Rate: 5/5

Medium: Audiobook

Overview (No Spoilers):
Last year when it seemed like everyone in the blogosphere was raving about what a fun read could be found in Crazy Rich Asians, I hesitated to read it because it wasn’t in the typical genre I gravitate towards. In hindsight, I should have learned my lesson from The Girls, where I found myself lamenting delaying reading for similar reasons. When a majority of people are picking up the same book there’s likely a valid reason behind the excitement. I finally added this title to my reading list after the inspired movie received high acclaim and fantastic reviews, although the library waiting list was over 110 people long! I settled into my long wait, almost forgetting about the hold by the time my name made its way to the top of the list. With my genre bias in mind, I started this read skeptical to say the least, but found I was hooked from the onset. Crazy Rich Asians was such a fantastically fun story! Poor Rachel was so unprepared to meet Nick’s parents, being thrown into a world that she could hardly imagine. I have to say though, Nick’s lack of communication skills are a major red flag! Rachel was basically thrown to the wolves over and over and over again in various situations.   One of the my favorite perspectives is from Astrid, Nick’s cousin whose seemingly perfect life is crumbling around her, however gets aid unexpectedly from a surprising character. While the Goh family chapters were also some of my favorites, I was so worried they were going to do something terrible to jeopardize Rachel and Nick’s relationship due to their social climbing ambitions. Overall, Crazy Rich Asians was extremely entertaining throughout the majority of this read, however veered deeply into the dark as the veil was pulled pack on this seemingly perfect world.

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

• Will Nick make up with his Grandma?
• Will Nick be able to balance his family and Rachel?
• Is Rachel’s father actually still alive somewhere?
• Will Astrid and Michael reconcile? Will Astrid find out what Charlie did to help? How will this impact Michael? Personally, I’m rooting for Charlie a bit, although it makes me feel guilty because I liked Michael too.
• Eddie was seriously the worse character! So absolutely spoiled! Will he change his ways?
• How will Alistair rebound after Kitty? Will he hold a grudge against his family for meddling?