Im not new to the cosy fantasy genre but i feel like this was on the side of too cosy?
I felt quite bored whilst reading and didnt feel connected to the characters.
I struggled to want to pick the book up

Despite that i would pick another book by Julie Leong up- though maybe not a cosy fantasy

Perfect cosy vibes that I think fans of Legends & Lattes and Emily Wilde will love.

I could have stayed in this fantastical world forever. I loved it!

The book was cute, cozy and sometimes the sense of humor was getting me- it reminded me a bit of T. Kingfisher. I liked the characters and really appreciate how the author mixed important topics with light hearted conversations so we could get a bit of both worlds. I'll definitely follow the next releases from Julie Leong!

I absolutely loved the writing style of this one, and it was truly a comfort to read! Julie's worldbuilding is really fun as well. The characters are charming and the found family vibes are perfect. I can't wait to read more from Julie!

This book is so gosh darned cute. It's full of found family, animal companions, friendships, and adventures. It's the only book that's filled that same spot in my heart as Psalm of the Wild-Built.
I adored every second it, and had tears in my eyes from the wholesomeness.
Best book

This felt like a very low-stakes, cosy adventure - which is sometimes exactly what you need when you need to turn your brain off.

I really enjoyed the Tea-reading aspect of this book, and like that the fortunes that Tao told were only 'small' and could potentially be changed depending on the persons choices .

It is a very quiet book, in which the important thing is the journey, not the final destination. In this book nothing really happens, the main characters tell us about their problems and it seems that there is going to be a culmination in which something bad is going to happen, and then everything is really resolved without much conflict or violence. I liked this particular type of story, but because it came at a time in my life when I needed exactly that, characters who seem to have life and death problems that are then resolved in a much easier way than I expected. Characters where their main goal in life is to be happy, neither the best at something, nor the heroes of the country, even though they could be. They simply want to live their lives as they want, with the difficulties and joys that this brings them. I felt highly represented in all the characters. Another thing I loved was the friendship they develop between them, how they find each other and change each other well, supporting each other and giving each other a much needed support to face all their fears.
The author's writing is descriptive and evocative, even if sometimes I found it lacking a bit of action and plot to develop.
I recommend this book if you are at a time in your life when you need to be reminded that it's the journey that matters, not the destination, and that you have to enjoy life even if you don't have a clear goal.

The Teller of Small Fortunes is a charming cozy fantasy following Tao, an immigrant fortune teller, who travels alone between villages earning her living telling the small fortunes of the villagers. It’s a lonely life, just Tao and her mule, but it’s the safest life, until Mash and Silt enter her life, former warrior and a former thief, who have been travelling looking for Mash’s missing daughter. Deciding safety in numbers may be bet, Tao travels with them to the next village, where this time they meet Kina the promising baker who too wishes to travel, and before you know it a family emerges on the page, cat included. However the reason Tao always sought less in life, the reason she craved safety, soon reappears when she is followed for her Seer abilities and summoned to report.

There are many reasons to read a book – this book falls into the escapism category and it’s a world I entered when I especially needed it. The stakes feel a little higher than some other cozy fantasy (such as Legends and Lattes where the top threat was where are the next batch of buns coming from) however it’s still incredibly comforting and by the end of the book I even had a happy cry. The heart of this book is in the characters, characters you experience lower their guards for each other and in turn, you learn and love them more. Mash is a big man, a fighter, but he’s actually a protective father who comes to even care for Ta like a daughter, Silt is a former thief who hides insecurity behind swagger but deep down longs to be taken seriously. There’s Kina, my favourite, who longed for adventure and to bake in her small fortune, and across the story she embraces her freedom and finds her talent. Tao herself is a guarded character, she’s travelled alone out of safety, you learn of her family and her reasons for her guardedness and fear, however through her you feel the power of love (sorry to be cheesy) and the strength in having someone by your side.

This is the perfect book to curl up with when you need a hug because it will leave you feeling like you’ve been wrapped up tight. Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved everything about this book. I loved the cadence, the storyline, and the characters. The characters were very relatable, maybe not in exact circumstances, but in emotions.
This is going right up there into my favorite comfort novels.

Tao reads only small fortunes and travels around the country in her wagon doing so by herself. When that changes our adventure begins. This is low stakes cosy fantasy at its finest, the characters are loveable. We get to see quite a lot of this world and see the various aspects of it, not all is pretty. There are moments that are a little too spelled out, on the nose you could say. But I enjoyed reading this, I loved the found family aspect. Each character felt unique and had their own mini arc throughout the story. Just a beautiful cosy fantasy that was a joy to read.

This book was so good. Throughtout reading, I kept thinking that it whould not work for me, but it did. I think it' suitable for alll ages, starting from very young children to adults who enjoy cozy fantasy. I think the writing has a great writing style and I would love to explore more stories from her.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

The epitome of a cosy fantasy! I absolutely loved all the characters and their relationships, as well as their personal developments throughout the plot. The plot is cosy but with enough tension to keep you intrigued and the world-building is fully fleshed out adding to the atmosphere.
Also the cover art is absolutely beautiful.

Official rating ~ 3.5 ⭐️

It’s an absolutely adorable tale with the sweetest characters but it was all too perfect & too cosy. And even when there was danger or conflict, it was resolved quickly.
I also wish there had been an extra chapter before Tao awoke. That will (hopefully) mean more if you read it.

The characters are somewhat endearing just a little 1 dimensional. The only real character development is with Tao and her inner turmoil about her culture and identity.

It also has long chapters (I’m not a fan).

Overall It is a beautiful story of found family, low stakes adventure that is perfect for those days when you want a feel good read.

Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton & NetGalley for the eARC.

An unexpected and very heartfelt Found Family.

It tells the story of a girl, a fortune teller, who has decided to leave home to work as a traveller on her wagon. During her travels, she meets and reads the fortunes of many people.
Soon others join her: there's a mercenary who's looking for his long lost daughter with the help of an insecure professional thief; a baker whose profession is not appreciated and valued, which only increases her insecurities about her life and her choices.
All these people come together, tied by Tao's fortune telling.

It reminds very much of RPG, role-play games, but it is not challenging or demanding, and the similarity is not forced.

The narrative is relaxing and natural, it gives a slice-of-life feeling despite having its moments of action and adventures.

This book gave me a sentiment of inner peace, it's beautiful. The plot is peculiar, with no grand claims or expectations, simple in its being ordinary and at the same time, extraordinary.

It's one of the many books I've read this year, which is only the evident proof that it's not mandatory to write a romance subplot with questionable and stereotypical characters and relationships, in order to have a good, enjoyable fantasy story with lovable characters, worth of being read, appreciated and loved.

I hope this book is going to be published in Italy because it deserves recognition.

"The Teller of Small Fortunes" is a balm for loneliness, a bit of company in a solitary day or evening, some relief for moments when you're alone and there's no one to help or support you. It gives the chance to imagine how it's like to have a group of friends, having someone who supports you, loves you and moves you forward by giving you a reason to live, an aim for your actions, a reason for your sacrifice; someone you could be worth sacrificing and making the hardest choices for, not the easiest but instead necessary for yourself or your loved people.

The writing style is simple, rich in details; the worldbuilding is very good, it made me feel like I was effectively living an adventure on a travelling wagon, by describing everything in the smallest details so that one could see the scenes unfold in front of one's very eyes.

The characters are very well described, in enough a deep way; you can understand their psychology very well, together with a bit of their background, their strengths and weaknesses.
The plot is definitely not mainstream.

It's very relaxing, although not deprived of exciting events, suspense and lively and worrying scenes.

To reach 5⭐, I would have loved some more emotions and feelings.

This book gives similar vibes to "The house in the cerulean sea" by T.J. Klune, still fully keeping their originality. I'm mentioning this because it's rare to find these kind of vibes in a book, and this one has been an amazing find.

I give it 4.5⭐ ♥️.

“What was a home but somewhere you wouldn’t have to feel quite so alone?”

This is such a lovely cozy fantasy with a wonderful found family that had me feeling all the emotions.

Our MC is Tao, who travels alone to villages telling small fortunes but along the way she meets Mash & Silt who help her and decide to stick with her on her journey. At the next village they pick up the last of the group, Kina, a baker who wants to explore the world. They also pick up a stray cat that causes chaos along the way.

They travel together in search of Mash’s daughter who had been kidnapped several months ago and the journey leads them to learn more about themselves and learn to open up & be vulnerable with each other developing true friendships. I loved the character dynamics & that they all truly care for & support each other. There isn’t any romance in this but still full of love.

I loved seeing Tao learn that being an immigrant doesn’t mean she can’t have friends & people who care about her & will have her back.

There was some great discussions on being an immigrant and growing up in land that makes you feel othered constantly. Even though you barely know your mother tongue or traditions of your ancestors and hide these parts of you so you fit in. That even though you speak like them and dress like them they won’t accept you because of the colour of your skin. That you have to be alert all the time because not everyone is safe. I felt this all deep in my soul.

I loved how the story developed, it’s very character driven but has a low stakes plot that is resolved by the end. But it’s also open ended so we can imagine what these characters will be doing next.

A beautiful story about finding home and found families, The Teller of Small Fortunes was a great read! I found myself really rooting for the characters and hoping they got what they wanted and deserved in their lives. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite as heartwarming as it was, so I was pleasantly surprised by the wholesome storyline!

I tried to read this a few times and while I get the vibe it's going for, it was hard to proceed beyond page fifty. Something about how the story was progressing just didn't make sense to me.

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Teller of Small Fortunes is an adult fantasy in which we follow Tao as she travels the world, meets new friends, and embarks on a new quest.

As always, can we just take a second to appreciate the beauty of the cover? I know I often say this in my review, but honestly, the cover of a book is the first element that we see, and consciously or not, it is a huge element that will help to determine whether we want to read a book or not. You know my slight obsession for Asian fantasy, so of course, when I saw the fortune cookie and the teapot on the cover, I was sold and immediately requested this book on NetGalley.

The book is sold as "a cozy fantasy about trying to find yourself – and finding a family instead", and I would not dare find a more perfect sentence to sum up the whole book, because it is exactly what it is. Although I do not consider myself to be a fan of cosy fantasy, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed this book.
Tao is a very mysterious fortune teller, but as the story unfolds, you get to know more about her past, her present, her powers, and her future. The beginning is slow, a sign that she is living a very lonely life, but as the chapters passed and as she met new people that soon became her friends, the pacing felt quicker. The plot seemed really strange because there was no real "main plot", but rather a series of "subplots" and small adventures or small stories that make you want to keep on reading, and that was original in a way.

I am not usually one to recommend reading others' reviews on GoodReads because I almost never read them, but I highly recommend reading Novel Notions/Petrik Leo's extensive review because it tackles some important points concerning cosy fantasy.

Travelling between villages, Tao will only tell small fortunes, ones that will happen soon or have little consequence. That is because she knows that to tell the bigger ones have consequences of their own.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters were delightful, and the story was well written with some humour mingled with the magic. An enjoyable cosy read.

My favorite cosy fantasy of the year.
It is a beautifully crafted tale of destiny and found family. Tao, a young fortune-teller burdened by her gift, discovers that fate isn’t just about predicting the future—it’s about shaping it.

As she journeys through a continent that she calls home, Tao encounters a cast of characters who become more than companions; they become her chosen family, teaching her the power of connection and love. The novel delicately weaves themes of self-discovery and the balance between destiny and free will, all while immersing readers in a cosy and at times whimsical, atmospheric setting.

Leung’s prose is heartfelt and poignant, making this a touching exploration of how the bonds we forge can redefine our paths. A must-read for those who cherish stories of hope, growth, and belonging.