Book Club Questions for Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

This post contains links to products that I may receive compensation from at no additional cost to you. View my Affiliate Disclosure page here.

Book club questions for Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan take a closer look at this entertaining novel about love, money and family secrets. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.

I so enjoyed Lies and Weddings! It truly made me laugh at loud and I grew quite fond of many of the characters. This is definitely a story I can see working well on the big screen one day for sure.

Let me know what you think about the book in the comments section below!

The Synopsis

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?

Book Club Questions for Lies and Weddings

1. The story starts off with a prologue set in Hong Kong in 1995. After proposing to his girlfriend, Henry is assaulted by a man named Roger and dies. Why was it important to include this section and how did it impact the story going forward?
2. Thomas and his daughter Eden are the neighbors to Francis and Arabella Gresham, the Earl and Countess of Greshamsbury. Let’s talk about why Thomas stayed so close to Francis for all these years.
3. Eden is an extremely down to earth doctor. Despite her proximity to the Gresham’s wealth and status, she has no interest in it—she views Rufus, Augusta and Bea as just her close friends. What were your thoughts of Eden as a whole?
4. Rufus has been in love with Eden for ages, but he can never get around to telling her. Why was he so hesitant? And on the same note, why do you think it took Eden so long to realize she shared the same feelings?
5. Arabella serves as an antagonist in many ways. She’s very money and status hungry and can be cruel to everyone, especially her children and Eden. Why was Arabella so blinded by those superficial elements? How did her internalized racism play a role in how she perceived herself and others around her?
6. By the end of the book, do you feel she learned anything or is she pretty much the same character as before?
7. Why do you think Francis hid the fact his family was going broke?
8. We eventually learn that Eden is actually the daughter of Henry, Thomas’ brother and the one we read about in the prologue. Eden’s mother fled Hong Kong after Henry’s death and ran into Thomas on accident, but when she was dealing with dire news—advanced cancer. Let’s talk about all these revelations.
9. Why did Thomas withhold the truth from Eden for so long?
10. While Arabella is so cruel to Eden about her lack of wealth, the big twist is that after Roger passes away and his son overdoes, Eden is left with Roger’s massive fortune. What were your thoughts about this big twist?
11. Do you think Eden and Rufus are a good match? What does their future look like?
12. This novel takes the reader on plenty of exotic and scenic locations. Which one was your favorite?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Lies and Weddings! Here are some more recommendations and links to book club questions here.

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 and they are caught by her snobbish, disapproving cousin Charlotte.

The daughter of an American-born Chinese mother and a blue-blooded New York father, Lucie has always sublimated the Asian side of herself in favor of the white side, 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, Lucie finds herself drawn to George again.

Soon, Lucie is spinning a web of deceit that involves her family, her fiancé, the co-op board of her Fifth Avenue apartment building, and, ultimately, herself as she tries mightily 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.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
 
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
 
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
 
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

Happy reading!