Title: The Teller of Small Fortunes
Author: Julie Leong
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Cozy fantasy, Fantasy, Magic
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2024

I seriously enjoyed going on Tao’s journey through the country with her. Joining her on her journey to accepting herself and finding Found Family. This was such a sweet cozy fantasy that I really enjoyed reading. There was nothing intense and heart stopping about the story, and I didn’t necessarily feel like my emotions got too tangled up in the drama. But there was affection, there was love, and there was growth. Plus, there was an adventure that dealt with a whole set of challenging circumstances, and a feeling of life coming full circle at the end of the book.

I really loved this band of misfits – Mash, Silt and Kina worked so well together. They fit together so seamlessly, and beautifully. Mash is the strong, driven family man (with a bit of a past) who is completely driven by finding his daughter, and also the primary activity that drives the four on their journey. Silt is such a happy-go-lucky character and often brings almost comedic relief to the story. Kina then rounds out the group with emotion and joy. Her love of life and happiness were probably my favourite parts of the whole story and group. Tao might have been the main character, but it was the bonds between the four that truly drove the story.

One of my favourite things about this book is how Tao explains the difference between big and small fortunes. She’s a seer regardless (which becomes wonderfully apparent as the story unfolds), but the cost and the challenges of reading the different kinds of fortune is beautifully explained. I particularly love, that, as Tao’s back story comes out, the reasons for her choice of fortunes was even more powerful. There is such intricacy to this world building, right down to the rules and costs of magic, that I absolutely adored. Plus, I love the idea that even our small fortunes have the ability to give us some major changes in our lives. Ones that may or may not be needed.

There was something entirely innocent about this whole story. It was cute, sweet and worked out really well. When reading the blurb, I thought that the journey to find Mash’s daughter was going to be a little bit dark, and have some potential horrors in store. Instead, it was just as innocent as the rest of the tale. There was this almost naivety to the writing and the storyline that I really needed. And it’s a great reminder why the cozy fantasy genre works so well. There is action and intrigue that makes you want to keep reading, but it is so damn sweet and innocent, that the emotional stakes don’t totally destroy you.

Image source: Amazon