First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So. Dark comedy/humor/fiction/satire is obviously a category all its own, and not everyone will enjoy it. There’s a little bit of spice here, but it’s mostly just all dark. If that’s not your thing…. turn back now.

The characters are unlikable. That’s the point. There is a twist, but the ending is what you’d expect for a dark satire. The writing is good, the book is a quick read, and for a debut I was pleasantly surprised.

Did I love it? No. But I’m a mood reader and I think I needed some straight smut or a HEA mindless read after my last book. That’s on me. I will say, read the non-spoiler reviews on this one before starting it because it is decent for its genre, and the author doesn’t deserve a dropped score because you didn’t know what you were signing up for.

DNF ----I received an advanced readers copy. I am NOT an influencer by any means, LOL! as you can tell by this review!

As I forced myself to keep reading this book so I could write a decent review, I finally got to the point that I couldn't take anymore. I made it to 50%. The characters, ALL of them, are lacking. Most of them are downright hateful. The story, what there is, is lacking, and perhaps there is a decent (not happy) outcome to this tale, but with the hints I've already picked up, I doubt there will be.

Perhaps I'm too unintelligent to understand this book. But no- no, I don't think that is it at all. It is just a very bad book. There is no dark humor; nope, not for me—just a pathetic look at a pathetic woman's pathetic life.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and NetGalley

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

BOOKWORM is essentially about a woman, Victoria, who is in a loveless marriage and uses reading and her imagination as a coping mechanism. Self-described as fairly directionless and nonconforming to her parents' ideals, Victoria finds she is restless and unsettled in her marriage of convenience. Her husband Eric is everything her parents want her to be: driven, a lawyer, rich, and dedicated. But Eric is also everything Victoria finds she dislikes: routine, bland, unadventurous, and unimaginative. When she's not at her part-time job, Victoria plays 1950s housewife for Eric. She cooks his meals and even follows his routine to ensure he remains calm and unruffled.

Victoria has a routine of her own to allow herself a little variety in her daily life. She often stops at her favorite cafe to read a book and make up stories in her head about people she observes. One day she spies in the cafe a man she becomes convinced is her soulmate. This sudden invigoration into her routine leads to a series of imaginative ways Eric might disappear from her life. And none of them are the divorce route. She begins to act slightly differently around Eric and their parents. This leads Eric to enforce a two week book-reading ban because he fears the dark books she reads are affecting her mood. (Oh no he did not just suggest that!)

Although the cover art suggests BOOKWORM might be a lighter read, it's actually a dark comedy. None of the characters are all that likeable, and the author writes them as such on purpose. It's certainly easier to feel more sympathetic toward Victoria than Eric. But in the end Victoria isn't all that better than the book characters she complains about who do nothing to help themselves. It reminded me a bit of NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney, but more entertaining. So I couldn't be as upset that there wasn't the amount of character growth I prefer to see. What I found myself raising my eyebrow at more were the author's several references to other cultures/cultural items, which I didn't think were necessary to make the point. (For example, "...a tall, pimply girl whose family was Jehovah's Witness" and "dark mole on her sternum, prominent as a bindi dot.")

It's also a small commentary on the outdated notion that women who read are dangerous and prone to hysteria. Hence the short reading ban Eric imposes on Victoria. Instead it just gives Victoria more time to imagine Eric's untimely demise, using literature as inspiration. I wasn't knowledgeable of most of the books/authors Victoria mentions, though, so whatever importance they were supposed to impart on her narrative was lost on me.

Whether the author intended it, BOOKWORM is also a commentary of the pressure of ideals foisted by parents and friends. Victoria's parents and her sole friend constantly tell her how lucky she is to have her life. But what's one person's treasure might be another's mental prison. In the end, everyone's actions are despicable on some level. Be careful what you wish as it might be more than you could imagine.

While BOOKWORM is a quick read, this isn't a light romantic comedy. Instead, it's for those looking for a comedy noir, and bonus points if you know Victoria's literature references.

I’ve tried, but I just can’t get into this one. I loved the premise, but it’s not working for me. Victoria is an unlikeable character, but usually the author helps you connect with unlikeable characters. I can’t find it. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. As soon as I saw the title I hit request on this one. How could a book lover not!? This was pretty strong for Yeatman's debut novel
Her writing and premise hooked me in right away. However, I dont really care for alt universe timelines and this one didnt change my mind on that but that is no fault of the author and I still enjoyed it!

It is unfortunate that someone who seems to be a skilled writer, Robin Yeatman, cannot find a likable character or a more understandable way to tell what could have been a good story. Her novel, Bookworm, is extremely confusing. The beginning is slow and includes a number of pointless details. A supernatural element appears sporadically with no connection to the story, and there is no actual build up to the last two chapters, where Yeatman attempts a climax and follow-up.
In the end, I do not care about the dead person, his killer, or anyone else. They are all horrible people who should not have their story told and I was glad when the book was over.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: February 14, 2023
Victoria has a dead-end job, judgmental and punitive parents, overbearing in-laws and an obsessive, critical husband. She finds solace only in her books, her only escape through reading and imagination. When she sees Luke in a coffee shop one afternoon, perusing the same novel she is reading, she feels an instant connection and knows that Luke is the one for her. Even though she has never spoken to him in person. Even though she is already married. Victoria sets out on a crash course of plotting, using examples from her beloved books, in order to obtain everything she wants.
Canadian Robin Yeatman’s debut novel, “Bookworm” is delightfully dark, subversive and comically funny. Set in Montreal, Yeatman proudly displays her citizenship and the love of her former city through her wintry settings and descriptive architecture that make up Victoria’s hometown.
Victoria’s talents and creative imaginings are funny and disturbing all at once, and her cast of supporting characters had me all over the emotional map. More than once, I was yelling at Victoria for her choice of deadbeat husband in Eric (he made her give up READING! Eric, meet the door, and don’t let it hit you on the way out). The next second, I was laughing at her best friend’s sexual escapades. “Bookworm” never gives up, and is pure enjoyment throughout.
The story is narrated by Victoria, in third person, who is full of wit and sarcasm, desperation seeping through her veins, looking for a way to escape her dead-end life. But is it really a dead-end life? When she gets what she wants (or so she thinks) is it really all that it’s cracked up to be? The ending of “Bookworm” was satisfying and had me rolling my eyes and laughing all at the same time.
“Bookworm” is a creative novel, a little bit romance combined with just the right amount of dark humour. Add to that Victoria’s deep love of books and her profound relationship with reading and the story has everything I want (and more)! Yeatman has talent (along with Canadian blood!), and I was impressed by her debut novel. To think that she is just getting started? More, please!

Book Review⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bookworm
Robin Yeatman
Fiction
288 pages

Short Synopsis

Bookworm is the story of Victoria’s unhappy life, her crazy thoughts, her overbearing husband, her attraction to another man, a bad friend, and how books often saved her day.

My Thoughts

Although Bookworm is the title, this story veers far from reading. Victoria is the main character. She is unhappy, and her husband irritates her beyond belief, but she continues to put on an act for him. He is a weiny, but she is a hard character to like. Victoria is not a good person, but seeing what was floating around in her head was fascinating. I found myself shouting at her in my head because of her stupidity though!

Victoria would venture out while asleep and visit a man she was attracted to. It seemed as though her body stayed in her bed, and she flew to his home and interacted with the sleeping man. I never really figured out what the heck was going on with this. It came across as really happening, but when I read the blurb afterward, it said Victoria fantasized about this. That would make more sense, as I thought this part of the story was odd. She knew details about his home before going there though, so who knows.

I said Bookworm veers far from reading, but it brings it to the forefront throughout the story. Books are what keep Victoria sane if she can be considered sane. Several books are mentioned by name, which I like. It connects the book to my world.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

I enjoyed this book and Victoria. She grew on me slowly as the story progressed and I got to see the world and way of life from her perspective. Thank you Jarper Perennial for the gifted galley!

I just could not get in to this book. It will appeal to specific people who like dark comedy. It could be that I just read this at the wrong time. I would be interested in coming back to it.

Okay first off every person in this book is terrible.

Victoria, our main antihero, is married to Eric. Their Union was mostly arranged by their parents. However both find each other detestable and are unhappy and controlling with each other.

On a regular basis Victoria day dreams in vivid detail of Eric’s untimely death and the freedom that would bring.

Then she meets Him, Luke, at her regular cafe. Luke is a furniture designer and Victoria fancies herself in love after first glance.

She begins to day dream about Luke and then starts a real affair. But Eric has his own thing going on the the side, so don’t feel too bad.

Even the parents and besties are terrible. Don’t expect to like anyone.

With little effort, Victoria arranges for things to wrap up nicely to her benefit.

The one piece I’m not clear on are Victoria’s seemingly psychic powers. She leaves her body to travel to real places multiple times throughout the story and seems to be able to read someone’s life story at a glance. I can’t really tell if this is all a piece of her imagination or legit.

I knew I had to read this book when I saw the cover. Being an avid reader, this title and cover caught my eye and I just had to get it. Needless to say, I was super excited when I got access to an advanced copy for an honest review. I was pleasantly surprised by "Bookworm". I enjoyed how the main character alternated between her real life and fantasy life. It kept me guessing in a good way. I enjoyed the dark humor and would definitely recommend.

Loved the ending of this book! I thought the premise really played into the dark humor of the book and took a minute for me to get into but I loved it in the end. I really didn't see the twist at the end but loved how things were wrapped up. Also the love of books that the main character had was totally relatable.

I tried. This book was pretty bad. I ended up disliking the main character, Victoria and could not get into it. I know this was a black comedy, but I just went, okay this is not my cup of tea. At all. I thought at times she had to be a psychopath.

"Bookworm" follows Victoria, who we quickly find out is not happily married to her husband Eric. She goes to her favorite café and likes to imagine who people really are instead of what they present to the rest of the world. When she goes to the cafe though, she ends up seeing a man who is reading the same novel she is, which she then decides mean it's fate and they are supposed to be together. Aside: I am really happy when I saw that one guy reading "The Da Vinci Code" when I was in my 20s and I was too, I did not engage with him. Anyway, the book just follows Victoria as she imagines the many ways she can get to be with café book man. 

Look this book was only 280 something pages and I could not get through it. It just dragged. I was not rooting for Victoria. Girl, get a damn divorce.

And there's a whole plot that Victoria floats away at night (no I am not explaining it, read the book if you want to know) and I just couldn't get into it. I do think that Victoria, like many of us daydreams about things. And I thought it was kind of interesting because the tv show "Kevin Can F**k Himself" played with some of these types of things (the good wife who realizes what a POS her husband is and that very few seemed tuned into). She just reads to me like a reverse Walter Mitty character. 

No idea what happens in the end and too many books that I am reading to go back and find out.

This was a way weirder book than I thought it would be. Not in a bad way, but definitely a detour from the coming of age contemporary woman's fiction I was expecting.

This one had such a promising name, of course I’m intrigued by anything to do with books. But I’m at 30%, and not sure of where this is going, and don’t think that I care. Victoria is married to Eric, seems to be a pretty loveless match. She spots a man in a coffee shop and because he is reading the same book she is (even though she doesn’t like the book!) decides that he is her soulmate. Sorry to say this is a DNF for me.

Thank you, NetGalley for the arch!!

Unfortunately, this book fell flat to me. I could not get into it but I forced myself to get through it. Usually, I love unlikeable characters as they add depth to the stories, but these characters really fell flat to me and had no dimension to them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ”Bookworm” in exchange for my honest opinion. On a personal note, I found it funny that my 100th book of the year was called Bookworm. I had trouble figuring out the main character, Victoria, in this book. It was clear she was unhappy and at first I figured her daydreams about her husband having an untimely death were just that, but was shocked that she started to act on them in plain sight. I wish there had been more build up to why she was this way so that I could cheer or root against her, but I just ended up being indifferent. The characters didn’t really have any redeeming qualities and the plot seemed all over the place at times. I think this book will be well liked by many, but fell a little short for me.

Don't be fooled by the title, cover or blurb on the front - this is not a fun and light rom com. The characters are all unlikable and unhappy. I did not sympathize with Victoria - she came across as whiny and unwilling to work to change her life. Her out of body experiences were very odd and just made her harder to relate to. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Victoria is a bookworm whose vivid imagination is fed through the books she reads. Married to a dull, demanding husband and ruled by him and her parents, she looks for ways to escape. When she spots the man of her dreams her imagination starts to dream of ways to be with him after getting her husband out of the way. Will this stay in her imagination or is she going to take steps to make it happen? This is a twisty tale that left me wondering just how many women dream about doing in their husbands....