
I really enjoy the books of Kristina McMorris, and she has a new one coming out this month (5/2025): The Girls of Good Fortune. This one is centered on a young woman in the Portland area in the late 1800’s and the discrimination that Asian immigrants faced at that time. Having grown up in the Bay Area, I was much more familiar with the experience of Asian, particularly Chinese, immigrants in Northern California. This is definitely a dark period of our history and this story is all the more haunting as it’s based in fact.
Here’s the scoop:
The New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Ways We Hide shines a light on shocking events surrounding Portland’s dark history in this gripping novel of love, lore, and betrayal.
She came from a lineage known for good fortune…by those who don’t know the whole story.
Oregon, 1888. Amid the subterranean labyrinth of Portland’s notorious Shanghai Tunnels, a woman awakens in an underground cell, drugged and disguised. Celia soon realizes she’s a “shanghaied” victim on the verge of being shipped off as forced labor, leaving behind those she loves most. Although well accustomed to adapting for survival―being half-Chinese, passing as white during an era fraught with anti-Chinese sentiment―she fears that far more than her own fate hangs in the balance.
As she pieces together the twisting path that led to her abduction, from serving as a maid for the family of a dubious mayor to becoming entwined in the case of a goldminers’ massacre, revelations emerge of a child left in peril. Desperate, Celia must find a way to escape and return to a place where unearthed secrets can prove deadlier than the dark recesses of Chinatown.
A captivating tale of resilience and hope, The Girls of Good Fortune explores the complexity of family and identity, the importance of stories that echo through generations, and the power of strength found beneath the surface.
This novel is a bit of everything: historical fiction, romance, suspense, mystery. I enjoyed it and thankfully that ending did not let me down!
Here’s a bit of info on Ms. McMorris:
About the Author

Kristina McMorris is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of two novellas and seven historical novels, including the million-copy bestseller Sold on a Monday. The recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, she previously hosted weekly TV shows for Warner Bros. and an ABC affiliate, beginning at age nine with an Emmy Award-winning program, and owned a wedding-and-event-planning company until she had far surpassed her limit of “Y.M.C.A.” and chicken dances. Kristina lives near Portland, Oregon, where she somehow manages to be fully deficient of a green thumb and not own a single umbrella.
I am thankful to Kristina McMorris’ publisher, Sourcebooks, for my review copy through Net Galley!
Happy Reading!!























