China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy, #2)

by Kevin Kwan

[girlinthepages]

I find it's rare for a series to get BETTER with time, but China Rich Girlfriend, the sophomore novel in Kevin Kwan's opulent, over the top Crazy Rich Asian series proved me wrong. Picking up shortly where the first novel left off, the story follows some of our favorite primary characters from the first installment (Nick, Rachel, Astrid) into a whole second country of societal billionaires and over the top spending where new money is flaunted at every opportunity.

What I loved about this novel was that it takes some new avenues and introduces a few new key players to the story while still integrating the drama and repercussions of the events that happened in its predecessor. There is still fallout to be dealt with after Nick's mother plays her hand against Rachel, there are unexpected consequences to Astrid's husbands overnight success story, and there is still certainly the snobbish yet glamorous Singapore clan whose story lines are woven into the drama happening on the mainland. I loved seeing the representation of how the "new money" values and spends its money and how the upper class society of the mainland functions as opposed to the "old money" families of Singapore.

I feel like this novel, while still exploring the enormous privilege of the characters' staggering wealth, also focused more on character development and on adding layers and nuances to the characters and relationships. Rachel connects with her family whom she's never known, and while there is scandal and gossip there are also undeniable moments of kindness and bonding. Peik Lin and Colin are still loyal friends to Nick and Rachel who have a devotion that runs deeper than the superficial. Even Nick's rage-inducing mother manages to put aside her differences with Rachel (if for more personal gain/benefit) and offers somewhat of an olive branch, in her own twisted way. Yes, the characters are outrageous but they're humanized in a way I found surprising given the over the top nature of these books, which kept me continually caring about what happened to them.

Overall: I can not get enough of this story! Although more outrageous than its predecessor, I was addicted to China Rich Girlfriend, especially at the rather shocking twist it took at the end which added an additional layer of drama and intrigue to these stories! I'm definitely going to be purchasing physical copies of these for my library someday!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages