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Conquering Venus is an ambitious first novel. - The Next Best Book Blog
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Collin Kelley's debut novel is an irresistible read. Conquering Venus is a compelling mystery and love story told through well-crafted prose. - Suite101.com
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It's a compelling read, with prose that adheres to what I consider the highest standard: it flows without drawing undue attention to itself. It's a page-turner without being lighter than air and containing nothing but pleasant-smelling vapors. The characters are meticulously drawn, as is the Paris setting. There is a palpable sense of tension in the book that never boils over but keeps things moving along at an engaging simmer. Yes, I really liked it. - Marshall Moore
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Kelley does a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere of Paris in the 1990’s and Paris under siege during street revolutions in the 1960’s under DeGaulle. Mr. Kelley finds a compelling way to wind each character’s story around and back from the past to the present. - Nanette Rayman-Rivera
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The pages still kept flying by because the writing is delightful. It’s meaningful, truthful, and beautiful. Tons of –fuls. I really didn’t expect any less because Collin Kelley is also a poet, and it’s only natural that beauty in words would transpire into fiction. - Naughty Book Kitties blog
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This stunning debut novel is everything—a poetic page-turner, a wonderful mystery, and a compelling story of self-realization. - OutSmart Magazine
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Paris and The Louvre come alive in Conquering Veus, providing the scenic as well as symbolic backdrop for what is a beautifully written and absolutely riveting story about Love, Desire, and the conflicts that ensue as a consequence of conflicting desires. - Vanessa Daou
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Kelley does an excellent job of taking us seamlessly into the paranormal scenes and back to reality, neither missing the proverbial beat or losing one bit of his hold on the reader. - New Southerner
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The writing is crisp and the novel’s pace is a swift and compressed one, with finely detailed dreams, gypsy readings, hospital apparitions, undiscovered journals, and an abundance of metaphors. - Out in Print
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Collin Kelley really knows how to spin a story, and we think that maybe you could benefit from being so spinned. So please do take a look, because it just might change your life. - Ben Tanzer
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Kelley does quite a nice job, turning in a tidy story that was obviously well thought out and thoroughly researched; not only does it have a tight internal logic but also presents Paris in a highly realistic and evocative way - Chicago Center for Literature & Photography
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Kelley carefully and masterfully creates characters who must deal with the difficult situations in their various pasts — broken marriages, betrayal, sexual confusion and dishonesty, death, suicide, and family acceptance or denial of these — and a plot that draws them together on a trip to Paris. - Helen Losse, Blogcritics
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Addictive? Yeah. Poetic? Yes. Compelling? Absolutely. - Stacey Lynn Brown
