I really wanted to get into this read but I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't connect with the characters maybe I'll try to revisit this read at another time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC! I was intrigued by the premise when I saw this was available. A Pride and Prejudice retelling, set in NYC’s Chinatown and in the early aughts? It sounded tailor made for my millennial heart! This book had a strong start but unfortunately the middle of the book slow down (which happens in the source material) was significant. It took me a long time to finish. I think where Good Fortune fails is that it tried to become a romcom whereas P&P is really more of a comedy of manners and family story with romantic elements. But it wasn’t just that. I found the writing plodding and failed to deliver on its charming premise. If you’re looking for a creative, finely crafted P&P retelling set within an ethnic enclave, I recommend Uzma Jalaluddin.

This was such a fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I liked how the author took such a classic story and gave it hwr own special twist. A Chinese family, in Chinatown New York, in the 1990s. I especially loved how sassy Elizabeth was and the banter between her and her sisters, her mother, and of course, Mr. Darcy. A great read for anyone who loves a retelling.

I requested this because if the description. I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice but I have wanted to for a long time now. I’m glad I chose this, it was fun, witty, and well written! It is also a huge plus that it’s a story told from an ethnic perspective.
I also loved that community was a big theme throughout this story, because in todays world especially in large cities like NY, the concept can get lost.

This Pride and Prejudice retelling follows Elizabeth Chen as navigates expectations from her family, community, and just a coming-of-age. The book is set in the 90's in NYC. Elizabeth tries hard to save a local community center that has been in her neighborhood for a long time until Darcy Wong comes into the picture.

This book touches on the difference within a culture and how classes are viewed. The story does a good job of following Elizabeth as she moves through trying to find out who she is within her own culture and the culture of her community.

I love Pride and Prejudice retellings. Chau did a good job with the story and putting a modern-day spin on it.

great book wow. recommend having nothing else to do but read for a day or 2. the character development was great as as well as the plot.

I'd just declared that I'm tired of Jane Austen retellings and here comes Chau with what is probably the most enjoyable one I've ever read. It's Pride and Prejudice in Aughts (early 2000s) New York with an (at least to me) very authentic Chinese-American spin.
Elizabeth Chen lives with her four sisters and parents in a tiny apartment in Chinatown, where they've lived for years as a messy, noisy, mostly happy family. She's a fierce defender of her neighborhood's character and is worried it will get destroyed when investors buy out the run-down rec center that gave her and her family so much support over the years. Then she meets the young investors, and one Darcy Wong arrives to add some excitement to her life.
The way that it follows the plot and big points of the original while being wholly new and modern is impressive. The fact that Chau translated the social class and cultural elements expertly from Austen's England to modernist Chinatown in New York is beyond impressive because it feels both familiar and new. The characters and situations feel like comfortable old favorites, but they read like a new story that I was excited to follow.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for the very fun read!

Good Fortune is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice in New York City Chinatown. Elizabeth Chen is the second oldest of five daughters and is trying to find a career that matches her morals and save her community from huge external changes to the neighborhood. Darcy Wong is a real estate mogul who is working to update the community center in Elizabeth's neighborhood. This the fourth Pride and Prejudice retelling that I have read, all of which had differences in the depicted cultures. I like reading retellings of classic literature and was excited to read this one!

I think that Good Fortune did a great job of balancing new material and sticking to the general plot beats of the original book. It's hard to combine snappy dialogue, memorable characters, a good setting, swoony romance, AND have it feel like an actual reimagining instead of "loosely inspired." This felt like an actual retelling that felt new in a lot of areas. I liked the reimagining of the side characters and found the romances engaging.. I was really interested to see how Elizabeth and Darcy would get together, and that is not something that I feel very often!

One thing that I think the book did much better than the other modern retellings that I have read is that it really created a sense of community in where the characters lived outside of their homes and families. Elizabeth caring about what happened to the community center and the characters' ties to the community center and neighborhood in general made it feel like Elizabeth existed in a different social sphere instead of just a different family situation to Darcy. I understood her not wanting to move away and her resistance to people who don't understand the community coming in and wanting to make changes. This made sense to me in a way that some other retellings don't.

It wasn't super clear to me that this book was set in the 90s. I started out thinking that it was contemporary, but then a Tamagochi is mentioned on that page. Characters use landlines and someone mentions having a pager, which made me revise my understanding of the setting about halfway through. I wish it had been a bit more clear about when the book was set so I didn't feel as much like a bewildered historian throughout my read.

As with a lot of retellings, the plot fell a little flat for me. I liked the changes, but it was really similar to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries in terms of updating the marriage proposals to jobs and Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal in terms of the time period (90s or early 2000s). This book was definitely different from both of those retellings, but the changes didn't engage me as much as I was the first time I experienced them in those other forms of media.

Overall, I really enjoyed this retelling and recommend it to anyone who wants a new perspective on Pride and Prejudice! 3.75 stars from me rounded up to 4. Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book; my thoughts are my own!

Good Fortune by C.K. Chau is a modern day retelling of 'Pride and Prejudice' set in a modern day Chinatown in New York. I love pride and Prejudice so went into this with high expectations. A lot of the same elements are there; girl meets arrogant boy, they don't like each other, drama ensues, etc. However, I was bored through most of it. The book didn't catch my attention like I was hoping it would. While I may not have enjoyed it, I can definitely see where others might.

"Good Fortune" by C.K. Chau is a captivating and thought-provoking adult novel that explores themes of identity, culture, and the complexities of pursuing one's dreams in the face of societal expectations. Chau's storytelling skill shines as they craft a tale of self-discovery, family dynamics, and the pursuit of happiness. The book's well-drawn characters and resonant plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with readers interested in multicultural stories and women's fiction. Chau skillfully delves into the emotions of ambition, tradition, and the delicate balance between personal desires and cultural obligations, adding depth to the narrative. "Good Fortune" is a poignant reminder that finding one's true path often requires navigating the intersections of tradition and modernity, leaving readers with a sense of reflection and a renewed appreciation for the power of individual choices and the complexities of cultural heritage.

DNF @ 16%
I was having an extremely hard time getting into the writing and have not had any desire to pick this one up in about a month so I made the decision to DNF. I may come back to it at some point, we shall see.

I’m a huge Pride and Prejudice fan and I don’t think this worked well as a retelling, at all. I think this will be enjoyable to a lot of people, but not for me. Sorry.

I'm always really interested to pick up any Jane Austen retelling with a really original twist, ESPECIALLY P&P. With it being my favorite Austen novel, there's a lot to live up to here. Good Fortune absolutely did. From the beginning, I was absolutely absorbed by the quick witted dialog and the way I immediately fell in love with our Elizabeth. I also feel that the Chinese American influences, especially in the atmosphere of the iconic Chinatown really took the reins of the story and made it its own. And of course, the Elizabeth and Darcy romance is perfect, true to its source.

A strong debut by C.K. Chau! I was intrigued by the Pride and Prejudice-retelling angle of this, and enjoyed the explorations around family, social class, and romantic relationships. Also love that it's set in New York's Chinatown.

A confession: I don’t really like Jane Austen novels. To be fair, I’ve seemed to only have read Pride & Prejudice and the many retellings. Good Fortune is another retelling but with a NYC Chinatown spin.

I actually liked the updated Darcy and Elizabeth characters. I thought they had a fun and witty dynamic. The other sisters I liked less so but I appreciated the family dynamic as a whole. This seems to be so close to the actual P&P and I’d have loved for it to be more loosely based.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for this eARC. Good Fortune is out now.

I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to read this book. It is clever and as others have stated witty in its dialogue and this comes from someone who lives for dialogue in a book rather than over explanation of the surroundings. I enjoyed this book and would recommend to others.

This is a very cute retelling of Pride and and Prejudice but I feel the need to disclose the fact that I have never read Jane Austen’s P&P. I have tried 3 different times throughout my life (once in my teens, once in my 30’s, and again in my early 40’s) and I’ve put it down all 3 times. After reading Good Fortune, however, I’ll be giving it another try!
Set in the mid-noughties in NYC, Elizabeth Chen is the second oldest of 5 sisters and the one her parents worry about the most, despite her youngest sister being an aspiring model. This is because unlike her older sister who is in medical school, Elizabeth is perfectly happy working at a photo processing store and volunteering at the local community center. When the center is sold to a development group, Elizabeth worries it will change for the worse and sets her sights in making sure that doesn’t happen- even though that means having to deal with the irascible Darcy Wong. This book takes us on a year of Elizabeth’s life filled with anger, annoyance, laughter, and love.
I found this to be a fun take on Pride and Prejudice, but I know I would have gotten more out of it had I read the original first. I’ll be jumping into it today, though! Thank you to C.K. Chau and HaperVia for an advanced copy. This hit the shelves on July 11th.

Book Description:
Elizabeth Chen, affectionately known as LB, lives with her four sisters and parents in a tiny New York apartment. The favorite daughter of her father, Vincent, Elizabeth spends her time trying to better her community while fending off the well-meaning meddling of her mother, Jade. Enter the affluent Mr. Darcy Wong and his friend, Brendan Lee, and Mrs. Chen is laser-focused on furthering her daughters' futures.

My thoughts:
C.K. Chau has reimagined Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, highlighting Chinese culture and the challenges faced by minority communities. It was fun reading Chau's interpretation of Austen's characters, and just like the beloved inspiration, I adored the tension and interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy!

Read if you like:
• Pride and Prejudice
• Diverse reads
• Strong female MC

This was a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in NYC’s Chinatown with the Chen family. I think this retelling stuck too close to the source material and I would’ve preferred a twist or something more unique than being in NYC. Also, it was just too long. The characters were entertaining.

A compelling reworking of Pride and Prejudice, set in contemporary New York's Chinatown, with Elizabeth Chen, whose mother sells the rundown community center to developer Darcy Wong. Perfect for Janeites who love P & P variations with multicultural wit, flair, charm.