On paper, this had a lot of components for a five star read, but unfortunately this fell flat for me. I do struggle to connect to novels with a historical component, and for this story in particular there was too much about auctions. I’ll still recommend it to me audience though as they may like it even though I didn’t

(duplicate due to approval for audio and eARC)
Lush Lives is romance novel that thinks highly of itself. There are tons of tedious details about the auction world.

This was such an incredible queer coming of age romance set in Harlem with a great historical mystery/family secret side story. Full of art, new love, family and a cast of diverse characters. I really enjoyed this story by a new to me author. that was also good on audio I look forward to reading more by J Vanessa Lyon soon! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of books like Possession or Art of a scandal!

I enjoyed this book for what it was. The main story was very interesting and had a good twist and ending! My only comment would be that the relationship between Glory and Parkie felt very rushed and full on very fast. I feel like the conversations around race could have gone a little bit more in depth, but was good for what it was and the disability rep was great! 3/5 stars!

Glory Hopkins is a struggling artist trying to find gallery representation. Luckily, she has inherited her Aunt Lucille’s brownstone. Needing to gather money to sustain the upkeep of the brownstone, Glory takes a few of her Aunt Lucille’s objects to an auction house for appraisal.
Parkie de Groot works in the auction house Glory Hopkins walks into. The chemistry is instant. What we find out is that Parkie is a powerhouse, not only is she amid a promotion in the auction house, but she also has some previous experience in the art world Glory is a part of. I believe they were imminently bound to meet up, it was written on the canvas.
Lush Lives
Glory and Parkie form an unlikely alliance and work to unearth the origins of a rare manuscript hidden in the brownstone’s attic. A romance ensues but with the pressures of their high-stakes career goals, a conflict threatens their newly forged relationship. The only thing that continues to bind them together is finding answers to Aunt Lucille’s manuscript, which is a mystery and a love story within itself. This book was so interesting to read, not only because of the romance but because you get a glimpse of how cutthroat the art and auction house businesses are.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advanced Listeners Copy of Lush Lives in return for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. As a queer romance it was so atmospheric and felt like an older version of what Talia Hibbert has been doing with The Brown Sisters trilogy. There was a lot to love in this, a decent amount of commentary of the complex nature of adulthood and a really sweet romance in the center. I will say I feel like 100 pages could have been shaved off and it would have been an altogether more cohesive novel. The plot threads got a little bit messy by the end there, but the core of the story was worth it regardless.

I almost wish this was marketed as more of a holiday romance because it does give those vibes, but I hope that whoever picks it up can be surprised and warmed by that element like I was!

Glory Parker was surprised to inherit her aunt’s brownstone in New York City, but she moves into it to take care of it between creating her paintings and looking for gallery representation. Parkie de Groot works as an auction house appraiser hoping for a promotion, and she finds the promise of something of great worth in both a notebook Glory brought in for appraisal and a potential relationship with Glory herself. Nothing is simple, however, and as they search for the identity of the notebook’s author, secrets threaten to tear Glory and Parkie apart.

There were several interesting storylines throughout this book, and yet I never became engrossed in the book. I felt there was a lot more showing than telling, sometimes almost wanting to beat you over the head with a point. The novel started out with realistic characters showing realistic positive traits and flaws, but by the end of the novel, the plot was unrealistic. I did appreciate seeing a major character with a disability. I wanted to like the book, but in the end, it was just ok.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

There were some things that I really enjoyed about this book. I thought the narration of the audiobook was great. Voices were distinctive enough that I could follow the story even when multitasking. I also really appreciated the nods to the Harlem Renaissance and historical figures. I also appreciate the queer story at the heart of this book. All that said, I did feel like the story often felt slow and somewhat forced. Toward the end of the book, I found myself wanting to start something new rather than finishing this audio version.

3⭐️

This was unfortunately a miss for me. While there was nothing objectively wrong/bad with the storyline it did not captivate me.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the complimentary copy.

For a book with so much plot, and so many steamy sapphic sex scenes, this was surprisingly boring. Almost every character fell flat, and the plot was needlessly convoluted and messy, with too much going on, and then ending tied with a frustratingly neat bow. There were too many threads being pulled at, and we didn’t even get resolutions or answers for certain things, while other things wrapped up picture perfectly.

Every character felt like a caricature, and even though I really wanted to like some of them (specifically Mania and Eleanor), it was hard to. It was also a strange thing to use a real historical figure (Nella Larson) in a book where everyone else was fictional, but the book did get me curious about reading Larson’s work.

This was messy, confusing, boring and not very well written. I honestly mostly finished it out of spite, boredom, and the barest of curiosity.

I wish this book would have been advertised as having a bit heavier romance in it than it did. I went in expecting fiction with a sapphic subplot, and this was a pleasant surprise of romance! Knowing nothing of the art auction industry, this was really fascinating to read for a while, then it started to get a bit too dry for me. Excited to see Gay's new publishing house, curious what else gets published. Not my favorite story.

Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon
Contemporary romance meets historical fiction. What better blend could you ask for? I love the girl gets girl trope, the art galleries and auction houses (my jam), and the Harlem Renaissance. That’s all I’m saying….read the book!

As always thank you to publishes and Netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let me first give kudos and praise to Lynette r Freeman, your voice is absolutely gorgeous! I genuinely enjoyed this book, the characters were dynamic and the variety of plot points were revolutionary. This book has so many much needed conversations about race, disability justice and sexuality. If you’re someone that appreciates additional, meaningful additions to romance novels you will genuinely appreciate this one. The romance between Glory and Parkie was so raw and real in so many ways. Unfortunately where this novel fell off for me was the pacing, at the beginning I was extremely engaged but somewhere near half way in, it just felt stagnant and I didn't want to pick it up anymore. Ultimately this is a wonderful novel and I hope the author and editors' styles advance in the future.

The audiobook narrator was a really great choice. I loved the way she read this book. However, I didn’t really like the book. I thought it was very bland up until the last three chapters and then it gave me evil stepmother locking Cinderella upstairs vibes.

This book was a surprising DNF. I was excited by the premise and by it being part of Roxane Gay’s imprint, and I thought it got off to a strong start. However, the story stagnated by the midpoint, and I couldn’t make myself push through. The character development felt like it was going nowhere, and the pacing became glacial. Despite the interesting premise, something about the story just felt rote.

Thanks, Netgalley for this arc.

This was a truly beautiful story of love and art history told through the lenses of two women who would otherwise have been over looked. It is not often you find stories told through the point of view of queer disabled or queer black women.

The book holds a mirror up to the often questionable practices of auctioneers and contemporary art. By giving all the many women in the novel fully rounded characterisations and without sweeping generalisations.

The narrator was brilliant she has a beautiful intonation however her English accent could be improved.

This was heading for one star until the last few chapters of the book. I found it boring and at times disjointed. Took too long for anything interesting to happen

This book was excruciatingly awful. It was so slow and so boring and I should have DNF'd. It was just really really bad. There's somehow too much going on and absolutely nothing going on at the same time. Our characters are annoying their romance is not believable and it takes on a very stereotypical lesbian romance timeline. One where they see each other have instant physical attraction but don't like each other emotionally, then they get together and then they don't like it and then they're dating and they're in love. There's no sort of build up there's no communication yet all of a sudden they're willing to sacrifice things for each other. It's it's wild. Would not recommend.

This book delved into some deep conversations and topics but just overall felt a bit underdeveloped. Maybe it's because of the slow pace. Audiobook was well done.

This book was a nice slow burn. I enjoyed the characters, themes, and variety of plots. At times I had a hard time keeping track of all the plots but nonetheless enjoyed the book. I recommend the audiobook because the narration was fantastic. The voice actor did a great job and was very pleasant to listen to!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media, recorded books for the digital advanced listeners copy!! I received a complimentary copy of this book. The book was published on August 15, 2023!