Such a tragic and terrible tale. I hated the premise of it but it was written well and kept me interested, that’s for sure. I just hated that it felt like the rich folks still got everything they wanted and not enough people had to answer for the death that they caused.

🌀Synopsis
Rosie is just trying to fit into a rich kid’s world. As a student at Yale she falls in with a group of girls that have no money issues, like she does. Except, that is, for Annelise. It takes awhile for the truth to come out but she finds out that Annelise is also trying to make her own money to get through school. The house is full of drama and it all comes to a roaring head when hazing goes wrong and causes the death of a roommate. Rosie is devastated and withdraws from all activity just trying to get by.
When she graduates she takes a job in the city with a friend’s dad. When she finds out he’s been doing shady things under his foundation, she calls him on it and he commits suicide that same day. Their world is forever changed.
Rosie decides to change her path and go back to school, this time to be a vet. She’s been through terrible things but, in the end, she’s truly happy with where she ended up.

You know what... I really liked it. I don't know if it was the horse girl in me or what because this type of book usually grates on my nerves. I liked Rosie and all of the other girls felt real and natural. Nothing was really a surprise but it still held my attention. It was definitely an easy listen not requiring much mental effort. This would be a fantastic beach read!

Stephanie Cannon did a great job with all the character voices and was super easy to listen to.

I loved the Fortune Seller! The premise was intriguing - Yale's Women's Equestrian team, three women who seemed to have it all, and one who wished she had it all. One of the women dies from being thrown from the horse. She also happened to see things through her tarot cards. Was she murdered, or was it an accident? It kept me guessing. The narration was fantastic. I will highly recommend this book.

Loved this title. It has the best dark academia vibes going. I figured out some of it, but not all of it. It was a great story of wealth and privilege and what it does and does not buy. A good coming-of-age story as well. The narration was wonderful and I couldn't stop listening!

I chose this book due to the title and the cover as I was looking for another audiobook. I didn't know what to expect, but I am so glad I listened. There was a solid storyline with a few twists and turns, and enough variety in the characters to keep a listener's interest. Plus, there was nothing inappropriate that would concern me having it in my classroom.

The narrator's voice was perfect for the text, and I will definitely point some of my older readers in this direction.

Middle-class Rosie Macalister has worked for years to fit in with her wealthy friends on the Yale equestrian team. But when she comes back from her junior year abroad with newfound confidence, she finds that the group has been infiltrated by a mysterious intruder: Annelise Tattinger...

While Rachel Kalpelke-Dale's latest suspense novel gives readers a familiar trope to structure her story --a "regular" girl attempting to fit in amongst the ivy-league elite-- the introduction of the mysterious tarot-reader Annelise Tattinger breathes unique life into the tale. I really enjoyed the inclusion of tarot card pulls at the beginning of each chapter -- giving readers a small peek into what lies ahead. While the description of the book led me to believe the story would be much darker than it turned out to be, it does serve as a coming of age story about class, privilege, and female friendships. The twists and turns of the story were expected, but seeing these characters grow across the years, and seeing how their relationships with each other changed across time and shared trauma, felt honest and true.

The audiobook was a delightful listen. The narrator truly brought these characters to life, which can be a particular challenge when playing characters across their lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book started off strong and I thought this would be a 4 or 5 star book for me. The story intertwined the collegiate equestrian lifestyle, tarot, and dark academia. So this seemed like a win for me. About 25% in though, the book really started to drag and Rosie, the main character, became more and more unlikable, along with a cast of other unlikable characters.

If the 80's movie Heathers had an equestrian club and was set in an Ivy League, you'd find The Fortune Seller. A thoroughly enjoyable (if not wholly unbelievable) story from start to finish. Three characters vie for importance in this story, Rosie, Cressida, and Annelise. We follow their trials and tribulations as they navigate coming of age in the Ivy League Equestrian world, a world rich with power, money, and influence. My only complaint is that this story would have been compelling enough on its own without the addition of the tarot element. This element felt forced and almost gimmicky, lending the story itself to feel significantly less believable.

This book is very, very horse-y. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I was absolutely not expecting all the horse talk. If you dislike horses, well … you've been forewarned.

Horses aside, The Fortune Seller was an interesting read that focuses on the class divide in the United States. It's an old trope – a poor(ish) girl goes to a fancy school with the spoiled children of the one percent and struggles to fit in – but Rachel Kapelke-Dale manages to write about it in a fresh and original manner.

The story starts out as a slow burn but picks up speed around the 50% mark. The relationships between the characters were well-written and believable, and I particularly enjoyed “watching” as Rosie and Annelise's friendship blossomed. That's not to imply that the characters are all likable, however - some of them are downright awful and their actions appalling.

There are really two mysteries in this book: who is Annelise and what happened to Annelise? The answer to the first question surprised me – I never saw it coming at all and enjoyed the related plot twist. The second question doesn't really come into play until over halfway through the novel, and I felt as if the answer was pretty obvious from the beginning. Still, the suspense kept me reading well into the night (it's currently 3:30 a.m. as I write this) and I really enjoyed the twists along the way.

The ending is both refreshing (I've read so many novels that end with depressing cliff-hangers lately) and my biggest complaint about this book. It's almost like things were wrapped up a little too well? Everyone got a big dose of karma, there's a cute dog, the end.

Overall, The Fortune Seller was an intriguing and horse-filled read. Final rating: 3.75 3.49 stars, rounded up down. Edit 8/10/23: After mulling this book over for a day or so, I've decided to round down my rating for this one to three stars. It's still a book worth reading, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as my other four star reads. I really wish we had half-star options on Goodreads - a 3.5 would be perfect.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

The main characters in this book were all so unique and had their own quirks and personalities. All of the minute details about them all really come together to help you understand their motivations. Rosie and Annelise were by far my favorite characters and seeing them try to fit in at Yale and becoming fast friends once becoming roommates was touching. The mysteries in this book were resolved really well.

I want to preface this by saying there wasn’t anything necessarily bad about this read - it just wasn’t for me.

Method Read: 🎧

The narration & character voice sounded very Paris Geller to me - and it was something I just couldn’t get into.

The narrarator did a great job of making the main character come alive.

So, let me start this by saying I am not a horse girl, and don't enjoy reading about horses. I didn't realize that the equestrian portion of this book would be so heavy, or at least feel that way. I found the main character to complain so much about money and differences in social class that it negated from the point of the story. This one just didnt work for me. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with my aforementioned aversion to horses.

Engaging, entertaining, and expertly narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where 'rich people behaving badly' stories are popular.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for the eArc.

This is a story about seeing the present.

I was surprised by this book, which is always a pleasant experience. The protagonist is written in a way that I found to be easy to connect to, and the tension of the friendships through the lens of classism was effectively conveyed. I still can’t decide if I think this was magical realism? But I’m leaning towards yes.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 💫 rounded to 5!

Title: The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Publication Date- 2/13/2024
Publisher- Macmillan Audio
Overall Rating- see below

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am excited to bring you all a review of The Fortune Seller. Before we get started I just wanted to own that I did not finish reading this book at 25 percent in. Let me explain. This is just a simple case of “reader know thyself first.” Instead of giving this book a negative review, I am going to tell you who this book IS for. I gave a 3 star rating because it felt fair and is required for review.

I believe the description of the book is rock solid. It sets you up well. This is a coming of age story, about class, growing up, female friendships, destiny, and wealth. The one critique I have of the synopsis is it states that it is a story that is in the back drop of “two mysterious deaths.” Now remember, I stopped reading at 25 percent in. However, to that point no one had died and there was no indication that anyone would. Which in the end could be intriguing. I think this would have worked better for me if there was a dual timeline or some indication that a darker plot was coming.

The feeling I got from the synopsis was that this would be a darker story. And it may be after the point that I stopped. However, there wasn’t enough in it for me to keep going. I think you could like this if you like stories about young female friendships, envy, and in some ways it is an dark academia. I will say that it is an academic setting but there wasn’t anything dark yet….

I feel like writing a review like this is important. In an age of reviewing we don’t often indicate when a book is “bad,” versus when it just isn’t for you and your interest. This book is not bad, it just isn’t for me and my interest. I had hoped there would be more of a thriller aspect or dark side of friendship. Again, owning that I didn’t make it past 25 percent before I realized this wasn’t for me.

There is some uniqueness in The Fortune Seller. There is a group of young riders at Yale’s equestrian program. They are wealthy, jealous and worried about the future. Going into this, I was actually excited to read something different, I’ve never read anything like the way this is set up. However, it wasn’t dark enough for my tastes and the characters felt somewhat flat according to my expectations of what this story would be.

If female friendships, coming of age and worry about the future and destiny is your cup of tea you certainly should give this one a try. I hope this review helped set your expectations.

First of all - IMPECCABLE narration - so well done!
The story of the Fortune Seller centers around Rosie, a Yale student and equestrian whose group of friends all come from wealthy backgrounds, while her decidedly middle-class background is something she hides from them. This was my biggest challenge with the story; unfortunately, it's a critical plot point.
However, I did enjoy the characters, how they developed, the realities of life after college, and the ways their lives unfolded. It was an entertaining novel, and definitely a hit for the right reader!

Rosie McCallister is a middle-class student returning from a year abroad to finish her final year at Yale. Growing us she saw the struggles her parents (both large animal vets) endured, so she is determined to follow a different path, where money is not an issue. She is excited to get back together with her friends at school on the Equestrian Team, where she fits in, kind of... The members of the EQ team all come from money, so Rosie hides the fact that she is on scholarship and works at the barn to help pay for her time at school. Upon returning she also cannot stop hearing about the new member, Annelise, who is just so cool. At first Rosie is annoyed at the attention Annelise is getting but then she begins to see that there may be more similarities between the two of them than she initially thought. As tension grows throughout the year, the girls start to wonder where they will end up next year. How far will some of them go to ensure they get the future they believe they deserve?

Let me first say that I did enjoy this book, and the audiobook was enjoyable and narrators easy to listen and understand.

Now... Coming from an equestrian background, of a middle class family... I have some issues with how some topics were portrayed. For 1) the equestrian sport was laughably mis-described. In no way shape or form do people believe that college riding will take you Pro. College riding is a beginner sport at the most. Secondly, money 100% plays a role in all socio-economic areas, but I did not like the way it was portrayed in the case of Rosie and Annelise. They both are attending Yale, and clearly smart motivated individuals. Doing something you are good at and enjoy should allow you to make the money you need to survive. I did not like how it made it seem like Rosie was poor for her choice of being a vet... that alone should not make her poor...

Okay rant done. I certainly think I was a unique audience for this novel, and despite the frustrations above, I found the story entertaining and listened to the novel within a few days.

I want to say that I love the narrator of this audiobook!
I did not, however, like the protagonist or her friends. I could not relate. And I also didn't hate them enough to be hate reading this.
Rosie is living what would be a dream life for me while complaining about being poor.
UGH.
It just wasn't for me but I bet other people love it!

Listened to narration at 2x speed with no issues. Narration had good inflection and pacing.

Rosie is in the equestrian club at Yale, struggling to keep up with her friends/teammates/roommates because appearances matter. While they come from old money, Rosie fights to maintain her place in the group, which becomes shakier when a new girl-Annaliese-joins them for their senior year.

The girls all come across as vapid and shallow. There's lot of manipulation, and there's a good amount of buy-in to Annaliese's tarot cards, a hobby that she begins to teach Rosie. There's deceit, there's a hint of sexual inappropriateness, there's manipulation. Unfortunately, though, the obvious ending unravels far too early and too easily, which makes the last 30% of the book unsatisfying.

Overall: 3 stars

I'll tell my students about: alcohol, drugs, mental health,

**Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the tarot readings, they were my favourite part of the story. I wish there had been more of them. The plot twists were fairly predictable but most are so I won't hold it against the book. It's the type of book that would make for a good movie. Over all an enjoyable book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.