This book was a light and fun read. It didn't reinvent the genre of neurotic white female protagonist but it embraced her ugliness in an authentic way that didn't feel cheap or derivative.

This cover and synopsis engaged me right from the start. Also, who doesn't love a book about BOOKS! A stalker who is writing about her current boyfriend that works in publishing.
I said it once and I will say it again that I do not love an unreliable narrator. I always feel like its a cheap way to write a book. However, this one did have some strengths. It was well written, well paced and unique. Ultimately, the ending was a letdown.

Themes: obsession, literature, feminism, horror and thrilling.

DNF @ 8%. The voice of the main character was grating to me. I am not feeling this one right now and so am giving it a pass. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Compulsively readable story of toxic friendship and ulterior motives. I loved the publishing/bookish elements of this twisty book.

I love a good stalker novel and the fact that the main character was a writer made it even more salacious. She is all together unlikable and yet, there’s something to her. Maybe it’s something extra, maybe it’s something missing, but Naomi is undeniably a hot mess. The novel is character driven, plot driven, and the atmosphere is clearly described and established. I could not put this obsessive novel down.

Summary:
Twenty-four-year-old New York bookseller Naomi Ackerman is desperate to write a novel, but struggles to find a story to tell. When, after countless disastrous dates, she meets Caleb—a perfectly nice guy with a Welsh accent and a unique patience for all her quirks—she thinks she's finally stumbled onto a time-honored subject: love. Then Caleb's ex-girlfriend, Rosemary, enters the scene.

Upon learning that Rosemary is not safely tucked away in Caleb’s homeland overseas, but in fact lives in New York and also works in the literary world, Naomi is threatened and intrigued in equal measure. If they both fell for the same man, what else might they have in common? The more Naomi learns about Rosemary, the more her curiosity consumes her. Before she knows it, her casual Instagram stalking morphs into a friendship under false pretenses—and becomes the subject of her nascent novel.

As her lies and half-truths spiral out of control, and fact and fiction become increasingly difficult to untangle, Naomi must decide what—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice to write the perfect ending.

Review: This book had potential, to be something dark and twisted. Ultimately it fell flat for me, Naomi just comes off as jealous and unlikeable.

# A Novel Obsession by author # Caitlin Baratsch has a delightful original cover. A Good Morning America Buzz pick, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2022. A mystery that is just wonderful.
Thank you for the advance copy,
# Netgalley and # Penguin Group Dutton💜🐾🐾

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by BuzzFeed, The Millions, Goodreads, Bustle, BookRiot, and The Nerd Daily.
A wry and bold debut novel, which is at once an irresistible catastrophe waiting to happen and an unflinching


Phenomenal and one of my favorite books of 2022! I adored this book and read it in one sitting! Dark humor, unsettling narrative and A wonderfully different debut!

I really liked this book! It was very interesting, the characters pull you in and keep you until the last page. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, I had to know what happened next.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. I have mixed feelings about this one. At times I felt really involved in the story and wanted to keep scrambling through pages, and at times I put it down and didn’t come back to it for a week, which is usually a sign it’s not for me.

I didn’t really like it relate to main character/narrator Naomi, which I think is a big part of why I didn’t love this one. It reminded me of reading The Girl on the Train - I need to root for my characters and I wasn’t really rooting for her.

I finished the book to see how it ended and I wished the ending would have gone differently twisty. There was a twist, but it was kind of expected.

This one was okay, and I can see how others might enjoy it. It wasn’t for me.

I had high hopes for this one, but was ultimately let down. This had such potential to get dark and creepy. But it just kind of went along and I felt like nothing was really happening. Naomi was selfish and so unlikeable. Even so, I still felt like nothing was intriguing and it ended so abruptly, almost like it was in the middle of a thought. I just didn’t get it. Super let down by this one unfortunately.

Had high hopes for this novel, as I would about any novel about writing one. This just wasn't a good fit for my blog. I couldn't get into the prose or the character, who felt very immature to me. So, I stopped reading it. Therefore, not fair to rate it. but since this a rating is required to send feedback I've given it a 2. Regrets.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I feel bad saying this, but this book was a real struggle to get through. It feels weird saying nothing really happened for most of the book because that’s technically not true but the way this book was written was so boring for me. I ended up rushing through most of the story because I wanted to just get it over with. For what it’s worth, the ending is what makes this a 1.25 star instead of a 1 star since it did make me quite anxious which is better than the lack of emotion I had while reading the rest of the book.

1.25/5

Thank you so much to Penguin/Dutton for this ARC - I read this one in two seconds! I love how it approached the subject of women surveillance which is SO common in today's world and how it showed its different perspectives from the two points of view. Most of all, I really enjoyed how it showed that we can not only easily misinterpret all the information that's perceived as widely available to us but also how we can get lost in it, in the fabricated reality of our interpretation.

Definitely relatable to many and a great reminder that what you see is not actually what you get.

A Novel Obsession didn't gel with me. I found the pacing too slow, the whole thing made me cringe the entire time, and feel a little crazy myself. A book for someone, but not for me.

I will start out by saying I loved the premise of this book. It's very contemporary and true-to-life. Anyone navigating the dating scene in 2022 is apt to "stalk" their current beau's ex (although maybe not to these ends!) Naomi's character was relatable in that regard, but she does come off as sort of egotistical and privileged. With that being said, Naomi does acknowledge that privilege and how lucky she is to be able to live for free in NYC and basically write and work lackadaisically at a book store. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book wondering when Caleb and Rosemary would find out what Naomi was up to, so the book's journey was great! I do have to say... (spoiler alert) I didn't like this ending. I'm not normally a fan of open-ended conclusions, and this was an example of that. I expected (and desired) for everyone to forgive Naomi and for her and Rosemary to continue their friendship while Caleb and Naomi stayed in their relationship. Is this cliche of me to have wanted this? Absolutely. All in all, still enjoyed the book and appreciated the lengths Naomi went to for her writing!

I did not enjoy this book. It was uncomfortable and cringey. I don't mind reading books about unlikeable people but this one just did not grab me. It was a struggle to read.

As an avid book obsessed reader, I love books about books. I was excited to receive this copy from Dutton books from a debut author. Thank you!

This book gave me fatal attraction vibes with a bookworm twist.

The protagonist Naomi, is an aspiring writer and hasn’t had positive relationships with men prior to meeting Caleb on Tinder. He took a shine to her and he bacame her boyfriend. Her overly anxious mind couldn’t relate to what he seen in her and she decided to write a novel about this to see if she could find the answers to love.

Befriended his ex girlfriend she thought would make an excellent plot to her novel and it’s often easier to write about situations drawn from experience.

This was a very interesting take on how a writers real life and the fictional character in her book becomes a frightening psychosis.

When I tell you I couldn’t look away… (thanks @duttonbooks for my free copy!)

Like an unhinged narrator? Here you go!

A NOVEL OBSESSION is a debut about an aspiring novelist who finds herself stalking—and writing about—her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.

Naomi Ackerman is a NY bookseller who is desperate to write a novel. She’s got all of the support in place- her wealthy grandmother has given her an apartment so she doesnt have to worry about making rent- but she struggles to find a story to tell. The book opens shortly after she’s met Caleb—a perfectly nice guy with a Welsh accent and a unique patience for all her quirks. Things are going well- until she learns more about Rosemary, his ex girlfriend. She originally thought that Rosemary was Welsh like him, but when she finds out she’s in NYC and an editor at a literary imprint, she loses it. Does Caleb really like her, or does he just like her type? If they both love the same man, what else might they have in common? Her curiosity quickly consumes her and her casual Instagram stalking morphs into a friendship under false pretenses—and becomes the subject of her novel.

This was a very Tina book- it’s claustrophobic and you know things can’t end will. Naomi is rich and entitled but didn’t read as totally unlikable. She has a level of self awareness that I appreciated. Even though she knew she shouldnt be obsessing about this woman, she cant help herself.

I also loved the peek into the mind of a writer and all of the literary dialogue. It made me wonder if people who are friends with authors IRL are continuously wondering if things they do together will end up in their novel!

If you read this- let me know your thoughts!

In all honesty, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. Even now I'm still trying to figure out what was the author's intentions with some of the characters and whether I was meant to feel a certain way about some of them or not.

However, I didn't really like any of them to be honest. I didn't feel any chemistry between Caleb and Naomi so then I was getting frustrated at why the stalking was happening, if I felt the chemistry then it wouldn't have bothered me.
I was feeling like Naomi should have just gotten a therapist, there was so much insecurity and comparison that was only coming from within her, and everyone around her either didn't know what she was doing and those that did were just enabling her problematic behavior. I understand why she wanted to prioritize her work but it bothered me that Caleb didn't want the writing to be an exact replica of his life and for her to not consider that upset me a lot, his story wasn't one that needed to be told to many others so that it could be understood like bigger issues in the world.
Caleb didn't feel like he was truly into Naomi most of the time, he didn't seem invested in much and only existed for Naomi's agenda of stalking his ex-girlfriend.

I was disappointed with the ending as well, after the multiple betrayals, I felt like it should have been an explosive ending. Instead, everyone sorted it out silently and then carried on with their lives. Where was the drama? Where was the conflict? Where was the hurt of knowing your girlfriend was obsessed with your ex-girlfriend and lying about so many different things?