This fantasy novel was a captivating journey from start to finish. With richly imagined world-building and a cast of compelling characters, it strikes a great balance between action, emotion, and lore. The magic system was creative without being overwhelming, and the plot kept a steady pace with just enough twists to stay unpredictable.

I found this glimpse into a culture I knew little about to be most charming and entertaining.
For me the book started off slow and a little baffling. I was having a hard time connecting with the sisters but as I read on the humor and pathos really won me over. It is great to get perspectives from other cultures on life, love and family!
Three young women , sisters, living in a Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. Definitely a unique culture. All dealing with expectations of their society in different ways . Nina is dealing with her failure to meet the expectations of her family. She is unmarried a 26- a “spinster”and struggling to find a career. Fortune is dealing with an upcoming marriage that seems “perfect”. Lucy is a high school student who becomes involved with an older man in the community. I found that last one the most difficult to come to terms with.
The author handles this challenging family with humor and grace. The reader gets to know and come to an understanding of each young woman and appreciate her circumstances.
The ending was perfect - after all this a romance book. I felt privileged to have gone along for the ride.
I appreciate books that entertain and can educate about other perspectives.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC to review. Expected publication date is July 22 2025

I very much hoped to find myself immersed in this novel of three sisters living in a Syrian Sephardic Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood. Growing up as the middle child of three sisters, born in Brooklyn into a Jewish family, I had difficulty connecting with these characters in the story that followed them as they came of age. While I couldn’t connect with the story, I did appreciate learning about the cultural influences that existed as the girls navigated through family, love and sisterhood.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for- Random House for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Cohen sisters, Fortune, Nina, and Lucy are questioning their lives and futures as they face Fortune's upcoming marriage. Growing up in Brooklyn as Syrian Jewish immigrants has it's own difficulties (think: family, marriage, community standards, and living in a multi-generational home in a nosy ethnic neighborhood).

Each of the sisters face internal arguments like coming of age, career, friends, family, dating, ambition (or lack thereof), under the microscope of their parents, grandmother, and community. You feel like you are in the kitchen with Sally (mom), Sitto (grandmother), and Fortune as the two older women try to teach Fortune to roll perfect stuffed grape leaves yet again. The descriptions are so well-written that you can smell the delicious foods Sally and Sitto prepare, hear the sounds of the Brooklyn neighborhood, and feel the emotional turmoil of the sisters.

This was a great story about three sisters living in Brooklyn. They come from a strict Syrian Jewish family. This story is a look at their life as all three sisters challenge their cultural norms as they decide what type of life they want. "Sisters of Fortune" dives into the lives of the three sisters in Brooklyn's Syrian Jewish community as they navigate love, ambition, and growing up.

Fortune, the middle sister, is having second thoughts about her impending marriage. Nina, the eldest, feels the pressure of being single and unexpectedly finds an opportunity for a different path. Meanwhile, young Lucy is causing a stir with her secret relationship with an older man.

As they inch closer to their own futures, the sisters find themselves balancing tradition with their personal desires. Their journey is interwoven with the wisdom and cooking of their grandmother, Sitto, a Syrian immigrant, the anxieties of their mother, who just wants to see all three of them married, and their father, whose business is not doing well. It's a tale about family, finding your place, and the delicious, sometimes complicated, blend of heritage and modern life.

I truly enjoyed this story. The book was told from all three sisters' point of view and I can honestly say that there was not a character that I preferred. All three stories were engaging and I was rooting for all three of them to get out of life what they wanted most. Reading about the Jewish Syrian culture was fascinating. The foods that were described sounded so delicious and many of the traditions they described were not something that I had heard of before. This was a great read and I think anyone would enjoy the story!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

I do not think I am a part of the target audience for this novel, but think it would be a really great read for those who resonate with Syrian and Jewish culture! ​Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar is a captivating debut novel that explores the lives of three Syrian Jewish sisters—Nina, Fortune, and Lucy—as they navigate love, tradition, and self-discovery within their Brooklyn community. Chehebar's vivid storytelling and rich cultural insights bring the characters' experiences to life, making it a heartwarming read. Chehebar balances humor with poignant moments. Sisters of Fortune is a testament to the strength of sisterhood and the complexities of modern womanhood.

Sisters of Fortune was a delightful read! I wasn't particularly caught by the description, but the exceedingly positive reviews roped me in. Fortune is a Syrian Jew in the heart of a Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. She's engaged to Saul Dweck, a white-bread type of guy. Fortune knows she should be thrilled: after all, securing a husband is the big life goal for her and her peers. And yet, the wedding planning feels off.

Fortune's sisters are Nina and Lucy. Nina is older. Still single to the dismay of everyone her. Lucy is younger, but dating already. Although Lucy is still in high school, she's dating a wealthy doctor who at 30-years-old, is deemed an exceptional catch. The story travels between the three sisters' perspectives, inviting the reader into the culture of New Yorker Syrian Jews and I enjoyed every bit. Also, it's VERY funny.

I loved the family dynamics: the parents, the grandmother, the community members. Everyone is so believable. Especially the interactions between the daughters and their mother - they sound like every bickering daughter and mother.

Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Sisters of Fortune. I almost didn’t finish this book because it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I found it trivial and mindless, perhaps my state of mind at the time? The dialogue, to me, was almost like children constantly fighting and arguing, I certainly didn’t find it hilarious. The three sister never seem to get along. A plus was that I did learn a lot about the Sephardic Jewish community. I skimmed the last 150 pages. Too many words I didn’t understand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my ARC.

Sisters of Fortune started out alright, and excited me because of the unique setting and exploration of Syrian Jewish culture, but it eventually became a bit of a chore to read- I couldn't relate very much with the personality of any of the three sisters, which really took me out of the experience. To be fair, the plot is very slice of life, which I do not often enjoy, so I think it lacked excitement for me, while it could definitely work for some other readers. I also did not like the romantic plot line with the youngest sister in high school and a man much older than her, let alone the fact that it was so normalized by her community. I ended up skimming the majority of the book, bored by the internal dialogues of the sisters.

The Sisters of Fortune has so many of the things I love in a story- complicated family dynamics, seemingly difficult parents, and a women trying to figure out what they want/need in life. I really appreciated the glossary at the end with the Arabic words/phrases. I liked getting this glimpse into a family in another culture. I just wish there was additional exploration of the sisters, but it would have been a much longer book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a wonderful read! After seeing the "Jewish Jane Austen" comparison, I was immediately sold, and could not put this book down. SISTERS OF FORTUNE follows three sisters living in the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. They're all total opposites, and are dealing with their own difficult choices. Nina, the oldest, is single at 26 and is feeling the pressure from her family and the rest of the community to settle down. She soon reconnects with an old childhood friend, who brings her into a new and exciting world where she can pave her own path. Fortune, the middle sister, is cautious, by-the-book, and is doing everything perfectly in the eyes of everyone around her, yet she's secretly questioning her decision to get married as the wedding day draws closer and closer. Lucy, the youngest, has been swept off her feet by a successful older bachelor, a development that has the entire community talking. Throughout the story, the sisters navigate life, love, family, who they've been and who they're becoming, on the journey to Fortune's big day.

I loved this book! The multiple POVs made it even easier to connect to the characters, and really get invested in them and their stories. I also enjoyed the level of detail Esther Chehebar infuses into the writing, fully immersing readers in the sisters' world and their close-knit community. I liked how naturally she wove information about their culture and traditions into the story, without necessarily having to explain every single aspect and break up the flow of the narrative (there's also an extensive glossary to refer to at the end). This story truly embodies Jewish joy throughout, and it was a delight to see the Cohen sisters "come of age" and figure out what they truly wanted amidst others' expectations, blending the comfort of tradition with the newness of their own personal journeys. The side characters were just as vivid and well-developed, particularly the sisters' mother and grandmother, but also their other family members, friends, and love interests.

If there's one thing I would change about the book, I'd agree with some other reviewers and say that I didn't love the age gap between Lucy and David—although she's technically of age, being 18 when they first get together, I wished either she had been aged up a year or two, or David had been aged down. I understand how this particular age gap emphasized some of the divides between them, with Lucy trying to enjoy her senior year of high school with her friends and David thriving in his career after years of training to work in the medical field, and maybe changing the ages would have taken too much away from those aspects of the story. However, at the same time, I at least wanted one of the characters to question the age difference a little more, even if it wasn't really looked at as too abnormal within the community. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this one, and am so looking forward to reading more from Esther Chehebar! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of the three sisters in this novel. Having no context for Syrian Jewish culture, this was a beautiful and engaging slice of life into that community: it highlighted family over friends, the high expectations children of immigrants, conservative generations vs the other, and most prominently, traditions.
Going into this novel, I thought it was just going to be about the pending wedding. I was pleasantly surprised to read on and find that it was about each sister growing into the version of herself that she was comfortable and happy with, despite pushback from her parents or judgement from her community. I adored the writing style in that each sister had so much personality across a page, following each character arc was more than entertaining--it was compelling. Esther Chehebar writes from the heart, and it shows.

I really enjoyed this book about a Jewish Syrian family within a close knit community. Tradition and customs abound. It was delightful reading about the family dynamics! They agreed and disagreed, they argued, they felt frustrations, they felt not being heard, but mostly, they felt loved and secure. What every member of a family yearns to feel. I’ve thought about this book after I’ve finished it and actually miss the characters! I felt as if I knew them. Maybe a sequel? Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for granting me this book to review. All opinions are my own. #SistersofFortune.

This was a very interesting read about sisterhood and growing up. It was really fascinating to read about the Sephardic Jewish community as I have never read anything where the main charachter is Sephardic Jewish and the author Esther Chehebar did a wonderfull job of writing about the cultural nuances.

ome books pull you in with their drama; others captivate with their heart. Sisters of Fortune by Ester Chehebar does both, weaving an unforgettable story of love, ambition, and the unbreakable bond between sisters. From the first page, I was hooked—this book is rich, compelling, and brimming with emotion.

Set against a world of wealth and power, the story dives deep into the complexities of family, personal ambition, and the sacrifices we make for the people we love. The sisters at the heart of this novel are flawed yet fiercely loyal, navigating a web of expectations, betrayals, and unexpected twists that had me turning pages late into the night.

Ester Chehebar writes with a sharp eye for detail, bringing her characters to life in a way that makes you feel every triumph and heartbreak. The relationships—whether sisterly, romantic, or rivalrous—are layered, intense, and full of tension, making this story as gripping as it is emotional. If you love books that blend family drama, ambition, and deep emotional stakes, this one needs to be on your TBR.

This is an eye-opening tale about 3 sisters from a Syrian Jewish family in Brooklyn in the early 2000s, beginning with a wedding invitation for the middle sister's wedding. This is very much a slice of life, character-driven novel that follows the comings and goings of the three girls from their perspectives, set in their Brooklyn community. What I loved most about this book were the cultural aspects; as someone who does not identify as a member of the Syrian Jewish community, it was so fun to learn about the different traditions and especially the cuisine of the community! I loved reading about the descriptions of the food the mom and Sitto would make and would often look them up afterwards so that I could get a better picture of what these dishes were. I think this book would have benefited from having food illustrations or footnotes detailing the dishes for sure, along with footnotes detailing some of the terms the characters used when speaking, instead of having them at the end of the book, as I was not familiar with many of the items or terms, but forgot about the specifics by the time I reached the end of the novel. This book started off very strong, setting up the sisters' characters and portraying their different phases of life clearly. By the end of this book though, I had some very mixed feelings about the messages and events that happened in this novel. Within the older generation in this novel, it is clear that there are some deeply misogynistic views, which the author explored a little through the sisters, but never truly dove into the issues deep enough for their more feminist views to make a difference. Additionally, the youngest sister who is 18 and in high school falls in love with and gets married to a 30 year old man with everyone's support. In no culture does a 30 year old man have business being with someone who is a high school student. Legally, the youngest sister may have been an adult, but the gap in maturity was insane and I just could not accept this storyline. Overall, this story has its good parts and bad parts and is generally pretty entertaining but I really just could not overlook the more concerning parts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me an early access copy to this book!

I really enjoyed this story about three sisters navigating their lives within (and sometimes, outside of) the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives of the sisters, as well as their different personalities and worldviews, although I did occasionally find myself wanting more of the narrative when a chapter or section ended. I also appreciated learning about the Syrian Jewish community, which isn't well-represented in fiction, and that Chehebar doesn't pander to the reader by explaining every aspect of Syrian Jewish culture, but rather, immerses the reader in the community's culture and traditions. Truly a unique perspective and an enjoyable little book. I look forward to reading what Chehebar writes next! 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly I don't even know how to rate this book. It was incredibly interesting and I really liked that it was basically just a slice of life story about Syrian Sephardic Jews in Brooklyn. However, I don't know how to reconcile that with the fact that one of the main relationships was between a high school girl and a 30 year old man. Yes, the girl was 18 and technically legal, but it was absolutely disgusting and was criticized very little, if at all, in the book. There were one or two lines about how Lucy was loosing her friends and sometimes missed the normal 18 year old things, but then it was immediately followed with how she will have an amazing life with David because he can provide for her. I understand that it could be a cultural divide, but nothing excuses rape. Maybe if it was framed as a normalized issue in this community and the author made the effort to somehow critique it, I could accept it, but it was framed as almost the ideal relationship in the book. The guy was rich so the girl will be set up for life so it doesn't matter. I kept waiting for a conclusion to the relationship where at least one character said that it was wrong, but we never got that.

Again, it's such a shame this was included in the story, because everything else was so interesting and the author is obviously very talented. Even if she was simply aged up a little to at least college age, still with a big age gap, this book could have been close to perfect.

I really enjoyed this exploration of so many female characters, their choices, and beliefs about life.

The pacing wasn’t perfect, and the underlying themes sometimes feel at odds with each other.

But overall, a solid story with intriguing characters.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. This was a really heartwarming story and it was also funny. It has to do with three sisters all going through something. One is engaged to get married, the other is single and the youngest is sneaking around with an older guy. This story navigates the three girls choosing between modern day realities and tradition.