Review: Women of Good Fortune

I love a good heist story and I also loved Crazy Rich Asians so when I heard about Sophie Wan’s debut novel, Women of Good Fortune, I was immediately intrigued. A bride and her friends come up with a plan to steal all of the red envelopes of cash from what promises to be THE wedding of the season? I was in! The novel was so much fun to read and had more depth than I was expecting. It’s definitely one to check out!

Here’s the book’s description:

Lulu has always been taught that money is the ticket to a good life. So, when Shanghai’s most eligible bachelor surprises her with a proposal, the only acceptable answer is yes, even if the voice inside her head is saying no. His family’s fortune would solve all her parents’ financial woes, but Lulu isn’t in love or ready for marriage.
The only people she can confide in are her two best friends: career-minded Rina, who is tired of being passed over for promotion as her biological clock ticks away; and Jane, a sharp-tongued, luxury-chasing housewife desperate to divorce her husband and trade up. Each of them desires something different: freedom, time, beauty. None of them can get it without money.
Lulu’s wedding is their golden opportunity. The social event of the season, it means more than enough cash gifts to transform the women’s lives. To steal the money on the big day, all they’ll need is a trustworthy crew and a brilliant plan. But as the plot grows increasingly complicated and relationships are caught in the cross fire, the women are forced to face that having it all might come at a steep price…

The story is told over the year or so leading up to Lulu and Harv’s wedding and each chapter counts down so you know just how long the women have to plan their heist. The chapters also alternate so the reader has the chance to get to know each woman - Lulu, Jane, and Rina. I liked the format but didn’t love it because, though I felt it allowed the reader to understand the women a little better, I don’t know if we ever got the most fulsome picture of each character. But I did think the tension increased with the countdown, especially when the reader realizes there’s not much time left and it doesn’t seem like things are going to work out.

As is often the case in a multi-narrated novel, I felt myself drawn to one character more than the others. In this instance, it was Rina. Lulu felt too two-dimensional (which is kind of a point of the story, which is all I’ll say about that) and Jane was…well, I’m not sure. She was hyper-focused on wanting to change her face with plastic surgery but wasn’t realizing that she had a lot of mental work to do. Work that may actually allow her to avoid going under the knife. I’m not judging her - we can never know someone’s true feelings, not even a fictional someone - but I think I got too fixated on the fact that she needed help before she’d be truly happy. I think Rina was just a little bit more formed and that was part of why I looked forward to her chapters more than the other two.

I’m sure I’ve said before that I sometimes struggle with the family dynamics in stories, particularly when the characters are from a culture different than my own. I respect that all cultures are different and truly enjoy reading about all kinds of families. I can never know - and don’t expect to know - what it’s like to live in China and have elders that deserve a different kind of respect and care than I’m used to (being a White woman living in Canada). I always chafe at the idea that someone (especially women) have to follow certain rules and obey others instead of having the life they actually want. Marriage and children aren’t for everyone and I can’t help but feel pushing a woman towards those things is an extremely outdated way of looking at the world. I try hard to let go of my particular viewpoint when I read these books but sometimes it’s hard, as it was with this novel when I was so frustrated with how Lulu was being treated in the months leading up to the wedding.

I did not have high hopes for the heist, I gotta be honest. The women were doing a lot of planning, I’ll give them that, but the reason for stealing the money felt so personal that I worried their feelings would get in the way of a successful mission. I found myself flipping through the last few chapters faster than the others because I was on the edge of my seat wondering if they’d be able to pull it off.

Women of Good Fortune was a really great read. There were some parts that could have used more work but overall I felt Sophie Wan’s debut offering was a solid one that I think a lot of people will enjoy. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by HTP Books via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*