I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All of the opinions are my own. Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley!

I like all things Titanic. Whether it is books, movies, and more, I'll check those out (As you know, I checked this book out). Alright, here are my thoughts.

Based on the true story of the Fortune family, this story mainly involves the sisters going back home along with their family and traveling on a maiden voyage of the Titanic. Great story and has happy, dramatic, and of course, sad moments. Wow, I cried at some parts of the story, which is rare for me to do. Overall, I enjoy the story in spite of being sad (again, some parts). If you want to read another Titanic story, then this book is for you.

4.5 stars

I loved this book! The author was very thorough describing all the details of the Titanic. The 3 Fortune sisters each had a unique story. Their stories are based on the real Fortune sisters that were aboard the Titanic along with their parents and brother. Their family was among the rich occupants on the ship. Their father worked hard to get his fortune. They had been on a 3 month tour of Europe and were headed back to their home in Canada aboard the ill-fated Titanic. Who lives and who perishes in the sinking of the Titanic? Read this book to find out. I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

What an epic story. The Fortune sisters were fascinating in their different experiences on board the Titanic and the decisions they were making about their lives even before the shipwreck. I worried that it might be hard to keep track of three main characters, plus all the people around them, but it became easy after a couple chapters.

I feel the author did a good job of depicting what life as a first class traveler on board the Titanic (or really any luxury ship of the time) would be like. She also did well at depicting the fear and sadness that would have happened during and after the sinking. I felt this novel was Very well researched and even with all I know about the Titanic, this taught me some facts too.

Everyone knows the “unsinkable” Titanic will eventually go down, but it doesn’t negate the fact that the stories of the people who were on her maiden voyage are intriguing. Anna Lee Huber tells the story of the three Fortune sisters from Winnipeg who were traveling with their parents and younger brother after a European tour. Not initially planning to travel on the Titanic, their father surprised them, and as they say the rest is history.

There is quite a large cast of characters surrounding the three Fortune sisters, which I initially struggled with keeping straight. When the chapters eventually homed in on the three women, we find that each is carrying a burdening secret to be dealt with. Each sister receives their turn in the novel, but for the most part it felt like the author focused primarily on the eldest Flora. There was also a superfluous amount of description focused on the Titanic itself, some necessary and some not.

With a little more editing, I feel like this could have been a five-star read. I did enjoy reading about the Fortune sisters, but would have preferred a juxtaposition of one of their experiences with that of a third class passenger just to show the disparities, particularly during the evacuation of the ship.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and the author Anna Lee Huber for the advanced copy of the book. Sisters of Fortune is out now. All opinions are my own

SISTERS OF FORTUNE
BY: ANNA LEE HUBER

About 3.5 Stars!

This historical fiction tale about the Fortune family from Winnipeg, Canada didn't feel like the historical fiction that I love and it felt more like women's fiction. I do realize that this novel is a monumental task based on all of the research to get the Titanic details correct. I think I would have liked it a lot more if instead of centering the story around a Canadian family whom the author, Anna Lee Huber states in her Author's Note that there is little known about this family. I would have liked if she based her characters around real well known historical people where there are more historical records to draw her information from. I want to learn about real people when I read historical fiction. Even though the Fortune sisters were on the Titanic this author changed the eldest daughter aboard from Ethel Fortune to Flora Fortune and deviated from her life.

I couldn't get absorbed into the story because I felt something was off about Flora Fortune's life. It most certainly is different from Ethel Fortune in that a large part of the text is devoted to a romance that took place on board the Titanic between Flora/Ethel that didn't happen. I didn't want to read about a pseudo romance that never happened in regards to the main character. I want to learn something new about a person or people that lived that offers as much factual data based on their lives that actually took place. I generally don't want to read about a fake romance especially when the publisher categorizes the ARC as historical fiction. This sounds harsh so I apologize for that is not my intention to bash a talented writer's novel. I could tell that while I was reading this that it felt imagined. I think that based on how many historical fiction category novels that I've read that I was the wrong reader for this. I will say that some of the characters that are based on facts get a much lesser attention overall. I think that the focus was in large part devoted to Ethel Fortune whose name was changed to Flora Fortune and the whole romantic relationship never took place.

The romance between Flora and Chess was actually well written and clean which I prefer. My disappointment is having invested a significant amount of time which is finite and I can't get back over something that if I had known ahead of time that Ethel/Flora Fortune's character arc was all imagined I would have never read this. With nothing gained by spending so much time devoted to two people that were completely fictional is time that I would have preferred learning. Anna Lee Huber certainly is an entertaining writer but I can't help feeling frustrated that I read a 416 page book that besides detailed Titanic descriptions I didn't LEARN anything that I didn't already know.
I really disagree that this is true historical fiction except that it takes place on the Titanic in April of 1912. That is just my opinion.

After a grand tour three sisters visiting many countries that their father treats them to sail home on the RMS Titanic. Much of the story revolved around Flora's romance with Chess. She postponed her wedding to be able to go on this tour with her two younger sisters named Alice and Mabel who it's her responsibility to chaperone. Her brother Charlie is 19 and he plays a minor role. Flora is 28 years old and she is the dutiful daughter that her two parents think she is well suited to a man who has only written her one letter in several months. She meets the man she wants to marry in the few days aboard that ill fated maiden voyage on her return trip aboard the luxurious Titanic. I did like that the romantic relationship was based on a genuine admiration of each other's character between Flora and Chess. It was a little too much of the common instant love trope that I'm personally not a fan of. I did like that their romance was clean and respectable with them both enjoying taking walks on the ship's deck talking and getting to know one another.

Alice Fortune starts out at their last stop on their tour in Cairo where a fortune teller predicts something to the effect of being unsafe at sea. That part of this epic adventure is factual. Alice is 24 years old and is also engaged and spends her time on the Titanic stealing her older sister Flora's pin money to play poker. She has a sense of dread during the time on Titanic feeling that she wants to travel more instead of getting married and settling down with the man she does love, but he gets seasick. There's less of Alice although she has been coddled more than Flora possibly because she spent much of her childhood with health issues particularly regarding her lungs. She is very supportive of her older sister Flora's relationship with Chess. She helps Flora to decide that it's okay to go against their mother and father's choice of husband and helps Flora to follow her heart. Instead of being pressured to follow through marrying someone who doesn't seem too interested in Flora.

Mabel is the youngest sister who is the rebel of the family who is interested in getting a University education. She spends her time aboard the Titanic trying to meet College educated women to mingle among them. Their father took her on this vacation to get her away from an ill suited musician from Minnesota. Mabel is 23 years old and was bold enough to challenge her father's plan for her to marry someone he thinks is the right man by which he expects to be more financially suited to her. Their father is a self made millionaire that grew up poor and started out with nothing and earned his station in life. When Mabel finally challenges her father's plan for her by asking instead of returning home she asks him if she can attend a University and become a lawyer. When her father refuses she defies him by telling him that she will marry her musician boyfriend and she's sure he'll agree to let her pursue a career.

Their brother Charlie who is 19 years old is an avid sports fan and knows quite a bit about the Titanic. Their mother seemed to need a lot of help at only 60 years old from her three daughters helping her get changed into her clothes and dressing. She catches Flora with Chess embracing on the upper deck of the ship and gets very angry at both of them. At about 60 % into the novel is when the Titanic has the collision with the iceberg. That part felt tragic and most people are familiar with what happens either by reading other books about the Titanic or having viewed the James Cameron film. The next 10% deals with the pandemonium that ensues and is well written.

I wouldn't recommend this to readers who enjoy character driven historical fiction. I would recommend it to women's fiction fans that like romance and readers who would be interested in the Titanic. I would rate this as 3.5 Stars as I have posted in the beginning of this review. There are further books listed about the Titanic in the Author's Note. There are also questions listed at the end of this novel that are thought provoking.

Publication Date: February 20, 2024 Available Now!

Thank you to Net Galley, Anna Lee Huber and Kensington Books for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#SistersofFortune #AnnaLeeHuber #KensingtonBooks #NetGalley

Sisters of Fortune is an interesting and emotional story of love and loss, grief and survival.

An engaging read with a plot that flows and is well-developed. However I did feel that the pace picked up a little once the Titanic had reached sinking point.

I have read and enjoyed other Titanic historical fiction stories, but never before encountered the Fortune family from Winnipeg. The author has undertaken extensive research and created a wonderful story with a mix of known facts from survivors’ commentaries and her own fictional character enhancements.

This is the first novel by Anna Lee Huber that I have read; I recommend it and would be happy to read further novels from this author.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Books for a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Kensington Books and Netgalley! I enjoyed this perspective of the Titanic sailing focussing on the Fortune family. The sisters each have their own secrets and agendas on this amazing family adventure. Anna Lee Huber did a great job weaving history and fiction into this fateful voyage.

Excellent. Fascination with the Titanic never seems to end and here we are transported to its glamor. Knowing some of the people were real added to the pleasure. Knowing the outcome of the tragedy did not make it any easier to read about it. Personalizing the experiences was breathtaking.

I need to preface this review with this: I L O V E this author. She is one of my favorites and she writes two of my top 10 favorite historical mysteries and I know what a good writer she is and the meticulous research that she does when she writes a book.

That said...

I need to stop requesting/picking fiction/historical fiction books that are based on true events that I am already fairly knowledgeable about [or in this case really, really, knowledgeable about] as I usually end up frustrated and wishing I had just found a good NF book about the subject OR [in this case], found a different subject to read about.

I have been enamored with Titanic for years. And then I married a rabid consumer of all things Titanic, who, when he found out I had an interest, proceeded to tell me ALL he knew, shoved the books he had about the subject on me and then would buy me books when he would see them etc etc. [and even now, after we have been divorced for nine years, I am drawn to anything Titanic {hence why we are here} and why I am still completely enamored with ships and shipwrecks and the like, darn him]. While I don't always remember things until I am reminded of them, I do have a pretty solid knowledge of the ship, the main players and all that happened from sailing to sinking. So I truly should have known better when I decided to read this book. But my love for the author and her writing swayed me and here we are.

I think if you know just the basics about Titanic, you will enjoy this book [IF you can get past the length, the bazillion characters {there is a list at the beginning, which is two pages}, the endless descriptions of the clothes and food, and not even getting to the iceberg by 55%]. All of the main characters, good and bad [looking at you Mr. Ismay] are here, and it was interesting to see how the author used them in this story. I didn't love the Fortune sisters [and found some of their behavior suspect given the time frame] and found them at times to be whiny and ungrateful, but they are not story ruiners [good thing since the story is all about them], and I think most people will enjoy the story about them.

I will say the whole sinking part of the story is the absolute best; the author does an excellent job and really mirrors what I already knew about the time from hitting the iceberg to the sinking to the rescue by the Carpathia and the terror and horror all aboard experienced.
That said, it really wasn't enough for me to truly enjoy this book - I struggled with so many things and overall, it just fell flat for me, which was really disappointing and I think I would direct someone who was interested in Titanic to one of the many nonfiction books that are out there that tell the story much more straightforwardly, but I would never discourage someone from picking this up and giving it a go.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Lee Huber, and Kensington Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book follows the Fortune family of Canada on a world wind trip that culminates on The Titanic. The amount of characters, multiple plot lines and a slow build was not to my liking. I just couldn’t wait until the family boarded the Titanic to see what would happen to the large cast of characters. For that reason, I’m sorry to say this book was not for me.

Sisters of Fortune introduces us to the real-life Fortune sisters, who boarded the Titanic with their family and had their lives changed forever. The novel is filled with historical facts about the ship and some of its passengers, and the author’s thorough research is obvious.

I had not heard of the Fortune sisters, so this is a new take on the sinking of the Titanic and introduces passengers that many people did not know about. The description of the ship as the sisters boarded is realistic and well done, as the reader can easily imagine the decadence the wealthy sisters enjoyed. The actual disaster and sinking of the Titanic has of course been written about many times before, but the author does a great job of transporting the reader to that tragedy. The characters, both real and fictional, are woven together beautifully into an intriguing story. The author adds a fictional romance to the novel, and it is so compelling and well done.

In Sisters of Fortune, Fiction, Romance, and History are woven together to create a heartbreaking but very memorable story. Anyone interested in the sinking of the Titanic will enjoy this novel.

I received a free copy of this book. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

As the Fortune family embarks on the Titanic for its maiden voyage, little do they know the fate of this unsinkable ship. As we meet each sister and the parents of this Canadian family, their experiences make for excellent reading. Well written and recommended.

Even though everyone is familiar with the story, Huber brings to life the way of life for the privileged and the drama of the event through the real story of one family aboard the Titanic. The author is clear about separating fact from fiction in the afterword. Flora and Chess are memorable characters that will stay with you and it’s easy to picture in your mind the rest of the family as well as the drama as it unfolding aboard the ship. It is an enjoyable read even with the heavy subject matter.
4 Stars

Much thanks to Anna Lee Huber, Kensington, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mm-mm, nope, not doing it. I knew this book was a bad idea as soon as it was announced. I knew I would not enjoy it. But it's Anna Lee Huber... and I know what happens to the Titanic, so I'm prepared, right? I can't be traumatized by what I'm expecting, right? It'll be fine.

It is not fine. I've spent the last eight hours growing fond of this family, these characters. They've just hit the burg and I decide to stop there for the night; I don't need the stress as I'm trying to go to sleep. But for shits and giggles I google the characters to see who's going to die when I resume reading tomorrow.

These aren't truly spoilers considering it's googleable, but I'll mark it as such anyway. [ The women survive, the men do not. My heart broke for the loss of the father and ship-loving brother, but that's not all that surprising; they do prioritize saving first class women and children in the sinking. Next I look up Flora so I can read about her and Ches's real-life happy-ever-after.

......Except irl Flora marries Crawford Gordon. Has his kids. Is buried next to him.

Loudest squealing mental breaks ever.

Frantically I search for Chester Kingey, famous tennis star circa early 1900s.

I can't find him. He does not exist.

Huber created him to die.

Oh HELL no.

I am NOT doing Jack and Rose again. Nope. No sirree. You can't make me. Do you know how much Jack's death traumatized me as a child? I mean, the whole movie did, I refused to watch the second half for a long time, but his was so unnecessary! (He could have fit on that door!)

If I'd thought for a second that Huber would dare have one of the sisters meet a blond American charmer her parents disapproved of, fall in love with him despite having a fiance, promise to break off her engagement and marry charmer instead, and then (presumably) have him die and the sister go on loving his memory, I'd have never begun it. Because that sounds awfully familiar. (hide spoiler)]

DNF 60%. That 60% was excellent, but I'm not willing to have my heart broken right now.

Sisters of Fortune is a captivating historical fiction novel set onboard the Titanic in 1912. The Fortune family with sisters, Alice, Mabel and Flora are based upon real people and true events. It's clear by reading that the author, Anna Lee Huber, has deeply researched the era and historical facts. My favorite genre is historical fiction and I'm interested in the Titanic, so this novel was a good match for me.
The author sets the scenes with exquisite detail of the glamour of the era, world traveling by the wealthy class, and the renowned opulence onboard the Titanic itself. The Fortune family are traveling together. Along with their parents, Charlie is the brother, and sisters, Alice, Mabel and Flora. The sisters are three very different women. All are young women facing their future decisions and each has their own desires and voices within the story narrative. I enjoyed reading of their sisterhood, disagreements, and the differences in personalities and even different life goals. Loved the bits of romance, glamour, and female independence. Not surprising there is heartbreak.
At the introduction, Alice stumbles upon a Fortune Teller in Egypt who warns her of traveling at sea. She's not sure she believes such things, but it lingers in her mind as she travels. It sets the stage for unexpected twists and guides the reader throughout with intrigue.
I enjoyed the book very much. It's much more than about the sinking of the Titanic, I learned new details. I didn't know of the Fortune family, so it was surprising to learn of their story.
Thank you to the publisher Kensington's titles, the author and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the novel. All opinions expressed are my own.

What an incredibly well-researched and elegant book! I have long been fascinated by the Titanic, and to read this true story about the Fortune sisters and their family was such a treat, It brought everything about that fateful historic event to life in an evocative and tangible way. The author did a wonderful job of weaving all the love stories throughout!

My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing the electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A harrowing historical novel based on real events and characters surrounding the Titanic tragedy, This book is for historical fiction readers and Titanic enthusiasts. The beginning starts off a little slow, from all of the character introductions and descriptions of the ship and time period, but the pace speeds up as the story progresses. It was thoroughly researched. Many real survivors and victims, even lesser known ones, and little historical tidbits are intertwined into the romance. I enjoyed it!

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Thank you to Net Galley/Kensington Books for the free digital arc.

I’m gonna be thinking about this one for a long time…

Sisters of Fortune follows the Fortune family, mainly the sisters Flora, Alice and Mabel, as they complete their grand tour of Europe by journeying home on the Titanic. Each sister is at a turning point in their lives and as the countdown to their return home begins each sister sets out to change their destiny, with no idea that heartbreak is so close on the horizon.

It was a slow one to start with, however I soon found myself drawn into each of the sisters lives and rooting for them to have everything they wanted.

I’m a sucker for romance and the romance between Flora and Chess was everything to me, I loved the slow burn of it whilst also seeing their chemistry from the eyes of the people who know Flora best. Knowing the Titanic was headed for disaster made me more anxious as I wanted them to have a happy ending and not knowing whether they would or not made their romance all the more epic to me.

The sinking of the Titanic, whilst told in so many different variations, had my heart in my throat the whole time from the instant collision and no one aware of what was happening, to it finally slipping below the surface of the water, and the hope that continued to carry the survivors onwards, had me just as hopeful for the characters that had survived and the ones I wanted to have survived.

The attention to detail in this book is nothing short of incredible. Little bits like seeing a boy with a spinning top, (one of the most famous pictures from the Titanic) Mrs. Strauss refusing to leave her husband, the description of the grand staircase with the glass dome roof just added to the atmosphere and made you feel like you were right there.

This book is a solid 4.5 stars for me

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

I enjoyed this book just from a historical aspect. I kept looking up people's names to find out who they really were. I learned a lot from all the characters she included in the book. The book had a cute boatmance story but there was so much other stories going on that it takes up the whole story. The only thing I will say is that I didn't like how she jumped between all 3 sisters. It became very confusing to me to know who was now talking. I wish she would have broken it up a little better. Other that that it was a good Titanic story that was inspired by real sisters.

Anna Lee Huber's new novel, Sisters of Fortune, is based on the true story of the upper class, Canadian, Fortune family who were amongst the passengers who boarded the Titanic for its tragic maiden voyage in 1912. Huber does a great job of merging interesting historical facts about the three sisters and other notable passengers such as one of the sister's receiving a warning about going out to sea by an Egyptian fortuneteller, with a thrilling storyline including family drama. A fictional romance, based on the lives of two real tennis champ who were also on the Titanic, will have fans of the James Cameron Titanic movie hooked. The ship is discussed in such depth it felt as if it were a character in and of itself. If you enjoy Sisters of Fortune and historic fiction, you can also find other books by Huber including those in her Verity Kent historic mystery series, which is set in 1919 and 1920.