In need of whimsy and delight as I approach cottagecore weekend at my local faire, I picked up The Teller of Small Fortunes by Juliet Leong. We have, yet again, pulled from my ever-present TBR that constantly looms over me, and I am, once again, astounded that it took me this long to pick up this book.

In short, I loved every minute of it.

The Teller of Small Fortunes tells the tale of Tao, a fortune teller who travels between villages with her mule for company. She is an immigrant, who must waver though the stigmas that come with that as well as keeping to herself when it comes to telling fortunes. Only small and delighful for she knows from experience that big fortunes come with big consequences.

With the world as her adventure and her mule to accompany her, she knows that this life is lonely, but would rather continue this path than to harp on the life she left behind. Her gift does bring her friends in the shape of a reformed thief, an ex mercenary, and a baker, and a cat, and now Tao must volley through more people in her life as they venture to find a lost girl.

This journey brings out joy in Tao as she crafts these new bonds, but it also brings down the walls she kept up, wanting to bring more of herself out to her new family as the shadows of her past come to confront her. She finds that she must make the decision and if she is willing to risk it all to keep the family she never knew she needed all along.

Found Family:
This narrative constantly imparts me with the fact that found family is one of the most superior tropes in my eyes. It brings together a band of characters that often do not fit together in any other sense, and yet there is family that it created. There is harmony and a sense of community. We also get to see how the bonds that are created shape the character as they make sense of themselves through the people that they choose rather than ones that are chosen for them. We can use this as a theme segue in the sense that, for Tao, this chosen family is where this wanderer finds a sense of home for the first time.

We are told from the beginning that Tao is the land of Eshtera. While she was raised primarily in these lands, she houses features that are obviously from the Shinn nation. That, as well as her magical abilities, are what has her stand out to other, and thus, she tends to keep to herself. She also experienced scrutiny from her stepfather with his attempts and desires to get her to assimilate more. This creates wounds and a hurt that lingers on inside of Tao, and it has kept her moving forward with her solitude and made her defensive.

The journey of life brings her friends: Mash, Silt, and Kina, who bring forth their own stories as well as their varying personalities that aid Tao in her journey of self acceptance. Loyalty and protection, humor and quick wit, warm and nurturing, each member only adds to Tao's life, leading her to the decision of self sacrifice in order to keep her family together.

But, I do not want to spoil any of this for you.

The author herself details that this book was created as a cozy adventure that is a love letter to fantasy.

"It is about destiny and choice, magic and baking, the immigrant experience, and finding a family in unexpected places. It’s a book that wears its heart on its sleeve.

Now, doesn't that sound divine?