Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke – Our Review

Our Review…

There are novels that simply entertain, and then there are novels, such as Yesteryear, that quietly slip beneath your skin, leaving you questioning the stories we tell ourselves about the lives we aspire to.

Natalie appears to have everything. Her idyllic farmhouse is bathed in golden light, fresh sourdough cools on the bench, her handsome cowboy husband and beautiful children complete a life that millions of followers long for. It’s a vision of wholesome perfection—carefully curated, endlessly aspirational, and just convincing enough to make you wonder if happiness really could look like this.

Until, one morning, it doesn’t.

Natalie wakes to find herself in a version of her life that feels eerily familiar, yet profoundly wrong. The world she has so meticulously constructed begins to warp around her, and with every page the novel becomes stranger, darker and more unsettling. What begins as a sharp satire blossoms into a psychological labyrinth, where reality shifts beneath your feet and every certainty is called into question.

Author Johanna Lane said, “I figured if I couldn’t subvert the image of a tradwife, then I could subvert her world instead – and see how long it takes before she starts to scream.”

Laced with dark humour, simmering tension and an almost dreamlike unease, Yesteryear explores nostalgia, faith, identity and the impossible roles women are asked to inhabit. It’s bold, provocative and wonderfully original, a novel that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page, leaving you to wonder just how much of the worlds we build are real, and how much are simply stories we’ve chosen to believe. A powerful read.

Review by Nicole @ Great Escape Books