The Teller of Small Fortunes

Books | Fiction / Friendship

3.9

Julie Leong

USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this cozy fantasy debut, hailed as “perfection…a beautiful treasure of a book that will warm your heart and heal your soul.”—Sarah Beth Durst, Author of The Spellshop “The warmest, loveliest book I’ve read in ages.”—Sangu Mandanna, author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular WitchesTao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a "knead" for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.Tao starts down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past close in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

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More Details:

Author

Julie Leong

Pages

336

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

2024-11-05

ISBN

0593815912 9780593815915

Community ReviewsSee all

"This was a bit too cozy for me in that there was very little depth to the world or characters. Still, I liked the setup and the traveling aspect. Found family is always nice, too, and the character arcs were done well. Though the writing style felt like fantasy for beginners. Traveling the continent, I would expect different customs and foods at each stop, but every place blurred together. While I did like the mishmash of characters, I just became bored near the halfway mark. The conflict resolved overnight, and I felt no drive to read it. Toa was interesting, though, and I thought it clever how she didn't use her magic for some things. She was just very observant. In the end, this story was to surface level."

Ashley

"Sweet story. Found family. I never wanted to quit reading it, but it was always very easy to put down. There was nothing about any of the characters that inspired me. Or gave me something to fall in love with. Or annoyed me. There were no big personalities, no big conversations. Everything was nice and calm. Nothing outrageous. A good sweet bedtime story. I would recommend it to my mother."

Leah

"positively beautiful. a good read."

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Jonah Novak

"Honestly, what originally brought me to this book was the cover. It has to be one of my favorite covers--I even looked up the artist to see what other work she has done. 5+ stars for that. However, the actual story wasn't as stellar. It wasn't bad, but I never really felt a want to pick the book back up, and found it slow. The characters were okay, but not really memorable either. I felt the whole book was fine, just not as great as I wanted it to be with that cover."

Liesl Prentice

"This book was warm and sweet. It felt like a DnD campaign come to life. Each character had their own gimmick that fit perfectly into the story as it progressed. You could tell that each little detail counted, especially when you reach the end and realize how many early mentions made their way back around to complete the circle. The economic happens added to the intentions and motivations to the characters and their backgrounds. Despite being a shorter story, it was extremely long because of how detailed it was written. I found it to be hard to read in one sitting because of how much went into rambled detail, but it still added to the depth. Every problem and puzzle they found was executed well with what they had, and the items they gained, which I found really nice. The ending was warm and happy and I enjoyed how there was no true villain, just misunderstandings. All around good book, something nice to read on a rainy day for warm feelings. "

Lost Things

"4.5"

Kaneki Ken

"A lovely book. I can say its slow-paced, or that some plot points are over the top, but that really doesn't affect it's loveliness."

K B

Kristin B

"Cozy and very enjoyable. There was a section of the book that seemed out of place to me (the side quest), but aside from that I loved it. If you enjoy mysticism/fortune telling, found family, and/or can relate to being a cultural minority/first generation immigrant you may enjoy this read."

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Brad Hamilton

"3.5 stars. Minor spoilers I was a little worried because people compared this to Legends and Lattes and I didn’t really love that book, just a taste too low stakes and boring for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book had slightly higher stakes and it was all the better for it. There were some parts of the narrative that felt awkward and very “and then” rather than a natural flow of the narrative (like I liked the phoenix scene but honestly it wasn’t necessary at all), but overall a very solid cozy book with nice characters."

Alejandra

"3.5/5 ⭐️ This book was delightfully charming! I am such a sucker for found family stories, and I loved seeing the lead who was used to being on her own start to connect with people. Their dynamic and banter was fun, and I liked the various places they traveled. I thought her magic was fascinating as well, and I liked the various ways she used it. Plus it was refreshing to not have any hint of romance for the lead of the story! I will say the plot of the story itself didn’t wow me, and there were some detours the story took that didn’t quite feel like they went in a direction that contributed much to the story. But I had a cozy, good time overall and would read more in a similar vein to this."

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Emma Tang

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