Description:

A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.

Adele’s Review:

Yesteryear is one of the most unusual novels this reviewer has ever read. I couldn’t put the book down. Author Caro Claire Burke hit a grand slam home run with her debut, which is slated to become a major motion picture starring Anne Hathaway. The central character, Natalie, is a traditional wife and mother and social media influencer of the pioneer lifestyle. She works hard, is super successful, and has a seemingly perfect life on a five-million-dollar farm with a handsome husband and their six children.

One day, Natalie wakes up in a cold cabin in the year 1855 and is forced to live the harsh pioneer life she imitates on social media in 2026. She doesn’t recognize her children, and her husband is not quite the man she remembers. As a reader, I was anxious to learn how Natalie time traveled and wondered if she’d return to the twenty-first century by the end of the story. The answer is nothing short of brilliant. Don’t miss this one! A masterwork.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8325530709

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FH1V3D9M