Review: A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch

A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch

Blurb from Goodreads:

A wry and bold debut novel, which is at once an irresistible catastrophe waiting to happen and an unflinching exploration of how we narrate the stories of our lives, as an aspiring novelist finds herself stalking—and writing about—her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.

“I can’t help but compare our worth as writers, as lovers, as women. Is anything solely mine, or will I always dwell in someone else’s shadow?”

Twenty-four-year-old bookseller and New Yorker Naomi Ackerman, desperate to write a novel, struggles to find the right story to tell. When, after years of disastrous Tinder dates, she meets Caleb—a perfectly nice guy with a Welsh accent and a unique patience for all of her quirks—she feels she's finally stumbled onto a time-honored subject: love. But then Caleb's ex-girlfriend, Rosemary, enters the scene.

When Naomi learns that Rosemary is not safely tucked away overseas as she'd assumed but in fact lives in New York and works in the literary world, she is fundamentally threatened and intrigued in equal measure. On paper, Rosemary sounds like a better version of Naomi—but if they both fell for the same man, they must have something more essential in common.

Determined to figure out how their stories intertwine, Naomi's casual Instagram stalking morphs into a full-blown friendship under false pretenses. She can't seem to get herself to quit Rosemary, in whom she discovers an unexpected confidant—and she can't stop writing about her either, having now found a more interesting subject for her nascent novel. As her lies and half-truths spiral out of her control, and fact and fiction become increasingly difficult to separate, Naomi manipulates the most important people in her life—her family, her friends, Caleb, Rosemary, and, perhaps most devastatingly, herself—in pursuit of her craft. Ultimately, she’s forced to decide who and what she's willing to sacrifice to write them all the perfect ending.

My Review:
This book will suck you in immediately and not stop until the last page! I loved it so much and am still thinking about it, days later. I wish I could go read it all again right this instant (and maybe I will?). It's voyeuristic and shocking at times but you also just understand Naomi so much or at least I did.  I couldn't stop reading to know what would happen and I wasn't disappointed, which is so rare.  Without giving anything away, I will say read this and read it soon because it will be popping up everywhere I think!!

This book will make you feel so good.  A Novel Obsession comes out next week on March 15, 2021, you can purchase HERE, and I hope you consider reading this one!  Definitely my favorite book of the year, so far!

I wanted to know if she boarded her flight to the UK wit the same naïve hopes I had when I flew to study abroad in Australia—irrevocable change, upheaval, a story worthy of being told.