It's true what they say: this book is a mix of Succession and Crazy Rich Asians with a pinch of Gossip Girl thrown in.

The story begins with Jia Song’s desperate quest for a very specific Birkin bag she’s dreamed of owning since she was a child. At first, I was a little put off by this, but it doesn’t continue to be the focus. Instead, the story follows Jia's journey to hopefully becoming the youngest ever senior partner at her New York City law firm. However, her goal seems to slip farther from her grasp when she meets the Park family - heirs to the Korean beauty conglomerate, Mirae.

The Parks are desperate to uncover their father's duplicity after he files for divorce from their terminally ill mother, leaving her with less than she deserves, and running away with his mistress. When Jia promises to help them find the truth, she's unprepared for the strife in the family, her growing feelings for the Parks' house manager, and the lengths that the Park patriarch will go to hide his fortune.

Considering how the story starts, I thought Jia would be a bit vapid, but her character provides a lot of depth to the story, and she has a strong sense of right and wrong. I love a strong moral compass, and she certainly is that.

We toggle back and forth between Jia’s perspective and a mysterious narrator. I listened to this book on audio, so for the first quarter or so, I was a little confused by the back-and-forth. However, as the plot unfolded, that second perspective became more intriguing. I wanted to know who this duplicitous person was. The air of mystery is what propelled me forward.

Is it the most intriguing book I’ve listened to? Not necessarily. It was entertaining, but not something I craved coming back to.

Park Avenue is a fun book with calls to Korean culture and complex family dynamics that I enjoyed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh hits shelves on June 3, 2025!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian audio for early copy for review*

I have always loved Kdrama's that feature messy rich people. This is especially true when we have a character like Jia who came from nothing and gets thrown into the "chaebol" lifestyle. This book scratched an itch from those shows and even included a villain to hate. This would have been a perfect five star for me, but I feel like I am missing a scene between Paris and the climax on the yacht. Besides that this was an excellent debut and I can't wait for what Ahdieh brings us next.

Park Avenue by Renee Ahdieh, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Michelle H Lee and OMG this is a twisty read about people who are mega rich with deep dark secrets family rivalries a good and bad twin hidden money and in the middle of all of it is Gina song. She grew up the daughter of bodega owners and as soon as the children of the richest Korean skin care line sees her they immediately believe she is only there because she is Korean. if Gina can sway the family to become a client she is promised to make partner and class and opulence is everything Gina aspires to but after getting to know this family she will learn not everything you want is actually what you need. for those like me who like a little lol moment and such serious plots you’ll definitely find it in this book. There’s so much more I want to say but just know there’s a romance and lots of messy drama that makes up this twisty awesome read. Not to mention the anonymous narrator in between the chapters which I thought and it’s such a great touch to the story and couldn’t wait to see who it was. I thought the narrator did the best job anyone could’ve done with this awesome book she really is a top notch performer and totally proves that with the many different characters in the novel. This book says so much about perspective and what we think and what is actual reality money does not buy you happiness but Gina song just may find it in the middle of this dysfunctional family. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer,#MichelleHLee, #ReneeAhdieh,#ParkAvenue,#McMillanAudio,

Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh had me hooked from the start! I went into this one blinded by the pretty cover so I completely side stepped the synopsis and dove right in without a clue on what it was about. I quickly put 2 and 2 together to find that it is a mystery/thriller. It had well-placed clues with a shocking and satisfying ending. You might see it coming, but I did not!!

With a focus on the plot, there were just enough twists and turns to keep things exciting. There were romantic sparks flying, but they coyly took a backseat to the main story. Much of the story was built around Jia’s Korean culture and her dream of making it big, which included scoring the Birkin bag of her dreams. There was quite a bit of globe hopping , too, so it was fun to travel along with Jia as she searched for clues.

I enjoyed listening to this one on audio. It was narrated by Michelle H. Lee and she did a great job of creating a dynamic and expressive narration, especially with the interjection of Korean words throughout the text.

Overall, 4 STARS from me and I’d recommend this to anyone who is wanting to get lost in a mystery and have fun traveling the world.

Huge thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions posted are my own.

"Park Avenue" initially reads like a glossy legal drama before revealing its beating, complicated heart. Ahdieh transforms the familiar ambitious-lawyer narrative into something far more nuanced through Jia Song, whose hunger for success feels both relatable and worthy of examination.

Michelle H. Lee's audiobook narration elevates the experience to another level entirely. Her distinct voice for Jia captures both steely determination and underlying vulnerability—you'll feel the emotional weight when Jia's carefully constructed world begins to unravel against the backdrop of Manhattan's elite circles.

The Park family dysfunction unfolds with the addictive quality of the best telenovelas. Their feuding initially seems tedious and privileged, but Ahdieh brilliantly peels back those layers to reveal raw, tender moments that humanize even the most infuriating characters. The patriarch emerges as a man impossible to like.

The anonymous narrator device creates mounting tension that feels almost unbearable as connections between seemingly separate lives begin to crystallize. Each revelation had me reassessing everything I thought I understood about these characters.

This isn't merely a story about wealth and status—it's an intimate exploration of what we sacrifice at ambition's altar. The dual threads of Korean-American identity and professional ambition intertwine in ways that will resonate long after trends in contemporary fiction have shifted.

If you crave stories that balance delicious drama with genuine emotional depth, "Park Avenue" won't just satisfy—it'll haunt you with questions about your own definitions of success.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary Audiobook for review. Opinions are my own.

This was a fun one! Jia recently transitioned to junior partner at her law firm, and one of her first projects was getting paired up with a super high-level client - the mega-famous and wealthy Korean family, the Parks. The patriarch is in the process of filing divorce from his dying wife, and the three siblings won't stop bickering with each other. Through it all, Jia is determined to show her worth despite the chaos of this particular case.

I enjoyed following along these different characters and witnessing each scandal that unfolded. I can picture this being a great movie as well. The narrator did a great job bringing these characters to life.

There is just something about this novel that sticks with me. I read an audio version that was extremely well narrated by Michelle H. Lee. Park has a double meaning. It's the name of the ritzy street in Manhattan and the name of the obscenely wealthy and, if possible, the more obscenely dysfunctional family that forms the center of the story. The writing and the plot are quirky and totally entertaining. Yes, it is what I'd call a cotton candy book as one would read it purely for escapism/fun. There are a few takeaways about one's values that help drive the plot and choices people make but it's essentially a very well written, well plotted, fluffy book about the very rich and how money affects families and the successful but not born rich who are trying to make it.

When Jia Song, a first general Korean was thirteen, the ghost of her grandfather appeared to her at the moment of his death and said she was responsible for the family. The Song family was doing okay as owners of a Bodega but they couldn't afford the fancy upscale things or even a simple vacation. Jia finds herself yearning for very expensive purses, a metaphor for her ambition. To be fair, she also has the ultimate goal of making her parents life carefree as they age. But along the way, some luxury for her is very welcome. Jia is a new junior partner in a very fancy NY law firm when a senior partner brings her into a sensitive matter involving a Billionaire Korean family, the Parks. The mother, Jenny, is dying of cancer. She built a dry cleaning empire with her husband, whose name in an audio book sounds like "Seven." He left Jenny because of her illness and has been living with a mistress the same age as his twin daughters. Again, due to audio book reading, I need to call them Twin 1 and Twin 2. Twin 1 married a very successful doctor, has a boy and a girl, and is miserable in her marriage as her husband cheats and that cheating extended to a fling at a party with Twin 2. Not good. Twin 1 walked in on them. The flimsy excuse that everyone was in costume doesn't fly with her or with me. This shows up so early, I'm treating is as not a spoiler.

Twin 2 seems totally flighty. She's creative, irresponsible, yet keyed into the mess Jia is hired to work on in a way the others seem not to be. Twin 1 instinctively dislikes and distrusts Jia. The third child of the Parks is a son who would have been groomed to run the family business and who is a fabulous financial expert. However, he is gay. Thus, Seven felt fine abandoning his three children when he left Jenny, although partly because they were on her side when he left. At the start of their engagement of Jia and her firm. Seven has indicated he wants a very fast divorce from Jenny offering her $25 million and the Park Avenue apartment. The kids would get a small amount. He has clearly hidden a lot of his billion dollar worth while Jenny raised the kids and also worked with him on creating the business.

The plot involves Jia, working with all of these characters and a handsome family advisor/son of the former butler or something like that. She must jet set all over the world to try to track people with information and where the money is stowed. She has four weeks. From time to time, Ahdieah breaks the fourth wall with a word from an unidentified writer who is clearly messing with the family's efforts. Jia, fresh out of a long term relationship with a fellow high intensity lawyer from a rival firm is not about to trust anyone. Plus, she is really, really competent and creative, which comes with high level lawyer competence, but can also get one in trouble when clients bitch to your bosses.

The fun in Park Avenue is that the characters are not all one-dimensional but they can live and appear to be one dimensional. Very few of them are pure evil, but they all appear to be evil hear and there. It is fun to find out that the devious Seven is not so smart as he thinks when up against Jia. She's often one pace ahead of him and then.... something gets in the way. This book makes you cheer for a bunch of spoiled and entitled adult kids because their characters and experiences in the Park family make you find compassion for them. Is one of them the mole, being paid off by Seven to scuttle any challenge to his cheapskate offer. The novel also involves an arc that is a coming of age story for Jia. Her personal growth through the nonstop intensity of this case and her general adherence to doing the right thing and usually the legal thing makes her interesting and not stereotypical. When you face a totally corrupt, selfish and mean spirited opponent, that's sometimes hard to navigate.

I waited a while to write this review because I wanted to convey the pure pleasure that goes with reading this book AND the need to suspend disbelief because it often is in the nature of a farce. I loved it. Hope you do too. Recommend the audio!!

Jia is a newly minted partner at a high powered NYC law firm and daughter of Korean shop owners. She's obsessed with getting the perfect Birkin and making senior partner. Her first case in her new role is to investigate the ultra-wealthy Park family. After building a business with his wife, the patriarch has left her with a terminal cancer diagnosis, to marry and have a new heir with a much younger women. His children have hired Jia to find evidence of his enormous wealth to increase the terms of the settlement offered to them and their mother, so Jia starts off on a globetrotting hunt to find it before Seven can cut them off. In the meantime, she falls for the family's EA and has to figure out if this is what she wants out of life.
The story is suspenseful (the unnamed until late narrator drops in little hints now and then, Gossip Girl-style) and the wealth/conniving is entertaining (Succession/Crazy Rich Asians comparisons), and the whole plot moves along at a good pace. The reader was quite good, not overacting but covering a good range of voices and accents and drama without being overwrought. A fun summer listen.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Renee Ahdieh's first adult novel and something very different from what she's written before! Park Avenue is contemporary fiction about a Korean-American woman who has just made junior partner at her law firm assigned to clients from a super wealthy (and super messy!) Korean-American family.

The mom is dying of cancer, the dad is divorcing her to be with his much younger pregnant mistress, and the kids want legal help because he's trying to hide the majority of his wealth in order to keep their rightful inheritance from them. And the kids have their own messy conflicts to contend with. Jia Song is thrust into the center of this elite family drama, whisked away on private jets to luxurious destinations. It's interesting and keeps you entertained along the way. It's periodically interrupted by a narrator a la Lady Whistledown, which is an unusual choice. The audio narration is great- easy to listen to and fits the vibe of the book. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This is an excellent debut mashing gossip girl with succession vibes. Jia has 30 days to uncover the secrets hidden by the ultra wealthy Park family to protect the inheritance of the Park children amidst their parents divorce. This glamorous story has Jia traveling the globe and trying to determine who can be trusted. An addictive read!

Park Avenue is juicy, chaotic, and totally addictive—in the best way. I had so much fun diving into Jia’s high-powered, high-drama world of billionaires, Birkin bags, and beauty empire meltdowns. It reads like a mashup of Crazy Rich Asians and Succession, with plenty of secrets, scandals, and sharp commentary on ambition and identity. Jia is such a compelling character—driven, messy, and relatable—and I loved watching her start to question whether the life she’s chasing is actually what she wants. It lost me a bit in the middle with some pacing issues, but overall, it was such an entertaining, glossy ride. Solid 4 stars!

Jia Song, newly minted junior partner and looking to continue to move up in her law firm, jumps when a named partner asks her to help with a personal connection and hushed family matter. Jia is shocked to become embroiled in the drama of one the well known and wealthy Korean families--the Parks. The siblings don't get along, the mother is dying from breast cancer and the patriarch is silently divorcing his wife. The catch, Mr Park claims he is only worth 20 million--where did a billion dollars go?

Can Jia untangle the immense web of lies, entanglements and diverging loyalties in time to solve where Mr Song has hidden the family wealth? As we jet set around the globe with Jia to rooms with immense wealth and privilege, Jia not only begins to prove herself to the Song family but she begins to appreciate and love her own hardworking Korean immigrant family.

Park Avenue was an absolute delight and EXCELLENT on audio. The narrator did a fantastic job nailing the characterization of this eccentric family. Thank you Flat Iron books and netgalley for this ALC. Park Avenue releases June 3, 2025.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an ARC of this audiobook. This book was so much fun.. The narrator was excellent. Even the characters that were difficult to like - really won me over. I enjoyed every minute.

I loved Renee Adieh’s YA vampire series and I was so excited to see she wrote an adult novel. It didn’t disappoint!

You really need to enjoy fashion and hand bags because there’s so much time spent talking about them in this book. The opening examines a deep obsession with Birkins; which I actually do find interesting. Throughout the book there are detailed descriptions of what people are wearing.

I really like Gia as the main character. She’s a strong-willed introvert who likes to read.

I did not like the narrative style of the narrator having chapters where they address the reader directly in like a cheeky way. Those types of chapters always take me out of the story and I just find them unnecessary.

There’s a decent reveal towards the end that I didn’t see coming that changed the trajectory of the story. I think it was well done, but I still hated the way it ultimately ended.

Overall a really great audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun- I loved it! 4 stars possibly 4.5… I need to some time to think about it. I thought this was going to be similar to Crazy Rich Asians but it had a lot more heart and suspense than I was expecting.

I was hooked from the very beginning. Jia, the main character, is quite likable and I was rooting for her to find her happiness. This book has rich people drama, family conflicts, plus a mystery/thriller component to it.

Very fun, fast-paced with several big twists (the ending, whew). This would be a great summer read.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! At times it was lighthearted but there was also a lot of mystery and suspense. Great story!

What a fun read! This is a fast-paced book with interesting characters, set in a world most of us never get to see first-hand. Lots of intrigue, a great twist, and a satisfying ending. I understand this is Renée Ahdieh’s first novel for adults, but I hope it’s not her last.

And I thought Michelle H Lee did a great job narrating, including all the Korean phrases and names.

PARK AVENUE
Renee Adieh



I did not know what to expect from Adieh’s adult contemporary novel. Whatever it was I was expecting this is not that.

PARK AVENUE stars Jia, well, we’ll call her Jia. Jia is a lawyer and just made junior partner and her first case is a big one. Not only will it prove her worthy for the position she recently acquired but will also set her up for further promotion.

The case concerns the Park family. A world-famous, rich, Korean family that’s in the middle of a dispute over the entire fortune. The family is at odds, the matriarch is dying, and Jia will find herself in the middle of it.




This is for the girls who learned to notice labels early, would never wear vachetta in the rain, and consider their SA’s friends with benefits.

I had so much fun reading PARK AVENUE. It was the best way to bring in early summer. PARK AVENUE is fun and lively. It is not a thriller but is structured like one with every aspect of what a thriller includes. The storyline, however, is contemporary and romantic.

This combination led to a propulsive read. Complete with twists and turns, a ticking clock, a crucible, and a contract.

I was impressed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

Out June 3

PARK AVENUE…⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was so much fun! I went into it hoping for messy, wealthy people drama and it definitely delivered that. If you love other people’s gossip and family conflicts, this scratched that itch for me for sure. Beyond the drama, though, I thought it also had some complex and nuanced layers about privilege, wealth, immigration, consumerism, and racial identity. It was much deeper than I expected and the added mystery of the identity of the narrator kept me guessing too. Sometimes the structure with those added narrator parts felt a little funky and pulled me momentarily out of the story, but overall I really liked this one and found it to be a fun, quick listen. The narrator is SO talented. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC!

i enjoyed the crazy rich asians aspect of this, but that's about it.

you follow jia, a junior partner lawyer, who is chosen to defend three uber wealthy siblings and their mother as they fight to keep their inheritance upon the divorce of their parents. this truly felt like reading a k-drama. the siblings all have a pull-and-push dynamic with each other, they hate their dad, the mom is fighting an illness, and chaos is happening left and right. while i felt the plot kept me going because i was dying to know what happened next, the narrator and the others felt like flat cliche versions of k-drama characters.

this was also a story that i would have liked more WITHOUT the romance. jia's romance with the family assistant was so unnecessary and added absolutely nothing to the plot. because of her attraction to him, she was very rude to him in the beginning since she was still bitter from a recent breakup and hated that she was now feeling something for a man. she acted super unprofessional around him. and to be honest, she acted a bit immature at times - i didn't think she quite handled herself as the junior partner she was, especially with how she dealt with the members of the park family.

towards the end, the way the sequence of events unraveled was absurd and sort of took me out of the story because of how unbelievable it was. overall, a fun time but nothing worthy of note to me.

audiobook was fantastic!