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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This one was more fun than I expected it to be! I knew Ahdieh was originally a fantasy author (I think), and I'm not sure when she made the transition to contemporary fiction, but I'm glad she did! The characters were well developed, and I loved all the snark and witty dialogue. I enjoyed the overall story, and the way events unfolded. It is fun to get peeks into the lives of the wealthy, and I thought Ahdieh did a fabulous job of incorporating elements of that world without being overdone. The only drawback for me was the inclusion of the "author's chapters" (I listened on audio and maybe that impacted how I took them in) - they just pulled me out of the story, confused me, and didn't really add to the story for me. Overall, this was a win, and I can't wait to see what Ahdieh writes next!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl
It all began with a Birkin. When Jia Song was fifteen she saw her first Birkin in person and ever since then she wanted to have nice things. Now twenty some years later Jia is a junior partner at a NY law firm and is finally about to get her own Birkin. And she is now getting her big break as her boss at her law firm personally assigned her a big case. The case is the implosion of the most famous Korean family in the world! But this story is about the journey she goes on not only to help the Park family but what truly matters in her life.
I really enjoyed this book! It is laugh out loud funny! It’s quick and easy! This is such a great adult debut for Renee! Some parts were a bit slow for me, but then some parts were a bit too rushed for me. I love the mystery aspect of this book. I also really liked the growing relationship between Jia and her potential love interest and also the Park siblings. What was one of my favorite things about this book was the Korean culture and how it’s intertwined in the story. The ending got me!!! Omg Renee!!! Also thank you Renee for chapter titles and short chapters! We need to bring back chapter titles!!
Thank you Flatiron for allowing me to read this early!
Thank you Flatiron for allowing me to read this early!
First thank you to Macmillan audio, flat iron books and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis: jia song is the daughters of immigrants that own several bodegas in NYC. However Monet was tight. She is working at a prestigious law firm that offers her the opportunity to work on a divorce case of the ultra wealthy park family. She discovers so much about all of the family members and herself.
What I liked: Michele Lee narrated this book and she was perfect. Their chemistry park family is extremely wealthy and her voice had that air of sophistication when needed. She also narrated a part where you don’t know who is talking but it really added a lot to the story. I don’t want to spoil anything so will just say that. Jia’s life is further complicated when she starts having feelings for someone associated with the case. I think the author balanced the juicy wealthy gossip along with insights how wealth impacts people, her life as daughter of immigrants and the need to succeed. I have to admit I went in thinking it would be a fun wealthy people behaving badly book but it ended up being a lot more.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis: jia song is the daughters of immigrants that own several bodegas in NYC. However Monet was tight. She is working at a prestigious law firm that offers her the opportunity to work on a divorce case of the ultra wealthy park family. She discovers so much about all of the family members and herself.
What I liked: Michele Lee narrated this book and she was perfect. Their chemistry park family is extremely wealthy and her voice had that air of sophistication when needed. She also narrated a part where you don’t know who is talking but it really added a lot to the story. I don’t want to spoil anything so will just say that. Jia’s life is further complicated when she starts having feelings for someone associated with the case. I think the author balanced the juicy wealthy gossip along with insights how wealth impacts people, her life as daughter of immigrants and the need to succeed. I have to admit I went in thinking it would be a fun wealthy people behaving badly book but it ended up being a lot more.
I love a good lawyer main character and this one did not disappoint! I also love reading about rich people. This was a good balance of fun and serious, with international clue-hunting and break ins.
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh is a deliciously addictive read that serves up family drama, high-stakes legal intrigue, and the complications of identity and ambition with both flair and depth.
At the heart of the novel is Jia Song, the daughter of hardworking Korean immigrants who rose from a bodega in Queens to the polished halls of a Manhattan law firm. She’s finally within reach of the life she’s always dreamed of — but her latest case threatens to unravel everything.
At the heart of the novel is Jia Song, the daughter of hardworking Korean immigrants who rose from a bodega in Queens to the polished halls of a Manhattan law firm. She’s finally within reach of the life she’s always dreamed of — but her latest case threatens to unravel everything.
Jia is pulled into the orbit of the ultra-rich and deeply dysfunctional Park family, a Korean-American dynasty whose glittering public image conceals secrets, betrayals, and buried agendas. Hired to assist in a tense divorce between the powerful matriarch Jenny Park and her estranged billionaire husband, Jia quickly realises this is no ordinary case. What begins as a legal challenge becomes a personal trial as she navigates a minefield of betrayal, family infighting, and a mysterious narrator bent on manipulating events behind the scenes.
Renée Ahdieh masterfully balances sharp wit and emotional complexity. The novel is full of satirical fun — lavish lifestyles, backstabbing siblings, and a morally grey, high-powered protagonist you can't help but root for. Yet it also explores serious themes, from the immigrant drive to succeed in elite spaces to how wealth both empowers and isolates. Jia’s ambition is relatable and grounded, her desire for success driven not only by personal hunger, but by the weight of family responsibility and sacrifice.
The Parks are a chaotic blend of opulence and dysfunction. With a cast that includes entitled twins, a closeted financial genius son, and a patriarch who mistakes wealth for wisdom, the book offers no shortage of juicy conflict. But what makes Park Avenue more weighty is Ahdieh’s refusal to let any character remain a caricature — every one of them has moments that complicate your judgment.
Part legal thriller, part social satire, and part coming-of-age story, Park Avenue is unputdownable. It’s a perfect storm of gossip-worthy scandal, clever plotting, and emotional resonance. For fans of drama among the wealthy, strong female leads, and stories that unpack the American dream with heart and humour, this book more than delivers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!
This was a great book - I loved the format, which worked exceptionally well as an audiobook. There were regular characters, and we heard most of the story through them, but there were also short chapters where a mystery narrator spoke directly to us, the listeners. We didn't find out who that narrator was until the very end, and it was fun to guess which person it would be.
The true narrator for the audiobook, Michelle H. Lee, did an excellent job of alternating between the various languages used in the novel (English, Korean, French, etc.).
I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys mystery, drama, and romance! 4.5 stars from me.
This was a great book - I loved the format, which worked exceptionally well as an audiobook. There were regular characters, and we heard most of the story through them, but there were also short chapters where a mystery narrator spoke directly to us, the listeners. We didn't find out who that narrator was until the very end, and it was fun to guess which person it would be.
The true narrator for the audiobook, Michelle H. Lee, did an excellent job of alternating between the various languages used in the novel (English, Korean, French, etc.).
I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys mystery, drama, and romance! 4.5 stars from me.
fast-paced
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
UNPUTDOWNABLE! I didn’t think I’d love this one as much as I did but it was soooooo goooooood!
I loved Jia Song, the daughter of Korean bodega owners living in duality. She becomes a Manhattan lawyer and finally has her dream life of wealth and being the top lawyer within reach. But then she gets pulled into the crumbling family of the ultra-wealthy Park family. And they have a whole lot of power, privilege, and secrets! I loved the family drama and mystery—it made the book absolutely UNPUTDOWNABLE! 5⭐️ read! #aapiheritagemonth #reneeahdieh #parkavenuebook #aapibooks
I loved Jia Song, the daughter of Korean bodega owners living in duality. She becomes a Manhattan lawyer and finally has her dream life of wealth and being the top lawyer within reach. But then she gets pulled into the crumbling family of the ultra-wealthy Park family. And they have a whole lot of power, privilege, and secrets! I loved the family drama and mystery—it made the book absolutely UNPUTDOWNABLE! 5⭐️ read! #aapiheritagemonth #reneeahdieh #parkavenuebook #aapibooks
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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!!
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!!