This is the hardest review I’ve had to write in quite awhile. While I’ve only seen rave reviews of this one, it left me feeling very annoyed and frustrated. I am definitely an outlier with my opinion because this really is a bookstagram darling at the moment (I hough I do anticipate more dissenting opinions as more people read it after it’s release on Mar 4).

Let’s start with the good: I LOVED the writing! Hall transported me to the pastoral countryside where Frank and Beth tended their herd of sheep and lived a simple life. I felt deeply connected to this part of the story as it really reminded me of my own dad who tends to his mama cows and calves the same way Frank loves his sheep.

What I disliked the most about this book were the characters, their decisions, and their lack of growth. This book deals with a lot of tough themes (unrequited love, enduring love, guilt, shame, regret, and forgiveness), and while @runningandreading and @novelvisits really helped me see new perspectives, I ultimately don’t understand them. Frank is by far and away my favorite, but by the end, his weakness and inability to stand up for himself left me frustrated.

As I said earlier, I will be curious to see how this holds up as more people read it!