In this episode of Bound by Books, we catch up on our latest adventures. Hannah shares her experience of attending the Green Man Festival and losing her festival virginity, while Nikki looks ahead to her upcoming theatre trips, including As You Like It and My Neighbour Totoro, as well as a visit to the Duxford Airshow.

Then it’s time for our buddy read: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Full spoilers ahead!

Natalie seems to have the perfect traditional life: a beautiful farmhouse, a handsome cowboy husband, children and enviable homemade sourdough. But when she wakes up in a disturbing version of her reality, everything familiar feels wrong. As she searches for a way out, the novel explores tradition, fame, faith and the performance of womanhood.

We discuss the book’s fascinating premise and its take on the trad wife movement, including the appeal of the aesthetic, the romanticising of traditional gender roles and the contradictions behind the polished social-media image. We also explore connections to influencers such as Hannah Neeleman’s Ballerina Farm and Nara Smith, as well as wider ideas around consent, submission and female liberation.

Other topics include Natalie as an unlikeable female protagonist, whether readers judge unlikeable women more harshly than men, the lack of female friendship and community in the novel, Caleb’s role and motivations, and the mystery surrounding Shannon.

And, of course, we get into the twist: whether it worked for us, whether it felt earned, and whether the characters’ motivations made the ending believable.

What did you think of Yesteryear? Did the twist work for you? Let us know!