A review by starrysteph
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Teller of Small Fortunes strikes that delightful (and hard-to-achieve) balance between whimsy, adventure, and complexity.

It often feels like a Dungeons & Dragons game (there’s a wink and a nod to this right in the text). There’s a well-rounded cast of adventurers, and the story is filled with  tempestuous family relationships, various magical creatures, and a wonderful CAT!

Tao is a teller of small fortunes, and small fortunes only. She’s too afraid to open up her greater magical sight again, and she’s also trying to keep a low profile so as not to attract the attention of Guild mages. So she hops from town to town with her trusty mule, doles out simple fortunes over tea, puts up with a lot of pointed questions about her background, and feels quite alone.

That all changes when she stumbles across a former soldier desperately looking for his lost child, a (definitely-totally-100%) reformed thief, a baker who longs for something more, and a very hungry cat. 

Together they set off in search of the little girl, but Tao isn’t used to trusting new people, and she holds the darkness of her past close to her chest. The trouble is, things never stay hidden forever …

Tao will always be considered a foreigner in Esthera because she is Shinn - even though her mother moved them here when she was a child and she has very few memories of her homeland. She even lost her first language. But others always view her as different, as suspicious, as an ‘other’ who maybe has nefarious reasons for being there.

And Tao herself doesn’t quite know where she belongs. She feels as though she has a foot in two worlds, but isn’t quite part of either. Esthera is most of what she’s known, but she feels a deep loss for her home and tries to hold on to some aspects of her culture and upbringing.

There are countless heart-wrenching scenes where Tao confronts her feelings around her identity, both when others are cruel and kind. There are also many moments plucked right from the author’s own experiences, and they’re incredibly relatable.

There’s so much depth to each character and their arc, and a lot of theming around trust, forgiveness, and companionship. Tao has to learn how to let others in, and each new friend alters her. She finds her voice and her bravery, and also the gentleness to potentially forgive old wounds as she opens up her heart and mind. I also read Tao as somewhere on the aro/ace spectrum. Each member of her found family also has their own beautiful arc, but I won’t give anything more away there.

I enjoyed the cozy whimsy here and I think there was a perfect blend of sweetness and tears. It’s a slow-moving story, but each mini-quest will keep you hooked. I also appreciated the little twists on so many magical creatures, from trolls with existential crises to phoenixes whose words cut right to the bone. 

You’ll leave thinking about fate & destiny versus choice, the joys of companionship & finding people who ‘get’ you, and how important it is to be true to yourself.

Overall, I really adored this!! 

CW: death (parent), racism, xenophobia, grief, war, violence, child neglect

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)