If you love talk about class divide and well horses this one might be for you. It was a little like one of those books that it was ok but it could have been more fleshed out and better. I would say that if you want to check this one out to grab it from the library.

Ponies and rich girls and drama, oh my!

An entertaining read about being the odd girl out in a group that gets pretty dark prettyyyy quickly. As someone who is "old poor", I related to Rosie's situation of living hand to mouth but I also loved Annelise and knew that all wasn't how it seemed with her.
Rosie is from a solidly middle class family but wants more out of life than her family's veterinary practice so she works very hard to see how the other half lives and try to obtain that life herself.
Annelise is a character who seems very free-spirited and "earth mother-y" but something is lurking underneath. Of course Rosie dislikes her because her best friend, and queen bee's newest pet project is, you guessed it, Annelise.
Fun read that has definite dark academia vibes. Would recommend.

Rosie returns to her life at Yale, which consists of her wealthy friends and her participation on the equestrian team, after a stint in Argentina working on a ranch. When she finally gets to her off-campus apartment, she finds that a new occupant moved into her room. Who is Annelise, and will she fit in with the group that Rosie tries so hard to keep up with even though she was brought up in a middle-class lifestyle with her two vet parents in somewhat rural Illinois?

Time will tell, and so may the tarot cards that Annelise uses to do readings for herself and the roommates in The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. Once a tragedy occurs among the friends, graduation puts them all on separate paths, one of which includes Rosie finding a prestigious job at a hedge fund in New York City. That's when she finds out who Annelise really is and comes to terms with her past life at Yale.

I really liked this book and enjoyed how the story slowly plays out. The main character was likeable, nuanced, and you felt empathy for her although she wasn't a sad sack. The other characters, including Cressida, Rosie's best friend who's incredibly wealthy, and Annelise who is mysterious, charming, and the best equestrian on the team, stood out. Some of the more incidental characters like the other two roommates seemed interchangeable, and I had trouble identifying them at times.

Every chapter starts out with a reading from Annelise of one of the tarot cards, and I liked that aspect of the book. It was distinct, and the chapter usually reflected some aspect of the reading. I thought that was a clever touch. It was interesting enough to me to look up all the cards while I read the book.

The book splits into two separate timeframes--one at Yale, one when Rosie goes to New York. Both periods of time were distinct and compelling. I could relate to Rosie and her dilemmas and the situations she faced. It would be hard for me to put them into words because I'd be giving away plot points, but she must figure out the kind of person she really wants to be. That's part of the story.

I wouldn't say this is a terribly suspenseful thriller but more of a drama. Also, if you've read the author's other books, you sense more doom on the horizon. While this book is in no way sunny and cheerful, I found the main character less threatening and threatened. She's a lot like you and me. I could relate to her way more and feel what she was feeling. I didn't find the book too inundated with information about horses and the equestrian life as some reviewers pointed out. I almost could say that this book was my favorite among her three novels.

I enjoyed the glimpse inside Yale and the horseback riding lifestyle. The characters were well developed and the fortune telling references made for a well woven and complex story. I throughly enjoyed this book. I would look forward to another book from this author.

I really enjoyed this! I loved the wealth and power dynamics at play, and the characters were both realistic and interesting enough to draw me in. I recommend for modern contemporary fiction fans!.

3.5 stars.

I don’t really know why Kapelke-Dale’s books keep getting labeled as mysteries or thrillers because they never really are. Consequently, I feel like her ratings get pulled way down below where they should be.

All of her books seem to revolve around toxic relationships, toxic families, or toxic communities. This one involved a group of friends, mostly wealthy apart from the narrator and a new friend who no one seems to know much about. The synopsis makes it sound like there’s a big mystery and catastrophes, and while those aspects are there, it feels like the message and themes were broader. The story really is more about wealth - the striving for it, the effects it can have on someone’s character, whether it’s worth striving for, questions about what is valuable enough to strive for. The pacing is incredibly slow and I don’t know that the plot is particularly original but I still really like Kapelke-Dale’s writing style so I stayed engaged.

The setting and college aged characters were on point here. I've never done tarot, but it makes me want to?? lol The writing was paced nicely and was a quick read for me. Had some shocking moments in between. I can definitely see this as being a book club pick.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This book started off a bit slow but as it went on it really picked up! I loved the idea of the fortune teller who actually profited off the business and watching it develop into something else and push the story was a lot of fun. Highly recommended!

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.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an arc of this book for my honest review!

Rating: 4 Stars

Rachel writes incredible and complicated relationships like no other, I really was impressed by this. The dark academia vibes were just pristine and the tarot cards?! Awesome. I need more from this author, I will be reading whatever else Rachel has or will have in the future.

Would recommend for fans of…
🔮 Complicated friendships
🔮 Horses (and all things equestrian)
🔮 Early 2000s settings

Rachel Kapelke-Dale always manages to write suspenseful stories that delve into complex relationships of all kinds and The Fortune Seller continues that hot streak, exploring Rosie McAllister’s relationships with the other women on her equestrian team. Characters are the center of the story and Kapelke-Dale does a great job of making sure that every character, no matter how minor they are. She also nails a lot of the details of the early/mid 2000s which adds a touch of nostalgia to the story.

The Fortune Seller puts major emphasis on both tarot reading and equestrian sports and Kapelke-Dale provides an extreme amount of detail on each subject. If you’re familiar with or interested in either of these things, the details are probably interesting, but if you’re less into those things, it might be a bit tedious.

Unfortunately, tedium is a theme throughout the book. The Fortune Seller is very much a slow burn, so if you’re a fan of more plot-driven stories, be prepared to wait for the action. The ending was also a bit of a miss for me and felt incongruous with all of the events that came before.

Overall, I’d recommend The Fortune Seller for anyone that enjoys character-driven suspense novels that focus on complicated relationships. The Fortune Seller is out now. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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!