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.

I really enjoyed this read. It had the right amount of characters I loved and those who got on my nerves. I loved seeing the cultural difference of the Elizabeth's family and Darcy's They are both Asian but cultural different because of their economics and where they were raised. I couldn't but this down. This is a cute summer read.

Super cute version of pride and prejudice. Some parts started off slow in the beginning and I love the themes of the Chinatown community center and connections to one’s neighborhood. Lydia was as usual an annoying character, but def recommend as a lighter read.

TLDR: This was a super charming retelling and the ways Chau brought the story into the 2000s was lovely, but some elements of the adaptation were more successful than others.

Good Fortune is such a lovely story! Some retellings lean too heavily into the mythology of the original story, but Chau’s versions of our favorite sisters felt real and textured. The story was super grounded in the setting of early 2000s New York City Chinatown. Rather than just a 2D set in the background, the setting played an integral role in the story and deepened our understanding of the characters.

The way 1813 social conventions were translated were clever. Chau updated and transformed the marriage mart into the expectations of marriage and career success that immigrant parents can have of their children. Romantic relationships were sometimes preserved and sometimes made business relationships instead, when appropriate. Everyone’s jobs and desires made a lot of sense with both the original characters and the new setting.

That said, I do think that there were scenes that would have been made stronger if they stuck less strictly to the original story. While, as a fan of P&P, I loved recognizing the scaffolding of the source material (and sometimes even nearly identical dialogue!), some of the Regency Era tension was less impactful in the modern setting. I found myself putting down the book at times because it felt too slow, and I realized the tension was too weak to adequately propel me forward in some sections.

In contrast, places where Chau deviated from the source material felt very impactful. The main deviation is that where the Bennetts, while facing uncertain futures, are still upper-middle class, the Chens are living month to month and constantly needing to stretch their money further. This precariousness gives Jade Chen (Mrs. Bennet) a more reasonable basis for the urgency she feels at seeing her daughters successfully fly the coop, despite her embarrassing social climber behavior. It seems that Chau might even be poking fun at Austen’s inherent class assumptions (and as much as I love Austen, let’s be real here) and it’s totally effective.

Lizzie’s passion for and commitment to her community adds a lot to her character (which I think is necessary for this contemporary version, since OG Lizzie has a lot of strong opinions but no aspirations) and also adds to the conflict between her and Darcy in the first half. His role in potentially ruining the rec center Lizzie hopes to save makes their class differences feel more tangible than just him having nice stuff and her living in a tiny apartment. It puts their entire experiences in opposition and Darcy’s values under question, which makes the tension between the two stronger, but Chau also manages to justify most of this while resolving their dislike, without making Darcy out to be a terrible person.

This book so quirky, so incredible as a journey! Thank you for this ARC ! I feel as if I was a part of the story on every page. #goodfortune #netgalley

4.5 stars

As a long time Jane Austen fan, I’ve re-read her most popular (and well-known) novel Pride and Prejudice more times than I can count since encountering it for the first time back in 8th grade (don’t ask me how long ago that was, lol). Given how much I love P&P (it’s definitely one of my favorite novels of all time), I’ve always been extremely wary of any books that attempt to retell or reimagine the classic in any way, shape, or form — that is to say, I try to avoid reading any retellings as much as possible. With that said, there are occasions (albeit rare) where I’m drawn to a book precisely because of its P&P and/or Austen adjacent angle and end up really glad that I decided to give the book a chance due to how much I enjoyed the experience. C.K. Chau’s debut novel Good Fortune, a contemporary retelling of P&P set in New York’s Chinatown, fit the bill perfectly.

I was actually first drawn to this book out of curiosity, as I was interested in seeing what a Chinese-American spin on P&P would look like. Then, after I read the premise, I was even more interested, as I saw that the book would combine several things that were long familiar to me — the Pride and Prejudice story, Chinese culture and traditions, an immigrant family story, cultural identity, and best of all, an entire cast of characters who were all ethnically Chinese (with the exception of one character). Once I started reading the book however, I was even more delighted to discover that the family at the center of the story (as well as most of the major characters) were all from Hong Kong (my birth city), and more importantly, the entire story would be permeated with not just Chinese culture, but more specifically Cantonese culture (which is what I grew up with and know very well). I can’t emphasize enough how rare it is to see Cantonese culture — my culture — represented so authentically in a mainstream American novel (and it’s even more refreshing to see both the good and the not-so-good aspects represented). I loved how Chau was able to seamlessly work in so many elements from a culture that I was more than familiar with: the family-run Chinese restaurant where everyone was expected to chip in to keep the business afloat; the nosy and gossipy neighborhood aunties with their relentlessly prying questions (one of my favorite scenes in the book was during Alexa’s wedding when the 5 Chen sisters were forced to politely endure the way-too-personal rapid-fire questions from a bunch of oblivious aunties — a “ritual” that I’ve endured countless times growing up, lol); the Cantonese turns-of-phrases sprinkled throughout the dialogue (in addition to the actual Cantonese words, I got a kick out of seeing colloquialisms such as “ai ya” and “aa” and the “la” at the end of some sentences); the descriptions of local Cantonese cuisine and dishes that, frankly, made me salivate; the Hong Kong pop culture references (I laughed when I saw TVB dramas mentioned at one point in the story); and what I loved most of all, the weekly Cantonese family tradition of yum cha (aka dim sum) — in one (amongst many) of my favorite scenes, Chau perfectly captured the “mad chaos” yum cha experience as we Cantonese are used to experiencing it: the standing room only wait amongst a sea of people for your number to be called, the musical chairs dance / fight for a table, the designated person in the family responsible for chasing down the aunties with the dim sum carts, then getting back to the table only to find that the only food left is whatever you have in your hand (which you had to claw tooth and nail to get), the entire meal taking up most of your morning, only to leave hungrier than when you first arrived…my first thought when I read that entire scene was that only someone who grew up immersed in the Cantonese culture could write a scene like that (needless to say, I LOVED IT!!!).

Of course, what would a P&P retelling be without the P&P story elements? In this aspect, I felt that Chau did a brilliant job. It was fascinating to see how she brought the story from 19th century Regency England to 21st century contemporary America, while also adapting to the modern sensibilities of the times. Most of the characters we’re familiar with are here (though some with different names and backgrounds): the Chen family headed by the father Vincent (who, like Mr Bennett, is constantly seeking peace from the chaos of the household), the mother Jade (a high-strung hypochondriac), and 5 daughters Jane, Elizabeth (nicknamed LB in the story), Mary, Kitty, and Lydia; Darcy Wong, his sister Geo (short for Georgiana); his friend Brendan Lee who has 2 sisters named Caroline and Louisa; Charlotte Luo (LB’s best friend); Geoffrey Collins (yes, that Collins), who is the only non-Chinese character in the story; Lady Catherine (yes, there is a character actually named “Right Honorable Lady Catherine”) and of course, the main villain Wickham (though he is not called anything close to Wickham in the story, but P&P fans will instantly recognize him as the Wickham equivalent). In terms of plot points, Chau definitely adapted the story to modern times — replacing marriage proposals with job offers, an email confession instead of a handwritten letter, fundraising galas instead of elaborate society balls, etc. (just a few examples). And YES, Pemberley absolutely makes an appearance (but you will have to read the book to find out how and what). Oh and there is PLENTY of Austen-style humor in here too (gosh, I can’t remember the last time I laughed so often while reading a novel).

A quick mention regarding our favorite couple (how could I resist?) — the Elizabeth in this story was actually more “bad-ass” than Austen’s original version, which I found interesting and cool (I ended up liking this version of Elizabeth as much as I did our beloved Lizzie). In terms of the character of Darcy in this story — he was ok, but it was honestly hard for me to picture a Chinese Darcy…regardless though, I think it’s going to be a losing battle no matter who tries to “become” Darcy, as whenever I hear that name, the only face that will forever come to mind is Colin Firth’s (lol).

By now, it’s probably pretty obvious how much I loved this one (though part of me is still a bit surprised). While it’s not necessary to have read Pride and Prejudice prior to reading this one (since the story works pretty well on its own), the reading experience is definitely a lot more fun and enjoyable if you’re familiar with the original story (and it’s a bonus if you’re familiar with the culture aspects as well). This clever and charming story ended up being the P&P retelling that I didn’t know I wanted to read. I can’t wait to see what C.K. Chau has in store for us next!

Received ARC from HarperVia Publishing via NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you love Pride & Prejudice, definitely check this out! It's a retelling of the classic Jane Austen novel, set in Chinatown in Manhattan in the early 2000s. Instead of our main family's matriarch looking to find husbands for her daughters, the premise here is based off of Darcy and company being investors from Hong Kong who are interested in the renovation of a recreation center in Elizabeth's community in New York.

I loved the writing style - it was very clever and fun and what I would expect the original to read like if it was written with modern language. The characters had all the true characteristics of the original characters, especially the sisters and mother. I loved falling in love with Elizabeth and Darcy's love story all over again. It was very well developed and paid great respect to the characters they're based on. It was also a lot of fun to watch the story progress and see how classic scenes from the novel were redone here.

Overall, I think anyone who loves the Pride & Prejudice novel (or movie) would find a lot of fun in this book; and anyone who hasn't read the classic, but likes a good slow burn romance with witty love interests who are constantly challenging and bantering with each would enjoy it as well. It was a great time!

Can there ever be too many Pride and Prejudice retellings? Of course not! Chau swaps regency England for contemporary (late ‘90s/early 2000s) Chinatown in New York City. Good Fortune tracks the source material closely but brings with it a cultural flair that I particularly enjoyed. There are two particular scenes that immediately resonated with me–fighting for the bill and backhanded compliments.

Elizabeth and Darcy stay true to character, but Elizabeth is more–more passionate, more willing to speak her mind. It's fitting within this new setting as Brendan and Darcy purchase a community center, which will have ramifications for the neighborhood Elizabeth dearly loves. The book also highlights well how class divisions operate similarly no matter the time and place.

You do not need to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy the book. If you have, it just makes Good Fortune an even better read.

Overall, 4 stars. However, I had to make it to the back half of the book to really enjoy this. The first half was kind of cringe, and that’s coming from a Chinese American girl who lived in a small apartment with her parents and sister and whose parents worked for others as well. But, once we got to the back half, things picked up and LB wasn’t nearly as judgemental. Spoiler or warning though, this isn’t about love. This is all about jobs and I liked it all the more for it. That said, you still get your happily ever after. But jobs are the real importance here.

No disrespect to any authors out there, but can we stop saying any story with a mom/daughter/boyfriend is a retelling of Pride & Prejudice? Please. Just call it romance or even women's literature.
Ok, Good Fortune is a good book. Told at a decent page turning pace, Good Fortune brings our attention to gentrification in Chinatown. Gone will be all the little shops placing their wares with everything from rugs to fish to necklaces just out by the sidewalk. It will look splendid--just like uptown and downtown--but it definitely won't look like the original New York City's Chinatown. Knowing Mr. Darcy wants to change things up has Elizabeth torn between what she knows being stuck in the past and knowing if her community is to survive they need to look to the future.
Bonus points for Mom being a real estate guru and not a stereotyped Asian housewife playing second fiddle to the family patriarch.

Not a fan of this. Pretty rough to read. Nothing to relate to or sympathize with. Seemed rushed and unfinished.

I've read A LOT of P&P retellings so I think I know a thing or two about them. Although I can't say why this one didn't work as well for me as others -- it was thoughtful, true to the characters and well written. However, Elizabeth was almost a bit too cynical for me? I don't think I've had that problem before and I can't even say it's out of canon but it taints my review a bit. I still recommend this book and think a lot of people will love it.

Good Fortune comes out next week on July 11, 2023 and you can purchase HERE.

On Sunday mornings, the religious went to temple and everyone else went to yum cha (or, if you prefer, dim sum). It was a weekly ritual and a gathering, a chance to eat their hearts out and gossip. More than that, it was their version of Marquee--a place to see and be seen. Anyone with ties in the neighborhood ended up in the crowded restaurant lobbies eventually, or found their way in the sights of an aunty who did.

Set within the frame of a Jane Austen novel.m except it occurs in New York City and not on the English moors. Also it has all Asian American characters who have Jane Austen names.
The main focus is between Darcy and Lizzie, surrounded by her flock of four sisters and hovering parents.
I love the rich descriptions Chau provided of the camaraderie and conflicts in the family and also the neighborhood.
I loved how Lizzie took Darcy down several pegs and gave him what what for since he needed it.

“Good Fortune” is a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in New York in which Darcy is a wealthy Hong Kong elitist and Elizabeth’s boisterous family runs a Chinese restaurant. I was hoping for a little more of a reimagining of the story but this never strayed from the original plot, even paying homage to familiar scraps of dialogue and using the same names as the original.

Despite its predictability this grew on me as it went along. It was more Pride and Prejudice meets Two Weeks Notice as Elizabeth finds herself in the orbit of one of the irritating developers of her beloved rec center. This was also like a love letter to New York, with vivid scenes of the city, the cultural life of generations of Chinese Americans, class disparity and gentrification. That part set it apart and made it different than the original.

I liked the chemistry between sassy, principled Elizabeth and shy, snobby Darcy, and the ways the story was modernized to fit the early 2000s. It wasn’t so much about marriage prospects as it was about careers, ethics, family and class.

All in all an entertaining, bright read, if predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This retelling of Pride and Prejudice had me worried…I mean how many more retellings do we need? Well…I was wrong, we needed this one! Good Fortune was advertised as “whip smart” and it really was whip smart, full of great banter, the retelling we all love and culturally unique elements that made this really shine.

Asian Pride and Prejudice. I love every single minute.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

2.5 stars rounded up.

This book was a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice but in modern times and Asian twist. Elizabeth Chen's family is your stereotypical, American dream, immigrant story of parents who are working hard to keep their family afloat, while their millennial daughters (four of them, to be exact) try to find exactly the right career.

The story, to me, felt disjointed and hard to follow. Elizabeth is definitely the main character of the story, being the tireless defender of the dilapidated Chinatown community center against the rich developers who want to make it into a luxury property. However, her character was unlikeable and storyline jumped around so much. She had inner turmoil and two love interests, being entirely predictable of which one she would choose. Every sister's storyline in the book felt unfinished and by the end it felt like everything was tied up in a quick bow for a happy ending on all fronts. They made fun of her mother so often, it got very irritating and for me, made it hard to root for anyone at all. It was a struggle to finish this one and unfortunately, the book wasn't quite it for me.