Rosie has been working for years to fit in with her wealthy friends at Yale on the equestrian team, but following her return from her junior year abroad, she finds her friend group has been infiltrated by a mysterious woman, Annelise. Annelise is a talented tarot reader and an excellent rider, but when one of their friends notices money disappearing from their bank account, Annelise ends up in the hot seat. As the women turn against one another, the rising tensions amongst the women lead to devastating consequences. Following graduation, Rosie starts a job at a Manhattan hedge fund and slowly begins to uncover Annelise’s true identity, learning things about her that reveal far more than Rosie ever anticipated.

THE FORTUNE SELLER was such an interesting read that had me gripped from the first few pages. First, I absolutely loved how the tarot cards were so neatly interwoven into Rosie’s storytelling, with each chapter starting with a new card and its meaning. This was a really neat feature and I really enjoyed seeing how the author seamlessly intertwined each card and its meaning into Rosie’s story.

Secondly, I loved Rosie as the main character. Her straddle of two different social classes over the course of the book allowed the reader to grasp the true differences between the wealthy and middle class. It was interesting to me to note the societal privileges that the wealthy take for granted, as well as how these privileges became more noticeable to Rosie as she navigated her university education and her commencement in the world as a working woman. I thought her character growth to be intriguing and well done.

Thirdly, I really enjoyed the character portrayal of all the more central characters, particularly Cressida and Annelise. Each character is very well written and developed, all hiding their own secrets and imperfections. I enjoyed Annelise’s discourse on the concepts of broke versus poor - an interesting attention to word choice and their true meaning. Additionally, I found the plot of this story to be very interesting as the reader journeys through meeting and befriending Annelise. I thought the plot twists in this story were well done, albeit one that I wholly coming (and was appalled at the realization that I was right). The second major plot twist threw me for a loop and was so well placed.

Lastly, there are some aspects of the plot that are kept intentionally vague and left me with questions as the story reached its completion. I had hoped for answers to one question in particular, but do have a hunch as to what the answer may be. Regardless, an excellent read!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

Arc Review!

The Fortune Seller
By Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Publishes: 02/13/24
Genre: mystery-thriller

I loved the tarot card theme throughout this book. Each chapter begins with a different card. I found that part so interesting and fascinating. I also enjoyed the horse and equestrian aspect that was central to the story along with the college life of the first half. The book is organized in two sections- 2005 and 2006. I found this era very relatable since I graduated college in 2006, but I definitely didn’t go to an Ivy League school or know any millionaires/billionaires. It had some good mystery and secrets vibes. The first half for me was better, but I still really liked the complete story. It was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 book for me.

All this and more…
💁‍♀️ it girl and her clique
🏙️ NYC
🏫 college campus (Yale)
🐎 equestrian
💵 rich people
🔮 fortune telling (tarot)
🤫 secrets
☝️single pov
⏳2005 & 2006 timeline

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this arc St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley!

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The Fortune Seller is more of a women's fiction than an actual thriller. It was a good read but nothing really stood out to me. The characters were just ok, I didn't feel connected to any of them. I'm more into real thrillers so this just didn't hit me like I expected. I know others who would enjoy this tho. 3 stars for me.

Rosie Macallister returns to Yale from a year abroad to find that her friends/teammates have invited a new girl into their group. Rosie is to room w/ Annalise, the mysterious new girl who seems to be just as well off as Rosie's friends, is a champion equestrian and reads tarot. Rosie and Annalise become fast friends to the consternation of the other girls. When a "harmless" prank results in tragedy, secrets and lies come to light. Amongst the New York elite, Rosie must decide where her loyalties lie and how she actually wants to live her life.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

I typically do not choose books that are labeled as thrillers, but really ended up enjoying this one! The Fortune Seller gives us a glimpse into the dark, deceptive world Rosie experiences as she mingles with her upper-class peers on the Yale equestrian team. However, it does so without the overly ostentation storylines that often make up stories of the rich.

Throughout the story, there is a vibe that something is off with a few of Rosie’s roommates, but there are not a lot of clues about what it is. Little strange things they did made me ask questions, without making the story predictable. Towards the end of the book, pieces started falling into place and family secrets that explained earlier events were uncovered. As a conflict-averse person, I enjoyed the fact that the main character had a front row seat to the drama that was happening to other people!

Women’s fiction is one of those genres I’m picky about reading. Most of the time it doesn’t appeal to me; However, when Rachel Kapelke-Dale writes it I’m guaranteed to read it. I’ve been a fan since The Ballerinas. In my opinion, The Fortune Seller is her best book yet.

In The Fortune Seller we go back to the familiar ground of important female friendships, like in The Ballerinas. Those important friendships had been formed in youth, while these were formed at Yale. As in The Ballerinas, these ties of friendship are also based on an expensive and focused talent: EQ, or equitation. They are all equitation riders for Yale University and everyone knows horse girls are a special breed of girl.

But there are horse girls and there are girls who have horses. Our protagonist, Rosie, is a horse girl. Born in Illinois to veterinarian parents and brought up on 4-H and helping hands from charities who help kids get into horse riding, Rosie is talented enough to get onto Yale’s team but not rich enough to ever go pro. Her three friends are all girls with horses. And then there’s Annelise. Annelise rides like a horse girl, swans about like a girl with horses, but what is she really?

This book is predictable, yes, but I have gotten used to putting that out of the way because I’d never enjoy a book again if I let that get to me at this point. So, putting that aside, this book is fabulous. As always, Kapelke-Dale writes female friendships so well. The complexity, vulnerability, wickedness, beauty, tragedy, and the seeming obliviousness of it all. How it seems like we think we know our friends so well when we don’t know them at all. How female friendships, especially at college-age, can turn on a dime. How vicious we can be.

The story is great because it’s about self-fulling prophecies and the little lies we need to tell ourselves to get through the day that end up leading to larger lies that have the potential to rule us. It’s about complacency in our lives and our silence. It’s a terrific read for sure.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Kapelke-Dale for the ARC of The Fortune Seller in exchange for honest feedback.
It's no secret that class wars exist in this world and that societal hierarchy is in existence and how we operate. The Fortune Seller largely revolves around this theme and how "the elite" play by a different set of rules than those who are "without". And there's horses!
I did not grow up "a horse girl" like many others so I was not as "in" on the equestrian portions of the book as I know many others might be (and a good portion of the book has horse/animal talk that is very well written, don't misunderstand me). What I enjoyed about this book is that it is such an honest examination of the "haves" versus the "have nots" and how those who inherit wealth start out their lives so much further ahead of the game than those who do not simply by virtue of having a built-in safety net. Kapelke-Dale did an excellent job of pointing out how, for some, the rules don't apply, and for others, stepping a toe out of line can result in ridiculous consequences.
Overall I enjoyed the book for it's themes and how they were woven into the story. While the content wasn't my cup of tea, the lessons behind them were a fascinating examination of how the world works.

Rosie never felt like she fits in completely with her wealthy friends at Yale. Then Annelise joins the equestrian team. She’s never met anyone like her.

I really enjoyed this book. The first and second halves were different and I was pretty shocked by an event that happened halfway through. I used to read tarot, so I loved the trip down memory lane with the cards, descriptions, and readings. I loved the college-aged characters and how they interacted; as athletes it was completely different than my experience (not to mention the Ivy school). The ending got pretty wild, but in a believable way.

“But though you think you’ll leave the past in the past, you never do. It drags along behind you, tin cans tied to rope around your ankles, clanking and clattering at the most inopportune moments.”

The Fortune Seller comes out 2/13.

I never really thought of horse girls and dark academia fitting into the same orbit of existence by The Fortune Seller tries its darnedest to find the center of the Venn diagram. The story follows a middle-class Yale equestrian struggling to stay afloat in the world of wealth and privilege surrounding the riding circuit. When she meets a tarot-card reading riding phenom who has transferred to the university under mysterious circumstances, she finds both a friend and an increasingly complex puzzle to unravel.

There is....a LOT of horse/animal talk in this book. The main character is a certified horse girl volunteering at an animal shelter with vets for parents. In many ways, she feels like a Hallmark protagonist who has stumbled sideways into the wrong genre, complete with a boy-next-door fixture who happens to...get this...volunteer at the same animal shelter as her! These cornier elements felt at odds with what is otherwise a stark examination of classism and wealth hoarding among the financial elites, as the protagonist struggles to make ends meet and compete with the inherited head-starts of her classmates. In particular, I was stuck by the point Rosie makes about how only the rich can afford to make a career out of sports with a high financial barrier to entry. Rosie's internal struggle between wanting to make a life that is finically comfortable while also following her passions is one I've felt myself and seen in almost every twenty-something I know.

Perhaps an unusual take, but despite the book being framed and heavily incorporating the practice of Tarot, I honesty felt like it wasn't a hugely important part of the story and sometimes (like the romance subplot) distracted from the more interesting, heavy hitting discussions of morality and criminality. There's certainly some thematic handwaving about the interplay between luck and fate but ultimately I felt like the story could have held up perfectly fine without it included as a plot point/framing device.

I loved the fact that THE FORTUNE SELLER was set mostly in the equestrian world. There aren't many mysteries/thrillers that give insight into the horse world, especially college equestrian teams. The original reason why I wanted to read this book was for the fortune telling plot.

The characters of Rosie, Annaliese and Cress all show the reader how family class and status rule everything - even the horses.

The plot was a bit slow moving for the first half, yet there were a few parts that moved too fast later in the story, such as the "romance."

I enjoyed reading this one and would certainly read more from Rachel.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-copy of THE FORTUNE SELLER to review.

I rate THE FORTUNE SELLER four out of five stars.

I absolutely loved this book and was captivated from the start. It was fun to disappear into ivy league academia, equestrian competition and the world of the economic elite. The shocking twists were delightful.

When Rosie Macalister returns to Yale and her spot on the equestrian team after a year away, she finds out she is rooming with Annelise Tattinger, who turns out to be a very talented rider who reads tarot cards for the other girls in her spare time. Rosie has fought very hard for her place in the team's inner circle, which is no easy feat since she is from a middle-class background. At first, she is resentful of the idea of having a roommate, but she soon becomes friends with Annelise and realizes there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.

This is a very realistic look at class differences and how the upper elite class treats everyone else. The attitude that the rules don't apply to the rich comes across very strongly. There were some hidden secrets that I didn't see coming, and the characterization of the very rich and entitled Cressida is well done. The old cliche that money doesn't buy happiness rings very true in this book, but would be better defined as "too much money doesn't buy happiness." While some of the characters use their trust funds to sink deeper into despair, others just want enough money to fulfill their dreams.

Each chapter was headed with the description of a tarot card, which was not my cup of tea at all. But the relationships and class differences and the way this affected the characters made this book shine. Honest, sobering, sad, and heartbreaking, this book shines a light on the elite class and on struggling to belong in a world that is only set up for a few to succeed.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Fortune Seller" by Rachel Kapelke-Dale was an addictive, interesting, unique & well written story that pulled me in right away.
I really liked how the explanation for the different tarot cards started off each chapter.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

Interesting premise but overall the book wasn't for me. I didn't feel a connection with the main character and I felt the pacing was slow. I did like the dark academia/mystery vibes, but the actual plot just generally fell flat. I don't think the topics of wealth/class were explored in enough depth. Also, if you enjoy horses, you may like the equestrian aspects of this book. But there was just a little too much description in that department for me lol which was part of the pacing issue for me.

"The Fortune Seller" is a captivating piece of literature.The author's storytelling ability shines through, weaving an engaging narrative that keeps readers hooked until the very end. Although some aspects may fall short of perfection, the book's overall impact is undeniable, making it a worthwhile read for those seeking an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.

I am so lucky to have been able to read and review all of Rachels books so far, and they always tend to be a hit for me.

The Fortune Seller seemed to be right up my alley personally, as I am also someone who love tarot. I adored how the explanation for the different tarot cards started each chapter, and aligned to something that was going on in the plot. I thought it was a really clever use of something that was important but not integral to the plot.

Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the overall mystery and mystique in it. Who were these people, what kind of life are they truly living, and the age old question of what is the lifestyle of the rich and famous and how do we get there. I think the addition of equestrian sports just helped to drive home the exploration of the rich, as that’s not really a sport most middle or lower class people follow or even know much about.

One critique I do have is there were moments where it felt a little slow, or even kind of like we weren’t in the same story. But, I do think in the end it was all aligned and we kind of saw how the plot points from the start led to something happening later on.

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me! Please note, while there is a romance in this book, there is no spice and it is definitely not something I would classify as romance!

If the word 'tarot' appears anywhere in the synopsis, I'm probably going to read it. I really liked how reading tarot was woven into the storyline and how a different card was featured at the beginning of each new chapter as a sort of foreshadowing of what's to come. While there is a lot of equestrian talk, I was able to follow along just fine (and I know almost nothing of horses). This is a great character driven novel that really picks up speed at the halfway mark.

After a year abroad, Rosie is excited for her senior year at Yale, living with her friends, riding on the equestrian team and figuring out her future; but when she arrives on campus at the house she’s sharing with her friends, there is another girl’s belongings in her room. Rosie has always been a bit of an outsider with her friends, she is not uber wealthy like they are, so when she finds out they have given her a roommate (in her already extra small room) she is upset at first but happy for the savings. Rosie and Annelise hit it off immediately, Annelise teaches her tarot card reading and Rosie is attracted to her style and her amazing equestrian skills – she does have an incredibly secretive side however. No one really understands how she transferred from Standford with no equestrian experience and yet she can ride like a pro, she disappears for whole days at a time to NYC, and she has no identifying papers (so is Annalise her real name?). The alpha in the group, Cress becomes incredibly jealous of Annalise, her skills, and her relationship with Rosie and from there it all takes a very dark turn.

The second part of the book takes place after graduation in NYC, Rosie is working for Cress’s dad but as his second string assistant (not what she was hoping her econ major at Yale would have gotten her, nor from her close friendship with Cress), and as such is treated like the help and at the same time becomes privy to more dark secrets of the family than Rosie wanted to ever know.

I wanted to like this one more than I did in the end. I kept waiting for the great mystery of Annalise to be revealed and I didn’t feel that it was quite delivered (for me, some may have felt it was worth it). I’m also not sure I understood Rosie as a character, her obsession with going into finance so she would not be middle class like her parents but no follow through on internships or interviews – it didn’t seem consistent. I thought the second half of the book was much more compelling as it showed more of Rosie as a person and maturing and understanding who she was and who she wanted to be rather than reading so much about the pettiness of Cress and the other girls. I think all told, I would have preferred more mystery about Annalise or at least a less predictable one (sorry). I both listened and read this one and found the audio really enjoyable, the narrator was great and made the book move at a good pace, even when the story was a bit slow.

3.75 Stars

I really liked the idea of the book but it just didn't click for me. I found characters were unrelatable and unlikable.
I also found the ending to be a bit unbelievable - no real investigations regarding the deaths.

THE FORTUNE SELLER draws you in with its promise of mystical tarot readings intertwined with the lifestyles of the elite. And it does that, for the most part. Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for an advance digital copy of THE FORTUNE SELLER in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, Kapelke-Dale's prose is beautiful. She perfectly captures the lush, expansive, dark academia setting juxtaposed with the stifling, suffocating heat of Manhattan. THE FORTUNE SELLER is a winding tale that really picks up about halfway through and leaves you needing more, more, more.

A major theme of the book is being one of "them" and its a trope we see too often (and rarely with any satisfactory ending - Grayson's death was a bit of a cop out but I understand the role it had to play in Rosie getting out unscathed and Cass' unraveling). Rosie is so caught up in her upbringing, which is not as awful as she makes it out to be, and it seems a bit unrealistic that she could keep it away from her supposed "best friends" for almost four years. Realistically, what did being friends with these girls bring her? And why the sudden shift in senior year? Surely their true colors would have shown before then.

THE FORTUNE SELLER weaves together a story of what happens when hunger, ambition, secrets, and friendship, become a lethal cocktail, and just how far you go to protect one of your kind.