Simon & Schuster eARC
I have been seeing this book get early buzz, so I gave it a go even though I was hesitant because of the love triangle plot point, but I was left at the end with tears streaming down my face because the author captured such a beautiful and heartbreaking story here. Told in a non-linear timeline, we come to know Beth, her husband Frank, and her first love Gabriel. The story slowly unfolds between the past and present with a trial that's slowly revealed throughout the book. I fell so hard for these flawed and imperfect characters. They were complex and grieving and doing their best to survive - and live. I don't want to say much more because it's best to go in and meet these characters where they're at and just sit with them as you read their story. It was excellent.

I absolutely loved this book! Broken Country is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The novel opens with the death of a farmer but who it is remains unrevealed for a good portion of the book. There are dual timelines as we learn the story of Beth (the first person narrator), Frank and Gabriel and the resulting love triangle. While there is an element of mystery, it is more a love story, not just of romantic love but love of family.

Fans of Chris Whitaker and Liz Moore will really enjoy this novel as Broken Country is a perfect combination of literature and mystery. There are also a few twists along the way. I also liked the way the author’s note was prior to the start of the novel as it added meaning to the story. I can’t wait to read more from this author and I hope this novel is a huge success.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

What a tragic love story! This story flows effortlessly between the past and present. It’s full of romance and surprises. There’s a twist I didn’t see coming and it blew me away. I couldn’t put this book down. Definitely recommend

I wish this one had focused on the thriller aspect of the story instead of leaning into a slight love triangle which I'm sorry doesn't belong in thrillers and suspense because it's not romance.

4.5 stars. An incredibly emotional ride. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The premise sounded intriguing, but the overall package of the story was really well done.

The writing is at once soft and evocative. The narration style lures you in somewhat comfortingly and then completely betrays your heart and pummels you repeatedly. A love triangle, heartbreak, tragedy, death, and a lot of mystery surround the plot.

The pacing is a little slow in parts and the structure can be a little dizzying as the timeline shifts back and forth from a "before" to 1968, but this book is addicting. I did see some of the twists coming, but that didn't deter my serious intoxication with this read. I did not want to put it down and it pulled me out of a bit of a reading slump totally unexpectedly.

I ran the gamut of emotions with this one. There were wonderful bits of love and affection, some serious toxicity, moments when my gut just felt wrenched, a solid section where I found myself fuming at the main character, and some pieces that had me completely on edge. I will admit that my anger at the MC had me briefly considering ending my read, but I COULD NOT pull myself away from the plot. Was it worth sticking though? Oh, you betcha.

This book hurt me in such a good way.

I really enjoyed this book. There were two great love stories and a little murder mystery. It gave off Where The Crawdads Sing vibes and I ended up loving it just as much as that book.

Beth tells the story of her 2 greatest loves. The teenage fast paced lust turned love and then the adult slow heartfelt love. Both of them had me swooning. I couldn’t decide who I wanted her to end up with through out the book. I kept going back and forth. That is how well this was written.

There were multiple little twists that I never would have seen coming. The inclusion of the trial in the story had my head spinning - who was the defendant, who died, what actually happened?! It kept me on my toes. When the full story finally came out, I was shocked.

I really enjoyed how the book wrapped up, too. I felt like everyone got some sort of happy ending and everything felt like it was tied up with a little bow. I would definitely recommend this book!

What a beautiful and heart wrenching read. This book flips time frames from when the characters were young and in high school to when they are older, married and to a more current period where someone is on trial. The who is not given away until somewhere in the middle and the why as well.

There were definitely things I figured out before they were revealed to me but some that just left my jaw hitting the floor. Over the course of about a year two families lives will be shattered and a whole small rural town left reeling. Secrets are revealed, and scandal and rumors descend on the town that leave devastation and heartbreak in their wake.

There is so much loss and so much heartbreak in this book but also joy, the wonder of first love, the intimacy of a long relationship, and the sacrifices we make for love and for guilt. This book is well written and I couldn't put it down.

This book starts you off with a trial happening, and I am so confused, but this is the gist of this whole book, it was meant to keep me THERE, trying to find out what happened, how does all this tie together with what’s going on. Then we get Beth’s story, a teen girl, hella smart and a poet, has the most amazing parents and they are both teachers. Beth falls in love with Gabriel and he comes from one of the riches families in that town, so they had their summer loving, but then she has her friend from school Frank who she adores and she knows this man has been crushing her for since forever. We jump between “before” and what’s going on now, and the trial. And it is literally the most beautiful and saddest thing ever.

YEARS later, Frank and Beth are happily married even though tragedy came to them years before, Gabriel comes back to town, and THAT was crazy, this love triangle has DISASTER written all over it. And I went from being MAD at BETH for doing this to Frank to being MAD at Gabriel for allowing any of that to happen. But the secrets between them is CRAZY, I couldn’t stop reading or thinking of this book. Not only is there family drama in Frank and Beth’s home because Franks brother Jimmy is a hot mess, but the way EVERYTHING unravels in the end? I cried, that’s all imma say, the ending was better than I expected, it was literally what I needed.

A beautifully written debut that spans time between the life of teenagers to adults with kids. In a farming town young Beth is smitten with Gabriel, an upper class boy whose mother looks down upon her. We learn later she however ends up with Frank, a wholesome boy who has loved her forever. Tragedy strikes the threesome more than once and we learn the backstories, are taken to trial, and watch as pieces are put back together. I found the story and even the love affairs well done. It’s hard to write love and sex with it it being cheesy or gratuitous and I thought this was spot on in its rep of first love. A heartbreaking story many times over and one sure to be a hit this year.

I am shooketh! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book quite like this. From the start my attention was captured and I couldn’t put it down!

The farmer is dead, but who killed him. Secrets, death of a child, childhood loves returning, death and love triangles. The tension between all the characters and nonlinear timeline had you guessing the whole time how this happened, who it happened to and who did it!

Beth, a farmer’s wife, is in a marriage falling apart as they both are struggling with the grief of losing their son to a farming accident. When Gabriel, the man who broke her heart, returns to their village newly divorced with his son, feelings are reawakened and they learn that things that broke them apart were never true. When Frank, the farmer, notices his wife spending more time with Gabriel and his son, Leo, the tensions build and build reaching to a boiling point that sets the book into. Three different timelines you are bouncing between and some that absolutely made me gasp out loud.

The writing and setting were absolutely stunning! This isn’t my typical kind of book I pick up, but when I read the synopsis on NetGalley I was all in. I cannot wait for others to read this one.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Clare Leslie Hall for allowing me to read an advanced complimentary copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow. This one captivated me from the very beginning. I haven’t had a book in a while that I’ve wanted to pick up so often—I just needed to know what happened and what was going to happen! 
Broken Country is heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. It deals with love that heals and destroys, familial love, romantic love, love for beautiful land and the interconnectedness of lives. I cried. And I love a novel that makes me cry.

A note:  this one deals with infidelity, which is usually a trope that greatly bothers me, but Broken Country  does not paint infidelity in a positive light at all. Rather, it highlights its consequences. 

This is a heavy one, but so very gripping. 5 stars from me! 

Thank you for the advanced readers copy!

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy!!

I’m deceased.

I couldn't put this down. It was stunning and heartbreaking and amazing. I cried so many times. I became angry and frustrated so many times. I really thought I had an idea of where this book would take me, but I was not even close.

Oh my dear, Frank. ALL THE STARS IN THE WORLD!

My thoughts are swirling on this one. It’s so beautifully written and starts off with a bang! It alternates between the past and the present and slowly the story unfolds.

Highlights |
•first love
•grief and death
•complex relationships
•love triangle
•passion, secrets and lies
•pastoral farm setting

4.5/5 stars

I was drawn into the story and had a hard time putting it down. It is full of emotion and will leave you pondering many thoughts after the story has ended. While I have strong feelings regarding infidelity, this book does not necessarily portray it in a positive light. It reminds you of the huge consequences of our actions and how that can reverberate through a family. Definitely a buzzy book of the year!

⚠️ | Be aware that a major part of this story involves infidelity and loss of a child. A few instances of strong profanity and several intimate scenes with mild details.

[Thanks to the publisher, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is a heartbreaker of a novel that will leave the reader reeling at the conclusion. It's mostly set in 1968 but goes back in time to help lay the foundation for the story. Beth and Frank have withstood the ups and downs of married life, including a horrific tragedy. Throughout it all they've been able to weather the storms successfully and their bond has only tightened. Then the sudden appearance of an old flame wreaks havoc on their lives. This book has a stunning finale that might leave you with a dropped jaw. Read and enjoy!

This book was breathtakingly beautiful. Beth and her husband Frank are doing ok running their farm alongside his brother Jimmie after a devastating family tragedy. Things get turned upside down when Beth finds out her first love Gabe is back in town with a boy who reminds her so much of the one she lost. Beth knows it probably isn’t healthy to spend time with her former love and his son, but the pull of spending time with a little boy again is too much to resist. What follows is a series of twists and turns, loss and longing that is so heartbreaking and beautiful. The story blends seamlessly between Gabe and Beth’s love story in the past, the present day, and a mysterious court trial that all are involved with. This was a brilliant novel that kept me up way too late at night because I just had to finish it in one day and find out what happened. I haven’t read this author before, but I will now be rushing off to see what else they have written. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

4.5 starts, rounded up. Broken Country had beautiful writing and a compelling plot. I'm not always a fan of literary fiction, but this story was the perfect combination of character and plot. That being said, this was heartbreaking in so many ways. I can't say that I enjoyed reading it, but the ending was mostly redemptive, and I appreciated that it didn't make infidelity seem like a good choice.

Beth and Gabriel spent one glorious summer together as teenagers. When he comes back to their hometown with his young son, will Beth be able to maintain the life she loves?
This book is wrapped in tragedy, young love, class wars, and family loyalty. I cheered for Beth at the same time I wanted to yell at her. Beth's husband, Frank, is strong and steady, and my heart remained with him.
This book did seem a bit melodramatic. I did roll my eyes, but I also hurt with well-written characters.

It's like watch Titanic, knowing something bad is going to happen, but you're drawn in and have to watch. I was only a few pages in when I knew this book was going to be like that. Utterly gut-wrenching and yet a beautiful story. It's romance, loss, pride, shame, love, sadness and forgiveness.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC and to Clare Leslie Hall for writing this novel

I put off reading this book because I was worried it would be too heavy. It was indeed a very emotion filled book and I did find myself crying sitting between two strangers on a plane at one point while reading it, It deals with different kinds of love—the intoxication of first love, enduring and loyal love, parental love, sibling love…all realistically and beautifully portrayed.

The story takes place in the 50s and 60s on an English farm and the story was engaging and beautifully written.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Fantastic first novel by Clare Leslie Hall and what a debut it is! Amazing character development with a well fleshed out love triangle storyline. Writing style is right up my alley with short chapters that made it easy to keep reading. And I liked the 3 timeline approach.