personally i recommend it. the plot twists and turns unexpectedly -- i read it last year, and i remember that well. the writing itself is absolutely wonderful and surprising -- i know talent when i see it. i wouldn't say this if it weren't true (i would distance myself somehow) but it is. put another way, it's this -- as a novel that would fit within a gothic supernatural genre, it sits at the top of the heap. and for fiction readers who like to explore that genre -- they are missing something if they don't read it. it's at least that good. actually, it's better. in addition to sex and death and tragedy, it includes an intellectual theory involving the triangle or the pyramid. i was captivated from start to finish -- the way the characters develop, some of it won't happen the way you want after you've invested halfway through it, but you'll have to finish it anyway because that just raises the stakes. i could praise it further in many ways. i found it to be quite a thriller. if you want to read a novel that is saturated and articulate with what i would call "romanticism" -- you need to read this. you need to see tina's talent as a novelist. most of us will read a novel in between things we have to read even if we are not exactly focused on fiction -- and this, The Paradox of Paradise, is an excellent choice. before you buy any book of fiction because it catches your eye in a bookstore (because you want something that will guide you through a fantasy and encourage you to dream) order this book. although i am, i'm really not promoting it just because i'm her friend. it's a wonderful read. (and i have reason to believe her second novel will be even better--though that's all i can say about that.)