I loved this book. It’s so warm and fun.
It’s so magical and beautiful.
A perfect feel good read

This was a well written story about deep regrets, relationships between daughter and mother, and the will to want and push for what you want in life. A daughter traveling the world receives word that her mother has very suddenly passed away. She comes back home to the neighborhood she both loved and loathed. But her perceptions as a teen are different as an adult and as she gets to know the neighborhood and her neighbors again, she sees everything with new eyes.

Most surprising is her mother. As a teen, the daughter left deeply sad and upset her mother didn't support her dream to become a chef and own her own restaurant. Now, through journals and neighbors, she learns things she never knew of her mother.

It was interesting following her through learning about her mother, her family, but also seeing her neighbors in a new way. I thought the insights of the neighborhood and the shop owners really helped to bring the whole story alive. I loved the added recipes in the chapters and thought they all sounded good. I'm not a huge fan of magic realism but I thought it really helped the story develop and added depth and character. It was a good story.

This was actually a very endearing read. If you enjoy a story about a character discovering who they are and their purpose in life vicariously through the legacy left behind by family then you will enjoy this book. I enjoyed the incorporation of the Chinese culture and the in-depth look at the traditions and customs followed by Chinese communities. It was very interesting to read about. I even enjoyed the element of magical realism as it added charm to the story. I must say this is more woman's fiction than romance as the romance plays a small part in the story but an enjoyable surprise nonetheless.

Lovely book looking into the effects of grief with a little bit of magical fabulism. Full review to come on my blog soon

I love the setting of a chinese town area (?) I love this perspective. Even I am a chinese I've never been to any chinese town/street located in western countries so this is new for me, as well as really interesting. The plot is unique and well paced. I had a great time reading it!!!

Cute, fun, light, with lots of food. 10/10 would recommend. I'm looking forward to reading this author's next book.

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune is a sweet and endearing story. Having traveled the world for seven years, Natalie Tan returns home to San Fransisco to open a restaurant like the one her grandmother had in Chinatown. The problem is that Chinatown is not as thriving as it once was forcing Natalie into a somewhat harsh reality that dreams don't always just come true. She perseveres, however, and sets out to make her dream a reality as she works on her personal relationships as well.

If you love food, you really will like this book. There are recipes and talk about food throughout and you really do get a sense of how a community can be built around a common love of food. There were portions of the book that fell flat to me and I wondered why they were necessary at all. The "romance" didn't feel right at all and I'd have preferred that Natalie just concentrate on her goals. In general, this was an enjoyable read that could have used more "fleshing out."

Oh. This book.

I did not expect this book to sweep me off my feet the way it did.

I expected the touching depiction of grief and remorse, the deepest and special kind of regret you feel when you have a falling out with a loved one and you think “I will fix this when the time is right.” and then you never get the chance to do so. What I didn’t expect was how very deeply it would touch me.

And I didn’t expect how much the side characters would matter to me over time, how much I would care not only for the familial connections Natalie is going to discover and feel wrapped up in over the course of this book, but also how much her support network would wrap itself around my heart and would *squeeze* to the point where I would love a book about basically all of them and their back story.

The magic of the food and recipe book Natalie finds after returning to her family home was a beautiful extra bit of warmth and strength that made this book even stronger for me, and didn’t just leave me hungry, but also falling headfirst in all this *feeling* this book made me do so effortlessly.

The only thing that didn’t really work for me perfectly was the romantic subplot. It was sweet and engaging, but felt rushed and hazy around the edges. Part of it might be that I never really felt like I got a good grasp on Daniel, but part of it was also that they did not have enough page time and time to grow as a couple in order to really work for me emotionally. I can’t help it, I’m a romance reader. If there is a somewhat pronounced romantic subplot to the story, then I usually need it to be very well fleshed out and carefully developed in order to really love it. Otherwise I prefer the romance to not take up page time and be a central part of the main character’s development at all. Bt that is just me, and I know I have special and nitpicky standards when it comes to romantic stories, so I do not think it takes away from the general enjoyment of the novel for most readers.

All in all, this book surprised me in all the right ways, touched me in the most vulnerable parts behind my rib cage that hurt in all the best ways, and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

I liked this lovely book very much. I especially enjoyed the insights into Chinese culture. The writing is engaging and the characters are well-drawn and believable.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gorgeous, quirky book perfectly fitting into the magical realism genre.
Left me craving all the delicious food mentioned during this novel! Would definitely recommend this book and will read more from Roselle Lim in the future

A light, whimsical read. it tells the story of Natalie who returns home to San Francisco following the death of her mother. She has not been home for seven years, and in the interim much has changed in her neighbourhood. The story follows her attempt to open a restaurant, something she has been dreaming of for many years. There is much to love about this book - the emphasis on community and of the place of food in many cultures, and as a foodie I loved the fact that recipes were interwoven into the story. At times I felt like I could definitely taste and smell the food and boy did it make me hungry! If I was to criticise it it was perhaps because there was almost too much thrown in - the food element, romance and a bit of mysticism - which for me at times distracted from the story. Overall it was a fun, easy read and one I would definitely recommend, particularly to my foodie friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so set to adore this book – food mixed with family and community. This went into a completely different direction though, and for me not in a good way. As I wrote my thoughts in random points along the way I figured it would also be easiest to just write them out like that!

What Worked For Me

So Much Food! This was what I had signed up for, endless food! This story includes recipes in case you want to try and make some of the food yourself. I liked the idea of food being connected to magic.
There was a real sense of community in the neighbourhood, which I wished we had more of, as we sometimes got some snapshots of people that I wish had a more fleshed out appearance!
There is discussion of mental health in a variety of forms, along with the stigma that exists in certain communities and how it can affect one’s ability to find help. Other topics discussed are grief, family expectations, and commitment problems.

What Didn’t Work For Me

There were two types of writing style that were oddly mixed together – overall the style is quite contemporary, but then some sentences would suddenly be very poetical and lyrical, and for me the effect was jarring and pulled me out of the flow of the story.
The dialogue felt a bit unrealistic, as well as suffering from a lot of ‘Telling’ versus ‘Showing.
I know I always say I can do without romance, but if it’s done well I can enjoy it. I knew it was going to be a part of this story and I was ready to enjoy it. In this book the romance subplot doesn’t take priority over the plot, which is good, but it could have done with a lot more time spent on it. There were feelings and drama that was more realistic if they had known each other or dated for a while, compared to the few days in the book. That and some of the lines that the love interest comes out with just made me cringe.
There were no significant struggles – or at least no conflicts that lasted long enough, or were difficult enough to overcome to be significant. Whenever a problem showed up, there was a solution for it usually within a few pages… so I stopped being concerned about them.
I think Natalie, our main character, did have a back story, but the way it was included in the story felt like it was invented on the fly while writing. People or events were mentioned for the first time whenever it was relevant for the plot, rather than having been mentioned at least in passing at an earlier point in time. This lead to me being more and more confused as time went on, as I started to doubt whether I had missed something while reading. Some of this was slightly explained due to her forgetting some of the good memories from her youth, but what really made me frown the most was some of the things that happened while she was away from home, which could have been included at the start.

What I Am Undecided About

I haven’t decided exactly how I feel about the magic in this book. It has some magical fabulism mixed in – Natalie uses her food to try and change the fortunes of the people in her life, and she has a magical way of seeing the world. The food-magic I liked, though the effects could be slightly more subtle but that’s just me. The magic she sees in the world is where my doubt comes in – there doesn’t seem to be any rules as to whether only she is special, or if other people see things as well. Just when I thought I had it figured out, something would happen that would change the rules again. It could be that this type of fabulism fits with Chinese myths or superstition, in which case please let me know! That would explain a lot!

In the end I think this was a case of good idea for a plot, interesting magical fabulism but the way it was written and the execution of said plot just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Similar to the excitement of finding a new neighborhood eatery that you want to share with everyone you meet, this book was an absolute surprise and one that I cannot stop thinking about. I marveled in the cinematic qualities of the story told with such a realistic viewpoint that the bits of magic proved wondrous in their supposed simplicity. The plot was an enjoyable twisting ride, full of characters that genuinely made you feel connected. I am glad that the story was substantial enough to seriously handle the topics of anxiety and disappointment. Between the recipes and the cultural lens (make sure to check out actual erhu music!), I both learned from and gladly savored this novel.

I wanted to read this on cover alone and it did not disappoint! The story is based around Natalie who returns to San Francisco's Chinatown after seven years following the death of her mother.

I liked the characters for the most part and I liked that the book was so descriptive. I also loved that it included recipes which was a fun surprise!

The book was an easy read and a great debut.


Many thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a delightful book to read. I love how much food and luck was a part of the plot and the writing was just exquisite. I mean apart from all the amazing recipes that had my mouth watering. I love foody books and this is another I need to add to my list of favourites.
Thank you for the opportunity to read/review this before release.

When Natalie Tan receives the news that her mother has passed away, she returns to Chinatown, to the home that she fled years ago. Natalie wanted to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and open the restaurant that was beneath the apartment they lived in, but her mother wouldn't let her and did everything she could to discourage her from taking that path. So Natalie did what she did best and that was run away. She spent years traveling and taking odd jobs and while learning to become the cook she wanted to become. When she returned home after her mother's death, she finally has the opportunity she always dreamed of, but she is so used to running when things get hard that she will have to decide if it is worth settling down and making it work.

This book was so good. The recipes were mouth-watering. The storyline was fresh and kept me engaged and wanting to find out how it was all going to turn out. This book is definitely a must-read!

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie tan left home for cooking school. After flunking the course, she started travelling, which she never had a chance to do before because of her mom's agoraphobia. She always had to stay at home to care of her mom and never went out. Natalie still resents her neighbours for never helping her through that time. When she recieves a call from a lawer informing her about the death of her mother, she goes back home, after 7 years. This is a story about Natalie, Chinatown, her dream to own a restaurant and her relationship with her neighbours and family.

One of the problem I had with this book is that I can't understand what is literal and what is not. This isn't clear, is Natalie in a magical world or not? Ssomeone says something hurtful and suddenly there are wounds on her throat? The blood is coming out and her dress is a mess. I had to read it again to understand if he really hurt her physically. The birds flew away. The stone figurines. Flew away. In a non-magical world. And again i was confused if it was literally or figuratively

At the start, I didn't like the main character, Natalie. During the first half of the book, she was blaming others and the second half, blaming herself. Someone would be sneezing and the girst thought she would have was who to blame. Also, nothing is told about her past. She left her fiance on the alter. What was the reason? Why did she did it? Wanted to dnf by 65th page but went on.
This book made me think of the show Just add magic. A magical cookbook belonging to a grandmother and recipes for magical remedies (which go wrong).
Another confusion is that there is no reason given for the magic in the food. If we see "just add magic", they had magical ingredients which made the recipes magical. That was not the case here. There were normal ingredients but the end result wasn't normal. The only near enough reason was that natalie cooked from her heart, but there is an instance where she cooks from her heart but the recipes don't work. So, the magic is in the cookbook, but how did lao lao, the grandmother, got the cookbook then? Again nothing told about the past. This topic didn't make sense at all.

If logical aspects are swept aside, and you go through the first 80 pages or so, it can be an enjoyable read. That happy ending alone was worth reading the book.
One thing absolutely worth mentioning is the FOOD. That description was so elaborative, i could imagine the food in front of me. And yes, I did use google images for some of those dishes.
That lovely and sweet twist at the end was the best thing in the book (after the dishes).
I couldn't care less about Daniel, the "love interest". He had no importance to the story, and book would have been complete even without him. It felt like he was there just for the sake of it. To add romantic elements to the book.

I truly enjoyed this book: it's well written, engaging and entertaining.
I liked the cast of characters, the setting, the mouth watering recipes and loved the plot.
It's the perfect read for a lazy afternoon when you want to read something to make you escape.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The story is so heartwarming and sad at times. Natalie's character growth is my favourite part but I still wish she had contacted her ex-fiance and apologised for running away. For his sake more than hers because I think he deserves closure.
I loved the community aspect of the story and how much culture is important to it.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this one due to the themes of parental death and grief. I also didn't feel at all invested in the story or main character.