Booklist Reviews
Once again, Kwan (Sex and Vanity, 2020) mines the trials and tribulations of the uberwealthy to great effect in this winning, modern-day comedy of manners. After an opening chapter that includes a scandalous proposal and an even more shocking death, the story jumps to the present day, where everyone is preparing for what turns out to be the disastrous wedding of Augusta, the eldest daughter of the Gresham family, at an extravagant ecoresort in Hawaii. The Greshams are nobility in England, but behind their extravagant lifestyle is a growing mountain of debt. Arabella, the matriarch, thinks she can solve the problem by scheming to marry off her eligible son (and future Duke of Greshambury), Rufus, to a wealthy woman, but Rufus longs to profess his love for the girl next door. Inspired by Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne, Kwan weaves together the drama of a nineteenth-century novel with timeless themes about identity, love, racism, and family loyalty, all while dropping snarky asides via footnote and details of the decadent lifestyles of the rich and famous. A fizzy, delightful confection perfect for devouring by the pool this summer. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Let us not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Or, maybe let's. In his second follow-up to the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, Kwan continues to wrap fairy-tale love stories in glitz, glamour, couture, fine art, and delicious wit. (It's possible that the author is on a diet because the food component seems slightly less dominant than usual.) This time, our star-crossed lovers are Rufus Gresham, Viscount St. Ives, a man whose beauty has been driving women to distraction since he was photographed in his boxers ironing a dress shirt at age 16, and Eden Tong, a young doctor who lives with her widowed father on the family property at Greshamsbury Hall. Though Rufus has been madly in love and planning to marry Eden since childhood, he is about to run into a solid wall of opposition from his mother, Lady Arabella. Since she and Lord Gresham have managed to drain the family coffers, she is determined to save the family by having each of her three children marry serious money. But right from the start, when an active volcano interrupts the wedding of daughter Augusta to Scandinavian royalty, things don't go her way. Often hilarious epigraphs and fourth-wall-breaking footnotes include this: "Founded in 1875 in Venice, Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua was also the official supplier of precious fabrics to the Vatican until Pope Paul VI decided to tighten the belt on luxury goods. (This would explain the pillows from Target I saw in the waiting room during my last audience with the Pope.)" One also enjoys the gossip articles, invitations, and menus sprinkled through the text, and the little icons used to signal location changes—Hawaii hibiscus, London Big Ben, Greshamsbury tea set, Houston oil derrick, etc.—are adorable. Still more brilliant escapism among Kwan's 1 percenters. Too much is never enough. Copyright Kirkus 2024 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Reviews
Kwan, author of the best seller
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Kwan (