The idea that we can never go home again is one I’ve always read less literally and more that we can never be children who don’t see the world through innocent (and ignorant) eyes. Growing up gives perspective and many stories explore how people get these revelations. In Jodie Matthews’ modern folk tale Meet Me At The Surface we have a tale of lost love, secretive families and grief but not really enough to make me fully invested.

Merryn returns for a memorial surface for her ex girlfriend and finds her home strange and family are hiding things. The date is forever put off and conversations continually avoided. This makes Merryn consider the mysteries of her childhood and she delved into ancient lore that suggests powerful secrets her family have avoided for far too long.

This is a strange piece of storytelling. Tonally Matthews captures a feeling of alienation and dislocation. Merryn very much feels the outsider and she is herself perhaps out of grief not engaged with the world. But this is a story that lacks any pace and tension. It’s lacking much structure and feels more gently edging to a conclusion which itself is ambiguous. It’s more mood piece than actual substance of a story and I never really connected with anyone in it despite it having some interesting ideas. Not enough to be folk horror and the fantastical seems a little undercooked. Ultimately a writer with talent but this feels a rough debut not quite hitting the mark.

I liked the darkness and the setting and that Meet Me At the Surface was a sort of coming of age into folklore but I do agree with other reviewers who have commented negatively on the way the reader is held at a distance from the protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and Wiliam Colins for the advance reader copy,

I really wanted to enjoy this book especially because of the synopsis and the themes but I feel like it fell flat for me.

The descriptions are very detailed which provides an amazing set of imagery for the reader but there felt like something was missing with the characters.

For the length of the book it took me a lot longer to read than expected.

This was a DNF at just about halfway for me - I think it will be perfect for those who like haunting, atmospheric literary novels, but I found myself struggling to get on with the characters, and hoping for a little more overt fantasy. I do recommend it to those looking for a dark read that explores a lot of family and romantic emotions in a fairly abstract way.

I absolutely devoured this book, it was a great read and I felt as though I was included in the story, I would definitely recommend

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I think that's why I enjoyed it so much.
It's hard to describe. There is a teenage love story, folklore and a sort of creepy semi reality. I was never quite sure if the folklore was true or if the characters were imagining things.
Merryn was a great main character as she seemed as clueless and confused as I was as a reader. Coming home to Cornwall for the memorial of her girlfriend to find that home didn't feel like home anymore.
I'll be thinking about this for a long time. I think it's much deeper than it first appears.

It took a bit longer for me to finish this book than usually but that is not to say that it wasn't great. It was a slow flow story and I honestly appreciated it, even though in general I prefer fast paced. But we really got to dive into nature, the complicated relationships, that young love and grief.

The writing style was my favourite in the whole story, I did feel like I was actually there.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for the author.

This should have been completely my thing - folklore, UK set, LGBTQ etc - and yet I found the style off putting. I really wanted something rich and bewitching and dark, and it felt like the MC just held me at arm's length the whole time. Competent debut but not for me.

A great book that is a coming of age story set late, with some absolutely disgusting scenes and details that lend it a proper fairy-tale resonance. I'll never look at eels the same way again. Not that I ever looked at eels much before.

A coming of age journey suffused with folk horror.

Merryn has turned her back on her rural Cornish ties and has settled in Manchester but the memorial of her teenage girlfriend calls her back to the remote parts. The story focusses on the complexities of teen relationships but there is a menacing presence of something far more sinister in the Cornish moors. There is a foreboding sense of unease throughout this book as the threat of the Cornish myths and legends haunt the present.

Steeped in folklore and tensely atmospheric, I think this will be a popular one for fans of folk horror and gothic thrillers. I was enthralled when it came to the Cornish myths but I felt the pace dip when the focus returned to the protagonist reminiscing on her volatile romance with her exgirlfriend. The momentum was lost for me and I never quite got immersed. This doesn’t take away from the haunting atmosphere, the vivid settings and the poignant navigation of grief. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from the author.

📖 MEET ME AT THE SURFACE BY JODIE MATTHEWS 📖
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I’ve followed Jodie Matthews for a long time on Bookstagram and loved her taste in books, so I was really keen to read her debut novel which is set in Cornwall and entwined with myth and legend. Right up my street!
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Merryn has returned home to her small Cornish town for the memorial of her ex- girlfriend/love of her life, Claud. But there’s something not right. Her aunt is conducting strange rituals, her mother seems desperate to share a secret and no one seems to know anything about the memorial. Then she finds the notebook filled with folklore about the mysterious Pedri. But why is Claud’s name in there?
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This is one of those all consuming books which completely casts you in its spell. It’s a story of grief, obsession and belonging and is both haunting and suspenseful. I adored the myth and folklore, claustrophobic atmosphere and vivid sense of place. A stunning debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Jodie writes next!

I thought I'd like this but I didn't expect to love it and devour it like I did. It felt so earthy and evocative and Matthews has a natural talent writing about the land she knows so well. I've spent a lot of time with Cornwall and I felt I could feel the soul and smell the air. It was a fantastic and one of a kind read. Matthews is a talent to watch, can't wait to see what else ghe author writes.

Unfortunately this one missed the mark. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but it just didn’t draw me in. On paper, it is everything I love in a book, but the reality of it didn’t match up. I think the thing I found most off-putting was the unpleasant descriptions. I don’t really want to read detailed descriptions of skinning eels, thanks.

The characters also didn’t really capture my attention. It seemed their only interesting points were the relationships to each other. I didn’t get much of a sense of who they were as people. Claud and Merryn’s relationship was very toxic, which is okay when it’s done well, but all I saw in this was Claud’s absolute cruelty towards Merryn.

This just wasn’t what I wanted from this book.

Great debut.
It’s dark and Gothic with a chaotic mix of toxic and messy female relationships with descriptions and lines that just sink into your bones and make you feel cold to your very fingertips.
Really enjoyed it.
You can feel the darkness of the Cornish moors, the isolation of the tiny village, I felt the constant uneasiness of being alone in the dark - there’s grief, there’s history, there’s folklore, right up my street.

This story is weaved through and through with folk tales, myth and legend. It's creepy and unsettling throughout, while also somehow managing to make the moors seem so wild and magical that you would consider going there on holiday (despite the subject matter). The story burns slowly, as you think you know what's going on but can never be entirely sure until you reach the very end. The wrapping-up in the final chapter felt a little hasty for me, but the story kept me intrigued. It reminded me very much of the books I used to enjoy as a literature student.

A gothic story with a promise of folk horror and twisty plot. Well plotted and featuring interesting characters
A bit slow at time but it kept me reading
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to read this book as an eArc! I loved the promise of folk horror and oh, such a pretty cover! The atmosphere is really haunting, at times it has kinda southern gothic vibes, even though I know it is set in Cornwall.
Sadly, it is still a dnf for me. The folklore snippets rather confused me (and not in a good way) and I just couldn't get warm with the prose. It's just that there isn't a single happy thing happening or told or whatever (at least not in the first 30%), so I just felt uncomfortable while reading instead of enjoying it.
Maybe I can pick it up again when I'm more in the mood for such a book.

I read it to the end and I wanted to love it. There was some great descriptive writing but it just wasn’t for me. I felt confused by huge swathes of it and maybe I was just the wrong audience.

A strange and beautiful book, it pulls you in and almost suffocates you in its deep gothic denseness. You know ,like Merryn, that something is wrong about this place, these people. It is deliciously dark.

sadly this is a did not finish so I will not publicly review. I was unable to get into the writing style it was not for me