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Yesteryear
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593804216.
A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1805—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.
My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.
Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the Republican equivalent of a Kennedy? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.
Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a brutal reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.
A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.
A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1805—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.
My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.
Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the Republican equivalent of a Kennedy? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.
Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a brutal reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.
A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2026
About the author
Caro Claire Burke
1 book840 followersCaro Claire Burke received her Master's in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Diabolical Lies, a politics and culture podcast. Yesteryear is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,850 reviews
April 17, 2026
Was this supposed to funny? Cause I didn't laugh.
Going in, I thought Yesteryear would be a slam dunk for me. But now I've found myself in the unexpected position of being just about the only one who didn't like it.
I thought this story was going to be about a traditional wife, one who wants to stay at home and revel in the domesticity of child rearing, cleaning, and cooking, all the while playing it up for the cameras of her social media account. And then one day, she actually wakes up in the 1800s and bumbles around, much to her consternation and our amusement. Now wouldn't that have been an interesting story? But instead, I got something else altogether.
You see, Natalie doesn't revel in the role. She only pretends to. Instead of spending her life doing what she actually enjoys, she inexplicably tortures herself into living a life she can't stand and faking her enjoyment of it, all the while looking down at every single person who doesn't adhere to her view of what a traditional woman should be. And so right off the bat, I'm confused. Because what exactly is the point here?
As is every story, it all comes down to the characters. And Natalie never gelled into a real, coherent one for me. She hates being a mother, but keeps having more kids. She hates farming, but insists on living on a farm. She doesn't like her husband, but screams at her sister for divorcing. And through it all, she documents every step for social media just so she can pretend some more. Yeah, I didn't get it.
There's a level of cynicism here that was hard to stomach. Natalie had a constant, internal dialogue of hate towards just about everyone who wasn't her, and it was painful to read. She viewed herself as a victim with no choice, even though every decision was hers the whole way through and she could've stopped at any time.
But Natalie isn't real, she's the creation of the author. So I feel like I'm forced to ask why Caro Claire Burke chose to write Natalie this way. It felt unnecessarily mean-spirited and cruel. Sure, there are women out there who want to have lots of kids and make every meal from scratch and let their husbands be the sole breadwinner of the family. But so what? I certainly wouldn't write a whole story just to make fun of them.
I understand this is supposed to be satire, but it really missed the mark. Satire isn't just the act of mocking. In order to be effective, it also has to say something of substance. But the problem here is that even when presented with a slew of worthwhile topics, the book instead chose to eschew them all in favor of returning again and again to focus how deranged Natalie is, all the while punishing her for her views.
When you go so over the top, you end up losing the humanity underneath, and it becomes harder to see these characters as real people. Instead of being subversive and feminist, this book actually reinforces the awful idea that women are crazy and can't be trusted to figure out what they really want.
And maybe that's at the crux of my negative feelings. When you create a character that's so spiteful and unhinged, you're essentially walking them down a path of mental illness. And I guess I just don't find yet another story about a woman acting crazy and being perceived as mentally ill to be that funny.
I'm looking at the wide gulf between my thoughts and everyone else's, and I'm honestly puzzled. Perhaps I read a different book. Or I just lack the sense of humor necessary to understand this one. Either way, I'm in the minority, so don't let me dissuade you from giving it a try.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
Going in, I thought Yesteryear would be a slam dunk for me. But now I've found myself in the unexpected position of being just about the only one who didn't like it.
I thought this story was going to be about a traditional wife, one who wants to stay at home and revel in the domesticity of child rearing, cleaning, and cooking, all the while playing it up for the cameras of her social media account. And then one day, she actually wakes up in the 1800s and bumbles around, much to her consternation and our amusement. Now wouldn't that have been an interesting story? But instead, I got something else altogether.
You see, Natalie doesn't revel in the role. She only pretends to. Instead of spending her life doing what she actually enjoys, she inexplicably tortures herself into living a life she can't stand and faking her enjoyment of it, all the while looking down at every single person who doesn't adhere to her view of what a traditional woman should be. And so right off the bat, I'm confused. Because what exactly is the point here?
As is every story, it all comes down to the characters. And Natalie never gelled into a real, coherent one for me. She hates being a mother, but keeps having more kids. She hates farming, but insists on living on a farm. She doesn't like her husband, but screams at her sister for divorcing. And through it all, she documents every step for social media just so she can pretend some more. Yeah, I didn't get it.
There's a level of cynicism here that was hard to stomach. Natalie had a constant, internal dialogue of hate towards just about everyone who wasn't her, and it was painful to read. She viewed herself as a victim with no choice, even though every decision was hers the whole way through and she could've stopped at any time.
But Natalie isn't real, she's the creation of the author. So I feel like I'm forced to ask why Caro Claire Burke chose to write Natalie this way. It felt unnecessarily mean-spirited and cruel. Sure, there are women out there who want to have lots of kids and make every meal from scratch and let their husbands be the sole breadwinner of the family. But so what? I certainly wouldn't write a whole story just to make fun of them.
I understand this is supposed to be satire, but it really missed the mark. Satire isn't just the act of mocking. In order to be effective, it also has to say something of substance. But the problem here is that even when presented with a slew of worthwhile topics, the book instead chose to eschew them all in favor of returning again and again to focus how deranged Natalie is, all the while punishing her for her views.
When you go so over the top, you end up losing the humanity underneath, and it becomes harder to see these characters as real people. Instead of being subversive and feminist, this book actually reinforces the awful idea that women are crazy and can't be trusted to figure out what they really want.
And maybe that's at the crux of my negative feelings. When you create a character that's so spiteful and unhinged, you're essentially walking them down a path of mental illness. And I guess I just don't find yet another story about a woman acting crazy and being perceived as mentally ill to be that funny.
I'm looking at the wide gulf between my thoughts and everyone else's, and I'm honestly puzzled. Perhaps I read a different book. Or I just lack the sense of humor necessary to understand this one. Either way, I'm in the minority, so don't let me dissuade you from giving it a try.
Your mother lies to you, and then you lie to your children, and then your children lie to their children, and then you are an old woman, looking back at your own life, lying to yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
April 12, 2026
4.5!! What. A. Ride!! I could have read 100 more pages of this story, especially the last 20% 🤯 It lost me for a bit in the middle, but it was such a ride and one that I definitely did not want to get off of lol. Main character Natalie is an influencer that shares her traditional, homesteading lifestyle online, but what happens when she wakes up one morning back in the 1800s, actually living the life she’s portraying online?
Saying anything more will spoil it, but just trust me it is a WILD ride!
Saying anything more will spoil it, but just trust me it is a WILD ride!
April 17, 2026
Honestly, this is one of the most mind bending reading experiences I have had in a long time. When I finished this book, my head was spinning. I felt stunned, unsettled, confused, deeply shaken, and yet ultimately impressed because what I thought I was signing up for was not at all what I actually received.
Based on the blurb, the premise initially reads like an intriguing time travel fantasy blended with women’s fiction. We meet Natalie Heller Mills, a glossy, picture perfect YouTuber and influencer documenting her idyllic farm life with her husband and five children, with a sixth on the way. One morning she wakes up in the same house, but it is no longer the renovated farmhouse she knows. Instead, she is suddenly transported to 1805, surrounded by dirt, hardship, firewood for heat, hand washed clothes, poverty, and a rougher, older version of her husband. There is no electricity, no comfort, no safety net, just brutal pioneer reality. At first this feels like a nightmare she desperately wants to wake up from, and I assumed the story would follow a straightforward magical or historical fantasy path. I could not have been more wrong.
Once the novel reaches its second half, the true nature of the story becomes chillingly clear. I do not want to spoil anything, but there is a moment so shocking that I literally stopped reading and stared at the page. The final twist left me reeling and reminded me strongly of the real life Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt case, including their multimillion dollar mansion and horrific revelations. I highly recommend reading about that case after finishing this book, because the parallels are haunting.
Yes, the book is long, but I was never bored. The central mystery revolves around why Natalie, a devout Christian, manic pixie style tradwife figure with eight million followers, becomes the target of angry online critics, Ivy League elites, and social media activists who label her anti feminist. Suddenly finding herself trapped in a Little House on the Prairie style past, she must figure out how to survive and whether she can return to her real life.Interwoven with this is Natalie’s backstory. We learn how she earned a scholarship to Harvard but struggled to fit into the elite academic world because of her sheltered upbringing and strict moral values instilled by her widowed mother. Her life motto is always be nice, even as rage and resentment quietly simmer beneath the surface. Then she meets Caleb, a man from a large conservative patriarchal family with secrets of their own.
After marriage, Natalie realizes Caleb is intellectually lazy, spoiled, and completely disconnected from real labor or responsibility. When she suggests starting a farm as his “project,” she thinks she is helping him find purpose. Instead, it becomes her own empire, complete with millions of followers, brand deals, hired nannies, and a 21 year old producer named Shannon documenting every moment of her supposedly perfect life.This book will absolutely spark political and cultural debate. It is sharp satire, but also a chilling reflection of real world extremism disguised as family values.
Natalie is deeply flawed and often unlikable, but she is never a cartoon villain. You may hate her choices, but the novel pushes you to understand how she became this way.What frustrated me most was that I disliked almost every character. Caleb is painfully ignorant. His father Doug is predatory and manipulative. His mother is emotionally broken. Even Natalie’s own family and producer Shannon, despite her good intentions, drove me crazy. That is why I deducted one star.
Still, the book is unforgettable.Natalie’s voice is fascinating. She is obsessed with being good, likable, obedient, and morally pure, yet those very traits trap her in misery. The novel brilliantly shows how everyone in this story believes they are right while being deeply wrong at the same time. They are all both victims and villains of their own choices.The final twist is wild, slightly far fetched, but devastatingly effective.
The emotional conclusion stayed with me long after I finished. I truly believe this will be one of the most talked about, provocative, and controversial books of the year, and I would not be surprised if it becomes a television series.Even if you find Natalie unbearable, you should still read this book. It is a sharp mirror of today’s social media culture, political polarization, religious extremism, family dysfunction, and most importantly, mental health. It is challenging, uncomfortable, brilliant, and unforgettable.
A very huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Knopf for providing me with this intellectually electrifying and deeply thought provoking digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Based on the blurb, the premise initially reads like an intriguing time travel fantasy blended with women’s fiction. We meet Natalie Heller Mills, a glossy, picture perfect YouTuber and influencer documenting her idyllic farm life with her husband and five children, with a sixth on the way. One morning she wakes up in the same house, but it is no longer the renovated farmhouse she knows. Instead, she is suddenly transported to 1805, surrounded by dirt, hardship, firewood for heat, hand washed clothes, poverty, and a rougher, older version of her husband. There is no electricity, no comfort, no safety net, just brutal pioneer reality. At first this feels like a nightmare she desperately wants to wake up from, and I assumed the story would follow a straightforward magical or historical fantasy path. I could not have been more wrong.
Once the novel reaches its second half, the true nature of the story becomes chillingly clear. I do not want to spoil anything, but there is a moment so shocking that I literally stopped reading and stared at the page. The final twist left me reeling and reminded me strongly of the real life Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt case, including their multimillion dollar mansion and horrific revelations. I highly recommend reading about that case after finishing this book, because the parallels are haunting.
Yes, the book is long, but I was never bored. The central mystery revolves around why Natalie, a devout Christian, manic pixie style tradwife figure with eight million followers, becomes the target of angry online critics, Ivy League elites, and social media activists who label her anti feminist. Suddenly finding herself trapped in a Little House on the Prairie style past, she must figure out how to survive and whether she can return to her real life.Interwoven with this is Natalie’s backstory. We learn how she earned a scholarship to Harvard but struggled to fit into the elite academic world because of her sheltered upbringing and strict moral values instilled by her widowed mother. Her life motto is always be nice, even as rage and resentment quietly simmer beneath the surface. Then she meets Caleb, a man from a large conservative patriarchal family with secrets of their own.
After marriage, Natalie realizes Caleb is intellectually lazy, spoiled, and completely disconnected from real labor or responsibility. When she suggests starting a farm as his “project,” she thinks she is helping him find purpose. Instead, it becomes her own empire, complete with millions of followers, brand deals, hired nannies, and a 21 year old producer named Shannon documenting every moment of her supposedly perfect life.This book will absolutely spark political and cultural debate. It is sharp satire, but also a chilling reflection of real world extremism disguised as family values.
Natalie is deeply flawed and often unlikable, but she is never a cartoon villain. You may hate her choices, but the novel pushes you to understand how she became this way.What frustrated me most was that I disliked almost every character. Caleb is painfully ignorant. His father Doug is predatory and manipulative. His mother is emotionally broken. Even Natalie’s own family and producer Shannon, despite her good intentions, drove me crazy. That is why I deducted one star.
Still, the book is unforgettable.Natalie’s voice is fascinating. She is obsessed with being good, likable, obedient, and morally pure, yet those very traits trap her in misery. The novel brilliantly shows how everyone in this story believes they are right while being deeply wrong at the same time. They are all both victims and villains of their own choices.The final twist is wild, slightly far fetched, but devastatingly effective.
The emotional conclusion stayed with me long after I finished. I truly believe this will be one of the most talked about, provocative, and controversial books of the year, and I would not be surprised if it becomes a television series.Even if you find Natalie unbearable, you should still read this book. It is a sharp mirror of today’s social media culture, political polarization, religious extremism, family dysfunction, and most importantly, mental health. It is challenging, uncomfortable, brilliant, and unforgettable.
A very huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Knopf for providing me with this intellectually electrifying and deeply thought provoking digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yesteryear
Caro Claire Burke
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Penguin Random House Canada | Knopf Canada
400 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: Humour & Satire | Mystery & Thrillers
This is a debut and a good one at that. The story is about Natalie; she is a 32-year-old influencer with millions of followers, and she is known as a "trad" (for traditional) wife. Online, she lives the pioneer life on a ranch in Idaho. You know the kind—with sourdough starters and homemade jam—and she has a handsome husband who is a cowboy. Now here comes the "but": in reality, her online life is made up; it's simply a performance. She has nannies and a production company. Her kitchen is filled with professional appliances, so the rustic life isn't a reality at all.
Then the book takes a turn that sends Natalie reeling: she suddenly wakes up in 1805. Now she HAS to be rustic, and her handsome husband isn't so handsome any longer; he's a stern, rough farmer and weather-beaten. Her kids are dirty and her own. There's no electricity or running water and, of course, no internet. Now Natalie must figure out how to deal with this harsh reality and how—and if—she has time-travelled there.
NetGalley has this listed as humour and satire, and it is kinda darkly funny. It really takes a poke at the influencer lifestyle and culture. Take Survivor in the 19th century and mix it with social satire, and you've got Yesteryear. I didn't like Natalie very much; she's a narcissist, and reading about her trying to make it in 1805 was a great hook. I couldn't get enough and enjoyed watching her suffer through it. It is a funny and unique take on what happens when the facade of a simpler life becomes a reality. This is a clever, biting take on the tradwife trend that's popular right now, and there’s something supremely satisfying about seeing a fake persona meeting the harsh reality of 19th-century frontier life. If you enjoy stories that use time travel and a witty punch at social media, you'd enjoy this; I know I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yesteryear
Caro Claire Burke
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Penguin Random House Canada | Knopf Canada
400 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: Humour & Satire | Mystery & Thrillers
This is a debut and a good one at that. The story is about Natalie; she is a 32-year-old influencer with millions of followers, and she is known as a "trad" (for traditional) wife. Online, she lives the pioneer life on a ranch in Idaho. You know the kind—with sourdough starters and homemade jam—and she has a handsome husband who is a cowboy. Now here comes the "but": in reality, her online life is made up; it's simply a performance. She has nannies and a production company. Her kitchen is filled with professional appliances, so the rustic life isn't a reality at all.
Then the book takes a turn that sends Natalie reeling: she suddenly wakes up in 1805. Now she HAS to be rustic, and her handsome husband isn't so handsome any longer; he's a stern, rough farmer and weather-beaten. Her kids are dirty and her own. There's no electricity or running water and, of course, no internet. Now Natalie must figure out how to deal with this harsh reality and how—and if—she has time-travelled there.
NetGalley has this listed as humour and satire, and it is kinda darkly funny. It really takes a poke at the influencer lifestyle and culture. Take Survivor in the 19th century and mix it with social satire, and you've got Yesteryear. I didn't like Natalie very much; she's a narcissist, and reading about her trying to make it in 1805 was a great hook. I couldn't get enough and enjoyed watching her suffer through it. It is a funny and unique take on what happens when the facade of a simpler life becomes a reality. This is a clever, biting take on the tradwife trend that's popular right now, and there’s something supremely satisfying about seeing a fake persona meeting the harsh reality of 19th-century frontier life. If you enjoy stories that use time travel and a witty punch at social media, you'd enjoy this; I know I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
April 12, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
Oh... my... gosh?!
It feels slightly rare when a book suddenly pops into the world and feels INSTANTLY like a cult classic, like every book pick in every book club ever... ultimately like a book you know is going to be on everyones 'favourite book(s) of the year list.'
Yesteryear was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 and it without a doubt surpassed every expectation that I had. This book is so nuanced, comedic (in its darkness), confronting and begs itself to open discussion. We follow our protagonist Natalie, a tradwife influencer living with her 5 children and husband farming for views and performing a perfected 'Christian x nuclear family' life. But one day... she wakes up in 1805 and is hit with the grand realisation that perhaps traditionalism isn't exactly the way forward. Blending 'weird girl fiction' with elements of a psychological thriller, Caro Claire Burke executes this fresh idea in a way that begs the reader to binge read it.
There is so much commentary on religion and conservatism and thus it is no shock that Natalie is a character flawed in her logic but is somehow so fascinating to follow. Begging the question as to whether she truly is as problematic as she seems or is she simply a product of her upbringing, of her values and more so of being a woman in this world? I am SO intrigued to see how as a result of Yesteryear, 'the weird girl' fiction subgrenre may be leaning more into the dark side of influencing and picking apart a career so governed by online surveillance and scrutiny. Natalie is a character that to her core battles authenticity. The authenticity of her beliefs, of her marriage, of her children and of her brand. Is it possible to even be our authentic selves? in our relationships? online?
Yesteryear is a FEAT in storytelling! (the last 30 pages oh my) I cannot recommend this book enough (especially for a book club!!!)
Oh... my... gosh?!
It feels slightly rare when a book suddenly pops into the world and feels INSTANTLY like a cult classic, like every book pick in every book club ever... ultimately like a book you know is going to be on everyones 'favourite book(s) of the year list.'
Yesteryear was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 and it without a doubt surpassed every expectation that I had. This book is so nuanced, comedic (in its darkness), confronting and begs itself to open discussion. We follow our protagonist Natalie, a tradwife influencer living with her 5 children and husband farming for views and performing a perfected 'Christian x nuclear family' life. But one day... she wakes up in 1805 and is hit with the grand realisation that perhaps traditionalism isn't exactly the way forward. Blending 'weird girl fiction' with elements of a psychological thriller, Caro Claire Burke executes this fresh idea in a way that begs the reader to binge read it.
There is so much commentary on religion and conservatism and thus it is no shock that Natalie is a character flawed in her logic but is somehow so fascinating to follow. Begging the question as to whether she truly is as problematic as she seems or is she simply a product of her upbringing, of her values and more so of being a woman in this world? I am SO intrigued to see how as a result of Yesteryear, 'the weird girl' fiction subgrenre may be leaning more into the dark side of influencing and picking apart a career so governed by online surveillance and scrutiny. Natalie is a character that to her core battles authenticity. The authenticity of her beliefs, of her marriage, of her children and of her brand. Is it possible to even be our authentic selves? in our relationships? online?
Yesteryear is a FEAT in storytelling! (the last 30 pages oh my) I cannot recommend this book enough (especially for a book club!!!)
April 13, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(5/5, fiction)
I was just totally gobsmacked by this book! Brilliant, biting, and impossible to look away from. This is not a light and fluffy read! It had me running the full gamut of emotion. Rage & stress were the emotional frontrunners at times. This is satire, it’s dark, it’s brilliant.
This story is about a mega famous tradwife influencer with millions of followers, living on a farm with her ever growing family, selling a life of simplicity and beauty that her followers can’t look away from. Then she wakes up in 1855. Is this a reality show? Time travel? A test from God?
This book will leave you breathless and eager to discuss it with someone, the perfect book club fodder. Anne Hathaway clearly agrees, as she is producing and starring in the forthcoming movie adaptation!
I was just totally gobsmacked by this book! Brilliant, biting, and impossible to look away from. This is not a light and fluffy read! It had me running the full gamut of emotion. Rage & stress were the emotional frontrunners at times. This is satire, it’s dark, it’s brilliant.
This story is about a mega famous tradwife influencer with millions of followers, living on a farm with her ever growing family, selling a life of simplicity and beauty that her followers can’t look away from. Then she wakes up in 1855. Is this a reality show? Time travel? A test from God?
This book will leave you breathless and eager to discuss it with someone, the perfect book club fodder. Anne Hathaway clearly agrees, as she is producing and starring in the forthcoming movie adaptation!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
⭐️ 5 ⭐️ WOW! This book, just add it. SO GOOD! Darkly comedic, the biting satire in this one is bold! There is a reason why this book is getting all the buzz and already getting a movie adaptation. Best advice? Go in completely blind because it's a mind bending experience and incredibly thought provoking. I have no doubt this book will be one of THE books of 2026.
Natalie Heller Mills is the MOST traditional American woman who is PERFECT at being a tradwife, an influencer, a GOOD Christian woman/wife and especially excels at being the horrid ANGRY WOMAN. She's someone who has everything--6 kids, a cowboy husband, the money, the followers, the lifestyle! All she projects is a calm, grounded Christian perfection. But one day, Natalie wakes up in 1855 and must cope with the realities of her NEW life. She has the same husband who is not HER husband, the same children who are not really HER children. So it's her life but not really HER life--What is going on??
As a reader, we meet two different Natalies and follow the evolution from a young, naive girl to her womanhood/motherhood. We get to know her as a mother, as an influencer and as a homesteader. We are introduced to many supporting characters who are not always well liked but are rather multidimensional and bring a lot of light to the unraveling story. As the story moves forward, the novel explores the disparity between online personas and reality. The narrative touches on many subjects and has a WELL explored social commentary that is bold, sharp and very thought provoking. The book explores 'cancel culture', womanhood & social culture in modern America and the luxuriously portrayed influencer lifestyle. The reader will have no idea who is the real VICTIM or a VILLAIN in this one. The ending will leave you shocked and probably a mix between captivated and confused.
LIFE IS A PERFORMANCE. So is Natalies life a false narrative, a hoax or simply a dream?
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Publisher and the author, Caro Claire Burke for sending me this ARC.
Publication date: April 7, 2026
Natalie Heller Mills is the MOST traditional American woman who is PERFECT at being a tradwife, an influencer, a GOOD Christian woman/wife and especially excels at being the horrid ANGRY WOMAN. She's someone who has everything--6 kids, a cowboy husband, the money, the followers, the lifestyle! All she projects is a calm, grounded Christian perfection. But one day, Natalie wakes up in 1855 and must cope with the realities of her NEW life. She has the same husband who is not HER husband, the same children who are not really HER children. So it's her life but not really HER life--What is going on??
As a reader, we meet two different Natalies and follow the evolution from a young, naive girl to her womanhood/motherhood. We get to know her as a mother, as an influencer and as a homesteader. We are introduced to many supporting characters who are not always well liked but are rather multidimensional and bring a lot of light to the unraveling story. As the story moves forward, the novel explores the disparity between online personas and reality. The narrative touches on many subjects and has a WELL explored social commentary that is bold, sharp and very thought provoking. The book explores 'cancel culture', womanhood & social culture in modern America and the luxuriously portrayed influencer lifestyle. The reader will have no idea who is the real VICTIM or a VILLAIN in this one. The ending will leave you shocked and probably a mix between captivated and confused.
LIFE IS A PERFORMANCE. So is Natalies life a false narrative, a hoax or simply a dream?
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Publisher and the author, Caro Claire Burke for sending me this ARC.
Publication date: April 7, 2026
April 7, 2026
Wow, I absolutely loved this book. It puts a new spin on the tradwife/social media influencer trope. This book had me guessing from the very beginning….. I had absolutely no idea where this book was heading. But I loved where it went.
Natalie is a super popular social media influencer showing off her traditional pioneer lifestyle. Natalie , her husband, Caleb and her six children all live on a massive ranch and live farm to table. To put it simply Natalie is living her best life as a traditional Christian pioneer. At least that is what she wants all of her followers to believe. Behind the scenes everything is choreographed perfectly, and there is additional help in the form of nannies and farm hands and producers to keep things moving smoothly. One morning, Natalie wakes up and something feels off. The house she is in is not her house. Her husband is not her husband and her kids are not her kids. And it appears she has woken up in the 1800s. Natalie is completely discombobulated and confused as am I. We both want to know what the heck happened.
We learned so much about Natalie from the time she goes to college all the way through to waking up in the 1800s. I enjoyed Natalie’s inner monologue at times. She made me snicker , other times she made me absolutely despise her and finally there were times that she was relatable . Don’t get me wrong, she’s still highly unlikable, but she felt real. All the different elements from the social influencing, tradwife and pioneer lifestyle were woven together in a nice arc. There was just something about this one that piqued my interest and I’m so glad I picked it up. This is definitely one that I can see being talked about for sure.
Be sure to add this one to your TBR!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Natalie is a super popular social media influencer showing off her traditional pioneer lifestyle. Natalie , her husband, Caleb and her six children all live on a massive ranch and live farm to table. To put it simply Natalie is living her best life as a traditional Christian pioneer. At least that is what she wants all of her followers to believe. Behind the scenes everything is choreographed perfectly, and there is additional help in the form of nannies and farm hands and producers to keep things moving smoothly. One morning, Natalie wakes up and something feels off. The house she is in is not her house. Her husband is not her husband and her kids are not her kids. And it appears she has woken up in the 1800s. Natalie is completely discombobulated and confused as am I. We both want to know what the heck happened.
We learned so much about Natalie from the time she goes to college all the way through to waking up in the 1800s. I enjoyed Natalie’s inner monologue at times. She made me snicker , other times she made me absolutely despise her and finally there were times that she was relatable . Don’t get me wrong, she’s still highly unlikable, but she felt real. All the different elements from the social influencing, tradwife and pioneer lifestyle were woven together in a nice arc. There was just something about this one that piqued my interest and I’m so glad I picked it up. This is definitely one that I can see being talked about for sure.
Be sure to add this one to your TBR!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
April 7, 2026
I really thought this book was not good. The structure and story framework were a mess. The book was way too long. There were so many pieces that were not dealt with in the end. The way the reveal was revealed was annoying and detached from the book. From a character development standpoint (and I love an unlikable main character) our trad wife had no clear ideology for herself. It felt as if the author hated her and she never created a fully realized woman. I just thought the book was a mess and offered no original or nuanced critique of influencing or conservative aesthetics besides a surface level analysis. It wasn't satire it was a bit.
January 29, 2026
4+
Natalie Heller Mills is a tradwife with 8 million followers on Instagram, living the picture of the traditional American mother and wife, she is beautiful and hardworking, with six children… living the farm life in Idaho.. but she is not what she seems to be online.
One day she wakes up in 1805, she has children, but they aren’t hers.. all of the modern conveniences are gone… all is rustic. How did she get here? There seems to be nowhere out.
The story is told in flashbacks and present day.
Gripping story, a real page turner.
I predict this book will be everywhere, soon.
Already optioned to be a movie produced and starred in by Ann Hathaway.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Natalie Heller Mills is a tradwife with 8 million followers on Instagram, living the picture of the traditional American mother and wife, she is beautiful and hardworking, with six children… living the farm life in Idaho.. but she is not what she seems to be online.
One day she wakes up in 1805, she has children, but they aren’t hers.. all of the modern conveniences are gone… all is rustic. How did she get here? There seems to be nowhere out.
The story is told in flashbacks and present day.
Gripping story, a real page turner.
I predict this book will be everywhere, soon.
Already optioned to be a movie produced and starred in by Ann Hathaway.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
March 13, 2026
This was a novel that caught me by surprise and I could not put it down! It is mysterious, emotional, tense and incredibly unique. It is definitely not a one genre book. It was suspenseful, historical, dark, literary and even comical. It comes with a time slip, a trad wife and an enticing plot. It’s a medium paced book that is character driven. I think that when this book comes out, everyone is going to be talking about it! It’s a one of a kind story that I will be thinking about for a very long time! It is simply unforgettable. All in all, I give this book a 5 out of 5 star rating!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Caro Claire Burke and Penguin Random House / Knopf for this wonderful eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be published on April 7, 2026!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Caro Claire Burke and Penguin Random House / Knopf for this wonderful eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be published on April 7, 2026!
March 10, 2026
In short, nothing about this story worked. It is, frankly, a mean-spirited revenge fantasy against a strawman the author made up. For a story like this to work, when you’re introduced to the character, they have to come across as a real person. I recognize this is satire, but that doesn’t remove the need for character development. From the beginning, you’re clearly supposed to find the FMC a terrible person and a joke. Look how awful she is! Isn’t it funny? Wouldn’t it be great to see her get what she deserves? Maybe an abusive husband and severe physical and psychological trauma? Wouldn’t that be so satisfying? No, actually!
And to make it worse, the author beats you over the head with what they want you to think; there’s no nuance, no reading between the lines. Social commentary along the lines of sexism, classism, racism, etc etc are tossed in at random then left untouched and undeveloped. It felt more like the author wanted to throw in topics for brownie points, considering she didn’t bother to explore any of them that she bothered to use beyond a zinger sentence. And, ultimately, when the story ends, there’s no point. Anything the story could’ve been building to is thrown away in favor of a “twist” ending.
The author is, I am assuming, very young. This is not a bad thing, but they do fall into the trend of people in their younger 20s assuming everything pre-2020 was an amalgamated dark age. This is most prevalent in the college flashbacks—from what I can tell, these take place around 2010, but the author seems to think 2010 was the 90s. Someone has a straight-from-the-80s AIDS scare. The FMC, a sophomore at Harvard, gets the latest hot new technology that no one around her has yet: a cell phone. A flip phone, even. I gaslit myself so hard on when cell phones became the norm that I had to google when the iphone released and check with friends to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. Sure, yes, minor complaint overall, but god did this drive me crazy.
The author is also, I’m assuming, neither religious nor has any real background with religion. Again, this is fine—you don’t have to write solely from your own experiences—but as someone who was raised conservative and religious but is no longer either, it’s abundantly clear that the author didn’t do a whole lot of research. Her main character is a caricature already, so maybe it’s to be expected, but the story relies very heavily on stereotypes.
In my experience, satire is supposed to say something, not just be an overt open mocking. I understand why this book will be popular, especially considering modern trends in literature, but all the positive reviews make me feel like someone’s trying to prank me a little bit.
And to make it worse, the author beats you over the head with what they want you to think; there’s no nuance, no reading between the lines. Social commentary along the lines of sexism, classism, racism, etc etc are tossed in at random then left untouched and undeveloped. It felt more like the author wanted to throw in topics for brownie points, considering she didn’t bother to explore any of them that she bothered to use beyond a zinger sentence. And, ultimately, when the story ends, there’s no point. Anything the story could’ve been building to is thrown away in favor of a “twist” ending.
The author is, I am assuming, very young. This is not a bad thing, but they do fall into the trend of people in their younger 20s assuming everything pre-2020 was an amalgamated dark age. This is most prevalent in the college flashbacks—from what I can tell, these take place around 2010, but the author seems to think 2010 was the 90s. Someone has a straight-from-the-80s AIDS scare. The FMC, a sophomore at Harvard, gets the latest hot new technology that no one around her has yet: a cell phone. A flip phone, even. I gaslit myself so hard on when cell phones became the norm that I had to google when the iphone released and check with friends to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. Sure, yes, minor complaint overall, but god did this drive me crazy.
The author is also, I’m assuming, neither religious nor has any real background with religion. Again, this is fine—you don’t have to write solely from your own experiences—but as someone who was raised conservative and religious but is no longer either, it’s abundantly clear that the author didn’t do a whole lot of research. Her main character is a caricature already, so maybe it’s to be expected, but the story relies very heavily on stereotypes.
In my experience, satire is supposed to say something, not just be an overt open mocking. I understand why this book will be popular, especially considering modern trends in literature, but all the positive reviews make me feel like someone’s trying to prank me a little bit.
April 8, 2026
I haven’t been so purely entertained by a book in a long time; I flew through this in about 2 days.
Along with being a fun read, Yesteryear also provides some great satirical commentary on the tradwife movement, religious fundamentalism, gender roles, and influencer culture. Burke’s ability to craft a distinct narrative voice is masterful. The protagonist’s, Natalie, voice is awful to read but incredibly compelling. When I first picked this up, I planned to read a few chapters, and ended up reading over 100 pages in one sitting.
The pace doesn’t really let up as we watch the life and persona that Natalie sets up at the start of the book slowly start to crack and splinter, and then completely crash down. The story is compulsively readable - at no point did I know where it was going.
Some of the novel’s themes could’ve been explored in more depth, it was very ambitious and sometimes Burke began to bring in other commentary that deserved a tighter focus. But overall, it does what it set out to do, and does it well!
Thank you 4th Estate for the advanced copy <3
Along with being a fun read, Yesteryear also provides some great satirical commentary on the tradwife movement, religious fundamentalism, gender roles, and influencer culture. Burke’s ability to craft a distinct narrative voice is masterful. The protagonist’s, Natalie, voice is awful to read but incredibly compelling. When I first picked this up, I planned to read a few chapters, and ended up reading over 100 pages in one sitting.
The pace doesn’t really let up as we watch the life and persona that Natalie sets up at the start of the book slowly start to crack and splinter, and then completely crash down. The story is compulsively readable - at no point did I know where it was going.
Some of the novel’s themes could’ve been explored in more depth, it was very ambitious and sometimes Burke began to bring in other commentary that deserved a tighter focus. But overall, it does what it set out to do, and does it well!
Thank you 4th Estate for the advanced copy <3
April 13, 2026
4.5 stars - I stayed up late finishing this FOMO read - the writing is quite compelling and overall, I quite enjoyed it, though, depending on where readers stand on current politics & religion will likely affect their enjoyment. I loved this send up of "Trad Wife" & Influencer Natalie, whose curated farm lifestyle is only made possible by plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets & help - a total fake & grifter. But one morning she wakes up in the 1800’s - or is she kidnapped? - or on a reality show? To quote the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”: “This is not her beautiful house/life. How did she get here? Is the money gone? Is she right or is she wrong? My God, what has she done?” (IYKYK) I’m happy with this buzzy book and will watch the adaptation and be interested in seeing what this debut author does next.
March 9, 2026
if there’s one word to explain this it would be: UNIQUE. i can honestly say i’ve never read anything like it! as a gal who reads A LOT, that is always a fun experience. but i think all the early hype messed with my expectations a bit bc i wanted to love it but find myself in the “like” category.
this already has a 🎬 in development with Anne Hathaway as the star and tbh, i can picture it perfectly! i am actually really excited to see this come to life.
what it’s about: a mommy influencer has a ranch and captivates viewers with her off the grid, organic lifestyle. she is a woman of god and has a ton of kids. but it’s of course all just a show. and then one day she wakes up and is in the 1800s/pioneer days. what happened????!!!
all in all, this was fun! it was different and entertaining and had me hooked from the start and i wanted to see how it would end. i think this will be a hit with book clubs when it’s out, it would be so fun to chat w others about!
pros: it grabs you immediately, it’s unique, it’s funny/has lots of satire, it explores the fake messy world of an influencer, it touches (a LOT) on the messed up gender roles in society, the ending was bananas
where it missed for me:
- the pacing—the middle 60% was kinda repetitive tbh! i was in it to see wtf was the twist and what happened and was shocked by it, but it felt too long to get there and left me wanting another 40 pages to wrap it up
- Natalie. omg i’ve never despised a character so much low key. and there was no character growth at the end!!! i know this is maybe by design but woof she was hard to read and root for
- the religion talk was a lot for my personal taste
thanks to Knopf for the early copy! this debut is out in April and will definitely be the talk of the town 🐓
this already has a 🎬 in development with Anne Hathaway as the star and tbh, i can picture it perfectly! i am actually really excited to see this come to life.
what it’s about: a mommy influencer has a ranch and captivates viewers with her off the grid, organic lifestyle. she is a woman of god and has a ton of kids. but it’s of course all just a show. and then one day she wakes up and is in the 1800s/pioneer days. what happened????!!!
all in all, this was fun! it was different and entertaining and had me hooked from the start and i wanted to see how it would end. i think this will be a hit with book clubs when it’s out, it would be so fun to chat w others about!
pros: it grabs you immediately, it’s unique, it’s funny/has lots of satire, it explores the fake messy world of an influencer, it touches (a LOT) on the messed up gender roles in society, the ending was bananas
where it missed for me:
- the pacing—the middle 60% was kinda repetitive tbh! i was in it to see wtf was the twist and what happened and was shocked by it, but it felt too long to get there and left me wanting another 40 pages to wrap it up
- Natalie. omg i’ve never despised a character so much low key. and there was no character growth at the end!!! i know this is maybe by design but woof she was hard to read and root for
- the religion talk was a lot for my personal taste
thanks to Knopf for the early copy! this debut is out in April and will definitely be the talk of the town 🐓
April 15, 2026
Is this a social experiment? This book is the epitome of going so far left that you end up right. The structure was messy and confusing. The writing itself was quite poor, which was possibly intentional. It felt like I was reading someone’s ramblings. There’s a lot of rants and rages that feel overdone and over-explained. Our main character is unwell, so I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt for that one.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE BOOK
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Even when the point the author is coming to is “correct,”it isn’t a fully-formed, multi-faceted point. And nay a sliver of nuance in sight. The reason for this, is that ALL of the themes of this book— traditional femininity, motherhood, domestic life, religion, fame, influencer/social media culture, etc… Are written as caricatures. Even the main character and her husband don’t seem like real people. They’re cartoonish and embellished to the point where I didn’t take them seriously. I understand that this is a satire… But is it? Why include all of these themes in a book and never expand upon them? Isn’t that why we read in the first place? Several REAL people come to mind when I read this book as the author has made very clear that she has read a bunch of snark subreddit posts written by (you guessed it!) “angry women” to help herself with writing what exactly we don’t like about these influencers and why they’re problematic. It’s brain rot.
The protagonist is meant to be extremely unlikable, but why is she the villain? Any woman in 2026 knows she isn’t the primary villain, so why does it seem like the author is priming the audience to fully accept and CHEER FOR the idea that the punishment for the crimes of a severely mislead, emotionally/mentally abused, manipulated, young woman experiencing postpartum depression is…. Domestic violence, an extra marital affair, and being drugged her for YEARS without her consent? Why is the woman the only one being punished here?! Are we KIDDING?!
Oh and then at the end, she remains a victim of the patriarchy that has been abusing her since birth by forgetting a decade of her life, being cut off from her entire family, all of her children taken away, in jail for 30 years, and everyone hates her! Pass. I get where the author was going, but she missed the destination BIG TIME. The premise was SO THERE, but the execution was terrible and dare I say… extremely harmful. I mean, HELLO!!! Are we wanting to make new mothers scared to take SSRIs when they’re postpartum? Are we wanting women to not have children in the first place? Are we supposed to stop expecting more from men and do everything alone? OR should we just hate all other women for simply existing and doing what makes them happy and just accept that we’re in a man’s world? I mean what the actual f.
ANY book that ends with multiple children being neglected, abused, malnourished, and traumatized forever to make an extremely obvious point is inherently NOT feminist. I’m so mad.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE BOOK
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Even when the point the author is coming to is “correct,”it isn’t a fully-formed, multi-faceted point. And nay a sliver of nuance in sight. The reason for this, is that ALL of the themes of this book— traditional femininity, motherhood, domestic life, religion, fame, influencer/social media culture, etc… Are written as caricatures. Even the main character and her husband don’t seem like real people. They’re cartoonish and embellished to the point where I didn’t take them seriously. I understand that this is a satire… But is it? Why include all of these themes in a book and never expand upon them? Isn’t that why we read in the first place? Several REAL people come to mind when I read this book as the author has made very clear that she has read a bunch of snark subreddit posts written by (you guessed it!) “angry women” to help herself with writing what exactly we don’t like about these influencers and why they’re problematic. It’s brain rot.
The protagonist is meant to be extremely unlikable, but why is she the villain? Any woman in 2026 knows she isn’t the primary villain, so why does it seem like the author is priming the audience to fully accept and CHEER FOR the idea that the punishment for the crimes of a severely mislead, emotionally/mentally abused, manipulated, young woman experiencing postpartum depression is…. Domestic violence, an extra marital affair, and being drugged her for YEARS without her consent? Why is the woman the only one being punished here?! Are we KIDDING?!
Oh and then at the end, she remains a victim of the patriarchy that has been abusing her since birth by forgetting a decade of her life, being cut off from her entire family, all of her children taken away, in jail for 30 years, and everyone hates her! Pass. I get where the author was going, but she missed the destination BIG TIME. The premise was SO THERE, but the execution was terrible and dare I say… extremely harmful. I mean, HELLO!!! Are we wanting to make new mothers scared to take SSRIs when they’re postpartum? Are we wanting women to not have children in the first place? Are we supposed to stop expecting more from men and do everything alone? OR should we just hate all other women for simply existing and doing what makes them happy and just accept that we’re in a man’s world? I mean what the actual f.
ANY book that ends with multiple children being neglected, abused, malnourished, and traumatized forever to make an extremely obvious point is inherently NOT feminist. I’m so mad.
Read
April 15, 2026the more i think about this book, the more disappointed i am by it.
i think that upon its release, yesteryear is going to be everywhere — it's going to be the white woman book club pick of choice, i'm sure. it'll probably make for a great movie (although, i'm not sure if i can picture anne hathaway as natalie. not the point though. also, anne hathaway, please call me.) it's also, to me, half-baked, and hollow. and probably ballerina farm lawsuit fodder.
yesteryear is yet another case of "i loved the concept, and i think the execution really fell flat for me." as my dear friend em said in her review, "amongst my crowd however of young, lefty progressive, hater-ish, sometimes nonwhite women reared on the internet, bearing witness to changing social trends and terrible atrocities, i can sense this book raising questions to the end of “who’s this for. what was the point”." i am not the target audience for this book, despite being an early viewer of ballerina farm's content, and countless conversations with my friends about the rise of tradwifeism in today's political climate. and that bums me out a little bit, because yesteryear was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026.
i think burke tries to touch on some of the things that are often talked about in conjunction with conversations about tradwife influencers (whiteness, classism, privilege, religious indoctrination, mental health, child abuse) but all of it feels so very half-baked. i assume this is intentional (whether it's a matter of not pulling focus from the story, because burke doesn't feel equipped to do so, or something else), but frustrating for me, as a reader, to see topics and themes (some of which i care very much about) discussed in a way that feels almost lackadaisical.
i feel like you cannot write a book that is essentially, satirical culture commentary, and then do it in a way that feels half-assed and not well researched. it's a disservice to your story, and to your audience. there's also a conversation here to be had about taking such heavy inspiration from influencers (who yes, choose to put their lives out there on social media) and using it for culture commentary — and the invasiveness of that. just because someone chooses to share their life on social media does not mean they consent to ... that. and i'm not saying we can't critique tradwife influencers (obviously, i think cultural criticism is a good and healthy thing and i think we should engage with all things critically), but the extent that burke seems to draw inspiration from hannah ballerinafarm does make me a little ... weary? again, it almost feels lazy.
in my original review, i wrote that i like my books with more character growth and development than yesteryear contains, and i still stand by that. at the end of yesteryear, it feels like natalie has not progressed since we first met her. which. well, there's a reason for that. little character development + half baked social commentary = a frustrated and unfulfilled reader (me). and i have no problem with reading a book about a main character that i don't agree with, or that i deeply dislike — but i do need something. it almost felt like the opposite of "and ben platt, who played dear, he gave everything" — yesteryear simply gave me ... nothing (but disappointment and frustration).
i think that yesteryear would've been stronger if the last part (or even an epilogue?) was told in someone else's pov — i found myself wanting to know more about natalie's children (particularly, clementine), and what life looked like for them. at the very least, i would have appreciated yesteryear more if some of the other characters (some of who are just as complicit, or if not, worse) were also dealt a similar fate. or if we at least knew what happened to them. and i think if yesteryear was even like, 50 pages longer (and if we had more time to fully flesh out natalie's upbringing/relationship with her faith/relationship with her family/anything else about natalie) it would've felt like a stronger story. natalie's sister was clearly meant to be a foil, but we barely see her and it just ... once again, feels flat.
yesteryear was a hollow book riddled with logical fallacies, and the more i think about it, the more disappointed i am. but once again, i do not think i was the target audience for this book (despite my initial excitement for it). i am also unsure what points burke was trying to make with yesteryear. was i supposed to leave with an increased disdain for tradwife influencers? am i supposed to feel bad for their children? i already do, that's nothing new. am i supposed to simply be entertained? i guess it did capture my attention for the entirety of my flight, but it definitely left me feeling more frustrated than when i started reading it. i'll probably still be seated for the movie. maybe it will translate better as a film! who knows!
i think that upon its release, yesteryear is going to be everywhere — it's going to be the white woman book club pick of choice, i'm sure. it'll probably make for a great movie (although, i'm not sure if i can picture anne hathaway as natalie. not the point though. also, anne hathaway, please call me.) it's also, to me, half-baked, and hollow. and probably ballerina farm lawsuit fodder.
yesteryear is yet another case of "i loved the concept, and i think the execution really fell flat for me." as my dear friend em said in her review, "amongst my crowd however of young, lefty progressive, hater-ish, sometimes nonwhite women reared on the internet, bearing witness to changing social trends and terrible atrocities, i can sense this book raising questions to the end of “who’s this for. what was the point”." i am not the target audience for this book, despite being an early viewer of ballerina farm's content, and countless conversations with my friends about the rise of tradwifeism in today's political climate. and that bums me out a little bit, because yesteryear was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026.
i think burke tries to touch on some of the things that are often talked about in conjunction with conversations about tradwife influencers (whiteness, classism, privilege, religious indoctrination, mental health, child abuse) but all of it feels so very half-baked. i assume this is intentional (whether it's a matter of not pulling focus from the story, because burke doesn't feel equipped to do so, or something else), but frustrating for me, as a reader, to see topics and themes (some of which i care very much about) discussed in a way that feels almost lackadaisical.
i feel like you cannot write a book that is essentially, satirical culture commentary, and then do it in a way that feels half-assed and not well researched. it's a disservice to your story, and to your audience. there's also a conversation here to be had about taking such heavy inspiration from influencers (who yes, choose to put their lives out there on social media) and using it for culture commentary — and the invasiveness of that. just because someone chooses to share their life on social media does not mean they consent to ... that. and i'm not saying we can't critique tradwife influencers (obviously, i think cultural criticism is a good and healthy thing and i think we should engage with all things critically), but the extent that burke seems to draw inspiration from hannah ballerinafarm does make me a little ... weary? again, it almost feels lazy.
in my original review, i wrote that i like my books with more character growth and development than yesteryear contains, and i still stand by that. at the end of yesteryear, it feels like natalie has not progressed since we first met her. which. well, there's a reason for that. little character development + half baked social commentary = a frustrated and unfulfilled reader (me). and i have no problem with reading a book about a main character that i don't agree with, or that i deeply dislike — but i do need something. it almost felt like the opposite of "and ben platt, who played dear, he gave everything" — yesteryear simply gave me ... nothing (but disappointment and frustration).
i think that yesteryear would've been stronger if the last part (or even an epilogue?) was told in someone else's pov — i found myself wanting to know more about natalie's children (particularly, clementine), and what life looked like for them. at the very least, i would have appreciated yesteryear more if some of the other characters (some of who are just as complicit, or if not, worse) were also dealt a similar fate. or if we at least knew what happened to them. and i think if yesteryear was even like, 50 pages longer (and if we had more time to fully flesh out natalie's upbringing/relationship with her faith/relationship with her family/anything else about natalie) it would've felt like a stronger story. natalie's sister was clearly meant to be a foil, but we barely see her and it just ... once again, feels flat.
yesteryear was a hollow book riddled with logical fallacies, and the more i think about it, the more disappointed i am. but once again, i do not think i was the target audience for this book (despite my initial excitement for it). i am also unsure what points burke was trying to make with yesteryear. was i supposed to leave with an increased disdain for tradwife influencers? am i supposed to feel bad for their children? i already do, that's nothing new. am i supposed to simply be entertained? i guess it did capture my attention for the entirety of my flight, but it definitely left me feeling more frustrated than when i started reading it. i'll probably still be seated for the movie. maybe it will translate better as a film! who knows!
April 14, 2026
Where to even begin except to say, now I see why this debut novel is receiving the hype it’s been getting. In some ways, this book felt like the epitome of a fever dream, but in others, it felt scarily tethered to reality today.
“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙢 𝙄? 𝘼 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙞𝙭𝙞𝙚 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙨.“
As we get a peek into the unhinged reality that is social media from the perspective of our henfluencer MC, a character that in many ways resembles a modern day Lady Macbeth, the author does a marvelous job of threading the needle between the behind-the-scenes/in-front-of-the-camera moments that make up the life of someone in that world.
However, underneath the more external social media melodrama, lies a much deeper theme around the idea of self-identity, religion, and the internalizing of the “role” women sometimes feel the need to take on at significant cost to themselves. This would make a spectacular book club selection given the topics explored and intense crescendo of the third act. Dynamite indeed.
🎧 One of my favorite narrators, Rebecca Lowman, narrates solo, and what an incredible job she does. Her at times dizzying portrayal of our MC put me right inside the character’s own mind. While the audio alone works, because of the back-and-forth time frame, an immersive read works best.
Read if you like:
▪️Macbeth
▪️unhinged characters
▪️social media landscape
▪️stories that feel meta
▪️slow burn suspense
▪️debut novels
Thank you Knopf and PRH Audio for the advanced copies.
“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙢 𝙄? 𝘼 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙞𝙭𝙞𝙚 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙨.“
As we get a peek into the unhinged reality that is social media from the perspective of our henfluencer MC, a character that in many ways resembles a modern day Lady Macbeth, the author does a marvelous job of threading the needle between the behind-the-scenes/in-front-of-the-camera moments that make up the life of someone in that world.
However, underneath the more external social media melodrama, lies a much deeper theme around the idea of self-identity, religion, and the internalizing of the “role” women sometimes feel the need to take on at significant cost to themselves. This would make a spectacular book club selection given the topics explored and intense crescendo of the third act. Dynamite indeed.
🎧 One of my favorite narrators, Rebecca Lowman, narrates solo, and what an incredible job she does. Her at times dizzying portrayal of our MC put me right inside the character’s own mind. While the audio alone works, because of the back-and-forth time frame, an immersive read works best.
Read if you like:
▪️Macbeth
▪️unhinged characters
▪️social media landscape
▪️stories that feel meta
▪️slow burn suspense
▪️debut novels
Thank you Knopf and PRH Audio for the advanced copies.
April 18, 2026
The premise of Yesteryear intrigued me right away: a modern tradwife influencer suddenly forced to live the harsh pioneer life of 1855. It sounded like it could be a fun, eye-opening contrast between today’s curated online world and raw historical reality. Sadly, it didn’t deliver for me.
The main character, Natalie, is relentlessly self-absorbed and unlikeable, which made it tough to stay invested in her journey. The story relies heavily on flashbacks and long internal monologues that slowed everything down and made the pacing feel uneven.
I kept waiting for some sharp wit, clever commentary, or even a few laughs, but none ever came.
Overall, the concept had real potential, but the execution left me bored and frustrated rather than engaged or entertained.
✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
The main character, Natalie, is relentlessly self-absorbed and unlikeable, which made it tough to stay invested in her journey. The story relies heavily on flashbacks and long internal monologues that slowed everything down and made the pacing feel uneven.
I kept waiting for some sharp wit, clever commentary, or even a few laughs, but none ever came.
Overall, the concept had real potential, but the execution left me bored and frustrated rather than engaged or entertained.
✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
Review of advance copy
☆☆☆☆
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is a thought-provoking and unsettling read that I’m rating 4 stars. The book really stood out to me for its sharp social commentary. It takes a hard look at internet culture, especially the rise of hyper-curated lifestyles like trad wives and momfluencers (think Nara Smith or Ballerina Farms, but pushed to a much more extreme level). It also weaves in critiques of consumerism and current politics in a way that feels very timely and, at moments, uncomfortably accurate.
That said, if you’re sensitive to or easily triggered by these topics, this probably isn’t the book for you. It doesn’t hold back.
I’d also recommend going into this one as blind as possible. Avoid spoilers if you can, the story delivers some genuinely shocking twists and turns that are best experienced without prior knowledge.
Natalie, the protagonist, is deeply unlikable, but in a way that feels intentional and necessary. She fits the story perfectly, and her characterisation adds to the overall impact of the novel rather than detracting from it.
Overall, I think Yesteryear has the potential to be a big success in 2026. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on whatever Caro Claire Burke writes next.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is a thought-provoking and unsettling read that I’m rating 4 stars. The book really stood out to me for its sharp social commentary. It takes a hard look at internet culture, especially the rise of hyper-curated lifestyles like trad wives and momfluencers (think Nara Smith or Ballerina Farms, but pushed to a much more extreme level). It also weaves in critiques of consumerism and current politics in a way that feels very timely and, at moments, uncomfortably accurate.
That said, if you’re sensitive to or easily triggered by these topics, this probably isn’t the book for you. It doesn’t hold back.
I’d also recommend going into this one as blind as possible. Avoid spoilers if you can, the story delivers some genuinely shocking twists and turns that are best experienced without prior knowledge.
Natalie, the protagonist, is deeply unlikable, but in a way that feels intentional and necessary. She fits the story perfectly, and her characterisation adds to the overall impact of the novel rather than detracting from it.
Overall, I think Yesteryear has the potential to be a big success in 2026. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on whatever Caro Claire Burke writes next.
April 15, 2026
WARNING: This is a “brain-on” review, as I am mentally unable to “turn my brain off” while reading anything.
Yesteryear has one of the most compelling premises I’ve come across: a wildly successful tradwife influencer is forced to actually live the life she sells to millions. It promises satire and a biting critique of gender roles and performance. But despite that strong setup, the novel is underdeveloped, structurally uneven, and thematically hesitant, especially once the full picture comes into focus.
At the start,
For a while, this works. Watching her struggle—physically, emotionally, socially—has a brutal clarity. The fantasy collapses under the weight of reality: domestic labor is exhausting, dependence is dangerous, and the patriarchal structure she once aestheticized becomes suffocating. This is the novel at its strongest, where the premise and its implications are most aligned.
But the "twist" fundamentally reshapes the narrative—and not, in my opinion, for the better.
By the end, it’s revealed that
This reveal shifts the novel away from What initially reads as a confrontation with ideology (i.e., “live the life you promote”) becomes a story about
Instead of interrogating the tradwife phenomenon as a set of choices, incentives, and power structures, the book reframes it as something emerging from psychological instability and repression. And while both are contributing factors, doing the former would have actually made it the "bold and biting satire" others are claiming it to be, and opting for the latter created a trivialized, watered-down spectacle that will undoubtedly (and successfully) sell to the masses on nothing more than its concept—unfortunate, but expected and not at all surprising.
The novel sidesteps one of its most interesting and important questions: what does it mean to choose this life, to profit from it, and to promote it to others? Natalie is not simply trapped—she is also a builder and beneficiary of the system. She cultivates the brand, monetizes it, and helps reinforce the very ideals that later “trap” her. Yet the narrative doesn’t fully grapple with that complicity. Instead, it increasingly positions her as a victim: of her upbringing, her husband’s family, her audience, and her own mind.
The psychological framing softens the critique, transforming what could have been an examination of agency into something closer to a case study in breakdown.
This is where the book’s lack of depth becomes most apparent. It raises big ideas—patriarchy, religion, influencer capitalism—but doesn’t sustain a rigorous exploration of them. The 1805 world, which could function as a material critique of gendered labor and dependence, becomes symbolic instead. And while symbolism can be powerful, in Yesteryear it feels like a retreat from the harder, more uncomfortable questions about compliancy, participation, and power.
Structurally, the novel doesn’t fully support its ambitions either. The shifting timelines and genre blending (contemporary, speculative, psychological, thriller, mystery, etc.) was disjointed and propped up the ambiguity surrounding what is “real” versus constructed; it might be intentional, but it read as messy and confusing rather than as a methodical storytelling approach. By the time the ending arrives, any and all stakes had dissipated.
It’s also worth examining how the book engages with its subject matter on a broader cultural level. Yesteryear clearly wants to critique the tradwife phenomenon, but its approach aligns with a familiar pattern associated with white neoliberal feminism: an emphasis on individual experience and suffering over systemic analysis and accountability.
The novel centers Natalie’s distress—her loss of control, her psychological fragmentation, her suffering within patriarchal constraints. But it doesn’t fully interrogate how she participates in and perpetuates those constraints, particularly as someone with social and economic power; her platform reaches millions, her content shapes norms, and her brand generates profit. These dynamics are acknowledged, but not deeply examined in terms of how her financial incentives, validation from primarily female but also male audiences, and cultural influence actively reinforce the system she's depicted to be trapped within, or how her choices contribute to normalizing and sustaining those same oppressive structures for others, especially those who can't monetize it.
As a result, the critique is flattened into something more comfortable: the tradwife as victim rather than as an active participant in a broader ideological, social, and economic system. Missing is a sustained engagement with questions like:
(1) Who benefits from these narratives, and how?
(2) What responsibility do influencers bear in promoting regressive ideals?
(3) How do race, class, gender, and privilege shape who gets to “opt into” this lifestyle?
Without this layer, the novel’s themes are tepid at best, and contrived, willful blindness and ignorance at worst. It exposes the illusion of the lifestyle, but stops short of fully dissecting the structures and actions that sustain it.
The idea of Yesteryear is undeniably intriguing, and it taps into a very current cultural conversation, but it's ultimately a book that either pulls its punches or had no punches to throw to begin with. The scope is painfully narrow, turning a potentially sharp, satirical systemic critique into a more familiar narrative of individual collapse meant for a good time but not much else.
It’s not that the book has nothing to say, it’s that it doesn’t say enough, or with enough clarity, to match the strength of its premise. For a story built on such a rich and provocative idea, the gaps are too great, too relevant, and too important for me to ignore.
Readers who enjoyed Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake and/or The Once and Future Me by Melissa Pace may have a good time with this, I suppose.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Yesteryear has one of the most compelling premises I’ve come across: a wildly successful tradwife influencer is forced to actually live the life she sells to millions. It promises satire and a biting critique of gender roles and performance. But despite that strong setup, the novel is underdeveloped, structurally uneven, and thematically hesitant, especially once the full picture comes into focus.
At the start,
For a while, this works. Watching her struggle—physically, emotionally, socially—has a brutal clarity. The fantasy collapses under the weight of reality: domestic labor is exhausting, dependence is dangerous, and the patriarchal structure she once aestheticized becomes suffocating. This is the novel at its strongest, where the premise and its implications are most aligned.
But the "twist" fundamentally reshapes the narrative—and not, in my opinion, for the better.
By the end, it’s revealed that
This reveal shifts the novel away from What initially reads as a confrontation with ideology (i.e., “live the life you promote”) becomes a story about
Instead of interrogating the tradwife phenomenon as a set of choices, incentives, and power structures, the book reframes it as something emerging from psychological instability and repression. And while both are contributing factors, doing the former would have actually made it the "bold and biting satire" others are claiming it to be, and opting for the latter created a trivialized, watered-down spectacle that will undoubtedly (and successfully) sell to the masses on nothing more than its concept—unfortunate, but expected and not at all surprising.
The novel sidesteps one of its most interesting and important questions: what does it mean to choose this life, to profit from it, and to promote it to others? Natalie is not simply trapped—she is also a builder and beneficiary of the system. She cultivates the brand, monetizes it, and helps reinforce the very ideals that later “trap” her. Yet the narrative doesn’t fully grapple with that complicity. Instead, it increasingly positions her as a victim: of her upbringing, her husband’s family, her audience, and her own mind.
The psychological framing softens the critique, transforming what could have been an examination of agency into something closer to a case study in breakdown.
This is where the book’s lack of depth becomes most apparent. It raises big ideas—patriarchy, religion, influencer capitalism—but doesn’t sustain a rigorous exploration of them. The 1805 world, which could function as a material critique of gendered labor and dependence, becomes symbolic instead. And while symbolism can be powerful, in Yesteryear it feels like a retreat from the harder, more uncomfortable questions about compliancy, participation, and power.
Structurally, the novel doesn’t fully support its ambitions either. The shifting timelines and genre blending (contemporary, speculative, psychological, thriller, mystery, etc.) was disjointed and propped up the ambiguity surrounding what is “real” versus constructed; it might be intentional, but it read as messy and confusing rather than as a methodical storytelling approach. By the time the ending arrives, any and all stakes had dissipated.
It’s also worth examining how the book engages with its subject matter on a broader cultural level. Yesteryear clearly wants to critique the tradwife phenomenon, but its approach aligns with a familiar pattern associated with white neoliberal feminism: an emphasis on individual experience and suffering over systemic analysis and accountability.
The novel centers Natalie’s distress—her loss of control, her psychological fragmentation, her suffering within patriarchal constraints. But it doesn’t fully interrogate how she participates in and perpetuates those constraints, particularly as someone with social and economic power; her platform reaches millions, her content shapes norms, and her brand generates profit. These dynamics are acknowledged, but not deeply examined in terms of how her financial incentives, validation from primarily female but also male audiences, and cultural influence actively reinforce the system she's depicted to be trapped within, or how her choices contribute to normalizing and sustaining those same oppressive structures for others, especially those who can't monetize it.
As a result, the critique is flattened into something more comfortable: the tradwife as victim rather than as an active participant in a broader ideological, social, and economic system. Missing is a sustained engagement with questions like:
(1) Who benefits from these narratives, and how?
(2) What responsibility do influencers bear in promoting regressive ideals?
(3) How do race, class, gender, and privilege shape who gets to “opt into” this lifestyle?
Without this layer, the novel’s themes are tepid at best, and contrived, willful blindness and ignorance at worst. It exposes the illusion of the lifestyle, but stops short of fully dissecting the structures and actions that sustain it.
The idea of Yesteryear is undeniably intriguing, and it taps into a very current cultural conversation, but it's ultimately a book that either pulls its punches or had no punches to throw to begin with. The scope is painfully narrow, turning a potentially sharp, satirical systemic critique into a more familiar narrative of individual collapse meant for a good time but not much else.
It’s not that the book has nothing to say, it’s that it doesn’t say enough, or with enough clarity, to match the strength of its premise. For a story built on such a rich and provocative idea, the gaps are too great, too relevant, and too important for me to ignore.
Readers who enjoyed Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake and/or The Once and Future Me by Melissa Pace may have a good time with this, I suppose.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 15, 2026
(free review copy) What in the ACTUAL tradwife MAGA MAHA conservative Christian manosphere clusterf*ck social media world do we live in that makes this bonkers book seem so REAL?
The marketing copy I received for this book described it perfectly when it mentioned something about how this is a book that needs to be published right now. This is the time for this book. And that makes it even more disturbing. I was absolutely riveted with the story, thoroughly disturbed, but couldn’t look away.
Source: free digital review copy from publisher
The marketing copy I received for this book described it perfectly when it mentioned something about how this is a book that needs to be published right now. This is the time for this book. And that makes it even more disturbing. I was absolutely riveted with the story, thoroughly disturbed, but couldn’t look away.
Source: free digital review copy from publisher
February 20, 2026
am I being gaslit? 4.23 average review on Goodreads? holy ragebait
Read
April 14, 2026Yesteryear ended up being much more interesting than I expected. I went into it completely blind with only the slight idea that it might be some kind of time-travel story, and at first I honestly was not sure it was going to be for me. The tradwife and religious side of it did not feel like my usual kind of read, and if I had known that going in, I probably would have passed on it.
What ended up pulling me in was the psychological side of it. Once that took over, the book started working in a completely different way. More than the tradwife or influencer angle, this was a story about the gap between what people perform and what they actually are, the version of yourself you show the world versus what is really going on underneath.
Natalie was actually one of the strongest parts for me because she felt believable in the way people can live inside expectations, play a role outwardly, and still be something completely different underneath. That felt very human to me, and I thought she was written really well.
Even though parts of the story were a little far-fetched, I still did not see the twist coming.
What ended up pulling me in was the psychological side of it. Once that took over, the book started working in a completely different way. More than the tradwife or influencer angle, this was a story about the gap between what people perform and what they actually are, the version of yourself you show the world versus what is really going on underneath.
Natalie was actually one of the strongest parts for me because she felt believable in the way people can live inside expectations, play a role outwardly, and still be something completely different underneath. That felt very human to me, and I thought she was written really well.
Even though parts of the story were a little far-fetched, I still did not see the twist coming.
April 12, 2026
What in the ever living **** was this??? It’s been a helluva long time since a book pissed me off this bad. Seriously. Here’s the deal…. You will either love this or you will hate it. There’s no in-between. PERIOD.
We have a trad wife influencer who is married with a ton of kids and lives on a farm. She actually lives the bougie life but presents herself as an actual trad wife. She has millions of followers 🫣. Why? Why is this a thing for the love of gawd??????
Then, she wakes up in the year of 1805. 😳😳😳😳😳
My problem with the book is everyone and everything is superficial. These characters really had no depth. And let me clarify, I do not have to like characters in order to enjoy a novel. My other problem is what is the whole point of this book? Then, throw in some religion and politics… BOOM… just not my cup of tea.
Dear gawd, and the icing on the cake is the twist!!!!! WTF???? Ummm just NOOOOOO!
The narrator took me a minute to get used to because I thought she sounded a little monotone. However, I got used to it and continued on. I should’ve just 86’d the whole thing.
But here’s the kicker, people are freaking LOVING this book. Like, it’s a whole thing and it’s even going to be a movie starring Anne Hathaway. With that said, you gotta read it yourself to find out which side of the street you stand on.
BTW, it’s been a really long time since I’ve written a review like this. I had to keep it real. The publisher will probably end up 86’n me too.
More like 2.5 ⭐️⭐️
We have a trad wife influencer who is married with a ton of kids and lives on a farm. She actually lives the bougie life but presents herself as an actual trad wife. She has millions of followers 🫣. Why? Why is this a thing for the love of gawd??????
Then, she wakes up in the year of 1805. 😳😳😳😳😳
My problem with the book is everyone and everything is superficial. These characters really had no depth. And let me clarify, I do not have to like characters in order to enjoy a novel. My other problem is what is the whole point of this book? Then, throw in some religion and politics… BOOM… just not my cup of tea.
Dear gawd, and the icing on the cake is the twist!!!!! WTF???? Ummm just NOOOOOO!
The narrator took me a minute to get used to because I thought she sounded a little monotone. However, I got used to it and continued on. I should’ve just 86’d the whole thing.
But here’s the kicker, people are freaking LOVING this book. Like, it’s a whole thing and it’s even going to be a movie starring Anne Hathaway. With that said, you gotta read it yourself to find out which side of the street you stand on.
BTW, it’s been a really long time since I’ve written a review like this. I had to keep it real. The publisher will probably end up 86’n me too.
More like 2.5 ⭐️⭐️
Read
April 15, 2026I need a minute before deciding on my final review!
November 25, 2025
Yesteryear is a feat! A book with a narrator that is impossible to look away from.
To her millions of followers, Natalie is living a perfect life as a loving wife and doting mother, living with her family on a ranch, upholding and then in turn selling her pioneer lifestyle. Most would call her a tradwife—someone who embraces traditional/conservative gender roles.
One day, with no warning at all, she finds herself transported back in time to the harsh reality of 1805, where she must actually perform this role, in order to survive. She has no idea how she got to this version of her life, in which she is with her husband and children, but they are strangers to her. Neither does she know how to escape and return to the life she had so carefully chosen for herself.
What is especially interesting about Natalie is that, while on the surface, she works very hard to be perceived one way, nothing is hidden from the reader. Through her internal monologue, we see her for who she really is. And she is…awful. Conniving, miserable, relentless. Brilliant, too. She is, as promised, perfect at curating and living her life.
As we continue to live alongside social media, the ramifications of creating an “online self” are beginning to surface. Yes, we can utilize this world to obtain a life that we want for ourselves, but at what cost? It is never only ourselves who pay the price.
Yesteryear is out in April— it is a must-read, one of the best books I’ll read in 2026, already (well…you know what I mean!)
Thank you to the publisher for the early review copy, in exchange for an honest review!
To her millions of followers, Natalie is living a perfect life as a loving wife and doting mother, living with her family on a ranch, upholding and then in turn selling her pioneer lifestyle. Most would call her a tradwife—someone who embraces traditional/conservative gender roles.
One day, with no warning at all, she finds herself transported back in time to the harsh reality of 1805, where she must actually perform this role, in order to survive. She has no idea how she got to this version of her life, in which she is with her husband and children, but they are strangers to her. Neither does she know how to escape and return to the life she had so carefully chosen for herself.
What is especially interesting about Natalie is that, while on the surface, she works very hard to be perceived one way, nothing is hidden from the reader. Through her internal monologue, we see her for who she really is. And she is…awful. Conniving, miserable, relentless. Brilliant, too. She is, as promised, perfect at curating and living her life.
As we continue to live alongside social media, the ramifications of creating an “online self” are beginning to surface. Yes, we can utilize this world to obtain a life that we want for ourselves, but at what cost? It is never only ourselves who pay the price.
Yesteryear is out in April— it is a must-read, one of the best books I’ll read in 2026, already (well…you know what I mean!)
Thank you to the publisher for the early review copy, in exchange for an honest review!
April 6, 2026
I've seen Yesteryear everywhere recently with so many rave reviews. It's been on my radar for a while, so I was really excited to dive in.
Yesteryear is a dazzling social commentary on the momfluencer / traditional wife culture, modern consumerism, and being a woman in modern times. The story centers around a very unlikeable and egotistical main character who is obsessed with how the public views her. I found Yesteryear to be unputdownable and after I finished, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Caro Claire Burke has crafted a stunning debut that I'm convinced will be a massive success in her literary career. I know it's only 4 months in but I'm already calling
Yesteryear one of my favorite reads of 2026.
I knew almost nothing about the momfluencer community going into Yesteryear so it was very eye opening. I try not to judge anyone who lives their lives differently from my own but I also cant help but feel that those types of parents are a bit exploitative and dangerous when it comes to putting their children online.
I listened to the audiobook format of Yesteryear which is narrated by Rebecca Lowman who did a brilliant job of breathing life into Natalie’s story. If you decide to pick this one up, I highly recommend this format.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke will be available on April 7. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook!
Yesteryear is a dazzling social commentary on the momfluencer / traditional wife culture, modern consumerism, and being a woman in modern times. The story centers around a very unlikeable and egotistical main character who is obsessed with how the public views her. I found Yesteryear to be unputdownable and after I finished, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Caro Claire Burke has crafted a stunning debut that I'm convinced will be a massive success in her literary career. I know it's only 4 months in but I'm already calling
Yesteryear one of my favorite reads of 2026.
I knew almost nothing about the momfluencer community going into Yesteryear so it was very eye opening. I try not to judge anyone who lives their lives differently from my own but I also cant help but feel that those types of parents are a bit exploitative and dangerous when it comes to putting their children online.
I listened to the audiobook format of Yesteryear which is narrated by Rebecca Lowman who did a brilliant job of breathing life into Natalie’s story. If you decide to pick this one up, I highly recommend this format.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke will be available on April 7. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook!
January 25, 2026
*ARC read* Gross. This book was gross.
It is very obvious that this book will be a buzzy spring release according to online chatter.
However, I’m confidently DNF-ing at 15% as I cannot get past the misquoted Scripture, painful and inaccurate representation of Christianity (what actually WAS the faith of the main character?? Mormon? Christian? The author didn’t put enough effort or research into clarifying…), and the trivial tone towards mental health. The time travel element is also a tired trope. I could tell early on that it was all headed in a direction that’s not for me.
It is very obvious that this book will be a buzzy spring release according to online chatter.
However, I’m confidently DNF-ing at 15% as I cannot get past the misquoted Scripture, painful and inaccurate representation of Christianity (what actually WAS the faith of the main character?? Mormon? Christian? The author didn’t put enough effort or research into clarifying…), and the trivial tone towards mental health. The time travel element is also a tired trope. I could tell early on that it was all headed in a direction that’s not for me.
April 8, 2026
2.75*
I will start off with saying that the premise of this book is honestly so intriguing but this is definetly not a thriller.
Natalie are mc I did not like her at all, which is the point of this book. She has no redeemable qualities at all. She’s very tradwife and blasts her kids on social media.
I was so excited to read the part when Natalie wakes up in 1800 to no technology and electricity but to my surprise that wasn’t the main part of the story like at all. We spend the whole time mainly focusing on her past which at one point I find myself lacking any goddamn care about it. Even when we got to the 1800 parts it was so bland. Based on the reveal at the end it makes sense why it was lacking but I will admit I didn’t like the reveal like at all.
Caleb her husband must be one of the stupidest person in that whole book. He can clearly tell that after everything that went down, that his wife is honestly mentally unwell and what does her do??? He just allows it and decides to have more kids with her like what??!?? I find it hard to believe that everyone was so okay with her mental breakdown that they just allowed their lives to revolve around it.
Imagine writing BARK. BARK. in your book, couldn’t be me. I personally wouldn’t BARK. BARK. at those people Natalie but I guess each to their own.
At least have the energy to do it correctly. BARK. BARK.
BARK. BARK. to someone who personally deserves it like Kenji, Dorian, Dean and Cardan 🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️
Also fyi to anyone wanting to read this book, it’s very religious.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
—————————————————————————-
𐙚⋆°. preread
A lit fic thriller, sign me up
I will start off with saying that the premise of this book is honestly so intriguing but this is definetly not a thriller.
Natalie are mc I did not like her at all, which is the point of this book. She has no redeemable qualities at all. She’s very tradwife and blasts her kids on social media.
I was so excited to read the part when Natalie wakes up in 1800 to no technology and electricity but to my surprise that wasn’t the main part of the story like at all. We spend the whole time mainly focusing on her past which at one point I find myself lacking any goddamn care about it. Even when we got to the 1800 parts it was so bland. Based on the reveal at the end it makes sense why it was lacking but I will admit I didn’t like the reveal like at all.
Caleb her husband must be one of the stupidest person in that whole book. He can clearly tell that after everything that went down, that his wife is honestly mentally unwell and what does her do??? He just allows it and decides to have more kids with her like what??!?? I find it hard to believe that everyone was so okay with her mental breakdown that they just allowed their lives to revolve around it.
Imagine writing BARK. BARK. in your book, couldn’t be me. I personally wouldn’t BARK. BARK. at those people Natalie but I guess each to their own.
“I walked around the island and pulled out a stool, like the good little dog - I mean wife - that I was. Bark bark.”
At least have the energy to do it correctly. BARK. BARK.
BARK. BARK. to someone who personally deserves it like Kenji, Dorian, Dean and Cardan 🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️
Also fyi to anyone wanting to read this book, it’s very religious.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
—————————————————————————-
𐙚⋆°. preread
A lit fic thriller, sign me up
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