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.*

Review: Today Tonight Forever

I requested Today Tonight Forever, Madeline Kay Sneed's second novel, on a bit of a whim. It sounded interesting but I knew absolutely nothing about her writing. I am so glad I took a chance on this book. I read it slowly and in small bits, mostly because life is, you know, life, but it's easily a book I could have curled up with on a weekend and devoured.

Here’s the book’s description:

When thirty-three-year-old Athena Matthias is asked, yet again, to be a bridesmaid, she’s not exactly enthusiastic about the idea. Still reeling from a messy divorce from her wife, she’s never felt less inclined to celebrate love. But Athena can't say no, especially to one of her oldest friends, and at least it's a destination wedding, which means three days of sun and sand.
As the wedding weekend commences on the gorgeous beaches of Watercolor, Florida, for the first time in ages, Athena finds herself surrounded by people who know and love her. There’s the bride, nervous about an old relationship; a groomsman grappling with a big mistake; Athena’s mother, ready to date again; and even a potential new romantic interest.
But just as Athena begins to feel herself opening up again, an unexpected guest from the past throws the entire wedding party into chaos. By the time the cake is cut and the ultimate betrayal is revealed, Athena must find the courage to forgive—both others and herself—and embrace the beauty of a chance to move forward.

The novel follows a number of characters who are at Daisy's wedding. It starts as Athena arrives in Watercolor on the day of the rehearsal and ends with her at the reception. In between, we get to see how many (many) characters are dealing with this happy event. It’s possible that some readers may think there were too many characters telling their story during Daisy’s wedding weekend. Personally, I really liked getting all of their perspectives. They all had different views on the wedding and had different emotions about it. (And there were a lot of emotions.) And when I say many characters, let me just break it down for you. We had chapters from Athena, Daisy, Leo (Athena's brother and Daisy's ex), Mollie (Athena and Leo's mom), Deacon (Daisy's brother and Athena's best friend), and Sydnee (Athena's ex-wife). Whew! But I really did enjoy all their perspectives and what they brought to the story.

I also really appreciated how Sneed wove in all of the characters’ perspectives to the narrative. There are only the tiniest of overlaps, where you get to experience a particular moment from multiple characters’ viewpoints. Otherwise, each character moves the story forward during the wedding weekend. It’s one of those things that seems simple but absolutely would not have been easy to do and it was, in my opinion, masterfully done by Sneed.

Weddings always bring a lot of drama to a story, which I love. This wedding was no different. There were exes and new flirtations. There were best friends who hadn’t been as present as they should be. There were family members who were trying to finally emerge from the deepest part of their grief. It was a lot but absolutely perfect for the story.

A wedding may be at the centre of this story but this is not a book about romantic love. We’re happy, of course, that Daisy has found the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. But what holds the reader’s interest are the friendships and the familial relationships. The way Sneed writes these relationships got me right in the feels and I felt like I was right there in Watercolor with the wedding guests. I wanted to cheer them on, offer a shoulder to cry on, and buy them a glass of their favourite drink. As hard as some of the emotions were, it was so great to feel them right alongside the characters.

I really liked Today Tonight Forever and recommend you add Madeline Kay Sneed’s novel to your TBR. It’s full of characters you can’t help but care about and will hit you with every emotion under the sun but you’ll be left feeling hopeful. But also a little sad that you’ve finished such a great novel.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, HTP Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Messy Lives of Book People

Look at this cover! Is it any wonder I needed to read The Messy Lives of Book People? I hadn’t read any of Phaedra Patrick’s books before, but I was enchanted by the description, title, and, yes, the cover of her latest book. The story itself didn’t quite live up to my expectation but I enjoyed my time reading it.

Here’s the book’s description:

Have you ever wished you were someone else?
Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, megabestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.
But when Essie dies suddenly, a devastated Liv is astonished to learn of her last wish: for Liv to complete Essie's final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie's shoes, and as Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women--one that will change Liv's own story forever...

The older I get, the more I appreciate reading about characters who aren’t twentysomething women. I’m not a mother, of course, but I’m also not fresh out of school and making my way in the world on my own for the first time. So, I appreciated reading Liv’s story even more because it wasn’t her first rodeo either. She had lived but she still had so many life experiences and changes ahead of her.

The premise of this was really intriguing – a booklover working for her favourite author? Who then tasks her to finish her novel? I couldn’t help but wonder how I would have handled that. Probably not much better than Liv, to be honest. Still, I found myself wondering what the hell Liv was thinking with some of her decisions. There was maybe a little too much reliance on secrets and not fully communicating with other characters that made it hard for me to really get behind some of Liv’s actions. I couldn’t understand the reason for all the secrecy or why she was refusing to talk to those close to her – it’s was like in romances when SO MUCH could have been avoided if the love interests had just TALKED to each other. Conflict for the sake of conflict, you know?

One of the things that kept me reading was, in fact, those secrets. There were a few that were hidden to the reader and revealed at the end and holy man I didn’t see it coming. Was it a bit too convenient? Oh, maybe. But it worked with the rest of the story and how kind of sort of unbelievable it was.

The Messy Lives of Book People didn’t thrill me but I was delighted enough that I’ll be searching out Phaedra Patrick’s backlist and next novel.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Honeybee Emeralds

I have to give a huge shoutout to my friend Heather from The Maritime Reader for putting The Honeybee Emeralds on my radar. I had been struggling with picking a new audiobook and she let me know that an advanced listening copy of Amy Tector’s novel was available to request on NetGalley. I am so, so, so glad she did because I loved this book. It had everything I like all rolled into one amazing package. Gah, so good!

Here’s the book’s description:

Alice Ahmadi has never been certain of where she belongs. When she discovers a famed emerald necklace while interning at a struggling Parisian magazine, she is plunged into a glittering world of diamonds and emeralds, courtesans and spies, and the long-buried secrets surrounding the necklace and its glamorous former owners.
When Alice realizes the mysterious Honeybee Emeralds could be her chance to save the magazine, she recruits her friends Lily and Daphne to form the “Fellowship of the Necklace.” Together, they set out to uncover the romantic history of the gems. Through diaries, letters, and investigations through the winding streets and iconic historic landmarks of Paris, the trio begins to unravel more than just the secrets of the necklace’s obsolete past. Along the way, Lily and Daphne’s relationships are challenged, tempered, and changed. Lily faces her long-standing attraction to a friend, who has achieved the writing success that eluded her. Daphne confronts her failing relationship with her husband, while also facing simmering problems in her friendship with Lily. And, at last, Alice finds her place in the world—although one mystery still remains: how did the Honeybee Emeralds go from the neck of American singer Josephine Baker during the Roaring Twenties to the basement of a Parisian magazine?

I mentioned at the top that this story had everything I like. There was a mystery, a historical element, and a hint of romance. And the fact that the mystery surrounded a piece of artwork (because, yes, the craftsmanship of the necklace made it a work of art)? Oh, yes. I was into it. And even with all of that going on, the story worked! I felt that Tector handled each thread masterfully and I never felt like there was too much stuffed into one story.

The story is told from multiple perspectives, which I loved. Alice, Lily, and Daphne all have chapters of their own. There are a few historical sections as well that help explain the necklace’s background without giving too much away too soon. And sometimes the reader gets in the head of the magazine’s long time office manager, too. (I can’t, for the life of me, remember her name and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to spell it properly anyway. *face palm*) Each woman is so very different but they manage to connect with each other and learn from one another.

The narrator, Lameece Issaq, was great. I was a bit put off by some of her accents but eventually I got over it (and it’s possible that some of the issues were because I was listening to this audiobook at 2x speed which can distort things a little). There was the odd time I felt like she hadn’t quite come out of one accent before going into another when characters were speaking to each other. But there were a lot of accents to master – Alice was from Yorkshire, Daphne, Lily, and Jacob were American (thankfully without strong accents), Luc and the office manager were French, and Alexander was Icelandic. But Issaq’s voice while reading the rest of the story, dialogue aside, was a delight and I probably could have listened to her all day.

Both Heather and I love reading Canadian authors so that’s part of what drew us to this book. The story may not be set in our fine country but I’m here for supporting Canadian authors, especially ones I may not have heard of before. And now that I have read Tector’s work? I cannot wait for her next book.

I wouldn’t really know where to begin if asked to describe The Honeybee Emeralds. But I would say that I highly recommend Amy Tector’s novel. I enjoyed every second of it and it is, so far, on my list of top three favourite books of 2022!

*An advanced audio listening copy was provided by the publisher, Dreamscape Media, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*