Clare Leslie Hall’s BROKEN COUNTRY is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of loss, grief, resilience, and the enduring power of unconditional love. The author, through her beautiful prose, weaves together a narrative that delves into the scars left by tragedy and the search for healing and ultimately, redemption.

The true strength within the pages of BROKEN COUNTRY is the rich characterization, which helps draw you as the reader into the lives of our protagonists. We are introduced to Beth, Frank, and Gabriel, whose lives, for better or for worse, are intimately intertwined by fateful circumstances. We follow their emotional journey through the decades and become immersed in their world, feeling every moment of joy, heartbreak, and hope, making the book nearly impossible to put down. Frank, by far, was my favorite character. I fell in love with his quiet strength, utter selflessness, and genuine goodness.

BROKEN COUNTRY will no doubt be one of my favorite books of 2025. After finishing it, my heart was hurting and my emotions were raw. Beautiful, poignant, and breath-taking, this is a novel that lingers long after the final page.

I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Clare Leslie Hall, and Simon and Schuster for gifting me the ARC of BROKEN COUNTRY! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to be able to read this novel before publication in March.

I can only describe Broken Country as a crescendo - in the beginning, I wasn’t sure where it was going, except that there was clearly a love triangle and heartbreak. But small details are slowly revealed and it soon builds to a point where I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

With short chapters and a relatively short length, this book packs a punch. I imagine it will be a book club pick for March and will be a highly talked about book in 2025.

CW for dog death & child death

"Broken Country" by Clare Leslie Hall is a story that mixes love, loss, and memories from the past. It takes place in a small town and looks at how relationships can be complicated and how secrets can change lives.

The main character is Beth, who seems to have a happy marriage with her husband, Frank. But their peaceful life is disrupted when an accident involving a dog brings Gabriel Wolfe, Beth's first love, back into her life. Gabriel's return makes Beth remember feelings she thought she had forgotten. This sets up a story that is both emotional and exciting.

The author, Clare Leslie Hall, uses detailed descriptions to bring the setting and characters' feelings to life. As Beth deals with her mixed emotions about Gabriel, the story explores themes like jealousy, regret, and the choices we make. It makes readers think about what love and loyalty mean.

At the center of the story is a love triangle, as Beth struggles with her past and the life she has now. The story moves between past and present, adding depth and context. As secrets come out and tensions grow, readers will be eager to see how the characters handle their connected destinies.

"Broken Country" is a mix of romance and suspense that fans of books like "The Paper Palace" and "Where the Crawdads Sing" will enjoy. Clare Leslie Hall has written a story that not only surprises with its twists but also touches readers emotionally. It's a book that will stay with you even after you finish reading it.

Broken Country is a beautifully written mix of romance and suspense, full of buried secrets and past heartbreaks. Beth’s story is emotional and gripping, with a slow-burn tension that builds to a powerful conclusion. The rural setting adds to the drama, and the dual timelines keep things intriguing. It’s a great pick for book clubs—lots to discuss about love, loss, and the choices that shape us!

This is a 5 star trainwreck! A must read for all trainwreck lovers! The reader knows some of what is coming and has to keep turning the pages to find out what actually happened. The reader also doesn't know everything that happens and has to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. No character is safe from the heart-wrenching agony of their lives' paths and connections. Character development played a secondary role to the plot, but that doesn't mean the reader doesn't get to know the characters. While I do not condone some of Beth's choices, I could see the same end result happening. It just felt like this was all fated to happen!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster. I’ve seen this book all over the internet already, being called the upcoming book of the season— and I’m happy to say I think that’s true. Broken Country is a romance, a courtroom mystery/thriller, and a family story all wrapped into one. It’s a beautiful story that kept me hooked from the first page to the last.

I think one of the biggest draws of this book is the well written setting and sense of place, as it’s been so beautifully crafted by the author. The setting was visceral and I was fully seated for the whole book. The characters were also well developed and felt very real, all of them very human for better and for worse. This plot does not move in a strictly linear fashion and shifts back and forth between time periods; however, each separate section was enjoyable to jump back and forth between and the pacing was done so well. This book was easy to read, while still covering emotional topics and characters sifting through difficult decisions. Watching our main character, Beth, grapple with tough choices and character development, all the way from her teen years to early adulthood and finally, present day, well into adulthood, was enjoyable and it was so easy to feel for her through various challenges and heartache.

I can absolutely see why this book is being lauded already and I’m sure this will be a favorite of the year. I look forward to seeing what others think once this is published soon!

Oh my heart... Broken Country is everything! If you enjoy books about first love, true love, forbidden love, love triangles, familial bonds, coming of age, dual timeliness, courtroom procedures put this beautiful book on your TBR immediately. This masterpiece gave me ALL the feels and wrapped itself around my heart in ways that should be forbidden. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!

Was it an accident...or was it murder?

A small town in rural England is the unlikely setting for a scandalous love triangle which leads to a killing. In 1955 a teenaged Beth is wandering in fields near her home one summer day. The daughter of teachers, she loves reading novel and writing poetry, and dreams of romance and a love like that of her parents. She literally bumps into Gabriel, a boy close to her age who is the son of local gentry. They discover that despite their differences they have much in common...both aspire to be writers amongst other things....and they fall quickly and deeply in love. Gabriel's mother is not in favor of the romance, and makes sure that Beth is aware of the many ways in which Beth is ill-suited for a relationship with someone of a different class. When Gabriel heads off to Oxford in the fall and Beth remains behind to finish up her last year at the local Catholic school in preparation for heading to university, they are sure that they are meant to spend the rest of their life together...but events prove otherwise. There is an angry breakup, and Beth is devastated. A local boy who has long admired her, Frank, reenters her life and they marry. Instead of going to university Beth becomes a sheep farmer's wife and soon thereafter a mother to a son Bobby, and is living a happy life. In 1968, a newly-divorced Gabriel returns to his family's manor in the village with his young son and reconnects with Beth. In the years between Bobby has died and Beth still grieves his loss; spending time with Gabriel's Leo is helping her heal. Frank is not happy about the time Beth is spending with Leo and Gabriel (their marriage is already strained by Bobby's death) and Frank's hot-tempered younger brother Jimmy even less so. Tempers flare when it is discovered that Gabriel and Beth have crossed the line of friendship into an affair, and a confrontation leaves someone dead and another on trial for murder.
There is nothing I enjoy more than a novel that within a few opening pages has me completely immersed in a different world, with characters whom I feel are friends I have just met, and Broken Country is that sort of book. In the opening paragraph it is announced that someone is dead (although the reader won't discover just who until much later), and there are hints of the violent acts and tragic accidents that can occur even in a peaceful place like a rural sheep farm. The all-consuming first love between Beth and Gabriel, the forces that pull them apart, and the happiness which Beth came to find with Frank and Bobby unfold to great effect, while all the while the reader knows that something terrible is coming. Each character, from Beth and the two men whom she loves to both the son the reader only knows through flashbacks (Bobby) and the one that Beth comes to love (Leo), and the other people who make up Beth's circle of family and friends, are thoughtfully rendered. Love doesn't necessarily conquer all, and terrible choices are made for the best of reasons. In the end each must pay the price for bad choices they made. Readers of Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman must give this novel a try, as should any lover of well-constructed novels which weave love, jealousy, loss and redemption into its pages. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me early access to this beautiful story in exchange for my honest review.

I'll be honest, this felt fairly predictable and not so nuanced that I wasn't sure about this book. BUT the last page is one of the most beautiful things I've literally ever read. I took a photo of it and return to it frequently, so that is the marking of a great book.

A truly astounding novel. Clare Leslie Hall constructs characters that feel real and lived-in and almost painfully recognizable, people whom you can't help but root for even when they're making deeply chaotic decisions. I ruined a night's sleep and fully ignored the next day's to-do list to gobble down this book and it was absolutely worth it. For every twist and turn I saw coming, there was another that fully blindsided me and made me gasp out loud. What a story. What an incredible story.

Secrets have a way of surfacing, no matter how deeply they’re buried. In Broken Country, a novel that straddles the line between literary fiction and crime drama, Clare Leslie Hall crafts an atmospheric novel where love, loss, and betrayal collide in an English farming village in 1968. Beth is a woman caught between two loves — her steadfast husband, Frank, and her first love, Gabriel, who suddenly reappears in her life after years away. The reawakening of old feelings collides with the weight of past tragedies, and as tensions rise, the novel methodically builds toward a crime that will reshape everything in Beth's life.

This is a book that thrives on slow-burning suspense. From the start, we know someone in Beth’s life is on trial, but we don’t know who or why. The crime element looms like an approaching storm, and when the truth finally lands — along with a gut-punch of a twist — it’s worth the wait. The novel’s structure, toggling between past and present, makes for a compelling read, and the writing flows effortlessly.

Beth’s relationships with both men feel richly developed, and the love triangle is explored with nuance rather than melodrama. The class tension woven throughout — especially the stark contrast between Gabriel’s privileged upbringing and Beth’s village life — adds another layer of complexity. The historical setting isn’t overly emphasized, but the rural backdrop plays a key role, shaping the characters’ choices and constraints.

So, why four stars instead of five? Honestly, I’m not sure. The book is well-written, carefully plotted, and emotionally resonant, but something about it just didn’t fully click for me. That said, I can absolutely see why so many readers love it, and I still highly recommend it — especially for those who enjoy literary fiction with a suspenseful edge. Readers who enjoyed God of the Woods will likely love this book too.

This was addicting and I never knew what would happen next. The characters are so clearly written and I cared for all of them. I loved how the ending played out and I keep recommending this to people.

4.5 ⭐️

I finished this book a few days ago and have been struggling with writing this review. I know I won't be able to write the review this book deserves but I am going to try my best.

Broken Country is a story about young love that turns into a love triangle that ends in tragedy. While the story is sad and heartbreaking to read at times the author tells it in such a gentle way that is almost soothing.

The character development and the story, combined with the author's writing style and way of telling a story, took this book to another level.

This is a book I can't say enough about and highly recommend. It is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

“The farmer is dead. He is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

Synopsis: "When her 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 all those years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son Bobby, who died a few years earlier."

"This is a love story with too many beginnings. I refuse to think about how it is going to end."

This will be one of the best books this year. I loved the characters, the farm setting and the suspense. You know someone has been murdered and someone is on trial without knowing who. The scenes are tense forming a love triangle you will not forget. With two timelines, 1955 is the story of Beth and Gabriel's love for one another as teenagers until he leaves to go to college and she finds out about another girl, he later marries and has a son Leo.
1968, The story unfolds with Beth married Frank, one of the most gentle and kind sheep farmers. They lost their son, Bobby, in a tragic accident which drove their relationship apart with guilt and sorrow.
With a front row seat to see the mistakes, lies and heartache they ensure, it is hard to know who to cheer for. They are all likable characters with good intentions just living the life they wish they had not chosen. With all on separate paths slowly merging into one, you know it is not going to end well. It is such an emotional book, yes, you feel it deeply.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC and gem in exchange for my honest review.

4.5⭐️
The only reason I’m not giving this book 5⭐️ I just because it did take me about 50% to really get into this story. But man!…once I got that middle mark I was in! This book was so damn sad and gripping and full of guilt and grief. Love and marriage and motherhood. It was emotional and heartbreaking. At one point I gasped out loud. I did not see that coming.
A great story!

“The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

All of the stars. A hauntingly beautiful tale of love, loss and betrayal.
A blend of mystery, romance and tension that is told in different timelines.
In 1968, Beth lives on a farm with her husband, Frank and his brother Jimmy. With the reappearance of Gabriel Wolfe, her first love who broke her heart, old wounds reopen and she finds herself wrapped up in his life.
The dual timelines keeps readers captivated as we uncover the past with the present day reckoning. I am blown away. Heartbreaking, suspenseful and unforgettable. This book will stay with you long after the final page.

This book was everything I love about a book!! Romance, family drama, conflicted characters, atmospheric setting, and a mystery to top it off and keep you on pins and needles till the end!! All put together with obviously skilled writing. I’ll be raving about this book for a long time to come.

I consumed Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall over the course of a day and a half. It's a story of love, trauma, and a murder mystery all in one.

In Broken Country, Beth is forced to revisit ghost of her past when her first love returns to town and to her life. Her life hasn't been easy. Unexpected twists, turns, and loss have happened in the years since she married her husband Frank. While she loves Frank and the life she has built with him, the presence of Gabriel and her son make her question everything with alarming consequence.

As I mentioned before, I could not put this book down. Part murder mystery, part love story, this book explores major grey areas and complexities of the heart. The plot of this book moved especially quickly. The writing is easy to devour and left me fully immersed in the story.

Most readers will gather this from the description, but I think it's worth mentioning that infidelity is a large part of this book. Readers who are especially put off by reading about infidelity, especially when the story somewhat justifies it, could be put off. While I don't love reading infidelity in books, I felt like it fit in this one because of the complex exploration of the impact of grief.

When I finished this book I didn't know how to feel, but I felt several emotions at once. This will be an excellent selection for readers in a book club because there is so much to unpack and discuss. I foresee this book being surrounded by commentary once it publishes in March!

“The farmer is dead, he is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.“

This is a heartbreakingly beautiful story filled with loss, love, regrets, and sacrifice. The story is told in alternating timelines of 1968, the trial, and before. We don't know who is on trial at first. We're provided with the complex history of our three primary characters, Beth, Frank, and Gabriel, before we get more details surrounding the trial about halfway through the book. Our characters aren't particularly likeable, but rather incredibly imperfect people trying to wade through their connected lives. That first line will sink it's hooks in as the unraveling story captivates throughout. This is a historical fiction with elements of mystery and romance that will keep you invested.

This book truly has everything! It’s a mix of romance, a love triangle, mystery, and suspense. The story unfolds across two timelines—one in 1955, when Beth is a teenager, and another 13 years later, when Beth is happily married. A shooting occurs early on, but the identity of the victim remains a mystery. From there, a trial follows, and unexpected twists keep you hooked. I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from Clare Leslie Hall.