Victoria Cavanaugh is at a stage in her life where she is contemplating the choices she’s made in her life, or perhaps, more accurately, the silent submission she has made to her family. A family essentially created by her parents and her in-laws and one to which she acquiesced. Her husband is successful in his business, where he has recently begun to spend more time since he is one of several who are up for a big promotion. Their life, their relationship is mostly organized by her husband, Eric, who is quick to vocalize what he doesn’t appreciate about Victoria. Primary among the things he dislikes is her love of books, although there is a list of other things, as well which he will frequently comment on, including her job as a massage therapist.

It was her teacher, Mrs. Herd, that had introduced her to literature. Listening to her share her thoughts on books like Macbeth with a ’sharp sparkle in her eye and the beguiling way she led the class into understanding the pages of a story’ had been the beginning of a life-long love affair with books. Since then her love of reading has grown, but it has also served as ’something to hide behind…granting an invisibility that Victoria had come to count on.’

She frequents a cafe for a coffee where she can read and lose herself in the enjoyment of both, occasionally watching the patrons who she creates stories about, imagining their life outside of these moments. On this day, she is reading a book which, although highly touted, is one she is not enjoying when she notices he is reading the same book. She watches him, wondering if the passages he was reading were the same as those she read mere moments ago.

Eventually, a conversation between them takes place, and a friendship, with hints of more, begins.

At the same time, her husband is spending more time at work, ostensibly to ensure he gets that promotion he so desperately wants. He also makes it known that it’s time she stopped reading so much - which, to him, means not at all. Her books, all of them, have to go.

This is a deliciously engaging, beautifully written story which was an absolutely delightful read with a perfect ending. I can’t remember when I’ve laughed or smiled so much while reading a story.


Pub Date: 14 Feb 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Harper Perennial and Paperbacks / Harper Perennial

Victoria is a housewife, a masseuse, an avid reader. Mostly though, those in Victoria's life have given value to Victoria because she is Eric's wife. Eric, who hates every bodily function Victoria has. Eric, with his puffy nipples. Eric, who turns his nose up at Victoria's love of books, preferring instead to get lost in TV dramas. Eric, who is making Victoria miserable. Eric, who, plausibly, could accidentally die soon. Not that Victoria is manifesting anything of the sort. It's just something that could happen.

Bookworm is one of the best debuts I have read in ages. I felt like I was personally being targeted as Victoria read some of my favorite unhinged fiction, taking more characteristics from these characters as the book went on. Victoria was a diverse reader, and the specificity of her reading habits made her all the more real to me. I loved the way Yeatman was able to weave levels of self-awareness into the book even as Victoria lacked it so often. The ending caught me so completely off guard, and I loved it. For me, personally, Bookworm has the added value that I could read it again and again. I can not wait to read future work by Yeatman, and to force everyone in my life to read this as soon as I can grab a physical copy for myself.

Thanks so much to Harper Perennial as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eGalley of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Even though this is a very current noir story of a miserably married woman and her desire to escape her situation, there is something that harkens back to the 1940s. The flat way of making emotionally right-angle turns and the sudden spewing of judgments and hilarious violent fantasies. Robin Yeatman has invented her own genre.

I particularly enjoyed (and had some “holy cow” moments because I’ve written a similar theme in two unpublished books) the juxtaposition of somebody on a spiritual-seeking path, rife with so-called psychic abilities and experiences, who simultaneously is in the throes of all our ego maladies—judgments, aversions, general hate and hostility. This is honest and wonderfully accurate. One would hope if one were evolved enough to have out-of-body experiences at will or to lead a massage client in a self-acceptance relaxation exercise one would not simultaneously hate everybody around them, but this simply isn’t true. I love that Yeatman pulled no punches.

Protagonist Victoria Cavanagh and her husband Eric can’t stand each other’s bodily functions, or bodies, or personalities. They got married by rote, shoved together by their parents. They live and work in upscale Montreal. Victoria, a rabid bookworm who even finishes tomes that she hates, thinks about murdering Eric. And Eric? Who knows what he’s thinking beyond becoming a partner in his law firm?

This book is inventive, funny, creepy, and fun. I found myself reading it in black & white, almost as if I were seeing an Alfred Hitchcock movie written by somebody living with cell phones amidst organic supermarkets and trendy hot spots.

Have you ever been married to someone who doesn't care anything about reading, who considers books to be all the same? Someone who points out repeatedly that it isn't healthy to read so much, fancying yourself in an imaginary world? Someone who sighs deeply and comments in a nasty way that you always have your nose buried in a book? Not a recipe for a happy pairing, and sure enough, Victoria is not happy in her marriage to Eric. Is it any surprise that she will grow to resent him? And it's not out of the realm of possibility that he might die some day soon. Victoria can almost visualize it . . .

Threaded throughout with deliciously dark humor that hit just right. With references to book titles, or many times referring to a plot or a character of a familiar book without naming it, the power of an author to manipulate the reader as well as the characters, there are tweaks of all types here.

Another reviewer allowed as to how this book is a game changer and genre bender. I cannot word it any better than that. Author Robin Yeatman is the real deal. Period. Can't wait to see what she dreams up next and commits to paper.

First off, the AUDACITY of Eric.

The MC was very relatable as a fellow book adoree. This was a good debut to let people into the world of a book reader's mind and a great story about taking charge of your life.

I was given a free ARC of this title from Netgalley.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I couldn't get into this book. The major problem I had was difficulty relating the the characters, particularly the main character.

I gave it a try, but this wasn't the book for me.

Victoria is stuck in the routine of a dysfunctional marriage with an airtight prenup and family expectations locking her in place. But one day she spots a man at her go-to cafe reading the same awful book as her (unnamed, but fairly well known) and she begins to fantasize about the various ways she could rid herself of her husband so that she can chase her happily-ever-after with this stranger. And some of the fantasies are a little too tempting.

I would say that all of the characters minus Luke were unlikeable, which surprisingly works perfectly for this book. And despite not being likeable it’s easy to root for the MC as she slowly sets her plans into action (or inaction for some). It’s a slow build and while the ending didn’t disappoint it could have used an extra chapter in the resolution, a little extra time to unpack what happened.

This was a great debut! a little crazy but good. So we have Victoria who is married to Eric who is a lawyer and is a 2 dimensional POS. Like, he doesn't like to acknowledge that women poop and chew food and are messy etc. He is very picky and dictates what they do and how they live (chicken and veggies for dinner every night) so it's no wonder Victoria hates him. And is also a prime target to chase after the first man who she feels attracted to. Which is the guy, Luke. Luke comes into a cafe that Victoria frequents so she can read and also observe people and imagine all their backgrounds based on how they look, which is fun. But she sees this guy who happens to be reading the same book she is and now she's obsessed. She imagines what their life would be like in the future and she starts to have dreams about him where she actually flies over the city to visit him and can actually see him sleeping in bed. (this part felt a little surreal and didn't know if the author wanted it to be somewhat magical?)

Victoria has a big imagination and one of her frequent imaginings is how many ways her husband, Eric will die. This gets a little morbid and there were some ways I had to skim (think: worms and bugs) but the point is that she'd just love to have him be out of her life. And why doesn't she just divorce him?
Well once you read about her family and how terribly indifferent they are to her and how cold even- in fact, the whole marriage was arranged by the parents. Or the dates were and then it was just making marriage the next obvious step.

Over dinner one night where both sets of parents come every two weeks Victoria mentions needing a break. She needs to just go off on a vacation alone and instead of inquiring why she thinks this or what is going on in her daughter's life, the mom's are like, ummmm nope not happening and don't get any ideas of breaking up this marriage.

Victoria also has a friend named Holly who she meets for lunch on Fridays. Holly is a little strange. She comes off as a bimbo who is dating anyone who comes across her and thinks Eric is also the best. Just imagine how Victoria might use this to her advantage.

I am ashamed to admit that I could really feel for Victoria. It's hard being with someone you don't truly appreciate but this novel got a little wacky- but in a good way. I didn't expect the slightly suspenseful thriller aspect of it. I thought it was just a marriage novel but it was a good surprise. Ultimately this novel asks, is the grass greener?

I will definitely be reading more from this author. If you enjoy dysfunctional marriage stories and the mentioning of different novels (and if you're a reader you do) you'll probably like this. You might not like the characters but I think that might be the point. Not everyone will like them but you can still go for a ride.

I read it to the end because I thought it would get better-it didn't. The protaganist was weird, her husband and his lover (?) were uninteresting, and the porcelain figure aspect was intriguing but underdeveloped. Very disappointing.

Quirky and darkly funny novel. I didn’t like the main characters very much, so that impacted my enjoyment of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Victoria is unhappily married. She sees a handsome man in a café reading the same book ash her and decides he is her soul mate. I didn't care for the main characters.

Bookish, funny, and infinitely relatable. A recommended purchase for collections where WF is popular.

This book was a series of surprises until the very end. I didn’t expect the degree to which it twisted and turned. What I thought would be a light and easy beach read turned out to be one of the more thought-provoking stories I’ve read in awhile, largely because of its ability to reach those parts we, as humans do our best to hide.

Through Victoria, Robin Yeatman goes there. She deftly depicts those darker feelings and experiences we keep to ourselves and rarely act upon, those we wouldn’t dare share with our closest friends for fear we would be harshly judged or excommunicated. I appreciate that brutal honesty and wish more of these conversations would happen beyond the page. Victoria’s sadness and darkness makes her relatable. Her love of books and the escape they provide is understandable.

This book is timely and speaks directly to a lot of the pain, loneliness and discomfort that many have felt or currently feel “post-pandemic” while also asking the reader to examine their role in their healing. While she wasn’t entirely likable, I do feel readers will recognize parts of themselves in Victoria and, as a result, root for her all the same.

Favorite quote: “That’s the kind of reader Victoria was. She couldn’t release herself from the pain of a bad book until she’d read every last page…she liked to think it was due to an unrelenting optimism, the hope that anything could get better.”