REVIEW: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
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 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.
Dear Ms. Leong,
The cover entranced me and the plot sounded nice so I was delighted to get a chance to read this one. It’s a nice cozy fantasy that I think will appeal to lovers of that subgenre. For me, it was a bit slow and the end just dragged.
Tao is a woman who makes her living traveling in a small wagon and telling small fortunes. Nothing big mind you as those types of visions are things for seers to handle. Instead she asks for small change for seeing small(er) things in someone’s future.
A downed tree brings two men into her world, friends who are on a quest to find the missing daughter of one of them. Mash and Silt join Tao, which at first disconcerts her as she’s used to being alone. Then Kina, a baker of lopsided but delicious pastry, joins them. Before long Tao realizes that she’s grown used to this new life and to having friends. Then her past finally finds her.
So yes, this is a cozy story with lots of vibes. It’s Found Family all around. There are two threads that bring some, but not as much as I expected, tension to the story – Mash’s search for his missing child and Tao being sought by Important People to do something for them.
The major themes of the book – immigrants not feeling accepted in their new land, immigrants missing what they’ve lost, underdogs standing up for themselves, self discovery, friendship, and a sense of belonging – are all addressed. I’ll be honest and say many of these moments can be seen coming from far away and felt like A Point Was Being Made rather than being totally natural. But I’ve read worse.
The start is a tad slow as all the main characters have to be introduced and the underlying plot points introduced. However, the characters move through the book at the speed of horse/mule drawn wagons so this also sort of makes sense. About two-thirds of the way in, this weird quest gets dropped into the story which seemed out of place and pretty much went nowhere.
I enjoyed the found family. Tao hasn’t had the companionship of people she likes who also like her since she was a child. As an immigrant she has experienced discrimination, long looks, and feeling othered. With Kina, Silt, and Mash – she feels at ease and at home. I also liked her moments with her (not so ornery) mule whom she clearly loves. There is also an ornery cat. That four people couldn’t figure something out about the cat made me question their powers of observation.
The high point of the thread that involves Tao’s past surprised me a bit but I liked being surprised and also liked the character in charge. This sort of felt as if it was the natural end point of the book but, oh yes, there’s still another thing to be wrapped up which, yay it was but it also dragged. It’s also treacly sweet with fairly easy resolution of the conflicts.
Readers looking for a low impact, fantasy-lite (mostly mage magic, with one troll, and gnomes and elves only being mentioned) will probably enjoy this. I found the start a bit slow, a little bland overall, and would have enjoyed just a bit more bite. B-/C+
~Jayne
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