Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish this book. The characters were disgusting (to me as a female), the two protagonists rating "Swedes" (hot women) and trying to fix the Y2K issue.

I had been riding that nostalgia wave of novels that put me back into my youth, but this may have killed it for me. As soon as John gets the position for the Y2K program at work to fix programs and get rid of programs and find new programs, he quits and goes somewhere else with barely any info on what exactly he did. Then they see a woman in a store changing a mannequin and one goes in to flirt with her, and ends up marrying the other employee.

There was nothing captivating to me, and I eventually DNF'd it at chapter 9.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really tried to get into this book. The description seemed great, like something I'd be super interested in reading, but the execution just did not do it for me.

The story progressed too slowly, and the characters just weren't relatable.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it ended up not being for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dennis Cuesta, and Celestial Eyes Press for an ARC of Many Are Invited in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I was not a fan of this book. The description sounded great, and I was excited to read this, but was soon disappointed. The prologue was confusing, the narrator has been obsessed for 20 years with this December night in 1999 when tragedy struck...I think. Then we get into Chapter One which happens right before this fateful housewarming party, and Chapter Two goes all the way back to 1994. From here, we move forward in time slowly, meeting Steve, John, Mary, and Lauren, our main characters, and seeing their relationships develop until we finally get to the housewarming party halfway through the book. They are all keeping secrets, being competitive and jealous of each other, and passive aggressive in so many ways. None of them are even remotely likeable.

The so-called tragedy doesn't even happen until there are about 20 pages left, so I read the book hoping to get to the good stuff. There was way too much Y2K, politics, and religious talk for me, and sometimes there wasn't even a point to it. They tragedy wasn't even really explained, and there wasn't really a conclusion. There were references to the Great Gatsby in here, and this story was a little reminiscent of Gatsby's party and relationships with Nick, Daisy, et al. But Gatsby it was not.

All in all, it's not the worst book I've ever read, but I believe it needs work. There was too much unnecessary build-up to the night of the housewarming party that didn't have anything to do with anything other than to show how much these friends really didn't like each other much. I would have rather had most of the story set at the party, where the secrets slowly get revealed and then something tragic happens.

Many Are Invited starts off as a slow memoir type of a novel which talks all about the evolution of technology related to Y2K. You might think its boring, but the story is not just about this man and his job. It is a story about this man, Steven, and his relationship with John, Mary, and Lauren. It is also about the events that led up to the horrible night of the housewarming party.
The story is slow paced and sometimes a little dull but if you stick with it, you start to see that something is spiraling out of control. This leads to a disaster of consequential proportions. Steven and his narcissism are at the heart of it all.
I thought it was a good story with some surprises. It reminded me a bit like Liane Moriarty's stories, where you don't quite know where it's going to it gets there. Then you are shocked by where it ends up. So if you are a fan of hers, you'll be a fan of Many Are Invited.
Thanks to Netgalley and Celestial Eyes Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

I tried, but I couldn't get into this book. It was very slow going. Additionally, I couldn't relate to any of the characters.

The description of this book was interesting but something was list in the execution.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really couldn’t get into this book. I didn’t connect to any of the characters so I found myself not caring about them whatsoever. The story had a lot of potential, the plot was very interesting, but the writing was so wordy that it was really hard to get through.

Many Are Invited sounded interesting being set in the 1990's in the Bay Area since I was familiar with the area and Y2K. However, it started slow and never really caught my interest, possibly because most of the characters seemed unlikable. The ending felt unresolved but maybe I missed something.
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this book

In Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta, the author shares a story of friendship and jealousy in the late 1990’s amid a high level of anxiety as the year 2000 approached. Would computers crash? How could companies prepare for what they called Y2K? At the phone company, John takes the lead on a committee to identify and prevent potential problems that could disrupt their business. Steve works for him and the two men develop a friendship. They eventually meet two attractive young women who share an apartment. Mary and Lauren appear to have a relationship based on jealousy and competitiveness. The story unfolds rather slowly as the four friends develop relationships, but also keep secrets from each other. The story picks up the pace and the tension during a housewarming party hosted by John and Mary. Steve makes some poor decisions that affect all of them as 1999 turns into 2000. The story seems to end abruptly, and I wanted to know more. Although I enjoyed the twists and turns towards the end of the book, I wished Dennis Cuesta had condensed some of the earlier sections of the book.

The book started ok, but then went into really lengthy and confusing description of the protagonist's visiting bars and drinking there and talking to all the characters and tons of lying and drinking and vomiting. Throughout the book, he was portrayed as a jealous man, hating his friend and trying to 'steal' the friend's girlfriends and even potential girlfriends. The second part of the book is all about the party where too many people were invited and all the previous characters came over, too, invited or not, There are also lots of drunken mostly pointless talking ensues along with the protagonist doing a bunch of stupid and evil things and it all ends in a tragedy. As soon as you start to feel for the protagonist, he reveals that this is not what happened, and that he was the sole cause of things going badly. The story is kind of interesting, but I didn't like all the drunken dialogues

Firstly prepare yourself for the world of technology, the first part of this book is heavy on the jargon, but once you make it through it’s an average book.

I don’t feel that it fulfilled it’s destiny but it is a good read. Steve is a good narrator for the story but is let down by the abrupt (and completely unnecessary) ending.

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC!

Set in the '90s during the dot com craze, "Many Are Invited" is a quick read with multiple fun twists. The story is about Steven and his jealousy of his "frenemy," John, who both work at the same company trying to prevent the Y2K Bug from causing problems. Along the way, Steven grows more and more jealous of John's relationships and career, all leading up to the thrilling evening of John's housewarming party.

None of the characters were very likable, and we have an unreliable narrator, but I quite like it when I cannot predict endings. I thought a few sections of the book were repetitive or irrelevant, but Cuesta managed to wrap up those loose ends in the final chapters. This was a fun read that had me guessing and theorizing the entire way through.

A little late in the day for a Y2K novel but I will keep that aside.

This is a book that's hard to describe. A lot seems to be happening at the same time without a lot happening. The story centers on 4 people none of whom are particularly nice. A lot of throwaway comments that are not explained. The party scene (where "many are invited") seems like something from a movie where the camera cuts between quick shots of conversations among people.

A quick and easy read overall though not as engaging.

This was a very quick read, which for me was the best thing about it. It’s always the characters who make any story matter to me. That said, two young men meet at work and become close friends. They meet two young women who are roommates and then they all become friends. But they all keep secrets from each other. Unfortunately, I didn’t care much for any of the characters. I couldn’t relate to them. The story was somewhat slow, and I kept waiting for something to happen. I didn’t care about the bars they visited or parties they went to or what clothes they were wearing. Something awful does happen, but it was too late in the story for me. And then I had a hard time understanding what really happened and was left wondering about a couple of things. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy this story and like the characters. I hope so. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I would like to thank Celestial Eyes Press, Dennis Cuesta and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC free for an honest review.

This was an interesting read, one of the first I have read dealing with the Y2K issue. It delves into the issues surrounding the possible shut down of everything, and the dot-com bubble in the economy at that time. Unfortunately, for me, the characters were not particularly likeable or well developed. The story is a bit slow throughout. The end is more fast paced and begins to bring the characters and story line together, but unfortunately still leaves many things unanswered, and doesn't feel quite complete. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my complimentary copy.

While I liked the book I'm still trying to figure out the ending. It was a good story but I feel like I'm missing something.

Many Are Invited
By Dennis Cuestra

This book is about love, hate, jealousy, coveting. It is about Steven, who starts out disliking John, but ends up his best friend. It is about Mary and Lauren, high school friends, then roommates who seem to be in constant competition for love, success – everything one gets, the other wants.

When the foursome come together, the situation becomes poisonous. Best friends become mortal enemies, and through a series of mishaps, lives are destroyed. In short it is reminiscent of a Greek tragedy.

Mr. Cuestra's story is a sad commentary on being human. When emotions take control, humanity can quickly be lost.

First of all thank you so much for allowing me to read this ARC. I really enjoyed this book. I kind of went into this book blind and I am kind of glad I did. I think this is one of my favorite thrillers of the year and I will deff be buying it for my shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

While the writing flowed easily, the story felt like a short story expanded to far. There was too much Y2K discussion (the explanations were too in-depth to be entertaining), and very few of the characters were like able. It was a good story, but not one I’d rush out to tell anyone about.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

This is a trip down memory lane of what it was like to be a young professional in the 1990s. Not much exists in the way of a plot. Instead, this is sort of an atmospheric piece revolving around four main characters, two men and two women. The two men met at work, at a time when Y2K threatened to render business computer systems inoperable. The two women work together also, in a retail shop. All are single, but eventually they all come together and build friendships, leading to marriage for one of the couples.

Nothing momentous happens in the book for the longest time, though it seems as if something significant will occur. It does, but the reader must wait until the last 10% of the book, where tragedy strikes but is dispensed with rather abruptly.

The characters are not appealing. Not much of a plot. Thus, the poor rating. On a final positive note, this is a smooth, easy read and it was easy to follow what was going on.

A quick read but a lot of characters at the end. Still trying to figure out the ending. Lots of dialog and back story. Didn't quite feel satisfied at the end. I feel like I'm missing something.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.