Reviews

A page turner just like book 1, but not nearly as good. It seems like Kwan was having fun experimenting with writing formats (a huge number of chapters from the perspectives of new characters, whole chapters written through text, email, diary entry, tabloid, etc.), but these were often much more impersonal than the POV writing from book 1, and I did not feel as strong of a connection with the characters. This book focuses on Rachel's newly discovered family ties in China, all of whom are also crazy-rich and even more ridiculously over the top than Nick's relatives in Singapore. A huge portion of this book was spent describing clothes, food, and houses, with such extensive name dropping (I'm poor, so they meant nothing to me) of famous designers etc. that it honestly got kind of boring. The outrageous twists and turns were so densely packed that they didn't have the some emotional impact as those in book 1. I also felt that Rachel's character was extremely lacking in this book, and she too easily leaned into the ultra-rich lifestyle in my opinion. I was a bit baffled by the treatment of Collette's character at the end of the book (I actually quite liked her) and am interested to see if it will be further developed in book 3 (which, of course, I am still going to read).

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

tatish's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a strong follow up to the first book. Once again the author proves he has a good handle of all his characters and their different storylines. It never ceases to amaze me how some of the characters live, they can jet off at a moment's notice. This book gives so much wanderlust.

bahogan92's review against another edition

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Bored and a super slow pace. Couldn't do it.

anjalisudarsan's review against another edition

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5.0

Didn't think this series would get wilder than it did from the first book, but it did. Super entertaining events happening to each character, as usual. Loved reading about places in China, the fabulous descriptions of wealth - food, money and places. And the twists? Kept me hooked!
I was glad to see Nick and Rachel's healthy dynamic throughout the book, after the challenges they faced to get married. I also love the amount of research gone into pop culture, people and places for each character, you can just tell the author is super committed to making them as realistic (and crazily exaggerated, but what's not to love!). Yep, definitely reading the third book!

icecoldahhhh's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

angcar's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted

3.0

Soooo soapy! Definitely more dramatic than the first book. I was more invested in the Astrid/Michael/Charlie business than Rachel being *literally* poisoned ALTHOUGH Kitty had me like 👀 with her character development

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