“You’re going to work hard, you’re going to put in the effort, but never forget: success is its own kind of power, and it’s its own kind of burden, too.”

2.5 stars. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I was very excited to start it as I love the equestrian world and the world of ivies. But for the first probably 50% of the book 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅. I almost DNF’d it. But I soldiered on.

There are two events in the story that really held my interest but other than that the story seemed to just be going in circles. Even the drama with the girls while at Yale was not enough to keep me caring. The writing was good and I was definitely immersed in their world. But, I found my mind wandering due to the lack of plot and didn’t have that desire I yearn for to pick a book back up to find out what’s going to happen.

Thank you, though, to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Both "The Ballerinas" and "The Ingenue" were four-star reads for me, but author Rachel Kapelke-Dale has moved into five-star territory with her newest novel, "The Fortune Seller." I love dark academia stories and the added drama of the competitive equestrian world made this book an enthralling read. The mystery surrounding Annelise as well as the tensions between the diverse cast of characters kept me turning pages long past my bedtime. The plot twists kept me guessing and the vividly crafted characters came alive to me. As a rider myself, I thoroughly enjoyed that this story centered around members of the Yale equestrian team and the descriptive writing made me feel like I was part of the team too. This book is more than it appears on its surface however; underneath the mystery lies an exploration of class differences and a scathing critique of those who think they can get away with anything just because they are wealthy. This book would make an excellent book club selection because there is a lot to unpack and discuss. it's also a very entertaining read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this fabulous book.

Tarot cards, ambitions, and desires come together in The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. Five girls start their senior year together at Yale, but only four survive. What happened to Annelise?

Rosie, a senior at Yale, is friends with three young women who have everything they want and more. Horses are the common factor among these women. They are equestrians. They wear designer clothes, never have to worry about money whereas Rosie struggles. She has ambitions to be on the top. A fourth young woman, Annelise, enters the circle and is a mystery. She is welcomed with open arms but later is turned against. Rosie slowly starts unraveling the mystery and her life.

Every chapter starts with the meaning of tarot cards, and the happenings coincide with that particular card. I really liked that in this book. This book is a dark one in a lot of aspects. There's mystery for sure in the book. But also, it brings up an important aspect of relationships and friendships. Do we make friendships based on safety and trust or based on our desires that we can use them for leverage later on in our life?

When we’re older, we tend to create a social circle of people who are a lot like us: similar backgrounds, similar interests, and similar careers. But The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale explores what happens when students of vastly different backgrounds come together at an Ivy League school.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

A story about class, secrets, trying to fit and being different. A page turner with a pinch of paranormal and a cast of well rounded and fascinated characters.
The first book by a new to me author. Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Rachel Kapelke-Dale returns following The Ingenue and The Ballerinas with her latest coming-of-age novel THE FORTUNE SELLER— a haunting and gripping portrayal of class, desire, privilege, and ambition. (no one masters it better than Rachel)!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! A huge fan of the author.

Rosie Macalister (small-town Illinois) grew up middle class and has worked hard to try and fit in with her wealthy friends at Yale and the equestrian team.

Rosie is on a scholarship, unlike her wealthy roommates. When she returns to Yale for her senior year, she discovers a new roommate in the house she shares with four others.

Annelise Tattinger is a skilled rider, and Rosie is obsessed with her—her family, money, power, prestige, clothes, sophistication, and riding skill. She keeps everyone at arm's length and is secretive about her past.

Annelise is enigmatic, mysterious, and alluring. Plus, she is a master, gifted in the art of Tarot cards and fortune telling. Who is the real Annelise?

Soon, competition and rivalry change the dynamics between the teammates. Something happens, and accusations are made. One of the girls notices money disappearing from her bank account, and Annelise's place in the circle is questioned. Can they trust her? As the girls turn against each other, the group’s unspoken tensions and assumptions lead to devastating consequences. Rosie suspects there is more to Annelise and begins sleuthing.

Then, shortly thereafter, someone dies in a riding accident. However, was it an accident?

Rosie leaves Connecticut to take a finance job in NYC at a hedge fund (not what she exactly wanted- as an assistant), but she thinks it will be a way into the world she wants. However, there is betrayal, lies, secrets, and deceit. Has Rosie made a deal with the devil? Is someone setting her up to take the fall or buying her off to keep secrets?

Does someone want revenge? Rosie will soon learn some difficult life lessons and what it takes to be truly happy.

"Fortune sounds like a wonderful thing, but that's just not how things work because we've told ourselves fairy tales about it for so long. Fortune is nothing more and nothing less than the idea that there are some things in our lives—so much more than we'd like to believe—that are out of our control, no matter how hard we try. And that's why you have to ask, but almost nobody ever does. Because they don't really want the answer. Do you really want to know?"


Wow! The author has outdone herself!

THE FORTUNE SELLER is twisty, alluring, dark, sinister, and atmospheric, and I was glued to the pages to see how this would turn out! (in one sitting). I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic and narrated by the talented Stephanie Cannon—perfect for all voices for an engaging performance. I Highly recommend the audiobook.

I would also recommend buying the hardcover or e-book, as well. I highlighted many pages with the Tarot cards. You do not want to miss this.

CAPTVATING! The best part, and my favorite, is the innovative and creative introduction of each chapter with the title of a Tarot Card, its description, and how it fits with what is happening in the novel. BRILLIANT!

I loved Chapter 39: The Ten of Pentacles (Reversed)
"Everybody wants something. And the way that we go after those things determines who we are. Ten of Pentacles, when it's reversed, is all about the traps we get ourselves into. About what we've let define ourselves and our self-worth; about how we've forced ourselves into certain roles because of the compromises we thought we had to make."


Fits so well with the novel. I am a huge tarot card and equestrian fan, so this book had it all! After all, I live in Wellington, FL, the equestrian capital of the world. For real, I had a tarot card reading in New Orleans, and five years later, everything she predicted came true, which was spine-chilling!

If you have yet to read this author, you are missing out. I have loved all three of her books, and THE FORTUNE SELLER is my absolute favorite! I love the author's writing style! —a mix of coming-of-age, literary (beautiful lyrical prose), psychological suspense, mystery, thriller, and academia. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review. #SMPInfluencers

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Feb 13, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
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I enjoyed the Ballerinas by the same author, and this one was at least as good and addresses some of the same topics, particularly female friendships. While that novel centred ballet, this has horseriding, but it's horseriding as a metaphor for belonging and privilege. This is a lot more than a coming of age novel. It tackle big topics like wealth, belonging, goals and identity and it does so with style. It's not an outright suspense novel, there are twists, but the point (to me) is about class and desire. The epilogue wraps things up a little too neatly for me - but then I usually find myself complaining about epilogues, so that might be a me problem. I read it, I enjoyed it and I recommend it if you like well written, suspenseful books that ask interesting questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale ⭐️⭐️💫

While this book didn’t work for me, I did really enjoy that each chapter started with a description of a different tarot card. I also loved the emphasis on animals. If you enjoy character-driven novels, college settings, tarot cards or equestrian, this book may be a hit for you.

Here are the reasons I struggled:

I never connected with the narrator, Rosie, and that made this character-driven novel tough to enjoy. While I appreciated that her middle class upbringing was important in terms of the dichotomy with her uber rich friends, Rosie was so focused on what she wasn’t it was really hard to root for her. She had no self-confidence, and her only sense of self was that she wasn’t rich like her friends.

The supporting characters were one-noted rich kids. There was some variation among that but you could have removed many of them and the story would have been the exact same. Tiny connection points happened, but then it fell flat and we never got any more in terms of character or relationship building.

Plot and pacing went hand in hand. It was too long. The first half could have been edited down; we didn’t need so much “Rosie is not rich” inner dialogue. It was predictable on some fronts. I picked up on one of the big points at about 30% into the book. Some of the things that happened made absolutely no sense to me, but maybe I felt that way because I didn’t know the characters. There were several plot holes that I still don’t understand.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale's THE FORTUNE SELLER is wonderfully complex, twisty story about young people finding their way in the world. When middle-class Rosie returns to Yale from her junior abroad with assurance and more money than she has ever had before, she finds a new person has infiltrated her formerly tight group. Annelise is confident, a gifted Tarot card reader and excellent equestrian who is charming, dazzling bright, and fascinating to the group even when money goes missing and she falls under suspicion. Rosie revisits that tenuous time with fresh understanding and must decide to intervene and fix what went wrong or let the past remain in the past. I loved the story's voice, the relationships, the view into a world of privilege and incredible pressure. This was definitely one of those books that will keep readers up way too late reading one more page of this excellent book. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

The Fortune-Seller, by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, is the third female-centric novel by this talented young writer. She knows young women well, and articulates the intricacy of their complicated relationships—friendships, rivalry, loyalty—with keen insight and well-executed prose.
In this novel, the year is 2005, at Yale University. Rosie, the narrator, is a middle class girl from the Midwest, who joins her wealthy roommates–Cressida, Lila, and Andra—in a lovely Victorian mansion they are renting for their senior year. All are on the school’s equestrian team, competing for places at various levels. Their relationships with each other are unbalanced by a new roommate, a rider from California—mysterious, bohemian Annalise. Rosie likes Annalise and her Tarot card reading, but when threatened by Annalise’s riding skills, the three rich girls become the mean girls, with disastrous consequences.
A Tarot card and its meaning cleverly introduce the theme and action of each chapter. If you like Tarot, you will find this entertaining. If you like horses, horseback riding, and details about equestrian teams, you will enjoy those details. I found that subject somewhat less interesting, although it does set the framework of intense competition among the girls and its effect on their personal relationships.
Post-graduation, the intrigue in Rose’s life ramps up, as the story exposes more underhanded doings by the “privileged” girls and their parents, who are portrayed as lacking a moral compass in their work and in their personal lives. I liked the concluding chapters, and finding out how the main characters fared 14 years later.
This author has a great grasp of the complexity of female relationships, and skillful prose that keeps the story interesting and thought-provoking to the end.


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Loved where the story takes place, Yale, and the horses. Most of the characters are horrible and hard to like. Andra turned out to be interesting. Like how the epilogue ties up everyone's story.

Wow, Rachel Kapelke-Dale. I enjoyed The Ballerinas and The Ingenue, but I loved The Fortune Seller. I'm not a believer in tarot or a lover of horses, but I didn't need to be to thoroughly enjoy Rachel's latest. I did suspect the twist fairly early in the book, but I think that was the idea, to be the behind-the-scenes observer as it all unfolds. There are going to be some readers that say The Fortune Seller is a slow burn, but that's why it works. It's just a really good story told in the perfect way.

This book would be the perfect buddy read/book club choice, because there's so much to think about and to discuss with other readers. Do you believe in fate and destiny? Revenge? An eye-for-an-eye?

After devouring The Ballerinas and The Ingenue I had to get my hands on her newest title.
Rachel is one of my most favorite writers! The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is an incredible dark academia story. With amazing complex characters.
The phenomenal writing made it incredibly difficult to put down.
The plot is so smooth, the character development is enticing and you connect and visualize the situations as if the images are right in your face.
Kapelke-Dale has delivered a wonderfully enthralling contemporary story that I couldn't get enough of.
The Fortune Seller was beautiful, well written and very interesting.
Another great mystery and suspenseful story that kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

After reading and loving The Ballerinas and The Ingenue, I was thrilled to receive a copy of The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, and I had high expectations for the book as I began to read. As I have come to expect, Ms. Kapelke-Dale's novel is not a light, easy read, and it delves into the darker side of friendships and the competitive nature such relationships often hide.

The Fortune Seller is a coming-of-age tale, set at Yale among members of the equestrian team during the first part of the book, and New York City during the second, with an overriding theme of the power of privilege. The characters are believable and the relationships are realistic, with situations to which anyone who has lived in a house with several roommates can relate. The disparity in finances between the girls adds a layer and bond between them that was interesting and added to the suspense about what might be going on behind the scenes. The tension in the fist part built exquisitely to a crisis that I didn't anticipate, and the second part of the novel slowly revealed secrets and truths in the most satisfying conclusion.

I found the interweaving of the tarot into the story both as Annelise taught Rosie to do readings, and as a lead-in to each chapter fascinating. It almost made me want to have my cards read!

Rachel Kapelke-Dale is fast becoming a must-read author for me. I look forward to her next! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. The opinions in this review are my own.

THE FORTUNER SELLER is another winner from Rachel Kapelke-Dale. Following Rosie Macalister through her senior year of college and her first year after college, the story quickly immerses the reader into the world of an Ivy League equestrian team. Rose is relatable, if a bit passive, in how she strives to retain her place in their friend group. .The late addition of Annelise really throws the group off kilter in a delicious way that keeps the plot moving.

Privilege and wealth lead to resentment and bitterness, especially as Rosie is trying to hide her scholarship.

But she's not the only one lying.

I mentioned this is a delicious story, right?

Suspenseful (though a slow burn), I recommend this one to fans of thoughtful thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy; all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A coming of age, outsider, college and first job thriller. Set primarily at Yale, it's the story of Rosie and Annalise, a mysterious newcomer to the tight group led by Cressida, the incredibly wealthy of the hedge fund founder who funded Rosie's horseback riding dreams in her small mid-west town. Whew. The arrival of Annelise has thrown off the friend dynamic between the four women - now five - who share a house and ride together but she's very much a cipher. She does, however read Tarot, which figures in and looms large over the story. Things get going when Cress (a classic mean girl) turns on her leading to a traumatic and tragic event. Rosie finds herself post graduation working for Cress's dad as an assistant, a dream job- or is it? This throws a lot (a lot) of plot points at the wall; some of them work better than others. It's surprisingly superficial on the horse front and deeper on the tarot. Rosie yearns to make money and then for home. She seems to have no life outside the group (no one seems to go to class) until she's living in NY. You, like me, might guess Annelise's secret but that's well handled. The end, well, over to others because you won't get spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a page turner.

I've enjoyed all of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's books and I think this is her strongest one yet. I think it was structured really well and I enjoyed how much our main character evolved throughout the novel.

Set in the early 2000s, The Fortune Seller takes us to Yale, where middle-class Rosie Macalister lives with her much wealthier friends. As members of the Yale equestrian team, Rosie and her friends are a tight-knit group, so Rosie is surprised to return from a year abroad to find a new girl sharing her room. Annelise, with her talent for reading tarot cards and phenomenal riding skills, is unlike anyone Rosie has ever met. It isn't long before Rosie and Annelise become close. But amongst their larger group of friends, shifting alliances, secrets, and betrayals are creating unbearable tension -- with devastating, irreversible consequences.

In The Fortune Seller, Rachel Kapelke-Dale delves into issues surrounding class, wealth and privilege, ambition, and the complexities of female friendships. Kapelke-Dale's writing is nuanced and sinuous as she explores the co-dependent and sometimes destructive nature of early adult relationships, and I think she perfectly captured the feelings of her characters, with all their presumed invincibility and desperation. There's lots of interesting commentary about fate and destiny and the role that luck plays in one's good fortune or circumstances. Each chapter begins with the description of a tarot card that serves as foreshadowing for events to come, and I thought that was such a brilliant way to add texture to the narrative.

I do think, however, that some of Kapelke-Dale's observations, specifically surrounding the power that comes with wealth in the later half of the book, were a bit too on the nose. Her characters are for the most part well-developed, but they all fall solidly into either a "good person" or "bad person" category, which makes them less interesting then they could have been. Rosie herself is frustrating because she is the type of character that just lets things happen to her, rather than going out and making things happen. Who gets into Yale and, hoping to eventually work for an investment firm, fails to secure a single internship before her senior year? That, to me, seems like a form of the entitlement that Rosie herself rails against in her friends. Rosie grew up quite privileged herself, which is something she barely acknowledges as she strives for more and better, which only added to my frustration with her character.

I would have liked more atmosphere outside of the characters' immediate world -- a stronger sense of place with the equestrian competitions, some context about life on Yale's campus. The book is also oddly-plotted, with a major event happening at the 50% mark before the narrative slows way, way down. And I appreciate the twists that the narrative took, but I definitely predicted them well before and spent most of the second half of the book just waiting for Rosie to catch up.

I always look forward to new release by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, whose plots and prose have reminded me for three books now of Megan Abbott (and I can't really pay a higher compliment than that). The Fortune Seller wasn't my favorite of her novels, but I still can't wait for the next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both an audio and digital ARC of the new book by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, perfectly narrated by Stephanie Cannon - 4.5 stars!

Rose Macalister has tried hard to fit in with her wealthy equestrian club peers at Yale. Coming from a much different world than them, she's desperate to earn enough money to help out her parents, both small town veterinarians. When she returns to Yale from a year abroad, things at the house where she lives with her EQ best friends have changed. There's a newcomer in the group who is to room with Rosie, Annelise. Annelise is a talented rider but also reads tarot cards and disappears to NYC periodically. When a prank ends with deadly consequences, Rosie has to take stock of her values and loyalties.

I was a fan of the author's previous works and really enjoyed this one as well. While I know nothing about horses, this was an interesting glimpse into that world. More so, it was a look at classism, trying to fit in, and figuring out what's really important. I liked the look into Rosie's world after graduation, as she tries to achieve her dreams and ends up seeing them in a totally different light. Each chapter begins with a tarot card explanation - just enough to guide readers through the book.

The Fortune Seller follows Rosie Macalister through her senior year of college and her first year after college. Each chapter starts with a reading of a specific tarot card. It’s quickly revealed that the person doing each reading is Annelise, Rosie’s newest roommate. Rosie was set to live with her three best friends–Cressida, Lila, and Andra–and Anenlise was a late addition.
The story focuses on Rosie and her roommates' experiences as they attend Yale and are part of the equestrian team. There’s a lot of privilege within the group, which leads to a lot of tension and resentment. Rosie is at school with a scholarship, but feels the need to hide that from the other girls. And as senior year goes on, she discovers she’s not the only one lying about family wealth.
Each girl’s personality shines through in the book, and helps make the story feel even more realistic. Each girl is flawed, prejudiced, and slightly self-absorbed, which makes them come across as believable 20-somethings. Their decisions and thought processes match with their individual personalities, and with the general mindset of college students.
I really enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure exactly what to classify it as. It’s got thriller aspects, but the slower pacing pushes it towards a mystery instead. It also takes place in an academic setting, but isn’t truly an academia-based book. Even though it’s hard to categorize, I think this book will appeal to a large market. It has a unique plot between the tarot readings and equestrian training, a tantalizing mystery, and great characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!