Bookreview: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you are looking for a new cosy fantasy to snuggle up on the couch with during the winter season, look no further! The Teller of Small Fortunes has hit shelves and is ready for you to devour!💗

While cosy fantasy and cosy vibes are totally a trend right now, this book lives up to its expectations. It has all the tropes: a wandering person not knowing they are looking for a found family and adventure. Cosy baked goods, and a furry friend!

Tao the fortune teller travels the roads alone, only telling small furtunes, never staying too long. Then one day her fortune turns into a quest when she joins an ex-mercenary and thief on finding his daughter. But that is not all as they also adopt a baker yearning for adventure!🥐🧁

There are so many precious moments, banter and deliciously sounding cinnamon rolls that I basically read this in one sitting. It is charming and cheeky and overall a spectacular debut!

I'm always afraid when it comes to the cozy fantasy genre, because I have the tendency to get bored easily. Well, let me tell you... I never wanted this book to end!! I was happy-crying by the time I finished it and I was also sad that it was over. It was the most wholesome novel I've ever read and I love it so much I could reread it right now. The Teller of Small Fortunes is so warm and inviting that it felt like I was friends with the characters, gathered together around the hearth and listening to them telling stories about their adventures.

If you love a good cozy adventure, the found family trope, and a small collection of animal sidekicks, this book is definitely for you.

I don't usually include quotes in my reviews, but this one really had so many good ones that I just had to share them:
"Familiarity could look very much like love from a certain angle, if one didn't look too hard."
“One could choose to be nothing, or one could choose to be happy.”
“You’re wrong. There’s no such thing as greater good—there’s just good, and the more of it we can do, the better.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodderscape and author Julie Leong for this eARC

The Teller of Small Fortunes gets all the stars from me!

It is cozy, it is brilliant, whimsical, comforting, funny, cute and charming.

Next to beautifully written, well formed and quirky characters to fall in love with and an exciting new world to discover we get a sassy cat companion, a trusty (if slightly judgy) mule, a philosophical troll and an itchy magic finder.

The found family is perfection and Leong masterfully incorporates the subjects of racism, immigration, grief & healing without sacrificing the lightness or coziness.

One of, if not the best cozy fantasy I have read so far and by the end I was craving some warm, delicious (if slightly wonky) buns.

This type of cosy fantasy is not for me, I want slightly higher stakes and more specific plots that make it overall enjoyable for me. 3 stars though because it is readable for the characters.

Cute, heartwarming and hard to put down.
Tao is a teller or small fortunes, and only small fortunes. She learned that the hard way. After telling a seemingly not so small fortune, Tao is joined by a former mercenary and a reformed thief.

This book was so well written that I couldn’t put it down. It is a loving journey of found family and friendship and kindness. You become apart of the travelling band and don’t want the story to end.
This book is not my typical book, there is no epic romance or battles. There is a girl, her friends and a journey that will leave you feeling happy and content.
A perfect feel-good story for when you feel down.


Thank you to NetGalley and Hooderscape for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

2024 has really felt like my 'year of cosy fantasy' and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘀 by Julie Leong might just be my favourite yet!

In it, we travel with a small band of misfits - Tao, the lonely fortune teller fleeing the consequences of her magic; Silt, a semi-reformed thief; Mast, a mercenary searching for his missing daughter; and Kina, a baker's apprentice who wants to see the world. (And a rapacious cat.)

As you guys know, found family is my absolute favourite trope, and my does Leong do it well. Each character has their own fleshed-out backstory and character arc within the wider story. We really get to see this little found family grow and bond - from a place of real mistrust, Leong shows us how they grow together, support each other, and open up to one another, becoming better people because of the friends they've found along the way. It's truly heartwarming.

Like 'Can't Spell Treason Without Tea', another of this year's cost fantasy highlights for me, I felt that 'The Teller of Small Fortunes' had a really nice balance of having lower states without sacrificing drive and meaning. Key for me is that the characters still feel like they have agency over their own fates, rather than just stumbling into solutions - in both of these books, even if the focus isn't on world-shattering action, our characters still have to make difficult decisions to ensure their happy endings, it won't just fall into their laps.

So did I enjoy this book? The answer is obviously an emphatic yes. Even for readers not already into cosy fantasy, I think 'The Teller of Small Fortunes' would be a great entry-point - there are still meaningful stakes, you still go on a journey and face dangers monsters, and some tricky choices must be made; you just get to do it all alongside a cast of loveable characters (and a cat), and will be desperately craving a pastry by the end, which I think is the defining feature of the genre, no? 🥠 🍵 🔮

Thank you NetGalley for the early access!

This story was a balm to the heart. The coziest read I have picked up this year. The characters are all extremely lovable and I got attached to each of them, along with their personal stories and drive. The pacing can sometimes be a little slow but overall I like enjoyed it far to much for this to be an issue.
Lovers of tea and soft adventures, attaching characters, the theme of the book engage with some strong matter but in a very adapted and lovely manner.

This is a new favorite of mine and I can not wait to get my hands on a physical copy !

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A book that feels like a soft, warm hug, The Teller of Small Fortunes is a cosy adventure fantasy with a ramshackle found-family. I adored the vibes of the book from the very beginning, and while I wouldn't call it low-stakes, it's definitely a gentle read. Tao travels alone telling small fortunes, and eventually finds herself adopting strays along the way, from a retired mercenary and his reformed thief sidekick, to a disillusioned apprentice baker and a grumpy cat. I loved their story and would happily read 10 more books about their adventures.

3.5 Stars
One Liner: Lovely cover, decent content

Tao is a nomadic fortune teller. She prefers to move from one place to another, not staying anywhere long enough to attract unwanted attention. As a teller of small fortunes, she makes just enough money to keep her wagon and the mule. For her, this life is much better than what she left behind.
When Tao’s small fortune ends up something bigger, she has to accept two men accompanying her. An ex-mercenary and a reformed thief on a hunt to find a lost child tag along with Tao who is used to being alone. The group increases when a young baker and a magical cat join her.
It’s almost too much for Tao to handle them all but maybe this is her chance to find the family she wanted!
The story comes in Tao’s third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
Cozy fantasies are easy reads as the books are usually shorter and don’t have intense stuff. The premise here sounded mellow yet adventurous, and the beautiful cover was enough to make me request the book.
There’s no denying the cozy vibe despite the darkish themes. While the found family is the central theme, the book also deals with immigration, power battles, prejudice, war, privileged vs. poor, grief, and so on. These are woven into the plot and don’t feel off or deliberate.
The lack of romance for the main character is actually a plus here. I’m relieved that there's no unwanted love track to mess up the MC’s arc. This is a book about friendship and found family. That’s where it stays (though there are a few undercurrents for the side characters).
However, I do wish the main character’s arc was explored in a little more depth. Maybe coz it’s a cozy fantasy, many elements seem to get surface-level treatment. It works in some instances but not all the time.
This would have been 4 stars if the world-building was more concrete. The whole thing is quite vague – countries that don’t like each other, past feuds, fragile peace, etc. However, I’m not sure about the religious aspect either. A place that’s called a church doesn’t sound like one and seems to have a mix of older gods as well. Then, there’s mistrust in those who don’t follow the Mother (and her Son). It gives partial Christian vibes, and I’m not sure if I got it right.
The magical powers could also have been presented in more detail with a few scenes with other Mages, etc., showcasing how their talents work. The whole thing feels vaguely familiar but unknown.
The last quarter picks up pace and also ups the entertainment level. This may or may not be for everyone as it feels like the resolutions are quick and easy. I liked it since that’s how the cozy element works. Things don’t escalate much and diffuse quickly.

To summarize, The Teller of Small Fortunes is a heartwarming story about finding oneself, searching for a home, and making new friends. The narrative is slowish and sweet.
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodderscape), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The Teller of Small Fortunes was a cute cozy fantasy.
The characters were likable, the plot easy, and the worldbuilding familiar. It reminded me of D&D. I liked Tao’s magic.
But under off all that coziness serious topics appeared. Tao’s family and her experience as an immigrant were among the main topics.
It was a good reading experience, but when I put it down, I didn't want to pick it up again so eagerly. And I kind of missed a faint romance subplot.
The ending was very touching.

4.5 stars rounded down for now. Ugh, but this was so charming and wholesome! And before anything else, I just want to let everyone know that there is no romance here! The MC remains single and shows no romantic or sexual interest in absolutely nobody. One of the main cast is happily married with their partner off-page for most of it, and there is a subtle potential romance with two side-characters, but again, nothing major and nothing related to Tao, the MC.

And I'm overjoyed, because while I love a good side romance with my fantasy quests, often I find them underdeveloped or overbearing. But this book truly was the definition of people coming together to become a family. While some moments were a little bit cheesy, it's beautiful to see the impact of human connection and platonic love on such different people.

Another thing I loved is how each of the characters had a goal or an obstacle to overcome. And how the others balance their own needs and wants to accommodate that. It was good to see them help each other grow and combine their talents to create something unique.

The ending got me a bit teary too, I'll admit. We spend the entire book wondering how a certain plot thread will unfold, and when the emotional payoff aims, it doesn't miss.

Did I mention there are multiple animals involved? There are multiple animals involved.

Read this if you like:
- found family
- cosy quests interspersed with a magical creature or two
- no main romance
- a bunch of animal sidekicks
- healing from trauma by allowing yourself to be loved (too personal?)
- soft discussions on identity and racism.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Julie Leong and Hodderscape for the chance to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC!

This book was one of my warmest reads of 2024, simply adorable and touching! I loved Tao and her found family <3

This was such a sweet, cozy story.

We follow Tao, a travelling fortune teller, on her journey across the land, stopping in small towns to give people small fortunes, whilst running from a slightly mysterious past. On her travels, she comes across a strongman, a semi-reformed thief, a baker and a magical cat and this sparks a bigger journey than Tao anticipated.

It's full of found family, humour, cozy vibes, but also a more emotional punch than I was expecting.

I really enjoyed this! Some parts dragged a tiny bit for me, but overall, a solid 4 stars!

Tao is a fortune teller. She roams the kingdom with her faithful mule and cart and stops in villages to read tea leaves and palms. For a small fee she tells people about insignificant events that may or may not turn out to be important. Tao doesn’t deal in grand schemes and destiny-smattering omens. Those can often do more harm than good and may have been the reason why she fled her home in the first place. Since then, Tao has been happy keeping her own company. Or has she ? When she finds unlikely travelling companions, life becomes that little bit sweeter, and burdens can be shared, even if that means confronting the reason why Tao is on the run.
This cosy fantasy novel is really lovely. It does tackle difficult themes like racism, but in a gentle manner. The cast of characters is very cute and the way the travellers become their own kind of family is very endearing to witness. This is very light fantasy, so you won’t get a ton of world-building and some elements will require you don’t look too closely, but I have absolutely no problem with that when the focus of the story is on feelings, specifically belonging and opening yourself to new possibilities. The narrative moves on at a steady pace, with an underlying tension that is alleviated by much baking and friendly chats. And a cat, of course. One chapter felt a little disjointed from the rest, but it was fun and let the characters demonstrate the full range of their personalities so I’m not mad about it.
I’ll just say the ending (for which the author all narrative arcs were tied with a neat bow) left me a little frustrated on Tao’s part, but that is spoiler territory so I won’t go into more details here.
Rep: MC of Asian-inspired ancestry, who is also aro-ace coded. Hints of queer characters in a world that isn’t queer-friendly for the most part.
CW: racism, xenophobia, death of parent.

Many thanks to PRH International and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest feedback.

I am a lover of cozy books, of found family and travelling companions. I love seeing the world in the books and I love it when the characters are travelling around.
So I was surprised when I reached the end of the book and I realised how much I enjoyed “The teller of small fortunes”. It’s such a warm slice-of-life book, with a lot of characters and creatures and funny moments. It actually has Ghibli Vibes and it would be perfect as a movie!

The book has a classic fantasy vibe, with easy to read writing, lots of adventures, lots of funny and cute moments. The world building is gorgeous, with popular town squares, beautiful villages, roads through mountains, and a magical and huge capital. There are trolls and phoenixes and cats. The setting is everything you’ll need in a cozy fantasy.

The characters form the perfect found family. Tao, the teller, is alone and she’s travelling while telling small fortunes to people. One day, she meets Mash, a warrior who’s a poet and has a warm soul, Silt, a kind former thief, and Kana, a future baker that wants to travel. Together, they find new adventures and people to help. But they have a main goal: to find Mash’s missing daughter.

“Aye, our lives are short and shaped by circumstances, and maybe we can’t control most of what’s to come. But we can control how we feel. We can savor the sweteness of a blackberry scone, and the company of our friends, and the warmth of the summer wind at night and be grateful for it. We can be nothing, and choose to be miserable about it, or we can be nothing, but choose to be happy, and let that be purpose enough.”

I loved, at the same time, how serious the book is. Tao is an immigrant and I loved seeing the experiences she went through just because she is Shinn. The author shows how much people need other people, and even if Tao thinks she’s doing fine being alone, she finds herself in the middle of a family.

“Yet it was a very hard thing to leave the only place one ever known. The streams one played in as a child, the trees one climbed, the faces one knew… Familiarity could look very much like love from a certain angle, if one didn’t look too hard.”

“The teller of small fortunes” is like a hug. I read it while sitting in my comfy chair with a cup of tea next to me and it was perfect. It’s emotional and funny and beautiful and everything I needed from a cozy fantasy. It has some serious depth and the characters are just perfect.

“One could choose to be nothing, or one could choose to be happy.”

Unfortunately I didn't manage to finish this book. It was super slow in plot and after 1/3 in I finally gave up. In the description says is fantasy/scifi but I didn't find a bit of that in the first 100 pages of the book. I won't be sharing a review on this book outside of Netgalley out of respect to the author and their hard work on writing this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm not the most experienced reader in cozy fantasy, but I enjoyed those few I have read. Sadly, I don't think The Teller of Small Fortunes was for me...

We follow Tao and a small group of misfits who get together, bond, and become close friends. Tao was a nice mc. She has a kind heart, and she wants to make people happy by getting a small glimpse into their future and offering them reassurance. She is a person who has been lonely her whole life, never fitting in, always being Other. Her mother, still mourning her husband and Tao's father, she has closed off her heart, and neglects Tao who desperately needed her mother's companionship. So she leaves her house, her life behind, and sets on an adventure where only she has control over her life.

She meets a former thief, a fighter, and a baker, and together, they embark on a grand adventure of finding themselves and Mash's daughter who is lost. At some point, Mash chooses to protect Tao over getting help for finding his daughter, which I didn't disagree, but afterward, instead of doubling back to that place, he and the rest of the group travel farther away. It didn't make much sense to me, to be honest. The ending also felt a little anti-climactic. Tao went from hating the *** to handling the situation on her own terms at the end, which made me think why she didn't do it to begin with...

There is no main romance in the book, and I don't know if it was the lack of romance, if the book is just too cozy for my taste, or if it was something else, but I just didn't vibe with the story.

It's the monthly book box pick for a November adult box and a December adult box, and I will be skipping both (certainly the December one, at least)

If you are looking to pick up a book that feels like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day, while you sit clary in front of the fire with your cat purring in your lap. That is this book.

The perfect cozy fantasy, found family, baked goods and warm vibes book for the autumn/ winter

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc I think this will be a very popular book this season and have already seen many book boxes confirm they are doing special editions

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is a beautiful entry into the cozy fantasy genre that feels like being wrapped in a warm hug. The story follows Tao, an immigrant fortune teller who only predicts small fortunes to avoid big consequences. Her life takes a turn when a thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her to help find a lost child. Along the way, they're joined by a baker and a slightly magical cat, creating a charming and unlikely group of companions.
The strength of this book lies in its heartfelt exploration of found family, a theme that resonates deeply with me. The characters are distinct and wonderfully developed, each bringing out the best in one another. As they lower their defenses and form bonds, they create a sense of warmth and camaraderie that feels genuine and touching. There were moments where I found myself crying as the story struck just the right balance between big, emotional scenes and quiet, character-driven moments.

Julie Leong's writing is both tender and evocative, perfectly capturing the essence of these small yet meaningful interactions. The story’s pacing allows for a deep dive into each character’s personal journey while still maintaining a compelling plot. I felt every moment of Tao's struggle as she faced her past and the decision to risk everything for a future she never thought possible.

Both the UK and US cover images are stunning and capture the spirit of the book in different ways, enhancing the reading experience from the moment you pick it up. While I’d love to read more stories set in this enchanting world, I’d still be satisfied if this was the only tale we get to experience.

The Teller of Small Fortunes is a story about finding a family in the most unexpected places and learning to embrace the risk that comes with love and connection. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves cozy fantasy or simply enjoys stories that celebrate the power of human (and slightly magical) connection.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed The Teller of Small Fortunes, I recommend The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, another heartwarming story with strong themes of found family and magic. For a movie recommendation, try The Magic of Ordinary Days, a Hallmark film that captures a similar warmth and focus on meaningful connections.

A fortune teller, a man looking for his daughter, an ex-thief and a baker walk into a bar….. and there’s a magical cat


The plot is there but the book is majority vibes