I am a huge fan of the Crazy, Rich Asians series and was so excited to get the chance to read Kevin Kwan's newest book before publication.

I did not realize it was a retelling of A Room with a View, which I have not read. I'm not sure if having read the original story would have affected how I felt about this novel. Perhaps I missed some humor and nuance because of that.

Overall, this story didn't have the same charm as Crazy, Rich Asians, but it is still a fun, enjoyable story with Kwan's signature wit and romance. There is a gossipy feel to the story Kwan describes the trials of the very wealthy.

I think fans of this authors books will enjoy this title as well as readers looking for something humorous and fun to read.

This book was such a blast to read! Kevin Kwan truly writes the most glamorous books in existence. I really enjoyed the storyline, but I wish there'd been more character depth, in George and Charlotte especially. The romance moved incredibly quickly and I don't know that I fully sensed the intense chemistry between Lucy and George. Because of how much time they spent apart, it didn't feel like they truly got to know each other.
I nonetheless greatly enjoyed this book and getting to read Kwan's spin on Room With a View!

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. I devoured the CRA trilogy-I loved the character, the locales, the shameless name dropping! I read it after I watched the movie and was so happy that I waited until all three books were out so I could just immerse myself into the world they created! Kevin Kwan writes great characters-they are quirky and original, if slightly (okay, mostly) unbelievable. I loved the characters in this book and the hilarious use of footnotes. I found myself really not knowing what a lot of the uber-rich cultural references were, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the novel. I felt like it was a bit rushed at the end, I would have liked to know how Lucie and Cecil met-it wasn't clear to me what actually drew her to him. As I said, this book is much more character driven than plot. It's a fun summer read.

3 1/2 stars...

I will be completely truthful and admit that at about 25%, I almost didn't complete this book. That's something I rarely consider. I was struggling with the characters and couldn't connect with them. Determined not to be a "quitter," I continued on and I'm glad I did. The storyline took off and I was finally pulled into the story. This means I could finally invest in the outcome of the characters.

The cover is beautiful and is one of the things that drew me to the book. Also, the fact that Kevin Kwan wrote Crazy Rich Asians and I was interested to see what "world" this author had created in Sex and Vanity. The book is very detail driven. A great deal of information is provided about people's history, their clothing and who they know. I suppose that is necessary to understand who all the characters are and why Lucie and George are different. However, it sometimes made things feel slow for me. I would have liked more time with George, but I did enjoy watching Lucie discover who she was. I simply wanted more of the romance. All in all, this was a fun book with some messages tucked in. I'm sure there are people that will love it from cover to cover. I really enjoyed parts of it but can't say I loved the entire book. It's definitely a "me" thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kevin Kwan, author of the Crazy Rich Asians series, returns with another compelling tale of a young woman seeking understanding of her self-indenity growing up among New York high society WASPs. Thanks to Netgalley for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Sex and Vanity is the newest escape read by Kevin Kwan. It's luscious, frothy, and everything that we as readers need right now to forget about the troubles of the world. There's lots of name-dropping and globe-trotting. It's a classic romance novel but told in a new manner. Read and enjoy!

I probably had too high of expectations for this book after the Crazy Rich Asian series, and the book fell a little short. The beginning was good, but I had issues with the pacing. Too much name dropping (of names I didn't recognize). I also felt some of the characters lacked depth... I wish there had been more character development. I liked the 2nd half of the book more.

This is my first Kevin Kwan book... and I'm a bit torn over how to review it. It's obvious that the author drew inspiration from A Room with a View; however, there was a ton of name dropping and the actual execution fell a bit flat for me. I enjoyed the beginning much more than the middle and end, which seemed to drag. The vivid descriptions of the landscape was above average and made me want to be there in the moment...yet, the characters themselves were somewhat more caricatures of themselves than relatable people and it was difficult to form attachment to them or the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and DoubleDay Publishing for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 stars.

For fans of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy who are looking for more glitz, more opulence and more over-the-top behavior this is the perfect summer read.

This is such a fun book and a clever reworking of A Room With. A view. I love how Kevin Kwan took the opportunity to insert even more social critique than EM Forster did in the original. It's a timely story about class and race, and lots of fun at the same time.

What can I say about Kevin Kwan's newest book that hasn't been said over and over again. Sex and Vanity follows his trend of crazy, rich Asians and Asian-Americans and the lives of the rich and famous with over-the-top locations, clothes, and food. Sex and Vanity is fabulous in so many ways and it is the perfect escape for these times fraught with uncertainity.

Lucie Churchill was invited to her friend and former baby-sitter's wedding on the sumptuous island of Capris. She's accompanied by her very buttoned-up cousin Charlotte. On their first morning, before they even see the bride-to-be, Lucie meets George Zao. George is a surfer dude with an Australian accent and Lucie hates him on sight, even when he and his mother offer to trade their ocean view room for Lucie and Charlotte's sub par vista of the alleyl. She keeps running into him and really can't stand him until he kisses her in ancient ruins and they're caught by the uptight Charlotte. Charlotte makes a derogatory remark about Lucie's attraction being influenced by her Chinese-American mother. Lucie has always pushed her Chinese heritage away and pushes George away as well, until she runs into him again in East Hampton, only this time she's accompanied by her fiance. The attraction is undeniable and Lucie succumbs, falling into a huge mess of lies and covering up as she tries to keep George out of her extravagant New York world.

I appreciate the ARC - I really enjoyed it! I recommend Sex and Vanity to anyone who wants a fun read and a little escapism. Enjoy!

The second I found out Kevin Kwan had a new book out, I knew I had to get my hands on it! After having read and loved the Crazy Rich Asian series, I had high expectations. Unfortunately those expectations weren’t fully met.

The entire time I just wanted more. I’m always a fan for plot lines with rich people behaving badly. It wasn’t as over the top as I would have liked it to be. The chapters felt a bit choppy and there wasn’t much character development. I will say, I did enjoy the second half of the book better than the first half.

Still a book worth to read! But I found myself comparing it to Crazy Rich Asians, which probably isn’t fair since this one isn’t part of that series.

3.5 stars from me!

VERY SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD

Lucie Churchill is in Capri for her cousin’s wedding when she meets George Zao. He is everything she dislikes in a man. Good looking, wealthy, and Chinese. When they have an instant of passion that gets caught on film she is awash in embarrassment and flee’s the scene, only to run into him in the Hampton’s five years later when she’s engaged to someone else.

Kevin Kwan is pretty famous for his over the top, ripe with excess, and really original Crazy Rich Asians. While I didn’t read the book, I did see the movie so I understand the flavor of his intent. Similar to what Candace Bushnell did for WASP’s in Sex and the City, Kevin Kwan does for Asians in the Crazy Rich Asians series. In this novel, Sex and Vanity, you have all of the above, but there’s also an underlining story that is really quite serious. Lucie is embarrassed by being half Chinese. Her father’s side of the family is all WASP, uber wealthy, and despite their good intentions and loving Lucie, racist. Lucie has been cognizant of that fact her entire life and has worked really hard to earn their praise by scrubbing everything asian from her vernacular. Unfortunately, she can’t help the way she looks, despite her beauty. So, when she meets George, and can’t look away, she’s ashamed.

George, too is part Chinese. I think one quarter? His mother is over the top in her excess and Lucie finds her appalling, despite liking her at the same time. So five years later, when George, his mother, and Lucie cross paths again, I’m surprised to find her engaged to someone who is just like what she finds most appalling. It’s no wonder George is a fascination for her, as he is all things calm and reasonable when there’s so little of that in her own life.

This novel is a bit of fun, just like Kevin Kwan’s other novels, but reading Lucie’s angst, pain, and shame over being part asian was really hard to read. Granted, I am a middle aged white woman who can’t put myself in her shoes, but I can feel the feelings the author has intended for me, and I felt myself to be one conflicted mess. Poor Lucie! The cast of characters were displayed as direct contrasts to all of the feelings Lucie had about herself. It was interesting to see those parallels and watch how Lucie unwound herself from those doubts and started living for herself.

Here’s a bit of a spoiler so STOP reading now if you plan to check out this book.

If I could change one thing about this novel, it would be that Lucie would’ve found herself a little sooner. That the book didn’t end with a series of letters that told her story instead of reading through those chapters from Lucie’s POV. I feel like I should’ve been rewarded with a couple of chapter’s of George and Lucie’s romance after having lived through the horror of she and Cecil’s. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Classic updated to crazy-excessive world of the international super rich💰💰

4-4.5🌟stars
🌅 I enjoyed the story but with a few reservations. I liked E.M. Forster's classic A Room With a View and this modern twist on Forster's society romance capitalizes on the strengths of the original story's plot and distinct personalities. I found it a relatively easy and quick read considering its length.

Kwan has taken the characters and transported them to a whirl of constant socializing among people so extravagantly wealthy that each scene goes to a new level of fantastic excess. In a social clique totally focused on itself, common haunts, designer fashion, elegant cuisine, international travel, galas and the latest new age health kick, heroine Lucy moves with ease yet she's constantly aware that she's an oddity whose mixed heritage sets her apart.

No one personifies the status-seeking, one upmanship egoism of this upper class world than Mordecai and Cecil, both of whom are annoying and laughable in their worship of pedigree, fame and wealth. Compared to them, Lucy, her mother and brother, and George and his mother are guileless and really rather down to earth. The best parts of the story for me were the emotion-packed moments when Lucy and George connected. I wish there had been more of them.

This was my first time reading a Kevin Kwan novel. All considered, I would read more by this author though I was more interested in the romance than the constant namedropping.

Thanks to publisher Doubleday and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

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

I added Sex and Vanity to my TBR pile in late May and was finally able to read it over the weekend. I found that it was an enjoyable, fast-paced read, but didn’t find the characters nearly as well-developed as Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. The story’s main characters, Lucie and George, meet at a wedding in Capri and reunite years later in New York City and the Hamptons. As with Kwan’s previous novels, familial relationships are crucial to plot development, and I found myself wanting to shoo away Lucie’s cousin Charlotte every time she meddled in Lucie’s life. George’s mother Rosemary was a delight. Loved noting the references to Crazy Rich Asians characters.

Overall, this was a fun summer read, and I look forward to reading Kwan’s next novel.

I have really mixed feelings about this book, and reading it was a strange experience. This is a modern-day retelling of E. M. Forrester's "A Room With a View," with a "Crazy Rich Asians" spin. The characters have the exact same names and the exact same things happen. I couldn't read along without thinking of the original and comparing it to this (which pales in comparison).

It's so hard to forget that this was a gentile, Victorian-era romance, especially when there are virtually no changes to the story other than the time period. I couldn't stop picturing Helena Bonham Carter & cast in Victorian gowns speaking in subdued voices, even while I was reading about campy, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" social media hounds name-dropping celebrities and obsessing over '80s couture gowns.

Yet at the same time, the original is such a classic because it IS such a good story, and I did often find myself really enjoying Kwan's writing. Kwan's version makes for a lighthearted read - it's just not original and he didn't do anything to make this his own. I'd give 3 1/2 stars for entertainment, but rounding down for too much appropriation/not enough originality.

Kevin Kawn's Sex and Vanity is a delightful read full of all the luxury of his Crazy, Rich Asians series plus a little more heart.

Fans of Kwan will be pleased with this new book, the book, while distinct from the Crazy Rich Asians series, felt much like those books. There is the same somewhat trite and basic love story plot, the same brand namedropping, and the same attentive view into the lives of the ultra-rich. If you liked the Crazy Rich Asians series, you'll like this. If you didn't like those books, I don't see you liking this one.

God, whats not to love about a Kevin Kwan novel? So fun. So effortlessly stylized. You finish and wish it could just go on and on and on. Fans of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy will not be disappointed. This could absolutely fit into the series if you switched around some characters. The one thing, which Ive noticed in his other books as well, is that the lead female protagonist is always a fish out of water, in the rich fashionable world, who makes her way through the story in a clunky way until the guy finally pulls it together at the end. I would love if we started off with a woman who had better footing next time, from the beginning. Theyre all gorgeous and brilliant, but dont know it, and I think Kwan is such a talented writer that he could easily break this trope and still write a completely charming story.

Thank you DoubleDay books and Netgalley for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This is the perfect escape during this time when all we can travel to is from the bedroom to the living room. I think our next vacation will have to be Capri! It sounds gorgeous and full of history! As usual, Kevin Kwan does an amazing job describing the lives of the rich and famous. I don't think it's as good as Crazy Rich Asians but it is still a good read.