This was one of those books that you read, you don't particularly mind, but.... just doesn't captivate you, you know? I think the characters were okay, but not immediately likeable or relatable. The suspense is typical, but not surprising or intense. After reading, it was hard to remember what all happened because everything came across as so neutral.

Predictable. A bit of a snooze fest. Not what I expected. Disappointed.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Dennis Cuesta and Celestial Eyes Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available.

The gist of the novel, Many Are Invited centers around 4 friends and the mystery surrounding a housewarming party that ends in a tragedy. It is a story during the late 1990’s about the emerging Y2K problem, the growing Internet expansion, the raging real estate market and basically focus of four obnoxious characters: Lauren, Mary, Steve, and John. It is a story of jealous and secrets, specifically our narrator Steven’s jealously of John life and work directions. It is his behavior and childishness that set-in motion the tragedy that occurs during Mary and John’s housewarming party.

I had a lot of issues with the novel and felt I was not the targeted reader. Mainly the constant berating of women, how they were treated and talked about between John and Steve got old. The sexist views in the novel were unwelcomed. Many Are Invited thankfully was not a long book and had short chapters, but it took a good 70% of the meat book had any interesting things happen.

Thank you to Netgalley, Celestial Eyes Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Release date for Many Are Invitedis October 6, 2022

A quick read, Many Are Invited took me back in time to late 1999, a time I remember well and miss terribly.
The novel is psychological and tense, and deals with friendship, pain, love and consequences.
I didn't see the ending coming and was blown away.
Cuesta did an amazing job of capturing the lifestyle of 1999, a day that would offend today.

The timeline of this book takes place in the late 1990s, right in midst of the Y2K crisis. The story is told from our main character Steve’s perspective. Steve spent several years working for a telecom company and became friends with another person who was employed there named John. One day Steve dares John to talk to an attractive woman at a department store but John ends up chatting with another woman named Mary, who works in the same department store as the other woman. John and Mary quickly fall for each other and get married. The other woman, named Lauren, happened to also be Mary’s roommate. Later on in the story, there is a housewarming party for John and Mary. Mary invited a lot of people to attend the party. A lot of things happen that night at the party that are life altering for all of them. I did not expect the ending to play out the way it did. It was a bit of a slow burn but I found all the main characters and supporting characters interesting. I was invited to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I got about halfway though and was done the way he talked about women was not okay. I would walk past this book.

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

Dennis Cuesta does a fantastic job of transporting me back to the pre-Y2K days when people were scrambling to come up with ways to save us from ‘the great terrible thing’ that would happen when 01/01/2000 arrived. The memories of the mass hysteria came bubbling up, reminding me of a time when new jobs were created solely to find solutions for our future unknown problems (that thankfully never happened)..

Like the classic novel “The Great Gatsby” that it refers to, this story is very much about how greed and jealousy destroy lives. It opens with our narrator Steve attempting to come to grips with a tragedy that happened twenty years ago, around the start of the new millennium. He seeks the guidance of a priest, and then a therapist, but then finally finds comfort from writing out his account of what transpired.

His story brings us to the late 1990’s and we learn that from their very first meeting, Steve finds immediate issue with his co-worker John. The two are brought together on a Year 2000 Compliance taskforce, and the lower ranking Steve is jealous right from that start, wanting what John has and feeling like John doesn’t deserve any of it – the better paying job, the more expensive car, the bigger house. “People our age weren’t supposed to have director titles.”

As much as Steve dislikes John, they still spend a lot of time together, and together they meet roommates Lauren and Mary. The ladies also have a troubled friendship dating back years that gives them plenty of ammunition to stab each other in the back with when they’re not looking. These four are ugly people on the inside, keeping secrets, lying, and holding clandestine meetings, all of which makes for a very interesting and page-turning story. Oh, the drama! In the end it’s through their jealousy and betrayal that leads to the tragedy that continues to haunt Steve decades later. I must say the ending is quite satisfying.

It must be said that the banter between the two main male characters is notably cringeworthy, but it was a part of the reality back then with some people. John and Steve nickname and number women, and use derogatory comments throughout the story, but this is Cuesta setting the stage for that time period, and those really were different times back in the late ‘90’s. It reminded me of the ways women were objectified back in those days – It could be horrible. It was a part of the way things were before we survived 1/1/2000 and the world eventually got woke.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m pretty conflicted and confused about this book. While I enjoyed reading it, I’m not too sure I really enjoyed or understood the book. Many if not all of the characters were not what they appeared to be. And, unfortunately, none turned out to be nicer than when they first appeared in the story. I was fascinated with the ending!

I got through about 30% of this book and unfortunately I had to DNF.

I loved the idea of Y2K plus a retelling of The Great Gatsby. That idea hooked me, but it was not executed in a way that I thought it was relatable or enticing. The toxic make friendship had me rolling my eyes.

I seemed to not be the target audience for this book. Hopefully there are others out there who like it more!

I didn't know what to expect with this book and couldn't put it down. I didn't realize til I was almost finished with it that it is a take on The Great Gatsby set during the 199os. This was a story of toxic male friendship and jealousy. I really enjoyed it.

A housewarming party ends in tragedy in Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta. This book takes place in 1999, just before the big Y2K. That was a pretty significant time in my life so this premise of the book really intrigued me. However, I didn’t find the story or the characters too interesting. Though I imagine many people will enjoy it, I felt it just wasn’t for me.

This was an interesting read. The walk back to the 1990’s was accurate and memory invoking but wow that period of time was not aged well. The novel while accurate had some cringe-worthy spots. The book is about friendship and that part of the story I enjoyed. If you were an adult in the 90’s you may enjoy the walk down memory Lane. For those who did not live it, you may enjoy reading how far we have come. Thank you NetGalley and Celestial Eyes Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of the book intrigued me and living through Y2K brought back many memories. I just didn't like the characters and the ending was abrupt.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was okay. It didn't resonate with me. I give it 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐.

I had high hopes for this novel, but it fell flat.

It is slow paced, with some technical talk. The event that takes places at the house warming party is built up a lot, but the actual event is a let down. All of the novel is the build up, but after the party there is very little resolution with an abrupt ending after a small time jump. At the party many attendees over share aspects of their lives for having just met. It felt like the party was years before the 1999s, almost as if the time period of the book was wrong.

I was very let down by this book, and I do not think I would recommend it to anyone.

I want to thank Netgalley and Celestial Eyes Press for an ARC of this book.

This book had high hopes - the characters were a little off putting, but I did enjoy a retelling of The Great Gatsby. This may be more enjoyable to others, but it didn’t hit all the points for me. Will give the author another try for sure!!

Unable to review at this time. Will review at a later date. I'm cleaning up my netgalley in order to review 2023 books. This book sounds delightful and will read once fully caught up on my account. Thank you for this opportunity! I look forward to reading this book!

I was intrigued by this one because of the Y2K mention. I remember this and haven't read a book/story that utilized this concept. I was also curious because of the supposed Great Gatsby vibes. While these elements were there, it wasn't very interesting overall.

After finishing this, I went back and read the blurb to see if maybe I misremembered...I did not. The blurb is misleading and this is really more about a man's personal perspective on life and his combative relationship with his "friend".

It was honestly extremely boring and hard to read. I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.