I really wanted to like this book. I even pushed myself to get further than 50% of the way through hoping it would change my mind, unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. I wasn't able to get sucked into the story and it felt kind of repetitive. I also didn't feel any connection to the characters, they fell a little flat to me. The concept did seem interesting, but this book just wasn't for me.

Described as a dark comedy, the reader can never be certain until the end of the novel if the protagonist Victoria is imagining everything or just parts of it in her head. She is living a sterile life with her husband and the only pleasure Victoria has is reading. The reading annoys him because she choses not to interact with him. In Victoria's mind, she has seen the man she should be with because he comes into the coffee shop carrying the same book she is currently struggling to read because it is depressing. To say more would indicate that it is worth trying to get through this novel.

This is a somewhat dark...comedy? It feels weird to use that word. I originally gave it two stars but the more I let the story simmer, the more it grew on me a little.

Super Short Summary: A woman who is unhappily married to a cold, controlling man feels a spark of connection with a random man she spots in a coffeehouse. What follows is her pursuit of meeting the man and, somehow, getting rid of her husband - a variety of ways are cooked up in her head.

The two star rating came at first because I really didn't care for the main character - I found her wishy-washy and self-absorbed. However, the more I thought about it, I had to add on another star to give the author credit for creativity and really great writing.

The book wasn't for me, but it was NOT a bad book. It's worth giving it a shot to see if it's more your "cup of tea".

Victoria is a bookworm and frustrated with her life. Her husband has lost his appeal and now he wants her to take a break from reading! Victoria’s job as a spa girl doesn’t inspire her anymore. The only bright spot is when she spots a man at a coffee shop and becomes convinced that he’s the ONE for her.

Filled with references from books she has read or is currently reading, Victoria sets out to navigate her way into the handsome stranger’s life. She has a vivid imagination and very dark thoughts about her husband and the tragic accidents that could happen to him. There are also some somewhat strange wanderings that she does at night.

This one is touted as wickedly funny, but humor is subjective and this one just wasn’t for me. I know some other reviewers have loved it, so be sure to check it out if this sounds like your cup of tea.

#Bookworm #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

FRUSTRATION

Victoria is unhappily married to Eric, bored with the mundane tasks of domestic life like preparing dinner every night, and having sex with her husband twice a week. Set up by their parents it seemed more a marriage of convenience.

IMAGINATION

When she isn’t reading, she spends her time imagining the lives of those around her, and fantasizes about the ways her husband could die, so she could be free to live a different life-One without a husband who suggests that she might be happier if she gave up reading, and tried living in the real world.

TEMPTATION

When she sees an attractive man reading the SAME book as her, in her favorite coffee house, “Cafe Au Lait”
she becomes convinced he is her soulmate. She hopes to bump into him again over Lattes, or to master the art of levitation so she can visit him at night….

CULMINATION

Can she wish this relationship into existence and find her “happily ever after”?

The synopsis describes this story as a wickedly funny, black comedy….but humor is so subjective, and I didn’t laugh a single time-I just found it all to be a little bit strange…..

It’s a fun premise (with the exception of the levitation) and has some amusing pop culture references to books, movies and even lipstick 💄 colors, so I do think it will find its niche audience-but it just missed the mark for me. Be sure to also read the 5 star reviews to determine if it might be a better fit for you!

A buddy read with DeAnn. Did she enjoy it more? Be sure to check out her thoughts for additional insight!

AVAILABLE February 14, 2023.

Thank You to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I couldn't characterize this book if you gave me all the Jelly Belly jelly beans in the world, and I love jelly beans!!! It definitely has dark humor in it, which I appreciate. I mean, who amongst us hasn't thought of putting a pillow over their husband's head? Just me??? Well, then forget I said anything in case the police come asking!!! Our heroine is definitely unhappy in her marriage, and seemingly rightly so. Her husband thinks she reads to much!!! What the heck????? Throughout the book, she must have considered his death at least a dozen times - sometimes as a participant in said demise and other times just a recipient of the happy accident. However, one should always remember the grass may be greener on the other side, but that grass still needs to be mowed. She meets a stranger in a coffee shop and is convinced he is her soul mate and that just adds to her fantasies about being done with her current marriage and moving on to the next great thing. Just a very oddball little story.

This story is about a woman who felt trapped and stuck in a relationship, well relationships really, where she was expected to be someone else- and she hated it. That part of the story was compelling. The idea of Victoria dissociating in any way she could weather it be through her imagination or her books. While she was not exactly the most likable or good main character, Victoria was interesting and riveting and I could understand why she did what she did- even if I didn’t agree.

There were a few things about this book that were not exactly for me and definitely overshadowed other aspects of the book. The first was how much of the beginning of the book was just saying bad things about a book which was so obvious A Little Life, but was never explicitly stated. I don’t think i’ve ever read a book that spends so much time saying bad things about another book. Additionally, I felt the ending came out of nowhere- all of a sudden the book just ended. I liked the ending, a lot, but I found myself a little shocked that all of a sudden there was nothing else. Lastly, I don’t feel like Victoria was really a bookworm. I don’t know why because she claimed she always had a book, I just felt that I might have titled the book something else or maybe had a different, darker cover design, because I expected something completely different.

Yeah, I'm sorry, but this was a DNF for me. As much as I tried, I honestly couldn't get past the first chapter.

This was not the book for me. Intrigued by the concept, it turns out a good concept is not enough for a really digestible read.

I thought this was going to be a sweet romcom and was pleasantly surprised that this was in fact a twisty, weird, noir. Depicting a couple in a loveless marriage, the bookworm is an individual that uses her imagination for escapism in a fantasy life.

I really enjoyed this and would recommend for fans of “where’d you go Bernadette” and other similar novels.

Hello, this took me by total surprise. First, I admit, I judged this one by its cover. Thinking it might be a light, sweet read. Anything but! Reader, it will keep you on your toes in the best way. Victoria is an avid reader, her husband is a condescending jerk, her best friend is getting on her last nerve, her parents are way more interested in her husband than their own daughter, and her in-laws, well, they’re just gobsmacked by their tool of a son. Victoria’s world is turned upside down, or rather, she is turned on, when she sees Him in a café reading the same book she’s been reading. BOOKWORM is in a category of its own – with perfectly employed dark humor, naughty daydreams of ways your husband could die, and a surprising sinister ending. This is one of those books that the less you know going into it the better.

Congratulations, Robin Yeatman on this fantastic debut novel.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perrenial for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a little too dry and weird for me, which I’m usually fine with but the side characters were a bit one note.

Victoria is given to flights of fancy. An active imagination – it’s a gift, right? A positive attribute?
Sometimes it’s an escape.

Massage therapist, reader of fiction, creator of stories (whether she realizes it or not), and wife of the supercilious Eric, Victoria does not show up for herself. Instead, she escapes into the stories she creates, and even we, the readers, can’t always tell whether a story is more than a flight of fancy. Is she really leaving her body at night for astral assignations with her potential lover?

Author Robin Yeatman is clever; in creating a heroine who likely has qualities shared by readers of Bookworm, she has made it much easier for us to connect with Victoria; after all, who among us has not created an entire imaginary daydream story, sparked by who knows what?

After a slightly too-rushed first chapter, the narrative is fascinating and engaging, with a couple of weak points. There’s no plausible reason given for Victoria’s complete lack of assertion with anyone in her family. No one has threatened physical harm and there’s no evidence of past trauma – yet the family dynamics are so backwards that when Victoria is thinking of leaving Eric, she broaches the possibility with, of all people, Eric’s mother. Because she refuses to assert herself, Victoria channels her anger and resentment into continued, desperate murder plots that always somehow fail, all while smiling her calm ‘spa girl’ smile and keeping a low profile.

Regardless, this was an effortless and intriguing read, with a clever ending in which Victoria’s best friend Holly plays a large part. Victoria’s infatuation with the mysterious Luke is interesting; who hasn’t built a fantasy around someone, then had to face a flawed reality? (Poor Luke; one fears for his safety if he doesn’t live up to the fantasy.)

Luke is secondary though; the true tension that drives the plot and pulls the reader along is Victoria’s tenacious fantasy of killing Eric. You’ll have to read the book to find out if fantasy turns to reality – and you’ll enjoy the read. Four stars for readability and easy engagement.

Imagine a book lover whose imagination is fueled by the world of books she inhabits, and whose mind carries her into the lives of others as she imagines them, sometimes accurately. Her imagined lives of people she meets in public, in cafes, pubs, on the street are fanciful and extraordinarily creative. But her constant dreams of finding freedom from a restrictive, confining marriage, too, are often wickedly fiendish.

The novel, Bookworm, is described as a black comedy, and it is entertaining as well as clever. We cheer for Virginia, up to a point, when she tries to find a new life away from a controlling, demanding, germaphobe of a husband. Her imagination carries the book, and I was surprised by the ending as well.

What actually pulled me into this book was Victoria's vivid imagination and it resonates with many readers like me who are constantly wishing things were different in their lives. It starts off as a light fun read but later I found it to be quite opposite. My main gripe was Victoria and how she literally liked nothing in this world except for a random guy who happened to be reading the same book that she had as well. From there, I knew I was not going to like her as she felt totally unrelatable. It is more of a dark humor and not for readers looking for sunshine.

3.5 stars rounded up. Slow build, with the main character evolving from mousy victim to scheming villainess. Clever long-game played in this plot.

Oof. I didn’t like that. The characters were awful and “humor” wasn’t funny. Just a bunch of miserable people being miserable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for an eARC.

Haven’t we all sunk deep into our dream worlds and wished things were the way we imagined them to be? For Victoria, that means a new husband, as hers isn’t who she wants anymore. As Victoria’s fantasies start to blur the line between reality and not, this comic noir explores the realms of if our dreams are really what we want in reality. Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I really thought this was a good read.