I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic and loved that this novel was based on the true Fortune Sisters. The plot was cleverly crafted and rich in historical detail.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

THE GOOD:
A surprisingly lovely and lively tale. The sights and sounds and fashions and excitement aboard the Titanic are well-written. The author packs a lot in without the text becoming ungainly.
Refreshingly told from the point of view of four characters - our three Sisters of Fortune aboard the ship as well as Flora’s love interest Chess.
The story focuses on the characters rather than the tragedy. The sinking and its aftermath are there, of course, but it’s past the half-way mark when it begins. And it doesn’t get gruesome in detail.
Clean fiction with no bawdy scenes or vulgar language. Also free on the diversity checklist bingo.

THE BAD:
Modern day thinking does unfortunately creep in a bit, with women wanting “more” than “just” being a wife and mother (as if there is any more important job in life?). Also, a dash of “the man is keeping us down” does come out of the mouth of a couple of the female characters’ mouths, however the argument is shortly thereafter successfully countered.

ONCE UPON A BOOK CLUB EDITION:
A beautiful edition! A lovely fabric hardcover in a warm salmon pink with a gold floral design. The paper jacket is also lovely in pale blue with matte black scroll work and a “cameo” of the traditional cover showing the ship and (presumably) one of the Sisters; also a nice quote and floral scroll work on the back. The only part I’m not fond of is the printed paper edges, which are mostly purple and don’t really match the book or jacket, in my opinion.

CONCLUSION:
A pleasant read and a beautiful book for your home book shelf. Highly recommend.

I want to provide an update to the publishers. I appreciate you allowing me a copy of the ARC, which makes me doubly sad that this book is not working for me. I have attempted to read it several times, but it starts so slowly. It doesn't hold my interest. If I find myself able to press on and make it through the book, I will be sure to update this review.

I loved how the author did so much research to make this book as historically accurate as possible. All of the characters in this book were representative of people that were on the actual Titanic. Great Job!

Sisters of Fortune, an epic story, is based on the true story of the three Fortune sisters, who with their parents and younger brother, set sail on the maiden voyage of the Titanic as the finale of a Grand Tour of Europe.

This story is written from the viewpoints of each sister: Flora, the oldest sister, dutiful and sensible, is returning home reluctantly to a fiancé she does not love; Alice, the middle sister, also engaged, wants to be free of the restrictions of the era; and Mabel, the youngest sister, who is strong-willed, seeks education rather than conventional marriage and family. Huber did a wonderful job joining fact and fiction of who these three women were, and what they came to discover about themselves during their time on the Titanic, giving each their own distinct and interesting personalities.

The author really draws her readers in with her descriptions of the magnificent surroundings her characters witnessed while sailing on the Titanic, showing off her detail to research This story is hard to read at times as we all know what happens in the end to the Titanic, but Huber does not end Sisters of Fortune at the sinking, giving her readers a pleasant ending. I highly recommend this standalone heart-wrenching story written by Anna Lee Huber.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing via NetGalley for the opportunity read and review an advance copy of this wonderful book, Sisters of Fortune. I was under no obligation whatsoever to write a favorable review and all opinions are my own.

Flora, Mabel, and Alice are three sisters on their way home aboard the Titanic with their parents and brother. They've spent the last few months traveling, which has Alice nervous about her engagement because she longs for more adventure. Mabel wants to get an education, but her father thinks she's destined to be a wife and homemaker. Flora, like Alice is engaged, but it's a loveless engagement and, while onboard, she discovers real love. But none of this matters when the Titanic hits and iceberg.

I really wanted to like this book, but I would have easily stopped reading after 15%. The novel began with so many facts and names mentioned that it began to read as narrative nonfiction with a spattering of fictional storytelling. At the beginning I had no sense of the main characters or where their stories were actually going. I applaud the author for the level or research she did, but I didn't want to read every single detail about who was on the ship, how the ship worked, or what was for dinner. It slowed the story down and left me confused. It began with a character list of 50+ people! It was far too much to keep straight and most weren't necessary, just name dropping to show her research.

Once the novel gets into the meat of the story, it picked up pace. While each of the girls are unique in their wants, it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was talking to who or doing what. It might have benefited from one less sister. Flora's storyline seemed to take up the most attention, possibly because hers is the most fictional, so there was more license of what she's doing. The romance was a nice addition.

The story was there, but it got boggled down by details that, which, while showing a well researched novel, grew tedious to read. If you push through the numerous facts delivered throughout the novel, it is a worthwhile story to read. The sisters are interesting to realize that they truly experienced the sinking of the Titanic is fascinating. You just have to wade through a lot of characters and facts.

Sisters of Fortune is based off of the real life Fortune sisters who traveled aboard the RMS Titanic. There is little known about the actual Fortune sisters, but these Anna Lee Huber used what she could find from their real lives to inspire this incredible story. Each Fortune sister is at loose ends when they board the Titanic on April 10, 1912. Alice is unsettled because of the fortune a fortune teller had given her when in Egypt. Mable is tired of living life the way she has and wants to go to university and learn, something her father is completely against. And Flora is engaged to be married to a man that she doesn’t want to marry. During their journey on the Titanic, each of these three sisters is forced to think about what they really want. The fateful night of the Titanic sinking changes everything they had known and might just give them the opportunity and blessing of living life the way they want to following this tragedy.

I am a huge Titanic fan so when I saw a book coming out by an author I already enjoyed I knew I had to read this. I was pulled in from the very beginning as the beginning of this book sets the scene for the tragic night we know is yet to come. I really enjoyed how this story was based off of the real Fortune sisters and liked how some of their real adventures were tied in to make these dynamic characters. This book flowed nicely and had a lot of detail about what it would have been like to be on the Titanic. I liked how this story followed multiple main characters instead of just settling on one or two characters. The multiple points of view made for a fun read and a good way to see life on the Titanic through different eyes. I am always going to read anything related to the Titanic because this tragedy fascinates me. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fictional read based in history.

I love Anna Lee Huber’s writing and have read everything else that she has published so I was very excited to be granted an advanced copy of “Sisters of Fortune”. Unfortunately I struggled with this book. On the plus side this was an extremely well researched book. I loved the descriptions of the Titanic and felt like I was walking through Francis Browne’s photos of the ship. Also, I really appreciated the time and effort that was spent to populate the boat with historical figures. I’m thankful for the character list at the beginning!

However, at first I had trouble differentiating between the three Fortune sisters. When I was able to tell them apart I found that I did not connect with their motivations and struggles. Additionally, I was overwhelmed and distracted by the sheer amount of characters. Finally, the pacing was very slow and uneven. I struggled to stay engaged for about the first 30% and often found myself putting the book down. The flow improved around the halfway mark but floundered again at the finishing line when the ending spent too much time wrapping up all of the characters’ story arcs. I appreciate that the author wanted to follow three real life sisters and their experiences on the Titanic. Unfortunately it just didn’t translate into a compelling plot.

A really amazing amount of research went into this book however the narrative felt burdened with too many details. It left the book feeling stilted and slow without a good flow. Anna Lee Huber is still an auto-buy author for me and I’m looking forward to her next work - this one just wasn’t for me.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this. I mean, we all know what happens on the maiden voyage of this unsinkable ship. The Fortune family, from Winnipeg, Canada, were real passengers on the Titanic and because they remained so close mouthed about their harrowing experience, Huber is able to craft a gripping story about them. The parents, along with the four youngest children, are returning home after a grand tour of Europe and Egypt. The two older girls are betrothed but have very different feelings about what awaits them back home. Responsible Flora is open to a shipboard flirtation, while Alice worries about a cossetted future after the freedom of her trip. Youngest girl Mabel wants to convince her father to let her go to university as she searches for meaning among some of the accomplished female passengers. Charlie, the youngest, is mesmerized by the ship itself, exploring every nook and cranny. It was an engrossing and fascinating read that truly kept me turning the pages to the end.

I really enjoyed this book. As a fictional story based on true events and real people the fictional story is well incorporated into real life events. As an avid Titanic enthusiast I was really impressed with the depth of research and accurate true details that are included in the story. This book is well done. The fictional romance within the story is engaging and interesting. This book is well written and engaging. This is a fantastic book.

Lovely story. Wonderful to hear about The Fortune sister and they were really part of the true story.

I was intrigued to see a novel about the Titanic and The Fortune Girls. I am Canadian and have done a project on these girls in school. So i knew how this was going to end, but I still put off making dinner for my family because I had to know how this author ended the story.

I really enjoyed the way the novel was written, and all the details that were added. The author who is new to me, was incredible; there were times I could picture the ship with her descriptions. Lots of details, the descriptions of the ship made it seem grand and luxurious as it should be. The reading was really enjoyable until the bitter end. It was heartbreaking to read about how everyone was feeling/their actions during the sinking of the ship. How some of the men reacted and how brave they must have been to stand there knowing the couldn't be saved. I had so many emotions reading this book.

10/10 would absolutely recommend.

The eponymous sisters in Anna Lee Huber’s Sisters of Fortune were real women who really sailed on the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic will thoroughly enjoy another opportunity to experience the disaster from the warmth and dryness of their sofa.

Sisters Flora, Alice and Mabel Fortune have just enjoyed a multi-month Grand Tour of Europe and the Mediterranean with their uber-wealthy parents and youngest brother, Charlie. While the prospect of a luxurious trip aboard the famous ocean liner Titanic offers more thrills, each sister is reluctant to return home to Winnipeg, Canada, for her own reasons.

Oldest sister Flora dreads her upcoming wedding because while her fiancé will certainly offer her the comfortable life her parents want for her, she’s pretty sure she doesn’t love him. Flora becomes even more uncertain when she meets charming tennis player Chess Kinsey and, against her earnest efforts, finds herself falling for him.

Alice is also engaged, and although her feelings for her fiancé are more affectionate, she’s not looking forward to the claustrophobic life that awaits her as a wife and mother. She enjoys a flirtation with fellow passenger William Sloper and experiences some forbidden entertainment, terrified of what her parents will say if they ever find out.

Mabel doesn’t want marriage at all. She wants to attend university and fight for important causes like women’s suffrage. She figures the trip home, surrounded by influential, strong women like Margaret “Mollie” Brown, will be a great opportunity to convince her father that pursuing an education will not take away her femininity.

As the sisters explore the wonders of the largest ship ever built, they are faced with the constraints placed on women of high society at that time. All the while, we the reader know that disaster is looming.

There is something about reading a book set in real history that you know will not have a happy ending. Given the dictates of ‘women and children first’, I had few worries about the Fortune sisters and their mother, and had a pretty good idea of the fates awaiting the men in their lives. So it became a matter of who is where when things go down and how do they get to where they end up.

Most intriguing to me is how this book really drives home what it might be like to be in a situation where women (and children) are prioritized to the detriment of the men in their lives. Would I be able to get into a lifeboat knowing that my husband and son might perish? But the alternative is just as unthinkable - to NOT get in that lifeboat.

As a man, how would it feel to know that you are most likely going to die because you have to put the lives of women and children above your own? Would it be easier to accept that fate if you know your wives, sweethearts and daughters will be safe? When Flora’s father has the opportunity to get into a lifeboat (along with her brother and true-love, Chess), he’s dismayed at the prospect:

“Flora, pull yourself together and listen to yourself,” Father barked. “I will not take a seat which should belong to a woman. I will not dishonor myself in such a manner. And neither will your brother or Mr. Kinsey.”

And while it sickens me to think how many men may have lost their lives unnecessarily because of ‘honor’ (especially knowing that the lifeboats launched off the doomed shipp were filled to an average of only 60% capacity), I do understand it given the visceral disgust I remember feeling when watching the movie where men were depicted as cowards for climbing aboard a lifeboat. By giving us characters who experience this horrible, un-winnable situation, I could feel the terror and despair I imagine shook every single person on that ship.

My biggest quibble with the novel is how the setting is established. The beginning of the book is overloaded with Titanic details, giving me the sensation that author Huber was trying to shoehorn in every factoid she’d learned in her research. Every important passenger is mentioned and most have at least a cameo appearance, whether or not it makes sense that the Fortune sisters would have interacted with that particular person. One scene in the beginning has Mabel questioning a stewardess who is unpacking the girls’ clothing about who is on board the ship and who will be coming on board when they reach Cherbourg. Not only did I have a hard time believing these upper-crusty women would speak to a servant about such things, but I had an even harder time believing the servant would know such information and answer back with actual gossip.

Younger brother Charlie serves as the exposition know-it-all, handily providing mundane and technical information that I can’t imagine would have interested the girls in the least so is clearly meant for the reader. And more than once we get some ‘As you know, Bob…’ conversation that isn’t really necessary. All of that served to keep me from being immersed in the story as if I actually were there, but rather felt like I was reading a research paper in which the writer was trying to prove she’d used multiple sources of information. Sprinkling in pertinent details as they are encountered naturally by the sisters and as I, the reader, needed them, would have gone a long way to avoid this.

All that said, I give Huber due props for discovering the Fortune sisters and using them as inspiration for creating a well-written depiction of what it might have been like to be a passenger on the Titanic. There are no surprises, but given how famous this ship wreck is, that can’t be helped. If you enjoyed the movie and are fascinated by the Titanic, then by all means, you should find Sisters of Fortune entertaining.

This is a wonderful book, which I enjoyed even more than James Cameron’s movie! Inspired by the real story of the three Fortune sisters, it tells the tale of their fateful voyage on the Titanic. The three sisters are all vivid and interesting characters, and the addition of other famous characters from the ship, such as Helen Churchill Candee, makes this book perfect for Titanic enthusiasts, and lovers of historical novels. The sumptuous setting of the ship is brought to life in Anna Huber’s skilful hands.

When Alice hears a fortune teller predict that she will lose everything at sea while sitting at Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo with William Sloper, she laughs. But twinges of nervousness accost her when she boards the Titanic, although she tries to forget them. Torn between her love of adventure and her love for Holden, she has a good time, naughtily stealing her sister’s pin money and playing poker.

Mabel longs to go to university. Inspired by women doctors and writers on the ship, she tries to convince her father to let her go. He is a very old-fashioned man, however, who will need some persuading.

The most romantic story is Flora’s. She is engaged to a practical businessman but neither of them really care for each other. When handsome tennis star Chess catches her eye, she struggles between the chouce of duty or love.

After the iceberg hits the ship, this book is really hard to put down as the Fortune sisters face a life or death struggle on the slowly sinking ship. Huber’s writing really makes you feel that you are actually there with them!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Excellent historical fiction! I’ve long been a fan of Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby and Verity Kent series, so was intrigued that she was undertaking a novel regarding the Titanic. We all know what became of the Titanic and many of its passengers and crew. Huber has, however, found a fresh angle in the form of the vibrant Fortune sisters to give depth and color to that well known tale, and the result is a well researched, well crafted, and fascinating (albeit heartbreaking) novel. Huber has truly become a master storyteller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

An interesting story of sisters who were on the Titanic. Most of the story took place getting to know the characters and the days prior to the sinking. The sinking was well written and emotional. Those who love stories of the TItanic, will enjoy this historical fiction. Well written and has interesting characters.

Having read all of Anna Lee Huber's previous releases in the Lady Darby and Verity Kent series, I was very excited to read Sisters of Fortune. The book is well-written, but I found the setting - on the Titanic, in the days leading up to its sinking - heavy enough that it took me a bit to get into. The fateful night doesn't occur until about 60% of the way through the book, and is written suspensefully - the second half of the story flies by (I stayed up too late to finish it!). Overall, I would recommend Sisters of Fortune to fans of historical fiction with a bit of romance, as long as they are ok with reading about the famously tragic end to the Titanic, which is covered. I also found very interesting that the Fortune sisters are is based on a real Fortunate family who sailed on the Titanic!

"Sisters of Fortune" by Anna Lee Huber takes readers on an immersive journey through the pages of history, skillfully intertwining fiction with the harrowing events surrounding the Titanic's fateful voyage. Released on February 20, 2024, this riveting historical novel promises an engaging blend of drama, mystery, and genuine historical accuracy.

The narrative follows the lives of two sisters, a plot choice that adds a personal touch to the larger-than-life tragedy. Huber masterfully introduces readers to the era's societal intricacies, providing a rich backdrop that makes the characters' struggles and triumphs all the more poignant. The attention to historical detail is commendable, showcasing the author's dedication to authenticity.

What sets "Sisters of Fortune" apart is Huber's ability to weave a gripping tale while staying true to the known facts of the Titanic's sinking. The novel effortlessly transports readers back to the early 20th century, immersing them in the luxurious yet perilous atmosphere of the grand ship. Huber's descriptive prose brings the characters and settings to life, creating a vivid and compelling reading experience.

The character development is another strong suit of this novel. The two sisters, with their distinct personalities and aspirations, provide a dynamic focal point for the story. As they navigate the challenges of the Titanic, readers are taken on an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing love, loss, and the indomitable human spirit in the face of catastrophe.

Huber's narrative prowess is particularly evident in her ability to maintain suspense throughout the novel. The historical backdrop, coupled with well-crafted plot twists and turns, keeps readers eagerly turning pages. The tension is palpable as the Titanic's tragic fate looms on the horizon, creating an emotional investment that resonates long after the final chapter.

While "Sisters of Fortune" pays homage to the real events surrounding the Titanic, it also explores themes of resilience, familial bonds, and the pursuit of one's dreams. Huber's prose is both evocative and accessible, making this novel a compelling read for both historical fiction enthusiasts and those new to the genre.

In conclusion, Anna Lee Huber's "Sisters of Fortune" is a captivating historical novel that seamlessly blends fact and fiction. The author's meticulous research and engaging storytelling make this book a must-read for anyone intrigued by the Titanic's tragic tale. "Sisters of Fortune" stands as a testament to the enduring power of historical fiction to educate, entertain, and emotionally resonate with readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington publisher for an advance copy for my honest review.

I have always been fascinated by the Titanic so this was a great read from a different perspective . The story is inspired by the lives of the Fortune family from Winnipeg, Canada. The family: sisters Flora, Alice, Mabel; brother Charlie and parents Mark and Mary are on a Grand Tour finishing their trip with the voyage of a lifetime aboard the Titanic.
The author has done extensive research to present an engaging read where you become invested in the sister’s lives: their secrets, romances, dreams and future plans. The wonderfully descriptive passages of the ship, the fashion, the jewels and the people aboard the Titanic truly make it come to life for the reader.

This was an interesting read. If you are a Titanic enthusiast, you would like this one. The only critique is that its kind of like every other Titanic book and kind of just ended without more of an ending.

The Fortune sisters are aboard the Titanic with their family, and the reader follows them around the ship until its demise. We get them back on the Carpathia after the Titanic sinks, and they return to New York.

Flora meets Chess Kinsey who becomes the love of her life but is already engaged to be married. Her father agrees to allow Chess to court her and propose eventually before the Titanic sinks. When they arrive in New York, they reunite and he proposes to her.

The book ends with that being the end and that he will come for her when they are both ready. It is a good book and a different more positive outcome, even amongst all the tragedy. I would recommend it but just remember its kind of like every typical Titanic story. I gave this a 4-star for that reason!