Published: June 16 2015 by: Knopf
Pages: 378
Rating: 4/5 stars
Rachel Chu is about to marry Nicholas Young, the man who sacrificed everything in order to be with her. However, Rachel longs for more details about her birth father, and a surprising piece of information is about to whisk her into the lavish world of China's elite. Rachel is able to travel to China and meet her father, and along the way she is befriended by Colette, a glamorous model, and Carlton, a spoiled heir who just happens to be her half-brother. But, life in crazy rich families is not easy, and Rachel, along with many other characters, will learn this the hard way.
I was really excited to get back into the world of Crazy Rich Asians. I absolutely loved the first book, and I knew that I needed to give this one a try. While I was still impressed with Kwan's witty footnotes, vivid attention to detail, and of course, the lovable (and sometimes unlovable) cast of characters, I can still say that I preferred the first book more.
This book has even a larger cast of characters than the first. While Crazy Rich Asians mainly focused on Rachel and Nick's story with other characters affecting that, this book has multiple storylines going on. Rachel and Nick are back, as well as Astrid, who has got her own problems going on completely separate. Then, there is also stuff going on with Kitty Pong, which is a whole other issue. I kinda went back and forth as to whether or not I liked the extensive character arcs. And I think I didn't mind it all that much. I think the supporting characters drive this series forward, and add to the tensions between families. However, there were some notable absences that I wish we saw more of.
For one, with all of these characters, I wish there was more of Eleanor Young! Eleanor is an absolute queen in my opinion. Yes, she is judgemental and did not treat Rachel right in the first book, but she is such a badass Asian mom with incredible grace. I can't help but want to be her. Can you imagine having that much power? Anyways, she appears at the beginning of the book, but doesn't really show up until the end. I needed more of her. She is one of my favourite characters.
I thought that Rachel and Nick's storyline was interesting. I especially enjoyed reading about how absolutely ridiculous Colette's life was. She was a character very easy to dislike, but still well written nonetheless. And can we talk about that twist at the end!? I won't spoil anything, but I did not except that much shit to go down and I frantically flew through the end to make sure that everything turned out alright. It's definitely a lot of action that you would not expect from a romantic comedy.
So overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the twists, and I liked that we got into more character's storylines. However, I just wish we saw a bit more of Eleanor. She is such an important character to the first book, that I think she needs to have a big part in every book in this series. Still, I would totally recommend this book to fans of the first, as Kwan's signature humour is still there, and the drama just gets even more intense.
Have you read China Rich Girlfriend? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I'm glad that you enjoyed this book! I haven't read China Rich Girlfriend, but I did read Crazy Rich Asians. Crazy Rich Asians was one of the rare cases where I almost felt like I enjoyed the movie more than the book. I remember during my initial reading I was really annoyed with the characters' gossip circles, but I enjoyed seeing the Nick and Rachel's story play out on the big screen. I was undecided on whether I should finish the rest of the series, but I think you've just convinced me to :))
ReplyDeleteclaire @ clairefy
I can actually understand that! The movie is so awesome. And Henry Golding is just... *swoons.* But, I think the books provide me even more humour than the movies. It’s all in those footnotes!
DeleteA LARGER cast of characters??? I can't even imagine that. I could barely keep track of all of them in the first book! I read it last year and liked it way more than I thought I would. I really should read this sequel eventually. But I cannot believe that Eleanor is hardly in this. She was such an integral part of the first book. I agree with you, although in many ways she was the villain, I think she is such a strong character.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hear that even the third book has even more characters! It can be hard to keep track of. But the secondary characters absolutely make this series what it is.
DeleteYou are continuously reminding me with your posts and comments to continue the series, and I still have not gotten to it.. :( I really love the sound of this, though, especially how you described the ending with the twists and surprised. Great review, Emily!
ReplyDeleteI hope you’re able to get to it soon! :)
DeleteLike, I don't like Eleanor's actions in the movie of the first book (I haven't gotten around to reading it yet!) - but you gotta love Michelle Yeoh, y'know? XD
ReplyDeleteShe’s so iconic! I love her style.
DeleteConfession: I watched the movie without reading the book first. (Gasp!) SO, now I feel ike I need to catch up and read them both. Sounds like this book was really good, even if you were missing Eleanor's looming presence.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
No shame in that! The movie is awesome :D
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