Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Rating: 4/5
So when I saw the trailer of the movie I was immediately interested because 1) It sounded fun and 2) Constance Wu is just amazing (have you seen Fresh Off the Boat? It’s awesome!). I didn’t really know anything about the story except for whatever was in the trailer, so I barely had any background. For example, I didn’t realize that it was told in different perspectives. Each chapter has a different narrator. I’m not against that… but if you don’t like certain characters the chapter is automatically ruined, so I was iffy.
Now, the book starts off really great. The origin story of the so-called ‘crazy rich’ families is told and honestly it’s amazing and sassy and hilarious. After the prologue, the actual story begins and it’s all good, except for the fact that the descriptions are SO LONG. I mean, it’s all fun to read but once he starts talking about fashion and how expensive stuff is it was very hard to not skim. I did get a little busy in between reading this, so that might be affecting my judgement (whoops).
Now let’s talk about the plot. Rachel doesn’t know she’s dating literally the heir to the richest woman ever and when she goes to Singapore for Nick’s friend’s wedding, she is caught in all kinds of chaos because of it. Meanwhile, Astrid is the girl everyone wants to be, but she’s having a bit of a situation that she can’t exactly voice her concerns about, lest there be a scandal.
Now, I love both the stories, but Astrid’s story was so much better and yet, her story wasn’t the central one. Most of the story was filled with insane descriptions of extravagance and it took me about half the book to really get used to that. Then, the plot got really fun. Rachel meeting the entire family was just really entertaining. I have no idea what I would do in her situation but I definitely wouldn’t be so calm about some of that stuff! I thought I knew what was going to happen but things took a really interesting twist and that’s why I rated this a 4 instead of 3! It surprised me and I loved that!
Overall, it was a fun read once you got past the overall extra-ness of the situation. It was like reading a soap opera, so this would be perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin! If you like fashion, rom-coms, or just enjoyed the trailer, this book should be perfect!
P.S. I think I almost rated this lower solely because of Eddie. I wanted to strangle him, gah!
Star is All Booked Up 