‘Many Are Invited’ has all the makings of a great book club pick. Literary merit, a bingeable pace and length, Great Gatsby references, thought provoking topics, consistent and cyclical use of themes and motifs, and l the teappings of psychological drama that book clubs love.

An end-of-year housewarming party turned mystery set in the 1990s, we get some Slicone Valley vibes, Y2K tech scare struggles, and— as aforementioned— some Gatsby parallels in respect to jealousy and love triangles and conventions of success. The drama wastes no time in gearing up, making this an easy read to get into, and the deliberate unlike-ability of the characters makes it even easier to make your way through with a need to know how things come full circle.

Younger (Gen Z) readers may find the terminology and setting a little difficult, but it’s nothing a quick google of Y2K or Gates/Jobs drama of the 90s couldn’t fix in under ten minutes.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Celestial Eyes Press for the invitation to read an e-ARC of Dennis Cursta’s ‘Many Are Invited.’

I got a quarter way through and just could not continue reading. I promised myself I wasn’t going to waste any more of my time finishing awful books. There are too many good books out there to waste time on garbage. I’ve already forced myself to finish too many shitty books this year, I can’t do it again. This book was so dreadfully boring. I need to be pulled in and if you can’t manage to do that by the 25% mark, you never will. I’m sorry I can’t write a proper review from start to finish of this book. I’ll never finish it and I have absolutely no desire to. 0/5 stars.

Sorry, but no - I didn't like the writing, I dind't relate to any of the characters, and I didn't feel that the synopsis was reflective of the book itself. Unfortunately this wasn't for me.

This was a hard book to get into, and I still am not fond of the way the book ended. The back and forth was easy to follow though, and the Y2K references were spot on.

I will give this author another chance with their next book.

I liked this book, but not what I was expecting. It was a good read. I may go back and read it again. It definitely would make for a good book club discussion.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy to review.

I'll be honest, I couldn't finish it. It may be due to the upheaval my life was in at the time I read it. I couldn't get into it. Didn't really warm up to any characters. I may try again and see; but for now, it's a miss

Thank you to NetGalley and Celestial Eyes Press for the Advanced Readers Copy of Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta! I was extremely excited to read this as my first NetGalley ARC. The cover summary had me immediately interested. Unfortunately I agree with many of the reviews here that mention flat characters and lack of character development.. I did not particularly like or care about any of the characters enough to want to read more by Cuesta.

I had a hard time finishing this read and never really got into it. Glad to hear that others enjoyed it however!

Thanks again NetGalley!

2 stars, rounded down from 2.5

This will not be a positive review. The main thing I can say about this book is it’s short. The characters are unappealing and the story isn’t particularly interesting, although it was entertaining to remember how freaked out everyone was in the late 1990s about the Y2K problem (widely anticipated computer programming issue, for those who don’t know or don’t remember, related to the year turning from 1999 to 2000).

Right from the start, you find out that something awful happened at a housewarming party in late 1999. The rest of the story is told as a flashback, from one man’s POV, Steve. Themes covered include professional and personal jealousy. Widespread sexism abounds, with the men in the story referring to women they think are attractive as “Swede 5” or “Swede 7”, as if all attractive women are Swedish. Ugh. And there was a whole section of chitchat about politics and religion at the housewarming party that didn’t seem to serve any purpose in advancing the plot, and so could easily have been edited out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celestial Eyes Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was looking forward to this, I thought the synopsis sounded great but there was something missing. The characters were just kind of shallow and I didn’t see much development in them.

I have seen mixed reviews on this one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved the plot parallels with THE GREAT GATSBY. It is a short read and the drama unfolds quickly!

The story begins twenty years after the fact, when Steve Galonos finds an old invitation to a housewarming party back in 1999. This causes him to think back to the events leading up to, during, and after that fateful night.

The story is told from the perspective of Steve, and his recollection goes back to 1994, when he listens to John Goertz give a lecture about anticipated problems for the computerized world surrounding the year 2000.

Steve does not understand why they are talking about the year 2000, which is 6 years away! Unbelievably to Steve, John is put in charge of a year 2000 compliance program for their company.

John is slightly younger than Steve, and Steve is jealous of the man’s success. Somehow the two men become friends but the jealousy continues as John gradually gets more successful, and even meets and marries the woman Steve thinks is meant for him. This rivalry eventually leads to unexpected consequences at a housewarming party just before the year 2000 begins.

The book ends full-circle in a unique way (that still has me slightly puzzled!) I really enjoyed the Y2K tie-in and the explanations actually helped me to understand that issue a little better! I thought this was an entertaining story and I felt compelled to read to see how it worked out!

My sincere thanks to @netgalley and Celestial Eyes Press for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

This book had a good plot but lost me at the character development. I didn't really like any of the characters and it was hard to get through. Again, the storyline and plot had a great chance of making this book a great one, but it just wasn't for me.

This book was definitely different. I had a hard time getting into this book, and in parts it was confusing to me. I was having to go back and re-read parts I'd already read to keep up with the story. Some of the characters I didn't like at all. They were so shallow. Three of the people I did like are John, Steve, and Mary. I did like the twist at the ending. Thank you to the author, publisher, and net galley for giving me the opportunity to read it. Check it out and decide for yourself whether you like this novel.

A huge thanks to Netgalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to read this book because of the plot but sadly this book bored me to tears. I was not pulled into the story right away nor did I feel connected to the characters.

This was a very quick read. I was hoping for a little more Y2K era nostalgia. I think the intended audience for this book are those who are familiar with the cyber and IT world. It was a little technical jargon heavy. I wish there was more character development and that more action happened earlier in the story. Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

Following the friendship of two men, this novel focuses heavily on Y2K and a housewarming party that doesn't end as planned.
While it seemed like a potentially interesting thriller, I don't think I was the right audience for this book. There is so much talk about rating women and dating them just as conquests, which made it hard for me to keep an interest in the plotline. I found none of the characters, including the women, likeable. Also none of the friendships were real and just revolved around constant jealousy. All of the action takes place at one party at the end of the book, and the ending left me unsatisfied and slightly confused. Maybe the author wrote the story this way on purpose, as a warning to show what jealousy and greed can cause. Either way, I tried to give it a fair read but it didn't work for me.
Males age 50 and older would probably enjoy this book. It is a quick read and the story moves pretty well. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This was borderline unreadable. Insufferable characters and a long, long, long build-up. The sheer misogyny for the entirety of the book. I read difficult books with unlikeable characters who are bad people very, very often, and this was just too much for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book. Ummmm....not one of my favorites. Best friends Steve and John, become enemies, one falls in love with the others wife, no one much likes John's wife's best friend, and it all comes to a dead end at the end of the book.

Many Are Invited is about friendship, jealousy and being competitive in the late 1990's. When a tragic event at a housewarming party will change everything for those involved. Not really a fan of how the book ended.

I received a complimentary ARC of Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta in exchange for my honest review.
This book centers around four main characters Steve, John, Mary and Lauren in the mid nineties. Steve and John work in IT for a phone company and aren't really friends, just coworkers. Then John tells the company about a pending disaster in the year 2000, now known as Y2K. How with the world becoming more and more dependent on computers the possible crash could cripple the world. Steve doesn't buy it, but the company gives John a promotion and asks him to lead the 2000 conversion team. During their time working together on the team, Steve and John realize that they actually have a lot in common and soon become great friends. Steve is even with John the night that he meets his future wife, Mary.
John is highly ambitious, a go getter who wants to build a great life for himself. He eventually leaves his job for a start up dot company and Steve's
jealousies and insecurities are in full swing. Eventually, Steve is laid off from his job and is muddling through life. When John cashes out his IPO stocks and buys a million dollar house he and Mary decide to throw a housewarming party, a party with a tragedy that will change the lives of many forever.
I didn't particularly click with this book, there was far too many sexist comments regarding women, there was even a system to rank their looks and approachability! I also found the main characters to be childish and unlikable. The writing was well done and the storyline in and of itself was interesting, I just couldn't seem to get into it.

2.5 stars rounded up
A disappointing story. The blurb kind of sets the scene as this reflection on the dot.com/Y2K era, which mostly held up. The vague hint about something sinister at a party also essentially true. But, the way the story got to the party..... not particularly interesting. Luckily it's a quick read since there's not a lot of substance there.

It's a story that follows best friends Steve & John in their 20-30s as John lucks into the dot.com $$ and Steve is jealous of that and just about everything else about John. I didn't like even one character, which isn't always a necessity in the story, but these people were so darned shallow and one-dimensional. Plus, the way Steve and John talk about women is ...... wrong on so many levels. Ranking and rating on looks just for starters. I got tired of that really quickly. The little twist at the end was surprising but did it make reading the rest of the book worth it? Not really.
Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #CelestialEyesPress for this copy of #ManyAreInvtied. The opinions are my own.