Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Women of Good Fortune
by Sophie Wan

In the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, where tradition clashes with ambition, Sophie Wan's debut novel, "Women of Good Fortune," weaves a tale of three women bound by friendship and a daring plan that could change their lives forever.

Lulu, the protagonist, finds herself at a crossroads when she accepts a marriage proposal from Shanghai's most eligible bachelor. While the union promises financial security for her and her family, it comes at the cost of her freedom and the stifling of her true desires. Lulu's internal conflict is the heart of the story, as she grapples with societal expectations and her longing for a life less ordinary.

Her confidants, Rina and Jane, are equally complex characters. Rina, a career-driven woman, faces the ticking clock of societal norms, while Jane, a sharp-tongued housewife, yearns for a divorce and a chance at a more luxurious life. Together, they embody the struggles of modern women against the backdrop of a society that often values them based on marital status and wealth.

The novel's central plot—a heist to steal the gift money from Lulu's high-society wedding—serves as a thrilling metaphor for the women's fight for autonomy. It's a bold statement on the lengths to which they will go to reclaim control over their destinies.

Wan's writing is both humorous and poignant, capturing the essence of her characters' plights with empathy and wit. The narrative is a dance between satire and sincerity, making "Women of Good Fortune" a standout in contemporary fiction.

As a reflection on the pressures faced by women, particularly in modern China, Wan's novel is a compelling examination of the pursuit of happiness and the cost of conformity. It's a story that resonates with anyone who has ever felt trapped by circumstances and dreamed of a different path.

Sophie Wan's "Women of Good Fortune" is a mirror held up to society, reflecting the complexities of life and the universal quest for fulfillment. It's a reminder that sometimes, fortune favors the bold.

4 stars from this reviewer, I found the story enjoyable and thought-provoking.

3 stars.
⤿ comedy fiction <3

how fun! women of good fortune follows lulu and her two best friends, rina and jane, as they plan a vengeful heist to steal all the money on lulu's wedding day. this heartfelt and funny novel was a lovely breath of fresh air from the high-stakes fantasy books i had been making my way through, and i always fall for a "girls supporting girls" theme that was prevalent throughout women of good fortune. what i liked most was the contrasting female friendships, rina being career-minded and realizing that perhaps work won't always be the primary focus for her, jane who is desperate for a divorce but wonders if she can even make it on her own, and the girls' musings about how their parents + upbringing affected their current states. the comedy was fluffy and cute, touching on topics like "how women are treated." the pacing did feel off at times, and i didn't like how there weren't any consequences for negative actions, but overall, it was a fun debut and I'll definitely look out for more work from this author.

thank you to the publisher and the author for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC of Women of Good Fortune.

I enjoyed reading about Lulu, Rina and Jane and their wild scheme to conduct a wedding heist. While the book takes place in modern-day Shanghai, each woman grew up in different circumstances and they live very different lives. Their POVs carry the story and provide a glimpse into their motivations for the heist. This was a quick, fun read and I look forward to more books by Sophie Wan.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Really enjoyed Women of Good Fortune. It’s marketed as a cross between crazy rich Asians and Oceans 8 and that… is very accurate.

The love stories in the book are fun but not terribly engaging or interesting but I did enjoy Wan’s writing. All in all, this book is good! Not great. But a fun short read.

Fans of Crazy Rich Asians will want to dive right into this fun novel about three friends, Lulu, Rina and Jane who cook up a wild scheme in order to change their lives. Lulu dreams of running away, Jane dreams of a new face and Rina dreams of being a mother - three unique challenges that can all be solved with one thing...money. With Lulu's wedding to a man from a prominent family looming, the group assembles a plan with the help of some friends to pull off a major wedding day heist. With so many eyes on the happy couple, no one could possibly suspect anything nefarious...right? This novel was a fun yet emotional ride, and would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for ARC access in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the early copy in change for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 10%.

I really could not stand the fast-paced and weirdly written story. The self-centered jerks called protagonists didn't help either.

I know this was probably meant to be empowering, but I can't take seriously a brand of feminism that says the solution to sexism is to...steal money from a wedding one of the women enters into under false pretenses.

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.*

I enjoyed this but felt like it was a lower quality version of other books in the genre. It feels like it’s leaning very heavily on recent “rich asian” bestsellers

Such a fun read! I love a girl power book and this debut is a good one. I really enjoyed the Chinese cultural aspects and the heist aspect. This would make a terrific beach read/listen.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for the copy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a surprisingly entertaining read. Imagine Crazy Rich Asians crossed with Ocean's Eleven. Fun vibes and amazingly great character development.

Sophie Wan's Women of Good Fortune recalls the extravagant wedding fanfare of Crazy Rich Asians and the minute-by-minute scheming of Ocean's Eleven in an elaborate heist novel featuring a reluctant bride turned reluctant thief as she plans to rob her own wedding.

According to her mother, Lulu is a "leftover woman," unmarried in her late 20s and with no relationship in sight. But when a short romance turns into an unexpected engagement to one of the richest bachelors in Shanghai, Lulu finds herself caught up in planning an over-the-top wedding to a man she doesn't love with a future mother-in-law she absolutely despises. Her two best friends are no happier, despite their different circumstances: Rina works grueling hours to save up enough money to freeze her eggs, and Jane is dissatisfied with her appearance and married to a frugal man who pays her no attention. All three are stuck, confined not only by the expectations placed upon them by Chinese society and their well-intentioned families, but by the money required to chart their own paths in life. With a combination of audacity and desperation, the three decide to steal the cash gifts from the center of Lulu's upcoming wedding. "We're going to make this wedding our bitch," Jane says to her friends. "And I have just the plan."

That plan forms the core of Women of Good Fortune, and the story's urgency will keep readers captivated. But it is what these women learn along the way--about themselves and about one another--that gives the novel its heart, as the three must reconsider what happiness might actually look like, money or no. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Fun and very funny, but made even better by some very thoughtful things it has to say about women's roles in society and marriage. Lulu is about to get married, but she is miserable. Her fiance is extremely rich, and because of that, he is the answer to Lulu's family's prayers -- he can bail them out of financial trouble and make life so much easier for all of them. She doesn't love him, she doesn't want to marry him, and she's afraid its gone too far for her to break things off. Enter her two best friends, who have a plot that involves stealing all the wedding money! It's a caper, with some mystery and some romance too. I look forward to recommending this title.

I think this is a great concept. I wasn't enjoying reading this. For whatever reason I couldn't bring myself to keep picking it up. I stopped reading at about 20%. However, I requested it as an audiobook because I think the story will be GREAT. I just think it was the wrong format for me. I'm going to give it three stars, with the expectation that it would totally be a four star for me if I could finish it.

I loved this novel by Sophie Wan! This story was about 3 friends in Shanghai leading up to the marriage of Lulu. The 3 friends are navigating their lives and preparing for the wedding when they plan to steal the red envelopes from Lulu's wedding to help make their dreams come true. The story follows their intricate plotting and how it affects their friendships and individual lives. The story is lively and funny and gives great insights on life in Shanghai and especially of the wealthy. A great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie WAN for the arc. I enjoyed the story, it was slow paced at times and fast paced at other times. I loved the setting of the story. It gave me Crazy Rich Asians vibes (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Would read more from this author.

Title: Women of Good Fortune
By: Sophie Wan

Genre:
Adult Fiction, Asian, Contemporary

Red Flags:
Toxic relationship, Body Shaming, Sexism,

Summary/Review:
Goodreads synopsis - “Set against a high-society Shanghai wedding, a heartfelt, funny, dazzling novel about a reluctant bride and her two best friends, each with their own motives and fed up with the way society treats women, who forge a plan to steal all the gift money on the big day.”

I had high hopes for this novel. The above description instilled a desire for me to read it, however, I was sorely disappointed. The main characters lived a life of wealth, fortune, and entitlement. I quickly grew to despise them, and the plot was missing key elements of writing, I kept thinking it would get better. However, it did not. This is the first book in a long time I have rated below a three star, but I felt the novel dragged and ultimately, just didn’t come together as I had hoped at all. So I say, read at your own time, and risk!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Wan, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Graydon House for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreds
#sophiewan #harlequintradepublishing
#netgalley #netgalleyreads
#womenofgoodfortune
#advancedreadercopies

This feisty, feminine read hooked me from word one! I loved it!

A trio of Chinese women--Lulu, Rina, and Jane--plan a heist to steal the wedding gifts at Lulu's wedding. Engaged to Shanghai's most eligible bachelor, Lulu feels pressured into the wedding and plans to use the heist as an excuse to get the money needed to escape to Thailand. Rina has her own problems, as an executive who can't get ahead in her job because of the misogynistic views of Chinese women as mere wives and mothers. Jane is also struggling, married to a man she doesn't love, and wishing for a single life of luxury (without a taciturn man dragging her down).

The action keeps pace throughout the novel, while the characterization of each woman is distinct, engaging, and emotional. Readers will root for each one of them to rise above the challenges they face, from society, their families, their gender, and succeed in both stealing the money and getting the futures they truly want. I adored this one. It was as if Ocean's 8 took place in Shanghai and the motivations for the women were a sexist, misogynistic, traditional society that doesn't seem the for the complex, compelling women they are.

If you love character-driven stories with feisty fun thrown in, read this book! I loved it!

TW/CW: Implied sex (nothing graphic), crime, classism, sexism

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Graydon House Books and am voluntarily writing an honest review.

Women of Good Fortune is the story of three working-class women in Shanghai who prepare for a heist when one of them becomes engaged to an ultra-wealthy man.

I found this book very difficult to get into (I was at about 16% before I started enjoying it), but once I did I was glad that I powered through. This book was very entertaining and I loved the glimpses we got into the lives of the three main women. This book is very much a social commentary both on Shanghai society and on the place of women in that society and in society in general. I found myself at different points in the book both angry at the main characters, and sympathizing with them.

Although it’s slow at the start, this book is not a difficult read once you’re into it. I found this book to be fun and entertaining, and enjoyed the social commentary. I recommend this book!

I love a good heist novel, so this was a quick, fun read for me. The friendship between Jane, Rina, and Lulu is the strongest aspect, but I also enjoyed the laugh-out-loud madcap moments and the slow burn of the romance (won't spoil it here, but it's obvious once you start reading).