Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Apr 27, 2023 Blaine rated it liked it

Shelves: 2023, from-library

Eddie looked around the corner to see if any of the maids were skulking nearby. There were so many goddamn maids everywhere, no one had any privacy to steal a thing in this house.
…
Oliver had always existed among the world’s point-one percent crowd, and very few people understood the special hell of having to live in a world where every single person around you was staggeringly rich but you were not.

Rich People Problems takes place about two years after the end of China Rich Girlfriend. Nicholas

Eddie looked around the corner to see if any of the maids were skulking nearby. There were so many goddamn maids everywhere, no one had any privacy to steal a thing in this house.
…
Oliver had always existed among the world’s point-one percent crowd, and very few people understood the special hell of having to live in a world where every single person around you was staggeringly rich but you were not.

Rich People Problems takes place about two years after the end of China Rich Girlfriend. Nicholas Young’s grandmother, Su Yi, is dying, and Rachel convinces him to return to Singapore to reconcile with her after the still-unresolved events of the trilogy’s first book, Crazy Rich Asians. Of course, while we know his intentions are pure, he is joined by all of his relatives, most of whom are angling to increase their inheritance and attempt to be the one to inherit the family multi-billion dollar family estate, Tyersall Park. Meanwhile, Astrid and Charlie are in love, and planning to marry, but both are still in the process of painful, public divorces. Finally, Kitty Pong has married again, and is again learning that it takes more than money to be accepted by Singapore’s elite.

As with China Rich Girlfriend, a plot summary makes Rich People Problems sound more linear than it is. In reality, the story meanders, with so many characters and plot lines that none can get much attention for very long. The idea of conspicuous consumption is again front and center, though there’s a subplot about one character living beyond their means within this world that was interesting. And there’s another idea floated about the way Singapore is changing, losing its unique charm, that I would have liked to hear more about.

Su Yi is a much better character here than in the first book (or movie), humanized with a backstory and no longer the villainous obstacle. Cousin Oliver has a larger role here, which is great. Eddie does too, which would be good except his character has morphed from funny terrible into just terrible. In the end, Rich People Problems—and the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy as a whole—focuses on three arcs. The primary one is Rachel and Nick, which makes perfect sense, especially if you come to the books from the movie. The second is Astrid, who gets the most complete character growth over the three books. However, her story in this book is a bit muddled by two weaknesses: Charlie’s inexplicable willingness to keep his ex in his life, and Michael’s inexplicable anger at Astrid for pursuing the divorce he wanted first. Finally, there’s Kitty, and her arc is the one that’s lacking. She doesn’t seem terribly important in the first book, her arc in this last book is much too similar to the one in the middle book, and Colette isn’t in this book enough to serve as a convincing foil.

Rich People Problems is like China Rich Girlfriend, not bad but ultimately a bit disappointing. Still, there’s enough story here that—if they ever film the sequels—this book could make for a great movie.

Buddy read with Kathy. ...more

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Apr 17, 2025 Zoë rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, series, favourite-covers, borrowed-books, contemporary, diverse-reads, audiobook, squad-goals, every-country-challenge, begrudgingly-loved-it

4.5 ✨ I didn't expect this to be my favorite book in the series, but here we are. I really really enjoyed the emotional depth in this installment compared to the previous two, and Su Yi's backstory was very fascinating. (I did a lot of googling while reading this.)

There were only a couple things that kinda disappointed me: (view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 27, 2018 Sheryl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: all-about-love, i-own-this, make-believe, 2018

I enjoyed reading this final installment. It hits close to home same as with the other 2 books. Characters are horrendously hilarious if not bordering to annoying. Logic is all twisted as family "tries" to protect family or their so called "reputation."

2018 Around the Year in 52 Books: A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends - 8/52 ...more

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