Reviews with content warning for Death - Lies and Weddings

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

41 reviews

kemikemi's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I really enjoyed the cast of characters and the wild journey we went on in such a short amount of time; the book itself did feel a bit slow once we got to Eden’s time in LA, but once we finally got to Rufus finding out everything that had happened during his absence and him reuniting with Eden, it picked back up again and the zanyness amped up. I had a lot of fun and felt the emotional beats as well; I only wish we had gotten more of Eden and Rufus’s friendship growing up to really flesh out their bond and make us feel their love line~

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stefani13's review against another edition

3.0

Cute, but got bored in the middle. Also an awful lot of death for a romantic comedy type book?

the darker themes definitely added some depth but I was not expecting it

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vidotson's review against another edition

3.75

funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

2.75

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book is harder to rate. Parts of it I liked and other parts I hated. Like the entitlement of most of the characters, as well as not understanding how easy they had it because they were wealthy. Even Eden, while not crazy rich, didn't exactly grow up poor either.

The romance was sweet but the characters, for the most part, weren't likeable. I would have liked more of the flashbacks. I did like the overall message, that wealth should be redistributed, that having very few ultra-wealthy people while most barely scrape by is ridiculous and unfair, as well as that money can't buy happiness. Overall, an okay book.

Narrator Rating: 2.25 stars

The voices the narrator used for some characters were annoying and grated on my ears. As well as Arabella's constant screaming made my head hurt. Not the best narration and I think it took away from the book.

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thech4nclan's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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thenovelmaura's review against another edition

4.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Having read the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, I already knew that I loved Kwan's writing style, specific brand of rich people drama, and biting satire, which in this book expanded beyond Asia to include the European gentry who are clinging to their titles from their crumbling castles. I took a screenshot of Rufus' speech about being hapa and how people comment on his appearance because it resonated with me so deeply, and after living in Los Angeles, those footnotes in that section were hilarious and I sent them to a friend who still lives there.

On the other hand, this book was too long and lacked character development (I'm over here pleading with Kwan to write a female lead who isn't a Mary Sue), which begs the question: did we really need another book from him that's just more of the same? While I enjoyed this one overall and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from taking it on their own vacation, I can't say I'm inclined to pick up future books from Kwan when I could reread CRA instead.

Content Warnings

sandysmith's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A likeable enough read about rich people and Chinese mothers with sharp tongues. Now, rich people gossip I loved. Eden was my favourite character, the girl next door, living on the estate but growing up with the earls children a doctor but regarded as not worthy to marry the Earls son Rufus by his mother. She lives with her doctor father. In comparison to the spoilt behaviours of others, she seems unaffected, down to earth a balanced, just all-around nice person. It's a lovely gossipy read and the ending concluded nicely for me wrapped up in a wonderful bow.

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