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persephonestar's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely preferred the part in Capri, didn’t mind the resemblance to Crazy Rich Asians, but I felt little connection to Lucie as a character and found it difficult to understand her choices. I also didn’t buy the romance I was supposed to root for (I thought they were cute in Capri but then there weren’t enough interactions for me to make their love convincing)
looloolibby's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
sarahlawton's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Leaving aside the whole discussion of this versus Crazy Rich Asians, this book was not very good. My biggest issues with it were that the characters were not terribly well-developed (or in Lucy‘s case pathologically childish and selfish, particularly at the end) and a plot that felt like it was incredibly rushed and could‘ve been better fleshed out. Rather disappointing.
nikread84's review against another edition
4.0
Entertaining and easy to listen to - A modern retelling of A Room With a View.
cateyackerman's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
therealsadiemarie's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
winterbee's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
incrediblemelk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Kevin Kwan’s books are always about wealth worship and escapist celebration of lifestyles that most of the readers will never actually experience in person, but he always seems to have a protagonist who is slightly less used to these things so they can be the point of view for the audience.
Having read his Crazy Rich Asians trilogy I was used to the way that he constantly namedrops brands and designers and has those little granular details of wealth and super judgy commentary about cultural capital and class, which at first was jarring to come back to but you soon settle into it and it‘s just part of his style.
Here his protagonist is both Asian and WASP which I thought was quite a feat, because he gets to explore white snobbery and racism, and glamorous locales in Europe, as well as his usual themes about class in Asia and the U.S.
The romance narrative was sweet but insubstantial; but then romance readers don’t always look for the meatiest characterisations as long as the characters are loveable and relatable and there’s a happily-ever-after ending. Here I think there was an attempt to make an ‘enemies to lovers’ trope but to be honest I never really bought the ‘enemies’ part of it so the contrivances that kept the lovers apart didn’t really seem plausible to me.
A quick and fun read.
Having read his Crazy Rich Asians trilogy I was used to the way that he constantly namedrops brands and designers and has those little granular details of wealth and super judgy commentary about cultural capital and class, which at first was jarring to come back to but you soon settle into it and it‘s just part of his style.
Here his protagonist is both Asian and WASP which I thought was quite a feat, because he gets to explore white snobbery and racism, and glamorous locales in Europe, as well as his usual themes about class in Asia and the U.S.
The romance narrative was sweet but insubstantial; but then romance readers don’t always look for the meatiest characterisations as long as the characters are loveable and relatable and there’s a happily-ever-after ending. Here I think there was an attempt to make an ‘enemies to lovers’ trope but to be honest I never really bought the ‘enemies’ part of it so the contrivances that kept the lovers apart didn’t really seem plausible to me.
A quick and fun read.
jnishi's review against another edition
5.0
I do not usually read this genre but I will read anything this man writes. Fantastic. Such descriptive settings- it is as close to a vacation as I am getting for the foreseeable future- hilarious characters. Thank you Kevin Kwan for writing a half- Asian character. As a biracial half- Asian Canadian I so rarely see myself fully represented in a book and it was a joy to read this and see someone who could’ve looked like me in a book. Please write more!!!
sarahk_42's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25