The Fortune Seller was an excellent, thrilling read. I loved the multiple character perspectives and the dark academia vibe.

This book started off so strong for me with some really promising dark academia vibes with some mean girls, horses, and tarot thrown in, but it really fell flat for me towards the end. Rosie McAllister is a middle class girl at Yale desperately trying to fit in and keep up with her very wealthy classmates. In her senior year at Yale Rosie meets Anneliese, a mysterious new friend that disappears to NYC on a regular basis and reads tarot for Rosie and her roommates. One of my favorite things about this book is that there are explanations of tarot cards at the start of each chapter told in Anneliese’s voice which I thought were nice segueways into each chapter. After the events of the first half of the book unfold there is a bit of a time-skip to the second half and that’s where this book stopped being all that interesting to me. I felt like the entire vibe changed once the story no longer took place at Yale and the ending felt like it took forever to get too and wasn’t all that interesting. I think for me I was just really into the dark academia part of the book so I just wish the entirety of the story had taken place while the characters were in school. If you're into thrillers with dark academia and wealthy horse girl vibes mixed in then definitely check this book out!

I loved Rachel Kapelke-Dale's The Ballerinas and this novel takes an interesting dive into another rarefied art form/pursuit: competitive horseback riding. The novel is built around a small group of friends on the Yale equestrian team, two of whom come from much more modest backgrounds than the others, and one of whom is a Tarot card reader. The theme of Tarot and fate is woven into the entire novel, with each chapter being represented by a different card in the deck. The novel deftly explores issues of class, friendship and making the transition from young adulthood to adulthood. Kapelke-Dale is a lyrical writer and the twists (though figure out-able) will keep you turning the pages.

There is a nice attempt at a jealousy tale that leads to tragedy in Kapelke-Dale novel, but there are issues with the plot's flow. I found the tarot card hook at the beginning of each chapter initally interesting but that technique came to be well overdone. Details about competitive equestrian riding dominate the book's first half. The characters take a long time to establish their roles leading to confusion on who is a reliable narrator and who is there as a distraction. All that said, once the story hits its stride, the pace picks up as Rosie becomes aware of the conflict between here so-called friends and newcomer Annelise. Once the behind-the-scenes relationships are revealed the story becomes more tolerable to read as the author emphasizes class distinctions between the haves and have-nots. Strong potential but untimately the novel falls short.

3.25 stars

“I hadn’t ever ask myself what it would take to be as I was; to be happy with what I already had. Perhaps it’s because I was the only person who could answer that question.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the pleasure of reading The Fortune Seller. I enjoyed reading it and am glad to get into my thoughts about it.

“There’s a fine line between brave and stupid, babycakes.”

I think it’s safe to say that I didn’t hate the book, though I didn’t love it either. It was one of those slow paced stories where you just want to know what happens in the end because you read too much, you couldn’t stop anymore because of all the wondering.

“The ability to choose? That was my idea of heaven.”

Rosie wasn’t too annoying, though she proved that she had guts. It’s kinda sad to see how much had to happen in order for that to flourish, but it is what it is. I really didn’t like their friend group because it was pretty much just toxicity at its finest.

“The idea that a boy could have changed the course of her life? Unthinkable.”

The part where the story takes a turn? I was not expecting that of all things. And then the discovery/twist? I was shocked to read it when I saw it. If only the book had more like that throughout the entire story, that would’ve probably increased my rating. It felt like there was always something happening, but it was during some of it that I actually got a bit bored to be honest. I wish I felt otherwise though.

“I want to never, ever make choices based on what I could afford. I want to never, ever be trapped like my parents. I’m afraid of getting stuck in the bottom of that well.”

I thought it was fun learning about tarot cards. Reading this book made me want to get into tarot cards, though I don’t think I will end up doing so anyway. I loved how each chapter is a specific card with a bit of an explanation. It was actually fun learning about something you don’t know about through fiction. At least I think the author did some research into tarot cards anyway I’d hope.

“In real life, stories don’t actually have heroes. All they have are people. That’s all we get.”

I did enjoy The Fortune Seller, and I’m hoping I’ll see more works from Rachel Kapelke-Dale!

This had all the makings of a book I normally would love; Dark Academia, exploring relationships with mean girls, rich behaving badly but it fell short. Rose is a middle class student at Yale trying to fit in with her wealthy friends who spends a year abroad and upon returning finding another student Annelise has taken her place in the circle of friends throwing off the balance of the equestrian friend group. After graduation Rose gets a job in finance and things come to light to put a new light on what happened in college.

The premise was interesting but the story got too bogged down by uninteresting details and a lot of horse stuff. Some of the storylines just didn't feel right there seemed to be a disconnect and didn't allow me to connect to the characters at all. I can handle a slow book if the character development is done well but here it was slow and I the characters felt surface level.

Not one of my normal choices to pick to read so and arc was very welcome. Thank you for an arc in exchange for a review

I really loved this book. As with all of her books, you can tell Kapelke has researched the topic so that this story feel completely authentic. I was fascinated by the tarot card part of it and I also learned a lot about equestrians. This was a great book with characters that are completely memorable.

I love a good dark academia book and this one didn’t disappoint. I’m a huge fan of Kapelke-Dale so I was So excited to be asked to review an early copy of this book. Major Gossip Girl vibes, and mixing equestrianism with tarot reading!! Count me in. I loved How the book worked up to the big twists and turns in the second half. Will def recommend!

The Fortune Seller was an interesting book that mixed the world of the wealthy, the Ivy League, the equestrian world, and fortune-telling with tarot cards. It seems like many of the books I've read lately all focus on the wealthy; maybe it's a coincidence. Regardless, as an equestrian (not at the Ivy-League level though) I really enjoyed the book. I thought the dynamic of the main characters was relatable, especially with all their differing personalities. Kapelke-Dale had excellent descriptions that brought the characters to life off the page. Also, as someone who has some experience with tarot, I loved that the chapter openers were readings of a specific card. It was a unique way to tell the story.

While I did enjoy this book, I did find the pacing to be a bit slow at times. But not enough that I ever felt bored.

All in all, another great book from Kapelke-Dale!
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was really good! It gave me gossip girl, pretty little liar vibes. The first half of the book is good but that second half is amazing. Things really start to get twisted and I couldn’t stop reading it. I really recommend it if you like academia books!

This is my second book by this author and I was very excited to pick up her new novel. I almost did not finish this book. At the 25% mark, I wanted to abandon my reading. It was so slow, many characters were introduced with so many background details but nothing relevant had happened yet. I forced myself to continue reading and it really started to pick up arpund halfway through. I'm glad I finished it because the last part was more interesting and that's where the intrigue really started. Overall, this was slightly entertaining but a very slow burn.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭.”

Rachel Kapelke-Dale impressed me greatly with her debut The Ballerinas and her follow-up, The Ingenue, so I was excited to receive a copy of her latest.

Kapelke-Dale does books about female relationships (the good and the toxic) so well. Although not straight mysteries, her narratives always have a slight sense of secrecy (similar to Kate Morton), and this is no exception starting right away with the opening line: “in late August before senior year, I returned to Yale to find that my best friends had locked me out of our house.” This sets up the tone for the friendship between narrator Rosie and her group of friends who all ride for the Yale Equestrian team. I loved how Kapelke-Dale titles each chapter after a card, and has an explanation under it that seems like the reader is a part of newcomer to the group, Annaleise teaching Rosie. The dark academia feel of the narrative works well, and I was interested in seeing where the story would go, especially for Rosie. There were a few threads that I thought were a bit underdeveloped - I wanted more mystery and higher stakes. It was hard to feel sorry for Rosie sometimes, especially as she complained about being poor while also attending Yale and receiving opportunities due to her friendship with Cress.

The Fortune Seller is a story of female friendships, power, potential, ambition, class, and fortune. It’s a slow burn character-driven coming of age novel. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was great, it felt fresh and not like anything else I've read lately. It kept me intrigued all the way through, I didn't want to put it down.

In this mashup of mean girls, tarot cards, college life, and the Yale equestrian team of all things, Rosie struggles to feel like she fits in coming from a middle-class family. Yale is a different world for her but her best friend is there for her, right?
This book was so different! I love Kapelke-Dale and how she can get to the dark heart of relationships. The dialogue is written so well. Although the tarot parts here were kind of confusing to me, I enjoyed how the overall mystery revealed itself. The structure was such that the first part led to a dramatic event, and while I was initially unsure of where it was headed, the second half proved to be even more engaging.

This book offers reflections on class, family, finding yourself, and standing up for what you want in life.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

The Fortune Seller is a well-crafted story about greed, jealousy and social pecking order in today’s society. It throws together a group of women who live together at Yale, some incredibly rich, while others, barely making ends meet. You definitely can tell these women’s differences not only in the way they dress, but the way they act, to each other. Not only does the story show the struggles of those attempting to move up in the world, but it also lets the reader envision the life of the wealthy and the comparison of what they both consider problems in their lives. But, more importantly it shows what some people, both the rich and the poor will do in order to climb the social and financial ladder, and what happens when they begin to fall off.

Rose Macalister has just gotten back to Yale after being away on a year abroad program. She is all smiles because although she has no money, she has been able to save during the past year. But as she enters the apartment she shares with her best friend Cressida Tate, daughter of the uber-wealthy Grayson Tate, and her other roommates, she realizes a year can change everything. She discovers there is a new person in their group, her name is Annelise Tattinger who is on the Equestrian team and seems to ooze money and Rose is now sharing a room with her. She feels replaced.

Her best friend Cressida, also on the team, seems armored with her new roommate. Rose is very upset with this because she really wants to get a job working in finance at her father’s company after graduation. Rose’s sole goal is to be able to make money so she can help her parents and she herself and, never have to worry about money again.

But as Annelise and Rose’s relationship begins to grow, she begins to see a different side of this roommate. First off, she knows how to read Tarot cards which Rose soon becomes obsessed with and she teaches Rose the ins and outs of being a good reader…ask the real questions, the ones in your heart and you will get the real answers.

But Cressida sees Annelise as competition. First because she’s a better rider, but also because she seems to have taken Rose away from her. As the women begin to bicker among themselves, and then an accident occurs and an issue with money and those two problems will change their lives forever.

Fast forward to after graduation and Rose is working in the office of Grayson Tate. Not as a financial wizard, but as his assistant. The money is good, but the work not so much. When you are so low on the totem pole you are barely acknowledged. Then Rose discovers something shocking. Unfortunately, those who have all the power can try to ruin the lives of those who have nothing.

And that is when Rose not only decides to change her life but acknowledge that her past was not who she really wanted to be. If she could have only foreseen her future. Would she have changed it? Would she have done things differently? More importantly is it too late to make on this road she has been following for so long.

What The Fortune Seller shows us is that even though the rich get richer, they too sometimes cannot afford what life throws at them, and for those who are just your ordinary average person trying to make ends meet, their lives can sometimes be so very rich. It doesn’t take cards to predict your future, just the life you lead.

Thank you #NetGalley # St.Martin’sPress #TheFortuneSeller #RachelKapeke-Dale for the advanced copy.

The Fortune Seller follows a group of Yale equestrians through their senior year on the team. Rosie has worked her way to Yale and through the ranks of the equestrian team, and she and her close-knit group of friends start to fall apart senior year. Newcomer Annelise is a stellar rider and an interesting character. She reads Tarot, and tries to seamlessly fit in with the girls, but something seems to be off about her. Rosie quickly falls under Annelise's spell, much to the dismay of her best friend Cressida. And when tragedy strikes, what happens next to the girls? Do they hold one another's secrets?

This is the third novel by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, and the one I have enjoyed the most. Dark academia is always a great background and rich mean girls are a trope that I cannot get enough of. I almost felt like I had known Rosie, Annelise, and Cressida at some point in my life, or at least their counterparts in my world. The book did start off a bit slow but picked up quickly. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to recommend it to others!

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
February 13, 2024
St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 313
Genre: Women’s New Adult & College Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

This had a realistic feel to the characters and how they were written. It was easy to identify with these characters and to connect emotionally with the situations in the book.

The use of class, socioeconomic status, and popularity was well used. I enjoyed the writing style and found the flow smooth. The plot was engaging and kept me reading.

This story made me appreciative that I am old and no longer caught up in wanting to be friends with people. I am pretty content with my circle.

The equestrian element was exciting and well done. Admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about horses, but I was able to follow what was happening because the writing was excellent. Overall, this dark coming-of-age novel will grip readers until the end.

Book Review: "The Fortune Seller: A Novel" by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In "The Fortune Seller," Rachel Kapelke-Dale introduces us to Rosie Macalister, a middle-class student at Yale who struggles to fit in with her wealthy equestrian team friends. Upon her return from studying abroad, Rosie finds her circle disrupted by the enigmatic Annelise Tattinger, whose presence brings both intrigue and suspicion. As tensions rise and trust falters, Rosie delves into Annelise's true motives, leading to a tale of deception, ambition, and the consequences of desire in the elite world of Yale and Manhattan's hedge funds.

"The Fortune Seller" by Rachel Kapelke-Dale offers a compelling narrative that explores themes of class, ambition, and personal growth amidst a backdrop of privilege and deceit. The book starts off slowly, requiring patience from the reader to push through the initial chapters. However, as the story unfolds, the pace quickens, drawing readers into a web of secrets, betrayals, and the complexities of relationships among the affluent.

One of the standout features of the novel is the character development, particularly with Rosie and Annelise. Their evolving dynamic keeps the reader engaged as they navigate through the twists and turns of their intertwined fates. I found the emphasis on horse riding a bit tedious, but I loved the incorporation of tarot readings and thought it added an intriguing layer of mystique to the storyline.

Kapelke-Dale's writing style is evocative, capturing the essence of early 2000s elite society with precision and depth. The exploration of how personal choices and hidden agendas can shape destinies resonates throughout the narrative, leaving readers pondering the repercussions of privilege and ambition.

In conclusion, "The Fortune Seller" is a nuanced novel that rewards those who persevere through its slower beginnings. With its blend of mystery, drama, and social commentary, this book offers a thought-provoking journey into the complexities of human nature and the consequences of our choices.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary.⚠️

This one was out of my usual realm of reads I think; it had some romance but it was so little I wouldn’t even consider it a subplot, and it was towards the end. However, the story itself was strong enough that it captured my interest and I found myself enjoying the story. It had both a mystery element to it, as well as just “that’s life bud” feel. Rosie attended Yale and was part of the equestrian team. Unlike the other horse girls, she was not rich. She was middle-class and just making it by. But she considered these girls her friends, and they felt like it too.
In comes Annelise with her tarot cards, and Rosie begins to feel replaced. That is until she realizes that she actually rather likes Annelise herself too. They become good friends and things seem fine until one of the other girls notices money missing from her account.
Fingers start to get pointed and something horrific occurs. Fast forward, and Rosie is working at her friend’s dad’s company and still feeling like she’s part of the group, though they’ve all grown apart in ways. Until she realizes that they really do just see her as “the help” and she’ll never advance beyond that. She begins to uncover truths about Annelise that end up having consequences of their own and dredging up secrets those with money would pay to keep hidden. It’s a good anecdote of showing how high class society is a whole other world to navigate. It honestly seems so cutthroat; I’m very content in my little bubble in the South with my fellow middle class. That work until you drop and maybe just maybe you’ll get somewhere mentality and lifestyle is just not for me. I’m glad that the main character came to the conclusion that she did.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy of the book. I’m definitely glad I had the chance to read it!