From the publisher:
The HIGHLY ANTICIPATED adult debut novel from #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author Renée Ahdieh
Jia Song has always been destined for greatness. As the daughter of Korean bodega owners, she promised herself that she would have every Fifth Avenue luxury when she grew up, and it is all finally within reach. She has just made junior partner at her prestigious Manhattan law firm, she can count on her two best friends to have her back, and she is about to score the ultraluxe gold-on-gold Birkin bag of her dreams. So when her boss asks her to sit in on the hush-hush family implosion of a high-level client, she accepts without hesitation―only to find out that it is one of the most famous Korean families in the world.
The Park family’s net worth is estimated at a billion dollars, and their megasuccessful Korean beauty brand has shaped the culture for the past two decades. But the patriarch is filing for divorce while his wife is dying, and their three children can’t stop snapping at one another. With both the family fortune and legacy under threat from the worst kind of scandal, it’s up to Jia to set things right―and she only has a month to do it.
As Jia sorts through the lies and subterfuge, chasing the truth across the globe on private jets, she finds herself falling for this broken, badly-behaving family in ways she can’t quite explain. But it is also becoming clear that the Parks are hiding dark secrets. Can she find the truth in time to protect the Parks’ fortune and secure her success at the firm? And can she hold on to what’s most important, even if it means admitting that what she’s always wanted isn’t what she actually needs?
https://amzn.to/3F3l7ih
Ahdieh’s debut adult novel is an enthralling narrative that explores the themes of ambition, family loyalty, and cultural identity. Jia Song, a driven Korean-American lawyer, is the daughter of immigrants who own a bodega. Jia has a deep-seated sense of familial responsibility to achieve success, so when her boss assigns her to a high-profile client – the Park family, owners of a billion-dollar Korean beauty brand, she seizes the opportunity. The family is embroiled in a complex situation: the matriarch is dying, while her husband has abandoned her for a much younger woman. He offers a small divorce settlement, prompting outrage from his three adult children, who don’t agree on anything except this: they know he is concealing assets. Jia is tasked with sorting through the family drama, finding the missing money, and forcing a more equitable divorce settlement. But the Park family and staff are all hiding secrets, and as Jia navigates this intricate web of family dynamics, legal complexities, and hidden agendas, her findings culminate in a shocking ending.
VERDICT A dysfunctional family set against an opulent backdrop makes for an entertaining escape and should appeal to readers who enjoy Min Jin Lee, Jean Kwok, or Jhumpa Lahiri.
©Library Journal, 2025
6/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
PARK AVENUE by Renée Ahdieh. Flatiron Books (June 3, 2025). ISBN: 978-1250897954. 320p.
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