Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim

So many times I gave short breaks from the book as soon as I read one of the amazing recipes and made calls so because of my too many breaks this was one of the slowest read I’ve ever done for so long. I felt like I attended one of the unreasonable television shows about how to loose wait in one week or how to lose your partner to a doppelganger of Barbie doll kind of show, haven’t eaten for days. Not a simple suffering of skipping a meal. But as I learned more details about the characters’ stories, my only reaction was getting hungry. I know so many readers enjoyed this book and I swear I liked it in the beginning. 'Vivid and lyrical with a touch of magic.'-Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotientģ.45, I’m still angry of myself for being ruthless grader but that’s how I felt, I know there’s food, lots of food, tons of food, emotional parts, many, too many, heartwarming and tear-jerker parts, so many great anecdotes, remarkable messages but it didn’t resonate with me so I’m unpopular reviewer who is exiled for her punishment in the minority place stars!

But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around-she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef.

Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lim's magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places.Īt the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home.

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim