This book embodies everything that I love about historical fiction. Kristina McMorris opened my eyes to a heartbreaking part of history that I was unaware of.

Oregon 1888 had been deemed the “shanghaiing capital of the world.” Sailors were being drugged and dropped through trapped doors only to awaken in a cell or on a ship, having been sold into forced labor.

Celia, a young half-Chinese woman, awakens in a cell, confused as to why she is disguised as a man and what led her to be drugged and imprisoned. She rushes to piece together the facts and find an escape.

This was thoroughly researched, with vivid, fascinating, and some terrifying details about what Portland, Oregon, was like in the late 1800s. There was a labyrinth of tunnels underneath it and so much illicit behavior that was left unchecked, including anti-Chinese sentiment, political corruption, murder, kidnapping, or “Shanghaiing”.

Celica’s story, although fraught with hardship, is one of courage and hope. Family heritage, motherhood, identity, and determination are all intricately intertwined, making this a spellbinding tale.


Thank you @recordedbooks for the gifted audiobook via #NetGalley, narrated by Cindy Kay.

I have never read for this offer, but this book had a good premise. It kept me engaged, and I finished it in one day. Narration was fine.

I listened to this book on audio for an honest review. I enjoyed listening to this book, especially having grown up outside of Portland. I typically listen to a book all the way through, but I had to jump ahead (**SPOILER**) because, after everything Celia had been through, I had to know that she had a happy ending. To find out that Celia was Kristina McMorris', the author's, grandmother, made it more compelling and heartfelt. A good story worthy of being told. Would be a good book for high school students in Oregon, and the west coast, to read. Thank you for sharing.

Kristina McMorris

This is one of my favorite genres, historical fiction, particularly learning about other cultures. I have read this author before, Sold on a Monday, and enjoyed it. I love how she weaves historical events into an interesting narrative.

This book is set in Oregon in the 1880s. Celia Hart is half Chinese, but is able to pass as white. Due to the racial prejudice against Chinese people in America during this era, she feels the need to hide her Chinese heritage. She works as a servant and nanny for a mayor, while her Chinese father is working in a mine. When her father is murdered by white miners and circumstances leave her unemployed by the mayor‘s family, she decides to pursue justice for her father’s murder.

What I loved about this book :
- A part of history that I did not know before and found very interesting.
- The author wrapped up the ending and left me feeling satisfied

What I thought could be better:
- there were two storylines, her pursuit of justice and her relationship with Stephen. I felt that her relationship with Stephen was left behind during the bulk of the book. I would’ve liked to see more of that during the novel.
- Parts of the story felt unrealistic to me.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #GirlsofGoodFortune for the complimentary audiobook.

3.8 ⭐️

In the Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris (book cover is in the image) proves once again that McMorris is a master at bringing to life a historical setting, She immerses the reading in place and time flawlessly. Unfortunately, the plot and characterization in this fell flat for me. There was more time placed on historical setting than in developing the story and characters. In addition, the setting descriptions and the storyline felt very disjointed.

The Narration by Cindy Kay was well done, and was probably the only reason I did not DNF this book.

Thank you RBmedia | Recorded Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All Opinions are my own.

Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: May 20 2025

#RBMedia
#TheGirlsofGoodFortune
#KristingMcMorris
#CindyKay
#HistoricialFiction
#yarisbooknook
#NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an ARC of this novel.

I have to say that I was disappointed in this novel. I love the author's book, Sold on a Monday, and expected to like this one as well. Through the first half of the novel, I was totally engaged and interested to learn about the Shanghai Tunnels and the mistreatment of the Chinese immigrants in the 1800s. However, to me, halfway through, the story just really went off the rails. It became so far-fetched and unbelievable. At first, I was pretty invested in the main character, Celia. Then, because of some unrealistic things that happen in the middle of the story, I just finished it to find out what happened. Although it was a very serious story, at times it seemed almost laughable. It reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie. I also found it distracting the way the story moved back and forth from 1885 to 1888. The narrator did a credible job, but didn't help me to engage in the story. Their are many 5 star review, so I think that the story just wasn't for me.

Here's my issue with the book:

I'm reading the description and I see "Woman wakes up underground after being drugged and will be sold into forced labor." Wow. That sounds intense. Imagine my confusion when this doesn't happen until well over half way into the book. I went back to reread the description and I even checked out reviews to see if I got the books confused somehow. Nope!

The first half of the book could've gone on to show how Celia raises her daughter with her friends in the brothel. It could've shown how she helped other people of color. I think some reformatting would've helped even. The book should've started with her waking up underground and fighting to get back to her daughter. Really anything could've helped. It's almost like two different books put together.

The cover and title is beautiful and eye catching. The narrator is perfectly adequate. I think the story is confusing and not enough to make me a fan.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristina McMorris, Cindy Kay, and RBMedia for the opportunity to read it. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

Thank you RBmedia (audio book) & Sourcebooks (ebook) via NetGalley for the opportunity to read & listen to this book.
This is my 6th Kristina McMorris book, and I definitely like it the least.
Overuse of adjectives and adverbs made me feel like she was writing like Dickens, paid by the word count.
It felt like a Hallmark movie and ended like one too.
I don't know if this storyline was to near and dear to her heart, but it felt like she was more focused on the perfect sentence than letting the story flow. I made it about halfway and then skimmed the rest just to see if there were any surprises, nope.
Narrator ok but even she could not salvage this book for me.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The story is interesting at first but begins to lose steam as it goes along. I did appreciate the author's treatment of this moment in history and the racist sentiment that was rife against immigrants.

I enjoyed the narration, with Cindy Kay imbuing the characters different voices and attributes. Overall, just an average story. Three stars.

The Girls of Good Fortune is a compelling novel of one young woman's struggle in Portland, Oregon in the late 1800's. The story spans about 5 years and jumps back and forth between two timelines of the same woman (5 years apart). What I loved most about this story is the main character, Cecilia. She is always true to herself, 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 American. Faced with extraordinary life experiences and several terrible circumstances, she never loses hope and forges ahead. She is a kind hearted soul and grows up to be a good natured resilient woman.

The writing is amazing as Kristina McMorris has a way of sucking you in and won't let you go until you the very end. Plus you can't stop thinking about it!!! After several surprising turns, the story comes full circle (I love books that do this!). The story concludes in with hope, friendship, and new beginnings - and most importantly, family.

Cindy Kay narrated the audiobook and she did an exemplary job, demonstrating appropriate emotions in all the right places. I also really appreciated the Author's note at the end of the book, which was enlightening to say the least. I can't wait to listen to the next audiobook by Kristina McMorris!

I had previously read Kristina McMorris Sold on a Monday and The Ways We Hide and loved them. So I was extremely excited to read her newest book. The novel is part historical fiction, part mystery and part romance. It deals with the prejudices of Chinanese Americans during the 1800’s in the Northwest. Cecilia is a light skin 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 Caucasian woman. Her story is told in two parts. The story is about adversity and resilience, fighting for what is right and love. I went between the audiobook and ebook. The narrator did a good job.

Thank you #NetGalley, #RBMedia, #SourcesbooksLandmark, #KristinaMcMorris, #CindyKay and #TheGirlsofGoodFortune for the advance copies for my honest review.

Oregon, 1888. Amid the subterranean labyrinth 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.

This story takes place in the late 1800s and deals partly with anti-Chinese sentiment in Portland during that time. Celia, the main female character, is half Chinese, passing for white, who is a maid in the Mayor's home as the story begins. I really liked the first part of this book but I felt that it soon became too unrealistic as Celia got involved in trying to right the horrific treatment of Chinese miners and bring the perpetrators to justice. She experienced too many narrow escapes to be believable and I was confused at times by the constant jumping back and forth between 1885 and 1888. The book contained some good characters but I thought the ending was a bit cheesy.

Along with a digital ARC, I also had access to the audiobook, narrated by Cindy Kay. She had a pleasant voice and did a satisfactory job although I had to listen to it at 1.25 speed, something I've never done before.

Thanks to RB Media, via Netgalley, for approving my request to listen to the audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: May 20, 2025

3.5 stars...I received this book as a NetGalley ARC from RBmedia. This is a historical fiction set in the 1880s during the Rock Springs Massacre that targeted Chinese American miners. This book has a lot of action and drama with a mysterious undercurrent. I wish the main character's identity as a Chinese and American woman had been explored further. This would be a good book for someone who likes their historical fiction with more plot and action than character building.

This was pretty good and I did find myself caring for the characters, but I feel like it would've been better if like half of the plot was cut out to truly let the other elements shine. Celia's adventure from the moment she dressed as a man to the moment she got back home felt like way too many different things were happening for it to make sense or make me want to care. For that reason, I thought the first half of the book was much better than the second half. The writing style is generally very well executed, so I think this book could have easily become a 4 or even 5 stars read if less had happened (her getting arrested, to going to an asylum, all felt very laughable and overdone). I also really disliked the epilogue and believe it wasn't necessary to bring focus to the historical and generational impact of Celia's life.

This book is provides a good take of a not so known part of the part. I always enjoy books that teach me about an element of history that I wouldn't have otherwise known. Audiobook narrator was just okay.

I found this to have an amazing prologue, that hooked me immediately. Set in Portland at the end of the 19th century, Celia discovers she has been drugged and confined underground with no apparent means of escape. She realizes she has been taken and will soon be shipped out for forced labor due to her race and that she is dressed as a male. The book was intense, and a true page-turner loaded with lots of interesting history that was unfamiliar to me.
There are strong topics of racism, family, resilience and corruption but it also has elements of hope. The book was harrowing and enlightening. Well done!
The narrator, Cindy Kay, did a great job and held my interest. She managed to express the emotional along with providing different inflections.

Thank you to RBmedia | Recorded Books, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

The hardest reality sometimes is knowing that historical fiction could very easily have truly been someone’s real life and we just don’t know their name. Such a good job shining a light on a hard part of our past in a way that still resonates in our present day in ways.

Enjoyable narration. The narrator did a great job and held my interest.

By the author of SOLD ON A MONDAY, which was my all time favorite by this author. This one pulls you right in and keeps you wanting more.

You meet Celia in prison at the beginning of this story. Set in the late 1800's and told from before Celia's imprisonment and after. You get to know her and how she became a prisoner. And why.

Celia is a housekeep for a very rich family in Oregon. Her and the couple's son are madly in love. Stephen has to go abroad for school but vows that he and Celia will marry when he returns. Celia holds on to that while suffering a devastating loss. Her father, a Chinese man, was killed in a slaughter at a gold mine. Celia finds out she's with child and the Bettencourt's, Stephens parents, send her away. They don't want to believe that she is truly pregnant by their son. She's half Chinese and a maid. And they are upper class and a bit snobbish.

Celia goes through so much once she has to leave. They've sent her to a brothel to be a maid and she works hard. She gives birth and ends up being taken away for a bit. She's on an adventure that no young woman needs to be on. You find out why she was put in jail and how she managed to get out. How she survived the whole ordeal and got back to her baby. Only to find her precious Pearl gone...

This book is heartbreaking and heartwarming. It deals with bigotry and hatred. Towards the Chinese. You will be rooting for Celia and Stephen to find their way back to each other. And for justice for what happened along the way.

I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. This author did a great job of researching the time period and she left a couple of recipes at the end that sound good. I'll have to try them.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

This book highlights a time in history that is overlooked or forgotten. While this book has a lot of history, you can feel connected to the main character, Celia, who goes through so much, including all the challenges that were going on during the 1880s. When Celia faces challenges, how she approaches them and is willing to hang on and fight for what she believes is right is inspiring. This book had me thinking about it after I finished it, and I found myself looking up articles about its historical events. This book was hard to put down and will be even harder to forget—a delightful read.