The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Title: The Fortune Seller

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Expected publication date: February 13, 2024

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

When Rosie returns from time abroad to realize that a new girl has made a position in her friend group, she's a little uneasy. She doesn't know anything about Annelise. And now she has to share a room with her. What's even more strange is that the girls in her friend group don't know much about her either. She's a great equestrian. She fits right in on the team. But where did she come from? How does she afford Yale tuition and the lifestyle that comes with being friends with rich girls? Who is Annelise?

In a classic tale of class and ambition, Rosie has to figure out what everybody in her friend group is after, and which of them will stop at nothing to get it.

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I loved everything about this novel. The way that Kapelke-Dale engrosses readers in atmospheres and how well she develops relationships has never disappointed me, and it didn't let me down here. Just like in The Ballerinas and The Ingenue, I felt completely engrossed in the story unfolding in my mind.

I love the way that her writing captures complicated female relationships and I love the way the tension and pressure builds until it all boils over in a stunning climax. I loved the quiet ending. The way that through everything that happens, there is also space for moving on. How there has to be space for moving on, if you want to keep growing into the person that you are meant to be.

I think as long as Kapelke-Dale is writing anything, I'll be a fan of it. I would probably read her grocery list if it was all I could get my hands on, and as always, even though this novel isn't even published yet, I will be eagerly awaiting her next release. 

Waiting on Wednesday (16): Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For this week's Waiting on Wednesday I'm spotlighting Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Expected publication date: January 16, 2024

Goodreads synopsis

A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

From the author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things comes a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

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I am always on the look out for new thrillers so I'm very excited for this release and I'll be eagerly awaiting getting my hands on it when it releases in 2024. You can add it to your Goodreads TBR here!

A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers That Used Them by Neil Bradbury

Title: A Taste For Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them

Author: Neil Bradbury, phD

Expected publication date: February 1, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 304

Goodreads synopsis

A brilliant blend of science and crime, A TASTE FOR POISON reveals how eleven notorious poisons affect the body--through the murders in which they were used.

As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring—and popular—weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict?

In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes—some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved—are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function.

Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a riveting tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive—or don’t.

Quick thoughts

This book is extremely informative and very interesting. I don't delve into science-y non-fiction or the true crime genre that often but I'm glad I did with this one, as the author blends the genres together brilliantly and I was engrossed the whole way through. I think it's a great novel for those who are just looking to start dipping there toes into non-fiction/true crime, just as I am.

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Title: The Ballerinas

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Expected publication date:  December 7, 2020

Publishing company: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 302

*This is an adult novel and contains explicit scenes

Introduction

Told in dual timelines, The Ballerinas is a story about three girls-- ballerinas Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay--and the people they were as students in the fictional Paris Opera Ballet, and the women they have become, without even realizing they were becoming them.

"You start out as potential energy and then you fall."

"You start out as perfect and you become something else."

Cover

This cover is stunning. Every time I look at it I can't help but think about how beautiful it is.

Writing

I loved the writing. It flowed beautifully for me and I could see the scenes that the author was painting vividly in my head. It's been a long time since I felt like I could see a book and all its scenes play like a movie in my mind but from beginning to end, this one unfolded so easily in my mind like a film.

I also want to say that I did not see the plot twists coming, I only just barely realized what was going to happen in the end a few pages before it really happened, so I'd say that the twists thrown in to surprise the reader were very successful.

Dual Timeline

I think the dual timeline between the past and the present was executed perfectly. It was the perfect way to see a great deal of character development in all three of the ballerinas without having to trudge fully through all the events that shaped them, which I sometimes feel bogs down the flow of books. I think the author did a great job of knowing when to switch back to the past/present to keep the reader interested in both of the timelines all the time. Neither of the timelines ever ran dry or felt forced or boring to read. 

Characters

I loved all the characters so much. They were so fleshed out and developed and so deeply flawed in all the right ways. I couldn't get enough of them.

Conclusion

I loved this book so much. The writing, the characters, the plot, it was all phenomenal. It has been a long time since I've been as engrossed in a book as much as I was with this one, and I can confidentially say that this has been my favourite read of 2021. I haven't read any other works of this author but if they're anywhere near as enchanting as this, I'm ready to devour anything that she's ever written.

As the official Goodreads synopsis says, fans Dare Me, Black Swan, and Luckiest Girl Alive will most likely enjoy this book. I also think that if you enjoyed Tiny Pretty Things, this could be the book for you.

Music Monday (2): The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Welcome to my not-so-weekly weekly feature Music Monday, where I make a short list of music I think fits the book I'm currently reading. This feature is far from weekly because I can't always picture music that would compliment the book that I'm currently reading. However, this week I want to spotlight The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale for a couple of reasons, the first being that I am totally obsessed with this book and I wouldn't dream of missing a chance to post about it, and the second being that the author mentions quite a few songs throughout this book, usually when Delphine, the protagonist is in the process of choreographing. I thought that it would be nice to make a list of a few of the songs that she mentions in the book so that the reader can immerse themselves farther in the story, by way of knowing the songs that are mentioned.

So, without further ado, here is a (very brief) list of some of the songs mentioned in The Ballerinas, for your convenience.

Tristan und Isolde - Richard Wagner. In the book, the part being used isn't mentioned, only that it its an excerpt of Tristan und Isolde, so I chose the prelude to link here.

   

La Boheme - Puccini. This, like the above is mentioned as Delphine is choreographing Tsarina.

These next few are from later in the novel, when Delphine is mapping out her Janis Joplin inspired piece, so the next few are all by - you guessed it - Janis Joplin.

Mercedes Benz

Cry Baby

Piece of my Heart

Little Girl Blue

Maybe

And that's it for this week's Music Monday! Look out for the Ballerinas release on December 7, 2021 and when you do come back and visit this post so you can listen to the music while you read!

Teaser Tuesday (17): The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This week my teasers are coming from The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale.

"English words echoed through my head as I raced down the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois: Lindsay, I'm about to give you everything you ever wanted."

"From afar, the blonde and brunette sitting in the booth sent a shock of adrenaline to my heart. Thirteen years since we’d seen each other;"

Page 24.

Waiting on Wednesday (7): The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For my 7th Waiting on Wednesday, I want to Spotlight The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale 

Expected publication date: December 7, 2021

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Synopsis

Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she's been away...and some secrets can't stay buried forever.

Moving between the trio's adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won't see coming, with magnetic characters you won't soon forget.

Why I Can't Wait

The first sentence of the synopsis from Goodreads compares it to Dare Me and Black Swan, and I am a huge fan of both of those, so immediately after reading that, I was intrigued. This book is also classified as adult general fiction, which is different than my usual realm of YA but it's always good to expand your horizons, and I am looking forward to doing just that with this book once it is released