Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan. In this modern retelling of A Room with a View by the Crazy Rich Asians author, you can expect nothing less than major extravagance, name dropping, and fancy clothes, amongst other opulent things the super wealthy do. A Room with a View is one of my favorite books, so I was a little bit nervous to read this retelling, but as long as you know what you're getting into with Kwan's writing style, you'll probably enjoy this book. I liked that Kwan addresses racism against Asians in the book, too (Lucie, our protagonist, is half Chinese, half white). And bonus points for Asian/Asian romance! This is definitely not literary fiction, but it's delightfully fun, dishy, and a great summer read (or end of summer... or anytime you don't really feel like thinking too much and just want to have fun). Thank you to @netgalley for the e-arc!

From the description of this book, I expected only a small part of it to be set in Capri and the bulk of it to be in the "present" day in New York but almost half of it was actually the wedding. I think the wedding was dragged out a bit too long, especially as I don't think much of what happened was really necessary to set the scene. I would have liked a lot more of the book to be hijynx in New York.

I almost DNF'd twice but a friend told me that it does get better and it did! At 60%. I got really invested once sh*t hit the fan and I cared about what happened to Lucie and George, even though Lucy was on my nerves at the end.

Every single character in this book is annoying, vapid, superficial, offensive, and overtly racist. I realize that is "the point" of this book but it still got to be a bit too much after a while. That said, I do think there are a lot of good conversations about racism, classism, sexism, and how your own family can be guilty of these things. I also appreciated the conversations around being biracial, especially in relation to white-passing siblings.

Honestly the best parts of this were the subtle references to Crazy Rich Asians, like Astrid at the wedding, the Taiwan Plastic Chiu's, and Kitty Pong.

I would only recommend this book to certain people, though I'm not exactly sure which people that would be. Those who are expecting more of Crazy Rich Asians will be disappointed but if you go into not expecting it to be as gripping and fun as CRA, I think enjoyment can be found in Sex and Vanity.

This book is full of wit and humor, as readers are taken into a luxurious world of the extremely elite rich families of both Capri and New York. The banter between characters is hilarious and at times, also heartfelt. The simmering angsty romance between Lucy and George is an added bonus to a book with atmospheric island settings and lavish, over-the-top parties and extravagance. It also touches on more heavy topics such as inherent racism and deep rooted family division because of race. I would highly recommend this book. Loved it!

Not QUITE as great as Crazy Rich Asians, but Sex and Vanity definitely satisfied my itch for a new Kevin Kwan book. I loved reading this during quarantine when I couldn't go anywhere. Perfect escapism.

oof, this was so bad. And I'm a HUGE Crazy Rich Asians fan (I've read the trilogy twice now), so this pains me to say. (I think Crazy Rich Asians was lightning in a bottle. Impossible to capture twice.)

Kwan is trying REALLY hard to make this book as charming as CRA was, and doesn't succeed even a little. The characters in this book are waaaay less likable, and far more wooden. George Zao might as well be a cardboard cutout of a man. And the characters often tip over into parody, instead of seeming like real people. Cecil Pike, for instance, is an SNL sketch of a billionaire.

The story reaches an absurd conclusion, merited by nothing. The declaration(s) of love in the book came outta nowhere and left me feeling cold and scoffing at the absurdity of it all. The "epilogue" was truly terrible.

The footnotes in this aren't cute the way they were in CRA; are they aimed at the audience again? Doesn't work this time. Instead it seems...pretentious and off-putting. (Oh god, like putting everyone's schools in parentheses behind their names. Meaningless, because we already know these people are living in rare air.)

The only reason this is getting two stars instead of one is because reading about the Capri wedding in the first 40% of the book was pleasurable for me, but that's partially because I love Italy so much.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC (and I wish I had better things to say about the book, le sigh.).

This was a light, fluffy, very easy and enjoyable tale. The opulence and garishness were as prevalent as his other books but I found the two main characters to be slightly dull. Lucie's panic over being with someone she considers unsuitable was silly and annoying. Their lives are all so privileged it is hard to have any sympathy for any of them.
I loved the two mothers, so entertaining. If you loved Crazy, Rich Asians you will enjoy this one too but you may not be so in love with the characters.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Loved, loved, loved! Such a fun summer read with interesting characters that keeps you interested and wanting to keep reading. Pulls you in from the start and takes you into a whole other world!

Like all of Kevin Kwan's "Crazy Rich Asians" collection, this book is incredibly fun to read and very quick. He explores the world of the very wealthy and the problems that evolve as a result. This is a great recommendation for right now, when folks are looking for an escape.

I made it to the 20% mark (page 63), and I unfortunately did not enjoy this. I had to DNF it.

This seemed like such a fun and easy book to fly through, and it probably is for a lot of people. I know everyone loves this author.

However, the writing style and the characters were too much for me. I don't think I enjoy reading about so many posh people in one book. Therefore, putting it down was really my only option.

I really wanted to love this!

I missed that this was a homage to A Room With a View, but I caught on pretty quickly! Many of the names are the same, and while the settings are different, the plots are very similar. Kwan't wry observations and asides are amusing - character are introduced by the schooling and we "hear" the inner thoughts of society women as they size each other up and engage in the dance of words and social dominance.. There was lots of buzz about this titles and I maybe expected too much. Since I knew the plot I was hoping for more scenery along the ride, but it was still fun drive around the world of the rich and Instagram famous.

If you loved the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, you will love this book. It’s filled with lots of glitz and glamour. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I was so excited for a new Kevin Kwan book, even one that is not really part of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. However, I really had a hard time getting through this book. The characters felt flat, and the plot and setting revolve around name-dropping and superficial description. This one I can’t really recommend, but I’ll still read the next one he writes.

A fun addition to the CRAZY RICH ASIANS series. Kevin Kwan’s arch wit, descriptive powers and deep knowledge of the world he describes — the peculiarly insular universe of the Pacific Rim’s mega-rich clans — make the narrative fun, even if you’re perhaps a bit less invested in these characters than you were in the protagonists of the first two Kwan books.

I wanted to love this book, but I had a really hard time getting into it. I couldn’t connect with the characters and it just felt off to me.

Lots of name dropping in a girl meets boy, girl avoids boy, girl meets the wrong boy, and love triumphs over all story. Perfect summer read for when the days of corona have you down.

I had such high hopes for this novel as I am a huge fan of the Crazy Rich Asian series. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. It seemed like a cheap rip off of CRA, sans the extravagance and charm that Kwan created in his earlier novels. Cecil and Lucie's relationship was quite unrealistic, there were no redeeming qualities about him. George's relationship with Lucie was just as unrealistic. 2/5.

I loved Crazy Rich Asians and I was so looking forward to Sex and Vanity. However, I had a tough time embracing this story. The story was a tale leading up to and about a big lavish wedding like the one in Crazy Rich Asians. Sex and Vanity is Kwan’s retelling of the 1908 E.M. Foster novel. And as such, it is a very good story. However, I must admit, as far as style, it just felt way too similar to Crazy Rich Asians.

Kevin Kwan's Sex and Vanity attempts to tackle highly complex issues within the context of a few hundred pages rather not deftly. Where in Kwan's previous series we were given a glimpse in a layered and loving way a complex society foreign to many of us Sex and Vanity struggles to hit the perfect mix of social message and summer beach read. The main character, Lucy, was lightly developed and more could have been done to round out the characters of her mother and brother. I wanted so badly to love this book but found myself frowning and wanting more character development and a more words put to describing the WASPS of the Eastern seaboard and less on the designer name drops that came almost every third phrase. If this is meant to be another series I hope that the sequel provides even more depth to the world of Lucy, Freddy, and George.

Kevin Kwan is always a pleasure. He evokes such a sense of place with all his descriptions. I know nothing about the designers and people he's talk about but you definitely know that it is always over the top. Such a crazy thing to think he based it on a wedding he actually attended. Love him.

I was having high expectations due to the fact that i adored a previous trilogy by the author. I domt think enough words can describe how disappointed i am