I was really excited to receive an ARC of a sapphic romance, but this one couldn’t hold my interest. I wanted to DNF but managed to get through it - unfortunately I couldn’t tell you much about it besides the general plot. It just didn’t hold my attention enough.

Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon

3 stars/5

About: Lush Lives is a queer romance that navigates the NYC art world and messy relationships.

I was really excited for this read after finding it on NetGalley; however, I would be lying if I did not say I was slightly disappointed at its conclusion. I wanted to love this book, but it was not as great as I hoped it to be.

Things I loved: the concept, the author's writing, diverse representation (POC, LGBTQ+, disability), dual POV, and the overall plot.

Things I did not love: the execution of diversity in terms of disability representation - something about the portrayal of Parkie's disability did not sit right with me, confusing timeline in certain moments,

Overall, I did enjoy this read, but was disappointed that I didn't *love* it like I was hoping to.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Roxane Gay Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story was enthralling, a gorgeous complicated story about the standards and pedestals we hold ourselves and others, wrapped up in a lush lesbian love affair. I was most enthralled by the plotline running through the heart of the story about the history of Glory's Aunt Lucille and how her life weaved invariably through history and Glory's own life. I thought there were a few excessive plot points near the end regarding Glory's immediate family and Parkie's ex that felt a little out of context, but that might have been just because I was anxious about how the main plot was going. In all, I loved the complex character of each woman in this book and ultimately how their lives and loves interconnected to beautifully.

I had high hopes for this sapphic romance but I was a bit disappointed. While the premise and characters showed great promise, especially from the synopsis, the execution fell short in several areas, particularly in its handling of disability representation.

There were plot points in this novel that I hoped went in different directions than they did and it left the story under-baked and haphazardly pulled together. The romance itself fell flat for me and it made it difficult to fully invest in their romance.

While the concept and characters had potential, the execution left much to be desired. I appreciate the attempt at representation, but I believe it could have been written with more depth.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGallery the author and publisher for this Advance Reader Copy!! I was close to DNF this one but I can not finish a book. Either way this book wasn’t for me. I kept skipping pages because it was boring to me. It’s just be me and someone else might actually loved it.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The cover was gorgeous. Knowing that it was endorsed by Roxane Gay meant it had to be good, right? Nope.

Non stop prose that wasn't elegaic at all. I thought this would be like Donna Tartt's book The Goldfinch but it couldnt have been more different.

When writing isn't good, it pales any story. The relationship between Glory and Parkie was just not believable or relatable.

I really wanted to like this book because the premise of the NYC art world a queer romance was so good, and there's POC/disabled rep, but honestly this book was just boring and every character was making me annoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Nope. The writing here was quite labored and the disabled character (I mean, yay, a disabled character, but boo, not well-represented.

Cute sapphic romcom! I enjoy most art world novels and this one was no different. This was a great concept that allowed you peek into the makings of a new relationship. It was wholesome and intriguing from the very beginning.

1.5⭐️

This book was not for me. This book was incredibly slow and dry. I thought that the premise of the book was super interesting, but it was a typical lesbian romance that was super predictable. The writing was subpar as I had to reread passages multiple times to understand what was happening. Parkie's disability was treated so poorly in this book and I feel as if it is not a good representation of disabilities. Glory and Parkie were characters that annoyed me so much all throughout the book with the stupid things that they would do. This book was bland, boring, and not for me! As part of the LGBTQIA+ community I wanted to love this book but sadly did not.

I can't with this book! It's all description and no plot, but the descriptions are just soooo dry and bland! I died of boredom and got resurected at lest 8 times in the first 10%!

Also, there's someone who really REALLY hates fountains and calls them "water features".

Trust me when I tell you - this lousy ass review is more exciting than this book!

Love love love the concept of this - the peek into the convoluted art world, the brainpower that goes into literature research, the diverse group of brilliant women. At some points, the timeline got a little confusing for me; there were seemingly random multiple-week jumps and unclear timing when switching POV chapters.

From the blurb, I thought I had a better understanding of what the plot should've been but everything started off so slow. The beginning wasn't enticing enough as we tag along with the MC as she walks around with antiques. I was thoroughly confused.

aside from not completely understanding the title, “lush lives” is a typical lesbian romance novel. the plot is formulaic, predictable, and nothing new. when i first began the novel, i thought this was a story about glory overcoming her grief and parkie finding beautiful artwork as well as a solid girlfriend. this novel is severely unstructured, and there are many moments i had to reread passages and question myself; what?

the true problem is parkie only exists as a character to be white, to be disabled, and to be rich. it’s honestly quite disturbing how parkie’s disability is treated in this novel. my eyes rolled so far back into my head every time parkie tried to get back with her ex, or sleep with glory’s gallery manager, every time they had a minor argument. the sex scenes in this book are laughable, and they feel forced and out of place. there are too many elements present; a medical group withholding treatment to aids patients, a gallery with connections to nazis, nella larson’s lost unpublished novel. it’s too much. the prose is so chunky and bland, as is every character who isn’t glory.

i wanted to like it, i really did, but i don’t.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review!