I absolutely love the way Rachel Kapelke-Dale writes and the way she builds a world for her characters.

I enjoyed her first two books, and the third is probably my favorite to date. There’s a voyeuristic “how the other half lives” aspect to this that is intriguing, but the best parts of the story are more about the characters as individuals and how they move through the world.

This was also some of the best integration of tarot into the plot of a novel that I’ve encountered. It’s hard to get this right in a story (most seem to fail when they try), but this was both immersive and informative. I think I learned more from this about how to read tarot with intention than I have from the tarot manuals I’ve tried.

I loved the way Kapelke-Dale used setting in this book, both at Yale and in the city, and the equestrian part of the plot was excellently drawn as well. Auto-buy and auto-read author for me. I loved this.

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is an engaging and mysterious novel following the missteps and antics of the rich as told from the perspective of an outsider. While it is mainly about the main character, Rosie, and her relationships with her vastly wealthy friends, there is also a mysterious and tense element that comes later on in the book.
I really loved the story and enjoyed the book, but it dragged on a bit in the beginning. It felt like it was just exposition until about the halfway mark, when plot started to happen. I'm a big fan of exposition and understand why the scene needed so long to be set, but I think more action and plot could have and should have occured in the first act of the story.

This is a slow burn mystery about a young girl at Yale, Rosie. Everyone around her comes from money but she struggles to pay bills. She is rooming with a girl, Annelise, who reads tarot cards for rich people to pay bills. The girls are involved with the equestrian club at Yale, there’s quite a bit of talk about horses in this book.
The narrator of the audiobook does well, her voice matches the age group of the main character.
Most of the action happens in the last quarter of the book, there was not much to hold my interest in the first half. The main focus is on Rosie’s lack of money which dominated the whole book. Rosie did evolve in the end to give her character more depth and interest.

Thank you Macmillan audio and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The Fortune Seller is a well woven story of society’s social elite, the impact of shifting friendships, and the dreams we have relative to what we think we want and what we really want.

As always, Rachel Kapelke-Dale delivers a story worth reading! And her research is on point, this time exploring equestrianism and college hierarchy’s. I also especially loved all the woven knowledge of Tarot. Fantastic!

For this novel, I listened to the audiobook. The narrator did a superb job. I listened at 1.75x speed, with 1.75x speed being my normal.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

Thank you to Rachel Kapelke-Dale, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for an advanced listener copy of The Fortune Seller!

3 our of 5 stars.

The Fortune Seller is a character-driven novel. There is not one overarching goal within the book, rather the novel consists of little anecdotes about events that show us how the characters evolve over the course of the book. Because of this, I didn't enjoy it as much as others may have because I felt like there was nothing the characters were trying to accomplish - we were just hearing about their life and struggles which I personally felt hard to relate to. However - since this type of book just isn't my cup of tea, I don't feel it fair to rate it any lower/higher.

Things I enjoyed:

The narrator: I'm not sure what it is about Stephanie Cannon's voice, but it is different than other audiobook narrators - in a good way! It's not soothing per say, but I just thought it was unique and added a little something to the story.

The references to Tarot cards: I loved how each chapter was introduced by way of a certain tarot card that then related to the scene. It kept me guessing as to what could possibly be coming next in the book.

The inner struggles of the main character: Rosie is so very obviously trying to fit in with the rich girls at Yale that she loses herself. I think this is a common struggle of people this age and this brought me back to my college days.

Things I wasn't a fan of:

Most of the characters: Yikes on bikes. These rich, entitled girls drove me UP A WALL. Their "struggles" were infuriating and I felt like a lot of the book made me want to just scream #FIRSTWORLDWHITEGIRLPROBLEMS

Rosie's abandonment of her morals: Did Rosie really feel that it was ok to just abandon her entire self? She reminisces on how much she missed her family and how differently she was raised and yet - she can't bring herself to say something about the hazing going on, or how Lila was stealing from Cressida. It drove me bonkers. I remember questioning situations in college, but everyone make conscious decisions on how to act and whether or not certain relationships are worth holding on to. Rosie pretends to be a morally sound person, but she doesn't remove herself from any of the situations and then even accepts a job from Cressida's dad.

Overall I found it rather hard to relate to the characters in such a character-driven novel. I'm not sure I would recommend this book, but if you enjoy character-driven novels, maybe you would!

The positive: The audiobook narrator is quite good.

The story, though, didn’t work for me at all. In fairness, if the book had a more accurate description, I would not have been interested enough to read it in the first place.

My problems summed up:

I didn’t expect such a strong YA vibe. The characters seem immature and way too angsty for Yale seniors.

None of the characters are likable, and being in Rosie’s head all the time drove me nuts. She continually laments the fact that she’s “poor,” while she’s firmly ensconced in what most of us would consider a comfortable middle class life. Plus, she’s attending Yale! But she wants all the free-flowing cash her spoiled rich friends have. And this seemed to be the basis of the entire plot.

Pacing is SLOW. We’re given LOTS of detail on equestrian riding, which all the girls are involved in at the college. We spend time whining about money. But nothing of consequence happens.

At the 40% mark, we were still doing the same dance. Graduation wasn’t even on the horizon. I gave up.

DNF

I was quickly sold on the idea of this book after realizing it was going to involve two things I enjoy reading about—dark academia and tarot. However, I was a bit curious to see how the author was going to work these two things in with the Yale equestrian team and a bunch of wealthy girls on the team and their financially stable but not wealthy friend Rosie. The fact that this was presented in audiobook format was just the cherry on top.

To start with, Stephanie Cannon did a fantastic job as narrator. She managed to make all the characters sound different and easy to identify from the others, even affecting posh overtones to her speech for certain characters. Her narration kept me engaged and laser-focused on the story, even when my mind wanted to drift off.

As for the story, it kind of felt like there were two different aspects to it—the first half, which focused more on the relationships between the young women in her social circle, and how the dynamics change throughout their senior year as a result of Annelise’s place in their life. The second half focused more on who Annelise really was and what actually happened to her, and was a bit faster moving.

In the first half, we’re given the time to meet and get to know the characters. I personally feel that it can be nice to have the space to bond with characters before anything happens, so that I’m invested in what happens to them. In this story, I was drawn to Rosie’s sweet personality—she’s a genuinely good and kind yet somewhat naïve individual. Some of the other characters have their moments, but I found her friends to be a difficult bunch to like, with the exception of Annelise. She was such an intriguing character, mainly because she wasn’t afraid to be different in a world where so many people were the same. Yet each of the characters is thoroughly rendered, with a full story and motivation and personality to them. Even Annelise, has background provided, although we are aware that there is some mystery or secret in her past.

I absolutely loved the emphasis on tarot throughout the book. In addition to Annelise performing readings throughout the first half of the book for her friends, each chapter begins with a tarot card and an explanation of what the card means. It’s clear that Kapelke-Dale has done some serious research on the cards, if she isn’t a practitioner herself. And throughout is the competitive nature of equestrian riding, as well as the distinct advantages gained through privilege—access to better horses and training, which means better skills and opportunities.

Amongst the discussions of class and elitism, there are some pretty big plot twists that blindsided me. I saw one coming, but the others were shocking. I found myself rooting for Rosie to find out the answers, even as I knew it would change things forever, and kept waiting for her to finally find her voice and speak up. Overall, this was a fantastic story on so many levels, and I’m excited to go and check out her backlist after this.

The Fortune Seller is a well-written, engaging classic ‘middle class girl in a rich world’ fish out of water tale. I enjoyed it a lot!

This is a horsier book than I’d prefer, but it’s not too overwhelming (I have no interest in horses, but the pacing was quick enough that it never got bogged down in horse interest stuff.

The awful rich girls are awful in a can’t look away way, the POV character is a relatable ‘straight man’ type, and all around it’s a well-fleshed out study of different types you might meet at Yale. Fun!

Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the early 2000s at Yale and then in NYC, this book gave me all the nostalgia I wanted, and wished I could forget about being young and dreaming of upward mobility, epitomized by the wealth of NYC. The reveals, twists, and turns are all very expected, the characters are nothing new, diversity basically doesn’t exist, and classism rules all interactions. But if you were in your early 20s in the early 00’s and dreamed of Manolos and horses and powerful jobs in finance (yes, that was me…) then this is a book that will entertain. It even has a happy ending that ties up all the loose ends. Kapelke-Dale does know her pop culture and fashion references, keeping the reader over-plucked with too mismatched foundation and asymmetric tops and low riders that made it impossible to sit, all with a dose of the equestrian world.

Fortune Seller lures you in with a summary that promises mystery and social commentary, but it ends up letting you down in both respects. Rosie Macalister is a middle-class white girl desperate to escape her financial situation. At Yale, she tries to fit in with her filthy rich friends but can't quite play the part of a socialite. When a new girl with a mysterious background infiltrates the friend group senior year, the other girls love and mistrust her in equal turns.

2 stars for the narrator. She did a fantastic job of bringing to life the characters and making it an engaging read, despite the lackluster content she had to work with.

I struggle to have empathy for a pretty, middle-class white chick who got into Yale and constantly calls herself poor despite having a home, food, clothes, and shoes. Rosie's able to afford horseback gear, even though she complains about having to save up for it. While I understand her want for financial security, she doesn't see that she already has that. She is unable to be grateful.

I was expecting more discussion around the widening gap between the middle class and the wealthy, but it was touched on in such a shallow way. Rosie's worldview is so limited. Sure, you see what you see because you are where you are. But to call yourself poor and victimize yourself when there are people across the globe who die from lack of food and unclean water, is laughable. Sorry you can't afford designer clothes, but most of the world can't. Also, how are you going to discuss wealth and not even acknowledge the role race and ethnicity have to play? Not one person of color or a truly poor background is introduced to balance Rosie's worldview.

Rosie's solution to financial woes is just as awful as her attitude. She has the idea that because she got into Yale she deserves to be rich. That a degree will automatically equal wealth. Those who are self-made usually worked their butts off to get there. Rosie sends off some half-hearted emails for a job and calls it a day.

The "mystery" was bland and predictable. I'm not usually disappointed when I figure out a plot twist before it happens, but I guessed the whole thing a few chapters in. It wouldn't be so noticeable if the commentary had been able to pull its weight.

I don't recommend this one. There are much better mysteries and books that dissect wealth from multiple perspectives.

Thank you to NetGalley Macmillan Audio for the advance audio! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars

This was such an easy listen, but was not at all what I was expecting. Perhaps I should pay more attention to the summary as I thought it was going to be a bit of fantasy and mystery. That was totally my bad. That said, it was about a protagonist named Roise who is on the equestrian team at Yale. Rosie's friends are all RICH RICH while she is not.

An event happens that forever changes the dynamics of the friendship group and from there the story really picks up.

The narrator did a really great job with the narration and I am interested in reading this author's other work.

This novel definitely went in places that I didn't expect, in good ways. Rosie, as an outsider, played the role of the reader, peeking into the rarified air of being part of the 1% elite at an ivy league university. The setting of having the characters be part of an equestrian team put a new spin on the fish out of water storyline. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, though it took a little while to get into.

The Ballerina’s and The Ingenue are two favorite books of mine. The author writes complicated female relationships so well and each of her novels are original and so well researched.

I loved the dark academia feel to the story and the writing is as beautiful as I expected it would be. The tarot card interpretation and foreshadowing at the start of each chapter was a brilliant touch. Stephanie Cannon narrates from Rosie’s POV with a lovely, melodic voice. Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and the author for an advance listening copy of this wonderful book. I’ll be adding a hardcover copy to my library when it’s available.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Kapelke-Dale and MacMillan Audio for an audio galley of The Fortune Seller.

Having enjoyed this author's previous novel, The Ballerinas, I was extremely excited to get a copy of The Fortune Seller.

This was such a quick-paced & easy listen that follows Rosie through her journey at Yale and being on the equestrian team. It focuses on Rosie's friendships with Cressida, Andra, Annaliese and Lila and her struggle to stay afloat while trying to fit in with her wealthy, elite friends. With Annaliese being the newcomer to the group, much of the story centers around Rosie's friendship with her and the events that follow. I love the journey this story takes us through and shows us the inner workings of being friends with the wealthy without being wealthy yourself; and that being wealthy doesn't necessarily make you rich.

This was a solid 4-Star read for me that I would definitely recommend to my followers or really anyone to read. Very, very good!

"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."

I loved this book, as I found it to be eerily similar (and therefore quite relatable), to my own experience as a college equestrian at an elite Northeast university in the early to mid aughts. That being said, I realize this is a very niche group, but the book itself is accessible to a wider audience.

The novel centers around a middle-class Midwestern protagonist (Rosie) who feels the outsider as a young college student at Yale. She is taken under the wing of a fellow equestrian (Cressida), who hails from much more substantial means, following the trope of the have-not getting a glimpse into the daily lives of the one percent.

When Rosie returns to Yale for her senior year following study abroad, she rents a house off campus with her EQ friends. She is paired to room with a mysterious transfer student (Annelise), who joined the clique and the equestrian team in Rosie's absence abroad, and is a hobbyist Tarot card reader. Tensions between the women begin to arise as they are competing for success and spots on the EQ team, and it turns out that all of them are keeping secrets from one another.

Without giving away any spoilers, things come to a head one fateful day toward the end of the academic year, and the remainder of the novel focuses on how each character moves forward from the tragedy. I took off a star because many of the plot twists/secrets were predictable to me from early on in the novel.

What distinguished this book from similar ones, however, was the tenuous and nuanced bond in these female friendships that follows the characters across decades. I really enjoyed the exploration of the idea of fortune vs. fate and how this played into the themes of ambition, classism, and sexism.

Critique: I did not love the narrator, she spoke a bit too slowly and deliberately, which I resolved by speeding up the audio. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced reader copy of this book!

This was a quick, fun read. I always enjoy a good "rich people problems" book, and this definitely had that vibe. Think Gilmore Girls if Rory was obsessed with horseback riding instead of books...and if there was a death at school.

I wished there was more characterization of the roommates. Two of them were well developed characters, but the other two were very whitewashed and bland. I wished that they had been more developed. Aside from that, I enjoyed the equestrian angle. I didn't expect it because I kind of went into this blind, but I rode a great deal in my early 20's, so this was a sweet reminiscence for me. I liked the examination of the class divide - there were some important things being said. Likewise, important things to say about finding your own path rather than trying to reach for society's expectations. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There was nothing earth shattering, but it was a fun read, and I would give it 3.5 stars.

Here is my review of The Fortune Seller By Rachel Kapelke- Dale, with five reasons to read it.

https://www.novellives.com/2023/12/17/the-fortune-seller-by-rachel-kapelke-dale-review/

Rosie has never really fit in with the upper class, cultured girls she attends Yale University with, but she’s come back to campus with more confidence after a year abroad. A newcomer, Annalise, has joined Rosie’s crew and wows the young women with her equestrian skills and her talent as a tarot card reader. It’s only when money begins to disappear from the girls bank accounts that they grow suspicious of the newcomer. Accusations abound and terrible things are said, forever changing the dynamics of the group. It’s not until years later that Rosie discovers the true identity of Annalise and tries to right the wrongs that happened during her senior year at Yale