Book Review: Misfortune Cookie

By Kathryn Hamilton

Nothing misfortunate about this delicious morsel!

Imagine that just as you are about to embark on a life changing venture, you open a seemingly prophetic fortune cookie bearing a good omen. Having received such a fortune, Hannah Cumming feels confident about her decision to follow her boyfriend to Hong Kong. Although successfully surviving relocating to London, England the previous year, nothing Hannah experienced quite prepares her for Hong Kong. She struggles with culture shock, language barriers, and making friends, all with hilarity that can only befall Hannah. With best friend Stacy by her side, Hannah soon discovers that even though life doesn’t always work out how she expected, “following your heart will pay off,” just as that fortune cookie foretold.

“Misfortune Cookie” is Michele Gorman’s delightful follow-up to “Single In the City” (reviewed here). She uses the same ingredients that made “Single...” such a joy to read and creates an equally fun and fantastic sequel. One of Hannah’s most endearing qualities is the fact that she is so relatable with her quirks and flaws. It was nice to see Hannah in a relationship, although she certainly hasn’t lost her penchant for over-analyzing (a quality I whole-heartedly share). Ms. Gorman portrays Hannah in such a way that as a reader, I can identify with her and see things from her perspective (for better or worse). Thank goodness for Stacy, who is a real voice of reason and as Hannah relates, a "True Friend" who supports her despite her neurotic behaviour at times. I loved getting to know Stacy, who had previously only been a minor character. Other vibrant characters were also introduced, but they are less prominent than Stacy. Ms. Gorman creates characters that could easily be a part of the real world.

One of the things I love most about Ms. Gorman’s novels is her descriptions. She has wonderful detail and the reader is easily transported to Hong Kong. Ms. Gorman lived in the city as part of her research; I don’t know of many authors who show such dedication to authenticity and realism for their craft. This adds to the realism of Hannah’s experiences.

Ms. Gorman is new on the chick lit scene, but certainly has made her mark with her humour, strong, intelligent female characters, and exquisite detail.

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