Every so often, you read a book that you know you’ll still be thinking about in ten years time. As you get deeper into the story, the characters become more and more real and your enjoyment turns into investment…these people’s lives mean something to you now, you care about them like you do your friends and family. This is one of those books.

The writing is sublime, evocative and emotional. It’s literary fiction that’s accessible to everyone, no airs and unnecessary intellectualism, just the absolute best choice of words on every line. The universal themes of love, loss, regret, sacrifice, and family are woven together into a gripping story that doesn’t let go until the very last pages. It’s melodramatic but not maudlin, it’ll capture your heart for sure.

There are twists-a-plenty to keep the mystery lovers happy too. Some I figured out, others I didn’t. Even the ones I did see, I still wanted to see what the fallout would be and there were surprises there.

Absolutely awesome!

It’s a while since a book made me cry but I was in bits at the end of Broken Country.
This is a beautifully written story of a woman caught between 2 men, the wealthy Gabriel who was her first love, and Frank, the farmer who helped her put her life back together when her relationship with Gabriel goes horrendously wrong.
She loves them both deeply but the death of her son drives her from the security of Frank back to her first love, leading to a tragedy that will destroy them all.
The characters are brilliantly written and you can understand the motivations of them all. They are all in an impossible position and you know from the first page that it is all going to go horribly wrong. It’s an unbearably tense read, sometimes I had to put it down as I couldn’t bear to find out what would happen next.
Absolutely sensational, 5 stars at the very least.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the gifted e-arc.

Wow. What an amazing book. Definitely a 5 star read for me.

This heartbreaking, powerful story of a family with so many ups and downs which kept me captivated the whole way through. There was so much emotion in this; love, pain, anger, regret, sorrow, grief, heartbreak, happiness and so much healing. I am so sad that it ended. I felt like I could’ve kept on reading for ages! Loved Clare’s writing and the emotion and detail she put into the main characters, Beth, Frank and Gabriel will make them stay with me for a long time.

Hugely recommend this to anyone!

I think I’ve read my book of the year for 2025!.

From the first page until the last, this mesmerising story had me captivated.

The story was both beautiful and heartbreaking, that first love really has a hold on you as so many people will know.

It’s that age old question , do you go with the exciting kind of love that takes your breath away or the normal, steady love that lasts a lifetime no matter what?.

As I was laying in the bath reading the last few chapters, i couldn’t stop crying because of the most beautiful and heartbreaking moments that Beth, Frank and Gabriel go through when everything gets laid bare.

The ending was sublime and will stay with me for a long time, I need to read more by this talented author.

I knew nothing about this book before picking it up only that it has been well received by early reviewers.

I picked it up last night and just finished it through tears. What a read.

Would recommend going in knowing as little as possible and just let this story transport you back to rural England in the middle of the 20th century.

Beautifully written, a deeply moving , compelling and memorable book. I loved it.

I am struggling to find the words to describe this beautiful but heart breaking story.
What begins as a teenage love affair between two innocents from different backgrounds turns into tragedy and heartbreak.
I became immersed in the lives of these people, hoping and holding my breath as I turned the pages that all would turn out well.
This is a story which will remain with you for a long time. Events are slowly revealed, puces of the jigsaw fitting together that sometimes you wish they would fit elsewhere.
This is a new author for me but I have already ordered ‘Days you were mine’ .

A deeply moving story of how you can't go back in life, only try to keep finding a way to move forward, Beth falls deeply in love at a young age with posh boy Gabriel who dashes her dreams of joining him in Oxford and then disappears from her life. Frank is there to help her pick up the pieces, and they build a solid life together. When Gabriel returns, son in tow, we see the consequences of that early romance reverberate through Beth's life and the people close to her. It's haunting, it's bittersweet and it's really really sad, beautifully written and realised, set to stay with you in many ways.

Words cannot describe how much I have loved this book. It is simply stunning on every level. The writing, the plot. Perfection. I knew, only 20% through, that this was going to be a book that will be one I will tell random strangers on the street to read. I pre-ordered the Goldsboro special edition knowing I wanted a special copy of this on my shelves. This is more than just a romance, there's just so much to unpack. I have never, ever, cried reading a book and this book had me full in sobbing in the closing chapters. That just tells you how incredible the writing is, to evoke such an emotion from me.

Absolutely heartbreaking. I almost regret reading it. I wanted to put this book down so many times because I knew it would break me. I don’t think you can truly imagine the loss of a child until you’re a parent and even then it is unimaginable. I didn’t know whether to love or hate Beth, Gabriel or Frank, and by the end you couldn’t hate any of them. This isn’t a happy ending but in its own way it is. The book itself is indescribable. It leaves you hooked and needing to read on even though you know it will crush you. Read on at your own risk, I don’t think this book will leave me for a long time. It truly summarises the extent people will go to for love and how you don’t realise the consequences of love until you’re in too deep.

A love triangle. The story is based round three main characters: Beth, Gabriel and Frank. It starts with a dog being shot for killing three lambs. Ten years on there’s a murder trial at the Old Bailey. There are several twists, though one concerning Beth didn’t ring true to me.

It's took me a while to come to writing this review mainly because I didn't know where to begin.

Every once in a while, a book comes along, a book that captures a piece of my heart, and Broken Country did just that.

'A kiss that feels like everything all at once. Unhinged. Tender. Too much, too much, nowhere near enough. Teeth snagging lips, hands caught in hair, every second of every year we've been apart in this kiss'

This story will forever stay with me, and no amount of words I write will do this story justice. I'm not going to say much about the plot other than it follows Beth, Gabriel, and Frank throughout their lives. It splits seamlessly between past and present. I completely lost myself in this story, and I didn't want it to come to an end.

Between these three characters, I felt an overwhelming amount of emotions, their tragedy, and their happiness. I fell in love with all three of them. Their stories, and the complexities of their lives left me feeling elated at times and with deep sadness too. It is both beautiful and heartbreaking.

It is a powerful love story that has left me grieving for these three characters. There is no amount of words I can write that will fully explain to you how this story has made me feel. I will say to you, go read it. if you want a romance that has depth and full of emotion, then this is for you.

Thank you, John Murray Press, for my advanced copy.

What a beautiful story! I couldn't put this down. Utterly brilliant from start to finish. Filled with so much love, heartache and hope. A bittersweet love story that was such a beauty to read.

This is an emotional, compellling and powerful read, a masterpiece, the tension and atmosphere builds as the story unfolds
A love triangle, Beth, Frank and Beth’s first love Gabriel, who made her heart pound from the moment she met him
Is it a love story, yes but it’s so much more, Beth is grieving, heartbroken at the loss of her son, trying to hold her and Frank together when Gabriel and his son return to the village. In a short space of time Beth finds herself wrapped up in their lives, she can feel the spark and tension between her and Gabriel. Frank watches silently.
Beth is caught up in her love triangle, there is steamy sex, lies and then another fatal accident.
The story is told in a dual timeline and flows seamlessly, at the beginning we know that someone is dead and there is a trial, the blanks are then filled in as the story is told, a story filled with every imaginable emotion, heartbreak, grief, anger, family relationships, sadness, love and hope.
Each character comes alive as they are woven into the story,
I don’t think any review could this book justice. It’s an outstanding read. What a movie this story would make.
Sometimes a book captures your heart and the story remains with you, this is one of those unforgettable ones.
Many thanks to Net Galley and John Murray Press for an ARC Of this amazing book in exchange for a review. Be prepared not to move once you start to read.

I sit writing this review virtually in the dark - I finished “Broken Country” only a few minutes ago and so keen was I to find out what happened, I couldn’t drag myself away to even switch the light on.

The story is told by the main character, Beth. It jumps between the current time which is entitled “The Trial”, “before” (which is set in the fifties and sixties) and 1968 (which tells the immediate events in the lead up to to the trial). While this may sound like it would be confusing, it wasn’t at all. The author carefully drip fed various different parts of the story - we find out about Beth’s youth and how she fell in love with Gabriel, how when that relationship fell apart, it was loyal and loving Frank who helped her to heal and who ends up marrying her, and how what happened with their son Bobby threatened to tear them apart. We also learn how all of these events lead to “The Trial” and, eventually, who is actually on trial, what they are on trial for and whether or not they are found guilty.

As the official description of this book says, this is a love story with the pulse of a thriller. I really couldn’t agree more. But there are many different forms of love that are covered and also, crucially, what happens when that love is lost.

I highly recommend this book. It was gripping, heartbreaking and beautiful. I was desperate to find out what happened but didn’t want it to end and that’s usually a sign of a great book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I cannot begin to describe how much I loved this book! It is an emotional roller coaster that will pull at your heartstrings and stay with you long after you have finished reading it. The book is best described by this line from the book:
"This is a love story with too many beginning."
Sadly, there can only be one ending: heartbreak. But sometimes flowers can grow through concrete, and second chances are possible if you believe hard enough.

It's a story about an all-consuming love that began with Garibaldi biscuits. We have a boy who possesses material wealth but yearns for a normal life and a girl who loves to dream.
"Two would-be writers, two dreamers, two lonely teenagers waiting for their lives to begin." - Beth Kennedy and Gabriel Wolfe.

It is also a story about loss—the loss of someone you thought would be your forever person. It's a story about second chances and how the loss of a child can strain a relationship. It poses the question: Is it possible to love more than one person simultaneously?
"It takes a certain mindset to exist within two parallel spheres."

You are confronted with so many emotions in this book. Love, loss, betrayal, heartache, sacrifice, and compassion.
It is the beautifully written story of Beth, Gabriel, and Frank, and I was captivating from the beginning to the end. It reminded me of a blend of "Where the Crawdads Sing" and "Go as a River" and I understand that the movie rights have been sold to 3000 Pictures and Candle Media's Hello Sunshine, a team that previously collaborated on the successful film adaptation of "Where the Crawdads Sing," a publishing phenomenon and Reese's Book Club Pick.

A must read!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Oh my … Clare Leslie Hall captures first love, yearning, guilt, loss and deception with enviable and emotive deft. The bladder behind my eyes leaked as this multilayered story nears closure. The depths of love, family love and the search for release and redemption are beautifully described in this novel.

The only thing I am still trying to sort is why this very good has the title it has. Broken families would be more accurate! It is an intriguing read starting off with a story line that is not very unusual. A teenage boy from a posh family falls in love with a local farmer’s daughter. Despite his mother’s disapproval it looks as if they will be going off to Oxford universities together. Then other love interests intervene to upset what seems certain. As the book progresses, that apparently simple storyline becomes more and more complicated when they meet up again. In the interval, Beth has married a local farmer Frank, had a son who has been lost in a farming accident and seems to be settled. As the story moves on it is full of surprises which are sure to keep the reader enthralled.. it is a very rewarding read! I recommend it.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is a book that is going to stick with me, from the characters to the writing there was so much I loved about the book that I can even forgive it for breaking my heart. I have seen some people describe this as a love story but I warn you now this is not a book for those who love a happily ever after, yes there is joy and hope but only after a lot of tragedy so be prepared for this book to take you on an emotional journey.
Gabriel and Beth first met when they were teens and Gabriel and his wealthy family moved to her rural village and before long they were head over heels in love but when Gabriel left for university the gap between them grew and eventually they broke up. A decade passes before Gabriel, now a successful author, returns to the village with his young son in tow following a divorce. Beth has also moved on and married local man Frank who helped her pick up the pieces of her broken heart, but their life has not been without tragedy, their young son was killed in a farming accident leaving them both broken hearted. Their marriage is struggling and the return of Gabriel could be the final nail in the coffin as Beth finds herself increasingly drawn to her first love and getting dangerously close to his son. A second chance at first love could cost her everything because in a tragic turn of events her husband ends up in court facing a murder charge.
This book was nothing short of amazing, the characters sprang to life from the page and I found myself captivated by the choices they made, the reasons they gave and the consequences they faced. If you love a character driven story with a really strong sense of place this is just the sort of book you need to be reading. The storytelling was masterful, the compulsion to keep reading was impossible to resist and I ended up devouring this book in less than twenty four hours. The depiction of complex emotions like grief can be hard to do without it becoming melodramatic but here the sense of loss experienced by the characters was almost tangible, anyone who has lost a loved one will find much that resonates here.
This is already a contender for my book of the year.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I tried to start this one a number of times. I got about 20% in and gave up each time.. I know people loved it but there was something about it that just didnt work for me. I didnt particularly love the chracters and I didnt really like the setting… this one just wasn’t for me. I keep thinking I will go back but I know I wont.

For fairness I will be giving this a neutral rating but please read other reviewers as this one is quite popular I am just an outlier and I just really didnt like it.

Thank you for an advanced copy .

Quite frankly the best book I've ever read. That's it. That's the review.

Seriously though, was their anything remarkable about the plot? Not particularly, but the way it's written? Exquisite. How visceral it felt. The characters. Frank. Oh Frank. My heart. I just adored everything about this book.