Did Broken Country live up to the hype?

This episode's pick: Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall — a Reese’s Book Club favourite that’s been compared to The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing. It’s got love, loyalty, guilt, and a courtroom drama at its heart… but did it win us over?

In this episode, we cover:

Why this book caught our attention (and everyone else’s)

How hype and word-of-mouth shaped our expectations

Love triangles: satisfying tension or too much drama?

The role of setting, class, and family in driving the story

Our very different reactions to the main character

How tragedy and loyalty are woven through the narrative

The structure: past vs present, and how it builds suspense

💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry?

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: travel tales, hotel room hijinks, and book club catch-ups03:00 – Book reveal: Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall05:00 – Why this pick + hype factor (Reese’s Book Club, bestseller lists)08:00 – Author bio + past works10:30 – Goodreads stats + ratings snapshot12:00 – Our Kiss, Kill, Marry ratings reveal14:00 – First impressions and what hooked us20:00 – Themes of loyalty, love, and loss28:00 – Thoughts on setting and style34:00 – Side characters that stood out37:00 – What other readers think: quickfire reviews40:00 – Would we read Claire’s next book?

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