This was a DNF for me. Despite the summary, which sounded great, and the cover, very compelling - I just couldn't get into it. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read and review an advanced copy of the book.

The fun bright cover and the summary of this book unfortunately do this book a disservice. It's presented as a lighter hearted sassy romcom about how Victoria will "right the wrongs" in her love life by finally following her heart ... but this is not that book. Now don't get me wrong, I think this is a fine book but it's packaging is deceiving and it sets the reader up for failure. From my own experience, I went into this expecting an "Emily Henry but make it toxic" vibe and very quickly had to switch my mindset.

Victoria is a dark personality in an uncomfortable world. It's hard to root for her because she is so passive and never actively trying to resolve her situation. I've been in a relationship where my interests were not found to be interesting so the relationship between her and her husband made me pace, yell and be an all around grouch. The plot points are good and I liked the ending but wish Victoria was more tactful and actively manipulative. I wish the reader was more of an accomplice with Victoria rather than just seeing if/what lady luck has in store.

I was lucky enough to receive this as an ARC. Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and Robin Yeatman for the opportunity to read and review this story. Bookworm will be published on February 14, 2023.

A dark comedy about a woman who is unhappily married and fantasizes about a man she sees at her local cafe. This "comedy" borders on sad at times.

1.5 stars, rounded up.

This book sounded like a light and fun rom-com read, but it was anything but and fell veeeerrryyyy flat for me. None of the characters were likable to me, in fact, I pretty much hated every single one of them.

The whole premise is that Victoria and Eric are stuck in a loveless marriage. Victoria's only escape is through reading, which Luke absolutely hates. In fact, at one point, he tells her reading is "unhealthy" for her and makes her stope reading for 2 weeks. That right there made me want to scream. How she didn't leave him IMMEDIATELY after being told that beats me. She quickly finds another escape when she sees "Him", a guy in a coffee shop who, after a minute of watching him, she is convinced they are soulmates. She then starts having out of body experiences where she travels out of her body and to his apartment to spend time with "Him" and learn more about "Him". And thennnn it just gets even more and more far fetched.

I hated the characters more and more as the book progressed. I really struggled not to DNF this one.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty good! My first book from this author. I enjoyed the cover and the overall premise. Would be a cute gift,

What did I just read?!?! This novel was absurd. It’s the most accurate adjective I can come up with. All of the characters were downright detestable, which is a non starter for me personally. Their relationships were terrible and made little sense in the real world. The main character came off as a quirky dreamer with a dark streak but turned out to be a complete psychopath, which I didn’t have a problem with but the whole thing just had me shaking my head. The writing took itself WAY too seriously, there were paragraphs that I had to remind myself to blink because my eyes were dried out from staring at a nonsensical paragraph about the main character floating through space to “visit Him,” the man whose name she didn’t even know and whom she saw for only a few brief moments before she determined that he was her soulmate. Nah. This one just did not hit the right notes for me.

2.5/5 stars but not rounding this up to 3.

Where to even begin! Definitely not what I expected but pleasantly surprised. Did not read any description before picking up this book, the cover looked interesting. Victoria has an imagination unlike any other and I really loved the way this story played out. Twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes and always kept me wanting to read more. Definitely a great read.

This book kind of fell flat to me. I had such high hope for it. I couldn't connect to the characters and didn't really care for them. I was expecting more of a funny book. This one just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an ARC in exchange gif my honest review

This is an interesting little book. I'm not generally a fan of dark humor or satire, so I don't think I'm the ideal reader to leave an in-depth review. If dark humor is your thing, I would give this book a read. The writing style is interesting and kept me turning the pages.

I was intrigued by the description of this book along with the title. Unfortunately, the entire book fell flat for me. The characters were very unlikeable. I honestly found it quite boring.

*I would like to think NetGalley in the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.*

What if you could read people? every single time that you step foot outside you see their life long story? That’s how it is with Victoria.

A masseuse tracks within a Loveless marriage, Victoria, find solitude and escape in various novels while sipping lattes in her favorite café.

She becomes fixated on a craftsman name, Luke, and starts falling madly in love with him while also thinking of various ways to murder her husband, who runs such a tight ship that she can’t even breathe near him.

Overall, this book has good structure, great characteristics and details of our main character. Will Victoria find a way out of this marriage and into the arms of the sexy craftsman?

I had high hopes for this one just based on the title. It started out okay but the further I got into it, the less I liked it. I ended up just skimming the second half so that I could be done with it. It wasn't all bad though. I think overall, I just didn't like the characters - at all. Maybe that was what the author wanted but it made it hard to care about their story. In all honesty, this kind of felt like an essay written by an angst-filled teenager and was a "bad things bad people do to bad people" story. I think if Victoria had been a little more likeable, it would have completely changed my opinion.

Victoria and Eric's life seems so perfect from the outside looking in. He's a hot shot lawyer trying to make partner and they live in an idyllic part of Montreal. Victoria always has her head in a book and is always creating scenarios while she is people watching at the cafe. Eric is very particular about how Victoria should act, and relies on his mother and mother in law too much for Victoria's liking. She regularly fantasizes how to escape her boring predictable life which regularly includes scenarios how her husband dies.

A wildly imaginative tale, a black comedy of sorts full of scenarios in which are not likely to ever play out. But haven't we all dreamt of something happening just to escape our current situations?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not my cup of tea. I found the protagonist to be insufferable, and the story didn't really captivate my attention at any point. All of the characters felt really one dimensional. What really irked me throughout though, was the author talking trash about other books—in particular, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. I personally loved that book, but I fully understand why it's not for everyone. That being said, it feels incredibly petty to write a whole book that continuously trashes a bestseller beloved by many, particularly one written by a woman of color. Even if ALL was a book I didn't enjoy, it just felt like a weird move by Yeatman.

This book was fine. I didn’t much like any of the characters. The mundaneness of Victoria’s life, leading her to insanity, was quite boring. I know we weren’t supposed to like her husband, but I couldn’t get passed how much I hated him. The title suggested one thing in my opinion, but the story was another. I love books about books, but this was a book about an unhappy woman who happens to read books.

I just reviewed Bookworm by Robin Yeatman. #Bookworm #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an ARC in exchange gif my honest review. This book will be published February 14, 2023.

Since I love to read, I liked the title and the book cover. But the plot was just a bit too far-fetched.

Victoria spends her free time in a coffee shop, reading and making up stories about the people she sees. One day she sees this guy and is convinced they are meant to be, despite the fact that she’s married. She also fantasizes about ways to kill her husband.

No spoilers here but the plot picked up at the very end in a clever twist. Sadly I didn’t really care. The characters just weren’t engaging.

BOOKWORM
BY: ROBIN YEATMAN

First, I would like to thank my wonderful, great Sister-in-arms Cheri for recommending this Book Lovers deliciously fun and unique novel to me. I loved it so much and I think that anybody who shares a love of reading will get a real kick out of reading the talented, Robin Yeatman's new novel called, "Bookworm." In fact it is an ode to most readers who themselves are 'Bookworms.' It is inventive and humorous and for anybody who loves to read that has dealt with a person in their life that thinks they read too much. I know that I have had someone that orbited around my life felt ignored due to my love of books and reading.

Victoria works at a job that her interfering parents and In-laws, and her husband Eric deem unimportant. Victoria is very bright and has a degree in English Literature that they all think that she could be better suited to use it for what they consider a higher calling. For example, they all think her husband Eric's job as a lawyer and his focus on nearly becoming a Partner in his law firm should be considered a high priority. Victoria loves to read and her husband Eric looks down upon her time spent getting lost in a good book while he watches television.

Victoria has a very vivid imagination in which she uses frequently thinking up fantasies about how her irritable and condescending husband can meet his demise. She is unhappily married and when she brings up taking some time for herself, she is threatened that she will leave with nothing since she signed a document such as a prenuptial agreement. Victoria gets no emotional support from her own parents or her best friend Holly. Everybody in Victoria's life thinks Eric is terrific except for Victoria.

Robin Yeatman has created a love letter to all of us readers who have ever been misunderstood by a significant relationship in our lives that has undermined our love of reading. This novel in which Victoria goes to her favorite cafe and reads and notices a man reading the same book as she is. Is it Kismet? Victoria's character and her fantasies blur fiction with real life. This is wickedly funny and is compulsively readable which had me laughing, but also relating to her love of the written word. The author has generously peppered throughout many Titles of books that I have read which was welcomed by me. Do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of this delicious nod to the important role that a good book plays in our lives. This is a novel that will have you highly enjoying it and finding maybe a glimpse of yourself mirrored by your love of reading and highly empathizing with Victoria's hilarious journey. Five Golden well deserved Stars!

I have never read anything before quite like this innovative novel, which heightened my enjoyment immensely! I can't wait to read whatever this author writes in the future! She is one I am definitely going to keep my eye on!

Publication Date: 2/14/2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Robin Yeatman and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks-Harper Perennial for generously providing me with this fabulous ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#Bookworm #RobinYeatman #HarperPerennialandPaperbacksHarperPerennial #NetGalley

Like a number of other reviewers, I feel like this was a completely different book than the cover and blurb indicated it would be... I was expecting something lighter - dark comedy sure, with harsh edges, but not this constant recitation of horrible treatment at the hands of her husband and his family paired with weird daydreams and a bizarre obsession with a man she sees once. The "lost in a book" element was completely overshadowed here by everything else, and that is one of the things I was most looking forward to. Instead I found myself reading a bizarre and monotonous tale that didn't resonate with me at all. This one wasn't for me...

I simply fell in love with the story and the main character. It’s a story about life direction and second chances..

Victoria, our main character, is a Walter Mitty-eque daydreamer and bookworm who loves the grotesque work of Ottessa Moshfegh. Almost all of her daydreams are unpleasant. I think we're supposed to find her unlikeable, an anti-hero of sorts. But mostly, I just found her boring and shallow. I don't understand her motivations. There's no character development. There's a bit of fantasy that felt outside the world of the book and unnecessary. The plot is predictable.

And maybe I wouldn't have minded all of that had the marketing -- cover, title, blurb -- led me to expect a funny book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.