Described as a dark and glittering literary psychological thriller for fans of Will Dean and Lucy Atkins from the author of The Storm and The Cliff House…
Title: The Haven
Author: Amanda Jennings
Publisher: HQ
Genre: General Fiction, Literary Fiction
Release Date: 17th March 2022
BLURB from Goodreads
Two decades ago, Tara and Kit leave everything behind to join a group living in a tumbledown farm on a glorious expanse of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. For Kit, it’s a chance to break away from his wealthy family and the soulless upbringing he loathes so much; for Tara, the chance to give their young daughter Skye everything she never had – a childhood full of nature and freedom. Breathtakingly beautiful and remote, Winterfall Farm provides them all with an idyllic home, a new family and the opportunity to work and live off the land. At first, it seems too good to be true.
But as the seasons change, the behaviour of Winterfall’s charismatic leader, Jeremy, becomes increasingly erratic. Rules and discipline are imposed. The outside world seems increasingly further away, and as new faces arrive at the farm, tensions rise with devastating consequences…
PURCHASE LINKS
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REVIEW
I think this cover really fits the book very well, it looks absolutely idyllic, and it could literally be a snapshot from the book itself with the female walking through the field with wild flowers being Tara. It certainly attracted my eye to the book, so I would say it does its job really well. I find books and the idea of cults and communes quite interesting so when I read the blurb, I knew I really wanted to read it. I also loved the byline of "It was meant to be paradise" that certainly gives a big hint that there are likely to be problems ahead!
The book begins will Tara, Kit and Jeremy all meeting at university and becoming friends. Though to outsiders it may look as if Jeremy is somewhat a third wheel in the relationship, as Tara & Kit soon become a romantically attached couple.
When Tara becomes pregnant, it clear that her parents are horrified, and Kits are simply indifferent but Tara and Kit are happy at the news. Tara drops out of university and they find a small, rather drab, rough flat to live in. Neither set of grandparents are happy at their living situation and when Tara’s parents suggest they take Skye and bring her up themselves, naturally Tara and Kit are horrified. It especially shakes them to the core when they learn Tara’s parents are prepared to take them to court citing the young families living conditions as just one of the reasons that they are incapable of taking proper care of their little daughter, Skye. It seems to give Kit the final push to do the very thing he had declared he never would, use the trust fund his family set up for him. With the trio of friends all having dropped out of University, they decide to try living their dream, going off-grid. They want to
live their dream of a life together living off the land with a small group of like-minded people, all brining their different skills together. So, Kit uses his trust fund money to buy an old run-down farm house along with its surrounding land. Living there is hard with all the “rules” that Jeremy expects them to follow. There are no utilities, so no hot showers or baths or central heating. Obviously, they do have to buy some items as they have yet to plant crops and get animals to create their “farm” and self-sufficiency. The locals are of course wary of the new comers, thinking they are “layabout hippies” but eventually a few of them come around a little. It soon becomes apparent that Jeremy seems to have his own side agenda alongside the farm. It almost seems like an obsession on his part that those at the farm should shun all technology, and all modern conveniences including medical help which has devastating consequences.
Characters I liked were Tara, Patsy, Dani, Anne and Bruce. Though Patsy is only in the book in a small capacity it is clear she is an important person in Kit’s life, in fact she is more of a caring parental figure, than either of hi biological parents. Dani is a troubled teen who is thrown out of home by her mother which sounds horrific. Dani’s step father Eddie is a drunken bully who regularly beats up his wife and has his eyes set on Dani now she is becoming a young woman. Its this very reason why Dani’s mum gives her the money from her purse and her own coat as it is the warmest one and literally pushes her out of the door.
The characters that fell between the like/dislike were Kit and Mary. At times I wanted to reach into the book and really try to shake both Kit and Mary for different reasons. The issue I had with Kit was that despite Tara speaking to him on numerous occasions he seems to always have “rose coloured glasses” on when it comes Jeremy. Kit only seems to realise his friend is seriously spiralling out of control when he starts shouting at little Skye and treating her like an adult.
It is Jeremy that puts his faith in Mary and places her in charge of medical issues with her herbal remedies and various concoctions. Mary seems kind and is helpful for some simpler issues like sleep remedies. Mary is confident in her abilities and is determined to please Jeremy, so whenever questioned she always replies that she is confident and has dealt with similar problems/conditions before. However, Mary becomes more and more distant and almost unhinged and away in her own world. It quickly becomes tragically apparent she is out of her depth.
I thoroughly enjoyed disliking/hating Jeremy and Eddie. I have to admit I felt a weird apprehension about Jeremy from the beginning of the book. Jeremy seemed to invade the relationship between Kit and Tara. When Jeremy turned up everyone had to “dance to his tune” and bend to his will. To me Jeremy seemed to be a bit of a privileged protestor and even though he does go to jail for a short time it doesn’t change him in anyway. He doesn’t think through the consequences of his rash actions. Jeremy has a very blinkered view of the world and wants everything done his way. As someone actually verbalises in the book, the idyllic commune starts to feel more like a cult ruled by a tyrannical dictator Jeremy.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that I really loved it . . . the ending felt a little rushed, and the time jump/lapse between Emily helping Danni and then the sort of epilogue part where they communicated via letter felt a little “off” with the rest of the story to me.
Summing up, I really enjoyed reading this book and felt the pull to read every night. I liked all the different characters and learning their different back stories.
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