Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune
Rating: 3.5 stars
Published: June 11th 2019
Goodreads 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.Natalie returns home, following the death of her mother, and in her memory, works to revitalize her corner of San Francisco's Chinatown, by reopening her grandmother's restaurant. Natalie has had an estranged relationship with her mother, who suffered from agoraphobia. With the help of old neighbors and friends, Natalie hopes to rekindle her passion for cooking and return to her roots.
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.
