Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
SPOILERS BOOK CLUB DON’T READ
“’Beer is God’s reward for an honest day’s toil.’”
“’You have to fool yourself into thinking you already are the thing you want to become.’”
“You can never change back once you’ve had a child, even if that child no longer exists.”
Broken Country is about Beth, her family, and her love interests. She meets and falls in love with Grabriel but then conflict occurs. They have a falling out and then Beth meets back up with Frank, who has been in love with her since he was 13. They become a family and live on a farm that has been in Frank’s family for a long time. One day a dog comes out of nowhere and starts to kill some livestock then is subsequently shot down. The owner is none other than Gabriel. We follow the story as it flips back and forth between the early days and the present. Beth’s son died when he was younger and they are still carrying grief. There is a brother Jimmy and Gabriel’s son, Leo. Their lives intertwine again and it gets complicated. Will Gabriel and Beth rekindle their love? Will Frank and Beth survive? How will life go down on this farm? This pastoral life isn’t as perfect as it may look.
Clare Leslie Hall wrote this book and one thing I liked was the short chapters. It made progress seem quicker. I read it pretty quickly despite the fact that I didn’t really get into it. It was sort of boring. The love and passion didn’t show through the words and pages for me. Within the first few chapters, I did have a distinct feeling that I was reading something akin to Little House on the Prairie. The setting did conjure vivid images of the countryside and set the tone. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and I don’t know if it is because of the HR effect or not. It is what it is though. Frank to me was a very good guy but was a doormat and didn’t lay down the law with his brother. Gabriel seemed like a player who never stood up to his mother. The mother was a b***h. I guess Bobby was probably the best character despite the fact he can’t listen and his death was just plain stupid. Tragic, I guess is the right word but it just didn’t come across as tragic. Jimmy was a drunk. I just didn’t like Beth. She messed everything up and I didn’t really believe her regret. She knew what she was doing was wrong but kept doing it anyways. Some words or phrases that I came across that I liked were acerbic dissident, fervency, and alacrity. “My whole life moving forward will be filled with people who never knew my son” and “seesaw of grief.” I did learn that the original phrase is another think coming instead of another thing coming. There was a twist towards the end but it seemed like a foregone conclusion. Overall, I didn’t jive with this book. This is exactly the type of book I wouldn’t read again or really recommend to anyone.
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Tag: marriage
dICEy Immigration And Realizing Love
“US citizens were getting thrown in cages indefinitely for not having their papers on them.”
“That anyone had that kind of power made me sick.”
“It wasn’t fair that people like him could get whatever they wanted by making threats. That kind of thing should have been illegal. Then again, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence that the law benefited people like them and not people like Han or Tatiana.”
The Broposal is about these two friends who are living together. Han is straight, undocumented, and has family both here and in Mexico. Kenny is bisexual but has a girlfriend. They are just trying to live life but a lot of things happen to challenge them. They were voted most likely to get married in high school and everyone still thinks that is the case. That is exactly what happens, but they are doing for a green card and not for love. Or are feelings there? They have known each other for a long time and have been best bros. Is there something more going on? Will they end up with different reasons for marrying? Will anyone or anything stand in their way?
Sonora Reyes wrote a book. It is an easy read. It is definitely a queer book but also one rooted in everything immigrant from Mexico. I did like how a lot of gay terms like shablam were used. It made me feel like an insider as I knew exactly to what it referred. I did also like how it touched on and really hit home on hard topics like immigration, racism, and being undocumented. I think the author did well to showcase the tension and fear of having to always be extra careful and look over your shoulder. With Han being undocumented, you could really understand his wariness and hesitation in a lot of situations. With that being said, I was not an overall fan of this book. I was rushing through to just get it finished as it was making me angry. Yes, I was angry about what Kenny and Han had to endure but what was worse was the teenage drama aspect of it all. I don’t know how many times Kenny said the word rebound in reference to Han. It was annoying. The internal dialogue and actions of the characters, like hugging and quickly forgiving, just made me roll my eyes and want to throw the book across the room. I didn’t think it was going to be that kind of book but I also didn’t think it would get as graphic in a few parts as it did. I was pleasantly surprised that it went there. Jackie was such an evil character, the boss was an ass, and Kenny was pathetic in my eyes. I made a note referencing his weakness twice in my notebook. I think I liked Han the best and then Leti secondly. Then, honestly, Cornelius. The little succulent they got as a “kid”. That was adorable and I loved it. I did also like the inclusion of a non-binary character. But one thing I really didn’t like was the reference to Destiny’s Child, Ciara, and Mariah Carey as oldies. That hurt. This is exactly the type of book that I am fine with reading once and forgetting about forever.
Perfect Murder And Breeding Purposes
“Like the small fires we sometimes need in our lives to remind us that we are alive.”
“It’s the only reason the human race isn’t extinct, because people with no purpose breed.”
The Perfect Marriage is about a husband who is accused of killing his mistress and the wife who takes up his defense. Sarah, the wife, is a defense attorney and she is the best around. Adam, the husband, is an author that is struggling. He frequents the vacation house they bought to help with his writing but for a while now he has been involved in an affair. One day the cops show up at his door and aggressively arrest him for the murder of Kelly Summers. Matthew, the gay best friend, and Anne, the assistant/friend, are both side characters that get involved in some capacity. We follow along with the characters trying to determine what happened. There are secrets revealed and the past coming back to mess with the present. Did Adam commit murder? Will the truth come out? How will their lives be changed?
Jeneva Rose wrote a very engaging story. It was a quick read that grabbed your interest and kept it throughout the book. It was not a thought-provoking, deep book but it was entertaining which sometimes is all you need at the time. There were a couple funny moments with Matthew where he talks about breeding and kids. There were also some great descriptions about a town and the dichotomy of the looks and how modernization resembled a virus infecting the town. While reading this book, I actually yelled out loud and talked to myself especially in response to some of the characters. Eleanor was infuriating and should have been slapped multiple times. Adam is so stupid and did so many dumb things that you could not help shaking your head. Scott Summers is a character as well and it made me think of X-Men. There was also a character named after me! Very few parts had some explicit sexual descriptions but it was few and far between. I liked how the ending and result was just so casually referenced. I was just reading and it was so subtle that I was like wait what? That happened? There were no fun or interesting words that stood out to me. The language was pretty simple and straightforward. The author did put in some things that were not too believable and made me think hmm. Could that really happen? This is exactly the type of book that I would read to dissuade me from marrying.
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