Reviewed by Ami
Title: Beneath These Fields
Author: Ward Maia
Series: World of Love – Brazil
Heroes: Ellis/Rudá
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 144 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 25, 2019
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Sometimes true worth is well hidden.
Ellis Campos is a successful divorce lawyer with little to no time for a personal life. His predictable routine is disrupted when he inherits a coffee farm from an estranged aunt. There’s no room in his life for all the complications that come with managing a farm in another state. But his plans to quickly sell it and go back to the big city fall apart when he’s manipulated into spending a week on the estate.
Adding to the unexpected surprises, he meets Rudá, a native Brazilian who works on the farm, and while teaching him about his aunt’s home and family, also tempts Ellis like no one ever has.
He doesn’t expect his life to change in such a short time, but as he finds value and comfort in the farm’s routine, Ellis quickly realizes that, like the land itself, Rudá has secrets that could send him running back to Rio.
Review: I admit that the “inherits a coffee farm” statement in the blurb is what intrigued me in the first place. I was hoping to have scenes that described the wonderful world of coffee.
Ellis comes to his aunt’s coffee farm after he finds out that he inherits it. I really enjoyed reading about Ellis admitting that he doesn’t want to do anything with the farm at first. I think it’s a plausible reason, for someone who is a city boy like Ellis, who only knows coffee as something he drinks. Why must he immediately love the farm?
Rudá is a bit pushy, in my opinion, and I’m not sure his way of trying to make Ellis fall for the farm is very effective, especially because he keeps an important secret. But Rudá has a more laid back trait which is opposite and nicely complimentary to Ellis’ character. Oh, and Rudá’s grandmother is definitely my favorite character in this novella. I LOVED her!!
There were a couple of things that irked me though. I know that it is meant as a plot device, but I really didn’t think Rudá keeping all the necessary information from Ellis until a bit later in the book was a good move. Rudá knows that Ellis wants to sell the farm, so why doesn’t he just lay down all the cards on the table? I think it’ll help Ellis making the right decision.
I also didn’t really understand why Ellis’ father seemed to wholeheartedly dismiss his sister. Yes, sure, Ellis’ aunt was being rebellious, but I still didn’t get the major consequences that made him dismiss her like that.
Overall Impression: I liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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