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A review by tishywishy
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
3.0
This is not a romance novel. Yes there is a romance involved but it's not the primary focus of the book...or even the secondary focus. It's like a small segue story that's happening to the protagonist and in a fast, slightly erratic way at best.
Natalie returns home after her agoraphobic mom passed away. She is saddened to see how the neighbourhood has become more and more gentrified while her long standing neighbours have suffered financially. She searches for a way to bring business and vitality back to the community - re-opening her grandmother's restaurant and finding her grandma's recipe book. The book has tons of cultural references, characters who really bring the neighbourhood to life, and is filled with magical realism, which makes the recipes even more exciting.
What irked me was the constant message that only Natalie - through her grandmother's recipes - could bring the neighbourhood back to its previous splendor. It felt as though the ENTIRE place would fall to ruins if she didn't work her cooking magic to make it happen. The story kept harping on this and at some point it got overbearing.
Then it was a romantic interest that seemed tossed in for story line sake. Frankly, it would have been just fine with out a love interest.
Natalie returns home after her agoraphobic mom passed away. She is saddened to see how the neighbourhood has become more and more gentrified while her long standing neighbours have suffered financially. She searches for a way to bring business and vitality back to the community - re-opening her grandmother's restaurant and finding her grandma's recipe book. The book has tons of cultural references, characters who really bring the neighbourhood to life, and is filled with magical realism, which makes the recipes even more exciting.
What irked me was the constant message that only Natalie - through her grandmother's recipes - could bring the neighbourhood back to its previous splendor. It felt as though the ENTIRE place would fall to ruins if she didn't work her cooking magic to make it happen. The story kept harping on this and at some point it got overbearing.
Then it was a romantic interest that seemed tossed in for story line sake. Frankly, it would have been just fine with out a love interest.