Book 50 Love in the ’80s

Love in the ’80s an anthology by nine different romance authors fulfilled the category “Book Set in the Eighties” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. There are ten new adult romances in the thousand-page book. I started reading it in December of last year.

The books range through various plots, including best friend’s brother, reunion romance, rock and roll fantasy, and more. I grabbed the ebook, planning to pick a single novel and call it good. But you know me, I read them all.

The first one I picked was a retelling of Can’t Buy Me Love, a movie from 1987 starring Patrick Dempsey. I was a little disappointed at the plot steal. It was original, but very familiar. That’s when I got the bright idea of reading the rest and using it for my last book.

These were quick, cute novellas. Some got details wrong. One book had Madonna appearing too soon. Another took place in the nineties and referred to their life in the late eighties as high school kids. The inconsistencies didn’t take away from the stories. Each held up as a fun, flirty, 80s romance.

Ironically, my favorite was the tale from the 90s, Careless Whisper by Misty Paquette. It was a reunion tale. A group of former high school friends ends up staying in the same house to honor one of the kid’s grandmothers. The woman raised her granddaughter and had a hand in helping with all the kids. When she passes, her will stipulates that they must stay at her house. The heroine of the tale, Gracie, the granddaughter, is not happy. Her ex-best friends and boyfriend are in her face as she grieves. She believed the ex-boyfriend was her one true love until her grandmother told her he got Gracie’s best friend pregnant. She left town and never looked back.

Now she must face all of them and find the truth. The group finds old VHS tapes around the house with clues about what really happened in 1985. The story became so twisted and ugly, I thought for sure the author would never be able to get the couple together. She did, with a huge plot twist. I loved it.

If you’re looking for a nice, long, nostalgic read, get your mixed tapes ready and grab this title. At $1.00 a story, you can’t go wrong.

I give Love in the ’80s by Cassie L Bond, Cambra Hebert, Amber Lynn Natusch. Rebecca Yarros, RK Ryals, Kelly Martin, Rachel Higginson, Lindy Zart, Cameo Renae, and Misty Paquette Four Neon Scrunchies.