I was intrigued by Crazy Rich Asians, partly because I had seen the movie, but partly because of the general plot. It seemed like a lighthearted, fluffy romance type of book. Whilst that is kind of true, the gossip and drama I was met with was a sort of intensity I did not see coming.

Introduction To Crazy Rich Asians

Rachel Chu and Nicholas Young are spending the summer in Singapore, visiting Nick’s family. Rachel’s expectations are the opposite to what she is met with – a palace for a home and rich families who seem to do a lot of scheming and gossiping. And so she is pushed into a world so unknown to her own. Rachel meets Nick’s strong minded family from society’s favourite Astrid, to Eddie who is never satisfied with his money and to Nick’s mother Eleanor, someone who really does believe in the mindset mother knows best.

The Plot

I absolutely loved reading about Asian culture and I could relate to it having different Asian heritage myself. The dialogue was realistic and funny, so it was addictive to read. Although, I did think it was unrealistic that Rachel knew nothing about the wealth and status Nick’s family had. As much as I enjoyed reading about Nick’s family, the amount of POVs were sometimes unnecessary and didn’t add to the plot line other to emphasise the fact that everyone is crazy rich. In the beginning it was fine as I guess it is world building. After a while it was tiring.

The Characters Of Crazy Rich Asians

Rachel and Nicholas’ relationship was so cute to read about, so really I was just annoyed at Nick for a while. He seriously was so oblivious as to what Rachel was going through. The least he could have done is given her some prep. But I guess he just had faith in his family so in that sense he has redeemed himself.

The characters that stuck out for me whether for the better or worse was Astrid, Eleanor, Charlie and Eddie. The amount of POVs honestly confused me and so I did end up skim reading with a lot of characters.

Astrid stood out as she was humble in her own kind of way. Her relationship with Michael had me rooting for her to show some girl power and whilst I didn’t see it, I’m hoping the sequel might do her justice. Charlie was probably one of the few male characters I enjoyed, so I hope they both get happiness.

Eddie was the worst of the worst when it comes to wealth. I didn’t enjoy his obnoxious POVs, the only reason why he is memorable is because of how ridiculous he is. He’s rude to his wife and kids to the point they are scared of him, so I was quite happy when his wife Fiona puts him in his place for once.

Eleanor might as well have been Mother Gothel’s twin from tangled. At first it seemed justified that she was worried who Nick was getting married to. But the lengths she went to make Rachel upset was unreasonable. A sequel might not have been needed if it wasn’t for the problems she made.

Conclusion Of Crazy Rich Asians

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book despite the problems I had with it. The ending literally was like a soap drama. So I will read the sequel as this did leave a lot of loose ends. I did love the craziness of it all, the glam and the many clashes between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese. But most of all, I can’t deny a story with humor and young love.

If you’ve read this book, I’d love to know your thoughts! Over on Goodreads and Bookstagram it does seem to have mixed reviews too.

I’ll be uploading a post tomorrow all about book bans, in the meantime if you’re a fan of fantasy my review of A Darker Shade Of Magic might interest you.