Review: China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
11/16/2017
Plot:
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined.
Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
Thoughts:
In the last book we experience the heat in Singapore and the crazy lucrative lifestyle of the Nick's friends and family. If the title is not yet obvious, in this book Nick and Rachel venture to Mainland China and experience and meet a different type of crazy rich Asians.
Knowing that Rachel's real father could just be out there, she can't bear the thought of not meeting him. With no such luck, they go through their wedding plans. And just when they thought that everything was going perfect, Nick's mother crashes their wedding in a not so subtle way. Nothing good comes whenever Eleanor Young is around, but surprise, surprise! It turns out that she was the one to find Rachel's father, Bao Gaoliang, albeit accidentally.
Oh that Eleanor, always so cunning. She gives Nick her blessing to marry Rachel, though he didn't ask for it, knowing that Nick will be marrying a billionaire's daughter. Apparently, Rachel's father is one of the richest man in China... and that is where the trouble begins. Now, that only leaves Nick's grandma's approval.
Bao Gaoliang's wife Shaoyen has a hard time accepting Rachel and feels that she is a threat in their family's reputation, and she worries about how this will affect their son, Carlton's future as an heir. I respect husbands that listen to their wives, but man Gaoliang is a wimp. It's his daughter, he should've put his foot down. Atleast Carlton has the balls. I'm surprised that he was very warm in accepting Rachel as his sister. He's not the bad guy after all! I thought he would be since acknowledging Rachel would mean that they'd had to split their father's fortune. But he's not like that at all. He's a wild and free type of guy. That's why I really think he and Collete are fit for each other. But they have this thing where they say they're not together but they act like it and you know they should be but their characters are ugh so just... yeah.
Anyhoo, Rachel just wants to meet her father, is that so much to ask? But the powers that be -Shaoyen- doesn't make it possible. Gaoliang gets called out to Hong Kong for business and such. So Carlton and Collete entertain the newlyweds in the way they know how, with style and luxury. They fly out to Paris for a shopping spree and some drama. Again I am left clueless and head scratching of all the brand name drops. Here Carlton and Rachel really connect as brother and sister, they know that they both got each others back.
While all these drama are happening with Nick and Rachel, we're also caught up with what's happening with Astrid's life. She and her husband got back together after their crumbling marriage in the first book. Michael can now finally live with himself because he's now a billionaire after his tech company gained success. But he turns out to be like Eddie Cheng, or even worse. What is up with this stereotypical character of Astrid?! She's so fantastic and she could be whatever but chose to be like that. What is that?! Ugh ugh ugh. And Charlie's just there, always there but Astrid's too blind!
Relationships in this series are frustrating, sometimes infuriating and I realize it's because it's real life. Rachel's and Nick's is a fairy tale. Now Astrid and Michael? Charlie and his wife? Nick's parents, Eddie and his wife, Kitty Pong and Bernard Tai... they all have fvcked up relationships and that's the reality of it depicted by these books in the truest sense. Ghad, now I'm mad. "I hate when he does that" comes to mind. Hahaha!
Astrid realizes in the end though what Charlie has done for her, for her family and kinda wants him back but of course they have to go through hell first, which I assume would happen on the third book.
The second book still fascinated me and left me awestruck but it also left all these frustrations and funny thoughts. I can't wait to read the third book, but not yet! I'm holding back because TBR list is giving me snake eyes.
Rating:
5 stars
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