Reviews tagging 'Death'

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

41 reviews

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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: Complicated

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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: Complicated

While I never wanted to DNF this, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as his other books. The main character seemed so one note, almost too good, and the "bad guys" in the book were cartoonishly bad, despite the author's attempts at backstories that would justify their behavior.
I also thought the tragedy in the ending was largely glossed over, which perhaps was intentional, but left me feeling icky - did the author mean this to be a *happy* ending? 
I would still pick up this author's next book, but I hope he tries something different than what has become a schtick IMO. The writing is good, and likely what kept me reading, but the storyline felt forced. 

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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: Yes

This book just kind of felt like a less interesting version of Crazy Rich Asians. It had kind of all the same plot points and characters: "outsider" FMC, virtuous down-to-earth rich boy MMC, overbearing mom who doesn't want them together, cool rich kid friends for FMC, off-the-deep-end spoiled crazy rich guy, and even
FMC is given a little dossier explaining who her real father was and the drama surrounding it
. That feels far too close! The only major differences were
the bankruptcy plot and that the "outsider" FMC was surprise! a rich kid all along who can now fix all their problems
.

I didn't really like most of the characters, except for Martha Dung. She was cool and likeable. I did not like Eden, who felt very Mary Sue to me. She has no flaws, does nothing wrong, and just gets beat on by the other characters for the whole book, until the end where she shows how much more virtuous she is than them
and forgives everyone for what they have put her through
. The only thing she struggles with is her feelings of exclusion because she was the "girl next door" to nobility, and not nobility herself. She is constantly calling out the crazy rich people for their lack of perspective, but she also supremely lacks perspective, even though she is positioned as the hero of the narrative! It doesn't make you a good person just because you call out that this guy owns a bunch of empty houses when there is homeless in LA. What has she ever actually done other than call people out?

And that's another thing that I didn't like in this book. Every so often, the "virtuous" characters mention how insane and inconsiderate everyone else is, because what about the plight of the homeless, or the plight of the native Hawaiians, etc. But it kind of felt like those mentions were perfunctory. "One second, just gotta quickly fill the activist-inspired checkbox - ok great, now back to the story." The book ends up doing the same thing as the super rich assholes on the narrative - marginalizing people. Only Eden, who herself is well off and a DOCTOR that is best friends with NOBILITY and jet-sets across the globe at a moment's notice, is the one that briefly mentions how various groups of people are affected by the actions and decisions of the ultra-rich. Do we ever see any perspective from those people she is talking about? Do they ever talk about their own issues with their own voices? Are those issues ever even directly portrayed? No, on all counts. The most we get is a native Hawaiian hotel worker or something who is nice to Eden because she's "not like the other (rich) girls," and who is only briefly included so that Eden can realize that she, too, experiences racism/colorism/classism. Blehhh!

The story was not new and different enough to be fun. The call outs were not real enough to be meaningful. The characters were flat and tedious. Disappointed.

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Listen, is it a literary masterpiece? No. But who cares? It’s wildly entertaining and fun. Think the drama of your favorite reality tv show or family drama and amp it up a few levels. Then add a backdrop of the best of everything that money can buy, people with more money than anyone should ever possess, and one girl next door who gets dragged along, and you’re in for a ride. Was this predictable? Yes. Did I have the best time ever saying “HA! I KNEW IT!”? Also yes. Kevin Kwan’s books are pure froth and fizz and fireworks, and I love them.

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense 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

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Once again, Kevin Kwan has created a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" book that I couldn't put down.  I love his wry sense of humor, his use of footnotes, and the name-dropping of luxury brands.  Amidst all this, he creates a few characters that recognize the absurdity of this lifestyle.  This was a great beach read.

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funny 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

Great story. I kept feeling like it would drag at some point but it kept getting more interesting. I did guess the twist about halfway through the novel but that didn’t spoil it for me. Definitely Austen-like in tone and humor. 

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This wasn't the fluffy, funny over the top look into the lives of the ultra rich I was expecting. This was a darker, disturbing social commentary on it. The overall tone was sad, and the pace was slower. The first half of the book was ... a bit boring honestly. There are flashes of something in the past, something that you know will tie in to the current day plot, but while that's the most interesting thing, there's not much of it. Once the scene shifts to LA, things turn dark and bizarre. Very soap opera. But by that point I had guessed the ending. The last quarter of the book was fast and I couldn't put it down; and yes it ended almost like I knew it would. Mainly the characters were either horrible, or unbelievable. I can't tell if I went into this with the wrong expectations, or if it's just subpar. 

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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