Member Reviews

In "China Rich Girlfriend," Kevin Kwan delivers a dazzling sequel to his bestseller "Crazy Rich Asians," diving deeper into the opulent lives of Asia's elite. The novel centers on Rachel Chu as she navigates the complexities of her newfound status after discovering her wealthy heritage. Kwan expertly weaves humor and social commentary, showcasing the extravagant lifestyles, cultural nuances, and fierce rivalries that characterize the ultra-rich.

The story unfolds in a whirlwind of glamorous parties, high-stakes family dramas, and the relentless pressure of social status. Kwan's sharp wit shines through as he critiques both the excesses of wealth and the intricacies of familial relationships. The diverse cast of characters, from scheming socialites to loyal friends, adds depth and intrigue to the narrative.

With vibrant prose and a keen eye for detail, Kwan captures the extravagance of modern China while addressing themes of identity and belonging. "China Rich Girlfriend" is not just a glimpse into a lavish world; it's a commentary on love, loyalty, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of acceptance. Fans of the first book will find this sequel equally engaging, filled with wit, drama, and a generous dose of heart.

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Last, Now, Next

📖 what’s one of yours?

Last: would you believe that Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan was my oldest ARC in my NG queue (2017 😐). This book was funny in moments but overall I had a tough time remembering how the many characters were all connected & just keeping up with the story (it went pretty dark for a moment and then it was all okay again?). I’m glad I read it & I enjoyed having a fun view into the lifestyles of fictional Singaporean rich & famous but I don’t know that I’ll read this author again. (Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.)

Now: Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni (loving it! So good) & listening to Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (can’t wait to see what happens!).

Next: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban or Sarah J Maas’s HOEAB (a reread before I can go into books 2 & 3!).

Happy Thursday, friends!

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Another winner from Kevin Kwan! I was a latecomer to Kwan's world and writing but he's become one of my must-read authors. Consistently fun and delightfully outrageous, Kwan delivered exactly what I had hoped to find, while throwing in a few curveballs I didn't see coming. A juicy, satisfying good time.

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Crazy Rich Asians was one hell of a ride and it just gets better and better. I love how Kevin Kwan just writes off the glitz and glamorous life of his characters. Truly a masterpiece!

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A solid conclusion to this trilogy, Kwan marries gossipy drama with deeper themes. I really enjoyed this series and look forward to reading more from Kwan.

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This book was a satisfying conclusion to the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. Some of the plot lines ended up getting a little too far fetched, but the humor and intrigue that drew readers into this crazy world in the first book resounds.

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Crazy Rich Asians was on my tbr for years, and after watching the movie I knew I want to devour the books.
I binge read the whole series, and had such a lovely time doing it.
My absolutely favorite book in the series is the first one. Maybe the fact that I liked the movie so much played the part too.
The second book was also amazing, and Rich People Problems, the third installment in the series was my least favourite, but still I wouldn't change it at all, because it wrapped up the story so well, and it left me satisfied.

This is more serious book from it's predecessors, as it touches serious topics such as death, child loss and suicide,

Still, it was very fun and Kevin Kwanis such an amazing author to be able to write a funny and serious book at tje same.

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I liked this book the best of the trilogy. It felt like the amount of time given to the different main characters was more balanced so there was just enough storyline for each. I also really enjoyed learning a little more about grandmother Su Yi’s personal history and the relationship she had with various people. It was moving seeing the impact she had on people (not just her family) since the only other main interaction with her in the trilogy was her objection to Nick and Rachel being together. And the ending felt satisfying for the most part.

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I just love these books, they are like a soap opera, so much fun, with many amazing characters that can make you laugh, cry and just think about the outrageous things that you can buy when you have enough money.

This one was a rollercoaster of events and once I started properly reading it I couldn't stop.

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I heard about Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians novel several years ago, and it sounded interesting - however, I never got around to reading it. This year, however, I was given the opportunity to receive several novels from BookSparks for the Summer Reading Challenge, and Rich People Problems was delivered in one my boxes for May. I didn't want to jump into the series at novel number 3, so I bee-lined to the library and checked out the first two novels in the series - Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend.

While I think the novels would be okay read a stand-alones, there would definitely be some background information missed without reading all of the novels. So, without further adieu, let's get on with the reviews.

Crazy Rich Asians
As the first novel in the series, Crazy Rich Asians follows several families from Singapore - including Nick Young (part of the crazy rich and crazy private Leong family) and his girlfriend, Rachel, who both take a summer trip to Singapore for Nick's best friend's wedding. Nick is originally from Singapore, while Rachel was born in Mainland China and raised in the US. Nick comes from a family of old money, and because Rachel's heritage and family status, Nick's family has a ton of issues with them dating. With a whole lot of hoopla about Nick and Rachel's relationship, plus lots of other family dramas, Crazy Rich Asians is funny, full of drama, and a little bit of mystery.

China Rich Girlfriend
China Rich Girlfriend, the second novel in the series, gives the reader more background on Rachel's family, while also giving more information on several other key players in the books - including Astrid, Nick's cousin, as well as several others - this time, a ton of characters from Hong Kong. This novel gets a little darker than book one, but is still just as full of comedy and drama.

Rich People Problems
The most recent novel in the series, Rich People Problems, follows different members of the Leong family and how they react in the midst of a family illness. From greed, guilt, to sadness and hope. This book is the wildest of them all, but wrapped up fairly nicely.



Each of the books of the novel is wild and so over-the-top, but from my understanding gets a lot of its bases from the author's childhood. Kevin Kwan grew up in Singapore, and throughout all three novels, provides some fun footnotes about different things, from types of foods to slang terms, to his personal experiences with school teachers.

I felt the series opened me up to a culture I am insanely unfamiliar with, and I don't just mean that of crazy rich Asians, but also just of the crazy rich. I often found myself looking up brands, artists, and designers, because I am an avid thrifter and have never put much thought into high-end brands, but I was amused by some pop culture references, like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter (of course!).

I did enjoy these novels and I think they're definitely perfect summer reads - however, I do think that these novels would be better to suited to some more than others. These books aren't perfect for everyone, but they are definitely incredibly fun reads for those that like fun, over-the-top drama/chick lit.

A few things that I disliked (but didn't make or break the novels for me) were how over-the-top the stories were (but again, these novels are about a type of culture that is so obscenely different from my southern US lifestyle) and also the amount of characters in the books - which made it kind of hard to follow at times. Again, neither of these things broke the story for me, but were a few things that I didn't like as much.

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Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book isn't a good fit for me right now as its part of a series, which I didn't realise at the time of request. I'm not able to catch up with the other books right now, but hopefully one day I will be able to.

With the thanks to the publisher and NG for the chance to read.

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I love this series for a light, fun read. I'll admit it's total escapist reading for me after reading something serious but you'll laugh out loud and love the settings.

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Readers who enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend will like this one too. It is really the same same group of people doing more or less the same things with a little drama thrown in.
I enjoyed the first book and found it interesting to read about the people and because I had traveled to Singapore for business. The food is just as amazing as the book says. The movie "Crazy Rich Asians" was fun to watch as well.
I was getting tired of all the over the top shenanigans by the middle of the 2nd book and only read this one because I had already requested it. There is nothing wrong with the story, the narrative is funny, but I was just tired of the characters before I started it. Most of them do not seem to grow and learn, only become more and more like themselves with each book. So, perhaps I am not the ideal person to review this book.

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I also listened to this on audiobook and I loved every single chapter! It was fun going on this crazy adventure with everyone and I'm sad to see it end. But I;m glad to report that I had a full and happy heart after turning the last page of this novel. :)

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Hilarity and intrigue merge to create yet another wildly entertaining installment in this fabulous series! I love love love these books. Kevin Kwan is so good at creating these addictive dramas where you love all of these messy and dynamic characters. They're consistently FUN books, which is important to me because I tend to read a lot of darker novels. It's hilarious, swoon-worthy, and well-written. I highly recommend this series to anyone.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy.

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"Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, is back with an uproarious new novel of a family riven by fortune, an ex-wife driven psychotic with jealousy, a battle royal fought through couture gown sabotage, and the heir to one of Asia's greatest fortunes locked out of his inheritance.

When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage. As her relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell bent on destroying Astrid’s reputation and relationship. Meanwhile Kitty Pong, married to China’s second richest man, billionaire Jack Bing, still feels second best next to her new step-daughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing. A sweeping novel that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong’s most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace, caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan's hilarious, gloriously wicked new novel reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia's most privileged families and their rich people problems."

Crazy Rich Asians has been not picked in our book club hat so many times I am trying to jump start it now with the ARC request. As of the moment I'm typing this I still haven't started, but I will!

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I had a slightly hard time following this book because I had not previously read the first two and there are a lot of very funny characters with lots of different problems to keep up with. With that being said, This rich beyond rich family will keep you entertained as the matriarch Su Yi Young is on her deathbed this crazy family will do anything to inherit her prized estate Tyersall Park.

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I took a hybrid approach with reading this book; I partially listened to it as an audiobook and partially read the hardback after the audiobook expired. I really enjoyed both ways, but my goodness - they have good voice actors for the audiobook. This story is so fun to read and I really recommend it. I hopped into the series late and started with this book. Despite this fact, I did not feel lost and still found the experience rather enjoyable. The story follows many members of a family who are deciding what to do when the family’s matriarch passes. You learn about different pieces of gossip through the individuals involved as well as other family member’s narrations. I was gripped throughout the book.

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I eally enjoyed it! Rich people problems is a funny book with a little (maybe a lot? lol) of irony. Kevin has built as nice as chaotically funny characters. It's impossible stop reading until you finish. I haven't read the previous books but I had fun with this reading and I want the others right now because I really loved his writing. If you want a funny reading this is the right book for you.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

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I love this series! They're so much fun to read yet completely astonishing. I don't think Rich People Problems was write a strong as the first one or even the second book. However, I will read anything that Kevin Kwan publishes next, and I'm really hoping for more crazy rich Asians!

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