Lies and Weddings

A Novel

By: Kevin Kwan

Narrated by: Jing Lusi

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the iconic internationally bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy: A forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent tropical wedding in this outrageous comedy of manners.

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Lit Hub, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Reader's Digest, BookRiot, SheReads, PureWow, Publishers Weekly

"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

Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.

Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.

Can the once-great dukedom rise from the ashes? Or will a secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, reveal a shocking twist?

In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.

Read, not listen to this one

I got halfway through the audible before I had to jump ship, buy the Kindle version, and start over. The narrator's voices for the women make them all seem like frantic maniacs and her male voices are atrocious. I kept thinking this is absolutely not what Kevin Kwan would want. The voices were so distracting that it made it hard to distinguish one character from another and to keep up with the flashbacks. I loved the book overall and was much more enjoyable in print.

Fun, easy story; frustrating narrator

I read CRAZY RICH ASIANS and enjoy books like this. They’re fun, especially for summer or during a vacation. The story was a bit predictable but again, it’s fun. The one issue I had was with the narrator. I found her narration to be a bit choppy and overwrought. Maybe she was directed to read like that? Either way, it made for a trickier listen than I thought. I think I may have enjoyed reading it more than listening to it.

Insufferable narrator

I always enjoy Kevin Kwan’s stories. This is the fourth audio book I have listened to. But the halting way this narrator speaks and the accents are really hard to listen to. It detracts tremendously from the story. I don’t understand why they didn’t have Lydia Look back for this one. She was fantastic in the other stories.

Couldn’t finish

The narrator was horrid. I had to stop listening sadly, the story was fun but she was painful to listen to.

Lies and Weddings

Fun story but the audio was problematic. The crazier characters (Arabella, Freddy, Renee’s son) came across so much louder than all the other characters and plain narration. At times I had to turn the volume down for their dialogue because it was too loud, and turn it back up to hear the much softer narrations of the others.