I really enjoyed this book! The story was interesting and engaging with a huge twist that changes everything. The conversation on class was eye opening and shocking at times. The huge gap between the upper and middle class that is shown is mind boggling at times. The only reason that this is only 4 stars and not 5 is the pacing. I felt like time moved in sporadic burst and it did feel a little confusing at times, but that could also have been the point. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with a love of horses, an interest in tarot, and those who love watching the rich and famous.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins press for providing me an ARC to review.

This was the first book by Rachel Kapelke-Dale that just didn’t resonate with me. Her stories are beautifully written and highly character-driven, which means you have to be engaged with the main character.

Rosie was 100% unlikeable for me. Not only does she define herself and her family as poor throughout the book, despite her family having very clearly defined white collar jobs, she’s constantly faced with choices time and time again and consistently chooses to be passive. I’m not saying that’s not a realistic position to be in given the world she’s trying to make her own, but she’s not a character you root for. She seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how the world works and her place within it.

The entire premise and the addition of the tarot reading just seemed entirely pointless. The plot had no direction other than rich people always win, while stepping on others to get to the top. Those that try to be apart of that world will never truly succeed. While the story explores classism and toxic friendships, I just couldn’t get away from the fact that Grayson and Cressida showed Rosie their worst selves, showed her how they viewed her time and time again, and she still wanted to be a part of their world, to be them. She had no moral standing, no backbone.

Annelise is by far the most interesting character and I wish she’d been the main focus. I think the plot might have made more sense or had more direction with the inclusion of her POV.

Overall, this just didn’t have the same atmosphere or flair I’ve come to expect from Kapelke-Dale. Hopefully her next book will be more up my alley. I’m rating this book 2.5 stars, but rounding up to 3 because it did hold my interest at points and I was able to read it from start to finish.

Note: 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. While I am not an equestrian, I have several friends who are, so that part was interesting for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was really enjoyable for me. I really became invested in the characters, and the Ivy League equestrian element was also interesting. A very satisfying ending capped it off. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't not know what to expect from this book and it was a wild ride. Horseback riding, class issues, mean rich girls, frenemies, a love of veterinary medicine, a shocking death, college drama, fraud, NYC. It really had it all and somehow worked. It felt more autobiographical than her earlier books.

The Fortune Seller is not exactly a mystery as described. Set against a backdrop of social stratification, the story delves into the equestrian realm, which holds considerable importance. The inclusion of captivating tarot interpretations at the beginning of each chapter provided a distinctive element.

There were aspects of the storyline that consistently caught my attention and kept me engaged. I would preface that people did not grow up as "horse girlies" might struggle a bit to stay invested.

The Fortune Seller let me down.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale is a phenomenal writer when it comes to diving into a specialization. This book specialized in both equestrian-ness (what's the word here?) and tarot reading. Unfortunately, a lot of the strife in the book came from money differences.

You get half the story when the ladies are in their last year at Yale, and then the second half of the story in their first 1-2 years in the real world. Honestly, it was a weird line that kind of made the book feel like 2 books instead of one continued story,

There were interesting and gasp-worthy moments in the book, but it overall fell a little flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fine. I enjoyed the storyline with the equestrian twist. I loved the tarot aspect and how each chapter was a different card and had an explanation.

I think it started to fall off during the second half for me. Not much was happening and I wasn’t too invested in Graysons company. The revelation at the end of the book wasn’t surprising to me at all since I guessed it earlier on. I also think we didn’t get enough time with Cress and the other girls to build a meaningful connection or relationship.

Towards the end I started skimming not really caring to much about how they all end up. I liked the first part more and wished we could have seen more of the horses, Yale, the tarot, and college aspect of the story. I found that to be more compelling than the city half.

*This review will be posted on my blog and various other social media outlets on January 13, 2024.

When Rosie returns from time abroad to realize that a new girl has made a position in her friend group, she's a little uneasy. She doesn't know anything about Annelise. And now she has to share a room with her. What's even more strange is that the girls in her friend group don't know much about her either. She's a great equestrian. She fits right in on the team. But where did she come from? How does she afford Yale tuition and the lifestyle that comes with being friends with rich girls? Who is Annelise?

In a classic tale of class and ambition, Rosie has to figure out what everybody in her friend group is after, and which of them will stop at nothing to get it.

--

I loved everything about this novel. The way that Kapelke-Dale engrosses readers in atmospheres and how well she develops relationships has never disappointed me, and it didn't let me down here. Just like in The Ballerinas and The Ingenue, I felt completely engrossed in the story unfolding in my mind.

I love the way that her writing captures complicated female relationships and I love the way the tension and pressure builds until it all boils over in a stunning climax. I loved the quiet ending. The way that through everything that happens, there is also space for moving on. How there has to be space for moving on, if you want to keep growing into the person that you are meant to be.

I think as long as Kapelke-Dale is writing anything, I'll be a fan of it. I would probably read her grocery list if it was all I could get my hands on, and as always, even though this novel isn't even published yet, I will be eagerly awaiting her next release.

This book was too dark and too full of characters I couldn’t relate too. It’s the old story of poor girl gets involved with rich girls at a highly competitive university. Sadly, predictable and not really entertaining.

Though I generally like novels that take place on college campuses, this one just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you NETGALLEY for this ARC.

Middle-class Rosie Macalister has worked hard to fit in with her rich-girl friends on the Yale equestrian team. She spends her junior year abroad, and when she returns, she finds that her group has a new member, the mysterious Annelise Tattinger.

Annelise is a brilliant rider, but soon the other girls notice money go missing from their bank accounts, and Annalise's trusted spot in the group is in question. Rosie starts to figure out who Annelise is, but not until after graduation.

3.5⭐ This was a mixed bag for me. Too much horse talk. Just. Too. Much. Besides that, though, this was a fresh take on the less fortunate girl trying to fit in with the wealthier girls. I really enjoyed the character work in this novel. The plot was interesting, the ending solid. I just wish we could have done with a few less horses! 🐴🐴🐴

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC of this book!

There was a lot to like. I really enjoyed the incorporation of tarot, especially the little blurbs of each card at the start of each chapter. I also liked that the author didn’t just rely on the most popular cards and their stereotypical (and sometimes false) “definitions.” I also really enjoyed learning about the equestrian world.

I overall though didn’t feel quite connected to the characters. The setup was interesting with the setting and all, but my interest waned as I felt like the book walked in place for a while. My interest also dropped once we got to the girls’ time after they graduated.

While this book wasn’t necessarily for me, I’m sure there’s a ton here that will resonate with other readers.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc!


So when I requested this, I didn’t notice that this is the same author who wrote the Ballerinas and now I’m not surprised why I didn’t enjoy this. The premise sounds fantastic but it’s not what you get. You get a Mary Sue type character who cries because there’s someone new in her friend group and the plot moves at a snail like pace to where you end up skimming because there’s just so much filler.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Net Galley and the author for an electronic ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Rosie tried for years to find a way to fit in with her wealthy friends at Yale. Just when it looks like this has happened, her best friend invites a new student, Annelise, to move into their house. Worse, they are sharing a room. Annelise reads Tarot, and she seems to have insight on the whole house. They don't know much about her background, but Rosie grows to really like her. Then, some money goes missing, and one of the girls, the most wealthy of them, freezes out Annelise, even though it wasn't her that took the money. Soon, tensions, secrets and betrayal are all over the house. This was a very good book, which I highly recommend.

The Fortune Seller follows the lives of an elite group of young women navigating a world of money, power, privilege, and prestige, with a charming Tarot reader in the background, casting cards and exposing treacheries.

Rosie is an average girl who through her wealthy benefactor becomes a part of the Equestrian world at Yale, where she becomes frenemies with a wealthy trio of ruthless girls who will stop at nothing to get what they want...but Anneliese is the exception. A talented tarot reader and rider, her bohemian ways threaten and thwart the ways of the nasty trio, inspiring Rosie to take back her power along the way.

The Fortune Seller is not a story about the Tarot, but uses the archetypal messages of the cards to tell a story about fortune and the fortunate. How much luck and fate play a part in the lives of the rich and famous is explored and critiqued. Female friendships and sexism is on full display in this story and what it means for a woman to be in charge of her own destiny (if that is indeed possible) are the cards drawn in this reading.

Personally for me, I would have liked the Tarot to have been included more in the story, and perhaps some of its mystical power included in the plot which would have brought in more suspense and mystery. Anneliese was such an interesting character, and I think she could have been the main protagonist instead of Rosie.

If Gossip Girl was a Tarot reader, this would be her book.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is enigmatic and fresh. Bordering on dark academia and women's fiction - this book will resonate with every woman who dreams of being extraordinary.

Rosie, a regular middle class American, is attending Yale with the daughters of billionaires and just trying to stay afloat. She does everything that she can to fit in and feel like a part of the group. When Annelise is brought into the group, Rosie feels as though the rug has been pulled from underneath her. The story from this point takes so many twists and turns that it will leave you feeling every emotion under the sun.

If you need an incentive to read this book - allow me to ask a question of you. Who did you want to be when you were finishing school and how far would you have gone to make your dreams come true?

Competitive horse riding is not for the meek, nor the poor, as we learn all to well in Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s novel, “The Fortune Seller,” based upon a fictional account of a Yale University female student Equestrian team.

Initially composed of just four undergraduate coeds, when the only student loan/scholarship funded member of the group, Rosie, returns from a semester abroad in Argentina, she finds to her surprise a fifth teammate, Annelise, who’s also designated as her new roommate.

Surprisingly, new girl Annelise, is an exceptionally fine horsewoman—now possibly the most skilled on their team—even more so than Cressida, the beautiful, talented and rich daughter of Grayson Tate, legendary equestrian champion, charity fund manager, and financial Hedge Fund darling of Wall Street.

However, mystery surrounds Annelise. She’s secretive about herself, her family pedigree, and her equestrian skills and training. Her wardrobe is smattered with quality designer touches like Stella McCartney Baby dolls, Prada purses, and Hermes scarves; but all have the well-established aesthetic look and appeal of being classics of a ‘certain age’—perhaps vintage resale buys?

Annelise also has another unique bohemian eclecticism that sets her apart from the traditional preppy norm of her Yale Equestrian teammates. Annelise is a Tarot reader extraordinaire! Intuitively interpreting the Major and Minor Arcana Tarot Cards drawn by those individuals seeking advice.

All is copacetic among the Yale housemates/teammates until Cressida realizes that her bank account is being drained repeatedly for thousands of dollars, and someone in the house is check-kiting.

Tensions mount, fingers point, and accusations fly nonstop. The esprit d’corps, sisterhood, friendship, trust, and ‘love’ once felt, cherished and taken for granted among the girls shatter irreparably!

Then, when a ‘so called’ prank and it’s deadly consequences quickly follows, the repercussions send tectonic plate-shifting vibrations of destructive change into the emotional and personal lives of all. Nothing can ever be the same again. Humpty Humpty Dumpty can’t be put together again, nor can the happy and carefree Yale Female Equestrian Teammates..

TheBookMaven graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Rachel Kapelke-Dale, Publisher St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press Publishing Group, for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

"The Fortune Seller" was quite the journey! The story unfolds against a backdrop of class divisions, with the equestrian world playing a significant role. The intriguing tarot explanations at the start of each chapter added a unique touch. Annelise's mystery kept me hooked, always curious to learn more about her.

While I was drawn into the plot, there were times when the equestrian details felt a bit overwhelming. Nonetheless, the second half of the book offered a fresh perspective that I enjoyed. Overall, "The Fortune Seller" is an interesting mix of mystery and charm that kept me engaged!

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

Rosie Macalister does her best to fit in with the elite at Yale. She is part of the equestrian team and lives with her best, incredibly wealthy friends. When she returns from a year abroad however, a newcomer has joined the group and she is unsure what to think. Annelise Tattinger, is mysterious, athletic and a tarot card reader. She quickly moves up in the equestrian team but disappears frequently to travel to New York City.

What are her secrets? What is her plan? As Rosie becomes close to her, she realizes all is not what it seems. Mostly a story about the elite playing students at Yale and workers in New York, this novel is more coming of age than thriller. Rosie is a character you are not soon to forget, especially if you too, have tired sometimes to pass.

If you love stories about wealthy friends, family secrets and coming of age you will love The Fortune Seller!
#StMartinsPress #StMartins #TheFortuneSeller #RachelKapelkeDale

I felt like it wasn't too hard to figure out who Annaliese was, so if you're thinking this is more of a mystery you'll be disappointed. The first half of the book felt a little slow but did eventually pick up some speed. I liked the tarot card explanations that opened each chapter and I thought that was a nice touch.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was such a great story with themes of inherited privilege, the “American dream”,ect without any of it feeling preachy or predictable at all.