Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke follows Natalie Hayes Miller, an influencer with millions of followers who tune in to watch her content about her idyllic life on Yesteryear farms. With 5 kids and a 6th on the way, Natalie’s life online portrays a happy family, happy marriage, and happy return to a ‘traditional’ way of life. But everything isn’t as it seems behind the camera and when Natalie wakes up one day on an uncanny valley version of Yesteryear circa 1800s she has to examine what it really means to preach a life as a good Christian woman and mother.

Yesteryear is the book of the moment and it’s easy to see why. Part psychological thriller, part satirical lit fic, ALL social commentary, Yesteryear examines the decisive topics of influencers, trad wives, and ‘Christian’ values with themes about performance, radical conservatism and motherhood. I would say this is a book that goes broad but doesn’t go deep, introducing a lot of facets and inviting audiences to think about these topics. With an extremely unlikeable narrator, it’s clear what the author thinks on the topics and themes and there’s not necessarily a deep or new discussion on them. I would’ve really loved to see a bit more nuance, which I think would’ve actually strengthened the psychological thriller pieces of the book. For example, it would’ve been interesting to see Natalie have a meaningful conversation or relationship with a trad wife who really wanted to be in that role, rather than Natalie’s ulterior motives (be it expectations, money, leverage, or survival).

This book was extremely hooking. Once I started it I really couldn’t put it down, even despite some pacing issues and monotonous plot points in the second half. I wish we’d gotten a bit more out of the 1800s Yesteryear plot but it got quite repetitive quickly and I found myself wanting to skim to get to the main timeline.

Overall, a captivating and interesting read. Definitely one to talk to book clubs or friends about!

Harriet is perfectly happy being a wallflower. She’s never had a particularly strong desire to marry and it allows her to provide protection over her two younger sisters (especially from their father’s ire and ruinous gambling). Most importantly though it allows her to hang invisibly to the margins of every event, where she’s primed to overhead less than proper language exchanges by the gentlemen of these events. An endeavor in pursuit of her contributions on (the some what fantasy formed) Mr. Dawkins’ Dictionary of Vulgarities. It’s in the act of collecting words for this venture that Harriet has a fateful run in with notorious rake, the handsome, Lord Alexander Sterling. Not one to ruin ‘an innocent’, Alexander, under some pressure (a hangover and a dauntingly long carriage ride) acquiesces to a marriage in name, after all it may be mutually beneficial.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am so grateful it broke me out of a truly horrid reading slump. As a debut into genre fiction, Benoit crafted interesting characters, a unique plot, and an extraordinary amount of research into regency era language. This book had me laughing at multiple points and I genuinely came to care for both Harriet and Alexander. The steamy scenes were well down and pacing appropriate, though I personally wish there’d been more pomp around them finallllly “swiving”. I also wish there’d been a little more resolution to some of the B plots in this book, but fingers crossed that’ll come with more books set in this world, which I would definitely pick up immediately!

Thank you to NetGalley and Slowburn for the arc. The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit is set to release on June 23, 2026.

Blessed is The Rot by Sheri Singerling is the start of a new trilogy in the shared Alfom trilogy. The book follows Fenrir, a former surveyor, cast out of society and believed to be dead after a failure in the eyes of the church. We he detects a distortion in his tower, his fate is suddenly thrust into the course of Sophie, an ambitious surveyor who won’t rest until she learns the truth about Fenrir’s plot. But Sophie has a secret too, one she’s desperate to protect and one that’s fallen into the hands of someone without her best interest in mind. This book mixes together post-apocalyptic political/religious intrigue in a unique world building with science fiction and hints of grim horror.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and the set up was fascinating. Unfortunately I had to set it down around 30% for my mental health because some of the rot / body horror stuff was sparking my particular OCD triggers. However, I would still recommend it to those interested by the premise as the writing was strong, world building was captivating, and central plot seemed intriguing!