Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel (Magical Fortune Cookie, 1) by Jennifer J. Chow
The first in a new series by one of my favorite cozy authors is a delicious mystery! Also - magical fortune cookies? Yum and fun!

This was a good start to a new series. There is a lot of scene setting and introduction, which is to be expected from the first book in the series, but there is also a lot of repetition, which bogged the story down. I loved the concept of the magical treats in the bakery but find it difficult to believe that a bakery, no matter how cute the town, could thrive only serving two items. Or that people would buy dozens of fortune cookies, no matter how tasty, when you can get them for free at restaurants. It would have made more sense if they had been a different type of cookie but it’s a cozy, so there’s a lot of suspension of disbelief. Otherwise, the town and the characters were cute and I will read the next in the series.

Release Date: February 20, 2024

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Felicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies.
They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.

I am so excited about this new series!! @jenjchow creates such a wonderful and cozy environment. While the heroine, Felicity, is flawed at first she finds her inner strength at the end with her bunny and bestie. I can’t wait for more Pixie and more Detective Sun (who I think is felicity’s half sibling via father).

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Dollycas's Thoughts

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?

_____

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.

I really enjoyed meeting Felicity, her mom and Kelvin and loved the close relationship she had with her mom. Their type of magic added happiness to their baked goods was pretty cool and even though Kelvin wasn’t magical, he was in on the secret. He was such an awesome friend to Felicity and a great sleuthing buddy.

Eventually I started suspecting someone in the murder and was right about it. That was a really unique method for offing the guy though. The showdown was exciting and Felicity was definitely holding her own and using her brains to get out in one piece. Everything turned out pretty nicely for Felicity and her mom’s bakery. I’m eager to see what adventure they get into next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin’s Paperbacks via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J Chow

Felicity Jin has always felt like a bit of a failure whenever she compares herself to her mother and grandmother. The rest of the women in her family have magical talents that come out in their baking, but she’s lived nearly three decades without displaying any supernatural ability whatsoever. She’s happy enough to help her mother Angela run their family bakery in the small town of Pixie, California otherwise, but her lack of magic can’t help but sting.

That all changes the night she has some truly terrible fusion food from a new restaurant in the nearby city of Fresno. The less than stellar experience inspires her to whip up a recipe for fortune cookies that come, intriguingly enough, with a side of prophecy when the circumstances are just right.

While her mom specializes in pineapple buns and egg tarts that evoke happiness in those who eat them, Felicity’s abilities are a little less universally positive. Nowhere is this more apparent than when she writes out a fortune for a customer that accidentally predicts his impending doom. Worse, his body is found in the dumpster right behind the bakery, with her ominous fortune still in his pocket. This, of course, focuses the attention of Fresno Homicide Detective Rylan Sun on Felicity herself as prime suspect in the unlucky man’s murder.

Unwilling to be railroaded by the big city detective, Felicity and her best friend Kelvin Love begin to make inquiries of their own, much to Angela’s dismay. When the Jin women’s unsettled feelings begin to show up in their baking, souring their goods, Felicity and Kelvin know that they need to hurry up and solve the case before the bakery starts to suffer even more than it already has from the scandal. But what will they do when the trail leads them right to a murderer who won’t hesitate to kill again?

This was a charming, fresh cozy mystery of small-town sleuths vs a big city detective, with just the right touch of the paranormal. The minority representation throughout is outstanding, and I especially loved the character of half-Black, half-Japanese Kelvin. I also appreciated how the book is honest about how tough it is to run small businesses, and the sacrifices that need to be made in order to keep them afloat.

In addition to fun facts and tips about arranging flowers and embellishing candles, there’s a recipe for Felicity’s signature dish included in the back of the book:

QUOTE
Fated Fortune Cookies

3 eggs
¾ c sugar
½ c butter, melted
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
2 tbsp water
1 c flour

fortune message (optional–be creative!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare sheet pan by covering with parchment paper.

Combine eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Whip together for a few minutes.

Add in melted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, and water.

Mix flour into wet ingredients.

Use a tablespoon to spoon batter onto the parchment paper, making really thin crepe-like circles about 3 inches in diameter.

Bake for 6 minutes. The edges should turn light brown.

Flip the baked circle with a spatula. (If you are putting in a fortune, slip it in at this point.) Fold it in half and gently touch the golden edges together.

Place the middle of the cookie on the edge of a cup. Hold it there for three seconds to create a fortune cookie bend.

Put the shaped fortune cookies into separate spaces in a muffin tin to cool down.

Tips:

Bake the cookies two (or three) at a time because you'll have to fold them quickly.

Use oven gloves if you don't want to singe your fingers.

The batter should be thin. If it's too thick, add 2 to 2 tablespoons of water to adjust the consistency.
END QUOTE

These are so delicious, but they sure aren’t that easy to make, especially if you want to get the thin consistency people typically associate with fortune cookies. I’d actually say to use about half a tablespoon of batter when making each of these, as a whole tablespoon creates something more akin to a fluffy pancake than a sweet cracker. I also found that the thinner the rounds are, the less likely they are to split when you fold them over the cup rim. The muffin tin itself does a great job of helping make that distinctive folded shape, too, even if my presentation with these still left a lot to be desired!

This recipe produces about 24 delicious cookies, that crisp up the longer you let them cool. My kids and I loved them so much that we kept gobbling them up almost as soon as they came out of the oven though. This is definitely a fun recipe to try at home, especially if you’re going to try your hand at writing your own fortunes.

Next week, we travel back to the East Coast to investigate murderous machinations on a movie set, while cooking up a delicious entree. Do join me!

Felicity Jin has grown up in her mom's bakery, Gold's Bakery, in Pixie, California. Her mom has a magical talent for baking joy in the sweet delights that they sell. However, the family's magic has always eluded Felicity... until now. Felicity has discovered she has a talent for not just baking joy in fortune cookies... but also predicting some very accurate fortunes. This talent might just get her into hot water when a customer turns up dead, with one of her fortunes in his hand.

Magic Fortune Cookies!!!! I mean that should just be the review.... Magic frickin' fortune cookies. In a genre saturated with culinary cozies, many featuring bakeries, this is a unique approach and I was here for every single delectable page!

In Ill-Fated Fortune Jennifer J Chow perfectly blends mystery and culture with the Jin family, who have a family legacy of creating magic in their sweet treats. I really enjoyed the cultural aspect, especially reading this one so close to Lunar New Year. I was raised learning about Japanese and it was interesting to learn Chinese culture, especially around their food and "lucky" oranges.

The mystery was intriguing. Along with Felicity and her best friend, Kelvin, I tried to pick up clues along the way, but there were more than a few red herrings thrown in, throwing me off the trail! It was a fun adventure and the final denouement was a very satisfying.

I just adored Ill-Fated Fortune. It is a strong first book in a very promising series, and I'm so excited for the next book. I can't wait to see what Felicity, Kelvin and her pet bunny, Whiskers, get up to next! In the meantime, thanks to a recipe at the end of the book I'm going to try and make fortune cookies!!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Ill-Fated Fortune is the first book in a new series, A Magical Fortune Cookie. Felicity Jin works with her mother in their bakery. She finally discovers her special talent, but she is also a murder suspect. She decides to investigate in order to clear her name. Felicity and Kelvin are interesting characters, and the storyline kept me interested. I also enjoyed the fact that the main setting was an Asian bakery, which is different and refreshing.

Felicity Jin lives in the small town of Pixie, California and works alongside her mom in their bakery. Felicity runs the register while her mom pours her joy into baking puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts. It’s assumed that the skill of baking and the magical ability to transfer joy through baking has passed Felicity by. One night, though, Felicity feels inspired to make her own handmade fortune cookies and her magical ability is awakened! The more Felicity bakes, the more her magic develops and it guides her to make personalized predictions for customers.

Things are going well until one of Felicity’s fortunes predicts the murder of a customer and later the man is found dead outside the store’s dumpster. You can guess who the police zero in on as the number one suspect–Felicity herself. As a result, Felicity dives into her own investigation, determined to save not just herself, but also her family’s livelihood.

This was so much fun and I tore through it in a day and a half! The little bits of magic sprinkled throughout are lovely and the story has just as much heart as it does mystery. The mother-daughter relationship is heartwarming and the mystery twisty. I had my guesses of the true culprit, but I enjoyed uncovering the clues along with Jin. And like her mother, I was worried for her safety a few times–she is a determined sleuth! Fans of culinary cozy mysteries will be delighted to have a new series to add to their stack!

This new series was a lot of fun to read, and the mystery left me hanging until the end because I had no idea who the killer could be, and there were not a lot of suspects to choose from! I did not suspect the killer since no motive was ever really established until it was revealed.

Felicity is coming into her own in the bakery her mother owns. They are a magical family and everything her mom bakes is infused with joy. It took Felicity a while to find her grove, but she finally does with fortune cookies. I thought it was neat that she could write fortunes specifically for a person. It takes her some time to uncover how to do it and control it.

I really liked her best friend, Kelvin, and her godmother, Alma. These are two characters that add character to the story. Kelvin is her partner in crime, and they find themselves in some sticky situations. There is even a bunny that appears, Whiskers, that might have magical abilities too. Only time will tell.

Not everything is smooth sailing for Felicity and her mom. Certain situations put them in a bit of a pickle. It causes a few hiccups for the bakery. Luckily, all works out in time.

I think this could be a good series, I look forward to reading more and depth added for the characters with more background.

I enjoyed the idea of a magical bakery, and the premise that the Jin family’s baked goods can make you happy or even tell your fortune is a clever one. Felicity’s status as the odd family member out who has never had the gift–until suddenly there it is–is intriguing. The characters are likable and the story will make you smile. The mystery was entertaining, even though it was fairly easy to figure out. It is the magic and magical baking that draws the reader in and keeps them there. The author takes “comfort food” to another level in a clever way. Fans of food-related cozy mysteries should check this one out.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

This book was tough for me, because on the one hand, I like the characters, love the premise of magical fortune cookies, and really enjoyed the writing. On the other, I had so many problems with the way the mystery played out. At times, the main character's actions came across as too stupid to live. Worse, her "best friend" seemed to have no problem with her placing herself in immediate danger. The Fresno police wouldn't be investigating a death in a small town nearby unless that town had no police force. There are similar things like this throughout, and it really reduced my enjoyment of the book.

Ill-Fated Fortune Cookie is the first book in the Magical Fortune Cookie series by Jennifer J. Chow.

Felicity Jin works in the family “magic” bakery, where most customers experience a happy feeling when eating the pastries from the bakery. Felicity has had some big disasters in the past and fears that the magic touch in baking has escaped her. Felicity finally has produced some tasty fortune cookies, to which she has added personalized fortunes. But her first customer is found dead after eating his fortune cookie.

The book was well-written and plotted, but it was not for me. The characters just did not appeal to me.

Book Review: Ill-Fated Fortune
Stars: 4 X 5
Author: Jennifer J. Chow @jenjchow
Publisher: Minotaur Books @minotaur_books @macmillanusa
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC

Felicity and her mom own an Asian Bakery. Felicity’s mom is an amazing baker who has the ability to transfer joy in to her bake goods. Felicity has he knack to write the fortunes for the cookies. All is going well until an ill-fated fortune is found in a dead man’s pocket. She is now at the top of the suspect list. This does not sit well with Felicity. Felicity will do whatever she needs to do to clear her name and fine the real killer. Joining her on this journey is her best friend Kevin who owns the flower shop next door to the bakery. It was a delight taking the journey myself with Felicity and Kevin to find the real murderer.

This is the first book in this new series. I am also looking forward to reading future books and seeing what happens with the relationship between Felicity and Kevin.
The author did a great job with the mystery and the big reveal at the end.

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Cozy mysteries plus magic plus baking? I was completely hooked!

Felicity Jin is just starting to come into her family legacy of putting real joy into her baking when a dead body is found in the dumpster behind her family's bakery. And she's the prime suspect.

This was an absolutely adorable read. I loved the relationship between Felicity and her mother. It's evident that they love and trust each other so much. The way they supported each other was just a joy to read. And it might not stay this way, I think there were hints of a possible eventual romance between Felicity and her best friend Kelvin, but there was no huge romance happening at the same time as the mystery. Felicity's relationship with her mother and the friendship she has with Kelvin are her most important connections, and she's happy with that.

And I loved the magic influence in this story. Felicity's family has a long legacy of being able to put their emotions into their baking in a way that temporarily influences their customers. When Felicity and her mother are happy, their baked goods bring joy and contentment to their customers. When things start getting bad for the bakery as someone actively sabotages them, the anxiety and sadness comes through in the flavors. I think this would be an excellent starting point for talking about the drawbacks of toxic positivity. If your emotions go into your food, do faked emotions taste false? I would adore seeing this explored more in future installments.

This was an absolute blast to read, and I will be eagerly anticipating Chow's next book in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this arc!

“Ill-Fated Fortune” by Jennifer J. Chow
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .75/5 Stars

***Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for the eARC copy of this book. My opinions are my own.  This book comes out today on February 20th!***

“Ill-Fated Fortune” is the first in the “Magical Fortune Cookie” series, a new, magical, cozy mystery series. Felicity, third generation Chinese-American, runs a secretly magic bakery with her mother in the small, insular town of Pixie, CA outside of Fresno. Every woman on her mother’s side has the magical ability to bake one specific recipe perfectly & that item is infused with joy and the person that eats it is filled with bliss.

Felicity believed that the magic skipped her. Everything she baked was disastrous. Up until the beginning of this book. After eating some thoroughly awful fortune cookies, she gets inspired to make her own fortune cookies from scratch that end up being just as magical as her mother’s magical egg tarts.  She also writes all of the fortunes for the cookies & soon finds out that her magic comes with something extra that the rest of the woman in her family didn’t possess. She can make accurate fortunes about a person’s very near future.  

One of her first customers is murdered & is found with his personalized fortune in his hand & the fortune could be read as predicting his death.  And the victim owns a fortune cookie factory so of course Felicity is the prime suspect. So Felicity and her maybe platonic best friend Kelvin investigate to clear her name.

It’s pretty standard cozy mystery fare. I liked the magical aspect & I’m excited to see how that develops in future books. Is her godmother also magical? The how and the why the victim was murdered was so good. The diversity is a plus. Besides Felicity, Kelvin is biracial (Black and Asian).

I thought the middle was a bit slow & some of it probably could be cut. Some of the detective work felt repetitive. I also wish that the author would have committed to the possibility of a romance between the two leads. It was so lightly handled that it almost didn’t need to be there.  

But this was fun & I look forward to the next one.

Side note.…

One of the characters used a word that has a problematic history that seemed out of place to the character and to the whole book at large. I wondered if the author wasn’t aware of the word’s history.  Because this was an ARC, I messaged both the author and the publisher about the word. They were not aware of its history and are going about removing the word. All digital copies will be corrected by publication date. I was told that they were editing the print version, but I don’t know if some copies will make it to the shelf pre-edit. If you stumble upon the word, please just know that they are correcting the issue and I truly believe it was an innocent mistake.

"Ill-Fated Fortune" by Jennifer J. Chow is a charming debut in the Magical Fortune Cookie series, serving up a delightful blend of cozy mystery and magical realism. Set in the enchanting town of Pixie, California, this novel introduces readers to Felicity Jin, a reluctant baker with a knack for creating personalized fortune cookies.

Chow's writing is warm and inviting, drawing readers into Felicity's world of enchanted baked goods and quirky small-town charm. The descriptions of the bakery and its delectable treats, from puffy pineapple buns to creamy egg tarts, are enough to make anyone's mouth water. The magical elements add an extra layer of whimsy to the story, making it feel like stepping into a fairy tale.

The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, allowing readers to savor the atmosphere and get to know the characters. Felicity is a likable protagonist, with her insecurities and determination making her relatable to readers. The supporting cast, including Felicity's quirky friends and family members, adds depth and humor to the story.

However, while the premise is intriguing and the setting is enchanting, the mystery itself feels somewhat predictable. The resolution lacks the same level of excitement and intrigue as the setup, leaving some readers wanting more. Additionally, certain plot points may feel a bit contrived or convenient.

Overall, "Ill-Fated Fortune" is a cozy and enjoyable read, perfect for fans of magical realism and light-hearted mysteries. While it may not break new ground in the genre, it offers a delightful escape into a world where fortune cookies hold the key to solving mysteries and finding unexpected happiness. With its endearing characters and magical setting, this book is sure to leave readers craving more adventures in Pixie, California.

Dear Fellow Reader,

Years ago, I joined an online writers’ group. It was fun and interesting getting to know a few of the writers in the group. Several of them are now published authors. I am not one of them but I have gotten to watch and see how well they have done. It has been a pleasure to support them.

One of the most successful of the group has been Jennifer Chow. She has authored eleven books and is part of an anthology. She has the four cozy mystery series, the Winston Wong Cozies series, the Sassy Cat Mysteries, the L.S. Night Market Mysteries, and her latest, the Magical Fortune Cookie Mysteries. She also has Dragonfly Dreams, which is a YA novel, and The 228 Legacy. Phew! Isn’t that terrific!


Her latest book is out today. Ill-Fated Fortune is the first in the new Magical Fortune Cookie series. In this series, we meet Felicity Jin. Felicity (called Lissa by her best friend, Kelvin) and her mom are bakers. Her mom owns Gold Bakery in Pixie, CA, which is right next to Fresno, CA. Her good friend Kelvin who owns the florist store next to Gold Bakery and Alma Paz owns Paz Illuminations which is on the other side of Gold Bakery.

The women in the Jin family have a gift for baking. Well, they have for generations but it seems to have stopped with Lissa. She cannot bake at all. Their store specializes in two kinds of baked goods, pineapple buns, and egg tarts. Their customers can’t get enough of them. At 28, Lissa thinks the gift has passed her by. Until one day she and Kelvin go to lunch at a new Chinese restaurant. They feel that the food is terrible and then they try the fortune cookies. Lissa feels inspired and goes home and makes fortune cookies and they are terrific! She comes in to try at work again the next day and they are still terrific. She starts making them and selling them in the bakery. And then it came to putting fortunes in the cookies. She added some handwritten generic messages and sent the cookies out to the front of the store. Late the first afternoon, an Asian man came in and wanted to try her new fortune cookie. She needed to bake one for him as there weren’t any left in the store. The man talked to her mom while she made the cookie but he didn’t seem very pleasant. She forgot to put a message in his cookie but was going to give it to him without but when he was taking the cookie from her, he scratched her and she felt this overwhelming need to write a fortune for him. She actually even felt dizzy with the need to write out his fortune. She wrote out the fortune and gave it to him. He looked at it, made a face, and left. Lissa had no idea what she had written down as his fortune. They locked the door after he left, cleaned up the kitchen and store, took out the garbage, and went home.

The next morning, they got to work and there were police cars in the cul-de-sac by the store. It turns out there was a body in the dumpster behind the store and Lissa ended up being a suspect in the murder.

During the story, Lissa feels that she needs to find the murderer and clear her name but also find out more about her new “superpower” of baking fortune cookies and writing fortunes.

I found the book enjoyable. The characters were fun and the book moved at a good pace. Lissa’s youth made it interesting and her relationship with Kelvin was good for the story. While it is part of the new Magical Fortune Cookie series, I would say that the “mystical” part of the book was not heavy-handed and was just fun. I would suggest that you read Ill-Fated Fortune.

I was given a copy of this book so that I would give an unbiased review.

Thanks for reading!

I loved it! You ever think some times tradition can't be broken. Well it can! Felicitys finally gotten blessed by the magic of baking. Her matriarch line bakes. It took her years. A fortune cookie seems simple to some, but the writing of the fortune is where the real magic is. Well she isn't the only one with a good cookie. Her best day ever ends with some questionable characters. The next morning a body is found near the dumpster in the cul de sac of traditional businesses. This leads Felicity to find clues and follow the crumbs! Drama and visions continue to the end! This was my first book reading with this author, and now I want to read everything. The Chinese history glimpse and culture are fascinating to me and I liked it! P.s. Kelvin!

une
A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel
by Jennifer J. Chow

#IllFatedFortune #NetGalley

So often, I find that I am starting a new series but not with the first title. Here I got to begin the series at the beginning. It was nice not to have missed anything.

This story is set in a town called Pixie which certainly evokes a possibility of magic. Then there are the goods that come from Felicity Jin’s mother’s bakery. They make folks very happy.

However, things take a turn when there is, as the title states, an ill-fated fortune. That leads to a murder that needs to be solved, especially because Felicity is a suspect.

Readers who love light hearted mysteries will want to take a look at this one. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next entry in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.