China Rich Girlfriend

A Novel

By: Kevin Kwan

Narrated by: Lydia Look

Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia's most eligible bachelor, discovers her birthfather.

On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband.

A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.

©2015 Kevin Kwan (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Kevin Kwan’s brand of giddy wealth porn arrived in 2013 with Crazy Rich Asians, not a moment too soon… China Rich Girlfriend [is] the second volume in what has been projected as a gossipy, good-humored trilogy that will follow the richest old families of Singapore, Hong Kong and a few from mainland China. They join in a single shared pursuit: watching in horror as their youngest generations squander money in ways so staggering that Western show-offs look like pikers by comparison… Mr. Kwan has good aim with his fashion world- and ego-skewering shivs. And regardless of how reality-based these characters may be, he has his style references down cold… [Keeps] readers surprised and inquisitive… Snarky… Wicked… Funny.” –Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“As the real China rich dig their nails into the world of the wealthy and wasteful, Kwan sharpens his with another acerbic yet affectionate examination of Asian uber-elite social mores, still largely invisible in Western popular culture… The novel is filled with jaw-dropping accounts of opulence… and showdowns worthy of an episode of Gossip Girl.… China Rich Girlfriend is a crazy parade through the lives of the aspirational elite. It's also a rich portrait of Asia's real obsession with consumerism and its economic rise, one whose trajectory, like Kwan's, is not yet complete.” —Nicole Lee, Los Angeles Times

“In this year’s best beach reading, Jane Austen meets Singapore… There’s no timely cocktail I’d rather recommend than China Rich Girlfriend… As frothy as the egg whites on the sort of cocktail you should drink while reading Kwan’s books. But if you need to assuage your guilt about summer reading with a little intellectual patina, Kwan has you covered too; His peek into this rarified world is spiked with tart observations about old and new money, the nuances of racism and the way they all interact… A cheeky reminder that those who think they can’t make a romance or a comedy of manners work in an entirely non-white setting are not just lying or kidding themselves, but wasting the almost gluttonous opportunities available to storytellers who stretch beyond convention… Fizzy, highly entertaining.” –Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post

The narrator for Crazy Rich Asians was better

If you could sum up China Rich Girlfriend in three words, what would they be?

The continuation of the story line was as good as the first book, funny and entertaining. However, the narrator for Crazy Rich Asians, Lynn Chen, was much better. The frequently used expressions "Aiyah" "lah" and "Alamak" were perfectly accentuated by Chen, and added to the humor of the book. When you hear Lydia Look use the same words, it sounds like she is reading a typo - or an extra word that was accidentally not edited out of the text. She also does not portray the character of Rachel very well..she makes her sound like a giggly teenager, rather than the respectable economics professor that she is..the voice she uses for Rachel is over bubbly and high pitched. The narration did not ruin the book, but most certainly took away from the five stars that I gave Crazy Rich Asians.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Lydia Look?

The original narrator of Crazy Rich Asians, Lynn Chen

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh...but not as much as Crazy Rich Asians

Any additional comments?

Bring back Lynn Chen!!!

loved it

Narrator was very good. I really enjoyed this book.
I want to visit HK and Singapore soon!

Narrator

I did prefer the reader from the first book more, but this book was good.

Get ready to chuckle

Super rich Asians, plotting to move up in society = entertaining, easy to listen to book.Good thing it's listed as fiction because I could soooo imagine it being based on someone's relatives!

So great!!

I was blown away when I found out there wasn't just one book after Crazy Rich Asians but two! I really felt things had been left so vague at the end of the first book. I liked the original narrator but the one for this book did a great job.

The Ending

Like his first book this sequel seems to end unusually abruptly and with odd resolutions. He doesn't seem to tie all the loose ends. Overall the story line is entertaining and worth reading but the endings to both books are disappointing.

Appreciative of details, make it extra enjoyable

I immediately had to get China Rich Girlfriend after finishing Crazy Rich Asians. I really do enjoy the eccentric characters and have an attachment specifically to Astrid and Oliver. I also grew to enjoy Kitty. She is involved in what may be my favorite storyline of the entire book, which actually was quite a surprise. I wasn’t nearly as impressed with the narrator of this book as much as I was with the first book. Nonetheless I couldn’t stop listening.

Life changing

First I saw the movie than I read the series, I have a lot of reading and writing problems so after I read this series, I started reading REAL books instead of just graphic novels so I would say this book was life changing. This is one of my all time favorite books and it always will be.

especially love the footnotes!

I especially love the footnotes and projected throughout the story. it made me wonder how much of these footnotes were actually true or just interesting tidbits to make the story more interesting

Not my favorite but necessary for the trilogy...

I enjoyed this book as the second in the series. Felt like it had a great story and lead into the 3rd book nicely.