I really enjoyed Kwan's 'Crazy Rich Asian' series, with its ridiculous over the top characters with all the fun and frivolity of a good escapist read. I was expecting more of the same here, and unfortunately I found it didn't really deliver. As a result, I think this novel may suffer because of this unrealistic expectation.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this - it's well written, and fun and light, but the characters just don't light up the pages the way Rachel and Nick did. They're all a little superficial, without any real development or redeeming features. Lucie isn't particularly captivating enough to carry the story, and her chemistry with George just feels a little forced at best. Charlotte doesn't feel modern either, and I know this is a retelling, but the character doesn't seem to have moved with the times. All the other characters were either under developed or over the top villains with widly unrealistic attitudes. That said, I did like the small references to the differences in cultural and racial issues between Lucie and George and feel this could have been expanded upon.

The settings, as usual, are lush and well described - particularly the first part in Capri. In fact, I would have enjoyed it if the whole story had been set here as I felt so fully immerses in the setting and the escapism it provided. The story definitely takes a downward turn when we return to New York and the lacing slows significantly. I struggled to finish if I'm honest, as nothing was grabbing my attention.

Interesting ideas with all of the usual Kwan humour I've come to expect, but this feels like a poor imitation of his previous work with dull characters and a plot that fizzles out rapidly.

Enjoyable and fluffy, with decadence as standard. I felt it was a bit unfocused and repetitive but enjoyable.

Riveting. This is the perfect follow up to Crazy Right Asians. I was once again immersed in Kwan's delicious world and could almost feel the capri sunlight on my skin. A wonderful summer read.

On her very first morning on the stunning island of Capri, Lucie Churchill sets eyes on George Zao and instantly dislikes him. So she feels particularly affronted when he kisses her in the darkened ruins of a Roman Villa.

Five years later, when Lucie is weekending in East Hampton with her fiancé, George makes an unexpected appearance. Even more unexpected is the way Lucie feels drawn to him.

Before long Lucie finds herself spinning a web of deceit involving her family, her fiancé and above all, herself.

Can she deny George entry into her world – and ultimately, her heart.

I requested this title from NetGalley on a bit of a whim. Even though I have heard rave reviews for the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, it wasn’t something I was inclined to pick up. However, it was these high recommendations that made me pause whilst scrolling and decide to give this one a go, and I have to say I’m really glad I did.

This book is split into two parts plus an epilogue; the first part being set on Capri where Lucie first meets George. I have to say whilst I was reading this section, this book was getting a solid 5 stars from me. Having visited the island twice myself, the descriptions were spot on and instantly transported me there. I did feel, perhaps, that Lucie was a little naive for her age, but I was willing to believe she had led somewhat of a sheltered life up until this point. George seemed sweet, if a little odd, from the very beginning and I could only put Lucie’s hatred of him down to her own confusion and inability to deal with her emotions.

However, as the storytelling moved into Part 2, and ahead 5 years, it kind of lost its spark for me. Here we find Lucie engaged to be married and yet she is still as blindingly ingenuous and incapable of dealing with her feelings. This is not helped by the constant ‘pecking’ from her entitled and overindulged family members, who consistently make her feel like the poor relation due to her half-Chinese heritage. The only shining lights in this portion were Marion, Freddie and Mrs Zao, who considering were also extremely wealthy, acted like normal people. Although, I did catch myself laughing out loud at Cecil frequently, his stupidity did lend a certain comedic value.

That aside, I can see why Kwan has been such a hit. I enjoyed his writing style immensely and felt the slightly satirical prose flowed well making my actual reading of the story effortless. I have since ordered the CRA Trilogy and can’t wait to immerse myself in those, as I have seen many reviewers claim they are laugh out loud hilarious. Negative points notwithstanding, I would still highly recommend reading this book.

2.5 rounded up

Kevin Kwan's new novel, Sex and Vanity is a modern retelling of A Room with a View, however this time the story is set in the mid 10s, between 2014 and 2019 (as opposed to the early 1900s setting of the original), with Kwan keeping the location in Italy but relocating the story to Capri and the Amalfi Coast (as opposed to Florence). Fair warning though - this novel is also a bit of a hot mess in some ways, but I'd venture that if you enjoys Kwan's brand of writing in the Crazy Rich Asians: 1 series then you'll find something to enjoy here too.

I must admit that I haven't read the original novel, however after a cursory glance at its synopsis and a number of reviews it appears that this adaptation is pretty faithful to the original in terms of characters and plot... perhaps a little too faithful. The story feels a bit clumsy in some ways, and I think a fair bit of that comes down to this attempt at faithfulness to the original content: the characters, particularly Lucie and Charlotte in the earlier sections in Capri, speak like they've come straight out of an Austen novel on one page and are flustered by certain events (which I won't mention for fear of spoilers), then on the next they're using modern day expletives and acting in a totally different manner. The same can be said for specifically Lucie's personality - she's weirdly conservative and comes across as very naive earlier on, and feels like a half sketched imitation of a character.

That said, if you're looking for an easy, breezy, check-out-your-brain kind of read like I was when I picked this up, it'll tick most of the boxes. Later sections veered pretty closely to sounding like they were bonus chapters from the Crazy Rich Asians series, with vapid characters competing to sound the most rich and brash, fashionable and cool.

A modern retelling which probably won't please fans of the original, but entertained this reader for one sunny afternoon of reading under lockdown (and pretending I was in Capri too!).

What a joy this book was! A sexy and satirical prose that kept me engaged throughout the entire story. Can’t recommend the book enough!

While this doesn't have the freshness and breezy comedy of Crazy Rich Asians, it's another fun romance. Lucie is sweet but lacks the character of Rachel and there's no good reason for her original antagonism to gorgeous George. What I like about Kwan is that he sends up snobbery and excess while being fundamentally good-natured. I haven't read A Room With A View on which this is based but the story stands alone: cute and contemporary, a sunny, feel-good romance which left me with a smile on my face.