Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Crazy Rich Asians

Urmmm… so… I didn’t care for this book. Parts of it were wonderful! I think it is definitely successful as a romance novel. There were real moments of humor and genuine surprise, but overall the storytelling and the content did not work for me.

My main critique all boils down to one pervasive thought I couldn’t shake: “this book was so glaringly written by a man.” In every description of the female characters, to the sexualized POV of the supporting female cast. Those elements were so distracting and strange that they really took me out. The book could have definitely used some major editing.

Besides that, the pacing and structure of the story made absolutely no sense to me. The twists (which do not make sense) are misplaced in the story.

Despite the book’s length, there is absolutely no resolution to Nick’s conflict with his family. There is barely a resolution between Rachel and Nick, too, and they’re the main characters! The twists left me more confused than enlightened.

Plus there’s like a whole chapter full of racial/homophobic slurs for some reason…. I’m remain… confused.

Regardless, I think I’m glad I read it?

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voldycat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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funny tense 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? No

3.5

This book was a mixed bag, but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the series. First of all, this book is really vulgar- not just in language and the use of racial slurs, but also in descriptions of debauchery. I feel like few of these things added to the story, and the author could have gotten the same points across by writing in a different way. This book touched on so many characters and I feel like I missed out on getting to know the characters more deeply since the story was spread between so many perspectives and storylines. This book read like a soap opera which I think was intentional but also very different than what I am used to reading. The culture of the crazy rich Asians portrayed in the book was so fascinating and I just couldn’t stop reading (like a soap opera lol). It makes me wonder how much of those types of people actually exist and want to do some research. The ending was so unexpected and I enjoyed it, but this book felt like it ended really abruptly. I also felt like a ton of names were dropped that I had no concept of, which makes me wonder if those people are real or not and whether the name dropping was just a literary device the author used to paint a picture of this culture of Asian oligarchy. This is so different than what I usually read, which was refreshing and intriguing and captivating, but definitely a superficial book with some flaws or creative choices that may or may not contribute to the book as a whole.

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sapphicsoilscientist's review against another edition

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I miss books with characters I wouldn’t want to kick in the shins every three pages. This book is full of people that cannot or will not behave themselves. I understand some of them are meant to be poorly behaved because they have so much money, but even the love interest is not a likable person.
Also the homophobia and rape jokes are more than I have time for. I don’t know how this could be a ‘fun and light’ read for people. I don’t think we read the same book.

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natia_nfg's review against another edition

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challenging funny lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

I actually watched the movie way before reading the book and I love the movie with my whole heart. The book was a quite a surprise for that reason. I had seen commentary on how the movie watered down the themes of the book and I really came to understand that after finishing the book. The satirical nature of the world of the crazy rich was so compelling to read. While I loved how Nick's character was almost blissfully unaware of his world, I found myself feeling a bit frustrated with him, especially because his naiveté came at Rachel's expense. I also loved reading about Astrid and Michael's relationship, especially in conjunction with Nick and Rachel's. The extensive measures that Michael had to take to find a way out, the way that Astrid thought she understood his struggle, is so similar to Nick and Rachel. It becomes more interesting because unlike Nick, Astrid doesn't delude herself into thinking that the money or the family can't seriously impact her husband, but even that level of self-awareness wasn't enough. I also like how the book doesn't perfectly resolve Nick and Rachel's relationship, which makes me even more excited to read the next book. It really is a great book and I felt like I could really imagine the world they live in vividly. My one issue with the book is Bernard Tai🤢🤢. I get it, he's supposed to suck, but he just makes me too uncomfortable for me to overlook it.

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toodeadtoread's review against another edition

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I wasn’t in the mood for the racism and sexism and misogyny and classism and etc etc that I could tell was coming

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danuu's review against another edition

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i got to the chapter about the bachelor party and just hated all the stuff with the dogfighting and the slurs the guys were saying. i guess it’s accurate but i just wasnt expecting it in a rom com vibe type book and it just turned me off from the book

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bellebriones's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.5

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