Publishers Weekly
02/05/2024
Kwan (Sex and Vanity) returns with another irresistible comedy of manners driven by marriage plots. Lady Augusta Gresham, daughter of the “self-absorbed” Arabella Gresham, is slated to marry Prince Maximillian zu Liechtenburg at a luxe Hawaiian resort. The ceremony is briefly delayed by a volcano eruption, then marred by each family’s discovery of the other’s mountainous debt. Most distressing to Arabella, however, is the unwelcome news that her son, Rufus, has fallen in love with the comparatively modest Eden Tong, a doctor, rather than wealthy Solène de Courcy, whom Arabella had invited to her daughter’s wedding in hopes of matching Rufus with Solène and thus securing her family’s welfare. The various festivities allow Kwan to indulge in his flair for vivid party scenes, such as a ball staged in an ice palace built with “frozen blocks filled with flowers and hauntingly lit so that the petals seemed suspended in space.” Kwan also delivers on his reputation for breezy prose, encyclopedic references to art and haute couture, and quick-witted dialogue laced with Cantonese. The author’s fans will devour this. (May)
From the Publisher
An irresistible tale of eye-popping glamour and shocking deception. . . This romantic romp circles the globe, hitting luxury locations and high comic notes in classic Kwan style.”
—People
"A hilarious, richly detailed family affair that takes place around the world, from Hawaii to Venice to Los Angeles to the English countryside."
—Megan McCluskey and Olivia B. Waxman, Time
"The author of Crazy Rich Asians returns with another beach-ready confection starring pampered people in designer clothing behaving badly — this time at a decadent Hawaiian wedding where secrets erupt with the force and heat of lava."
—New York Times
"More globe-trotting high jinks among the wealthy from the author of Crazy Rich Asians."
—Washington Post
"This novel is vintage Kwan and this time we take a hilarious dive into the Anglo-Asian billionaire scene which is populated with fierce Chinese moms, power-mad aunties, penniless English Lords, fabulous weddings, stately homes and too many secrets to mention. Imagine Crazy Rich Asians mated with Saltburn and you've got Lies and Weddings—a heavenly summertime read!"
—Plum Sykes, New York Times best-selling author of Bergdorf Blondes
“Known for his style, humor, and love of decadence, Kevin Kwan's latest novel follows Rufus Gresham, the future Earl of Greshambury, and the owner of a whole lot of debt. It doesn't take long before his scheming mother comes up with a plan—win the heart of a women with money at his sister's luxe wedding, duh! . . . But when a volcanic eruption exposes his family's true intentions, can the family rise again from the ashes or will a secret tragedy hidden for over 20 years reveal a shocking twist?”
—Chaise Sanders, Cosmopolitan
“[A] sly, hilarious comedy of manners about the high class, the low class, and the rich with no class....Kwan dishes out another juicy, satire-tinged romp about the lives of the opulent class with aplomb. The characters behave to the standard his fans have come to expect [and] the third-person omniscient narrative voice follows each character's movements with the chattiness of a gossip columnist....Readers hungry for an escapist tale with a soupçon of social criticism and a dash of true love overcoming obstacles should find Lies and Weddings a delicious diversion.”
—Shelf Awareness
"Kevin Kwan...is back with another page-turner of a romance."
—Book Riot
"The author of international sensation Crazy Rich Asians has returned with a new story you won’t be able to put down....A sprawling, globe-trotting adventure, filled with deceit, murder, love and humor."
—SheReads
“In [Lies and Weddings], Kwan continues to wrap fairy-tale love stories in glitz, glamour, couture, fine art, and delicious wit….Still more brilliant escapism among Kwan’s 1 percenters. Too much is never enough.”
—Kirkus (starred)
“Kwan returns with another irresistible comedy of manners….[Lies and Weddings] allow[s] Kwan to indulge in his flair for vivid party scenes [and he] delivers on his reputation for breezy prose, encyclopedic references to art and haute couture, and quick-witted dialogue laced with Cantonese. The author's fans will devour this.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Rollicking...Delightful...Like every Kwan novel, Lies and Weddings is chock-full of scheming characters and breathtakingly lavish scenes....Kwan remains a cheekily hilarious writer....I drank this book up like the chilled bottles of Sancerre these characters are constantly drinking. Pure pleasure.”
—BookPage
"Kwan mines the trials and tribulations of the uberwealthy to great effect in this winning, modern-day comedy of manners...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."
—Booklist
“Kwan is back and better than ever....From the beaches of Hawaii to Marrakech, and Los Angeles to England’s oldest family estates, Kwan’s latest is a juicy and hilarious story of love, money, murder and sex.”
—PureWow
"Kwan took us to Singapore in Crazy Rich Asians, and he’s whisking us away to Hawaii, Marrakech and the English countryside in Lies and Weddings....A hilarious tale of love, lies, sex and money."
—Readers Digest
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-01-20
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.
