The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Published: November 5, 2024 by Ace

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao 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 sets 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 are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

Rating:

Review:

This book was one of my most anticipated books last year. The cover is lovely, the synopsis is intriguing, it sounded like a perfect mix of a fantasy and a cozy mystery. But, is it possible that a cozy book can be TOO cozy? After reading it I believe the answer is yes, yes it can.

One of the best things about this book was the heavy theme of “found family”. The characters in this book either had terrible families or they were separated from their families by circumstance. And through a series of events in the book they are brought together. They come to rely on one another and trust one another. Eventually they realize that they have become a family. That was a really beautiful story and frankly one of the only reasons this didn’t get one star.

When I think of a cozy mystery, I think of a book that feels warm and inviting with loveable characters. But a book that has a compelling mystery too, to guide all these warm elements along the path of the narrative. This book has plenty of warm, fuzzy and inviting people and stories. Unfortunately the story is not at all compelling. Literally almost nothing happens in this book. What we get is a meandering story of a group of friends who travel from place to place, completing little side quests along the way, but otherwise have no actual goal. Seemingly the goal is to find one of the friend’s missing daughter. We don’t seem to accomplish anything toward this end. Everything is just rather dull.

In the end I got a lot of fuzzy feelings but not a lot of actual content.