I like the premise of this book, but I honestly just could not get into it. The setting of the arts/catalog world was just too slow and confusing for me. If I had been more familiar with the setting, I'm sure I probably would have been able to get more into the plot and characters but, it just wasn't my vibe this time around. I may double back and try this book again later on.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

I wasn’t sure if I could finish this book. It starts off very slow and I got bored very quickly. Things pick up around 3/4 of the way through, and I’m glad I finished it.

I loved the concept and story but it was a SLOW burn. At times the writing was really captivating but at others it felt far too descriptive to the point of tangent-filled. Glad I pushed through as again, the overall story was great but I think it could have been edited a bit better.

This novel had an interesting start but seemed to fizzle out and I could not finish it. .

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this book.

I did not enjoy this. It felt predictable, fairly boring, and I almost gave up on it numerous times and kind of hate finished it just to be done and see what happened.

I really, really wanted to love this, because it's a sapphic romance with disability rep, but unfortunately it just wasn't very interesting...

I enjoyed this novel, and can’t wait to see what other gems come from this new publishing imprint. The story unfolds with unique characters who feel fully formed without falling into cliches or tropes. The background storyline on the Harlem Renaissance was the most fascinating to me and I do wish the author spent more time on this. Other than that, great book. I enjoyed reading it

Thanks to NetGalley and Roxane Gay Books for providing this title in exchange for an honest review!

In "Lush Lives", J. Vanessa Lyon's novel debut, we meet emerging artist Glory Hopkins as she seeks an appraisal for some of her late great-aunt Lucille's possessions. At the auction house, she meets Parkie de Groot, an ambitious appraiser aiming for a promotion. While Parkie handles a problematic auction and Glory tries to decide if compromising her art is worth it to save her newly inherited NYC brownstone, the two women embark on a complicated on-and-off relationship marked by issues of race, class, ableism, and morality.

This is a hard book to rate because I don't want to be unfair, but I can't say that I enjoyed it much. My impression was that it aimed to be like Nina Lacour's "Yerba Buena", a book about love, but where romance is one component in parallel individual journeys of growth.

At its core, though, "Lush Lives" was primarily your average romance book with too many "serious" plot threads crammed in: there's instalove, unearned faith in the characters for each other, unexplainable support for the relationship from other characters, and a predictable ending. And it's not even just that.

I understand that the book wanted to deal with the issues that might arise in an interracial relationship in terms of privilege, and how ethical compromises that seem okay to one party might seem wrong to the other. But the way it played out made me feel even less invested in the relationship. Even from the beginning, it seemed like Glory couldn't reconcile with Parkie's whiteness. Like she wanted to sleep with Parkie because she was hot, and she'd want to date Parkie because her parents wouldn't approve, but that's all.

Yet somehow, the two of them become closer than we actually see on the page, to the point that Glory builds an image of Parkie in her head that doesn't match up and then clashes with reality. And while that's a problem that is acknowledged by the narrative, it still left me feeling very confused. Glory keeps finding reasons to antagonize Parkie even before the big conflict between them arises, and then she completely shuts Parkie out - kicks her out, more like. Then, when Parkie is going through something, Glory is absent - until she reappears and wants to get together, which Parkie immediately accepts. Then they're playing house again, and the reader feels like they missed something.

It seemed to me like there was nothing better than being in a romantic relationship for both of these characters, like they wanted to be together just so they weren't alone. It was dizzying how they went from 0 to 100 where self-respect was concerned. This was infuriatingly driven home by the "natural" sudden death of a previously healthy and relatively young pet that ONLY happened just so Glory could be like "oh no life is so short I could die if I keep locking myself in this big empty house, I should get back with Parkie!" I'm usually not averse to animals dying in media, but I absolutely hated how heavy-handed and stupid this was.

Not even the smut was outstanding: we're continuously told details such as Parkie being a top and a dom and other details about her sexual dynamic with Glory - but the sex is pretty vanilla? And I think that sums up the problem with this book: we're told more than we're shown, and it's jarring.

The book is also outrageously long for its content. There was way too many descriptions of fancy designer clothes and luxury items, and as I mentioned, too many plot threads. There's the auction world, the art world, and... the secret unpublished novella of a real life author that apparently was in a poly sapphic relationship with Glory's great-aunt. If the rest of it was already too much, this was the cherry on top. It's a bit outlandish, in my opinion, to insert a real life figure into your completely fictional novel. But add that to the rest of the plot, and it really was too much. And even more things kept happening! An ex reappears! A horny art gallery owner saves the day AND is connected to a significant detail! A building is kicking people out! I was at 94% and I. Could. Not. Finish. When someone suddenly turned into a proper villain at that point, I nearly threw my Kindle to the wall.

To sum up it, I thought it was an ambitious story that tried to tackle important topics of current relevance, but it ultimately tried to bite off more than it could chew for what at its core was a regular, and not particularly developed or swoony, romance story.

I think my expectations were just to high for this Roxane Gay backed novel. This is one of those books where the overarching experience doesn't hit you until the end.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Roxane Gay Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Thank you Roxane Gay Books for my Netgalley copy of LUSH LIVES by J. Vanessa Lyon, out 8/1/23.

This is a novel about brilliant and bold women in Harlem, New York in the art and auction scene. I loved it! I almost DNF’d in the beginning because it’s slow to start, but I enjoyed the way it wrapped up and I really liked learning more about auctioneering and high-brow appraisals. If you were a fan of SIRENS & MUSES, I think you would enjoy this book. It has queer love (and messy and stubborn communication tropes) and a look into the rich Black history of the Harlem Renaissance.

I don’t want to spoil the twist in it, but just know you will be googling a lot about Black literary history! I found this to be less of a romance (how it is marketed) and more literary fiction. The writing can be pretentious at times and the dialogue/spicy scenes a little cringey, but overall I really enjoyed how I felt after finishing the book. It turned almost into a thriller at the end (does this book understand what it is trying to be?) and a lot of readers didn’t like it, but I think they are being a little harsh. If you are interested in learning about the NY art world, how it aids and abetts controversial wealth stacking on the backs of Black & Brown people, how the pharmecutical industry created an epidemic killing LGBTQIA+ people and a frustrating lesbian love plot, pick this one up.

I mean, this was fine.
This is a book from Roxane Gay's new imprint. I love Roxane Gay so perhaps I was a bit disappointed.
The book is fine, there is a decent queer love story and some real good historical facts and pondering about how wealth is made in America.
I just didn't care about the characters that much? They just didn't feel whole to me (except Dr. K- long live Dr.K) and they were all a little annoying. This was redeemed at the end, but the whole thing was just a little bit of a slog in my opinion. Maybe because I don't care about New York art scene that much?

This book, turned out not to really be for me. I liked the idea of a sapphic romance about the NYC art world, particularly as there's POC/disabled rep, But the title expired, and it didn't really grab me from the early parts of the book that I read. I'm sure if I someone the time to really give it a go, there would be an audience for it ❤️

I wanted very much to like this book, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I hope it finds its audience! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

Perhaps this book will appeal to someone else! Unfortunately, it was not this reader’s cup of tea, even with her experience in the New York art scene. Lush Lives felt half-finished (in a way many Advance Readers Copies do not) and hard to follow at times, almost like an artist who has only crafted the essence of their piece: the shell is there but not the complexities.

It’s hard to finally see something on the shelf that showcases a queer, disabled character and not offer praise, but even this aspect felt half-hazard. However, as someone who is not disabled, it doesn’t feel proper to comment further on this subject. Instead, it’s recommended to view other reviews that were written by those with this life experience.

Didn’t work for me. Bland, didn’t capture me. I was so excited by the premise, so much potential but fell flat

This is a difficult book to review. It is a well written novel centered on the Manhattan art community.. both galleries and auction houses. I know almost nothing about the subject. Thus, I found it educating and interesting. The repartee between the main characters is rendered exceptionally well and I loved that aspect of the narrative. Here is the “ however “. The very descriptive sex scenes of the gay women will not appeal to conservative readers. The book buyers who rely on Oprah’s book club choices will not read this novel. The sophisticated, liberal women will choose it. That narrows the market. This limited market will love it.

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.