Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Broken Country
by Clare Leslie Hall
Historical Fiction | Romance
320 Pages
Released March 2025
Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
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Content Warnings
I went into this book rather blind and while I initially did not enjoy the direction the book was headed in, the second half of the book really surprised me.
This book follows Beth, a farm wife who is happily married to her gentle husband, Frank. But when a dog suddenly appears on their farm and attacks their newborn lambs, Beth’s brother-in-law is quick to react. In the wake of the dogs death, Beth learns that it belonged to her former flame, Gabriel Wolfe, a now famous author who has returned to his childhood home. Despite knowing she is playing with fire, Beth rekindles a friendship with Gabriel. But when someone suddenly ends up dead, Beth is forced to choose between her old life and her current one.
This book was rather unexpected. I can’t recall what first drew me to it (probably the cover) but I ended up placing it on hold at my library when it first came out without really knowing much about the book.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the pacing of this story. I’d been struggling with a reading slump lately and this book immediately pulled me out of it. I found it immediately immersive which was a pleasant surprise after the struggle I’ve had lately.
I also really adored all the characters of this story, which is pretty rare to me. Normally I’m drawn to one or two but in this case I felt engaged with every character introduced in this story. They are all wonderfully complex and I loved how the author pealed back the layers of their backstories up until the very last page.
I admit when I first started this book, I was pretty apprehensive about the story because it was following one of my least-favorite tropes. Despite my reservations, I continued on and I’m so glad I did! I really appreciate the direction the author took this story in and was happy with the ending. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think it was a unique take on this kind of book. Truly this was a fantastic blend of character development and plot.
Overall, if you’re looking for a story with complex characters that leaves you hooked till the last page, definitely look into this one. I thought it was a wonderful read.