The synopsis promises secrets, obsession, and villains. While it technically delivers all of those things it was disappointing in its execution. It falls flat, leaves important questions unanswered, and starts entertaining plot lines only to never come back to them. It has great potential but in the end I don’t recommend it.

"She was his salvation, and he was her ruin. Now and for eternity they belonged together."
The Boy from the Sea by H. L. Macfarlane is described as a gothic romance, and it certainly lives up to that billing. This dark and twisted tale had me gripped and as I turned the pages and watched the story unfold I found myself gasping in surprise, wanting to shake some sense into Grace, one of the main characters , and actually putting my kindle down in disbelief when I read the ending, which is one of the most unexpected and yet strangely fitting that I have ever come across.
Grace is a graduate student working towards her PhD , and while working part time as a lab supervisor for the undergraduates she encounters the mysterious Lir, a marine biology student with a tragic and mysterious past and a fascination with the sea. She is instantly drawn to him and finds herself almost stalking him in her attempts to learn more about him. When she finally learns that he is just as fascinated by her it seems like they are a perfect match. When a series of grisly attacks starts taking place along the West coast of Scotland of course Grace is shocked but soon puts it out of her mind, until the attacks hit much closer to home, and she starts to get suspicious of Lir's increasing erratic and secretive behaviour. Though it breaks her heart to even consider it she starts to wonder if Lir's tragic past has damaged him and made him dangerous. How much of herself is she willing to sacrifice to save the man she loves ?
This was such a propulsive read, and much darker than I originally expected, but I really enjoyed how well the author was able to show romance tipping into the darker waters of obsession . Speaking of dark waters, I also want to highlight how descriptive the writing was, the descriptions of the weather and locations added so much to the atmosphere of the story and felt so fitting for the wet and windy Winter weekend when I read this book. I have read and enjoyed other books by this author, but this one blows them all out of the water.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I thought this book is well written and liked it. But it is not my type of book due to romance and maybe unbelievable to me, yet others will like it.

i had very high expectations for this book and I'd be lying if i said i enjoyed it, both grace and lir's characters were so bland, there were a lot of plot holes and half of the stuff made no sense, the beginning was very promising but everything shifted so fast. their relationship was the weirdest and unrealistic ever. i hated how grace was just straight up dumb and fell right into lir's trap like she was just in denial all the time and her choosing to stay with him and helping him with his plan despite what she had witnessed and learned was so... ?? that ending was so random like yea he somehow survived and they end up together then what... what happens next..

i think both of them should seek help idk

thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc for an exchange of an honest review.

"Do you think we even have the capacity to know what a god or a titan or any other supernatural force is? Or do we just see their acts as obstacles and interference?"

CW:
- murder
- social anxiety
- animal death
- sociopathy
- abusive relationship

2.5 rounded up.

The Boy from the Sea by H.L. Macfarlane tries to be a gothic romance without gothic staples or an explanation of the subline and supernatural.

Grace Ferguson is a marine biology PhD student who has social anxiety and has a hard time making friends. In one of the classes where she is a teaching assistant, she meets a strange student, Dylan Lir Murphy. She becomes obsessed with him—perhaps it is his silence or his downcast eyes, but she must know who he is. Stalking turns to dating, however, after Lir states that he likes her. While their whirlwind romance begins, Lir sometimes goes away to strange places on the coast of Scotland. And a few days pass by, and someone has died in that same city.

While the perpetrator is way too obvious, the main character is blind to the evidence. There were times that the relationship was manipulative and controlling—Lir subtly drew Grace away from the few friends she had despite all of them trying to warn her.

The intrigue of knowing why kept me hooked, but by the time we got there, I stared at my text and said, "wait, there's nothing?" We have the reason for the murders, but despite being claimed that the "gods" would be pleased, we have no idea which gods. Lir researches plenty of various myths but never seems to settle on which gods would let him go home. Is it all of them?

Lir and Grace are both flat characters with very little to define themselves. Grace is a shy, socially anxious girl. Lir...swims a lot and lost his parents. That's it. Is that enough for infatuation?

The biggest issue I had with the novel was the lack of gothic elements. Where is a haunted house that is its own living character? Where are the moral issues of loving a monster? Where is the overwhelming nature that is stronger and greater than man? Where are the anti-war and anti-capitalism themes? Where are the gods?

Another issue I had was Grace's love for Lir, allowing herself to go along with his plans. I don't like non-strategic characters. If you are getting a PhD in marine biology, surely you are intelligent. Surely, you understand nuance, strategy, methods, research. Why would you buckle under another person who gave you attention?

But abusive relationships are hard to escape; that's the point.

I never believed in either character's love for each other. Instead, there was obsession and infatuation, which could not carry this story from the lack of believability. I don't know WHY these characters are obsessed with each other; I am just told they ARE.

The new final chapter also invalidates the question of Lir's survival. While it's fine that he survived and ends with Grace once more, why? What is either character's motivation? Why are they infatuated? Is it fate, the gods, loneliness?

I felt lost amongst the waves and felt pity for a dead cat instead of anyone else.

Want to read abusive relationships and power dynamics? Read A Dowry of Blood.
Want to read about obsessive love, even if it drives you to murder? Read Frankenstein.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and for allowing me to dive into this cold romance.

Grace, a 25-year-old PhD student in Scotland, grapples with feelings of being out of place, and lacks motivation while her best friend is abroad. Her life takes a turn when she meets the mysterious loner Lir, one of her student. He is a talented swimmer who has a strong interest for mythology and a tragic past. She develops a powerful yet conflicting attraction to Lir, however he is not what he seems.. Or is he?
The book uses a dual timeline, blending Lir's past with the present, gradually building tension and there are some dark and disturbing moments. The narrative, though, can be somewhat repetitive.
Grace's character feels a bit flat and inconsistent. Despite her age and having lived away from home for several years, she comes across as quite immature/naive at times, some of her actions and choices creating eyebrow-raising moments. she is also extremely self-deprecating which I personally struggled with. Lir on the other hand, is well-developed and intriguing. His character strikes he right balance between dark and brooding, painfully endearing and brutally creepy. The most interesting aspect of this story is the mystery surrounding his nature and intentions.
I enjoyed that this book is not just a dark romance, as there is an emphasis on mystery and mythological elements, although I would have liked to see this aspect more developed.
This book brought to mind “the Pisces” by Melissa Broder but with YA energy of Twilight, a morally grey naive woman at a low point getting all-consumed in an intense forbidden and toxic infatuation for validation by a monstrously needy but beautiful man.

This book was okay for me. The first 25% has little action and lots of angst. The pace picked up once Grace and Lir get together and the murders began. I thought the interplay between the characters was good, and appreciated that Grace was not totally blind to the possiblility that Lir might have been responsible. I was good with the end until the last chapter and it all fell apart for me.

The blurb of the novel promises a Gothic romance for those of us who love what’s monstrous, tragic and villainous. H.L. Macfarlane’s “The Boy from the Sea” tells the story of Hrace Ferguson, a lonely marine biology PhD student who meets Lir Murphy and soon develops an obsession with him; luckily, it seems to be reciprocated by him. This quickly lightens a passionate romance that consumes all of Grace’s time and devotion; however, even though Lir shows an equal amount of love for her, Grace knows he is keeping secrets from her. This wouldn’t matter much to her but, in her heart, she knows her boyfriend’s strange behaviour is linked to the many recent attacks and attempted murders in Scotland.

The novel has a lot of the elements that I love in a dark romance: a love interest whose actions in the name of love fall more into the villain category, mystery, legends, impossible choices, and so on. However, I felt the story fell flat in many instances. An example of this is how the author introduces some lovely and interesting legends and folklore stories from Scotland. Lir is clearly basing a lot of his beliefs in it, and we assume they will connect to his story at some point. This does happen to an extent, but it was done so superficially that it made the storyline feel forced. He claims he must make sacrifices to “the gods” in order to return to the sea, but as readers we are never explained what gods he is talking about or how he got to that conclusion. This lack of development in such a key part of the plot makes his character to not come across as a tragic anti-hero, but just as an unhinged and almost delusional man.

I was really excited to read this book, and when the climax of the story was at its peak I was genuinely engrossed by it. But then again, I felt there was not a very satisfactory justification of the characters’ actions, and it made me not really want them to end up together. That being said, I think there was a lot of great ideas that I just wished had been developed and exploited more.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and share my honest opinion on this novel.

A thriller romance? Yes, please!

The first half of this book felt like reading a diary. It brought me back to that wild anxious excitement of having a crush on someone you don’t know much about. I was just as invested in finding out more about the mysterious and aloof male MC. But his character development from beginning to end was a doozy. I’m still not sure where to categorize him when it comes to most loved or most hated book boyfriend.

2 ⭐️⭐️/ 5
I dnf this at 58%, so the rating is relative to that part only.
So, this rating is difficult. We’re going to start with the things I liked, and that were the writing and the plot. The writing was very very good, it was keep you attached to the story in every scene and it was really entertaining. The plot had so much potential, but it was all completely wasted. Both the main characters were off, the main female character was so easily influenced and swayed by Lit, that it made her kind of feel like a swaying bob in the sea, a very still character, whose decision were so difficult to understand that you really didn’t feel any connection. The main male, Lir, on the other hand, was way too much abusive and ‘mysterious’ that, again, you really couldn’t feel any connection.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
The plot was wedged because it never really got time to develop. Way too early in the book, even the clueless Grace started to suspect Lir, and so alla those mysterious vibes that made me pick up the book in the first place couldn’t develop.
Even with this plot holes, that made me stop the reading, the process was enjoyable:

This story follows Lir and his obsession for the sea. it's psychological thriller with a bit of romance.Grace is a goofy and kind person that has a huge crush on Lir. Lir is a quite and mysterious grump. This book was very engaging and enjoyable to read . I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I do feel it could have been a bit more short and explained more on certain topics . I definitely recommend giving it a try.

"The Boy From The Sea" was definitely a story that could happen. The boy, Lin Murphy could be anyone around the University on the swim team wanting to have a girl friend as nice as Grace. But his parents died in front of him at a young age by filling their pockets with rocks and then walking into the Sea. Next his Aunt Orla filled Lir with fables and stories from the past that made him wonder if he could reunite with his parents. For his birthday Aunt Orla took him to where his parents drowned and he went too far and killed his aunt. We meet him when he was a college student where he took a lab and Grace was the student teacher. The obvious happened and they became lovers. But at the time people were hunted down and killed. Grace was met with her cat going missing and her neighbor being knifed right in front of her. You can be the ones to read what happened, it's quiet interesting. The book tells the story from Graces side, then Lins.

I loved The Boy From the Sea. At its heart was a love story about two lonely, misunderstood people finding a connection. Putting aside the murder, there was an uncomfortable feeling about the main characters relationship, it was obsessive and isolating, but you couldn’t help but root for them both. It was a brilliant read which felt quite unique.

This book was filled with twists and turns you never see coming. It is a Dark Romantic Thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I am more of a true romance reader, even so, I really enjoyed reading this book. There are some sprinkles of spicy scenes in this book but it is all fade to black. I fell in love with the characters and even with everything telling me to hate Lir I could not. The author has created a villan that you just cannot hate.

**It does go from first person POV to third person POV based on if it is following Lir(3rd person pov) or Grace(1st person pov)

I really enjoyed this book! I’ve found myself loving gothic romances more and more lately! I’m so glad I decided to give this arc a go!

I really suspenseful story full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't put this book down, I had to know what happened next at every twist or turn. I loved it!

This was such a beautiful and enjoyable read. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the marine biology lab of a Scottish university, Grace Ferguson and Lir Murphy's lives intersect, setting the stage for an intricate dance between obsession, attraction, and the fear of solitude. Grace's fixation on Lir spirals into a tumultuous journey, one where her yearning for companionship grapples with her deep-seated dread of being alone. What she discovers, however, is that Lir is just as consumed by his feelings for her, and the line between attraction and obsession becomes increasingly blurred.
Amidst the backdrop of the surrounding murders, Grace is faced with a difficult choice: follow her instincts, which scream of danger, or let her heart lead her into uncharted territory.

“The Boy from the Sea” by H. L. Macfarlane was so much better than I thought it was going to be. The characters were relatable and super mentally unstable which I loved so much. The ending was unexpected but also left me happy and upset at the same time. It’s not enough to have a digital copy and I need a physical copy of the book as well. 5 out of 5 stars.

Any book that has a tagline about obsessions, count me in!
This book was nothing like I’ve read before (in a good way). I loved how the author had the main characters jobs as something different than we usually read about. I also loved all the sea and mythic talk. I read a note at the end that this book was published with an alternate ending, and I love that they chose this ending for the book.
Although I loved this book, I wish there was a little more “obsessive love” in the book.

A troubled mind, a creeping obsession and a sea that’s full of secrets.

When lonely Grace Ferguson meets fellow student Lir Murphy in her marine biology lab the last thing she expects is to fall into a deep, startling obsession with the young man. Lir is strange, quiet and filled with a love for the sea that nobody else understands. When he surprises Grace by reciprocating her feelings she’s convinced she’s found her oddball happily ever after.

But when a series of grisly attacks plague the west coast of Scotland Grace is forced to consider that her marine-loving paramour is more than simply ‘strange’. As Lir’s behaviour grows more erratic, and his relationship with Grace evolves into something dark and dangerous, Grace must figure out who or what Lir is…or risk losing herself in the process.
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My fave read of the year for sure