I was surprised how dense and deep the entire setting and plot went, given this is in some ways an insta-love romance story. I know very little about auction houses, or what goes on in them, but I love seeing differing queer rep and this was definitely a different take and had intriguing and dense characters to wade through.

I found some of the plot a bit draining and it truly was dense and some of the plot lines were incredibly serious while others were a bit too light, but overall I enjoyed the book and think it's different than other books I've read recently.

Trigger Warnings: alcohol, past death, cursing, sex, discussion of racism, ableism, classism, capitalism, death of a pet, gentrification, eviction

Representation: Disability, Black, Sapphic

Lush Lives is a deliciously queer and sexy novel about bold, brilliant women unafraid to take risks and fight for what they love.

An unabashedly charged love story set in the evocative and high-stakes world of art and auction in New York City. For Glory Hopkins, inheriting her Aunt Lucille’s Harlem brownstone feels more like a curse than a blessing. As a restless artist struggling to find gallery representation, Glory doesn’t have the money, time, or patience to look after the aging house of an aunt she barely knew. When she stumbles into Parkie de Groot, a savvy, ambitious auction house appraiser on the verge of a coveted promotion, her unexpected inheritance begins to look more promising.

Glory and Parkie form an unlikely alliance and work to unearth the origins of a rare manuscript hidden in the brownstone’s trove. In doing so, they uncover not only the well-kept secrets of Lucille’s life but also the complex relationships between Harlem and its distinguished residents. Undeniable as their connection may be, complications arise that threaten to tear apart their newly forged relationship. Between Parkie’s struggle to overcome the heartache of past romances and professional problems that threaten to end her rising career, and Glory’s unbridled and all-consuming drive, they begin to keep secrets from each other. The deeper they dig into the mysteries of the Harlem brownstone, the more fraught their relationship becomes.

This is my opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt. Personally, I didn’t really enjoy this book. I don’t think it’s the book, it’s written well and has a great story, but it wasn’t for me. This novel is full of queer love, ambition, and the forgotten histories that define us. There is a sapphic romance and a good look into interracial relationships. I do want to note that it is a bit confusing trying to keep up with the backstories for each character. There’s often a lot going on and it’s hard to keep track of.

2.5 stars

"Lush Lives" by J. Vanessa Lyon tries to tackle a lot—navigating the art world as a black woman, interracial relationships, and disability. While I loved the premise behind the story, the prose didn‘t fully draw me in so that the novel felt way too long. There is quite a few subplots that didn’t add much to the story and just dragged it out, like Parkie reconnecting with her ex. The romance, too, was too predictable to pull me in emotionally. I mainly listened to the audio book in the background while I was doing other things and it was fine, but I think I would’ve struggled to finish this if I‘d read it as a physical book. It’s a shame because I thought Glory and her aunt were great characters and loved some aspects of the plot, but the book would’ve needed a lot of editing and cutting down for me.

Thank you for the ARC! Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of this at all. I was super excited for the sapphic representation and disabled representation, as I am sapphic and my mother uses a cane. Beyond that, however, I found the story to be very dry, uninteresting, and slow paced to the point of dragging. Ultimately I just had absolutely no interest in the plot. The audiobook was also difficult to get to as the narrator uses the same voice for both characters, making the POV nearly impossible to differentiate without paying close attention.

Disclaimer: I received an audiobook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was automatically drawn to this book once I heard that it was from Roxane Gay’s imprint, and when I heard it was a queer romance I immediately requested a copy for review.

This book started very promising. The first 20% of the book did some solid character building and began to deal with important conversations on racism and ableism. It was also super cool to have representation of a protagonist with a disability be sexy/sexual—it’s too uncommon.

That said, from about a third of the way into the book it felt stagnant. I feel like the character development largely plateaued and the protagonists were chasing their tails and not progressing. By the halfway point I was getting tired, and two thirds in I was pretty annoyed and rushing to finish just for the sake of finishing it. The book seemed to have potential but I didn’t find that that promise was fulfilled.

There were enough enticing plot points that I wanted to like this, but the characters were not at all compelling and often frankly annoying. I struggled with the lack of believability of the narrative arc, which prevented me from being pulled in at any point.

Thank you to Net Galley and Roxane Gay Books for the audiobook advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Lush Lives had a lot of potential. From, at first glance, some well rounded characters, and having an interracial lesbian relationship, a disabled live interest, and all the treasures you'd possibly find in a home of a pillar in thw community during the Harlem Renaissance. However it tried to take on too much. I feel like if you enjoyed realistic messy problems/relationships you might like this book because the poor communication trope is actually sparked by a really actually tough situation between Glory and Parkie. But there is just too much going on. Too many details mentioned that have no payoff whatsoever, which gets frustrating. And my least favorite part the antagonist of the story going from morally-corrupt-white-woman-CEO to a power hungry scooby doo villain.

This was fine to have in the background while going about my day, but it sadly didn't hit the way I wanted it to hit, nor did it really stand apart from other disaster millennial fiction the way I hoped it might from the premise. I did, however, appreciate the sapphic and disability rep in this.

3.5 and rounding up.
This read like a fiction book with some romance sprinkled in, which totally worked for me. This walked a nice balance of character development, intriguing sub plot line, and an insightful exploration of personal growth. Since this was sold to me as a romance, I will say, the love scenes didn't really hit the mark for me, but as a couple, I really like Glory and Parkie. I really loved diving into the art/auction world against the backdrop of unraveling the mystery of Lucille's life in Harlem over many decades.

Elle Cleviden really brought all the skills to this narration. Multiple accents, and personalities. Many props to her. I look forward to hearing more.

***Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Loved this one. The pacing fell somewhere between literary and commercial, my favorite. Glamorous queers and juicy gossip--what's not to like?

i don't know if it was the poor narration or the writing style, but i just couldn't get into it. i tried but gave up at 35%. also my main problem was the book was 80% description and 20% interaction/communication. and without proper interactions, i couldn't see how relationship with anyone can develop.

This book fell a bit flat for me. It was a bit boring at times, and I wanted more from the romance aspect of the book. There were things I enjoyed (ie. the characters), but it is not very memorable for me.

I wanted to be nicer in my review, and I spent a few days after finishing trying to think of nicer ways to express myself, but honestly this book just isn't good. I couldn't think of anything positive to say about it. There are dozens of independently published lesbian books with this exact plot that are better written and more enjoyable. It's just very trope-y, cliched... boring. And this is just a personal opinion, but I couldn't take "Parkie" as an adult with a name like that. I get people have nicknames, but that one in particular just made me think of a 12 year old, or a Yorkie.

I will start by saying I hope the final audiobook has some great fixing in production - you could tell every point where the author had to correct a mistake at a later date - the tone would change and it would sound very strange.

Overall this book was very middle of the road -I was okay with the characters and the plotlines were fairly interesting, and there were poinent moments but...I wasn't completely gripped after the 40% mark and I'm not sure Parkie & Glory really make the most sense together - love wins out an all but....not my favorite pairing and not a couple I necessarily wanted to root for but I was rooting for their situations to improve so that is something.
This was just fine but the audiobook needs some work and I hope this isn't the final file.