This book started off strong but slowly got repetitive and boring. For one, there were no point in half the characters. For another why were there so many dang chapters after we found out do done the killing? Like what the heck no. ALSO, I saw everything from a mile away. This book was truly awful. Do not recommend.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars.

I’m always down for a good cozy mystery, and this book sounded like a great start to a new series. Plus, I was especially excited to see more diversity in cozy mysteries, which is an area that has been neglected for far too long.

In this book, Felicity Jin has grown up in a small town, admiring her mother’s skills in their magical bakery. However, she’s the only Jin woman in her family line that hasn’t inherited the gift of bringing joy to others through their baked goods. But when Felicity gets Chinese takeout with some disappointing fortune cookies, she decides to take matters into her own hands and try baking her own. And they come out so good that she starts selling them in the shop, where people can’t get enough of them.

Felicity turns out to have a magical gift of her own—when her hand makes contact with another person’s, she’s able to write a bespoke fortune that comes true. Unfortunately, when one person is murdered shortly after getting a fortune cookie from Felicity, it puts her squarely in the crosshairs of the police—as the main suspect. Of course, this also puts her as head amateur sleuth trying to clear her name, even as Detective Sun is trying to solve the crime.

One of the things that I really loved about this story was the relationships in it. There’s a really close and heartwarming bond between Felicity and her mother, and I loved seeing how they are so involved with each other yet still respect boundaries for privacy. Felicity and her best friend Kelvin have a great dynamic—he owns the floral shop next to the Jin’s bakery, and while he doesn’t look like the typical florist, he knows his stuff and more importantly, he’s a great friend to Felicity, who he calls ‘Lissa.’ I adored that he alone uses that nickname for her, and that he was perfectly willing to drop everything and become the Watson to Felicity’s Sherlock. Finally, rather than having a completely antagonistic relationship between Felicity and Detective Sun, they turn out to have more of a complementary connection, even going so far as to bond over a microaggression at one point.

The story is a good one, and the plot kept me intrigued. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and trying to solve the mystery on my own. The pace was a little slower than I’d normally like, with a few subplots to keep the story moving along, but there’s also the random appearance of a magical bunny who the Jin ladies decide to keep as a pet. Whiskers actually winds up playing an important role in the story, and I really loved that bunny. This is a good start to the series, and I’ll definitely be tuning in for the next one. There’s room to grow, and I’m really hoping for good things.

Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC of Ill-Fated Fortune! All opinions in this review are my own.

My favorite part of this cozy mystery is that it includes some magic! Through the magic that is passed down to her, Felicity is able to bake delicious fortune cookies and also write accurate fortunes for them. This both helps and hurts the people she interacts with.

At first, I wasn't a huge fan of Felicity. She just discovers her baking power in the beginning of the book and then seems to immediately offer to make them for different places other than her mom's bakery. It seemed very out of character since she was so worried about her mom's business. Luckily, this is cleared up by the end of the book and I look forward to reading more of this series!

A charming cozy with just the right touch of magic, mystery and good characters. I love the relationship between the characters and the appearance of a possible magical bunny and the mysterious grandmother. A solid mystery too. There was some repetitions and could have been a little tighter but definitely enjoyable.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion..

This was a fun read and it reminded me of why I enjoy this genre.I aprreciate the main character, Felicity, as she experiences uncertainty as well as curiosity. What I like is that she grew during the story - becoming more sure of herself and what she wanted to do with her talents.

A nice start to a new cozy mystery series, filled with delicious-sounding foods that have some magic baked in.

Felicity Jin and her mother run a small bakery featuring Asian delicacies in a small town near Fresno, California. When Mom bakes, she hums and her happiness gets infused in her baked goods. People who eat her pineapple buns or egg tarts instantly feel joy. Felicity hasn’t had much luck in baking but after eating some disappointing fortune cookies she got in a takeout order, Felicity decides to try making her own. And they are a spectacular hit! She has found her own brand of magic: when she touches someone who wants one of her fortune cookies, she gets a buzz and writes a customized fortune for them, without realizing what she’s writing. Usually, it’s good news, but when one customer winds up dead near their bakery with her custom fortune in his pocket, suspicion falls on Felicity.

There’s a whole subplot about a fortune cookie factory in Fresno with disgruntled employees and a restaurant owner who puts profit over quality, plus a rabbit that shows up out of nowhere and becomes a pet. I enjoyed Felicity’s relationship with her best friend Kelvin, who owns the florist shop next door to their bakery. He becomes a willing companion for Felicity’s amateur sleuthing.

I was happy that the police detective from Fresno is not depicted as incompetent. In fact, Felicity and Detective Sun wind up bonding a little over their shared heritage (which translates to discrimination in many instances and “micro-aggressions” by other police officers).

For the ambitious, there’s a recipe for fortune cookies at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Catherine Ho, did a good job with the various voices. All opinions are my own.

Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow is an intriguing and heartwarming read. The combination of magic, a small town bakery, family relations, friendships and a twisty murder mystery created a thrilling, fun & fast paced read.
The characters are very entertaining. I didn’t see the twists ahead of time. There’s a delightful feel-good ending. It has everything you could want in a cozy mystery!

I have posted this review on Amazon, Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6258825146

And Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6pi6Yqryjn/?igsh=MXYxY3oxbmdybnhlYw==

Thank you to Netgalley for this Arc, All opinions are my own. This was so cute! My first cozy mystery and it absolutely was adorable. I love the extras in the back of the book too! This was so fun! I recommend!

This was my first time reading this author and this series (well it is the first book in the series) and I quite enjoyed it! I thought the mystery was cool, I loved that there was magical elements to it, there was also a secondary mystery to it all. I loved the mother daughter relationship. I’m definitely interested in continuing reading the series if a second one comes out.

This is a fun start to a cozy series set in a Magical Bake Shop. I'm not usually one to be drawn to books that have supernatural elements, but this was done in an interesting way. Both Lissa and her mom infuse their baking with their feelings. So, for example, if they are feeling sad, the baked goods make people cry. Also, Lissa is learning her power to write personalized fortune cookies for people after she touches them.

Amidst all these supernatural occurrences, a murder mystery unfolds. A rival fortune cookie baker is found dead outside Lissa's family bake shop, setting the stage for a thrilling investigation. Lissa and her friend, Kelvin, take it upon themselves to solve the mystery, adding an exciting layer to the story. This is a promising start to a cozy series, leaving me eager for more.

This was a good cozy mystery series starter! It was a quick read, I craved fortune cookies the whole time, and the characters all work well together.

I absolutely loved this cozy mystery! read it in one day. I think I even laughed in some parts. I would definitely recommend this book to all my family and friends.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. I love a good culinary cozy, and this did not disappoint. Felicity Jin comes from a long line of magical bakers and runs a bakery with her mother. She has just discovered her burgeoning ability via making fortune cookies. All is going well until a rival fortune cookie maker is found dead in the dumpster behind the family bakery, and Felicity is the main suspect. She investigates to prove her innocence.

I found this a charming introduction to a new series. Felicity's struggles to find her place, both in the world and the family legacy had a geniness to it. The supporting characters, especially Kelvin, were a delight. The mystery was well plotted and paced. The side story of the wedding was hysterical. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and look forward to more.

All opinions are mine and freely given.

Felicity grew up in her mother’s magical bakery. Where joy would spread from her mother to those eating her specialized, delicious baked goods. When Felicity discovered where her own gifts lay, with fortune cookies and fortunes that came true, she began creating and selling cookies by hand. However, when one fortune predicted a murder, and Felicity became a suspect, she knew she needed to clear her name and find what happened. Along with friends, she worked to help solve the mystery.

This was an amazing start to a new cozy mystery series. This is, honestly, one of my favorites to date. The characters, the backstory, the cozy magical charm. It was a cute story that just hooked me in right away.

I loved watching Felicity work on and perfect her baking. And the support of her friends and family, for all of each other, just warmed my heart. Their relationships were sweet, and so supportive.

The story itself was just interesting. I was invested, and enjoyed watching them solve the mystery. And I just really enjoyed the magical element incorporated - it just made the story stick out.

I felt like this book was a warm, cozy, magical drink that I didn’t want to end. It was all I could look for in a cozy mystery, and so much more. I’m eagerly anticipating next year’s release to continue reading the series - just a few more months!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, initially received from the publisher and author through NetGalley. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

It's always nice to be introduced to a new series, and I was eager to read "Ill-Fated Fortune." Unfortunately, Felicity Jin didn't really appeal to me as a heroine. Her struggles were repetitive and hard to sympathize with, and her complete disregard for the fact that her best friend had feelings for her didn't endear her to me either. It also didn't make sense to me that a bakery could survive when it only had two or three offerings (pineapple buns, egg tarts and eventually fortune cookies), although I suppose their magic might have made it possible... But it still seemed odd.

I actually enjoyed the secondary characters more than Felicity. I felt badly for Kelvin, her best friend, and loved how sweet he was toward her. I also enjoyed Alma's wisdom and mystique. I even enjoyed the development of Detective Sun throughout the story.

I'll be curious to read the next installment in the series to see if Felicity becomes a bit more engaging.

Thank you to Jennifer Chow, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Book 1 of the Magical Fortune Cookie mystery. This was a good start to a new series pairing together two of my favorite cozy subgenres - Culinary and Paranormal!

The setting takes place in Pixie, CA. Felicity “Lissa” and her mother run the Gold Bakery. Here you can get pineapple buns, egg tarts and freshly made fortune cookies. The twist is the Jin women add a touch of magic to their treats helping their customers feel extra joy. Lissa has just discovered her ability - to hand write a customer’s fortune moments before it actually comes true. This was such a fun twist to the story. I loved seeing how heavy emotions had an affect on their magic.

The mystery was very captivating and centers around a locally owned, mass producing fortune cookie factory. I loved Lissa and Kelvin’s amateur sleuthing skills. Together they discovered secrets and plenty of suspicious suspects. I had the wrong culprit pegged for the majority of the story so the red herrings worked perfectly!

I loved the side characters, especially those that ran the nearby magical shops. Kelvin, the bestie florist, was so incredibly sweet. I love his use of the language of flowers. Alma, the godmother candlemaker is extremely mysterious. I’m curious to learn more about her. Whiskers, the “magical” bunny was a fun sidekick too that wove in a touch of Chinese mythology. I also really liked Detective Sun and her interactions with the Jin family.

Overall, I look forward to reading more from this author, who writes several different cozy mystery series, and I will keep my eye out for a sequel.

tl;dr
Magical baking pairs perfectly with a cozy mystery that keeps the reader guessing.

Thoughts
My relationship with cozy mysteries is extremely neutral, but I decided to grab this one because I will always read a book where baking is magic. And to my delight, the magical baking is a pretty big part of the story, so I have not been led astray by the marketing. It's also a competent cozy mystery with a relatable heroine, a very sweet relationship with her mother, and a cute boy next door who may or may not hold a flame for our heroine (hmmmm). I most enjoyed how much Felicity's magic reflects her own identity as a child of the diaspora. Fortune cookies have a complicated history with Japanese roots, that eventually shift to Chinese American, and that lines up perfectly with Felecity's own struggle to embrace her own history and identity. Add to that a magical rabbit, and a mystery with plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and you have a fun start to a promising series.

I loved the author’s Mimi Lee series so I had high expectations for this one. I liked it. It is a fun cozy food mystery with a touch of magical realism. I liked Felicity and the other characters, the town of Pixie, and the bunny. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This has a fun premise for a cozy mystery series. The characters are engaging, and the mystery was decent (though I had guessed an odd aspect to it, but thought it was too odd to be plausible: the bit about putting cement in the cookies)

I liked the focus on her friend Kelvin, the shops nearby and her family.

Will read the second one when it comes out.

This was my first time reading a cozy mystery and I was not disappointed. Although this was a fast paced story, I felt that there was some repetition which bogged the story down a bit. A lot of time was spent introducing the characters but, being the first book in a series, that's understandable. Overall, this was a great, and fun, little mystery and I'm looking forward to more books in the series.
Many thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and Jennifer J Chow for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.