
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Catherine Ho
-
By:
-
Roselle Lim
About this listen
Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lim’s magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places.
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.
©2019 Roselle Lim (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop
- By: Roselle Lim
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she can remember, Vanessa 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.
-
-
Super Cute Easy Listening
- By Taylor on 08-19-20
By: Roselle Lim
-
Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club
- By: Roselle Lim
- Narrated by: Annie Q
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
The Parents are the Worst
- By Holly C. Salley on 06-09-23
By: Roselle Lim
-
Have You Eaten Yet?
- Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World
- By: Cheuk Kwan
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Haifa, Israel, to Cape Town, South Africa, Chinese entrepreneurs and restaurateurs have brought delicious Chinese food across the globe. Unraveling a complex history of cultural migration and world politics, Cheuk Kwan describes a fascinating story of culture and place, ultimately revealing how an excellent meal always tells an even better story.
-
-
wonderful history of Chinese diaspora and food
- By Victoria on 03-06-23
By: Cheuk Kwan
-
The Cat Who Saved Books
- A Novel
- By: Sosuke Natsukawa
- Narrated by: Kevin Shen
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for — or rather, demands — the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
-
-
Transports you to fantastical realities…
- By Uriel Dana on 01-16-22
By: Sosuke Natsukawa
-
Arsenic and Adobo
- A Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery, Book 1
- By: Mia P. Manansala
- Narrated by: Danice Cabanela
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.
-
-
Please stop making Filipinos sound like characters in a JoKoy sketch
- By Bianca F. on 05-13-21
By: Mia P. Manansala
-
Counterfeit
- A Novel
- By: Kirstin Chen
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances.
-
-
a great snapshot into toxic chinese upbringing
- By ruka on 07-12-22
By: Kirstin Chen
-
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop
- By: Roselle Lim
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she can remember, Vanessa 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.
-
-
Super Cute Easy Listening
- By Taylor on 08-19-20
By: Roselle Lim
-
Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club
- By: Roselle Lim
- Narrated by: Annie Q
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
The Parents are the Worst
- By Holly C. Salley on 06-09-23
By: Roselle Lim
-
Have You Eaten Yet?
- Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World
- By: Cheuk Kwan
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Haifa, Israel, to Cape Town, South Africa, Chinese entrepreneurs and restaurateurs have brought delicious Chinese food across the globe. Unraveling a complex history of cultural migration and world politics, Cheuk Kwan describes a fascinating story of culture and place, ultimately revealing how an excellent meal always tells an even better story.
-
-
wonderful history of Chinese diaspora and food
- By Victoria on 03-06-23
By: Cheuk Kwan
-
The Cat Who Saved Books
- A Novel
- By: Sosuke Natsukawa
- Narrated by: Kevin Shen
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for — or rather, demands — the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
-
-
Transports you to fantastical realities…
- By Uriel Dana on 01-16-22
By: Sosuke Natsukawa
-
Arsenic and Adobo
- A Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery, Book 1
- By: Mia P. Manansala
- Narrated by: Danice Cabanela
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.
-
-
Please stop making Filipinos sound like characters in a JoKoy sketch
- By Bianca F. on 05-13-21
By: Mia P. Manansala
-
Counterfeit
- A Novel
- By: Kirstin Chen
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances.
-
-
a great snapshot into toxic chinese upbringing
- By ruka on 07-12-22
By: Kirstin Chen
-
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
- By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop.
-
-
So far,surprisingly charming-OUTSTANDING narration
- By Christine T on 03-20-23
By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
-
Eat a Peach
- A Memoir
- By: David Chang, Gabe Ulla
- Narrated by: David Chang
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious—an intimate account of the making of a chef, the story of the modern restaurant world that he helped shape, and how he discovered that success can be much harder to understand than failure. Full of grace, candor, grit, and humor, Eat a Peach chronicles David Chang’s switchback path. Along the way, Chang gives us a penetrating look at restaurant life, in which he balances his deep love for the kitchen with unflinching honesty about the industry’s history of brutishness and its uncertain future.
-
-
So many threads coming into a wonderful tapstery.
- By Suzie on 09-12-20
By: David Chang, and others
-
Just Haven't Met You Yet
- By: Sophie Cousens
- Narrated by: Charlotte Beaumont
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hopeless romantic and lifestyle reporter Laura’s business trip to the Channel Islands isn’t off to a great start. After an embarrassing encounter with the most attractive man she’s ever seen in real life, she arrives at her hotel and realizes she’s grabbed the wrong suitcase from the airport. Her only consolation is its irresistible contents, each of which intrigues her more and more. The owner of this suitcase is clearly Laura’s dream man. Now, all she has to do is find him.
-
-
Perfection
- By Anonymous User on 01-30-22
By: Sophie Cousens
-
No Two Persons
- A Novel
- By: Erica Bauermeister
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Braden Wright, Carol Jacobanis, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.
-
-
Wow! Just wow!
- By Debbie on 05-11-23
-
Crying in H Mart
- A Memoir
- By: Michelle Zauner
- Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian-American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.
-
-
Broken Korean
- By Tim on 04-21-21
By: Michelle Zauner
-
Funny Feelings
- By: Tarah DeWitt
- Narrated by: Nelson Hobbs, Stephanie Bentley
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Farley Jones is being forced to date Meyer Harrigan, the man she has come to love, in order to make all of her stand-up dreams come true. It's agony-a tragedy, even. In lieu of flowers, please send cash . . . Meyer and his daughter Hazel have been everything to her since they came into her life three years ago. So, all joking aside, the stakes are especially high when it's not only her career, but both of those relationships on the line.
-
-
Funny Little Rom com
- By An Eye 4 Romance on 04-15-23
By: Tarah DeWitt
-
Go Hex Yourself
- By: Jessica Clare
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Holly Linneman
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she’s astonished to find that she’s not applying to work at her favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. Instead, she’s applying to be an actual familiar for an actual witch. As in, real magic. The new job has a few perks—great room and board, excellent pay, and she's apprenticing to a powerful witch. Sure, the witch is a bit eccentric. And sure, there was that issue with the black cat Reggie would prefer to forget about. The biggest problem, however, is warlock Ben Magnus.
-
-
Witchy RomCom
- By Kel on 09-26-22
By: Jessica Clare
-
Attachments
- A Novel
- By: Rainbow Rowell
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office email. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period. When Lincoln applied to be an internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom.
-
-
Hard to follow
- By Tory Robinson on 01-09-21
By: Rainbow Rowell
-
The Complete Jaipur Trilogy
- The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris
- By: Alka Joshi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam, Deepa Samuel
- Length: 33 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivid and compelling, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own. Years later, she is confronted by her husband who has tracked her down.
-
-
An fabulously expanding adventure !
- By Miki Lee on 11-24-23
By: Alka Joshi
-
The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux
- By: Samantha Vérant
- Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
French-born American chef Sophie Valroux had one dream: To be part of the 1% of female chefs running a Michelin-starred restaurant. From spending summers with her grandmother, who taught her the power of cooking and food, to attending the Culinary Institute of America, Sophie finds herself on the cusp of getting everything she's dreamed of.
-
-
A convincing French accent!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-20-20
By: Samantha Vérant
-
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
- By: Colleen Oakley
- Narrated by: Sara Sheckells
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island - a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay - is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing.
-
-
What the Frick
- By Ocean Breeze on 06-09-21
By: Colleen Oakley
-
Like Water for Chocolate
- By: Laura Esquivel
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama Elena, the tyrannical owner of the De la Garza ranch. As the youngest, she is expected to remain single and stay at home to care for her mother. So when Tita falls in love, Mama Elena arranges for Tita's older sister to marry Tita's young man.
-
-
Incredible book. Disappointing narration
- By Elizabeth on 01-03-14
By: Laura Esquivel
Critic reviews
"Lim serves up love, loss, heritage, and hints of the supernatural on a silver platter in this magical and mouthwatering debut.... This eminently filmable tale of finding one’s own path while honoring one’s history is delicious and spellbinding." (Publishers Weekly)
“When you read this book, you can feel the love of culture and food within its pages. More importantly, you can see how entangled food, culture, and family can become. It’s a book about how food can bring people together, but also drive them apart. Filled with lush, lyrical writing, Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune is the kind of book that’ll fill you with warmth, and make you extremely hungry.” (BookRiot)
“What a treat! Reminiscent of Joanne Harris’s bestselling novel, Chocolat, Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune is heaped with heart and topped with the sweetest sprinkle of magic, creating a literary and culinary feast. Infused with ancient traditions and tantalizing recipes, Roselle Lim cooks up a mouth-watering tale that’s sure to delight!” (Lori Nelson Spielman, New York Times best-selling author of The Life List)
Featured Article: 10 Outstanding Contemporary Fiction Authors for Fans of Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is a bestselling and widely beloved author of contemporary fiction—23 novels and counting! His stories about complicated relationships, unexpected love, loss, sacrifice, and rediscovery are written in a descriptive, emotional, and earnest style. There’s no other author exactly like Sparks, but if you’ve already made your way through his catalog and you’re looking for more listens of similar appeal, here are 10 other fiction authors you might enjoy.
the imagery
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lovely and Delicious!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
nostalgic
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love the aroma of this story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love the richness of culture in the description of traditions, rituals, filial piety, and especially the glorious mouthwatering food. I’m particularly pleased with the Filipino recipes included in the story.
The fraught relationships between Natalie and her agoraphobic mother and between Miranda and her feisty chef mother Qiao reminded me of The Joy Luck Club.
Docking a star for excessive repetition, overly flowery language, and weakness in the romance build-up.
An angsty listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
More Development Needed
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Gorgeous story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not quite a romance not quite literary.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Gorgeous!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
However, I was instantly enthralled into the story. Natalie was difficult to understand, but as she became honest to herself, she became the most loved character.
The story ebbs and flows between heartbreak and happiness. It’ll frustrate you and excite you.
Then, you’ll be crying.
Great story, truly.
I didn’t expect to like this. But I loved it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.