I really enjoyed this book! Have to say that I took a while to get into it - it does flit around to different timelines and there is quite a bit going on - but once you get your head around that, you really get into it. It has a bit of everything - yes, it's a love story, but there is some mystery / thriller. There is young first love, a love triangle, family love and heartbreak. And all the way through, there is mention of a trial but it is not until much later in the book you get to find out whose and why. I did not guess this - it is written in such a way that I could not tell and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way, right until the very end. Wonderful characters and such a setting - I loved all the farming and the nature references to the extent that I really wanted to visit and walk those fields! Highly recommended I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

It's hard to put into words how beautiful this book is. It's a coming of age love story, set in an idyllic rural landscape, but with a darker underlying twist.
I loved the nature elements of this book, the author brings to life the nostalgia and peace of the landscapes without making the writing too flowery which was perfect for me.
I adored the storyline which I'm hesitant to say too much about because I went into the book completely blind, and I'd recommend others to do the same. But this book shows the absolute best of people, and in some ways the worst.
This is definitely a tear jerker, but it's a wonderful, wonderful book that will stay with me for a long time.

I was sucked in albeit from a lot of people raving about how amazing this book is. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it the most amazing book I’ve ever read? No.

The writing style reminded me a lot of a Lesley Pearce novel, a bit romancy and a bit unrealistic, I guessed the “twist” before it came, it’s a classic what I consider to be a “happy ever after” - all is well and fluffy in the end which I can’t realistically connect to.

That being said, I wanted to keep reading and see what happened but it’s not the emotional rollercoaster I was expecting.

What a heart breaking yet wonderful story. I had heard great reviews about this book and they did the story justice.

This book captured my heart. Young love, its intensity, it’s all consuming nature is beautifully told and brought to life the love between Gabriel and Beth. As the story moves through their romance the present tense parts give such a sense of foreboding and distress. A brilliant way to capture the reader.

Frank was a wonderful character, his calm and caring nature for his brother, for Beth was beautifully shown and I thought he was the most extraordinary character I have read for a while. I loved his dedication to the farm, the land and his belief of being the custodian to pass it on.

I loved the twist in this story and the characters just made this story so enjoyable to read. I had tears in my eyes at the end, an ending so perfectly wrapped up it gave me so many emotions and a true understanding of loss and love.

Once published in paperback I’ll be buying a copy to keep forever more on my shelves.

A fantastic read and a new favourite of this year.

Some books you just know from the first page that you are going to love it - and this was one of those
Set in the late sixties - there has been a murder and people are giving evidence in court about the events leading up to it
We don’t know who has been murdered yet or who is on trial
This was a brilliant emotional read and I loved it

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Absolutely loved this book! It's a love story wrapped up in a thriller, with intriguing characters that stand up and walk off the page. Beautifully written and atmospheric, but not in a pretentious 'let me see how many adjectives I can use' way. I was gripped from the first page to the last.

My heart is so full of feeling, emotions I cannot name, neither joy nor sorrow but something in between. This is us, I think. This is us.

When you listen to what the tabloids are saying about the trial, you think you know. A love triangle turned sour. A country house wife trying to bring some excitement to her life. A husband devastated. Told in a back and forth style between now (1968) and then, we learn of the devastating truth between Beth and Gabriel and Frank.

Wow, I read this book in one sitting. And I am devastated. I didn't really know what to expect heading into Broken Country but having seen the hype I was desperate to give it a try. This book is a beautifully written, absolutely devastating masterpiece. It has been a while since I've shed so many tears whilst reading a book.
At only 302 pages I was unsure how I'd grow so attached, feel so much with so few pages but its safe to say that I didn't need to worry. I was genuinely captured by the first couple of pages.

Whilst this is about family and an all consuming love affair, there is so much more to it - even a thriller type aspect that kept me reading, desperate to learn how things were going to unravel. I'm honestly a bit lost for words and can see why this book is being screamed about from the roof tops.
I don't want to say too much as I think it is one to experience without knowing too much, but this is one of the best debuts that I've ever read, truly.

A really engaging, emotional read with beautiful descriptions of the countryside and farming life. A slow start which was given interest by the beautiful prose but dragged from time to time, however this then became an absorbing story which moved me to tears. Love, obsession, loss and a mystery, this novel has them all.

Wow
What a tour de force this book is , sometimes a novel comes along which just captivates you from the start & Broken country is one such book. A literary love story crossed with a thriller , a dual time line jumping between the youthful passions of Beth , Gabriel and Frank & a later date of their adult worlds colliding. Whilst reading it I couldn’t get over it’s a debut novel , it is a wonderfully written book of a compelling love triangle with that age old question, is it possible to be in love with two people at the same time ? And how an exciting love/ lust relationship or fling can confuse a deeper shared daily life kind of love . Broken country has been compared to where the crawdads sing , and the paper palace , I’d say more on a par with paper palace and just as gripping . We have to wait until March for this wonderful book to be in the shops and I will be buying a copy for myself and all my friends.

5 stars all the way!

Such a raw, heartbreaking story. It held my attention from start to finish.
I wish I could read it all over again for the first time!!

A story about a love triangle that ends up with a criminal trial at its centre. Perfectly readable, very sad as child loss is at its core, but not sure it’s a read that will stick with me. I just didn’t end up caring for any of the characters, except for one who I couldn’t help but wonder why he stuck around.

With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Oh my gosh! Broken Country has broken my heart but also put it back together again.
This book was incredible. Such a beautiful story of love and heartbreak with so many intricate layers. I could not put it down!
I loved all of the characters, ok maybe not Tessa, but all of the others, flaws and all. I just want to stay immersed in this book forever. It is so beautifully written, it was as if I too were sat by the lake, strolling across the fields and having my heart repeatedly broken and pieced back together again.
I know I will remember this story for a very very long time and this book has well and truly earned its spot as one of my all time favourite reads.

I am crying!!!

Crying so hard and I feel bereft
What a story. there were complicated feelings and emotions here but it's all so moving and well, you just have to see for yourself and try not to break down as you read.

The title is very apt as the word broken is included and honestly that is how you will be afterwards and for a long while after.

This was such a brilliant first read of the year. Set in the 1960’s, Broken Country is centred around a love triangle that has devastating consequences. This book has everything I love, a sweeping love story, a crime that leaves you second guessing until the final pages, and characters that feel so real and believable you feel like they could be living in your town. I flew through this book in a few days because I had to know what happened and had become so emotionally attached to the characters. By switching back and forth in time, information about the love triangle, and the crime that has taken place is slowly revealed, until you’re hit with an emotional gut punch in the final 50 pages of the book.

This is a well told story of all-consuming love, loss and guilt. Most of all, it is a story about grief and the effect the loss of a child has on the parents individually and on their relationship.

It is set in Hemstone, a small village full of little secrets where everybody knows everyone. The setting is highly idealised but that does not take anything away from the raw emotions experienced by the main protagonists.
The present time of the story is 1968, in which we get introduced to the main characters but it is the time ‘Before’, starting in 1955 that makes sense of the present. Simultaneously, there is also a trial going on, of which we get snippets of action without really understanding what it relates to and where it is heading until the very end of the book. Only then everything falls into place. The story is populated with likeable characters and fluently narrated – all in all a good read.

I am grateful to NetGalley and John Murray Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent a copy of Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall to read and review by NetGalley. I absolutely loved this book! Not only is it a love story between people it is also a love story to the land and nature. I found all the characters to be believable and even though the passages regarding life on the farm were perhaps romanticized I still felt that this was a reasonable take on how people with generations of family farming the same piece of land may feel. This novel slowly unfolds between two timelines and the author gives the reader enough space to really connect and empathise with everything that occurs. I will certainly be searching out more of her work in the future. Well worth the maximum 5 stars and more.

Utter perfection from start to finish, I want to go back to the start and read it all again, its that good. This novel had me spellbound from the opening pages, thank goodness I wasn't working when I read it, I'd have been sneaking off to the toilets to read another chapter.

Beth and Gabriel are a thing, Gabe heads off to Uni, breaks Beths heart and local farmers son Frank picks up the pieces. Thirteen years later Gabes back, recently divorced with his son in tow.

You've read it all before and you know how this is going to go, believe me you don't. Broken Country has so much more, richly defined characters, a small community, wonderful landscape, a perfect sense of time and a knockout storyline, if you dismiss this as just another love story you really are doing yourself a disservice.

Broken Country moves seamlessly between 1955 and 1968, its characters perfectly laid out, their flaws, insecurities and dreams laid bare for the reader to indulge in. This novel is going to be huge, my first read of 2025 and I loved it.

Clare Leslie Hall delivers a gripping and emotionally charged tale in Broken Country, a novel that masterfully blends the intensity of a thriller with the yearning of a sweeping love story. Set across two pivotal timelines—the “Before” of 1955 and the “Present” of 1968—the narrative explores the haunting legacy of first love, the fragility of relationships, and the secrets that can either bind or unravel lives.

The story begins with a seemingly mundane event: Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog threatening their sheep. What appears to be a simple act of protection quickly spirals into something far more profound when the dog is revealed to belong to Gabriel Wolfe, Beth’s first love, and the man who shattered her heart years ago. Gabriel’s return to the village with his son Leo brings Beth face-to-face with the ghosts of her past, as well as echoes of her own grief over her late son Bobby.

Beth’s life with her husband Frank, a kind and gentle man, seems stable on the surface, but their marriage is built on unspoken truths and a shared hope that the past remains buried. As Gabriel and Leo re-enter her world, tensions within the village rise, jealousy flares, and long-buried secrets begin to surface. The novel crescendos towards a devastating climax, as Beth is forced to confront the woman she was, the life she chose, and the life she still yearns for.

Hall’s storytelling is both seamless and evocative. The dual timelines are flawlessly interwoven, with each chapter adding layers of depth to the characters and their motivations. The short, tightly written chapters drive the pace forward, making it nearly impossible to put the book down. The trial, which looms in the background for much of the story, is revealed with precision, tying the narrative together in a way that leaves no loose ends.

The characters are richly drawn, their emotions and conflicts rendered with an authenticity that makes them feel like people you’ve known. Beth is a particularly compelling protagonist, torn between love and duty, grief and hope. Gabriel and Frank are equally complex, and even the supporting cast adds texture to this vivid, atmospheric world.

Broken Country is a stunning exploration of simmering passion, impossible choices, and the explosive consequences of buried truths. Clare Leslie Hall captures the universal struggle between holding onto the past and moving forward, crafting a story that lingers in your mind long after the final page. A must-read for fans of emotionally resonant fiction with thrilling twists.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I found this to not be what I expected. But I did in the end enjoy this book.
While it was slow starting. By a third of the way in, I started to become investing in the characters story. Figuring out what happened and why.
By the end I felt for them all. They all went through so much, in different ways.

This is a cross genre book that is both a mystery thriller and a romance. It is a tale with several narrative lines that intertwine with devastating consequences. I found it difficult at first in keeping track of the timeline but when it all starts to make sense it is worth the initial struggles. I think the author has created a very evocative setting and a good cast of characters. Some of the individual scenes were brilliantly created. I would definitely read more from this author