This was good, but not great! I was expecting more tension and excitement for a heist based story. Overall this was still fun and enjoyable!

Lulu is engaged to Harv, Shanghai’s richest and most eligible bachelor, a man who she doesn’t love, but her family really needs the financial support that would come from this marriage. Lulu and her two best friends, Rina and Jane devise a plan to steal the wedding money to seek the freedom they all desire.

This audiobook was a fun listen! I enjoyed the exploration of female friendship, economic and social class, self-discovery, and freedom. Lulu, Jane, and Rina are all so different, at some points in the story it’s hard to see how they connect as friends. Lulu is a quiet waitress, still figuring out what she wants in life, while her family depends on for everything. Jane is witty with a comeback but struggles to love herself because of her upbringing, and wants the luxurious life Lulu is so desperate to escape from. Rina is trying to accelerate her career but is consistently passed over for promotions in favor of her male colleagues. Her lifestyle would while is better suited for a career in the US, where she grew up, but she wants to be close to her aging parents.

The heist itself is was exciting, but the build up to it lagged at times. The majority of the plot is about the wedding planning and planning the heist, and I think there was more room to explore the class difference between Harv and Lulu’s worlds.

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook. A great debut by Sophie Wan a narration by Catherine Ho. Thank you to @netgalley and @harperaudio for the ARC.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan.

Three friends, three separate circumstances, one perfect plan. Lulu is engaged to be married to the most eligible bachelor in Shanghai, but she is not happy about it. As the wedding day draws closer, she begins to feel increasingly trapped by her overbearing mother-in-law to be and her family who depends on her for financial security. Meanwhile, her two best friends are having troubles of their own - one already in a loveless marriage, and the other being continually passed over for promotion in a job that demands her full attention 24/7. The three women all agree that to alleviate their problems, they need money, and they need it fast. To achieve this, these friends, with the help of two unlikely accomplices, will have to pull off the ultimate switcheroo at LuLu's wedding without getting caught.

This audiobook, narrated by Catherine Ho, was easy to listen to, and overall, I enjoyed the story. Wan does a great job of explaining different aspects of Asian culture, and it helped me understand why each of these women felt trapped in their circumstances. There is definitely some humor, and some heartfelt innuendo about friendships and relationships in general. The characters felt a little shallow to me (especially Jane, who is almost unbearable), however, I think Wan might have written them that way on purpose. Read this if you enjoyed Dial A for Aunties and Crazy Rich Asians.

A trio of friends all feels stuck - in a marriage that isn't working, in an engagement that feels forced, and to a job that is relentless while feeling replaceable. One night over a hot pot dinner, they find an escape route via a heist. What follows over the coming months is a mess as they each go through their own journeys and the heist becomes there primary focus - bits of humor, frustration, growth all are pervasive as they near the day of... can they pull it off?

I consumed this read via audiobook and was glad I did - it kept me entertained as the characters went on their journey. This is a fun book to read when you're looking for a distraction and something totally different from real life. Thank you to Netgalley and to Harper/Harlequin audio for the listening copy.

I always enjoy a good heist story and this one done by women is especially fun because it highlights their relationships and the effect the plan is having on them. I enjoyed the different viewpoints and I loved the short chapters. The fast pace kept my interest level high. I especially enjoyed the ending and I think this book would be a great one to inspire a book club discussion.

Women of Good Fortune is a novel set in Shanghai and features a strong female friendship and the events leading up to an elaborate wedding celebration. I am glad that I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook as I probably would have mispronounced names and words used in the book. I enjoyed the themes of equality between men and women, family, familial bonds, friendship and even a bit of a romance element. There is even a bit of comedy in this book.

I recommend this book for readers who enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians.

Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the advanced listening copy.

Such a fun listen! I love a girl power book and this debut is a good one. I really enjoyed the Chinese cultural aspects and the heist aspect. This would make a terrific beach read/listen.

Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the copy to review.

In this captivating tale of ambition and societal expectations, the author skillfully explores the complexities of friendship, love, and the relentless pursuit of financial security. While the narrative offers an engaging glimpse into the lives women bound by their desires and dilemmas, some readers might find the plot's reliance on a heist to resolve their struggles a bit far-fetched.

📖 Book Review 📖

🎧 "Women of Good Fortune" by Sophie Wan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Published March 5, 2024

Thank you @Netgalley for the audiobook

A great novel similar to “Crazy Rich Asians” but with a high-society wedding heist to add some extra excitement. The writing is funny, engaging and heartfelt as the bride-to-be Lulu, along with her 2 best friends plan to steal the money gifted to her and her groom. Lulu is so lucky to be marrying into one of Shanghai’s most prominent families so of course the wedding will be over the top gorgeous and enough money to transform the women’s lives and solve all their problems.

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Voice spot on, details crisp, pacing great. Loved the interplay between the characters--their friendship doesn't save all--the women learn to save themselves. Fantastic cover--excited to sell this one.

Lulu is set to be married to one of Shanghai’s most desirable men even though everything inside her is telling her this is not what she wants. This marriage would be great for her family, a means to secure them financial security but at what cost? Lulu can only confide in her two best friends, Rina, career driven and constantly being overlooked in favor of her male colleges and Jane, who longs to upgrade her life, which includes divorcing her husband and marrying up. All three of them desire something different with one thing in common, money. Lulus wedding is a shining opportunity to get that life altering money they all so desperately want. But can they get away with stealing money from one of Shanghai’s wealthiest and most famous families noses?

I enjoyed this book, but felt the first half was a little big slow paced for me. It definitely got a little more fast paced about halfway through and I thought the ending was great I listened to the audio version and thr narrator was great and the pacing was good and easy to listen to.. I enjoyed the different characters and their rich character development. Each character had something unique to them and it helped make them feel more real and to distinguish between them. I enjoyed the format of the book, each chapter telling us how long until the wedding and each chapter being told from a different characters POV. Having never visited China, I enjoyed the description of Shanghai and daily life there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review is for the audiobook version of the novel. 3.5 Stars
The narrator did a great job of distinguishing between all of the characters, male and female. So I enjoyed the choice of narrator.
I was initially excited about the premise of the book, an all women heist, like an Oceans 8. 3 friends, decide they are going to commit a heist, during the wedding of one of the women. Each believes the money stolen from the wedding could provide them with a much better future than they are currently living. A better fortune, or are they ignoring good fortune and are completely oblivious to how good they have it? The story takes you through the heist and the aftermath. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, it was OK.
Ultimately, the book was too long. It could have got where it was going in much less time. The audio was at least 2 hours longer than it needed to be. It started to feel like the story was dragging on, and I started to get annoyed with the women.
The conclusion did neatly wrap up in the epilogue.
3.5 STARS (since Goodreads doesn't have half stars). Not quite 4 stars, better than 3, and I would recommend it to others.

This story follows Lulu, Rina, and Jane as they scheme to steal money from Lulu’s wedding in order to fund their individual plans for escaping the roles and expectations put on them by their culture and families.

It was a really fun story and I loved how each character grew in a unique was that was well-suited for their individual personalities. I was also happy with how the story line was wrapped up and the freedom each character was able to find.

If you’re into stories that push back against patriarchal power structures, feature witty female characters becoming who they want to be, and display beautiful friendships, then this book should go on your TBR!

I loved this story so much!! It's like a heisty Crazy Rich Asians. I loved the strong female friendship representation. The culture present was done well. It sucks you in quick and keeps you on the edge of your seal. It was a very hard read to put down at night. I really enjoyed seeing the growth in all of the characters.

Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan is like if you took Crazy Rich Asians and mixed it with a little Ocean’s Eleven and Counterfeit by Kristen Chen—which is to say cinematic, surprisingly touching and super fun.

Lulu is engaged to the most eligible bachelor in Shanghai—but between how fast the relationship is moving, her heinous mother in law to be, and the expectations of her own overbearing family to “marry up” and take care of them, she’s searching for a way out. When her best friends with their own money-problems (Jane, desperate to divorce her husband and get plastic surgery and Rina, tired of being looked over for promotion at work and facing a fertility situation she can’t afford) offhandedly suggest stealing the veritable fortune that will be gifted at the high society wedding, it sparks something in them all.

Next thing you know they’re all using their own special skills to assemble a crew and plan an outrageous heist on her wedding day. But of course, things won’t seem to go to plan and hearts get tangled up and broken in the process. Will their friendship survive the pressure?

I really enjoyed this vengeful team of conwomen who were fed up with society’s narrow constraints for them and decided to do something about it. They were funny, brash and clever and never had a dull moment. I liked how their personal situations each had their own twist by the end and though I wish the characters had more depth to them, I was still into it and rooting for them. Rina and Jane each had their own side-love stories that were actually so much better than Lulu’s main one so I wish they had got more playtime, too.

All in all a quick fun read for fans of lying stealing ladies and female friendship.

Thanks to @netgalley and @harperaudio @harlequin_audio for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting concept that kept me hooked trying to figure out what would happen next! I enjoyed getting to know all three women and how their lives seemed very different and yet similar when it came to having control over their circumstances and money. I liked the ingenuity of their heist and the over-the-top attitudes of some of the characters. Heartwarming and a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Narration was excellent!

CRAZY RICH ASIANS meets OCEAN’S 8 with a splash of COUNTERFEIT, is this immersive, enjoyable red envelope wedding heist book featuring a “leftover woman” and her two best & equally unhappy friends. More books like this, please

3.5 ⭐️ I really liked this book! I requested this ARC audio book without really reading much about it, and I ended up kind of loving the whole thing. Love the heist aspect while still being more of a novel about 3 friends and the different life circumstances they’ve been given. So good! The audio book was very well done. I loved it and will totally recommend it to others.

I adored the description of this book—Crazy Rich Asians meets Oceans 11.
Unfortunately, it did neither of them very well . I ended up DNFing this book around 75%. The characters never made want to join in their journey.