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a_reader_obsessed's review
2.0
2.5 Stars
This was a complete mixed bag for me, and I’m still processing things.
Sam is purposely a drifter, living seemingly carefree but really trying to cope with his severe anxiety that manifests under very little duress. Having absolutely no support from his awful family, he finds himself in Porthkennack to park his van for a little reprieve. However, such wistful hopes to regroup are dashed when he comes upon a slaughtered sheep and is somewhat falsely accused of doing the gruesome deed.
What unfolds is Sam being stuck in the seaside town and becoming entangled in all sorts of drama. First his beloved laptop is stolen. Then there’s Ruan, the sheep farmer’s nephew whose kindness is irresistible and one who couldn’t possibly have any interest in him. Somehow, Sam’s also embroiled in a local problem, recruited by bullied teens to find their tormenter. Don’t forget to toss in the occult, a dabble in spiritual “magic”, more animal sacrifices, and deeply rooted, twisty shady town tradition to you know, further complicate Sam’s insecurities and inner turmoil.
The romance progresses quickly to love and though Sam and Ruan are super sweet, there is sadly little fireworks and no on page smex. There is a bit of suspense and mystery as to who the bully is and who is behind the seriously nasty threats, all of which kept me rapt while frustrating me to no end (especially regarding the bad guy’s comeuppance). I will say that this had the most continuity being loosely tied to [b:House of Cards|34093924|House of Cards (Porthkennack, #4)|Garrett Leigh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487206401l/34093924._SY75_.jpg|55111015], Garrett Leigh’s previous entry to this barely connected series, but overall, the only thing bridging the last 5 books is the quiet atmospheric town of Porthkennack, who holds tight to its layers upon layers of complex history and the people who are long established there whether that’s really a good thing or not.
This isn’t my usual go to, and it seemed like there were sooooo many elements thrown into the plot that it didn’t quite come together for me the way I needed it to and obviously, my rating reflects that. Please note that many others who’ve read this wholeheartedly disagree. Regardless, I’m committed to finishing this series so on I will forge!!
This was a complete mixed bag for me, and I’m still processing things.
Sam is purposely a drifter, living seemingly carefree but really trying to cope with his severe anxiety that manifests under very little duress. Having absolutely no support from his awful family, he finds himself in Porthkennack to park his van for a little reprieve. However, such wistful hopes to regroup are dashed when he comes upon a slaughtered sheep and is somewhat falsely accused of doing the gruesome deed.
What unfolds is Sam being stuck in the seaside town and becoming entangled in all sorts of drama. First his beloved laptop is stolen. Then there’s Ruan, the sheep farmer’s nephew whose kindness is irresistible and one who couldn’t possibly have any interest in him. Somehow, Sam’s also embroiled in a local problem, recruited by bullied teens to find their tormenter. Don’t forget to toss in the occult, a dabble in spiritual “magic”, more animal sacrifices, and deeply rooted, twisty shady town tradition to you know, further complicate Sam’s insecurities and inner turmoil.
The romance progresses quickly to love and though Sam and Ruan are super sweet, there is sadly little fireworks and no on page smex. There is a bit of suspense and mystery as to who the bully is and who is behind the seriously nasty threats, all of which kept me rapt while frustrating me to no end (especially regarding the bad guy’s comeuppance). I will say that this had the most continuity being loosely tied to [b:House of Cards|34093924|House of Cards (Porthkennack, #4)|Garrett Leigh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487206401l/34093924._SY75_.jpg|55111015], Garrett Leigh’s previous entry to this barely connected series, but overall, the only thing bridging the last 5 books is the quiet atmospheric town of Porthkennack, who holds tight to its layers upon layers of complex history and the people who are long established there whether that’s really a good thing or not.
This isn’t my usual go to, and it seemed like there were sooooo many elements thrown into the plot that it didn’t quite come together for me the way I needed it to and obviously, my rating reflects that. Please note that many others who’ve read this wholeheartedly disagree. Regardless, I’m committed to finishing this series so on I will forge!!
jackiehorne's review
4.0
There's a lot to like about Beecroft's latest, a stand-alone in the group-authored Porthkennack series, m/m romances set in a small Cornish town. The story opens with Sam, a former investment banker who turned away from the family business after suffering a series of debilitating anxiety attacks. Sam has been wandering the country in his small van, living off the grid. But Sam's running out of money, and being pressured by his mother to return to the family fold. After he sets up camp in a seemingly deserted copse, he's almost immediately drawn into a local dispute, accused of the grisly, ritualistic killing of a farmer's sheep. He's also drawn to the farmer's nephew, Ruan, recently returned from college and trying to find a job in the town where he's surrounded by his close-knit, loving extended family. Sam also gets drawn into a secondary plot about cyberbullying, one of whose victims is Ruan's 14-year-old cousin.
Beecroft does a scarily good job of showing us what it feels like to suffer not just from your typical everyday anxiety, but the heart-stopping, tree-clutchingly debilitating sort. She also does a good job maintaining the suspense of her double-stranded mystery plot. And the relationship that develops between Ruan and Sam is sweet (sex happens entirely offpage); Ruan's caretaking qualities explain Sam's attraction, but never seem in danger of taking away Sam's agency. I wouldn't have liked the conclusion to the cyber-bullying plot if it had happened in real life that way; I also wondered how stereotyped it was, to portray Cornwall as still riddled by real-life smugglers and beholden to their patriarchs (or matriarchs) for the townsfolk's survival.
I was also a little weirded out by Sam's apparent shift in job at book's end; from investment banker to Tarot-card reader? I guess stranger things have happened...
Beecroft does a scarily good job of showing us what it feels like to suffer not just from your typical everyday anxiety, but the heart-stopping, tree-clutchingly debilitating sort. She also does a good job maintaining the suspense of her double-stranded mystery plot. And the relationship that develops between Ruan and Sam is sweet (sex happens entirely offpage); Ruan's caretaking qualities explain Sam's attraction, but never seem in danger of taking away Sam's agency. I wouldn't have liked the conclusion to the cyber-bullying plot if it had happened in real life that way; I also wondered how stereotyped it was, to portray Cornwall as still riddled by real-life smugglers and beholden to their patriarchs (or matriarchs) for the townsfolk's survival.
I was also a little weirded out by Sam's apparent shift in job at book's end; from investment banker to Tarot-card reader? I guess stranger things have happened...
pewterwolf's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Nice, quick read but was expecting more...
EDIT - Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf & Title was Given by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After suffering a huge anxiety attack six months ago, Sam has left his high-powered job, his emotionally-bullying family and has been living in his van. But with his savings running low, Sam is beginning to run out of opinions.
So, when he decides to park up in a copse and goes for a walk, the last thing he expected to find was a murdered sheep. And when he's found next to the body, he has a lot of explaining to do. Especially when it looks like it was a ritual killing.
Ruan, who finds Sam with his aunt, doesn't believe Sam did it. When he first saw Sam, he felt some kind of connection and when he sees how Sam has been living, Ruan decides that he needs to save Sam. But when the killing escalate and it looks the killer could be the same person behind some nasty cyber-bullying, the two need to work fast on stopping him before they can figure out their feelings for each other...
This book is part of a series - the Porthkennack series (which is split into two sections - contemporary or historical) - so while you can read them in order, you can read each novel as standalone as they are written by different authors (it looks like there are four authors involved). And the fact that each book tackles an issue in one form or another, it appealed to me when I requested this as this tackled LGBT characters, a mystery involving someone pretending to practice the occult and having a character sugaring from anxiety - something I'm not well read in nor do I see often tackled in books.
Anyway, reactions to this. I read this within three/four days earlier this month when I was super lazy and very tired (I had several late nights with friends/neighbours/family/etc) so, when I started this, I thought it was going a light, fluffy, LGBT love story with a mystery twist to it. Oh, how wrong I was. And, in a weird way, am kinda ok with that. Up to a point.
It was a fast, addictive read. I would sit and whizz through, surprised at how involved I got and wondering if I should investigate the rest of the series (the only title within this series that caught my eye at the moment is [b:House of Cards|34093924|House of Cards (Porthkennack, #4)|Garrett Leigh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487206401s/34093924.jpg|55111015], though I will keep eyes peeled for upcoming titles). It was much darker than I was expecting and, as someone who does like to read a good crime novel, this appealed to me.
Like I said, I am not well read or well-informed on how the subject of Sam's anxiety and his panic attacks was handled. So, I'm not going to go too in-depth with that. If someone knows more information and has read this, could you let me know your thoughts and opinions.
Like I said earlier, I was kinda on board with the fact that this book was darker than I expected. But up to a point. There were issues I do have with Foxglove Copse. I wasn't a fan of the instalove between Ruan and Sam. It was just too fast for my taste. Plus, Sam does suffer for anxiety, so I did find it a little hard to believe that Sam would fall for Ruan as quickly as he did.
I suppose this lends itself into the pacing. I get why the pacing was a little faster than expected, but for some reason, it felt off. The off-ness felt the same with some of issues raised of. To me, these are quite dark issues, but with the writing's tone, it didn't sit right with me. Plus, the climax felt like an anticlimax. It felt too easy. I can't put my finger on why, but I'm not a fan of how these issues were tackled.
It felt like, even though this is written for a more grown-up audience, this was written for a New Adult audience. And, if it was, it feels a bit disrespectful to the subject matter and to the reader.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh. I did whizz through the book and I might return to this series and try another author and this probably is a good airport/beach read, but along the way, it misses the mark on certain subject matters.
EDIT - Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf & Title was Given by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After suffering a huge anxiety attack six months ago, Sam has left his high-powered job, his emotionally-bullying family and has been living in his van. But with his savings running low, Sam is beginning to run out of opinions.
So, when he decides to park up in a copse and goes for a walk, the last thing he expected to find was a murdered sheep. And when he's found next to the body, he has a lot of explaining to do. Especially when it looks like it was a ritual killing.
Ruan, who finds Sam with his aunt, doesn't believe Sam did it. When he first saw Sam, he felt some kind of connection and when he sees how Sam has been living, Ruan decides that he needs to save Sam. But when the killing escalate and it looks the killer could be the same person behind some nasty cyber-bullying, the two need to work fast on stopping him before they can figure out their feelings for each other...
This book is part of a series - the Porthkennack series (which is split into two sections - contemporary or historical) - so while you can read them in order, you can read each novel as standalone as they are written by different authors (it looks like there are four authors involved). And the fact that each book tackles an issue in one form or another, it appealed to me when I requested this as this tackled LGBT characters, a mystery involving someone pretending to practice the occult and having a character sugaring from anxiety - something I'm not well read in nor do I see often tackled in books.
Anyway, reactions to this. I read this within three/four days earlier this month when I was super lazy and very tired (I had several late nights with friends/neighbours/family/etc) so, when I started this, I thought it was going a light, fluffy, LGBT love story with a mystery twist to it. Oh, how wrong I was. And, in a weird way, am kinda ok with that. Up to a point.
It was a fast, addictive read. I would sit and whizz through, surprised at how involved I got and wondering if I should investigate the rest of the series (the only title within this series that caught my eye at the moment is [b:House of Cards|34093924|House of Cards (Porthkennack, #4)|Garrett Leigh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487206401s/34093924.jpg|55111015], though I will keep eyes peeled for upcoming titles). It was much darker than I was expecting and, as someone who does like to read a good crime novel, this appealed to me.
Like I said, I am not well read or well-informed on how the subject of Sam's anxiety and his panic attacks was handled. So, I'm not going to go too in-depth with that. If someone knows more information and has read this, could you let me know your thoughts and opinions.
Like I said earlier, I was kinda on board with the fact that this book was darker than I expected. But up to a point. There were issues I do have with Foxglove Copse. I wasn't a fan of the instalove between Ruan and Sam. It was just too fast for my taste. Plus, Sam does suffer for anxiety, so I did find it a little hard to believe that Sam would fall for Ruan as quickly as he did.
I suppose this lends itself into the pacing. I get why the pacing was a little faster than expected, but for some reason, it felt off. The off-ness felt the same with some of issues raised of
Spoiler
cyber-bullying, ritual killing and a the possible suicide that could be linked to the cyber-bullyingIt felt like, even though this is written for a more grown-up audience, this was written for a New Adult audience. And, if it was, it feels a bit disrespectful to the subject matter and to the reader.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh. I did whizz through the book and I might return to this series and try another author and this probably is a good airport/beach read, but along the way, it misses the mark on certain subject matters.
leahkarge's review
3.0
As far as this overall series goes, I would say that, so far, this is one of the ones I enjoyed more than some others, but in general, it was just an okay read. Check out the full review on my blog.
cadiva's review
4.0
This one got a little bit melodramatic towards the end and required an element of suspended belief but overall had a quirky narrative I enjoyed.
Sam was a sweetheart and I felt for him snd what he'd been through, Ruan was just the right person for him.
I never really got a feel for their ages though, at times they seemed very young, others much closer to the latter half of their 20s.
The setting is as fabulous as the other books although here I felt like the Luscombe family members didn't really match up the same as the others who'd appeared in previous books. This lot didn't seem like rogues with good hearts, but downright criminal.
Sam was a sweetheart and I felt for him snd what he'd been through, Ruan was just the right person for him.
I never really got a feel for their ages though, at times they seemed very young, others much closer to the latter half of their 20s.
The setting is as fabulous as the other books although here I felt like the Luscombe family members didn't really match up the same as the others who'd appeared in previous books. This lot didn't seem like rogues with good hearts, but downright criminal.
kaa's review against another edition
1.0
Because this is not clear from the summary and other readers may want to know: the plotline of this book involves bullying and mention of suicide. I didn't know this going in and would very much have preferred not to have been surprised by it. To be honest, I might not have read the book had I known. (Warning for discussion of suicide, bullying, and biphobia in the following review.)
I nearly quit at 20% after a bisexual teen girl is bullied to suicide, and then her death turns into the plot device that brings the two MCs into proximity. All we know about Linda is that "no one really" liked her, and that she received explicitly biphobic messages prior to her death. I am NOT AT ALL okay with a queer teenage girl getting fridged for the sake of a romance between two cis gay men.
Look, can we talk a little bit about suicide, bullying, and bisexual teens, and why this situation was so infuriating for me? See, the thing is, most folks know that queer kids experience bullying and suicidality at higher rates than cis/straight kids. What often doesn't get discussed, however, is the fact that bisexual kids are typically lumped in with their gay and lesbian peers - despite the fact that bisexual teenagers are much more likely to think about and attempt suicide, and to be bullied (source, source). Many "LGBT" organizations have historically done a very poor job of serving the "BT" end of the acronym, and some are in fact outright hostile to bi and trans folks. There are few bi-specific organizations, programs, or health initiatives that try to address the mental health disparities between gay/lesbian and bisexual people, and still plenty of people who will not believe that biphobia is something distinct from homophobia. Given all of this, it was INCREDIBLY painful for me, as a bisexual woman, to see a bi girl's death be treated so dismissively. This book dealt so poorly with the topic of queer teen suicide that it overshadowed everything else for me.
I read through to the end in the (admittedly not especially high) hopes that the author might manage to work around to addressing suicide and bullying a bit more competently. If anything, though, the ending just made it worse. One of the last things anyone says directly on the topic is, "What he did to them... was no more’n saying some bad things and frightening them a bit." And just... no. It's clear from the text that the MCs disagree - but they don't get the space on page to contradict the speaker, which doesn't leave a great taste in my mouth. And I want to talk about some other aspects of the ending in more detail:
(And my final, nit-picky complaint: at the beginning, Jennifer was furious - rightly so - at the death of her sheep, yet somehow when she finds out who it is it's no longer a problem? Losing livestock is pretty big deal, in my opinion, and a little beyond just a "warning." Leaving dead animals is one thing, but killing the animals that ARE SOMEONE'S LIVELIHOOD doesn't seem like something a farmer can afford to let even the local mob get away with.)
The author says on Twitter that she thought of this book as "fluffy" - and that the part that might disqualify it is the sheep mutilation. Um, no. Definitely not. For me, sheep mutilation and fluff are not necessarily mutually exclusive - but fluff and cyber-bullying that drives a queer teen to suicide? Fluff and? Definitely not overlapping. That indicates to me that this author is not really thinking about the real-world impact of bullying and suicide on queer and other marginalized kids, and in my opinion this is not a topic you should be touching in fiction unless you are prepared to give it plenty of time and attention to do it well.
I nearly quit at 20% after a bisexual teen girl is bullied to suicide, and then her death turns into the plot device that brings the two MCs into proximity. All we know about Linda is that "no one really" liked her, and that she received explicitly biphobic messages prior to her death. I am NOT AT ALL okay with a queer teenage girl getting fridged for the sake of a romance between two cis gay men.
Spoiler
And then the villain DIGS UP HER BODY, so she gets to be a plot device a SECOND time at the end of the book. That is disgusting on so many levels.Look, can we talk a little bit about suicide, bullying, and bisexual teens, and why this situation was so infuriating for me? See, the thing is, most folks know that queer kids experience bullying and suicidality at higher rates than cis/straight kids. What often doesn't get discussed, however, is the fact that bisexual kids are typically lumped in with their gay and lesbian peers - despite the fact that bisexual teenagers are much more likely to think about and attempt suicide, and to be bullied (source, source). Many "LGBT" organizations have historically done a very poor job of serving the "BT" end of the acronym, and some are in fact outright hostile to bi and trans folks. There are few bi-specific organizations, programs, or health initiatives that try to address the mental health disparities between gay/lesbian and bisexual people, and still plenty of people who will not believe that biphobia is something distinct from homophobia. Given all of this, it was INCREDIBLY painful for me, as a bisexual woman, to see a bi girl's death be treated so dismissively. This book dealt so poorly with the topic of queer teen suicide that it overshadowed everything else for me.
I read through to the end in the (admittedly not especially high) hopes that the author might manage to work around to addressing suicide and bullying a bit more competently. If anything, though, the ending just made it worse. One of the last things anyone says directly on the topic is, "What he did to them... was no more’n saying some bad things and frightening them a bit." And just... no. It's clear from the text that the MCs disagree - but they don't get the space on page to contradict the speaker, which doesn't leave a great taste in my mouth. And I want to talk about some other aspects of the ending in more detail:
Spoiler
While I think the prison system is fucked and community-based restorative justice is the way to go, the way "punishment" is carried out here is not what I'm looking for. This is a secret, back-room deal, with no input from the girls who were actually affected, and very few mechanisms of accountability to make sure any of the agreements are carried out. The girls don't even get to know who it was or what happened, which, to me, makes it seem very unlikely that this would be a satisfying conclusion for any of them. Sure, they bullying has stopped - for now - but they have no way of knowing whether it might ever start up again. If that were me, not knowing what actually happened would leave me very fearful and uncertain for a very long time. Additionally, this is someone who, the book implies, has bullied multiple people to suicide. This is not just an angry, cruel boy - this is someone who wants to cause other people deep pain and is very, very good at doing so. It feels so dangerous to prevent any sort of public awareness of his actions.(And my final, nit-picky complaint: at the beginning, Jennifer was furious - rightly so - at the death of her sheep, yet somehow when she finds out who it is it's no longer a problem? Losing livestock is pretty big deal, in my opinion, and a little beyond just a "warning." Leaving dead animals is one thing, but killing the animals that ARE SOMEONE'S LIVELIHOOD doesn't seem like something a farmer can afford to let even the local mob get away with.)
The author says on Twitter that she thought of this book as "fluffy" - and that the part that might disqualify it is the sheep mutilation. Um, no. Definitely not. For me, sheep mutilation and fluff are not necessarily mutually exclusive - but fluff and cyber-bullying that drives a queer teen to suicide? Fluff and
Spoiler
digging up and displaying her dead bodymrnnprsns's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
Another strong book in the series.
Much more about the two mystery threads rather than the romance between Ruan and Sam.
The mystery elements revolve around animal slaughter with occult symbols and cyber bullying of young girls in the town, which has already lead to suicides.
Sam is able to use his IT skills to track the cyber bully and investigate the symbols. He also uses his gained knowledge of the occult to help locals handle whats happening - more of a mental boost than physical at this point.
Now there are a number of artistic licences taken with police (bit dim and one tracked) to have not connected the suicides or investigated the cyber bullying. There is also a couple of TSTL moves made by Sam and Ruan.
I can’t say that the Cornish closed shop approach to sorting it out among ourselves is correct or not - in this case it did annoy me the villain got away with it, containers or no.
The romance between Sam and Ruan also kind of evolved without us getting a big feel on their feelings.
So I enjoyed, found the writing engrossing, had some issues but did like. 3.75/4*
Much more about the two mystery threads rather than the romance between Ruan and Sam.
The mystery elements revolve around animal slaughter with occult symbols and cyber bullying of young girls in the town, which has already lead to suicides.
Sam is able to use his IT skills to track the cyber bully and investigate the symbols. He also uses his gained knowledge of the occult to help locals handle whats happening - more of a mental boost than physical at this point.
Now there are a number of artistic licences taken with police (bit dim and one tracked) to have not connected the suicides or investigated the cyber bullying. There is also a couple of TSTL moves made by Sam and Ruan.
I can’t say that the Cornish closed shop approach to sorting it out among ourselves is correct or not - in this case it did annoy me the villain got away with it, containers or no.
The romance between Sam and Ruan also kind of evolved without us getting a big feel on their feelings.
So I enjoyed, found the writing engrossing, had some issues but did like. 3.75/4*