Going to be honest, I felt stressed reading some of this, but it’s a compliment - such great writing. As a big reader, this book called to me! I came for the bookish stuff, but didn’t expect it to be such a large turner!

I really enjoyed "A Novel Obsession". I found the writing very detailed and could actually feel the awkwardness of many situations (e.g. Seeing the ex girlfriend at the bar) I really enjoyed how in depth this went into Naomi's thoughts and feelings.....and obsessions. It reminds me of many of the feelings I myself experienced when I was a 20 year old something dating. The jealousy, the comparisons, etc. I really found the first 3/4 of the book to be addictive! I did feel the ending was a bit quick and not developed enough to my liking! I would have liked more, but that is probably what the author was going for. Continuing that discomfort as we have witnessed many times in the book, specifically started by Naomi herself (which she just seemed to also be addicted to the discomfort!) I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself not being able to wait to pick it up and read! Fast paced and delicious!

Reviewed on "The Storygraph" https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/55920b81-4fd1-438d-9039-76cbb0cf928d?redirect=true

This was just a FUN book! I liked everything about it, even though a lot of this book isn't my normal cup of tea. But when you get a book about books I'm usually in, and A Novel Obsession was no exception. Put this in your beach bag this summer!

I zipped through this one because I was dying to know what would become of Naomi, the insecure, privileged young woman who leads this story. You see, Naomi’s first boyfriend is a Welsh man named Caleb who has an ex named Rosemary. This in and of itself is no big deal, most people have a dating history and Caleb is fairly forthcoming about his past.

The crux of the novel comes to light as Naomi, an aspiring writer, because toxically obsessed with Rosemary, to the point of light stalking and inserting herself in this poor woman’s life.

While I had some predictions while reading, and some of them panned out, I couldn’t put this down. Not because I worried Naomi would get caught, or that Caleb would find out and dump her, or somehow Rosemary would get hurt. No, I kept reading because it was delicious to wonder if Naomi would get what was coming to her.

Naomi rationalizes her stalking and lying under the guise of using it as material for her “book”, but my take is that she is so dangerously self-absorbed with critically low self esteem, that she is constantly trying to prove that she is better than Caleb’s ex while simultaneously wanting to win her over. It’s really sad but I couldn’t look away.

While very readable, Naomi doesn’t give us much to like about her, and the tertiary characters are a little one dimensional. There are layers upon layers of meta content in here re: books about stalking, books about books about stalking, et cetera, which could’ve been cheeky and clever, but unfortunately Barasch barely scratches the surface.

That said, I’ll be interested to see what she writes next as there’s a lot of potential in her subject matter.

I requested this book for the cover. It is stunning and pink and gorgeous. From the description, I got some serious YOU vibes as well as the placement in the literary world. I loved The Other Black Girl, YOU, The Plot. I love that the protagonists are so likable when they shouldn't be and it takes a good writer to achieve this.

A Novel Obsession is essentially the story of Naomi Ackerman, a twenty-something New York bookseller by day, aspiring writer by night. She's just entered into a new relationship with Welsh mathematician Caleb, and things are going well until Caleb gets an email from his ex, Rosemary. Naomi had assumed Rosemary was safely back in Europe and learns that she's actually right there in NYC. . Enter: Caleb's ex-girlfriend, After some harmless internet digging fueled by a heady mixture of innocent curiosity and insecurity, Naomi discovers that Rosemary is also in the literary world, and that they also kind of look alike. What starts as a quest for inspiration and information turns into a fabricated friendship with Rosemary that crosses the thin line between curious and creepy. Naomi has found her muse, and she'll go to any lengths to get the story she needs. As psycho as this is, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Naomi. This was her first relationship and it was obvious she had no clue how to control these feelings or set or respect boundaries. Just like with Joe Goldberg, I found Naomi's obsession fascinating, yet also hoped she would begin to self-actualize and stop being such a creep! Regardless, I devoured this book and can't wait to read more from the author!

REVIEW:

“Who wants to read about bland, unconflicted people who simply love each other?”

A novel about an aspiring novelist writing a novel about her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend? Obsessed! This book reminded me in some ways of You by Caroline Kepnes, so if you are a fan of Joe Goldberg, then you’ll love this book.

Naomi is a twenty-something writer who works during the day as a bookseller in New York City. Insecure but smart and funny, she cannot believe that her new boyfriend Caleb is actually interested in her. Her life is devoted to her craft, and her grandmother even provided her with a brownstone in Brooklyn as a writing studio. Nothing is off limits for her writing.

I love books about writing and publishing so I knew I would love this book from the first page. Naomi has always wanted to be a writer, and had her writing published at a young age. She knows how competitive publishing is and takes obsessive notes about almost all of her real-life encounters.

Her new boyfriend Caleb is perfect. He’s Welsh, he’s smart and kind and funny, and Naomi can actually envision a normal, drama-free relationship with him. But when she learns his ex-girlfriend Rosemary also lives in New York and actually works in publishing, Naomi hatches a scheme to meet her in real-life. It becomes clear that Naomi’s stalking is not going to end well, but she feels compelled to continue seeing Rosemary.

Her pretend life begins to collide with her real life and you know it will just be a matter of time until Caleb uncovers what she is doing. But has he really broken off all contact with Rosemary like he first claimed to Naomi?

“The kind of writer I aspire to be is artistically ruthless, always putting the page first. I feel split in two by my own need, sometimes, to overlook his humanity, to strip him for parts and reassemble him into whoever will best serve the scene, ignoring the ways in which he is real and lovable and good.”

Talk about an unreliable narrator! Naomi is a flawed protagonist but I still was rooting for her and felt sympathetic towards her. This is one of the those books that you cannot stop reading once you start. ‘A Novel Obsession’ ticked all the boxes for me: a contemporary story set in New York City in the world of publishing and writers with a darkly funny undercurrent. If this is a Caitlin Barasch’s debut novel, I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

“Only when I reveal my worst self, and am forgiven for it, will I be certain I am loved.”

(Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

This was bizarre and unsettling and beyond creepy and I LOVED it.

A Novel Obsession chronicles a writer’s increasing fascination with the life of her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. Somehow this manifests as both more justifiable and at the same time much creepier than it should be, which is the real strength of this mind you-know-what of a book.

We’ve all done a little bit of light Google stalking in our lives. Curiosity about an ex, or the ex of a current partner, or even an old friend is all pretty normal. But what happens when that curiosity becomes an obsession? When a seemingly harmless exploration of the past begins to inform the present and the future?

The heroine (or anti-heroine, as it were) seems so normal, so relatable at first, but she descends into a murky gray area of behavior that eventually morphs into what most of us would consider outright stalking and, well, obsessive madness.

The slow burn transformation of Naomi from a woman displaying the typical insecurities that often come with a new relationship into the kind of person whose behavior has you asking yourself “wow, can she go to jail for that?” is part of what makes this such an exceptional read. It’s an unsettling examination of when completely normal behavior spirals into something that no one—aside from the one caught in the throes of it—would condone.

We all think we would know when to stop. And most of us probably would. But where is the line? When did Naomi’s stalking of Rosemary turn from understandable to in poor taste and eventually into near criminal?

It’s a terrific and eerie look at the slow descent a mind can take, and how difficult it is to realize when we become the villain of our own story.

𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 by debut author Caitlin Barasch is a twisty sort of story within a story. In it we meet Naomi who is desperate to write her first novel, but just hasn’t found the right story to tell. Naomi believes the best stories come out of real life experiences, and she’s had moderate success with a couple short stories, but for that big one, she’s got nothing. That all begins to change when Naomi finds out her Welsh boyfriend, Caleb, has an ex and they’re all living just subway stops away from each other in NYC.⁣
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Naomi is insecure and jealous, yet willing to be bold. She becomes obsessed, not only with Rosemary, but with the idea of stalking Rosemary as a premise for her elusive novel. And so the story unfolds with Naomi going further and further down a rabbit hole that twists and turns in delightfully crazy ways. For the most part, I was fascinated with Naomi and just how far she was willing to take things while also never quite feeling like she (or I) really knew what was truly going on. In that way I liked this debut very much. I did think it moved a little slowly at times, but each time my attention started to wane, something came along to grab me. I’ll definitely be looking for more from Barasch.

Thank you to Dutton Books for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC of A Novel Obsession.

Naomi is a young writer who centers what she experiences in her writing. She is in a new relationship when she develops an intense interest in her boyfriend’s ex. What unravels is her own grasp on reality and opportunities for her future.

I don’t know quite how else to describe this book and Naomi’s character development except as unhinged. I oscillated between feeling bad for Naomi’s casualties and for her own well being. The story was well written and Naomi’s narcissism was captured so well. I had an eerie sense of dread almost immediately. While the dread was deserved the ending felt a little anticlimactic. This was suspenseful and enjoyable.

Interesting story about a woman who is a writer and becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. Thriller written in a literary fiction style. Very New York City artsy story.

Wow, what a book! I was absolutely hooked from the first line of "A Novel Obsession," and I found myself feverishly reading as many pages as I could whenever I'd pick this book back up again for my morning reading time. Caitlin Barasch is such a talented writer. Her characters truly feel alive on the page—you feel as though you know each of them, and you relate to them in such profoundly human, natural, common ways. I love how Barasch told this story. Sometimes you're horrified by the characters, sometimes you're horrified by what's happening to the characters, and sometimes you're sitting somewhere between these two feelings.

Everyone in this story is messy, but their messiness isn't portrayed in a negative way, or as something that's seemingly detrimental. Barasch's characters reflect the depth and breadth of humanity, which is one of many reasons why this book was so compulsively readable. I loved it, and I cannot recommend it enough.

I think everyone in this book needs some serious counseling.

From the get go, this story started off with a cringe worthy bang. Naomi seems insecure about her boyfriend, especially when she finds out his ex-girlfriend lives in New York. Mistake after mistake is made, and I felt super bad for Naomi as she tries to navigate her stalker tendencies, but when she starts digging into her relationship with her boyfriend, I started to root for the other guy.

Toward the end, it was like watching a crime from the bad guys point of view. Naomi thinks she is doing right because she desperately wants to finish writing her book, but deep down inside we all know she is one messed up person.

This was a fun read, although my finger nails wont agree since I chewed them all off with anxiety. Four stars!

A Novel Obsession was so emotional for me. Not weeping and laughing, but the abject horror of someone stalking another person, and then ingratiating themselves into the life of the one she stalked. I know this book will be polarizing because of the content, but despite that, it’s an excellently written book. I don’t normally sit on the edge of my seat, but this book had me devouring it.

Throughout the book, I was shocked and cringed at the choices Naomi was making. Did she want to get caught? She was so bold, so naive in some ways, and brash in others. She has a good thing going with Caleb, her first real relationship. But because it’s her first real relationship, she has no clue about boundaries, apparently.

Becoming obsessed with an ex is something that could be easy to do. My husband had an ex-wife but I didn’t obsess about her. He, being older than me, had a past involving several women. Me, just out of high school, had almost no relationship experience. But even I knew you didn’t stalk an ex! What was Naomi thinking? The fact that she’s lying to her best friend and her beloved Grandmother about her actions should give her pause, but it doesn’t!

Even more twisted, other than becoming friends with Caleb’s ex, is the fact that she’s gathering every bit of personal information she can possibly find about Rosemary, the ex, so she can write a novel about her experiences. She keeps notes in her phone and in a notebook she carries with her everywhere, crafting her story. She even has the nerve to ask Rosemary, who is a book editor, to read and review her work, so she writes another story with similar themes to see how she reacts.

There are a few ways this book could end up, yet I wasn’t surprised by the ending. In fact, I was relieved for all involved. This was a roller coaster ride I enjoyed, but was glad it was over in the end. Excellent twisty book!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Dutton Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A big thank you to Netgalley for granting me an advanced copy of "A Novel Obsession" by Caitlin Barasch in exchange for an honest review!

Bookseller and writer Naomi has been searching for the one great story of her life, and she may have found in Caleb – a nice Welsh guy who understands her quirks and needs in a way no partner before had. However, when Naomi learns that Caleb’s ex, Rosemary, lives in the same city as her and works in the literary industry like she does, Naomi searches for just how their stories intertwine – after all, if Rosemary seems like a better version of Naomi, they must have something in common beyond Caleb...right?

Caitlin Barasch’s debut novel will hook you right in as Naomi stalks Rosemary throughout New York and integrates herself in the narrative. While I would not go as far as to classify this as a thriller, the suspense that Barasch infuses in Naomi’s interactions with literally everyone in this novel will have you turning the pages frantically and hoping that she doesn’t - or maybe does - get caught. For a read that is reminiscent of A Simple Favor, Verity, or The Arc, place your request for Caitlin Barasch’s A Novel Obsession.

I quickly skimmed the synopsis of Caitlin Barasch’s debut, A Novel Obsession and immediately knew that it was going to juicy! “An aspiring novelist finds herself stalking—and writing about—her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.” Umm, yes please. I grabbed some chocolate, popcorn, wine, and was ready for some entertainment. Naomi Ackerman is a character that you won’t forget, friends. Oh, heck no. She’s very memorable. A lot of her actions made me cringe, cover my eyes, and nearly whip my kindle across the room. I don’t know how many times I shook my head at her, and whispered, “Heck no, Naomi! Don’t do it. Please just stop right there!” Even though she made one horrible decision after another, I still had a soft spot for her. Barasch does a tremendous job explaining her backstory, and gives the reader a phenomenal character study that gets down to the really gritty parts of Naomi’s core. We learn about her past relationships with men, and why she feels that she’s unworthy of real love. Oh, and just an FYI - the sex scenes are pretty bold, and the author leaves the bedroom door WAY open. I’d even say that things get a little kinky at times. I’ll leave it at that! Ha! This debut is smart, unique, entertaining, and extremely well-written. It’s also loaded with fun bookish content. I’m a big fan of Caitlin Barasch’s writing style, and will definitely read whatever she comes up with next. I devoured this book in just a few sittings. It’s that good. 4.5/5 stars for A Novel Obsession!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise. This is a great read for anyone who takes social media too far and fails to connect with other people in person.

A Novel Obsession, a new release and debut novel, has an interesting premise of a writer who becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend and uses her as material for her attempt to write a debut novel.

I really liked the way the author includes the main character’s use of social media as a tool for stalking and also addresses the inauthentic images people create to present to others online. Another strength is the main character’s grandmother and reflections on aging.

The novel’s protagonist is a writer writing about writing. While some moments of the novel were very profound, reflective, and smart, the novel lacked enough plot to sustain my interest. I became really bored in the middle of the novel. Repetition and a growing frustration with the protagonist’s actions, along with a focus on introspection and the writing process led to a loss of interest in the story.

All that said, I still admire the author’s writing style and found the dialogue and inner dialogue to be very realistic, and I would try her future novels.

Trigger warnings include sexual assault and infertility

This review is also posted on FB and IG @beginandendwithbooks and Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks

I loved everything about this book! I love crazy women characters that actually act on their craziness. Naomi is a very refreshing character to live inside their brain for the length of the novel. I never expected the ending and I'm kinda obsessed with it.... was actually very taken aback by it. Amazing way to debut novel as a writer! I can't wait to see what else she comes up with.

"The book and my life, the book of my life and the life of my book, is crude and spiked and spinning out of control..."

I couldn't believe my luck when I snagged an early copy of A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch. I've been hearing about this book on my favorite bookish podcasts for months. A novel about an aspiring writer writing a novel based on her own life experiences, both organic and manufactured- I'm hooked! From the first sentence Barasch begins weaving a tale that will keep you rapt with every compelling plot development.

Naomi is an aspiring writer who is in a new romantic relationship with Caleb. When Naomi discovers that Caleb's ex-girlfriend Rosemary is an editor for a publishing company and that she and Rosemary resemble one another she begins a bit of research for a book idea. Her research (read stalking) quickly spirals into obsession and we are along for the inevitable train wreck totally off the rails. Naomi fixates on Rosemary and also on Rosemary's previous relationship with Caleb. Things get progressively more cringeworthy the more Naomi tries to justify her behavior to herself. This book is compelling fiction and an interesting psychological study as well.

Read this book if you are intrigued by:
insights into the mind of a writer
a slice of the publishing and bookselling worlds
complex relationship dynamics

I will be ruminating on this book for a while and can't wait to discuss with others. A Novel Obsession will make a terrific book club selection. The book is out now so be sure to add to your TBR and get your copy today from your favorite bookseller. Many thanks to Dutton Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this one is PERFECT. A stalker who is writing a novel about her current boyfriend's ex who also happens to work in publishing and writing? It was perfectly creepy, especially because Naomi was a relatively unlikable narrator. I wanted to punch her a number of times or shake her shoulders and tell her to get over it, but she just kept at it.

I just REALLY wanted more from the ending. It wrapped up SO fast and I got to the last page and said "What?" in like...not a good way. I was disappointed and felt like there were so many better ways to wrap it up. That said, the journey was enjoyable and I think this would make an awesome movie.