This was such a cozy low stakes read.
Although low stakes isnt really my cup of tea, I was indeed curious of Taos adventures, and her found family.
I also thoroughly enjoy whymsical language and the "dumb but in an adorable way" type of boys in these kinds of books. I cant get enough of those.

This book was honestly such a treat to read! Full of cosy side quests and low stakes journeys it’s the perfect book to curl up with a cup of tea. Going into it I wasn’t expecting to be so emotional but this got me in the feels!

What a delightful tale of found family, growing friendship, opening up and discovering one's self this was! I had the best time following Tao and her travels alongside her band of improbable mates, and the feeling I got from this novel was very reminiscent of the one I always came away with when I first discovered Brian Jacques' Redwall series. There's something so sweet, so wholesome, so relaxing and at the same time, so dreamy and adventurous and exciting about this book! It's the kind of story where you tag along with a sense of going on wondrous adventures, but with a sense of utter safety, don't know if that makes any sense to you - perhaps this is what low stakes means, but I've always had an issue with most low stakes fantasy books because they tended to very... broing? This one was far from boring. The way it's written is pure delight, and more than going on an adventure, it's the manner in which the characters open and develop and become real before our eyes that makes the difference, I think. There were instances when I had tears in my eyes, and moments where I had huge grins on my mug, but never a moment when I wanted to put this book down.

Reading this book is like being hugged and handed warm cocoa. It's a brilliantly crafted story with appealing characters you'll fall for. I enjoy everything about this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I do enjoy a good cozy fantasy and have read several already this year, but this is one of them that really stood out to me. For one thing, the focus of the story was not on romance, but rather weaving a tale of found family. I loved how each member of the band had their own issues and felt like very realistic people, and I loved how they all came together to help each other overcome them. The book has some D+D likes vibes as well, and I would absolutely love to read more about these characters and their adventures!

This was truly so, so lovely. It reminds me a lot of Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series if it were a little more plot heavy, which for me is definitely appreciated.

The characters were a pleasure to be with for their stories, and the themes of friendship, family and forgiveness were enough to make me tear up at times.

this is a truly special addition to the cosy fantasy genre, if not one of the best I’ve read so far. I would love to see where else we could go with this story and am waiting with anticipation for a potential sequel!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

The teller of small fortunes is a cozy fantasy and drew my attention when I saw the earc on Netgalley. The sotry follows Tao, an immigrant fortune teller who travels between villages and telling small fortunes to people. Her life is lonely, but when a small fortune brings her on an adventure, she couldn’t have predicted which way her life was going to be.

This book unfortunately couldn’t hold my attention because the pacing was too slow for me. The story however has potential and I think a lot of readers are going to like this debut fantasy book.

For the readers who want to buy this book, the first edition is going to be stunning, so definetely check that if your interested in this story.

“All cats are slightly magical, don't you know?” I do know <3

This was a cosy and sweet fantasy.
Tao is a teller of fortunes. She predicts only small things like whether it will hail next week. With her wagon and her mule, she travels alone through the west until she meets a thief and an ex-mercenary who are searching for a lost child, and they set out together.

The beginning of this story was a bit slow, it took me a moment to get into it. But once I got past that, I was enjoying myself a lot. It was so charming and heartwarming, very much a story of found family and adventure.

The reason I’m giving this 3.75 stars is purely personal preference. I realised I just don’t vibe with cosy fantasy all that much, ultimately. And this is definitely that I would say (even though it also deals with some heavier topics, e.g. racism).
But if you’re into cosy fantasy, then I would recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a critical reader (with a heart of stone) who’s not got on with popular ‘cozy fantasy’ in the past. I was floored at how much I enjoyed this - there’s something so genuine, so special about this story!

🥠 We have a cast of likeable and interesting characters. These folks feel human and I loved the group dynamic. I think Kina was my favourite but there’s something to root for in everyone.
🥠 There are a few threads in this story that illustrate healing. I particularly liked watching Tao expand her horizons and change her perspective on things as she grew, learned, and experienced new things.
🥠 The book had a plot and light conflict. While a positive and comforting read, our characters still had to go through things, learn, fail, and manage conflict. The addition of (manageable) struggles and conflict kept the story pacing on track and prevented it from being saccharine.
🥠 The food writing - Kina’s bakery theme - was awesome. I’ve never craved baked goods more than when I was enjoying this book.
🥠 As an ex-pat, I deeply appreciated the commentary about racism and immigration threaded throughout this book. Parts of Tao’s experience were heartbreakingly relatable and handled in an honest, but conscious, way.
🥠 Without giving spoilers, I loved the lecture that Kina gives Silt!
🥠 A slightly magical cat is always a win!
🥠 Both the UK and the North American covers are stunning. They’re very different but both suit the story and are a joy to look it.

In case it helps: I was almost put off requesting this book because it was catalogued as romance on NetGalley. But, when I looked on the Goodreads and Storygraph tags, it wasn’t, so I took a leap of faith… which really paid off. This story is a lot of things but it’s not a romance (in fact, it’s got ace/aro rep!).

This book is a weighted blanket and a cup of hot cocoa when you need it most. I confidently recommend this to readers who might need some respite from the world and invite you all to escape into the comforting and cozy world that Leong has gifted us in The Teller of Small Fortunes.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you so much, Hodderscape!

tao travels around,with a gift of fortune telling. all whilst trying not to caught by the guild….

the writing style is extremely beautiful with a hint of relatability.

you cant help but fall in love with the relationships and friendships between all the characters, as they feel very heartwarming and realistic.

this book is perfect for a cozy day.

Cosy and utterly charming. I loved the premise and this delivered beautifully. Highly recommend if you enjoy cosy fantasy. I will be look out for more from this author.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is a surprisingly wholesome and cosy fantasy despite some of the big themes it handles. This one gets 4⭐️ from me.

Tao is a foreigner, travelling the small villages of the rural west in her wagon telling 'small fortunes' - the little things, like when the harvest will come in, or how many kittens the cat will have. Because of her foreign origins and her magical predictions, Tao has to stay on the move, and she's always alone. Until a small fortune told for an ex-mercenary turns out to have big consequences, and he and his ex-thief companion join Tao on her travels, along with a great baker with poor presentation skills, and a slightly magical cat. But Tao's magic is more than it seems, and it won't stay hidden for long...

This started a little slow, with a glimpse at Tao's lonely life. But what was beautiful was that this novel bloomed as Tao's life did, with the appearance and development of relationships with the characters around her - it didn't take long before I was engrossed. Aspects of their travels are cosy and quaint and slow paced, but it doesn't feel slow because of the depth of the character development - and honestly, the character development is the driving force for the whole novel.

I absolutely adore the characters in this novel. There's one moment where a minor character references the stereotypical, Dungeons & Dragons-esque party the characters make which felt wryly self-reflective and I loved it - because whilst its true, the characters also have their own rounded personalities and are eminently lovable. Silt, with his apparent shallowness and drama but his real vulnerabilities; Mash, with his hard man exterior and love of poetry; Kina, whose baking tastes great but looks awful, and how that reflects her honesty and ability to read people. And of course Tao, who tells small fortunes by choice to avoid a part of herself she is afraid of for complex reasons.

This novel has a very cosy and wholesome vibe due to those characters and their growth and maturation - but the novel actually deals with some pretty big topics for such a cosy feeling. Racism is overt towards Tao throughout the novel, affecting her mentally including her own sense of identity. Morality is challenged on numerous occasions. The effects of war on the common people are laid out and the question of greater good versus individual good is raised too. Some really big themes, but handled really well without becoming too heavy - some real writing skill on display here.

And of course I just love the found-family aspect to this book. It really highlights Tao's growth, and supports her coming into her own on her personal hero's journey, and the conversion of her loneliness and fear of herself to confidence surrounded by friendship is just so warm and wholesome to follow along.

This book was a real pleasant surprise - not what I expected, but absolutely brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable.

This book is for you if like found-family, overcoming-your-fears, hero’s journey fantasy, and enjoyed the cosy fantasy vibes of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett or Deathmark by Kate Stradling.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Hodderscape, for the ARC of this book - the current release date at the time of writing is 5th November 2024.

"Our lives are short and shaped by circumstance, and maybe we can't control most of what's to come. But we can control how we feel."

A teller of small fortunes travels the lands in order to make a life of her own. On her way she meets a variety of people who join her due to different reasons.
The more they get to know each other, the higher the stakes seem to get, the more secrets are revealed. But this wouldn't be a cozy fantasy if you couldn't count on your new friends. Chosen Family and a little storyline make for the perfect relaxing read. The characters grow on you while they try and find out what their purpose is and who they want to be. The emotional ending really got me.
"After all- Are you the person you want to be now?" - "I'm ... not sure. But I think I'm getting closer."
For fans of "House in the Cerulean Sea" and "Legends and Latte".

I loved this book! It was quirky, interesting and heart-warming, and a total antidote to all the dark things I've been reading recently. Highly recommended if you are looking for something a little different.

This book was described as a cozy fantasy.
Between a possible upcoming war, the patriarchy, Tao running away to not be spotted as a possible mage and some of the backstory, this did not feel cozy to me.
However if you let that go, it’s an interesting story about Tao, a fortune teller, Silt a former thief, Mash his bff and Kina a baker with heart but not so much talent.
My fave is their little black cat traveling with them.
Mash has had his young daughter kidnapped, and the new crew try to find her.
There is a fair amount of tension and unfortunate situations in the book, so beware of that.
I also find it disappointing in a book that still has a foundation of hierarchy and patriarchy and racism in a book where trolls and gnomes are real. I would have liked a more fantasy substitute for it. The pacing is very slow and at times the story is very repetitive.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

4.5

This was the definition of cosy fantasy! It was magical, with the most amazing characters and storyline. I loved our little band of unlikely friends and I was rooting for them all the way through.
I love a found family trope so I ate this up.

This was an absolute joy from start to finish! A cast of wonderful well developed characters. Cosy with low stakes and an interesting story running through it.
If you love cosy fantasy this is a great book and I’ll definitely be recommending this to people

This book was so cute. Cosy and whimsical fantasy vibes. Very beautifully written.
I loved this one a lot!

I am so in love with this sweet, whimsical book! Found it impossible to put this one down, and I honestly cannot wait to read it again. Everything about this was so elegantly crafted, from the characters to the story, and the emotional moments really hit me like a truck. Tao! I want to hug her - I want to hug everyone in this lovely found family, actually. Please don't miss this one! My eternal gratitude to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 stars
A very satisfying and wholesome book. The protagonist is a
Touches on the struggle all of us feel when part of us belongs oneplace but also elsewhere, as a British born Indian descendant I wholeheartedly get it and feel that the author portrayed the feelings of loss of our past, unsure where we belong, but also the joy of double the cultures to play and dabble with. I loved the book, it could've very easily read young however the lack of a romantic interest for the protagonist, I think, saves it. The storyline was fab, full of adventure and again just so heartwarming and wholesome. A great warm read to set you up for joy.