There was so much hype around this book that I had to read it. I actually got a new Audible subscription, so I didn’t have to wait for the library to have a copy available. I can’t figure out if I actually liked it though. I originally rated it four stars, but then I downgraded it to three stars. I don’t know if that was based on the actual writing or the characters though. I’m thinking it was probably a combination of the two.
Our main character Natalie is not really likeable. She’s basically a trad-wife / farm / mom / influencer. Everything she does (or at least the shined up version) goes on social media. There are so many moments in this book where we see how absolutely fake her life is. To paraphrase a fellow Goodreads friend: she hates being a mother, hates being a farmer, and doesn’t like her husband, but she doubles down on all of these things. She keeps having children, because that’s what her fans / her in-laws / someone??? wants for her. Or that’s the way she thinks she’s supposed to live? Her husband kinda wants a farm, but he also doesn’t want to do ANYTHING, so she picks the hardest thing and buys a farm. There’s some sinister financial dealings with her in-laws throughout this book. She’s so incredibly hard on her sister for leaving her asshole husband, but she also definitely hates her own husband. Everything is played up to the most extreme social media friendly view too.
This is all before the actual “twist” of her “waking up in the 1800’s”. That actually could’ve been extremely interesting, because to the public eye, that’s what all of the momfluencers want – go back to a time where they’re churning their own butter, living off the land, milling their own wheat, etc. There’s also some rape-adjacent parts in these sections too. You’d have to read it to understand what I mean without me spoiling the twist.
This just wasn’t what I wanted it to be. Everything was fake, everything was a lie, but not in an interesting or cathartic way. It was all just a sad devolution into madness, which is not good for anyone.
There were a few lines that made me laugh or cringe in sympathy though:
describing her kid’s clothing as “a rainbow of neutrals” – apparently that’s an influencer thing that I had no knowledge of
the kids names were bananas
about meeting her husband “is it a choice if there’s only one option?” (cringe for her)
describing the first time she had sex with her husband “I felt like I needed to throw a dish towel over his penis and let it rise” – now that’s some inventive writing! I laughed out loud and could (unfortunately) absolutely picture that.
