I found this to be a really enjoyable read, with the steady pace and heightening tension keeping me reading, especially in Part 3. I think everyone who has suffered some sort of anxiety can relate to Grace, and although the reader might guess who has been responsible all along, that only adds to the suspense.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This one was a fairly quick and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the characters and the writing style. I'd definitely pick up something else from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really intrigued by this dark tale at first, but I ultimately could not get into the story. I felt like there were lots of descriptions of inconsequential details and events (for example, it becomes very clear early on in the novel that the author has a scientific background because of how much time is spent describing the lab, something that I felt added nothing to the story). Definitely a cool idea, but I found the execution lacking.

I did not finish this book primarily because it did not come off as it seemed from the description. I was expecting for it to come off more sophisticated and gothic, but unfortunately it really just comes off as poorly written with a weird convoluted plot. I found several parts of this that just didn't fit my taste and came off as problematic to me. The power imbalance (teacher and student) and the stalking were the first things to pop up that didn't seem right but then we slowly moved into straight up murdering territory (and after reading others reviews I can say that it's just a mess and I don't need to find out why from the book itself). I found the research on Irish/Scottish folklore to be base level and not applied well from what I had read. Overall, it wasn't my cup of tea, but considering how many people did leave positive reviews I can see that there is a market out there for this. Maybe just change the description of the book as they don't line up. Very disappointing to go into a book thinking it was one thing meanwhile it was just a mess of things that I don't enjoy.

If you’re looking for a thriller that is unique, and a bit weird, you’ll want to pick up a copy of The Boy from the Sea: A Dark Gothic Romance by veteran writer, H.L. Macfarlane. Grace Ferguson, a PhD student is helping with a lab and sees a student, Dylan Lir, who sparks an obsession that leads to true love between both. There are strange goings on in the small Scottish town, such as a series of attacks on citizens. When Lir doesn’t come to her flat, she worries that he is one of the victims.

Grace is well-developed as a character, and Lir is also, albeit very strange, especially when it comes to his obsession with the sea. He reads books on myths which, it turns out, he has enjoyed during his childhood while being raised by his aunt after his parents committed suicide by filling their pockets with rocks, walking into the sea to their deaths, and abandoning Lir on the shore. Grace knows nothing about his childhood until the end of the novel, and that’s when the dénouement occurs, which is a mixture of surprise and disbelief. The story is easy to follow, and the writing is good.

All told, this dark novel is a big change from the norm. It is interesting, shocking, and seems to have some supernatural aspects. While this thriller isn’t for everyone, it is a change, and makes readers think about how serious true love can actually be.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Reviewing this past the release date, but thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

The Boy from the Sea follows PhD student Grace Ferguson and her obsession with one of her students, Dylan Lir Murphy, and how far she'll fall for him. Yeah...I don't know about this one. I kind of hated it if I'm being honest. It did not read like a Gothic romance but like some DraMione fanfiction but without magic. There was nothing magical, romantic, gothic, or even sensical in this book. So much of it makes no sense especially when it's revealed who the killer is because it was so damn obvious to literally everybody but the main character. I can excuse most moments of idiocy, but Grace is supposed to be a STEM PhD student and she is just a damn idiot. I genuinely feel like all the high reviews are lies at this point because were we even reading the same thing? According to other reviews, no.

Grace as a main character is unbearable. Like terrifyingly unbearable. For someone who is 25, she acts and seems more like someone who just turned sixteen. I mean, her obsession with one of her students is unprofessional and so bizarre. Like there's no reason provided other than the fact that Lir is hot and quiet. And then when they start dating, it is very clearly an unhealthy relationship. She was just SO juvenile and annoying. I couldn't believe this was a person who was supposed to be a PhD student. As a graduate student myself, I don't think I've ever met a STEM grad student who was so painfully stupid. Grace might as well have been a teenager with how stupidly she was acting throughout this book. Don't even start with "accurate" representation of anxiety because she is clearly an accurate depiction of someone who is NOT dealing with her mental illness and as someone with anxiety who has dealt with crippling social anxiety, it was borderline offensive how she was portrayed.

The story itself was nonsensical too. Like the bits of mythology and discussion around that? Shallow as all hell. It felt like the author wanted to dress her dark romance with sea myths and murder but couldn't decide which ones to do and just threw all of them into a pot and said "Done!" I mean, the reason for the murders? Completely stupid and it made no sense for a character who supposedly did all this research only for him to land on the collective "sea gods," but who the hell are those gods? Like it made no damn sense and felt like the author just wanted to wrap crap up quickly.

Ugh. I hated this book.

This thriller/romance has a great premise. Grace is a marine biologist lab teacher who falls for one of her students Lir. He is a mysterious character with a tragic past. There are aspects of mythology and being set on the coast of Scotland the book is very atmospheric. It comes with surprises and twists that keep you guessing. It is a fast paced read with action and suspense.

I was hoping for dark romance and the dark romance I got.

Lir is someone peculiar in the society but not an outcast. And that what makes Grace attracted to him in the first place? Their relationship was fast and furious. And we know what that means.

I mean we had an impression on Lir. He definitely suspicious but not expecting he is a total crazy. I was so surprised on how innocent he feels on something so wrong. Anyone, please save this kid from getting to drawn in his imagination🙏

I was surprised that I actually had read the author other books. I was not expecting she would write the same book because it’s definitely not the same genre. But what I’m amazed is that I like this book more! She write dark romance better than normal romance.

This was such a great Gothic romance going on, it worked well with the description and characters that I was looking for. I was invested in the story and how good the mystery elements were working with the story. H. L. Macfarlane does a great job writing this that was everything that I wanted to read this.

I really wanted to like this! But it was so slow and I didn’t care at all about the characters. I found the protagonist’s obsession with Dylan really strange and inexplicable and couldn’t see past that. I’d try something else by this author but this didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial, Macfarlane Lantern Publishing and H. L. Macfarlane for giving me an arc copy of this thrilling book The Boy From The Sea to review!

H. L. Macfarlane’s an author name I keep an eye out for. Her fantasy and stem romance novels have been engaging reads, full of relatable, memorable characters and some devilishly good book boyfriends. This author’s name for me is a stamp of quality; you are going to get vivid, evocative writing, remarkable characters lovingly developed to jump off the page and stories balanced with amazing plots interwoven with great character arcs. Like popping a can of Pringles, I just can’t stop until the last word of one of their books.

Psychological thriller/ dark romances aren’t my cup of tea. This was a plunge into unfamiliar waters for me. I would not classify this book as having gothic traits. If you want to read gothic romance, pick up Prince of Foxes. It's a haunting masterpiece that focuses on obsession, control, and the impacts of death on our human psyche. The plot’s more spine-chilling using the peppering of the paranormal to lure the reader into the dark throws of Lir’s disturbed mind. Quite the double-back twist and turn packing in the suspense and intrigue up until the last big disturbing, gruesome reveal.

The pacing is like the rolling waves with gentle swells, each bringing another detail to push the story along to crest to its heart-stopping finale. The writing contains the detailed, lavish of the city of Glasgow and the university campus felt like a walk down the physical street with vivid context and focus on small details only locals might know. The descriptions of Scotland are a visual feast for the imagination in this book.

The characters are deeply troubled, tormented, and flawed souls, who grapple with connection with others, only to find a dark passionate, and dangerous devotion to one another. The chemistry between Grace and Lir is devilish alluring and oddly charming. You find yourself relating to Grace through her anxiety, and hunger for companionship, dragging her into the downward spiral into Lir’s hold. Lir’s a deadly mix of beauty, intelligence, and aloofness; which turns on a coin to a troubling tenderness and absorbs himself into Grace’s world to unravel it and disassociate her from the few connections she has. I was holding my breath at one point, I didn’t know how deep the thrall over Grace was until the last moment.

The ending might not make sense to some. I feel this was a very representation of a stalker being drawn back to their obsession. I did question Grace’s behaviour for a moment, but love has a strange power. A victim of control and abuse can easily find themselves back under the power of those who use them. Maybe that’s the scariest part of the ending!

This was a good read. I had to read the book in stages as personally I felt a real connection to the main female character. I have a background in marine studies, a very small social circle and also struggle with coming out of my shell so I felt a connection on that level. I was rooting for the love story development between the main characters as I read through I was wondering what could go wrong lol.

Well, there was a mystery shift with the main character and just as she created new friends and social circle this was lost for her love. it was an enjoyable read and the thriller aspect came in after halfway through the book which was an interesting and natural shift from the love tale.

Very good read, had to read it in stages but would highly recommend it.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn’t what I got. I love a book set in Scotland, ticking off the places I know, and this was no different. The mythology didn’t quite work for me and the ending was a bit too random.

Excellent story that is well written. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc copy of this book for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. But it just wasn't for me. It was slow and the beginning just dragged at certain points. I know it was to build up the suspense and the story. But I found that it simply took too long. The overall themes and content was quite enjoyable. And I think I would like it more if the pacing was changed.

Book Review 📚
The Boy from The Sea by H. L. Macfarlane - 4/5 ⭐

I was pleasantly surprised to find this was a dark/gothic romance. I went in blindly and was expected some lovey dovey story. Although it contains romance it was much more to my liking them originally thought.

Macfarlane has a beautiful way of taking dark and mysterious and turning it into a romance. One of my favourite reads this year was Gothikana and now The Boy From the Sea has taken a very close second. The writing was amazing and so thoroughly thought through.

Character descriptions were beyond amazing, making the characters loveable from the get go. I enjoyed following Grace on her journey through the story and watching her not only develop but completely enthrall me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Books Go Social for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

**4.5/5**

“Maybe I just don’t like happy endings. Or maybe I don’t believe in the existence of one’s soul. Either way, I always stopped reading the story the moment the mermaid turned into foam.”

Grace, a young, pretty teaching aide in her university science lab, is only trying to finish her thesis and get her microbiology degree. That is her focus. That is, until devilishly handsome and slightly mysterious Dylan “Lir”, one of her lab students, catches her eye. That is where this story begins. Lir spends all of his free time swimming, mostly out in the open ocean, or studying ancient mythology and stories of the Gods. The first chapter in the book gives a pretty understandable reason for his fascination with the sea. But that is all that is clearly defined. At least for a while. But that ending? I did NOT see that coming.

This story sucked me in and did not let go. I loved each and every one of the characters. I definitely connected with the writing style, even Grace and her incessant schoolgirl crush/inner monologue of romantic desperation. Cuz I mean, what young girl hasn’t been just stupidly head over heels in lust before? There were definitely a couple of times where her willingness to shrug off potential red flags was a bit too convenient for the sake of the story, but aside from that bit of nitpicking, I absolutely loved The Boy From the Sea, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a short but fantastic little piece of lore, love, mystery, and the sea.

I want to thank NetGalley, MacFarlane Lantern Publishing, and Hayley Louise McFarlane for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Boy From the Sea.

This novel is a true work of art. It has a wonderful balance of suspsence and intrigue and really makes you want to continue reading to find out what is coming next. The books unpredictability makes it a real treat for any reader.

The synopsis promises secrets, obsession, and villains. While it technically delivers all of those things it was disappointing in its execution. It falls flat, leaves important questions unanswered, and starts entertaining plot lines only to never come back to them. It has great potential but in the end I don’t recommend it.