Bookworm- A Novel by Robin Yeatman
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Web ID: 16778014Good Story
With Bookworm written by new to me Robin Yeatman, we are introduced to Victoria, an avid bookworm stuck in a dead-end job and a dead-end marriage to Eric, a lawyer who sneers at her book reading. She lives a very dreary existence. I wouldn’t even go so far as to characterize what she is living as a life. There is no joy in Victoria’s world, except between the pages of the book is reading and the imaginary stories she makes up in her mind about the people around her. One day while sitting in her favorite coffee shop, reading a book she absolutely detests, she notices a man who is reading the same book she is! It has to be fate, right? This man is her soul mate and she can’t stop thinking about him. That is, when she isn’t thinking about ways her husband should suddenly and tragically meet his doom. She even goes so far as to tamper with his vehicle. There isn’t a whole lot about Victoria that I found likeable and she is seriously several sandwiches short of a picnic. However, I also felt a lot of pity for her. Her parents adore her husband. He’s the model example of the child they wish they had, instead of Victoria. They even maneuvered the two of them together, so I guess you could say theirs is an arranged marriage. A very solid pre-nup agreement would leave Victoria with nothing more than the clothes on her back if she should ever leave, so here she is drifting through life, making chicken dinners of various varieties and imagining her husband dead, in quite creative ways. I don’t want to say too much without giving away the plot, but I will say I was dreading just how far Victoria would go with her fantasy life, not just with her husband, but also with her café crush, Luke. None of these characters are likeable or relatable, but I couldn’t look away. What is Victoria going to do? For most of the book, I wanted to shake her and slap some sense into her. I enjoyed this book and I was highly anticipating what would happen. There were some unexpected surprises, some laugh out loud moments and some great twists. Bookworm is Robin Yeatman’s debut book and I will be on the lookout for her next book. My Final Verdict: This book does not end with the happily ever after Victoria was yearning for, but that’s life, isn’t it? The takeaway for me after reading this book is we have a choice every day to be happy or to be unhappy and we have the power to change or fix what’s lacking. I don’t think Victoria would know how to choose happiness even if it showed up with a gold embossed invitation. I recommend this book to readers who like to be surprised and entertained and don’t mind if the characters have no moral compass.
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Bookworm
Based on its cover, title, and description, I was expecting a light-hearted and sweet comedy. What I got instead was an over-the-top protagonist that has both an overactive im
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Dark humor
3.75 stars Victoria, a masseuse, is married to Eric, a lawyer. Victoria’s life is fairly comfortable. She and Eric live in a very nice, very white apartment in the city. Eric is on his way to making partner in his firm. Their parents are such good friends, in fact they are the ones who set Eric and Victoria up. However, Victoria and Eric aren’t really so happy. Eric is buttoned up tight. His first wife left him for her trainer. On the rebound, Victoria snatched him up. After all, she does have a comfortable life. Eric loves TV, and Victoria loves to read. While Eric is watching his shows, Victoria reads her latest novel. Their social life mostly consists of monthly dinners with the parents. Victoria is bored. So when she spots a very handsome man at her local cafe, she is smitten. Obsessed. Willing to go to great lengths to imagine Eric’s demise and her finding a relationship with this unknown male. Her very imaginative brain comes up with all sorts of ways for Eric to come to his end. Not that she’d ever consider actually putting any of these ideas into play. This is a darkly humorous novel about not being happy with what you have and always wanting what you don’t. Victoria doesn’t have a lot of cause for unhappiness, but when she sees some new shiny thing, she’s tired of the man she has. It’s an entertaining book and an easy read. Victoria isn’t very likable as a character or a person, but then neither is her husband Eric. Neither of them has a lot of redeeming qualities. Yet, I did enjoy the read.
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Bookworm Wanderings
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.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Ugh
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
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A Deliciously Engaging Story With a Twist
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. Many thanks for the ARC provided by Harper Perennial and Paperbacks / Harper Perennial
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