"Happiness is a gift that shines within you. The wish of your heart will soon come true." - page 21.Those were the words printed on a strip of paper found in a fortune cookie by nine year old Sophia Maria Jones. She received this fortune when she, along with her parents and grandmother, went to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate her 9th birthday. Unfortunately, that night there was a tragic car accident on their way home and Sophia's family died leaving her an orphan.
Chapter one begins on Sophia's 29th birthday. She boards the bus on her way to work at her candy store, Chocolat' de Soph when her best friend, and foster sister, Evalynn (Evi) surprises her by showing up on the bus. Sophie isn't happy about it as she hates her birthday as it is a constant reminder of that tragic day 20 years ago. During the course of this chapter you learn that Sophie has sworn off men all because of someone named Garrett.
The second chapter takes you back 20 years to the time immediately following the accident that took Sophie's family away from her. The information in this chapter will play a prominent part of the story near the end of the book, as will, the fortune cookie fortune.
By chapter three, Sophie and Evi arrive at Chocolat' de Soph where Sophie begins her work for the day writing fortunes for her Misfortune cookies. Cookies that reflect her broken engagement to Garrett, bitter tasting with sarcastic fortunes. By the end of chapter three, Garrett, her former fiance, shows up as a surprise, one that makes Sophie ill. What happens in chapter four catapults the story forward.
Throughout the book I was trying to figure out why Garrett would have left Sophie and broken her heart, especially since he knew how tragic her past was. I was totally surprised when the reason was revealed.
Those of you who have read my reviews know I do not like spoilers so you will not find any here. I will say that Sweet Misfortune is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it to young adult and adult readers. It is bittersweet, yet a sweet love story that pulls at your heartstrings at moments. I know I shed a few tears when I 'met' Alex, a young man you will meet later in the book. Please do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Sweet Misfortune, you will not be disappointed.
Kevin Alan Milne is a talented author that creates real characters that you can believe in. The dialog is crisp and flows smoothly as it carries you along in the story. I can't say enough about Sweet Misfortune, I LOVED IT!
I would like to thank Center Street/Hachette Book Groups for my free review copy. It was offered to me free in order to read and give my honest review and that is what I have done.
Smiles & Blessings,
Cindy
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