Beneath These Fields

Review by Erin of Diverse Reader

One of my favorite things about picking up a book by an author I've never read before is the flair of excitement you feel when you don't know what to expect. I'm sure you all know what I mean. Yeah sometimes trying something new (or someone!) doesn't always work out for the best but it never hurts to try, right? It's also such a kick to be exposed to a situation, or a region of the world or a culture you aren't familiar with. Beneath These Fields by Ward Maia took me to Brazil, a place I haven't read much about.

Ellis Campos is an attorney who suddenly finds himself the owner of a coffee farm from an estranged aunt. Knowing nothing about owning and operating a coffee farm, Ellis quickly decides that selling the farm and getting back to his life is the best course of action. Too bad fate has other plans for him and thanks to some shenanigans (more on this in a minute), he finds himself spending a week on the farm before he decides to sell the property. While he is anxious to get back to his life in Rio, Ellis doesn't mind, too much at least, spending time with sexy farm manager Ruda.

It doesn't take long for Ellis to feel like there are secrets being kept from him (remember the shenanigans with the property transfer?) and he begins to uncover these little by little while learning to appreciate the things the farm has to offer. Not the least of which is Ruda and his sexy dimple. I liked these two together but wish I would have felt more chemistry between them. I didn't feel like either character was developed quite enough to get a feel for them and really be invested in their happily ever after. This is a romance so you know there is one, and it was sweet and satisfying, but I would have liked more interaction and more .... something to get me to really feel something for Ellis and Ruda.

All in all this was a quick, easy read but didn't really leave me feeling much of anything.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Beneath These Fields by Ward Maia explores Brazil and a coffee bean farm. This story was not what I expected it to be. I expected to learn about Brazil and coffee bean farms, but I didn’t feel like I did. But, that’s no fault of the book; it isn’t required to meet my preconceived notions! Because it’s DSP, I expected romance and a happily ever after. I didn’t feel like there was a romance, but there was a happy ever after.

I struggled with connecting to the characters of the story. Ellis is a divorce attorney who seems fairly smart. But, when he goes to Brazil to sell the coffee farm his aunt left him, everyone played games with him. Everyone he met was mysterious and secretive, which I didn’t really understand, even when the big mystery was shared. His aunt’s attorney was a liar, and manipulative. Instead of calling the lawyer out, Ellis went with it. I was confused why he would sit in the office of a lawyer, while he was poorly lied to. Why not call him out? Especially when he was an attorney and he knew what was being said was BS. It just didn’t make sense. I didn’t connect with Ruda, and just felt like I had a surface look at him, which was disappointing. He could have been a great character with his history with the farm, but I just didn’t get that pull from him.

I had hoped for more for both characters and the setting, or expected something different from the story, but I didn’t hate the story. It was a quick read that I was able to sit down and finish. There was nothing that made me drag out the reading, or prolong it because I wasn’t enjoying it. After reading it, I felt like there were good bones to the story but it didn’t cause strong emotions for me - I didn’t hate it or love it.

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by DreamSpinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**