I was extremely excited to read this book and I am happy I was able to get my hands on it via Netgalley; unfortunately, I was let down.
the story/plot of this book is really intriguing but it gets lost in quite a bit of the writing.
Tsao is a beautiful writer. the way she transitions from present to past is amazing but at the same time it is also too much.

I think this book had so much potential but there was actually overdevelopment of characters that were not central to the story and underdevelopment of those that were.

I wanted to give this book five stars, but I am sad to say that I have to give 3.

Wow! This was a knockout read. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling it, but the less you know before reading the better. If the first chapter or two doesn't suck you in, then there's something wrong with you. I love the multicultural elements of this book too as someone who knows very little about south or east Asian culture.

2.5 stars. "Imagine Crazy Rich Asians as written by Gillian Flynn" says the blurb for The Majesties. I love both of those things, and I found the book cover stunning, so I couldn't wait to read this.

The premise is interesting: two sisters from a Chinese-Indonesian family grapple with the past after one of them poisons their entire family. I love character-driven dramas and admittedly, stories about wealthy people doing terrible things. However, this was neither a thriller nor an exciting family drama. The story was so sluggish and at times felt forced, so everything fell short of its potential. I really struggled to finish this book, and even the "twist" at the end didn't make up for the lackluster story.

I can't say enough about this book. I loved every minute of reading it and was left in such a fog after devouring it. Kudos to Tiffany Taos for crafting such a suspenseful and well written novel. I'm recommending this book to everyone.

Gwendolyn, or Doll, shares with us her time in a coma after her sister Estella poisons her entire family and friends at a party for their Opa, or grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimers. Gwendolyn is the only surviving member of this tragedy. While she is hospitalized, her body can’t function but her mind is active trying to retrace what possibly could have happened to cause her sister to commit such a crime.

The family is Indonesian, of Chinese descent, and extraordinarily wealthy by any standards. Gwendolyn and Estella have been raised wanting for nothing. They travel in first class, stay in the finest hotels, attend college abroad, and eventually work for the family business. Estella marries a man who is initially emotionally abusive, but eventually morphs into physical abuse, and then death. Gwendolyn is married to her business Bagatelle, creating unusual jewelry and adornments for women.

I was already a fan of Tiffany Tsao’s work before reading this, as I’ve read both books in her Oddfit series. This is a complete detour from The Oddfits, but it is a good departure. I loved how she carefully unraveled the story of Estella and Gwendolyn, how it was to be Chinese-Indonesian, the dynamics of running a business in rather corrupt Indonesia and the eventual toll it takes on everyone. There are surprises throughout this novel, and it was such a pleasure to read. Tsao is a magnificent writer.

4.5 stars


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 7 Jan 2020 .

There has been a massacre. In the first sentence of the first chapter, the narrator, Gwendolyn, reveals that her sister Estella murdered three hundred people. They’re members of her family, extended family and friends, poisoned for no discernible reason. This is where the story starts, but also where it ends.

It would be wrong to classify this as a thriller or suspense in the traditional sense. If you’re looking for heightened happenings similar to the initial bombshell to be peppered throughout the rest of the novel, you may be disappointed. The majority of the book, basically every chapter between the first one and the last couple, is more an examination of one family’s discord spanning several years and generations. There’s so many layers present, from the inherited wealth, to racial frictions, to domestic abuse and even geopolitical ramifications. The description of this book compares itself to Crazy Rich Asians; this is true only in the most superficial way. The characters are crazy rich, from a wealthy Chinese-Indonesian family. There’s complicated familial dynamics and pressure to live up to the standards that have been cultivated decade to decade, grandparent to parent to child.

Where the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy was criticized for not much acknowledging the realities of the majority population living outside of their enormous wealth, The Majesties brings a refreshing, sometimes dark level of self-awareness to the class struggles in Southeastern Asia, specifically Indonesia and the capital city of Jakarta. Though the story detours to parts of southern California & elsewhere, it’s focal point continues to be the family rooted in Jakarta.

The unraveling of Gwendolyn and her sister’s family is crucial to understanding why Estella did what she did. The entire plot centers around that question: Why? What could have possibly possessed her to kill everyone in that room? It’s not a mystery in the way we’re accustomed to; the answers to the questions we’d normal be asking, ‘Who?’ ‘What?’ ‘How?’, are already known. There’s several big revelations at the end, twists and turns and bleak truths that leave the reader shell shocked. As the first 2020 release I’ve delved into, this was quite a memorable and haunting way to start.

I enjoyed The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao. It's the story of two Chinese-Indonesian sisters, Gwendolyn and Estella, and at the very start of the book we learn Estella has poisoned their entire family. The rest of the book goes on to recount what happened that lead to the poisoning.

The book has been dubbed a "Crazy Rich Asians" meets Gillian Flynn. Some of the lavish descriptions in the beginning of the book had a Candice Bushnell/Sex and the City season 1 vibe to me, which I liked. As the story went on, I learned a lot more about the Chinese-Indonesian culture/racial tensions and prejudices among people in that region, that I really didn't know anything about. Finally, there's a twist at the end that I wasn't expecting. I wouldn't call this a "keep you on your feet" thriller throughout the entire book, but it's definitely a slow burn of one.

I'd love to see this made into a movie. Particularly the bagatelles Gwendolyn described were a little hard for me to picture.

Overall, definitely a worthwhile read. Thanks Atria Books & Netgalley for the chance to review it early!

The Majesties was slow to start but wrapped in vivid detail to paint the lives of Estella and Gwendolyn. What I took to be a book with a little more intensity and suspense was actually more of a family drama with a twist ending that was kind of predictable. Predictibility is not always bad, it depends on the execution and I truly believe the author did a pretty good job with wrapping up the story even with the predictable ending.
Having the story told from Gwendolyns point of view while in a coma can only tell us the moments before thepoisoning and what led up to the big moment. Its a story of a rich, corrupt family built on power and lies and what happens to people who interfere and get in their way. I do love that this book featured asains and proudly displayed their culture and takes place mostly in a different country than the U.S.
Overall great book if you can get past the slow building of the begining.
3.5/5

The Majesties had a great premise and I was very intrigued. It was a little difficult to get into the book as I felt the pacing was slow and it dragged at various times. Yet I conquered on and enjoyed the book. The ending definitely took me by surprise. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise and the structure, and the peek into the life of the 1% in Indonesia was really interesting, but the ending did not work for me. Still, up to that point, a compelling read!

After reading the description my brain went immediately to “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”. Shirley Jackson sets pretty high expectations, though, and so I couldn’t get into this one.

OMG! What a delicious debut. A little bit Crazy Rich Asians and a bit My Sister The Serial Killer. A delightfully devilish read. While the cover is beautiful, it doesn’t convey the twisted goodness that lies beneath.

Go read the description for this book.

Just bear with me here... go on.
I'll wait.

*insert final Jeopardy theme music*

Sounds dramatic, mysterious, thrilling even. I mean it says "riveting and disquieting thriller" right there!

I'll take 'What is not even close? for $800, Alex'.

This book doesn't know what it wants to be and subsequently ends up being nothing to speak of.

It wants to be a family drama, with extraneous drama that lends nothing to the story.

It wants to be a thriller. No. Just no.

A mystery maybe? Imagine a mystery with no clues.

Then the ending throws in a curveball of a distraction that is way too little and entirely too late.

1.5 Stars



** I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

The premise of this book is brilliant and the cover is stunning, but unfortunately for me the execution didn’t reach its full potential. The main problem here was with the pacing. For such interesting subject matter, it never fully held my attention.

This is a very different novel . A tale of two sisters from an extremely wealthy family . Gwendolyn and Estella are the closest of sisters . When Gwendolyn poisons the whole family and Estella is the only one left alive it is up to her to tell us how they got to this point .Riveting and thrilling and set in an opulent world this book is thrilling from first to last page

The story begins with a mass murder having taken place. Estella has poisoned and killed her entire family, including herself. Her sister, Gwendolyn, is the sole survivor, in a coma. The story then works backwards with the sisters reflecting on their lives and that of the family to work out what led to this tragedy. The story is dark, compelling and grabs you from the beginning.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested for the most part. There were a few times where it felt like it dragged, but otherwise a good read. I wasn't expecting the ending at all!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book was enjoyable and kept me guessing while I was reading it. I appreciated the insight to the characters culture as it is different from my own. The premise of the book was entertaining, but I did not feel as connected to or invested in the characters as I normally like to be when I am reading a book. I feel as if the book could have been better without some of the detailed explanations regarding things such as the economic climate of the country and also the religious shift that was happening during parts of the book. The main storyline itself was entertaining and all in all a good read. I definitely did not see the ending coming and actually went back through parts of the book to see if there were some clues I missed while reading. This book gets 3.75 stars from me.

All in all this was a decent read. I will say that it did have problems with pacing and keeping my interest in certain areas, however the premise was interesting enough to get me to continue reading.

This is an example of a failed execution of an interesting premise. I wanted to like this novel. Along with the rise in popularity of Asian-American and Asian-centric narratives, I desperately wanted this novel to draw me in. Unfortunately, the pacing seemed to drag its heels in the dirt. And while readers don't necessarily have to love their protagonists, I didn't feel anything for Gwendolyn or Estrella. Reading this novel felt like a chore; I don't like to speak ill of books, so I will not make this review public.