Review: Women of Good Fortune

Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What started out as a story of three whinny Asian women who have been friends for ages eventually turned into a riveting read. Yes, I admit I almost gave up during the first third or so, but something told me to keep going, and eventually, I couldn't put this book down.

We have three grown women who think of themselves as 'leftovers.' An Asian term for a woman of a certain age who hasn't married and/or had children. Along with these women, we have their mothers and future MIL to mix in the pot. Most (and especially the future MIL) are huge bitches!

These women have different problems, but problems they have. One is getting married to someone she doesn't love. This is Lulu, and she is a bit spineless. We have Jane, who thinks she is ugly and has that reinforced by her mother. She wants plastic surgery. She is married and treats her husband like crap. Then we have Rina, a workaholic (think 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week!) who wants to have her eggs frozen because she believes time is running out.

Well, Lulu is marrying one of the wealthiest bachelors in all of Shanghai, if not THE wealthiest. As you can see from the book's recap, things went on from there.

Everything is slapdash, and the reader is left amazed that these three (five if you count their two accomplices) can pull off this heist. Or can they?

The ending is amazing, and everyone seems to get their happily-ever-after, which doesn't always include a man!

This is well worth the time it will take you to read since I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, Graydon House - HarperCollins, the author Sophie Wan, and ATT/Edelweiss. My thanks to all.

View all my reviews

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

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…"