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.

Ugh, such a cute and wholesome story, I absolutely love a cozy fantasy. This was such a delight to read and I can't wait for more books from this author.

*The Teller of Small Fortunes* by Julie Leong is pure comfort in book form. Tao, a wandering fortune teller who specializes in life’s small, sweet predictions, feels like the kind of friend who’d wrap you in a warm hug and tell you everything will be okay. Her journey, surrounded by a found family of lovable misfits—a reformed thief, a poetic ex-mercenary, a charming baker, and a magical cat—is as heartwarming as it is quietly magical.

Julie Leong’s writing feels like sipping tea on a rainy afternoon, full of gentle humor and moments that remind you of the beauty in everyday life. It’s a story about connection, kindness, and how even the smallest fortunes can change everything. If you’re looking for a book that feels like home, this is the one.❤️

Thank you Hodderscape for the earc!

This is such a cosy, feel good, light hearted book.

It maintains a light tone while discussing some important subjects like racial discrimination, stereotypes, finding one's identity and purpose in life.

I loved all the characters in our travelling bandwagon. Loved the found family! I even loved all the animals!

I really appreciated that the author focused on each individual's struggles and development as our group embarked on their adventures.

The ending was a little too neat for me, but overall it was a great read.

Such a cosy read, with found family and a fabulous FMC, Tao. Tao is a fortune teller of small fortunes who travels alone and lives alone until she ends up with a proposition to help search for a missing girl.
I thought this was a really funny book, with some cute creature friends and lots of magic. It wasn't too deep but definitely left its mark. A fun, cosy, fantasy read which was perfectly needed.

A delightful cosy fantasy about family and friendship, baking and fortune-telling, and life as an outsider. While the stakes are low, the emotional beats hit hard.

Tao travels the country telling small fortunes to villagers, but she is different to most fortune tellers as her predictions come true. A lovely tale of friendship and truth.

I like the idea and the premise, the world is interesting and the group banding together going on an adventure while getting to know each other. But it was like a melting pot of mixed ideas that didn't work for me.

I did appreciate the representation and the heroine's duality of identities and her struggles. It did have many sweet moments

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the review copy.

Tao's solitary life traveling from town to town in a wagon with her mule was over the moment a pair of guy--Mash & Silt--joined her company in search of Mash's daughter. at the next town they visited, they met a baker who soon joined the travel group too. soon they gained popularity until a magefinder tracked Tao and asked something she's been dreaded.

it's about self discovery, found family, making peace with the past and bracing the future. the plot was a bit all over the place but overall it was really heartwarming.

I enjoy cozy fantasy, but I fear this one might have been a little too cozy for me.
I genuinely liked the idea of a fortune teller focusing only on small fortunes until one of those small fortunes turns out to be bigger than she expected. I also liked the idea of a loner fortuneteller fleeing from an unhappy family situation to find a new family with fellow travellers she meets along the way.

It just all felt too... superficial, I'd call it? I don't really know these characters and I don't really care about them, and I never felt like they're actually a found family despite the book really really telling me that they are. I never got to find things out about these characters organically because they simply toldme everything about them plainly in conversations between them. The stakes are low to begin with and every revelation lowers them even more. Every situation that might spell danger or emotional conflict is easily solved within a few sentences, and conflicts that actually seem to have a big impact on the characters often turn out to be nothing at all later on. The big Problem that initially draws the group together - Tao reading the fortune of a guy that's looking for his kidnapped daughter, which leads to them banding together to find said daughter - is so banally told and sidelined constantly that I honestly forgot about that child's existence at times, and in the end it didn't even mean much. The writing never managed to engage me and at no time did I feel actual emotions from these characters. I was astonished by how little I felt during the supposed Big Emotional Beats of the story.

So in the end, this is a cozy little read that won't hurt anyone and is perfectly pleasant, but also nothing beyond it. No stakes, no emotional attachment, no interesting character, no conflict beyond surface level. Pleasant but forgettable. Beautiful cover though!

I really enjoyed this book!

The protagonist was likable and relatable and the touch of whimsy was refreshing. A very heartwarming read and I would reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys Cozy fiction.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

Thank you netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC!

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️.5

This book has been a true delight to read. So, so, so cozy, atmospheric, vivid in its description and writing style. Such an awesome debut, I am really impressed with how the author pulled out a simple but meaningful story that flows seamlessly without any major turn of event but makes you feel loved and wrapped in a warm blanket in a cold winter afternoon.
What makes it be so? the characters: this is the found family trope at its finest; their dialogues, their backstories, their development arcs are so thought out and well-rounded I couldn't help but smile while reading the last 20% of the book.

This book is absolutely for you if you loved Legends and Lattes but beware, the pace is even slower than that. Keep it in mind and enjoy the journey!

Truly the most beautiful book I've read this year. The Teller of Small Fortunes is a heartwarming, heartfelt, eminently readable delight. I fell for every single character and their realistic development and relationships. Just absolutely a treat. I've already purchased the hardback to keep ready on my shelf for rainy day rereads.

This book will have you wanting to run away from home, for a life full of adventures on the road. I loved how cosy and warming it was. Just a fortune teller, a mercenary, a baker, and a (former) thief on the road with their cat and their mule. It was the perfect cosy read.

It has a really good balance of plot to feel-good cosy vibes. It wasn’t as low stakes as some of the books out there; there was a rumbling of war and a missing daughter to contend with, but it still left you feeling that everything would be all right in the end. I enjoyed the plot a lot and it wasn’t left feeling aimless at all.

I loved the way the fortunes worked as well. How Tao could trace the lines on the palm and look for something small, ignoring all the big stuff. How small fortunes could be changed if you needed to. How the fortunes that she told managed to affect the plot in big ways, even though they were just little things.

If you’re looking for cosy, found family on the road, this is your next read!