An entertaining story about a Chinese family as they navigate life in California. The characters are complicated, flawed and also easy to relate to. I enjoyed how each character had a voice in telling their story.

Thank you to NetGalley and BCG for the free Friday book.

This is the kind of book where people are greedy and unlikable, but in the end, most people get what they deserve.

There are a lot of greedy selfish characters (mostly men it seems) but it’s fun to read how out of touch they are with reality.

Linda is a terrific character and someone who is smart, savvy and wise. I liked Kate too. I enjoyed the book and more than Imposter Syndrome another book by the author I’ve read.

Positives:

Good for those who enjoy family dramas with a lot of characters
alternating points of view from family members
great character development
beautiful cover

Negatives:

This book gets off to a slow start
Very long chapters

In the end, I did enjoy the book, but I would not say the actual reading of it was enjoyable. It's one of those.

I really wanted to love this book, but now I find myself struggling to review it.

I'll start with the pros: The writing style itself was fantastic; visually descriptive with exceptional character development, pacing, and scene-setting. It was easy to get a true sense of the characters and locations. And because the story is told in the first person, in alternating POV from every main character, it was easy to know exactly what everyone's inner thoughts and motivations were.

Now the cons: the Huang family, around whom this story centers, can best be described as a bunch of assholes, solely interested in whatever inheritance will be gained upon the passing of family patriarch, Stanley Huang. But before you start feeling sorry for Stanley, let me assure you there's no need. He's the #1 prime asshole of this clan. Entitled, self-important, and abusive to his children and current wife, Mary. I find it difficult to get invested in this type of story when there are no characters to root for. (Maybe that was the point? To borrow a term from Reddit, "ESH" - everyone sucks here.) The only character with any semi-redeeming qualities is Kate, the adult daughter of Stanley and his ex-wife Linda, who is dealing with some marriage drama of her own.

At the end of this book, I found myself with no real sense of what the story was trying to accomplish. I probably should have DNF'd it, but I kept hoping that it would turn around. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. I would definitely be interested in reading something from this author again, as I did enjoy the writing style itself, but it would depend on the storyline/plot development.

Stanley Huang has lived a glamorous life until he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the details of his estate will finally be revealed. His son is looking forward to inheritance after years of professional disappointment and his daughter is hoping it'll help her feed her family and support her husband in his entrepreneurial ventures. His wife is tired of being his caretaker, and his ex-wife is determined to see her children get their due. The family meets unexpected challenges that eventually lead them to discover what they most value.

It was interesting to get a look into a super elite and wealthy family dynamic. It's interesting how money can really change people and make them behave differently. It's hard to relate to the characters because they literally seem like they live on a different planet?! Their priorities are so different than us commoners! I appreciated reading about a Chinese-American family - I always appreciate a diverse perspective.

Thanks to William Morrow for the e-book.

Ugh, this was so boring… 2.5 stars at most.

LIKES:
1) diverse book and story. I will always try and give non white authors the benefit of the doubt and pick up their books. Their stories need to be told
2) pretty accurate family fiction

DISLIKES:
1) where this was well written the characters didn’t really do anything of substance except be awful to each other. I struggled to find one character that I liked and if I don’t like the characters I tend to not like the books.
2) cheating spouses… no thank you. Hate this trope
3) on a more personal note: dying parents, especially dad, hit too close to home. the description of his hospice at home setting was what my mom went through and it was too much for me.

I was drawn in by the fun cover and idea of a family drama.

I found the writing to be lacking. I was not interested in any of the characters and there were so many to keep track of.

I stopped reading after the line stating that "practically no one got divorced. It's why the suicide rates were so high."

This book was not for me.

I got this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.This book was a very slow read for me.I almost did not finish it but pushed through.It is described as a cross between Crazy Rich Asians and The Nest which it is not.

Multiple family members carry a storyline that intersect with the imminent death of the family patriarch and assumed inheritance via the Family Trust. Chinese culture and family dynamics are shared with the readers with a strong emphasis on finance. Stanley Huang, the dying father, dangles the idea of not only a great inheritance, the continued life-long support of his second wife, and to continue his legacy, a foundation. Stanley Huang is completely deplorable and perhaps delusional, too. His ex-wife, Linda Liang, on the other hand is tough but quite the strong woman and so much more capable than her ex.
Their two adult children have complicated relationships with their parents but once again, it's daughter Kate over son, Fred, that comes out shining. I loved the growth of Kate and yet she is not as cold feeling as her mother.
I enjoyed the book but was put off by the extensive amount of high end finance that was the world of Fred.

Family Trust by Kathy Wang is a book that didn't really appeal to me. It is supposedly social satire but all I saw was weak caricatures of people who were not always holding themselves accountable. I found it difficult to read and not particularly entertaining.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Family Trust by William Morrow, through William Morrow. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #williammorrow #kathywang #familytrust

Thank you to NetGalley and BCG for the free Friday book. Enjoyed this story very much. Will recommend to others

This wasn’t what I was expecting or as it was marketed. Therefore this wasn’t the book for me.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Quirky characters make this book fun. At times I found myself laughing at the crazy turn of events as they unfolded. I always find it interesting when a book has characters who’s narrative is punctuated by their own cultural experience and expectations.

While I generally enjoy a good family drama, this one was not for me. The characters are all pretty i likable and cold. While the writing is well done, I just didn’t connect with the story.

This one fell flat for me. I was hoping it would be more entertaining as Crazy Rich Asians, but it doesn’t hold mustard. The characters weren’t loveable and certain aspects wasn’t realistic. A million bucks in inheritance is really NOT much money. Especially, when they were well off to begin with. That point bothered me.

I couldn’t finish. I never felt any connection to the story or the characters. I was bored within the first few chapters, and I didn’t like any of the characters. I didn’t care what happened next. I was hoping this would be better, but it wasn’t for me.

I thought this was going to be a light, fun read but the first chapter starts with a terminable cancer diagnosis so it wasn't what I was expecting. I decided not to finish.

I wasn’t a fan of this book. The characters were all unlikable and it seemed to have all of the greed and drama of Crazy, Rich Asians with non of the magic.

This book reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians but I wasn’t a big fan of the characters. They were all very self centered and I had a hard time rooting for them.

I definitely went into this book with the wrong attitude which is probably why I disliked it. I was expecting a "Crazy Rich Asians" type of book and instead got a serious family drama, the writing was excellent and it is a good story. it just wasn't;t for me.