think I may have listened to her first on Jill Shalvis books but I have listened to her on many, many books. Now she is writing her first series and I’m really enjoying it. She narrated the first in the series also.
I think the first book caught my eye when you reviewed it, but I’m glad to see that this one gave you a good story and had a nostalgic feel to the setting.
I really enjoyed it. I hope you get to try these sometime.
I just loved this book! I thought all of the 80s references were well done and brought back some great memories. Lucy and Ben were a fantastic couple! Great review!
Yes I really liked it too. Plus the dogs- I loved the dogs.
Oh i haven’t read many books set in the 80s but this sounds so fun! I would enjoy the musical references especially. How is it related to the first book? Is it basically stand alone?
You could read them as stand alone. They are both set in Boston. The guys in both books are actors in a small theater company. So the first couple shows up very briefly in this book but it isn’t necessary to know them to enjoy the book. I loved that book too so I always try to read in order.
O.o This is something I might be really into because of the time the story is set in. I love the nostalgic sound of it.
Both of them are good. For me it’s the characters and their development but the time and songs and in this one the dogs make it even better.
I always like second chance romances and this one seems to have nailed it. It’s always especially good when the narration is excellent:)). Glad you enjoyed this one so much!
It’s a really good one. I think second chance romances, depending on the time gap, run the risk of not developing the character enough but with a big enough time gap they do need to reacquaint themselves. That’s nothing to do with this book, but in general the relationship happens faster and so it sometimes doesn’t feel like you get that development you might with other tropes.