My Bookshelf

Broken Country

Clare Leslie Hall

2025

Book Cover Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

In the first pages of BROKEN COUNTRY, the reader learns that Gabriel Wolfe has returned to Meadowlands. Just as when Mr. Bingley leased Netherfield, it is certain the implications for the story world will be profound. What follows is a brilliant treatment of one woman’s consuming passion for her first lover, her abiding love for her husband, and her devotion to her lost boy. The central love triangle intersects and collides with Beth’s love for her son, a conflict that will feel familiar to many. What made this book special for me was Hall’s deep appreciation of the uniqueness of love and passion, which she depicts without elevating one over the other. Beth is an expertly drawn character who lives a lie without lying to herself. It’s a book I will purchase in hardcopy to keep on my shelf.

I received a free ARC eBook of BROKEN COUNTRY from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

#BrokenCountry #ClareLeslieHall #SimonBooks

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Napoleon’s Mirage by Michelle Cameron reunites the reader with the trio of main
characters who inhabited the wonderful tale of historical fiction told in her previous novel,
Beyond the Ghetto Gates. We return to Ancona, Italy’s center of ketubah artistry and its beautiful
decorative Jewish marriage contracts. There, Mirelle is reeling from society’s condemnation and is about to lose the family business. Fighting with the Grand Armée in Egypt, Daniel is struggling with his loyalty to the increasingly despotic Napoleon Bonaparte and Christophe is striving to rise above his inner demons and prove himself a man. Napoleon’s ill-fated assault on Egypt and Syria, is a perfect backdrop for three characters coming of age and grappling with disillusionment and loss of hope. Highly recommended.

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Napoleon’s Mirage by Michelle Cameron reunites the reader with the trio of main
characters who inhabited the wonderful tale of historical fiction told in her previous novel,
Beyond the Ghetto Gates. We return to Ancona, Italy’s center of ketubah artistry and its beautiful
decorative Jewish marriage contracts. There, Mirelle is reeling from society’s condemnation and is about to lose the family business. Fighting with the Grand Armée in Egypt, Daniel is struggling with his loyalty to the increasingly despotic Napoleon Bonaparte and Christophe is striving to rise above his inner demons and prove himself a man. Napoleon’s ill-fated assault on Egypt and Syria, is a perfect backdrop for three characters coming of age and grappling with disillusionment and loss of hope. Highly recommended.

Should Have Told You Sooner is an emotionally layered story of lost chances, found courage, and the complicated path between the two. Jane Ward gives us Noel, a woman whose past mistakes aren’t just baggage—they’re buried truths, the kind that shape your whole life if left unspoken.
Noel isn’t a heroine who gets everything right, and that’s exactly what makes her unforgettable. As she navigates the slow unraveling of secrets and the tentative pull of a long-lost love, her work in the art museum world becomes the perfect metaphor: recapturing what’s been forgotten, holding on to what’s still worth saving.
The narrative moves effortlessly between past and present in a way that feels both grounded and immediate. It’s a portrait of a woman learning that the stories we tell (and the ones we don’t) can shape not just who we were, but who we still might become.

Quietly powerful and beautifully told. On preorder for a February release.

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Noel isn’t a heroine who gets everything right, and that’s exactly what makes her unforgettable. As she navigates the slow unraveling of secrets and the tentative pull of a long-lost love, her work in the art museum world becomes the perfect metaphor: recapturing what’s been forgotten, holding on to what’s still worth saving.
The narrative moves effortlessly between past and present in a way that feels both grounded and immediate. It’s a portrait of a woman learning that the stories we tell (and the ones we don’t) can shape not just who we were, but who we still might become.

Quietly powerful and beautifully told. On preorder for a February release.

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𝗦𝗺ö𝗿𝗴å𝘀𝘁å𝗿𝘁𝗮—𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀. 🥪🍰⁣
I’m spending August in Sweden writing the sequel to 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 (yes, the one with the scandalous royal affair and the secret that could shatter a crown). Between writing sessions in a historic apartment and day trips to Jacquette’s real-life haunts, I made time to sample this retro Scandinavian delight. Spoiler: it’s weird and wonderful.⁣
⁣
✨ Head to the blog for my thoughts on the cake, the city, and why I keep writing about 19th-century Swedes.⁣
📖 [Link in bio]⁣
#historicalfiction #smörgåstårta #butterflygames #royalty #swedishsummer #writerinresidence #kellyscarboroughwrites

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⁣
✨ Head to the blog for my thoughts on the cake, the city, and why I keep writing about 19th-century Swedes.⁣
📖 [Link in bio]⁣
#historicalfiction #smörgåstårta #butterflygames #royalty #swedishsummer #writerinresidence #kellyscarboroughwrites

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Remembering the best of them on this Father’s Day. Good wishes to you and yours. #happyfathersday

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