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A review by lorynaman
Rich Again by Anna Maxted
3.0
I just want to say first off that I’m really sorry it took me so long to read/review this for my First Reads win. Master’s degree, marriage, buying a house…Anyways. (I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)
Jack, Innocence, Claudia, and Emily Kent are rich. Filthy rich. The English family owns a chain of fancy hotels and because of this, they live a privileged life. Anything they could every want, they have. Despite this, the family is not happy.
Jack and Innocence do not have a good marriage. Claudia, Jack’s adopted daughter from his first marriage, is hated by Innocence and has her own array of problems from a horrific experience as a child. Emily, oh Emily. She’s a spoiled brat who has always gotten whatever she wants and in turn has no capacity for understanding compassion or any semblance of a decent human being. As you can see, it is easy to not like the Kent family. There is plenty to dislike and judge about them, and that is what a lot of this story boils down to.
Anna Maxted has written a story that has so many different plot lines going on it is sometimes hard to remember who is mad at who, who is an awful person or struggling to become better. I was actually surprised to see just how low a rating this book has on GoodReads. Granted, it’s not one of the best books I have read this year, but it wasn’t awful. I think that the main problem was Maxted tried to fit so much in, that it got a little convoluted and downright “roll your eyes” hard to believe. I know that novels have the option to take things above and beyond and allow the author to create situations that are hard to believe, but I think that was part of the problem with this story. It is hard to believe that these people could be that unlikeable. So unlikeable that you have a hard time reading about their lives, and their problems seem so pitiful compared to the fact that they are generally awful people a lot of the time. And then the Nathan plot line, it just felt a little forced.
For me, this is a good fluff read. Something to enjoy while on the beach or on vacation. I am interested to see what else Maxted has written, it seems that her fans were quite disappointed with this book because her others have been so solid. In the end, if you are looking for a fluff book to read, go for it.
Jack, Innocence, Claudia, and Emily Kent are rich. Filthy rich. The English family owns a chain of fancy hotels and because of this, they live a privileged life. Anything they could every want, they have. Despite this, the family is not happy.
Jack and Innocence do not have a good marriage. Claudia, Jack’s adopted daughter from his first marriage, is hated by Innocence and has her own array of problems from a horrific experience as a child. Emily, oh Emily. She’s a spoiled brat who has always gotten whatever she wants and in turn has no capacity for understanding compassion or any semblance of a decent human being. As you can see, it is easy to not like the Kent family. There is plenty to dislike and judge about them, and that is what a lot of this story boils down to.
Anna Maxted has written a story that has so many different plot lines going on it is sometimes hard to remember who is mad at who, who is an awful person or struggling to become better. I was actually surprised to see just how low a rating this book has on GoodReads. Granted, it’s not one of the best books I have read this year, but it wasn’t awful. I think that the main problem was Maxted tried to fit so much in, that it got a little convoluted and downright “roll your eyes” hard to believe. I know that novels have the option to take things above and beyond and allow the author to create situations that are hard to believe, but I think that was part of the problem with this story. It is hard to believe that these people could be that unlikeable. So unlikeable that you have a hard time reading about their lives, and their problems seem so pitiful compared to the fact that they are generally awful people a lot of the time. And then the Nathan plot line, it just felt a little forced.
For me, this is a good fluff read. Something to enjoy while on the beach or on vacation. I am interested to see what else Maxted has written, it seems that her fans were quite disappointed with this book because her others have been so solid. In the end, if you are looking for a fluff book to read, go for it.