Moving, gripping, and heart-breaking at times, The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris is a historical fiction tale of strength and hope. It starts with a chilling prologue set in July 1888 when a woman realizes she’s trapped underground and the door has no handle. While Celia Hart is used to adapting to circumstances due to her genetic heritage, this situation is beyond anything she has experienced. Her memory is spotty, but she knows she must escape as well as regain her full memory to understand what led to her abduction.

The plot is exceptional and filled with events that the author has researched well. It’s also a powerful story of family, identify, love, motherhood, strength, murder, political influence, racism, and corruption. The story goes back and forth between 1888 and 1885, except for the epilogue set in 1995. My main quibble is that this switching of timelines adversely affected the pacing for me until about chapter thirty-two when the story starts with June 1888 and moves forward in time from there.

The author’s note discusses some of the real historical aspects and atrocities contained in the story and there’s a reading group guide that raises some interesting questions for thought and discussion. There are also some recipes included at the end of book.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction with a twist of suspense, layered characters, and hidden history, this one needs to be on your shelf. I appreciated the amount of research that went into the writing of this book. I also enjoyed how the book picked up and slowly wrapped me around its finger. I felt for several of the characters and the injustice that they faced. I will be thinking about main character Celia’s strength and sacrifices for a long, long time.

This work is mostly told from the present timeline, though there are short chapters set in 1888 scattered throughout the primary timeline, and it’s about 65% through the book before the two timelines merge. The strongest part of this book was the details included around historical events of Chinese persecution that was prevalent during this time. From casual racism to dangerous working conditions to downright massacres and shanghaiing, it was all covered in this novel.

There were a few things that weren’t my favorite though. The book feels uneven, with the first half being more focused on Celia and Pearl, motherhood, and trying to get by. Then the second half (post 60%) turns into an action/adventure with constant perils, escapes, and then running straight into another peril that needs escaping. I also didn’t feel like the characters were that strong. This was partially due to the writing style (we’re told how they’re feeling rather than it coming through in the writing), and partially due to the strong focus on the history than the adventure aspects. The romance didn’t feel realistic and added nothing positive for me. The epilogue was a time jump to 1995 where we learn about Celia’s later life of activism, which is a story I think I would have been more interested in than the adventure section of this book.

This may work well for folks who don’t mind a shift in genre in the last half of a book or who are interested in learning about this history. I do recommend the audiobook version of this work, as the narrator did an excellent job. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"The Girls of Good Fortune" by Kristina McMorris was an interesting and captivating novel about generational bravery, struggles and reinvention. Loved the characters and tales of endurance. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

McMorris took an interesting setting of Portland, Oregon in the 1880’s and set this story amid a time of struggle for the Chinese, bringing in accurate settings and situations. I ended up liking this book, although I have issues with the “adventures” of the main character. It was too much, too much, too much! I got a little less than half way through and put it down for a month. I was not in a place for that much depression. When I finally picked it back up I finished it in one sitting, so obviously I was more engaged. And I know it is fiction but the sequence of events taking place in the second half of the book is too far-fetched to be remotely believable. The sequence of the Chinese gold miners murder is based on reality, but Celia’s journey needed to be tamed down significantly. And the ending was satisfying but a little too pat..

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kristina McMorris has done it again! This novel set mostly in Portland Oregon during a tumultuous but little known time of truly diabolical deeds is full of family, heartwarming acts of courage, adventure and strong women. I zipped through this as I couldn’t stop reading being invested in Celia’s story from the beginning.
This is the third book by this author I’ve read and I will be looking for more.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Kristina McMorris for this ebook to read. All opinions are my own.

A Gripping Tale of Survival, Sacrifice, and the Unbreakable Bond of a Mother’s Love

The Girls of Good Fortune is a powerful, heart-wrenching journey that will leave you breathless, furious, and deeply moved. Kristina McMorris delivers a masterclass in historical fiction—one that’s as tragic as it is triumphant.

The story opens with a jolt: Celia wakes up in a dark tunnel in 1888, disguised as a man, disoriented, and horrified to realize she’s been sold into slave labor. But one thought cuts through the chaos—her daughter. She must find her. That fierce maternal instinct fuels a harrowing journey that spans continents, cultures, and unimaginable cruelty.

Through flashbacks, we learn of Celia’s life as a young woman of mixed Chinese and white heritage in Oregon, a time and place steeped in anti-Chinese sentiment. Working as a maid in a respectable household, she falls in love with the family’s son. But when their secret relationship results in pregnancy, she’s cast out and forced to survive in a world that sees her as disposable.

What follows is a story of resilience and heartbreak, of a mother’s relentless fight against injustice, and of the devastating consequences of prejudice. The historical backdrop is eye-opening and deeply affecting—I had no idea the extent of anti-Chinese hatred in Oregon during this era, and McMorris brings it to life with unflinching honesty.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, yelling at characters like I was watching a thriller, and aching for Celia’s pain and courage. It’s a story that will break your heart and then slowly piece it back together with hope, strength, and love.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this unforgettable novel. The Girls of Good Fortune is a triumph of storytelling—raw, riveting, and absolutely essential reading.

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

🎧 📱 “The Girls of Good Fortune" by Kristina McMorris

⭐️⭐️⭐️
published May 20, 2025


Set in 1888 Portland readers meet Celia, a young half-Chinese woman who can pass as white. She is was drugged and is on her way to become forced labor when she pieces together what has happened. She was the maid for the mayor's family until she fell in love with the son. He was sent to England for medical school when Celia learns she is with child. She is disgraced and forced to work as a housekeeper at a brothel in exchange for room and board, holding out hope that she will eventually be reunited with her baby's father. An exceptional plot filled with research telling of a time when the Chinese were needed to build the railroad and treated so poorly. 


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** spoiler alert ** 4.5 stars

Celia was able to blend into 1880's Portland society seamlessly; she passed for white despite her half-Chinese heritage. She worked as a nanny for the mayor's family who discovered her secret lineage but allowed her to continue working in their home. That is until, having disclosed that she had become pregnant by the mayor's son whom she expected to marry upon his return from medical school, the family was no longer willing to keep her on staff, so she was sent away to work as a maid in a nearby brothel. The story alternates between snippets of life in the brothel for Celia and her baby daughter, and her waking up in an underground cell, fully dressed as a man, waiting to be sold onto a merchant ship bound for Asia. The plot also delves quite a bit into the social events of the times, with Chinese railroad workers and miners being harassed and killed with chilling frequency and little to no justice served. Celia ends up losing her Chinese father to one of these mob killings and her keen sense of morality and egality is what guides her through most of the story. Throughout the book, poor Celia is desperately trying to return to her child and hopefully find her betrothed home again at last.

I was already quite familiar with the subject matter of this book, having travelled through the subterranean tunnels used by migrant Chinese workers that are still set up for tours in parts of Central and Western Canada where I worked with related archival materials. It is a deeply disturbing part of our collective history here in North America. Plus, being "Shanghai'ed" wasn't simply a racist trope relegated to the United States alone. These were real and terrible things that happened to poor immigrants looking for a better life for themselves and their families. I think this book brings this history to light in a more easily palatable storyline, with a much happier ending than most of the people of the era got. But it's a history that needs to be remembered, and in this political climate the more we can see people as neighbours and not as the "Other" the better it will be for everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Kristina McMorris, and Sourcebooks Landmark publishing, for granting me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.

Meh. The book started out interesting and then took a weird and wholly unbelievable turn halfway through. It slightly redeemed itself at the end, but overall, this book was all just kind of ok. The history was well-researched, but it didn't feel like it was integrated into the story and was kind of just shoehorned in at odd times and kind of took you out of the story to deliver an informative lecture. The book was ok. Not bad, but not great.

A PNW native and life long WA resident, I had no idea of this history. The narrative was not as engaging as I had hoped it would be. The first and second halves of the book were quite different. I found the back and forth time periods distracting. The plot twists did not seem realistic not believable. I did enjoy finding out about the Chinese in Oregon and their mistreatment.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. Mine is an independent review.

Celia Hart was grateful for her position as a nanny to Mayor Bettencourt’s young daughter, but she was always afraid someone would learn she was half-Chinese. In 1885, hatred and discrimination against the Chinese was prevalent, and Portland, Oregon was no exception. The mayor’s son Stephen fell in love with Celia, and they began a romantic relationship right before Stephen left for college. Celia becomes pregnant, and with no way to contact Stephen, she is forced by the Bettencourts to become a housekeeper in a brothel.

Celia was a strong woman, determined and courageous. Her fight for justice for the murdered miners seemed kind of unrealistic, and then getting Shanghaied and the subsequent events…also unrealistic. I wasn’t a fan of the alternating timelines, it was difficult to keep them straight as they were very similar.

I could not put down this timely and relevant work of historical fiction. Set in Portland in the late 1800’s, Celia is working for a wealthy and prominent family, falling in love with Stephen, the son. Celia is half Chinese at a time of great discrimination and hatred toward the Chinese immigrants who helped build the infrastructure of the country. When Stephen leaves for medical school in London, his promises to Celia are broken as his father’s political career as mayor would be threatened. Celia’s father dies in the Rock Springs Massacre, a real event occurring in Wyoming where Chinese workers were brutally murdered. In addition, the Hells Canyon Massacre saw the murder of Chinese gold miners by a ruthless group of White men. I never knew about these two events and always appreciate being educated. At the heart of the novel is Celia’s struggle with her identity in a time and place where hatred of immigrants is prevalent. Sound familiar? I highly recommend this nail biting, end of your seat piece of historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Landmark for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Girls of Good Fortune was set in the 1880s and highlighted the challenges that Chinese immigrants faced. Kristina McMorris was factual, and although this was a work of Fiction, she took the time to find out the truth behind what she was writing. I loved the Historical Fiction portion of the book and loved how they worked out the trials and tribulations throughout the book. The political factors also made for an interesting read. Overall, a pretty decent Historical Fiction read.

Kristina McMorris takes us back to the Portland of 1888. Amidst a string of hate crimes against Chinese immigrants, we follow the life story of Celia, daughter of a Chinese man and a white woman. Working as a maid for the rich family of the mayor, she conceals her lineage, as her mother has taught her to, and behave properly at any given time in order to escape racism and discrimination. Passing as white, she lives an uneventful life, until tragedy strikes.
From this point on, Celia's life changes drastically and she goes through motherhood, heartbreak, awareness of the politics of the world, adventures and many dangers. Fast paced and thrilling, this novel centers around the lives of those who are not usually portrayed, be that prostitutes, immigrants or single mothers of children born out of wedlock. The story, rythmed by many twists, is a charming mix of somber historical considerations, adventure and romantic dénouement, in an appealingly old fashioned way.

I loved this! I knew nothing of this part of history before, so it was an extremely interesting read for me. It kept me glued to the pages! The twists and redirections the plot was taking were entirely unpredictable, and till the last chapter, I had no idea how it would all play out! And that is something that I truly love in books! The characters were unique and yet relatable, and the pacing was timed perfectly!

This captivating story is set in 1880s Portland, where intolerance and hate towards the Chinese grow by the day. The story starts with a woman, Celia, being kept in a subterranean labyrinth - the notorious Shanghai Tunnels in 1888. She doesn’t know how she got there and has no strength to remember… Then we are taken back to 1885.
Celia is a very ordinary young woman on the outside. She works for a respectable family of the mayor who would do anything for power, but soon her secrets come to light one after the other and cause mayhem – her father is Chinese, she is with child, and her father has been killed. She, even though she doesn’t look the part as has been passing for a “white” most of her life, slowly starts to embrace her roots and gets swept into a journey to bring justice for crimes against “Chinamen”.
As she struggles with her origins, identity, culture, political views, love, trust, friendship, and motherhood, we come to learn how she wound up in the tunnels in the first place and why she must fight to get out...

In Oregon in 1888. in the tunnels of of Portland's notorious Shanghai Tunnels, a woman awakens in an underground cell, drugged and disguised. Celia soon realizes she's a "shanghaied" victim on the verge of being shipped off as forced labor, leaving behind those she loves most. Although accustomed to adapting for survival—being half-Chinese, passing as white during a time of anti-Chinese sentiment—she fears that far more than her own fate hangs in the balance. As she pieces together the twisting path that led to her abduction, Celia must find a way to escape and return to a place where unearthed secrets could prove deadlier than the dark recesses of Chinatown.

A captivating tale of resilience and hope, the author explores the complexity of family and identity, the importance of stories that echo through generations, and the power of strength found beneath the surface. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this book. The author shows the growth of all the characters in the book throughout and how they all helped each other. I highly recommend.

I liked the first half of the book much more than the second. There were several interesting themes like the treatment of Chinese immigrants and social class.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting story about a topic that I knew nothing about, so I did enjoy the aspect of learning something new. However, I wanted more, I didn't feel as connected to the story or the characters as much as I would have liked. I wanted to be immersed into the story, but I just felt like something was missing for me.

Celia and Stephen are of different social classes and driven apart by circumstances and society. Celia, though, has the company of their daughter, Pearl. This story is set on the West Coast in the last 1800s when Chinese immigrants were hired in great numbers to work on the railroad lines for westward expansion. Celia's father was one such worker; she adored him as she lost her mother as a youngster. Celia's job as domestic help put her in the city while her father travelled for his job. Stephen had a privileged life and left the city for several years for schooling as a physician.
Celia remained devoted even though they were not in contact.
This story spoke about the underbelly of society and the fear of foreigners that was deep dwelling in the communities. There were so many crimes committed against the Chinese.