Hello! Since I’ve finished up Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim recently, I wanted to do a combine review on her books that I’ve read. I always have such a fun time reading Roselle Lim’s magical realism/contemporary novels that focus on the individual’s growth than anything else. Hope you enjoy these reviews!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🍜 Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune | 🍵 Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop | 🦆 Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club
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Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim
Standalone
Published June 11th 2019 by Berkley Books
Age Range: Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism
Rep: East Asian
Rating:
Synopsis:
At the news of her mother’s death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn’t spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco’s Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She’s even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother’s restaurant.
The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant’s fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother’s cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around–she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along
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Love, like life, has the highest risk, but the greatest reward. If you jump and fail, the chasm below is endless, but if you fly, the sun will be yours.
After her mother’s death, Natalie returned to her hometown in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Almost everyone is supportive and welcoming of her, but it doesn’t alter the fact that Natalie left her home after a huge argument with her mother.
The book is packed with the Chinese culture, the societal expectations Natalie has to meet, and the values and traditions of filial piety and familial obligation explored nicely.
Natalie had much character growth. She harbored a lot of resentment and bitterness not just toward her mother, but also toward her neighbors. Her memories of the neighborhood were clouded by grief, anger, and preconceived notions. After running away from her past for so long, I appreciated how she eventually came to solve her problems.
The magical realism aspect of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune added flavor to the setting. Roselle Lim’s writing style definitely augmented the magic that’s already embedded in the plot and the characters. Also, Natalie’s grandmother’s cookbook would’ve lost its charm without some magic. Half the time, I was just hungry.
As for the romance, I wasn’t too invested in the romance between Natalie and her love interest. The development of their relationship felt a little bit too abrupt, but I think it’s because the book is focused on Natalie herself. It’s more about Natalie and her mother’s estranged relationship and Natalie’s own affinity with cooking.
Such was the beauty of sadness: it transformed the hollowness of the heart into something as precious as the loss it suffered.
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Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🍜 Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune | 🍵 Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop | 🦆 Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club
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Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Ship by Roselle Lim
Standalone
Published August 4th 2020 by Berkley
Age Range: Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism
Rep: East Asian
Rating:
Synopsis:
Vanessa Yu never wanted to see people’s fortunes–or misfortunes–in tea leaves.
Ever since she can remember, Vanessa Yu has been able to see people’s fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. To avoid blurting out their fortunes, she converts to coffee, but somehow fortunes escape and find a way to complicate her life and the ones of those around her. To add to this plight, her romance life is so nonexistent that her parents enlist the services of a matchmaking expert from Shanghai.
The day before her matchmaking appointment, Vanessa accidentally sees her own fate: death by traffic accident. She decides that she can’t truly live until she can find a way to get rid of her uncanny abilities. When her eccentric aunt, Evelyn, shows up with a tempting offer to whisk her away, Vanessa says au revoir to America and bonjour to Paris. While working at Evelyn’s tea stall at a Parisian antique market, Vanessa performs some matchmaking of her own, attempting to help reconnect her aunt with a lost love. As she learns more about herself and the root of her gifts, she realizes one thing to be true: knowing one’s destiny isn’t a curse, but being unable to change it is.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound
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Before I get started with the review, I want to say a huge thank you to Shealea from @shutupshealea and @CaffeineTours for choosing me to participate in this blog tour! Received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
One might think being able to read the future from tea leaves is fun and interesting but soon we’ll find out the extent of sadness when it comes to predicting unfortunate events. Without being trained, Vanessa Yu finds herself blurting out all her predictions whenever it comes to her and that extends to predicting death and separation. In Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop, Vanessa’s done resisting her ability. Instead, she’s trying to control her powers and determine her own future.
Vanessa longed to be in love. Unfortunately, she can never sustain a relationship (or finish the first date) without blurting out a prediction. To her, love will never come. The romance between Marc and Vanessa was okay. Although they fell for each other quite quickly, I didn’t mind it much. Mainly because I was more invested in Vanessa and Aunt Evelyn’s individual growth.
Instead of just focusing on Vanessa’s self-discovery journey, the book is also about Aunt Evelyn who we’ve met in Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune. Compared to her loud and meddling sisters, Aunt Evelyn doesn’t open herself up to many people. She’s elegant and refined. There were many times when both Aunt Evelyn and Vanessa were confronted by their own beliefs and ways of looking at the world. While Aunt Evelyn has resigned to fate, Vanessa is questioning and attempting to seize her own dreams.
"I leave you with this last piece of advice: Be true to yourself and to who you are. That is the key to gaining control of your life. If you find your missing thread, you find yourself.”
On another note, the book tackles serious issues like racism, xenophobia, and micro-aggressions. Aunt Evelyn is trying to establish her tea shop in a foreign land that she fell in love with but is targeted by xenophobic people. The magical and beautiful exterior of Paris doesn’t hide the ugly, racist ideologies and practices.
I loved that Roselle Lim’s books have a great emphasis on family. Vanessa’s huge family is so precious. I felt a connection with Vanessa Yu because her family reminds me of mine. The parallels are uncanny. No matter how meddling, loud or extreme they can be, her aunties are always there to support and help. They willingly and voluntarily nosedive into other people’s businesses and would spend the whole day gossiping about everything under the sun. But you love them.
Roselle Lim’s simplistic prose makes reading easy and seamless. The descriptive writing enhances the reading experience by painting vivid imagery of the whimsical and magical Paris. It felt as if I were there walking around the City of Lights with Vanessa as she explores Paris. Also, I couldn’t get enough of all the delicious food ranging from French sandwiches to sushi to Vietnamese food.
Overall, a wonderful, magical contemporary novel that’s filled with unfiltered prophecies, lost loves, and a nosy family. A talent that’s deemed a curse. Fate can be altered and your life is yours to determine.
No.
I’d never been one to follow directions. I wasn’t going to start now.
Defiance marked my presence in this world: it would guide me now
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter
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Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🍜 Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune | 🍵 Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop | 🦆 Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club
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Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim
Standalone
Published August 16th 2022 by Berkley
Age Range: Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism
Rep: East Asian
Rating:
Synopsis:
Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto, her hometown, after spending three years in Shanghai. Her job is made quite difficult, however, when she is revealed as a fraud—she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. In a competitive market like Toronto, no one wants to take a chance on an inexperienced and unaccredited matchmaker, and soon Sophie becomes an outcast.
In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.
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Being a matchmaker has been Sophie’s career choice the entire time. That’s why she moved to Shanghai for a matchmaking school. However, one thing about matchmakers is that they don’t have the red string of fate like the rest of the population. Believing that she won’t find love for herself, Sophie dove headfirst into finding a significant other for others.
While she’s helping seven septuagenarian Chinese men, named the Old Ducks, Sophie finds herself attracted to another of her clients. Since I was more interested in Sophie’s interactions with the Old Ducks, I wasn’t too invested in the romance between Sophie and Mr. Particular.
In the meantime, Sophie has to deal with the toxic relationship between her and her parents. They were constantly belittling her, refusing to acknowledge her hard work, diminishing her matchmaking career, and overall being horrible to their only child. I didn’t like how they were treating Sophie at all.
I adored the Old Ducks. The seven of them have their own personality and backstory. Sophie definitely proved her ability and was adopted into their little group bit by bit. They provided her with wisdom that came with their age regarding parents and were constantly cheering her up when things get dire. The Old Ducks had more trust in her than Sophie’s own parents.
The ending broke me a little. I had wondered if it would come to that in the end, but even though I was prepared for the worst, how it came about was heartbreaking. Overall, it’s Sophie’s journey into finding love, helping others find love, and understanding what she wanted in life.
thisbellereadstoo.wordpress.com 
Love your review! I’ve always been interested in these titles but didn’t realized they’re interconnected. Out of these 3, I think I’d enjoy Natalie Tan the most but which one is your favorite? 🙂
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i think natalie tan as well! all of them have the same vibes but each story is unique.
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