Name: Broken Country
Rating: 4 (24 reviews)
ISBN: 9781399820424

CLARE LESLIE. HALL

Broken Country

Clare Leslie Hall

"The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him." Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager -- the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident. As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love

Madura Sornarajah

Kind of was rooting for Gabriel and Beth initially

Hated that this all stemmed from not communicating. Not like me at all so it’s hard to swallow. Not even confronting Gabriel and just leaving a note? 🙄

also didn’t seem realistic to me that two people who write never wrote to each other. Not once.

Would never have agreed to Tessa’s terms…

So selfish to keep a baby from their father and vice versa

Hated the pride/duty-bound aspects of so many elements. Frank has a hero complex too

Turned team Frank pretty quickly after we found out Bobby wasn’t his

Cried learning about how accepting he was of her pregnancy at 17 (unrealistic though) and loved their sweet meet-cute with the blackbird nest

Always will feel sorry for him. He really was her second choice even though he deserved better…nice guys finish last type deal. Small town, options are limited so what he feels is love for her and no one else is simply limited options.

I thought that Jimmy would have accidentally killed Leo and then killed himself. Definitely did not see the twist coming until closer to.

Didn’t really feel like a love story. Felt like a series of tragedies where children suffer the most and nobody ended up truly happy.

The poem at the end was kind of heartbreaking. Can’t imagine witnessing something like that

"The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him." Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager-the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident. As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

I enjoyed reading this book and was kept guessing about the court case and the ending for the most part, however I’m not sure how I feel about the main character which ruined it for me towards the end. The fact Beth didn’t tell Gabriel that she was pregnant, never letting him know his son, started up a passionate affair with him the minute he arrived back in the village, cheating on her husband who always appeared as the back up plan, and then ending it after Jimmy’s death (which Jimmy was pretty much to blame for, no one else) and staying with Frank - she just seemed to play with people around her, I was left a bit flat at the end. Hard to explain but something didn’t work for me.

Lucy Moore

Lily Dendy

utsa

I picked up this book and read it in one sitting. Compelling, devastating and beautiful story. I never predicted the ending, great book!

Taylor Silveira 

I enjoyed the blend of love triangle drama and mystery. I’m not a big fan of time jumps in books, and that element felt confusing at times. Parts of the ending were predictable, but others genuinely caught me by surprise. I’m glad Beth made the right decision in the end. Although, I wasn’t impressed by her lack of thought and self control. 

I also did not understand jimmy's desire to kill Gabriel. That part of the story didn’t make much sense to me, especially since Frank was already handling the situation. It felt like the author was grasping for anything to make it unpredictable when in the end it just didn’t make sense. 

Almost a 5 star read if not for that. However, I would recommend this book. It was very well written. 

Hadley 

I enjoyed the blend of love triangle drama and mystery. I’m not a big fan of time jumps in books, and that element felt confusing at times. Parts of the ending were predictable, but others genuinely caught me by surprise. I’m glad Beth made the right decision in the end. Although, I wasn’t impressed by her lack of thought and self control. 

spoiler** 

I also did not understand jimmy's desire to kill Gabriel. That part of the story didn’t make much sense to me, especially since Frank was already handling the situation. It felt like the author was grasping for anything to make it unpredictable when in the end it just didn’t make sense. 

Almost a 5 star read if not for that. However, I would recommend this book. It was very well written. 

I’m sorry I don’t really understand the hype of this book 

To me there were wayyyyy to many characters and stories being weaved that I felt like I didn’t connect with any of them 

Brittany Peterson

I’m sorry I don’t really understand the hype of this book 

To me there were wayyyyy to many characters and stories being weaved that I felt like I didn’t connect with any of them 

Broken Country

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