The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is a delectable and captivating tale. This juicy campus novel is infused with intricate dynamics of friendship and an insider-outsider narrative, portraying one woman's arduous journey to assimilate among her ambitious peers. The well-crafted characters in this story were so compelling that I found it impossible to set the book aside.

This is a hard book to place.

The tarot was cool but seemed out of place.

I am not nor have I ever been a horse girl so I was skimming past those parts. It was interesting in small doses but there is so much horse talk.

I am seeing the similarities to The Ballerinas. This is a character driven story and Rosie was overwrought and obnoxious.

While she may be poor compared to her upper class classmates and colleagues she is not poor in the least.

I grew up on 2000s rich mean girl lit so the dynamic between the women wasn’t that surprising. I do wish Rosie would have bought a clue though. I didn’t feel that sorry for her.

The pacing was uneven. Being a character driven book didn’t help this.

I didn’t hate it but I wasn’t a fan. This does have an audience. I’m just not a part of it.

I was drawn to The Fortune Seller because tarot cards, mean girls at college, and mysterious circumstances just seems like a recipe for a good story.

The first half of the book was a bit slow, however I enjoyed the setting of Yale and the horse stables. The friendship group and the university setting almost felt like dark academia and I was excited to see where this was going.

The ending wrapped up a little too nicely for me...this book painted the difficulties between the upper and lower classes, so the realistic ending of "this is just how things are" are would have been more convincing.

I had no idea this was primarily going to be a book about horses and the equestrian world. If I had known this I would not have requested it. I expected more focus on the tarot/mystical elements, from the blurb, but instead found a book about rich horse girls at Yale - which just isn't my cup of tea. I wasn't able to finish.

I love books that fit into that wealthy, old money vibe and THE FORTUNE TELLER had it in spades! It doesn't hurt that I'm also a horse girl at heart, so the Yale equestrian setting was just perfect for me. THE FORTUNE SELLER was a bingeable read that had me hooked. Overall it was a nicely paced drama that explored class, ambition, and and secrets we keep from ourselves and others.

This novel really made feel the dark academia vibes with the old money references. I thought the characters were pretty well crafted and complex. You could feel their realness. The twists and turns were also fun. I had a good time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy.

"The Fortune Seller" delves into Rosie's quest for belonging among wealthy friends, disrupted by enigmatic Annelise. After graduation, Rosie unravels Annelise's identity, revealing a haunting exploration of class, ambition, and secrets. A great recommendation for a book to read quickly because you can't put it down.

This was an okay read, but ultimately you had to be *really* into horses to enjoy it. I found the main character compelling if a bit annoying, but the twist in the middle kind of killed the storyline as suddenly the most interesting character in the book was removed. The final wrap up was a bit predictable - ultimately I wasn't excited or thrilled by this "thriller."

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Competing on an equestrian team with the daughters of millionaires and billionaires is difficult enough for a girl who isn’t born rich. Add the pressures of Ivy League schooling and uncertainty about what professional path to follow after graduation, and it’s no wonder Yale senior Rosie Macalister is muddled. Her situation worsens when she arrives in the rented Victorian house that she and her upper-crust teammates share and discovers she’s stuck in a double room with a complete stranger. Not only has the lovely and mysterious Annelise apparently stolen the affections of Cressida Tate, Rosie’s best friend, she’s also an enviably skilled rider. But Rosie unexpectedly bonds with the West Coast newcomer, attracted by her warmth and intrigued by her tarot readings. She becomes her roommate’s pupil, friend—and defender, when mistrust severs longstanding friendships.

Reeling from tragedy and loss, Rosie settles for a post-graduation job in finance that is at odds with her longstanding desire to follow her parents’ profession and become a vet. Torn between her desire to achieve wealth and her longing to care for animals, she tries to navigate her way through betrayals, revelations, and a budding romance doomed by her circumstances and conflicts. A twisty plot, the interweaving of tarot cards and lore, the unpredictability of highly strung horses, characters of privilege and of wasted promise, laced with mystery and suspense lead to an impressively satisfying yet bittersweet conclusion. (St. Martin’s Press, 320 pp., hardcover/ebook/audio, February, 2024)

Gilmore Girls meets Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars? Something like that! And I mean that in the best way.

Roaming around in high society doesn’t exactly feel at home for Rosie but she has the intelligence and talent and earns her spot amongst her new upper class social scene.

Anneliese is another newbie but for all their getting along, mystery and mixed emotions seem to follow her. The intrigue of the elite and all their secrets continued to absorb me through the end and I was not disappointed!

the beginning of this book made it hard to get into, i feel like there was a lot of filler. this story was lacking in some parts, but i was interested in learning about horses, and i thought annelise was intriguing.

I wish I had enjoyed this book a little more than I did. I’m a big animal lover and a tarot reader myself so I thought I would immediately connect with it but for some reason something was lacking to me. Nothing was wrong with the writing or story at all, per se, just didn’t really connect.

This book focuses rather heavily on the equestrian world. There’s a lot of insider horse speak, so if that’s not of interest to you, you may not like this story.

The Fortune seller - Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A novel about a young woman, Rosie Macalister, who (through a scholarship) gets to go to Yale (rather than a lowly state university) to study horse training.

For the first time in her life, at least while in school, Rosie is surrounded by the "haves" as she leaves behind the "have nots" of her middle-class upbringing. She rents a room in a house with a group of other young women and is immediately accepted as an equal as she makes fast friends of the all, and becomes best friends with the most dynamic of the group - at least until the new girl moves in, who is a chameleon when it comes to mirroring personalities moves in, who has a few secrets that will eventually be revealed.

As the main character matures, she reexamines her priorities, and realizes that sometimes "best" friends aren't really who they initially appeared to be, after all...

A read that is as fun as a new roller coaster at your local fairgrounds. So, dear readers, pick up a copy and enjoy the ride!

I was intrigued by the title and the idea that this story had something to do with fortunes and the Tarot. Unfortunately that part of the story only ended up being chapter introductions. I could not connect with the characters. They did not seem well defined in my mind. The theme was a middle class girl taken in by super rich girls and the class differences that developed. I could predict with great disappointment what was going to happen way before it happened. Rosie struggled with her "poverty" which was a much belabored theme that kept getting reinforced. Without giving away the plot, the end was very unsatisfying and seemed not well developed. It felt like the author was trying to make a sensational end but really did not have the plot to pull it off.
Thank you NetGallery and to the publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I’m on the fence with this one. It’s the third book by this author that I’ve ready and my least favorite of the three. It’s hard to articulate why. It maybe doesn’t help that I’d just read another book about equestrians and tarot cards don’t really do anything for me.

It’s well written of course and while I wasn’t always that engaged with Rosie, I was very interested in where the story was going. I think I was more drawn to the second half of the book and it took some time to get there. Rosie was often a bit naive and while I get that I was sometimes frustrated by her obtuseness.

I wish I good give a half star because it’s straddling between 3 and 4 for me. The Ingenue was so powerful and intense that by comparison this story felt a bit more muddled to me and not as tightly focused. But I did enjoy it,

I enjoyed this story. I loved the tarot info and how everything can be viewed. That being said, it was just a weird storyline. It was hard to really get into the book because it felt like there was too much going on. I liked the idea and the story, but it made me not rush to read it.

Wow, what an impact! Captivating, original story. Completely drew the reader in--hard to put down. Interwoven storylines made for great pacing.
Enjoyed so much more than the author’s last.

With great thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC!

I liked this just as well, if not better, than The Ingenue (I felt like the end of Ingenue got a little...slapstick? Or something?? This plot felt stronger overall). I wouldn't call it quite dark academia, but it has whispers of that vibe. Enjoyable read, hard to put down.

I recently had the pleasure of diving into the pages of "The Fortune Seller" by Rachel Kapelke Dale, and I must say, it was an incredible read! From start to finish, the story had me hooked with its intriguing plot and well-developed characters. The author's writing style is engaging and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the world she has created. One of the things I loved most about this book was the way it kept me guessing. Every twist and turn had me on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the truth. Dale's ability to create suspense and build tension is truly commendable. Overall, "The Fortune Seller" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a gripping and thought-provoking story. It's a book that will keep you engaged from beginning to end, and leave you thinking long after you've turned the final page. I highly recommend giving it a read!