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  • A Novel Obsession

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Caitlin Barasch
  • Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
  • Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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A Novel Obsession cover art

A Novel Obsession

Written by: Caitlin Barasch
Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
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Publisher's Summary

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and a BuzzFeed and New York Post "Best Book of 2022"

"If you’ve ever felt tempted to ‘keep tabs on’ a partner’s ex on Instagram and then found yourself down a rabbit hole of their vacation posts from three years ago, this debut novel—which follows a 24-year-old New Yorker named Naomi who becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s former girlfriend—is for you."—
Vogue, “Best New Beach Reads”

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

Upon learning that Rosemary is not safely tucked away in Caleb’s homeland overseas, but in fact lives in New York and also works in the literary world, Naomi is threatened and intrigued in equal measure. If they both fell for the same man, what else might they have in common? The more Naomi learns about Rosemary, the more her curiosity consumes her. Before she knows it, her casual Instagram stalking morphs into a friendship under false pretenses—and becomes the subject of her nascent novel.

As her lies and half-truths spiral out of control, and fact and fiction become increasingly difficult to untangle, Naomi must decide what—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice to write the perfect ending.

©2022 Caitlin Barasch (P)2022 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by BuzzFeed, The Millions, Goodreads, Bustle, BookRiot, and The Nerd Daily

"Barasch has a talent for balancing discomfort and empathy, pushing the reader away and pulling them right back.... The characters are emotionally engaging, beckoning you to rubberneck the inevitable train wreck." —Associated Press

"Wow, if you’re looking for a great book you’ll be instantly obsessed with, A Novel Obsession hits the nail on the head—in both title and story.... I couldn’t put this book down. It became a page-turner on my commute to work (both ways) and there won’t be another one like it.... It’s so spicy." New York Post

What listeners say about A Novel Obsession

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The narrator is excellent and kept me interested enough to stay with the book, but the book itself is meh. It could have been great but fell flat at the middle point. I'm not mad I listened to it but I wouldn't recommend it. It might just be that this is literary fiction about dating and trauma vs. actually psychological, in the more domestic thriller sense of the word, and I just don't like the genre. It is well written, but not suspenseful at all or that captivating. I'd recommend it if you need a good narrator more than a good plot but that's about it.

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