Beautiful, nostalgic and touching

What a wonderful second book from Karen Grey. She beautifully and poignantly wove some very emotional and difficult situations (loss, guilt, regret, anger, confusion) into a second chance love story for the ages. With a dash of Shakespeare, a splash of 80s nostalgia, and some adorable rescue dogs, the love story of Ben and Lucy wound it’s way into my heart and left me with the warm and fuzzy feels I always crave. The pairing of Emma Wilder and the late Brian Pallino was so perfect and a lovely final project for such an incredible man.

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All the feels!

I absolutely adored Ben and Lucy’s story. Loved the flashbacks and the tape rewind/fast forward sound effect was brilliant! Loved all the 80’s songs, really takes me back to my childhood - and pagers!! Emma Wilder is just phenomenal- her range of voices is really remarkable. Brian Pallino was a perfect Ben and knowing that it was one of his final performances made this a very special listen. A beautiful tribute by Karen Grey to honor a very talented man.

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Fall in love with Lucy, Ben and Puck!

Karen Grey knows what makes romantic comedies so great and she does it well. This story had it all: second chance romances, family, lost, and adorable dogs

Like her previous work, Lucy is the ideal heroine. She is unapologetically smart, funny, and flawed in a way that every woman is. Emma Wilder was perfect in this role because, like in her previous works, she's able to effortlessly pull you in with her performance that you feel apart of the story. Also, salute Karen Grey for creating a female lead who has curves upon curves.

Ben Porter is crafted to be the hero we cheer on. You will find yourself rooting for Ben at every turn from the beginning of his friendship with Puck to his complicated relationship with his father. The heartbreak of Ben is that he is portrayed beautifully by the late Brian Pallino who shines in this book. (Karen's dedication to him is beautiful as well).

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Great Second chance romance!

I really enjoyed this second chance romance! It really gives the listener hope. Hope that they will recover, hope that they can overcome and Hope for the dog. Each of these characters is struggling. They can not figure out how to move forward in their lives.

Lucy is a wonderful character! She has an awesome love of animals, good friends and family. Ben is a hottie! He came home to help his Dad but stayed for other reasons. The meeting of these two involves a wonderful dog. Their parents are lovely additions in “helping” get them together. Plus the big gesture at the end was very cute!

Overall I really enjoyed this. I *felt* for the characters. Which means I laughed and teared up with them. I did listen to this on audio. Emma Wilder and Brian Pallino are the narrators. They both did exceptionally well. Brian’s voice as Ben was outstanding. He hit all the different nuances that Ben did since he is an actor.

Oh I also want to mention that the rewind/fast forward sound was great! Different but it let me know what was going on.

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Touching story

Karen Grey has delivered a touching story of two people, Lucy and Ben who have known each other since they were preteens due to Ben's friendship with Lucy's older brother. Over time the two will develop a secret relationship but tragedy and survivors guilt will tear them apart. With the help of a cute stray, named Puck, their paths cross and old relationships and new discoveries are made. It's a wonderful story of loss, longing, and survival.

The narrator's, Emma Wilder and Brian Pallino did a wonderful job of conveying the struggles and emotions of their characters. I loved all the music references and the clever usage of rewinding tape to alter between past and present.

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Really really like this

This is my first book from Karen. I loved all the 80s song references. The narration was awesome. I’m looking forward to more books from Karen

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Fun, Emotional and Steamy Romance!

I really enjoyed this delightful, and touching, second chance romcom. Ben Porter has been in love with his best friends little sister for years. They had a passionate secret affair before Lucy left for college. They thought it would be easy to be apart as they experienced life. Just when they couldn't endure the time apart any longer, tragedy strikes. The guilt they both suffered was too much and Ben moved across the country hoping it would be best for everyone, but it only broke their hearts more. Now years later, Ben is home to help his ailing father. He and Lucy meet again, opening old wounds, and revealing the deep love they tried to forget. Ben wants Lucy to know he is a better man and will do whatever it takes to win her back. This delightful romcom has wonderfully rich characters, a heartwarming, and heartbreaking story, great nostalgic music, witty banter, an adorable dog named Puck, and the sizzling chemistry that made for a captivating romance that stole my heart!
Emma Wilder, and Brian Pallino were so perfectly cast to narrate this fun and heartwarming romance. They completely captured these characters and made me feel all the hope, heartbreak, love, and passion they possessed. I was completely mesmerized by their storytelling making this romance even more captivating and delightful.

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Second Chances

Lucy and Ben both have years of healing to get through. A tragedy that happened years ago left both of them feeling guilty and responsible. When family matters brings Ben back home they connect through a furry fellow and finally are able to heal.

This is a great story of second chances and healing. I loved the characters and the story and would definitely recommend it.

Emma Wilder and Brian Pallino did a great job narrating this book. I enjoyed listening to both of them.

I enjoyed it

Though I think I liked the first book in this series more I still really enjoyed this one.

This is a second chance romance about Ben who ran off to Los Angeles after his best friend died in a car crash because he believed it was his fault and doesn’t think that Lucy, his friends sister, would be able to forgive him. Now he has come home because his dad needs him after a health scare. He is also using this time to reflect on his career because he has always had a love for the theater and being a model was not were he really seen himself.

Lucy blames herself for the death of her brother and because of that she has turned herself into a devoted daughter and makes sure her family has what it needs. She is working as the local veterinarian and didn’t even know that Ben was back in town till he brings in a dog he found that needed help. Ben was surprised to find her there as well.

This starts to bring back feelings from the past which we get when the story rewinds back 7 years when each character things back at points during the book. With those flashbacks you get to piece together what happened between them and what happened to the best friend/brother and why each thought it was their fault.

Ben gets a job in the local theater doing shakespeare and they decide to use the dog he found but he needs to be trained and Lucy gets talked into training the dog which throws Ben and Lucy together where old sparks start flying along with hurt feelings from the past.

I liked both Ben and Lucy an their story as they both have very good reasons for how they feel about what happened seven years ago, though with a bit of communication that could have probably been dealt with way back then. (but then there would be no book…lol)

I really loved the audiobook and the narrators but I have one major complaint and that is when they did the flashbacks, it sounded like a cassette being rewound and that grated on my ears! Oh it was horrible…lol. I did love the song titles for the chapters.

Beautifully performed second chance romance

Forget About Me, the 2nd novel in Karen Grey’s Boston Classics series is a beautiful second chance romance. There are definitely serious themes examined and Ms. Grey treats them with great care. Lucy and Ben’s love story is a complicated one. When they first fall in love she is the younger sister of Ben’s best friend. He tries to resist her but in the end the attraction is too much to ignore. Their secret relationship is fatefully severed in the aftermath of a car crash that takes the life of Lucy’s brother. How both Lucy and Ben separately deal with their conflicting feelings of guilt and grief as well as a need for atonement make for a very emotional journey.

After many years apart, when they find their way back in each other's lives, you can't help but root for them to find forgiveness and love together. Just as Ms. Grey did in her debut novel, What I’m Looking For, she seamlessly transitions from present to past and her references to 80s pop culture and mixtapes in particular, guide the listener through the story.

The narration really brings the emotionally driven story to life. Emma Wilder shines as Lucy. You can hear her heartbreak so clearly in her performance. As always, she does an amazing job with all the voices she is tasked with. Brian Pallino gives a heartfelt performance as well. In the flashback scenes of the car crash, in particular, you feel every bit of the pain Ben experiences. Knowing that Mr. Pallino is no longer with us made some of the emotional scenes tough to get through. However, the way Ms. Grey weaves this story together makes this a journey well worth taking with characters that will stay with you long after you finish listening.