My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Girls of Good Fortune’ written by Kristina McMorris in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

In July 1888 Celia Harte wakes to find herself dressed in a man’s clothing and imprisoned in an underground tunnel with no means of escape. Celia soon realises she’s been drugged in readiness for being shipped off as forced labour.

‘The Girls of Good Fortune’ is a novel set in the 1880s telling of the racism and hardship experienced by Chinese immigrants. The main female character is Celia, a half-Chinese woman who in the year 1885 works for the wealthy Bettencourt family in Portland, US, with the story moving forward to 1888 as she’s imprisoned in the infamous Shanghai Tunnels. I especially chose to read this novel as I’d previously loved ‘Sold On a Monday’ and was keen to read a work of historical fiction of a period I knew little about, but I found it extremely disturbing to read of the massacre and hardship so many Chinese people. It’s a novel that’s been well-researched by a talented author but I struggled to keep going and ultimately had to give up before reaching the end.

Historical fiction readers will enjoy this story. Set in Portland during 1888, anti-Chinese was prevalent throughout. Celia, half Chinese wakes up to find herself trapped in the Shanghai tunnel wearing men’s clothing. Her story becomes clear as readers learn of her love for her employer’s son has left her in a precarious position. The storyline switches from her captivity to her recent life which at times is hard to follow. Well researched and very interesting. Recommended.

The Girls of Good Fortune is a story about identity, family, our heritage, our stories and racial issues in the 1880s. The story is full of twists that will keep you turning pages to discover what happens next. The Shanghai tunnels and treatment of the Chinese during the 1800s is a topic I am not familiar with and haven't read about previously. The characters are well developed and seem true to the time period and setting of the book. Kristina McMorris has you rooting for Celia as she navigates the changes in her life and searches for justice for the Chinese Miners and ultimately her father. Will justice be served you'll have to read the book to find out? Once again Kristina McMorris delivered a unique story that didn't disappoint and left me with a new historical topic to explore in my next book selection.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A well written novel that had many moments that made me, as a mother, fearful of what the future held for more than one of the characters, and more than one time. Celia is very brave, very daring, and very much going through a life with no guarantees. Those promises made my reading hopeful, but often with an expectation of failure—a failure unwanted, but likely. This should be a popular read, and I will certainly add my applause to this story.

3.5-4 stars
Well researched historical fiction about the discrimination and other struggles Chinese immigrants faced during the late 1800s. However, I think the author tried to cover too much and made Celia a bit unbelievable.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris focuses on the difficulties of single women in the 19th century; especially women of Chinese descent.
Celia, a woman half Chinese, works in the mayor’s house and falls in love with the mayor’s son, Stephen. She finds herself pregnant after Stephen leaves to study medicine in England. His parents discover that and ship her off to a brothel to a work. Stephen is not told any of this. Celia will do whatever she can to provide for her daughter and herself. The story continues on for 3 years as Celia survives many hardships. This is historical fiction and Celia is based on a real life person. This is a story of a very strong willed woman. The epilogue at the end is not to be missed.

Celia is a strong daring woman standing up for what’s right during a time when women were expected to be submissive. Unknown to most of her friends and acquaintances, she’s half Chinese; it’s something she’s had to keep hidden because of all the anti-immigrant sentiment. She’s been employed in the mayor’s household and is the secret fiancé of the mayor’s son. He goes off to study medicine in England and she finds herself in the family way.
This is a work of historical fiction that not only highlights the difficulties faced by single women in the nineteenth century, but also the mistreatment and abuse different immigrant groups have faced over the years. This particular group of immigrants were the Chinese. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Snake River Massacre are both an integral part of this narrative. It’s thought provoking to think about how we still struggle with these same issues today. This story has it all, from living in a brothel to being shanghaied, Celia remained steadfast and I admired her tenacity. 4.25 stars

Prejudice is an ugly thing. “The Girls of Good Fortune” is set in the late 19th century,
when the Chinese were poorly treated. The main character is Celia Hart, whose real last name is Chung. She works as a nanny for a wealthy family who doesn’t initially know that she is a “half-breed.”

If those parents only knew that Celia was in love with their son– and that this love was returned! Unfortunately, Stephen will be leaving in three days to study in England. They’ve decided they can’t risk writing to one another. They will marry when he returns.

Or will they? Celia’s life pretty much falls apart after Stephen leaves. She loses her job and goes to work in an undesirable location. Counting the days until Stephen returns, and wondering how to let him know of her new address, Celia finds herself in one difficulty after another. She simply does not know whom to trust.

“The Girls of Good Fortune” is the tale of hardship imposed upon a people for no other reason than their country of origin. How could people behave this way? Yet prejudice still occurs today.

Kristina McMorris has written another book with a message. I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy. This is my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Girls of Good Fortune before its publication date. I really enjoyed this author's The Ways We Hide, so was looking forward to another historical fiction read. It's my favorite when I can learn and be entertained at the same time. This one covers the late 1800s and the racism and prejudice toward the Chinese in NW United States. Unfortunately this book tried to cover too much. It left the reader jumping all over the place and confused about the time line. Celia is a half Chinese teenager who starts off as a maid in a family's home that has a lot of political pull and aspirations. She winds up working for a brothel as an unmarried shamed woman who randomly becomes caught up in more crimes. As a fight for justice, she winds up separated from her child and the author tells of forced work on ships and train hopping. The author obviously did lot of research, and based on her author notes had some family ties to many of these stories, but I feel like trying to cram everything into one book, she should have written multiple books about different topics. Forced shipyard work, kidnapping, a political motivations, and Chinese underground tunnels could have easily been two books. This was jumbled, lots of characters and a timeline that was confusing. At times her child, Pearl, was snuggled up on her mother's chest as a baby, but then running and talking and feeding the ducks like a middle aged toddler, but the behavior of the child was much too mature for the timeline. I just felt like too much was crammed in that didn't make for an easy flow and an unrealistic story. I don't have the heart to rate it 2 stars, but I didn't enjoy this book because I found it jumpy and over the top.

Celia Hart wakes up in an underground cell, and once gathers her senses, Celia works out she’s been drugged and is being held captive in the infamous Shanghai Tunnels, and will be transported to a ship.

Three years prior Celia whose half Chinese was passing as white and working as a maid for Mr. Bettencourt the Mayor of Portland and her widowed father was employed by the Union Pacific Railway and then as a miner. Celia falls in love with Stephen and finds herself pregnant and she's banished to Chinatown and lives in a brothel and here she's employed by Madame Marie as a servant.

In America there was a lot of prejudice, hostility and violence towards Chinese people and it escalates at Hells Canyon where miners were massacred and their gold stolen. Celia knows there's been a miscarriage of justice, and she’s been kidnapped to stop her from telling the truth about the incident and she fears what will happen to her daughter and somehow she needs to escape.

I received a copy of The Girls of Good Fortune from the publisher Sourcebooks and in exchange for an honest review. Kristina McMorris is known for writing meticulously researched and interesting historical fiction based around true facts and my main issue was her latest novel was the plot and it became a little unrealistic in the last half of the book it starts in 1888, goes back to 1883 and then ends in 1995.

The narrative does explore topics such racism, what it was like for Chinese people living in America, it was hard and they were judged for taking jobs, corruption and misconduct, lies and deception, love and family, loss and survival and the use of opium. The character I liked the most was Madame Marie, underneath the tough exterior she was kind and she did her best to look after her the young women who worked for her.

Four stars from me, I suggest reading The Girls of Good Fortune for yourself and making up your own mind and I preferred the author’s previous book Sold on a Monday.

The Girls of Good Fortune by Christina Mc Morris
This is the story of Celia Hart, a young woman working as a nanny in the wealthy Bettencourt household in Portland, Oregon in the 1880s. The story is told in two time periods, 1885 and 1888, and as the storylines catch up with each other, the action picks up!
Celia is a Chinese-American young lady who is forced to hide her heritage because of the poor treatment of Chinese in the late 1800s. After a relationship with her employer’s son results in an unexpected pregnancy, Celia must do whatever it takes to support herself and her daughter after she has lost her job and been sent to work in a disreputable establishment.
Meanwhile, Stepen, her baby’s father, does not know her predicament. She has many trials and tribulations and is “Shanghaied,” being forcibly sold as a slave to work on a ship headed out to sea. She must try to get back to Portland and find her daughter, Pearl.
Will she find Pearl? Will she give up on Stephen coming back to her? What she does learn through these harrowing events gives her the strength to stand on her own.
I did learn about the Snake River Massacre, where over thirty Chinese gold dust miners were brutally murdered in Hells Canyon in Oregon.
Celia’s Chinese father died in one of these atrocities, and this historical take brings some of these true events to light.
#netgalley

🌸 Book Review 🌸

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: May 20, 2025

Rating: It was okay!

This is my first book by Kristina McMorris and won’t be my last! I was sucked in during the first half of the book. I felt everything for Celia and her story. However, the second half took a drastic turn where Celia decided to become more of an activist role. It honestly felt off and a bit far fetched in my eyes.

For fans of:
🌸 Third person POV
🌸One narrator (Celia)
🌸 Dual timeline (1885-1888 & 1888)
🌸1880’s America
🌸 Prejudice against Chinese Americans
🌸Shanghai tunnels
🌸 Women’s fiction
🌸Found family

This is an entertaining, well-written, meticulously researched, historical fiction novel which is based on actual persons and occurrences. It has a likable, strong and resilient female protagonist, and vividly describes a heartbreaking historical tragedy, and events and attitudes of the time period. The theme of identity and the sprinkling of proverbs add meaning to this engaging story. The author's note, the conversation with the author, and her personal insight, are interesting and informative, and are truly appreciated. The recipes which are included are a nice touch. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, Ms. McMorris, and NetGalley, who provided me with an advanced reader copy of this wonderful novel. This is my honest opinion.

Chinese immigrants in the West were brought to this country to build railroads and dams. After these things were built the towns wanted the Chinese to leave. They were mistreated in various ways. Even people who were part Chinese were not accepted. This is the story of one of those women. Celia is a maid for a wealthy family and falls for the son. This is not accepted. This is the story of a woman who is banished and has the resilience to survive and make a life for herself.
This is an excellent historical fiction book. Historical fiction brings history alive and often exposes things I am not aware of. History education in school is lacking. I would recommend reading this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #KristinaMcMorris and #SourcebooksLandmark for a copy of this book.
#TheGirlsofGoodFortune

Prior to the time of this novel, Chinese were brought to America to construct the railroads. The Chinese worked long hours for less pay but once the railroads were complete, they were stigmatized and outcasts of society. The novel focuses on the decades long prejudice against Asians. The author weaves the Hells Canyon Massacre into the storyline (the slaughter of dozens of Chinese gold miners for which the murderers escaped justice). The author also weaves into the story the underground Shanghai tunnels in the city of Portland, through which victims were transported to ships and forced into labor. I did not know a lot about this portion of American history and am grateful to the author for shining a light on the anti-Chinese sentiment during this time.
The story opens with a gripping scene of Celia waking up onboard a ship in a small room. Celia does not know what happened or where she is. The story is then told in two timelines, both from Celia’s POV. 1885, before her abduction and 1888 and after her abduction. Celia is brave and determined but also made poor decisions that ultimately became tiresome. The supporting characters of Marie and Lettie were compelling and well flushed out. This is a heavy story about family, motherhood, identity, class and it is worth reading. The epilogue at the end, which takes place 100 years later, is well done and it is satisfying to see Celia’s and Pearl’s journey and that of their family until the end.

I was excited to dig into a historical fiction read that was set in a time period other than WWII. This book takes place in the 1880s, and follows a young woman with Chinese background (who passes for white). She gets involved with the son of the white man she works for, and then has to go down some interesting paths in order to survive. The premise was intriguing, but I had a really hard time staying interested with this writing style. Pretty much every plot point was predictable, and I was often distracted by the writing style (lots of fragment sentences). This might be a hit with some readers (there are lots of positive reviews out there already), but this just didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to.

Oh how I’ve missed Kristina McMorris and her beautiful historical fiction books. I really enjoy learning about events from the past and how that has impacted and changed those involved. I had never heard about the Massacre that occurred in Hells Canyon where over 30 Chinese workers were slain. So heartbreaking to read that the men who committed the crimes walked away free. The book is set in Portland and I really enjoyed reading about the underground tunnels because I did a tour when I was in Portland and got to walk through a part of the very dark underground. It made the story come to life in my mind since I could picture exactly what it looked like.
Kristina writes an emotional novel with a strong main character that you can’t help feel protective of. Celia is such a loveable character and the poor thing suffers one loss after another only to find friends in the most unlikely and unsavoury places. These women will protect her and the one she loves the most even when she doesn’t realizes she needs it.

Get ready for an adventure! If historical fiction if your penchant and you are looking for something fresh and new, I would highly recommend "The Girls of Good Fortune".

The book opens in 1888 with our protagonist Celia locked in a cell, unable to remember how she got there and why she is dressed like a man. Cut back three years and her story begins in Portland, alternating with the present, until it eventually catches up and then moves forward.

We learn Celia is 1/2 Chinese at a time in US history where anti-Chinese sentiment was rampant. Working as a nanny for a wealthy family and she is secretly engaged to their son who will be traveling to London to study medicine but promises to come back to wed her. Upon finding out she is pregnant fate has other plans and her story takes a sharp turn, leading to places you'd never expect.

I'm usually not a fan of books where the main character seems to be the only one hammered with bad luck, but there seem to be enough "fortune" to round out the events and make them mostly believable.

You can't go wrong with a Kristina McMorris book, and this new one is no exception.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC

The Girls Of Good Fortune is exactly why I love Historical fiction. it brings to light a long lost story in such a riveting way. it was a deeply complex story that at times could only be read in small chunks. At the same time very good and well researched.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC

The Girls of Misfortune is a passionate read written by Kristina McMorris. It is about two massacres that occurred in our history that most people most likely will know nothing about. These atrocities are heart wrenching. It is so important to document history to try and make sure these horrific events never happen again.

The following Chinese proverb sums up alot of the story, “Fortune rests in misfortune”.

Celia Hart is a woman who struggles with her identity born to a Chinese father and an American mother. She could pass as white and in the beginning used her mother’s maiden name to hide from her Chinese roots. The story takes place in Portland between 1985 and 1988. As she matured she never waited for good fortune to come her way she went out and fought for it. She fought for women’s rights, and protested anti Chinese laws.

Many horrifying events never make it into textbooks but we must remember them. McMorris has written a powerful novel about the Shanghai tunnels and Hells Canyon Massacre where approximately 30 Chinese, gold miners were massacred by white men. It is possibly the worst atrocity against Chinese people to take place in the United States. To this day nobody was ever charged with the murders.

The Girls of Misfortune and Sold on a Monday are my two favorite books by this author. Thank you Kristina McMorris for bringing light to a time in our history I knew nothing about. Thank you NetGAlley and Sourcebook Landmarks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest revue.