What I'm Looking For: a nostalgic romantic comedy

Written by Karen Grey

Narrated by Joe Arden and Karen White

A brilliant-at-math-but-challenged-with-people heroine and a stubbornly frugal hero find love in spite of themselves in this vintage romance debut from USA Today bestselling author Karen Grey.

“This is a fabulous read that’ll take you back in time, make you swoon, and serve you with a heavy dose of nostalgia.” —The Rogue Reviews

Independent Audiobook Awards Finalist 2021 - AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award 

Finance hotshot Kate Bishop doesn’t expect the cute bartender to quote Shakespeare to her when she meets her colleagues for happy hour, nor for him to rescue the rest of her workday with a special cocktail.

Will Talbot’s head is turned by the adorably nerdy young woman who doesn’t seem to belong with the rest of the power-suit crowd, but his heart knows that he’s got to keep his eyes on the prize: his career as a professional actor.

After fate throws this pair of opposites together again, and again, they finally give in to the combustible attraction between them. But when real life throws a monkey wrench into their carefully choreographed plans, will love win? Or will career?

Don’t miss this smart, feel-good series starter set in the late 1980’s—an era of big hair and bigger egos. Each Boston Classics standalone romantic comedy guarantees an evocative trip back in time and a Happy-Ever-After for the ages.

“With lots of 80’s references throughout the book, and the narration by the always brilliant Joe Arden, and the fabulous narration by the author herself, Karen Grey/White has made an instant new fan in me.”

“Not to give too much away, but there is a point in the story where Will, through his acting, is able to work through a painful part of his past. This scene to me, demonstrates what a wonderful actor Joe Arden is. The emotions he unleashes are so powerful it really took my breath away.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Home Cooked Books
• Release date: Jun 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781734833027

Karen Grey

KAREN GREY is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of vintage romantic comedies with smart heroines and hunky heroes. Drawing on a long career as a performer, her retro 80's and 90's romances are populated with characters working both on- and off-stage in theater, TV and film. She's a lifelong omnivorous reader (including 20 years as an audiobook narrator). When not reading or writing, she's lounging at the beach or hiking in the mountains. Or dreaming about both with an IPA in hand and a dog or a cat nearby. To get the latest news, join her VIP club at followkarengrey.com.

Reviews for What I'm Looking For

[grandmacootie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kate Bishop and Will Talbot are the perfect match. Ha! Not even close. Kate is an uptight, math-loving numbers whiz. Will is an actor, and not one of those frivolous guys that does movies, television or commercials. Will is a serious guy when it comes to his craft – it’s Shakespeare, Shakespeare, and Shakespeare. So how do their paths even cross? He’s a part-time bartender and she works at a financial firm whose young, politically incorrect male employees like to go to bars. They tease her mercilessly, make wildly inappropriate remarks (it IS the 1980’s) or treat her like a little sister. She’s a genius at running the numbers and analyzing them, but in order to keep her job and advance at the firm she needs to present those numbers to clients, and that means getting over her paralyzing stage fright and hopefully finding one of the guys to go on the road with who won’t throw her under the bus. So off to the bar she goes with her co-workers, trying to kind of be one of the guys but not really, and that’s where Bartender Will comes in. He gives her the perfect drink/non-drink so she’ll fit in without actually drinking.Pretty tame start, right? Why on earth would two so remarkably different people ever see each other again after this innocuous bartender-customer meeting? Well, somehow they do keep seeing each other, ending up in the same places, spending time together – and thinking about each other pretty much non-stop. Of course once they do start to spend more time together each is very, very, very, very (enough verys?) clear that they aren’t looking for a serious long-term relationship, they’ve been down that road before, their careers must come first, they don’t have time for anything more, blah blah blah. And although this klutzy financial wizard and Shakespeare-quoting actor/bartender have very different opinions and butt heads often, you can fairly see the sparks of attraction between them, and the tenderness, too.What I’m Looking For (or maybe the title should be What I’m NOT Looking For, since Kate and Will are both so very clear about that) is a delightful story, unpredictable, at turns happy and sad. I listened to an audiobook version and was hooked from the very first word, which was cleverly an answering machine message. Remember those? The focus switches between Kate and Will and each chapter begins with that answering machine. The story transports you to the 1980’s. The clothes, hair, music, movies, dating scene, office culture. No cell phones or social media, no #metoo. Kate and Will are fabulous, as are Will’s female roommates who hover like big sisters, and Kate’s office road trip mate Hot Steve and her childhood best friend Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Alice. The story moves smoothly along, lots of surprises, lots of satisfying moments, and enough conflict and uncertainly to keep it interesting. The narration is perfect. I could listen to Karen White and Joe Arden all day long, and I almost did because once I started listening I couldn’t stop! Thanks to author Karen Grey for providing a copy of What I’m Looking For for my reading pleasure. All opinions are my own. I loved this story and this author and can’t wait for more in The Boston Classics series.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book quite a lot. When I found out about this book, I just couldn't resist the chance to read it. A romance set in the '80s really appealed to me on a lot of different levels. I really grew up in the '80s so I was pretty eager to catch a glimpse of some of the things I remember from that era. I ended up having a very nice time with the story and am really happy that I stumbled upon this story.Kate and Will were both great characters and I really liked the way that they clicked with each other. Kate is incredibly smart and successful in her career. She works in finance and holds a position that is usually thought of as male territory so she has a rather hard time fitting in at work. Will is a Shakesperian actor who also moonlights as a bartender. They meet when she needs a bit of help at the bar and they are drawn to each other. I really liked watching their relationship progress over the course of the story. Kate was not afraid to ask for what she wanted. There were a lot of obstacles to their relationship but it was nice to see them work to overcome them. Will wasn't sure that they were a good fit but he couldn't help but want to be near her as often as possible. They had fantastic chemistry together and I felt like they were just meant to be.As I said, I grew up in the '80s so there was a bit of nostalgia in this story for me. I do remember having entire conversations back and forth via answering machines through the '80s and well into the '90s. I also remember when car phones were gaining in popularity. Unfortunately, I also remember the increased prevalence of the sexist attitude that we see in this book from some of Kate's co-workers. I would recommend this book to fans of romance. I thought that Will and Kate were both fantastic characters and I had a great time with their story. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of Karen Grey's work in the future.I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.