Bookworm: A Novel

Never judge a book by its cover. While the art is delightfully bright, the story is delightfully dark (and delicious). It’s truly clever.Unhappily married to a controlling bore, suffocating in-laws, a best friend that to the core doesn’t understand her, and an unfulfilling job at a spa- where else is Victoria Cavanagh to escape? Like many of us, books are the perfect way to travel outside her life, if even for just a few stolen moments.While reading a popular best-seller at her favorite cafe, she spots an attractive man reading the exact same book (which ends up being a long, insufferable story- we’ve all read one of those, right?) She’s immediately convinced he’s her soul mate, and begins fantasizing about her escape from the life that traps her.It’s all harmless though, until it isn’t! Her very vivid imaginations start to feel very real. When fiction and reality blur, she gets exactly what she’s hoped for (or so it would seem).With brilliant book references throughout, this is truly a bookworm’s delight. While modern, it has a nostalgic feel to it that I really enjoyed. It leaves you asking if our realities can ever live up to the fantasies we create. A fantastic debut!

I didn't like the characters or story much. I forced myself to finish although I didn't like it. I don't recommend this book unless you're someone who is unhappy and has dark thoughts.

This book was just wow. I can't even review it properly. Bravo Robin Yeatman. Bravo. Maybe after I get my thoughts together then ill try to review but I will say it was engaging. Held my attention to the very end and I loved it. Victoria was a bit nuts but she was so very good. Those nightly visits to her lover was different but I can understand it. Escapism from her sad little life with fool husband of hers. Book worm was not what I was expecting. It exceed my expectations to be a really good read. Definitely for us bookworms. Buy it. You will not be disappointed.

This book was well written but I guess I just found ALL of the characters so unlikeable that this book was unsatisfying.

If you are one of THOSE readers who can't bear a book with no likeable characters, this one may not be for you. You will say Victoria is a doormat, and husband Eric is just shy of an abuser. Victoria has allowed herself to be married off to Eric, and outwardly it seems she has everything, but her needs and wants are less ambitious. She mostly enjoys her job, and just wants to be able to read "her book", and it would be nice if she could have a soulmate, too.On her days off and in the evenings after work, she reads at a favorite cafe or while Eric binges on movies and TV, and daydreams about escaping her marriage, not in the nicest way. She knows her limitations, though, realizing that most of her fantasies are outside of possibility. Oh, and there's astral traveling, too, when she can manage it! I enjoyed Victoria's imaginative -- or are they? -- stories about the people she watches and her escape fantasies, and I couldn't wait to see where the author was taking her! Will she be satisfied?This story is told so smoothly! I look forward to reading more by this author.

Immediately after I finished this book, I decided I didn't like it. But then I sat with it for a few days, turning it over in my mind. I think the reason for my initial judgment was that I just did NOT like the main character. And maybe I was expecting something more lighthearted? This one is dark, y'all. But, in a fascinating, psychotic genius way. It's a good read - I now appreciate the crafting of the story and the twisty characters.

I wanted to like this book. It had all the right elements. It started off as promising with a woman who is a compulsive reader married to a man who is controlling. I managed to go along for the main character’s flights of fancy when her imagination ran wild and the reader is required to suspend their disbelief. I even ignored the fact that most of the characters were not easy to like, with the exception of the main character’s best friend and an interesting man who became involved with the main character. The novel slowed down, but I stuck with it. The plot grew more interesting, but in the end I was disappointed. The author is a good writer, the plot was interesting, but I did not enjoy spending my time with a bunch of nasty people and a main character who I could foresee continuing in her evil ways. As a novel, it will be enjoyed by many, but it was not my cup of tea. In future, I will trust my instincts and close the book before the end.

Wow this is a book that I can 100 percent say with certainty is a complete original. I'm having a hard time even figuring out what genre it falls into. As long as you understand the book is weird, I think you can just go with it and really enjoy the ride. I have to say there hasn't been a novel I finished so fast in a long time. Victoria is one of a kind and Bookworm read like a character study. Her fantasies work as her escape and although I appreciated the scenes of her imagining her husband's demise, they did become somewhat repetitive. I think her long-winded snap judgments of strangers could've been edited out too. However, the rest was great and the ending was very unexpected. I thought the author was going to head in the predictable route and she didn't, so I absolutely loved the conclusion. Overall, a great debut.

I have just finished Bookworm, by Robin Yeatman and I found the book to be a real page turner, always drawing me the next page, and the next as I became fully invested in Victoria's world and wanting to know what she would do next, think next, and what would happen next. I was never disappointed as each page built on the previous page and further fueled my interest in how her life and dreams would play out.I say life and dreams as this book is about how life and dreams intersect for Victoria, a woman trapped in an outwardly perfect, yet unhappy marriage, taking refuge in her books and a fantasy life triggered by a chance encounter at a coffee shop. The author's ability to pack so much vividness in her prose is a testament to her mastery of the English language; the characters, environment, and events are brilliantly laid out in a way that totally immerses the reader into Victoria's world.After reading Bookworm, I have difficulty understanding why there are negative reviews, and can only conclude that the people writing these reviews don't appreciate humor that is both dark and profound.For the rest of us, this novel is a joy to read. But don't take my word for it, as it is the New York Public Library's Book of the Day for March 14th.

This brilliantly written novel was a delightful, dark, funny, and creepy TREAT.Robin Yeatman expertly weaves the tale of Victoria, a book obsessed woman who possesses a vivid imagination like no other. An imagination so powerful she is able to construct in her mind a myriad of ways to murderously escape her cold and loveless marriage.Sprinkled with dark humour and disgustingly clever observations - this is a book that you should not miss (and will keep you turning pages until that most juicy ending!).

Creative and interesting, a really good read. Can not recommend it enough.