Bookworm lacking initial dread but may hesitate (6)
I believe the answer is:
reader
'bookworm' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'lacking initial dread but may hesitate' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'hesitate' could be 'er' (expression used when hesitating) and 'er' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'read' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for reader that I've seen before include "University lecturer - text book" , "Publisher's selector" , "He's immersed in a book or newspaper" , "Proof checker" , "Reared by book lover" .)