Yesteryear is the debut novel by podcaster Caro Claire Burke, and it is a decent debut novel, but was a bit disappointing for me.
The story follows Natalie, a ‘tradwife’ influencer who finds herself waking up one morning in 1855, and although the house, and surroundings, and the people seem somewhat familiar, there is also something strange about them. How did she get here? Is she really in the past or is there something else going on? And how can she get back to her life in the present?
The premise of an influencer being thrown back into the past was intriguing, which is why I picked this book up. Unfortunately the execution fell flat for me.
I realize that Yesteryear is satire, so I expected some of the main character’s actions and views to be exaggerated, or over-the-top, but I think the author may have taken it too far. Natalie was so manipulative, hypocritical, and whiny, that it was impossible to feel any sympathy towards her even when she probably deserved it.
And then there was the twist near the end of the book completely ruined it for me, mostly because there was no real explanation for how it happened. I’m trying not to give spoilers so I don’t want to say much. I guess I’ll just say it left me with more questions than answers, as did the final ending.
I was disappointed in Yesteryear, it had so much wasted potential, and in my opinion did not live up to the hype.
Life, Tea, and Everything 