Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing these ARCs in exchange for honest reviews. The recipe reviews and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.
Ill-Fated Fortune
A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel
Jennifer J. Chow
Minotaur Books
I am not sure which I enjoyed more, this cozy series starter or the fortune cookie recipe at the end of the story. I should also point out that I was craving pastries, good Chinese food, flower arrangements, and scented candles and all while reading this mystery. This story is a hat trick of magic and has all the aspects of a cozy with a strong protagonist who has supportive friends and family, an ability to get people to talk and magic. Felicity comes from a family of magical bakers; the Jin(which means Gold) family ladies can bake happiness into a pastry. Felicity has struggled to be able to figure out her signature bake or how to infuse it with joy, until she comes across a horrible fortune cookie, that certainly she can make better than the factory where it originated. And all of a sudden, Felicity has her signature bake and the ability to tell an accurate fortune. Unfortunately not all fortunes are good and she almost blacks out when the fortune writing magic takes over, which leads to Felicity being the top suspect on Detective Rylan Sun’s suspect list. Can you really blame the detective? It is the self-proclaimed Fortune Cookie King Charlie Gong who ends up dead in a dumpster behind the Gold Bakery, with Felicity’s fortune in his coat pocket. Things go from bad to worse but luck for Felicity she has her buddy Kelvin whom you wonder if Felicity truly appreciates all he does for her. Poor guy is stuck in the friend zone, but I have hope for a slow build-up. Felicity starts her own suspect list and with Kelvin’s help starts tracking down clues while trying to bake joy into her cookies even though she feels anything but joyful as the gossip spreads throughout the town of Pixie and starts to have a very negative effect on the family business and her mom. The suspects are wily and the red herrings are plentiful but Felicity has a little luck on her side, seems that a highly usual candle produced a highly unusual event in the way of a white rabbit that just shows on the Jin family doorstep and hops right in like she belongs there. This is one charmed bunny that winks and helps Felicity to see things clearer.
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