Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
4.5 | 66,722 ratings
Price: 14.99
Last update: 01-07-2026
Product details
- ASIN : B0CW1J2FDT
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : March 4, 2025
- Language : English
- File size : 8.7 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 319 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1668078204
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#119 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Literary Fiction (Books)
- Women's Literary Fiction
- Women's Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:4.54.5 out of 5 stars(59,075)
Top reviews from the United States
- YonBroken Country Broke MeThis book broke me in the best possible way. It took a few chapters for me to settle in, but once I did, I was irrevocably hooked. Broken Country is a story steeped in yearning and regret, a quest for second chances, and Clare Leslie Hall delivers it with truly beautiful writing.
Love, loss, and second chances are all wrapped up in yearning, angst, and a quiet undercurrent of regret and despair. It’s a love story—but make it a tragic mystery.
I am not okay.
I found myself rooting for Beth to find her way back to Gabriel while simultaneously pulling for Frank. This book isn’t just a broken country, it has my broken heart. The storytelling is stellar; its sinuous plot and intricately drawn characters are impossible not connect with.
I expected to dislike the shifting timeline, but it works brilliantly, adding to the slow build as we climb and then somersault into the wild plot twists. It’s an excellent read, one I know I won’t be getting over anytime soon. - Carpool Book ClubBeautiful, Brutal, and UnforgettableSome books quietly work their way into your heart. Others grab you from page one and refuse to let go. Broken Country is firmly in the latter camp. I devoured it in two days, completely swept up in its pages. It’s one of those rare reads that pulls you in so deeply, the real world fades away. I didn’t mind the escape.
This novel manages to be a lot of things at once without ever losing its footing. It has a haunting love story, a twisty murder mystery, and it absolutely qualifies as historical fiction. But more than any of those labels, it’s simply really good literary fiction. It reads like a slow burn and a gut punch at the same time.
Clare Leslie Hall’s (not her real name) writing is mesmerizing. Her prose is lyrical without being overwrought, and her characters are so carefully drawn, they feel like people you’ve known in another life. The landscapes are rendered with such poetic detail, you’ll swear you smelled the dust and felt the wind. The emotional weight is heavy, but in the best possible way. This book made me feel everything—love, longing, grief, redemption. At times, it was almost too much, but that’s what makes it unforgettable.
The story lingers in the gray areas: between right and wrong, between justice and mercy, between love and obsession. It never feels like it’s trying too hard to be profound, yet it leaves you thinking long after the final page.
This is a book I would actually re-read, not because I missed something the first time, but because I want to feel it all over again.
An easy five stars. Highly recommend to anyone who likes their fiction smart but readable, soulful, and just a little devastating. - Trish FineranA Must Read!Fabulously written book about "broken relationships." Full of cliffhanging moments that contain both breathless, heartbreaking and tender moments and surprise plot twists throughout. Great read! Great book group discussion book as well.
- Bonnie BrodyA Twisty Page Turner and an Obsessive and Riveting Love StorySome reviews describe 'Broken Country' as a romance, and others describe it as a thriller. It is both but, more importantly, it is a literary novel of historical fiction that is a great read. Whether you want a novel for your airplane ride, or you want a deep read, you will get both in this novel.
The novel centers around a married couple, Beth and Frank, who live on a farm in England. They love each other deeply despite the tragic death of their son several years ago, for which Frank feels responsible. The novel is told in different timelines, one in the relatively near past and one in the present, late 1960's. They are very close with Frank's brother Jimmy who appears to be an immature binge drinker. All is copacetic until Gabriel, Beth's first love, enters their lives after Frank shoots and kills Gabriel's son's dog who is a danger to the farm animals.
It is not difficult to see where the narrative is going and what will happen in the immediate future. What is difficult to fathom is where the novel is headed down the line. There are twists and turns as the author explores the impact of infidelity on the marriage, on Beth, and on Gabriel and his son. We know from the very beginning that someone has been killed. Who it is, why they were killed, and who the killer is, is not revealed until the very end of the novel.
I loved the book and had my head in it for two days, until I finished it. It is mesmerizing, well-written, and the characterizations are strong and carefully drawn out. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves literary fiction, historical fiction, a twisty murder mystery and an obsessive love story. - SnaploveThis twisty turntable love story was a whirlwind of emotions. It had its slow parts but once I got about 3/4 way I could not put it down. I appreciated all the different timelines and how they wove into the story. It had love, loss, heartbreak, grace (both figuratively and literally) all together. Sometimes I was laughing and sometimes I was crying. It is definitely worth the read.
- José Carlos Iturrizaga MurrietaTop 5 reads***One of the best books I have ever read. There’s tragedy, romance, suspense…everything you need. Such a good story!!! A must read!!
- Dani BREAD ITTHIS BOOK. This book was fantastic. From start to finish the story, plot, ending. Emotional roller coaster of a ride. READ IT, do your self the favor and read it
- B. HoughJust okQuick read. I thought the story was Interesting and ridiculous at the same time though my friend loved it. Not a book of insight or one I’d reread, I found it to be just ok.