#the teller of small fortunes

[agardenandlibrary]

Just finished:

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Very sweet, low-stakes fantasy. If you're looking for more books like Legends and Lattes, definitely pick this one up.

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

I just love knowing I have so many new stories to dive into when I need them 🥰

[wearethekat]

November Book Reviews: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

One of my anticipated new releases for this year. Disinherited by her family, Tao wanders the country in a caravan working as a minor fortuneteller. But when she reluctantly allows a reformed thief, a mercenary, and a young baker to travel with her, she's plunged into a tangle that might force her to reckon with her past.

As an angst enjoyer, my experience with fantasy books marketed as "cozy" has been more miss than hit. But I persevere, since I have found some really great gems. For me, The Teller of Small Fortunes was leaning towards the miss column. I did love how Tao's "small fortunes" worked, the way she was terrified of being identified as a seer and instead just made little predictions that made for interesting glimpses into the lives of background characters, like predicting where the village's goats had gone, or the best crop for next year's harvest.

However, I wasn't thrilled by the background politics plot, which I found a little bit flattened and facile. The "found family" element also felt a touch forced, like the platonic equivalent of instalove. And while I strongly suspect it was accurate to the author's childhood in New Jersey, I found it a touch grating that the first thing every character said to Tao, whether they were supposed to be the good guys or not, was some kind of nasty comment about her race. (She's loosely fantasy East Asian in a loosely fantasy Europe setting). I know cozy fantasy tends to blunt the edges a bit, but let Tao be really mean to someone for once.

This book didn't work for me, but I bet if you like Legends and Lattes or The Spellshop, this is also something you'll really enjoy.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Teller of Small Fortunes

lighthearted fantasy adventure

follows an immigrant fortune teller who travels between villages telling small fortunes for people

when she runs into a (mostly reformed) thief and an an ex-mercenary searching for his lost daughter, she ends up traveling with them in the hopes she can help, along with a baker they meet along the way,

they encounter various magical creatures and adventurous situations, and eventually she has to face her past

no romance

[straybookmarks]

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

An Interview with Julie Leong, Author of The Teller of Small Fortunes

One of the most anticipated cozy fantasy debuts of 2024, Julie Leong is a Malaysian Chinese-American author with a great love of citrus, round animals, and flavorful food. 

You can read here or on my substack

Julie, where’s the yuzu? You wrote this whole book and there’s no mention of yuzu?

Julie: I’m sorry! I need to save all my yuzu content for my eventual future book about a citrus witch; I’m sure you understand.

Teller opens up with casual racism and xenophobia directed at Tao for being Shinn, but one of the definitions I’ve seen of cozy fantasy floating around is that the worldbuilding is free of discrimination and the conflict is focused on something else. For authors who want to explore similar topics in cozy fantasy, what do you think is the right balance?

Julie: I think the definition of ‘cozy fantasy’ is a dynamic and inherently subjective thing, because ‘cozy’ is about how a story makes you feel, and different people will necessarily feel different ways in response to certain stories. Personally, I don’t think ‘cozy’ means the total absence of sadness or conflict. If anything, I prefer my cozy stories to have just a dash of darkness so as to highlight the warmth and joy all the better – like a sprinkle of salt in hot chocolate, if you will. 

There definitely is a balance to be struck, though. I do believe that cozy requires a happy ending (or mostly happy, at least), and that if a story delves too far into violence and heavy themes, it can be challenging to pull the reader back into the cozy mindset. I’d encourage authors writing cozy fantasy to try to be mindful of how they feel as they’re writing the story, and to take special note of any scenes that evoke tense or painful emotions – are they followed by scenes that soothe away those hurts? Is there catharsis by the end? Are readers ultimately comforted, or troubled by your story?

Ghibli has been a big reference point for cozy and a lot of their films carry a thread of grief or melancholy, an undertone that Teller shares. Do you think cozy and melancholy/grief are not only compatible, but those feelings are a necessary ingredient in a cozy SFF?

Julie: I don’t think melancholy/grief are necessary in cozy SFF, but as I mentioned above, I do think they can provide a powerful counterbalance that highlights the warmth and catharsis often offered by cozy stories. They can help make the joy feel more earned, as well, and give the story an emotional heft that may be otherwise lacking.

Kiss, marry, throw off the wagon: Mash, Kina, and Silt

Julie: Oof, that’s hard. Kiss Silt, marry Kina, and throw Mash off the wagon just because I know he can keep up on foot anyway.

We have fortune cookies and tea for fortune telling and Kina is a baker. If you were a fortune teller, what food-based style would you use and how does it involve citrus?

Julie: Hahaha. Citrus-based divination! Tangerine tarot? Peel open an orange, count the number of segments and seeds, look for patterns in the pith; burn the rinds and inhale the citrus-scented smoke… there are so many ways I could go with it. 

A lot of people unfamiliar with cozy are trying to define it, but I think it’s pretty defined by the community that has helped propel it from selfpub to traditional publishing. What do you think is the future of cozy and do you think the term is a bit more fluid than some might believe?

Julie: I do think the definition of cozy is fluid and still-evolving, as I mentioned above. I can’t say for certain where the future of the subgenre lies, but I can say what I hope we’ll see more of! Personally, I’d love to see more diverse voices in cozy, more cozy stories that don’t necessarily center a romance, more cozy stories that don’t involve small businesses, and more bittersweet cozy that plays with heavier themes without necessarily getting very dark.

A major theme in Teller is the importance of small changes and small moments, both good and bad, and how they add up. What other themes are you hoping readers will get from this?

Julie: I think it’s up to readers to take what they like from a story, but when I was writing Teller, other themes that were central in my mind were the different ways in which one can ‘belong’, the struggle between free will and fate, and the eternal conflict between self-interest and the common wellbeing.

You had a bit of a unicorn experience as Teller was the first book you wrote and you're launching with multiple crate deals. What has been the most exciting and the most humbling experience for you?

Julie: It’s been such a fairytale, honestly. I never in a million years expected all of the things that have happened to me and this book, and I’m so, so grateful – a lot of the credit goes to my fantastic publishing teams at Ace and Hodderscape, who have done so much to get this book out there.

One of the most recently exciting developments was my attending New York Comic Con at the invitation of my publisher. I have never (nor will I ever again) felt like such a rock star as I did signing 100+ copies of The Teller of Small Fortunes for enthusiastic readers at the Penguin Random House floor booth, and it was an amazing experience to co-present at a writing panel alongside brilliant authors like CM Waggoner, Sarah Hawley, and Rob Hart. 

The most humbling experience? I’ve had a lot, but the moment when I first visited the Penguin Random House office in New York, and strolled through a hallway lined with incredible, renowned, bestselling books whose authors I’ve loved for years and years – that was definitely a surreal moment of “Oh wait, there’s been a terrible mistake. I don’t think I belong here.”

Do you think you’re going to stay in cozy fantasy or do you want to branch out into cozy sci-fi like Becky Chambers or try your hand at an epic fantasy one day? Or, perhaps, venture outside of the speculative genres and try your hand at a mystery or contemporary?

Julie: I don’t know yet, to be honest! As of right now, I still have more ideas for cozy fantasies that I’d love to write – but I also don’t want to limit myself. There’s something thrilling and liberating about the idea that I might one day wake up and decide to write something totally new and unfamiliar.

Tao is very AroAce-coded, which is slowly becoming more common in fantasy. Was that a conscious choice on your part or did that organically reveal itself as you wrote the book or something in between?

Julie: It was more of the latter. I knew from the start that I did not want to write a romance-centric book, in part because I wanted to tell a story that highlighted the importance of non-romantic relationships like friendship and family. But it wasn’t until midway through the first draft, when Tao and Kina were having a conversation about romantic attention, that I realized that it felt very natural that Tao – as I had written her – was aro/ace-spec. 

Tao briefly considers the story of the Monkey Prince and how it mirrors her own journey. Is this a call back to Journey to the West and Sun Wukong? 

Julie: Yes! Journey to the West is such a classic tale from Chinese mythology, and also one of the first bedtime stories that I heard from my dad growing up. It felt right for Tao to know it, too.

Sorry, but I have to get a bit sappy. As an immigrant and the child of an immigrant, I found a lot of my own journey reflected in Tao even if there are some differences, including the part where she’s constantly othered despite having lived in Eshtera for a long time. It feels like there’s not that many fantasies that truly get into the nitty-gritty of what it means to be an immigrant. Were you filling in a gap that you saw or is there a treasure trove of immigrant fantasy I don’t know about?

Julie: I’m so glad that that part of Tao’s story resonated with you. I, similarly, have never read much fantasy that features immigrant experiences specifically, and I knew from the very start of writing Teller that I wanted to tell an immigrant story. I wanted to see myself reflected in a character who felt caught between cultures, and was wrestling with herself about where she belonged, and how she defined her own identity. Some of Tao’s experiences I took directly from my own childhood, and I’ve already heard from many readers how they shared those experiences and felt them deeply: the loss of language, for example.

Until recently, cozy was pretty much relegated to selfpub and then exploded on the traditional publishing scene with Legends and Lattes. When you queried Teller, the trend was just starting to pick up in traditional publishing. Do you think authors looking to be traditionally published should pay attention to what is trending in selfpub?

Julie: Absolutely! I think any aspiring authors should pay attention to what’s happening in their genres, period. 

Completely agree. You need to know your genre to write and sell in it.

There's all kinds of advice out there in regards to the writing process, but I've found that the best thing to do is experiment with a lot of authors' processes until you find a combination that works for you. What's your drafting process like?

Julie: It’s… chaos. I basically turn into a hermit and disappear into my writing cave for as many weeks as it takes to churn out a workable draft. I draft scenes out of order, I cobble together an outline only if and when I start feeling like I need one, I edit as I go sometimes and leave entire scenes as bracketed placeholders other times… basically, I give myself the liberty to write when and how I want to, and I don’t subscribe to any particular process or system. I’m not sure I’d recommend it to others, but it’s what’s worked for me so far!

We talk a lot in writers spaces about how you have to read modern authors to be part of the conversation going on in our genres. What books is your book in conversation with?

Julie: Love this question! Definitely Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes, which sparked the recent wave of cozy fantasy, but also with heavy influence from Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series, and the Singing Hills novellas from Nghi Vo.

Author as Brand gets thrown around a lot in some circles and not everyone likes it but it's impossible to stop the train at this point. What do you want your Brand to be?

Julie: Kindness. Humor. Warmth.

Some authors focus on food, others on clothes. What's your favorite way to worldbuild?

Julie: I'm a vibes-first writer! My worldbuilding happens sort of like piecing together a puzzle, where various sections and chunks of it come together first before I fill in the rest of it. Some of those starting pieces might be big (political and economic systems) or small (cats and bees are inherently magical beings).

I only do as much worldbuilding as I strictly need for a given book, in part because I like there to be some vagueness/unexplained things, but also to leave room for more worldbuilding in subsequent books, so I don't accidentally write myself into any corners.

What's next on the horizon for you?

Julie: I’m currently revising my second book, The Keeper of Magical Things, which will be coming out in fall 2025 if all goes as planned. It’s a sapphic cozy fantasy set in the same world as Teller but with a new cast of characters. I’m pitching it as The Spellshop meets Warehouse 13 with Stardew Valley vibes.

Are there any debuts you wanna give a shout-out to?

Julie: So many wonderful fellow debuts! I’m sure I’m missing some people (and apologies to them), but off of the top of my head:

Genoveva Dimova (Foul Days, Monstrous Nights)

Eliza Chan (Fathomfolk)

SA MacLean (The Phoenix Keeper)

Maiga Doocy (Sorcery and Small Magics)

Amy Avery (The Longest Autumn)

Riley August (The Last Gifts of the Universe)

Samantha Mills (The Wings Upon Her Back)

Lucy Jane Wood (Rewitched)

Frances White (Voyage of the Damned)

John Wiswell (Someone You Can Build a Nest In)

Jules Arbeaux (Lord of the Empty Isles)

I recommend all of those titles as well, especially Phoenix Keeper, Foul Days, The Wings Upon Her Back, and Fathomfolk.

Thank you so much, Julie!

Where to buy:

Waterstones

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

Mysterious Galaxy

Penguin Random House

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

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.

Review:

A wandering fortune teller finds herself on an unexpected adventure as well as befriending unlikely people... yet when her real magic catches the eyes of others she'll have to rely on her new friends in this soft found family fantasy read. Tao is a wandering fortune teller, she travels from town to town offering "small" fortunes, refusing to ever veer into bigger ones after the terrible consequences of the big fortune she once told. Tao is lonely... and when one of her small fortunes leads to her being swept up in helping an ex-mercenary and reformed thief search for a lost child she can't say no, and along for the way is a baker and a slightly magical cat. This was a really warm hearted and sweet adventure that focuses on friendship and found family. It's a easy read and just feels like a cozy time.

Release Date: November 5,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[pumpkabitch]

I picked up a new book (literally NEW, was just released today) and though im only halfway through, it's really good!

The Teller of Small Fortunes. It's a light fantasy novel about Tao, an immigrant fortune teller, trying to get away from her past. She makes acquaintances, and then friends, with a few folks and they journey together.

I'll probably make another post when I'm done, but so far I'm enjoying it. The characters feel very alive, and I'm invested in each of their stories

[homerjacksons]

Advent Calendar 2024 - December 21

[luxetobscuritas-blog]

November // books that magically found their way into my home this month:

Stolz und Vorurteil / Pride and Prejudice (graphic novel) by Jane Austen

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

This Savage Song & Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong

An Academy For Liars by Alexis Henderson

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

The Serpent of Wings and Night & The Ashes and The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

November was definitely dominated by FairyLoot and Illumicrate editions. Most of these books were either pre-ordered or part of my monthly subscription box.

To be honest, Pride and Prejudice set up as a graphic novel was not on my bingo card this month, but after a lovely conversation with the local bookseller in my town, I gave this one a try. Though I would always recommend reading the original beforehand, I guess this edition is specifically made for collectors and avid lovers of Jane Austen.

I've had my eye on Leigh Bardugo's The Familiar for quite a while now, but when it came down to buying it, I unfortunately chose Fourth Wing and Iron Flame instead - a huge mistake. Hoping that this will mend the wounds that have been inflicted by Mrs. Yarros for wasting my time, The Familiar offers a refreshing change with its historical fantasy setting in late 16th century Madrid, inspired by Bardugo’s own family history. I have high expectations, especially after hearing so many great things about Bardugo’s work.

When I opened my monthly FairyLoot subscription box, I couldn’t help but smile at the cover of The Teller of Small Fortunes. This edition just radiates cozy, Ghibli-like vibes, and the story inside might be just as enchanting as the beautifully designed cover. Tao, a traveling fortune teller, predicts only small fortunes to avoid the dangers of bigger ones. Her quiet life is upended when a reformed thief and an ex-mercenary enlists her help to find a lost child. Along with a baker and a magical cat, Tao must decide if she’s willing to risk everything to protect the family she never thought she could have.

The Monster of Verity duology by V.E. Schwab, consisting of This Savage Song & Our Dark Duet, mostly convinced me with it's beautifully illustrated cover design. I have barely read anything about the premises of these books, and I admit that my intention behind buying them was merely out of my appreciation of the art enveloping this story. So I guess this duology and I will have a little blind date very soon.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden was delicately displayed at a local bookshop since it got shortlisted for the 2024 booker prize. According to the book seller, this story brims with vivid characters, profound emotional depth, and delves deep into issues like loneliness, longing, love and redemption.

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong was a pre-order from FairyLoot that I received in November. It's the second book of the Flesh and False Gods series, but I haven't had the chance to read this one yet. I've heard mixed opinions on this series, claiming that this isn't her best, but I am, as always, neutral until I can form my own opinion.

An Academy For Liars was part of my Illumicrate Evernight box. It's quite fascinating to witness the current upsurge of books set in academia, and I can definitely see the potential lying in stories that take place in that particular environment. Set within an intellectual environment, these stories not only offer the opportunity to explore themes of ambition, but also open the door to discussions about one's own identity and worth in the world of academia - a world that is often ruled by unjust power dynamics that are a result of prestigious and elite institutions.

When Haru Was Here promises heartbreak and tears, and as someone who's a sucker for emotionally gripping stories, this is exactly the kind of novel I couldn't resists to buy. The story revolves around Eric Ly, who starts to imagine scenarios to cope with the grief of losing his best friend. One day, one of his scenarios becomes real as he quite unexpectedly meets Haru, a boy he met last summer in Japan. As Haru sits next to Eric in a coffee shop, it is clear that no one else can see him except Eric. It's a hauntingly tragic story, as it largely revolves around Eric's emotional journey to come to terms with loss and the inevitability of death. If you're a masochist like me who needs a good cry, go for it. My sister-in-law also recommended You've Reached Sam, another book by Dustin Thao. Apparently, this is also a great book to read if you are in a desperate need to shed a few tears.

As part of my pre-order from FairyLoot, I also received the first two books of the Crowns of Nyaxia series. A friend of mine promised me that I would love them - probably because I am still a bit obsessed with one particular white-haired vampire, *cough* Astarion .. *cough*, which, according to the logic of my friend, consequently means that I will be obsessed with everything that is sharp-toothed and centuries old. Is she right? Maybe. We will see, but I highly doubt that any vampire will ever come close to Baldur's Gate's infamous Fangs.

Yay. We've made it to the end of my pile. To be honest, my resolution for November was to not buy so many books, and as you can see, I failed spectacularly. But at least I got to spend my Saturday night writing this silly little blog post for someone who wants to read about someone who adopts way too many books.

[astreamoflight]

I really enjoyed this! It was gentle, and quiet, and reminded me a lot of The Alchemist. The vivid descriptions of the food they ate flashed me back to being 11 and reading Redwall for the first time. It was a great pick to go along with the changing season 😊

4.5⭐️

[judgingbooksbycovers]

The Teller of Small Fortunes: A Novel

By Julie Leong.

[kileyreadsbooks]

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Dates: Jan. 2 - Jan. 4

2025: 2/100

Rating: 1/5

---------

I selected this book as my November selection for Book of the Month Club. It is honestly the first selection from this subscription service that I am honestly fully and truly disappointed in. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is advertised as a Cozy Fantasy with a gang of adventurers becoming a found family along the way. It falls flat in every aspect. 

In an effort to keep with the genre of Cozy Fantasy -- which is known for low stakes, high reward adventure -- the author sends the four main characters on a series of Dungeons and Dragons side quest that revolve around avoiding the coming war and neglecting the two main plot points of "find the five year old girl whose been kidnapped" and "the mage's guild wants me to work for them". While I don't mind books that have low stakes adventure, every solution in The Teller of Small Fortunes became predictable, boring, and insignificant. There was one point where the gang signed a magical and binding contract to complete a task (retrieve a treasure from a cave) by a strange, excentric man who only referred to them as their RPG stereotypes. When they found out that the treasure was the egg of a Phoenix, the gang decided that they can not steal a child from its mother. While this is ultimately fine, there were absolutely no consiquences for their actions. The man just shrugged, went "that's too bad", and left. What was the point of them signing a contract if it wasn't binding? 

On top of the entire lack of consiquences, the world building was lackluster at best. It relies heavily on Dungeon and Dragons (Forgotten Realms/Exandria) stereotypes alongside of non-fantasy, real world concepts to build a half completed and bare bones world. The setting of the book is the country of "Estrera", which to my knowledge is basically fantasy Europe. The main group characters travel through numerous small towns and slightly largers city as the book progresses. Very few of these small towns are given discriptions past the name of the town and what general region it is a part of (i.e. Fishing Town, Town in the Mountains, etc.). I don't mind lack of world building in this regard, however, it becames extra noticable when each chapter is in a new town with just as little detail as the last. There were also some real world concepts, like trickle down economics, being explained in the book that felt entirely out of place in this low-fantasy world. 

Tao, the main protagonist and the teller of small fortunes, is from the country of "Shinara". Shinara is across the ocean and is very clearly a representation of China. Tao as a Shin experiences micro-aggressions and blatant racism throughout the book. While, as a white enby, cannot speak of the portrayal of racist, I can speak on some of the other minority representation presented in the book. Namely, how this book is -- at least on the BOTM selection page -- promoted as LGBTQ+ represention. However, the only representation of the sort in this book is a lesbian character who is introduced within the first ten pages and during a fortune reading, Tao suggests moves to a nunnery. Considering this a fantasy world, it is frankly playing into harmful streotypes of lesbians and nuns to treat a character as such. Tao very easily could have had the villager go to a lesbian sex commune or a "town where only women were allowed" in place of a nunnery. On top of that, Kina, the adventuring party's baker, is the inventor of the "fortune cookie". I think that there could have been away to integrate fortune cookies into the story, especially with how the established form of income for the group has is baked good and fortunes, but having a white women use Shin (Chinese) characters to sell fortune cookies to villagers leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At the end of the novel, the Head Mage of the Guild gives Tao what is basically a passport that says "don't be racist to this Shin, she saved the country and has promission to be here". While I assume this is address the racism in the book and act as a solution, I doubt that in a country that was repeatedly shown to dislike both the Crown and the Magic Guild would respect a fancy scroll that basically says "don't be mean".

Additionally, Tao -- along with the other three members of the adventuring party, Mash, Silt, and Kina -- had very little character development, and what development did happen was meant to be picked up on between the words on the page as nearly none of it is actually shown. This is particularly evident with Tao and her mother. Tao, who ran away either a decade or three years ago depending on which part of the book you are in, left her step-father and mother's house because of poor treatment, her step-father wishing to "sell" Tao to the Magic Guild, and her mother's belief that her strong "seer" magic was to blame for her father's death. This, like all other conflict in the book, is waved away with very little consequence and an "oops was a big old miss understanding". There could have been some big character moment of standing up for herself, sticking to her guns/beliefs. But instead the author allowed Tao to return and forgive people who treated her horribly. Mash and Silt probably suffered the worse of the group. Like Mash's only personality trait is "I need to find my daughter" and Silt is a bumbling idiot, who is in love with Kina. Kina is some what interesting, but her character fails to "earn" much of the development she see. It is something that just happens and the reader is expected to buy into. By the end of the novel, the reader is expected to understand that these characters are a family now, however, very little development happend to make the found family aspect actually feel earned and that these characters are actually a family now. 

As previously mentioned, by the end of the book, certain facts get muddled together and mixed up. Such as how long Tao has been on the run, but also at one point in the final stretch of chapters, Mina says, that "ordinary folk will not know that Estera was preparing for war", however, numerous times throughout the early chapters, those same ordinary folk mention how the crown was preparing for war with the Shin and how that's why they were buying up cotton/grain, etc. By the end of the book, it was very clear that Leong had very little idea of where to take the story and had forgotten about several plot lines that needed to be wrapped up before it could actually be completed. This most notable with the ending of Chapter 17 which read as a very strong concluding chapter. I was shocked that there was fifty pages after that point. 

I was looking forward to this book, as there haven't been very few horrible picks from Book of the Month in my year plus I've been subscribed. The writing style was not for me, and overall felt very juvinal. I was shocked that it was not advertised/published as a Young Adult Cozy Fantasy. The writing is flat, one note, and lacked depth. I could have, and would have been, much more forgiving if this was a YA/New Adult novel, but this being an adult fantasy leaves me feeling overall sour on the genre. I think that Leong would have a bright future in the YA fantasy realm, she just has to make the shift. 

Up Next: Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce

Goodreads

Book Blog

[straybookmarks]

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW:

THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES by Julie Leong at The Reading Cafe:

'a warm, wholesome, funny, cozy and wrenching story'

[thereadingcafe]