The Teller of Small Fortunes

This was utterly delightful from start to finish. A heartwarming, cozy story centering primarily around found family with a wonderful cast of characters. I'm very likely to re-read this when I'm in the mood for unadulterated good-vibes.

I’m pretty sure this will be a cozy read for most readers - lightly adventurous traveling story, friendship and a cat! I consumed the audio of this between some more aggravating reads and found it very relaxing and soothing. I loved the sweets descriptions and it made me hungry every time. Just noting there is some racism, an estranged family relationship and a missing child.

Tao, a Shinarian, travels Esthera in her cart with her donkey companion reading small fortunes to residents of the towns she visits. At one stop, she tells small fortunes that change the trajectory of her future and begrudgingly welcomes new traveling companions.

Cat satisfaction rating: 🐈🐈🐈 out of 5. Love that there’s a mundane cat, but not enough cat cuteness or other cat behaviors, and why is he always craving sweets and other carbs?! It distracted me everytime!

This is a very simplistic book. Honestly, it reads like a middle grade. A good one though! Fun and easy to read but actually well written. I think that's more important than being mature sometimes (at least in a cozy fantasy - it worked well) The plot is perfect, the characters are good, and it gives juust enough description and world building to make you feel all the feels without any extraneous details. This book was kinda what I expected from Legends and Lattes when it said “low stakes high fantasy” (which imo was low stakes zero fantasy)
Maybe this book could have benefited from going deeper, or maybe its simplicity is exactly what made it so heartwarming for me. All I know is it was the perfect travel book this holiday and I'm glad it found me when it did.

This will end up being one of the best books I will read all year, hands down no questions asked. This is such a warm and cozy read that I didn't know I was looking for. Legends and Lattes has been one of my favorite cozy reads since it came out and I've been chasing the feeling I got when I read it and I have finally found it.

Tao is such a wonderful character, relateable, vunerable, and quirky. The rest of the cast is equally entertaining and well thought out.

The adventure Tao goes on is equal parts funny and emotional. Watching her grow as a character alongside the others was such a heartwarming journey.

The Teller of Small Fortunes will definitely be one of my most recommended books of the year.

Probably more of a 4.5 stars. It was indeed a cozy read, with cute and touching moments. And found family can be such a wonderful trope when done well. Love all the characters, especially Tao. I think the author had portrayed well the internal conflict an immigrant can feel: always an outsider to his now country but no longer feeling at ease with his native country.

A book I'll read again, for sure.