I loved this story! She's an ambitious but somewhat shy financial analyst. He's a charismatic, Shakespeare quoting stage actor/bartender. Seems like an unlikely match but as happens in both books and in real life, they had a spark.

Set in the 80s I absolutely loved all of the popular culture references that brought me back to those days. There were also some references to the environment of sexual harassment that was so common and treated as acceptable at that time. Despite that, this story is mostly fun and had many laugh out loud moments.

Now, about the narration. The female narrator, Karen White, overall did a great job and was able to convey the anxiety Kate suffered. As the story progressed she made her sound more confident as she became more confident. The only minor issue i had is that I felt the voice sounded older than the character in the book was supposed to be. It was not a big deal but I did have to remind myself she is supposed to be the approx the same age as Will once or twice. Joe Arden was the male narrator. Joe is a fantastic voice actor and if you don't believe me, wait til you hear a scene toward the end of the book. I don't want to give spoilers so I will be as vague as possible here. It was heartbreaking, emotional and unbelievably moving. I can say, without a doubt, this particular scene was the best acting from an audiobook narrator i have ever heard. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )