Marianne’s Pick of the Week: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Nothing better during these frosty winter months than snuggling down with a cup of something warm and a cozy read. I recently had the pleasure of curling up with Julie Leong’s debut novel, The Teller of Small Fortunes.  A fantasy tale of found family, adventure, and immigration (featuring a magical feline – I mean but really aren’t all felines magical?).

Tao is a fortune teller who tells only small fortunes because they have small consequences. Tao learned the hard way that big fortunes can have devastating consequences. She keeps herself isolated and travels with her trusty mule and cat for company. Until one day when a fallen tree blocks her path and ex-mercenary/ strong man Mash moves it out of her way. Tao repays the kindness by telling Mash his small fortune in which he gifts his daughter with a kitten. Unbeknownst to Tao, Mash’s daughter has been missing for the past six months.

Mash is skeptical of the fortune and tells Tao. Mash informs Tao that that he and his travel buddy, Silt (a reformed thief), will be accompanying her until he is certain that Tao does not have some nefarious purpose for telling this particular fortune. Our group travels the countryside telling fortunes, performing feats of strength and agility and meeting characters, both charming and decidedly less than charming along the way. Kina, a baker, who longs for adventure joins the traveling menagerie and becomes part of the family spreading yummy baking smells wherever she goes. Witnessing this group of disparate characters become a family is pure fun.

While on their journey, the group encounters a rock troll, a mage finder and a fair amount of anti-Shinn prejudice. Tao, with the support of her new family, also learns something about her own past and herself. Leong balances adventure, warm fuzzy feelings, and humor in this tale. She explores the immigrant struggle in a new and thoughtful manner. Pick up this one if you enjoyed Of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree or The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.