i’m so glad that i had somehow saved this for last without knowing that it’s the first of kevin kwan’s cities series. this is now by far my favorite work of his, even though the book’s overall reception has been mixed.

to me, kwan has always been an astute judge of character. he uses this to his advantage by staging the most dramatic ironies for rich people—which i understand may not be everyone’s cup of tea. i picked up this title fully prepared to laugh my socks off. yet i was not prepared for the romance to sweep me off my feet. what i wouldn’t give to meet a george zao in real life. here i was thinking i was too old for fictional love; i suppose i just hadn’t gotten a riveting book until now.

i’d be the first to admit that lucie is not perfect. she is flawed—regretfully so—and she takes things to an extreme in an effort to save face. but unlike other readers, i refuse to knock off stars in my review simply because she isn’t the most likeable character. she suffers the consequences of her actions anyway, giving her the opportunity to confront her beliefs.

all in all, i appreciate how this book leaves me with matters to think about long after i’ve turned the last page. you don’t always get that with your average contemporary romance.

2.5 rounds up to 3.

Not quite as addictive as crazy rich Asians. I think the protagonist wasn't likeable enough and it felt a little repetitive regarding how she viewed her race without actually developing this point/having any real resolution. Still a nice read.

I hated it. I sped read the second half.

** spoiler alert ** SPOILERS AHEAD Honestly i put three stars because it was a good read. I was however disappointed by the lack of intrigue, the first chapters were the best and should have been the whole book but they also completely laid out the ending which was a shame. Maybe i am too much of a leftist to be able to feel any compassion for the uber rich people’s problems but honestly that girl has the emotional IQ of a teenager. I could have understood the dilemma if George had any bad qualities but the man is portrayed like a perfect human with no flaws, how dumb do you have to be to want to marry an influencer douche ??

Undwhelming and predictable

meh maybe a cute lifetime movie

I read this because kevin kwan is the author, the story itself was quite a headache. I was looking forward for the same humor as the crazy rich asian trilogy. But it was okay, it was not that bad. But one thing is for sure, it’s not my type of book.

wow. just wow. at first, kwan’s writing was a little pretentious to me and i felt like i was just reading a thesaurus front to back, but as i continued it fully grew on me. i’ve never read anything like this! every page transported me to somewhere new and he was able to paint such elaborate scenes that supplemented the plot just as much as the dialogue did. these characters. so many layers and so much gossip and drama and just every bit of wonderfulness that i could’ve wanted! i am in LOVE with george zao and want him to teach me how to surf at bondi beach there’s a lot to say about this book but i feel like all of my words will be inadequate so i’ll just leave it at this: a story with a preposterous plot and preposterous people that was pretentious, but in a charming way! i adored this, but now i need a break from reading a man’s writing and i’ll be heading back over to my contemporary romance girlies

Imagine Crazy Rich Asians meets rich New York socialites I could not stop smiling throughout the whole book

Everything was so beautiful for the first 150 pages or so and then. We get to see how Lucie struggles with her more Asian prominent features, fall in love and feel out of place among the rich snobs at Isabella's wedding AND THEN SHE EFS IT ALL UP AND GETS ENGAGED TO EFFING CECIL. Seriously, I was really confused during the second part of the book. But ya know, at least there's a nice ending and Lucie realizes how idiotic she had been. Also, it's the first book I've read that focuses on rich people and their lavish lives(I thruthfully, fully, sincerely-NOT- deny any accusations of having had Wattpad). Maybe someday I will reread the book and try to picture those houses or something

Just the read I needed this summer, an extra star thrown in because of that. Otherwise a just fine romantic book...

Disappointing. I had great hopes for the funny, juicy, pandemic read, but it never got as good as I wanted it too.

I do appreciate reading a book about wealthy people where the main characters are not white. And characters like Lucie are important and should be centered more often in literature. And while I did feel empathy for the racism she experiences as someone who is half Chinese, it’s really hard for me to empathize with the super wealthy. There was an excessive amount of name dropping when it came to expensive brands that just felt obnoxious. Kwan, however, does effectively show that being wealthy does not make someone immune to racism. Overall, this was a breezy, mostly enjoyable read. I haven’t read Crazy Rich Asians, so I’ll definitely plan to check out that series.

I just couldn't get into this book. Made it 32% of the way in and I had absolutely no desire to keep listening.