Karen S. (BoysMom) - My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fun, sure-to-be addicting new magical, cozy mystery series!
Ill-Fated Fortune, the debut novel in author Jennifer J. Chow's new Magical Fortune Cookie series, is a fun start to what I think will be an addictive culinary-themed cozy paranormal mystery series. Chow's characters are engaging, the settings welcoming and comfortable, and the plot features not only the protagonist in trouble but also sweet, baked confections and an intriguing magical element.
I loved the cool backstory about the women in Felicity's family and the history of their magical ways with pastries. I was immediately sympathetic to her earlier disappointment that their gift had somehow passed her by. Felicity was just such a fun character, and having warm and loving relationships with her mother and best friend, Kelvin, made her story even better.In addition to the unique culinary theme and magical realism, the murder mystery was compelling. The victim makes quite an impression early in the story, and their demise soon follows, off the page, so no waiting around for trouble to come knocking! It's an insult to injury when Felicity is eyed for the deed when the victim had treated her and her mother so dismissively, and they'd kept to the high road. So, what's a girl gonna do? Figure it out for herself, right? There are enough red herrings to make things interesting, but enough information slipped in to get an idea of who did it, too.
I recommend ILL-FATED FORTUNE to cozy mystery readers who enjoy culinary- themes and magical elements in their stories and especially to readers who may appreciate a series' debut with only a small number of characters to keep up with.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
Lori C. (dollycas) reviewed Ill-Fated Fortune (Magical Fortune Cookie, Bk 1) on + 705 more book reviews Felicity Jin's mother sells pineapple buns and egg tarts filled with joy and love at her magical Gold Bakery. Felicity thought the family's magical baking talents had passed her by until she was inspired to create her own handmade fortune cookies. Even before she learned she could make personalized predictions, they were a huge success. But when a customer's ill-fated fortune leads to his murder and she is the prime suspect. She is going to need some good fortune herself. Can she prove her innocence and find the real killer? Or will her fortunes spell the end of her family's legacy?
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In this first Magical Fortune Cookie Mystery, we meet Felicity "Lissa" Jin and her mom. Her mom has continued the magical family's legacy wrapping joy and sunshine into her pastries. Lissa needed to find the right recipe to ignite her magic and until now helped her mom at the bakery by working at the cash register. She is very excited to have found her perfect recipe, fortune cookies. Felicity and her mother are very close and their life revolves around their bakery. Ms. Jin struggles at one point. It made her character more true to life and I was strongly drawn into her part of the story.
We also meet Lissa's "bestie" Kelvin. He owns Love Blooms right next door to the bakery. He makes beautiful arrangements and enjoys creating just what his customers want. Alma Paz is Felecity's godmother and owns Paz Illuminations on the other side of the bakery. Alma is in her 60s or 70s and shares her wisdom along with the "latest on-trend candles" in-store and on Etsy. Ms. Chow does an excellent job introducing these core characters while leaving room for them to develop as the series continues.
The murder victim, found in the dumpster behind the bakery was Charles Gong, the Fortune Cookie King. He had cornered the Fresno fortune cookie market and he had heard about Lissa's cookies and just tried to try one. Knowing she had nothing to do with his death she and Kelvin set out to find out who did. She quickly found several people with the motive to crumble the Cookie King. Lissa was a determined sleuth going back again and again trying to get people to tell her what they knew. That determination led her right into the clutches of the killer. What a showdown!
I enjoyed all the magical aspects of the story but the one that stole my heart was on the night of the full moon when a special guest arrived at the Jin's front door. A guest that quickly makes themself right at home and never leaves.
Ill-Fated Fortune is more than a cozy mystery. It is a story of Lissa finding her place in her family. Something she had wanted so much because she thought she was the one daughter in the Jin line who had been skipped over and didn't have the magical gift. She now knows that isn't true but she still has much to learn about her power.
Ms. Chow has given this series a firm foundation with Ill-Fated Fortune. I want to see what she has planned for these characters in the future and where the magic will take them.
