A comfy, wonderfully magical mystery!

Tao is a teller of small fortunes, traveling from town to town, making her living out of her small carriage, her mule, and cat. Until she stops along a road with what she believes might be some highway robbers!

I loved this one! There's magic and amazing friendship but little romance (which I appreciated)! There's an opinionated Mule and cat! There are adventures along the road while they search for the one missing from their group. I loved the added Baker and all their schemes and ideas! I loved the way fortune telling was described and the way they can be both small and large. This was such a fun story that swept me away in the lore and interesting world!

Although this story is perfectly wrapped in one book, I'd love more adventure! If there's a book 2, I'm in!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This one was really cute. Definitely perfect for when you are in need of a cozy fantasy, like after an election that makes you lose hope in humanity a little bit. I read this one at just the right time, and it was the perfect escape into cozy fantasy with a great cast of characters that found a family with one another and just treated each other with kindness. This novel does have some interesting things to say about fate and whether we are predestined to do certain things or if we have the power to change our own futures. I really liked that meditative aspect of it as well. My only complaint with this one was that parts of it felt very slow.

This book healed a part of my soul. There's no other way to put it. Reading the Teller of Small Fortunes felt like Julie Leong was reaching into my chest and giving my heart a much needed warm hug.

The nitty-gritty: Upbeat, funny and thoughtful, The Teller of Small Fortunes is as cozy as a warm pastry and a cup of tea.

This book came along at the just the right time, and I’m so glad I discovered Julie Leong and her wonderful, quirky story, a truly cozy fantasy with so many sweet moments, lots of humor and just a touch of conflict. Leong also fills her story with wise and pithy observations about life and relationships, as well as thoughtful commentary on racism and the immigrant experience. The Teller of Small Fortunes is a breath of fresh air, and I highly recommend it to all readers.

Tao is a teller of small fortunes, roaming the countryside of Eshtera in her mule-pulled wagon, stopping briefly in towns to tell fortunes, just long enough to make enough coin to take care of herself and her mule Laohu. She loves the solitude and traveling alone, so it is a bit of a shock when she finds herself with three traveling companions. First, Mash and Silt help her when a tree blocks the road she’s traveling on. Mash is a big hulk of a man who is distraught over his missing daughter Leah, who disappeared six months earlier. Silt is a happy-go-lucky thief who has come along to help Mash find his daughter. When Tao agrees to tell Mash’s fortune, she sees him giving a kitten to a little girl. By her description, Mash knows it’s Leah, and this gives him hope that he will soon find her.

Against her better judgment, Tao agrees to let the men join her on the road, thinking she might also be of help in finding the little girl. Along the way, they meet a baker’s assistant named Kina—whose confections taste good but look horrible—who is struggling to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and when Tao reads her fortune, she sees Kina sitting beside her in the wagon. Kina is delighted to join their group, bringing a small pastry oven along so she can continue to work on her baking skills.

As the four travelers slowly become friends, they follow clues that might finally lead them to Leah. But someone is pursuing Tao as well. Three years ago, she left home when her mother wanted to turn her over to the Guild of Mages (because of her ability to see the future), but she didn’t want that life for herself, and she’s been keeping a low profile ever since.

The story meanders, much like the characters do on their travels from town to town, and I loved this gentle approach to storytelling. Instead of frenetic action and high stakes, we have small, quieter moments between the characters. Not everything that happens serves the plot, and that’s OK. The characters occasionally go off on tangents that don’t have much to do with anything, but somehow these scenes fit the overall vibe of Leong’s story. 

The characters are a lot of fun and were the main draw for me, and I loved the way the author gave each one an emotional backstory. Tao’s relationship with her mother was ruined when she left home, and she’s still hurt by her mother’s actions but hopes they can reconcile someday. She’s also suffering from her father’s death when she was a young child, and feels responsible for what happened (this event is also the reason she only tells small fortunes). Mash is understandably sad about his daughter, desperate to find her and reunite their small family. Silt, who is the comic relief of the gang, wants to be a better man, especially when he falls for Kina and she completely ignores him. He’s got a reputation as a thief, but he's trying to quit. And Kina is simply delightful, a ray of sunshine who was overshadowed by her uncle and his bakery, but now has the chance to strike out on her own and create something wonderful (and she does!) The author balances humor, sweetness and heartfelt moments perfectly, and I loved seeing all four characters grow closer as they helped each other.

Leong injects some weightier themes into her story, with a possible war brewing between Eshtera and Tao’s home country of Shinara. Tao feels caught in the middle of these two lands. She was mostly raised in Eshtera and forced to learn the language and blend in, but in her heart she’s still Shinn, and she mourns the loss of the culture and traditions of Shinara. Eshterans aren’t completely accepting of Shinn people, and Tao suffers racism and rude remarks at times. Still, none of this overwhelms the lighter tone of the story.

There’s little to no romance, which I know some readers will appreciate. Honestly, it just didn’t need it. I especially liked that Kina isn’t afraid to tell Silt to back off when he starts showing interest in her. After all, she’s just starting her new life and doesn’t need a man complicating things! Instead, the friendships are front and center and much more satisfying than a romance would have been.

Eventually, everything is resolved at the end, but maybe not quite in the way you think. This is one of those books where you expect a happy ending and you get one, and even the short epilogue was delightful. The Teller of Small Fortunes will put a smile on your face, and I can’t wait to read more from this talented author.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I’m not a huge fan of cozy fantasy but this one won me over. The perfect book to read on a cozy fall afternoon, with a cup of tea of course. I absolutely loved it & will be eagerly awaiting more from this author. This will be an easy handsell for me and one that I can actually feel good about.

This was cute but I felt like all of the conflicts were overcome quite easily and that there were no real stakes.

I wish I could say this worked for me, but it unfortunately didn’t. The writing style didn’t vibe with me and even though it was a cute cozy fantasy…. I wanted so much more. I think I’ve come to realize I really don’t like cozy fantasies. There just isn’t enough action and not enough goes on in general in order to keep my interest. The story just never fully captured my attention and everything was too low stakes. It’s of course, to be expected from cozy fantasy, but I think this was the case of me falling in love with the cover of a book but not paying close enough attention to the summary.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley/Ace books for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC!

What a heartwarming debut novel by Julie Leong! This cozy story features found family, a little magic, and lots of adventure. While the coziness of this story is akin to Legends & Lattes or A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Leong doesn’t shy away from intertwining heavier topics into the story. These characters battle with grief, belonging, and political turmoil alongside their laughs, friendship, and antics. The pacing is on the slower side, but I felt it fit the vibe of this cozy fantasy! I also really loved the writing- lots of details that made me feel like I was inside the world with Tao. If you want a low stakes story that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling, then this book is for you!

Thanks, again, Berkley & NetGalley for this ARC!

The Teller of Small Fortunes was a fun and magical read about a Fortune Teller who finds herself on an adventure with an ex-mercenary, a thief and a baker on a quest to find the ex-mercenary’s missing daughter.

This book was a nice cozy read for the autumnal season and I really enjoyed the themes of new beginnings and found family. I was so happy that after years of feeling like she didn’t belong that Tao was able to find her place in the world and also that she found true friends for the first time in her life.

All in all this was an enjoyable read.

This book was so sweet and so heartwarming. I adored all of the characters, including the animals. There’s a little bit of a mystery involved, so it’s a tad higher stakes, but still oh so cozy. I loved the magical elements to it too, but nothing crazy. Such a wonderful little fantasy read.

What an original story. I loved that Leong creates characters of diverse nationality and race that in many ways mimic our world. The characters are very interesting and develop nicely over the course of the story. A heroine who doesn't feel she fits in. Characters who don't know their own strengths. A search for a little girl that takes the group through a lot of difficult situations. All make the book a really engaging read.

Leong creates a very intriguing world where good and bad are sometimes obvious but more often not easily identified. Leong is so scarred by her father's death and afraid of her own talent. She's kept her fortunes small as well as herself. Large might hurt her and others. Large is to be feared. Part of the smallness is aloneness. She struck out on her own very young. Despite the very real danger, she continues to travel alone. Until one day she picks up accidental companions who open up a whole new world. Now she's traveling with a group, she's making great.friendships, she even allows herself to make a meaningful fortune not knowing yet how it'll help somewhat ease a father's great fears. She returns to the city her stepfather brought her that she never wanted to see again just to help her new friends. Group over self, She and the group take on frightening battles, make news foes and new allies. All is not what it seems and it's exciting to find out what the truths are.

I throughly enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Thanks to the author, ACE publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

A nice cozy read that is low stakes and enjoyable! There is just enough world building and the quirky characters are so easy to like. If you are fan of Can't spell Treason without Tea then this would be nice next read!

This cozy fantasy story just came out and it arrived at a really perfect time for anyone who is feeling stressed after the election and needs some gentle escapist reading. In the wake of her father’s death Tao and her mother fled their homeland when Tao was just a child. But despite being raised by a wealthy stepfather, she could never quite escape her darker skin and hair that marked her as ‘Other’. With her mother unable to move past the grief of her loss, Tao was left alone in a hostile world.

She left the safety of wealth for a life on the road, passing herself off as a Teller of Small Fortunes. On her travels she meets a host of other travelers and they become a lovely little found family, one of my favorite tropes. They bond over their shared pains and as they search the country for one lost little girl, they come together and become more than the sum of their parts.

The story has a little bit of the flavor of Psalm for the Wild-Built, they travel in wagons and set up in towns along the road offering baked goods and fortunes. It made me think of Dex’s tea monk ministry. There are some elevated stakes, but never so much that it made me truly worried. This cozy fantasy is well balanced and as you’d expect for the genre, things work themselves out.
Also there is an opinionated cat that travels with them.

Read This If You - crazy a cozy fantasy story with an adorable found family, need a happy ending.

This is the COZIEST of cozy fantasies!!!  I don’t even like cozy fantasy, and I thought this was wonderful.  It’s got everything: found family, a quest for a missing daughter, a traveling fortune teller, magic, misshapen scones, a beloved mule, a phoenix,  a cat who may or may not be magical, and a very happy ending.  I highly recommend this to anyone looking to escape the world and  sink into a happy fantasy that gently carries you along  like a lazy river.  There is a strong story arc that keeps the reader engaged, but it is low stakes, there are no HUGE surprises, and nothing bad will happen.  There is plot tension, and there are a few tense scenes, but you can read with confidence, because everything always works out.   No one lies, there are no big deceptions, only small deceptions, to go along with the small fortunes.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free review copy.

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4.5⭐, a wonderfully enjoyable cozy fantasy with only a few bumps in the road.

I found this to be a perfect little "curl up by the fire with your fur baby and a cup of cocoa" type of book, and I'm looking forward to more titles from Julie Leong.

The characters in this story are, even in-universe, pushed into D&D-like tropes. There's Tao, the mage, who is actually a Seer with very powerful magic, but she refuses to use it for anything more than small fortunes due to trauma in her past. There's Mash, the warrior, who is searching for his missing daughter, and Silt, his best friend and companion, a slightly reformed thieving rogue. And finally, Kina, the baker, who I'm convinced might actually have magic of her own. Joining them are Lahou, the mule, and Fidelitus, the cat whose gender no one bothered to check.

On the surface, this is a rather sweet story about finding home in friendships and making home where you feel loved, but underneath there's an undercurrent of discomforting dread? Which is hard to parse with the "cozy" tagline. The two countries in this story, Eshtera and Shinara, which represent Europe and China, are on the brink of war with each other, and Tao, as a Shinn woman, experiences racism on her travels across Eshtera. Mash's daughter, a very young girl, is thought to have been kidnapped by bandits and held captive for months. The threat of the mages on Tao's tail, hunting her for her magical power, also contributes to the pangs of unease. So, maybe the stakes are low, as they don't greatly affect the main characters, but they're still a great trouble on the horizon.

I found it a bit odd that Kina, the Eshteran baker, is the one to come up with the idea for fortune cookies. I didn't like the gender mixup with Fidelitus, the cat. I knew it was coming from the very beginning of the cat's introduction, and it seemed like a silly way to hide a plot reveal. I also didn't really love how queerness was portrayed in this story. One of the only queer characters who gets dialogue is a woman who has no interest in wedding a man and Tao sends her off to an all-girls nunnery. But their entire conversation is had in hushed tones and kept secretive, and no other queer characters appear. I'm not a fan of "cozy fantasy" where the setting isn't queernormative, because then can it really be cozy if there's the inherent worry of homophobia? This wasn't really explicitly one or the other but I would have appreciated less smoke and mirrors. I wish more time was devoted to Tao's practice of fortune telling and the expansion of her's, Kina's, and Mash and Silt's travelling professions.

Overall, it's another cozy fantasy that compares itself to Legends & Lattes and does a good job standing on its own, but you do have to be careful putting yourself up next to the number one cozy fantasy of the last decade.

"Theres no such things as greater good-there's just good, and the more of it we can do, the better."

This was a very cute and cozy read.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available for me.

This was a sweet book about a young woman who unintentionally acquires traveling companions and helps each of them overcome problems in their respective lives. In the process she also manages to make progress in making peace with her own troubled past.

This book was amazing. I loved the found family at the same time as reconciliation. You can read this book as a light-ish pallet cleanser, or as a conversation about politics and ethics. This is a book that felt like a Hiyao Miyazaki film.

Tao ran away from home and from the Guild. She hides her magic by traveling constantly, and telling small fortunes. But even a small fortune can change a life, and she finds herself on the road with friends searching for a treasure.

Why I started this book: Requested this book from NetGalley because of its cover. And I started reading this book because I needed a cozy fantasy in my life right now.

Why I finished it: Easily finished it in two days because even when I picked it up to just read a couple of pages, I found myself reading larger chunks. This book is a warm hug and a small adventure.

The Teller of Small Fortunes is a cozy, lighthearted fantasy novel that helped carry me through this past week. The story follows Tao, a traveling fortune teller who sets out on a quest of self-discovery and finds family and adventure where she least expects it. I loved the variety of characters in the story, especially those in Tao’s immediate circle. We have Mash, the cinnamon roll warrior searching for his missing daughter, Silt, the comical ex-thief trying to stay on the right path, and Kina, the amateur baker with a heart of gold. All together, these unforgettable characters make up the heart and soul of the story. There are epic caravan adventures, delicious baked goods, adorable animal companions, and plenty of heartwarming moments. If you’re in need of some comfort, I highly recommend you pick this one up!