Sex and Vanity

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The iconic author of the bestselling phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians returns with the glittering tale of a young woman who finds herself torn between two men.

On her very first morning on the jewel-like island of Capri, Lucie Churchill sets eyes on George Zao and she instantly can’t stand him. She can’t stand it when he gallantly offers to trade hotel rooms with her so that she can have a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea, she can’t stand that he knows more about Casa Malaparte than she does, and she really can’t stand it when he kisses her in the darkness of the ancient ruins of a Roman villa.

The daughter of an American-born Chinese mother and a blue-blooded New York father, Lucie has always sublimated the Asian side of herself, and she adamantly denies having feelings for George. But several years later, when George unexpectedly appears in East Hampton, where Lucie is weekending with her new fiancé, she finds herself drawn to him again. Soon, Lucie is spinning a web of deceit that involves her family, her fiancé and ultimately herself, as she tries to deny George entry into her world – and her heart.

Moving between summer playgrounds of privilege, peppered with decadent food and extravagant fashion, Sex and Vanity is a truly modern love story, a daring homage to A Room with a View, and a brilliantly funny comedy of manners set between two cultures.

PEOPLE WATCHING HAS NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN.

©Kevin Kwan 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

Delightful ... complete with designer outfits, glamorous parties, and exotic locations.
Independent BEST BOOKS OF 2020
Sex and Vanity scores high on all intended fronts; the opening half, set in Capri, is bathed in sunshine and sexual tension. The novel reads like travel porn, listing the island's best and lesser-known sights, places to eat, stay and drink. And then there is the story of Lucie Tang Churchill, a biracial New York princess from the Upper East Side, attending an eye-wateringly extravagant wedding.
Guardian
Sex and Vanity is basically your PERFECT SUMMER READ. Set in Capri, New York & the Hamptons, the location descriptions are so evocative you will feel like you're there. The characters bounce around the globe engaging in pretty much the binary opposite of social distancing so a double win for this delicious, delightful romp.
Daily Mail
This satirical romp through the gilded lives of the international super-rich is laugh-out-loud funny, with all the crackle you'd expect from the author of Crazy Rich Asians, plus a tender love story at its heart.
Sunday Mirror
Sex and Vanity, another decadent romance novel by Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan ... [is] the perfect summer read.
You Magazine
Effervescent, grand cru escapism. All the playful Kwan hallmarks are present and correct. Sex and Vanity may poke plenty of fun at the moral iniquities of the impossibly wealthy but it's also astute on the racism that can exist within Asian families as well as without.
Metro
Delicious and delightful, I adored it.
Daily Mail
As fizzy and refreshing as a peach Bellini.
Best
A whip-smart homage to EM Forster's A Room With A View, but with designer outfits, lavish parties and Instagram.
Sunday Express
With a warm love story at its heart, Sex and Vanity is also a satire on the rich and privileged that you'll devour in one gulp.
Heat Magazine

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