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Meet Me at the Surface
Everything that comes from the ground must go back down… eventually
Merryn grew up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the village, fear for the future of their farms and cling desperately to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history. Except Merryn, who has escaped to Manchester for university, briefly untethering herself from her past.
When Merryn returns home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, she finds her childhood home stranger and more secretive than ever. She’s sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore that seems to be linked somehow to Claud…
Merryn grew up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the village, fear for the future of their farms and cling desperately to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history. Except Merryn, who has escaped to Manchester for university, briefly untethering herself from her past.
When Merryn returns home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, she finds her childhood home stranger and more secretive than ever. She’s sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore that seems to be linked somehow to Claud…
304 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2024
77 people are currently reading
2836 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
January 9, 2024
Gothic fiction, folklore, and toxic, messy female relationships are all my catnip, so it's no surprise I loved this title. It's definitely not a light or easy read--it's lonely, slimy and claustrophobic; deeply interior and with very little forward momentum--but I loved it all the more for that. It's a book that asks to you sink into it and drown a little; a book that grasps you with cold, damp teeth. This is a tremendous debut which I highly recommended for when you're in the mood for a touch of Cornish Gothic and never want to think about eels the same way again.
Many thanks to Fourth Estate for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Many thanks to Fourth Estate for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
April 18, 2024
rip claud you would've loved good luck, babe!
February 5, 2024
Merryn grew up on the wild, beautiful, haunting Bodmin Moor, raised by her mother and aunt who let’s just say, were never ones to conform or listen to such idle gossip from the locals when it came to how to live their lives without a care, the old farmhouse seeming like a vessel for those not wanting to live as others do.
Here, the locals have no aspiration higher than dwelling in the same place for their entire life, for how could they do such a thing as leave when fear and despair cling to them like dust and damp, this creeping dread that the future of their farms hang in the balance of the folklore which is threaded through their past, and into their futures, for everything has a price and should one not deliver, they shall reap their sorrows.
Returning home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, Merryn finds that her childhood home is now more unhinged and stranger than ever, should that even be possible. Her mother is evasive with her answers, her aunt is performing strange rituals throughout the house, and the locals hunt the moors at night, searching for god only knows.
When Merryn stumbles across a notebook found in an old chest of drawers, the long-forgotten folklore quickly becomes all too real when a connection to Claud leaps out of the pages but surely these wild tales she learned in her childhood are simply entertainment, right?
Will Merryn be able to forgive herself for what took place between her and Claud, or will something that lurks in the shadows finally demand payment when Merryn realises that her connection to Claud is something that perhaps was more than just love?
Hauntingly beautiful, gothic, and elegant in its language, this book will leave you feeling as if perhaps there’s some truth to folklore after all…
Here, the locals have no aspiration higher than dwelling in the same place for their entire life, for how could they do such a thing as leave when fear and despair cling to them like dust and damp, this creeping dread that the future of their farms hang in the balance of the folklore which is threaded through their past, and into their futures, for everything has a price and should one not deliver, they shall reap their sorrows.
Returning home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, Merryn finds that her childhood home is now more unhinged and stranger than ever, should that even be possible. Her mother is evasive with her answers, her aunt is performing strange rituals throughout the house, and the locals hunt the moors at night, searching for god only knows.
When Merryn stumbles across a notebook found in an old chest of drawers, the long-forgotten folklore quickly becomes all too real when a connection to Claud leaps out of the pages but surely these wild tales she learned in her childhood are simply entertainment, right?
Will Merryn be able to forgive herself for what took place between her and Claud, or will something that lurks in the shadows finally demand payment when Merryn realises that her connection to Claud is something that perhaps was more than just love?
Hauntingly beautiful, gothic, and elegant in its language, this book will leave you feeling as if perhaps there’s some truth to folklore after all…
September 12, 2024
This was an interesting book with many themes and one of those books which is difficult to review / rate.
Ultimately it's about folklore and grief. And weirdness as up until the end it's really not clear what's going on and you feel a bit cross at Merryn's family for keeping everything from her.
I have actually been to Dozmary pool and it is truly a very unique place in Cornwall. I thought this book was beautifully written and I've upgraded it to 4 stars because it's now living rent free inside my head.
Ultimately it's about folklore and grief. And weirdness as up until the end it's really not clear what's going on and you feel a bit cross at Merryn's family for keeping everything from her.
I have actually been to Dozmary pool and it is truly a very unique place in Cornwall. I thought this book was beautifully written and I've upgraded it to 4 stars because it's now living rent free inside my head.
March 25, 2024
Oh, I was wrapped into this book - set in a small town on the Cornish moors, Merryn has returned home, from Manchester, to attend a memorial service for Claud, her girlfriend who’d passed away the year before. Her family have always been one to tell tales of the cornish folklore, and the weight of that immediately returns. Her aunt is pasting the windows shut, the local towns people are out traipsing the moors every night, and no-one will explain to Merryn what’s actually going on…
There is a constant unease to this book which I loved. It’s that feeling that things are just slightly off kilter which only gets stronger as the novel progresses. The feeling of having to return home after breaking away, of having secrets hidden from you, the all encompassing feeling of grief, and the centuries long history of local folklore that’s entrenched within the people. It’s almost claustrophobic, like sinking into a mud bath, but in the best way.
This truly is a book about folklore, and it does not shy away from that, intertwining it with complex family relations, a partially hidden sapphic relationship, grief, mental illness, and love. I throughly enjoyed my time with it - a brilliant debut novel.
Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.
There is a constant unease to this book which I loved. It’s that feeling that things are just slightly off kilter which only gets stronger as the novel progresses. The feeling of having to return home after breaking away, of having secrets hidden from you, the all encompassing feeling of grief, and the centuries long history of local folklore that’s entrenched within the people. It’s almost claustrophobic, like sinking into a mud bath, but in the best way.
This truly is a book about folklore, and it does not shy away from that, intertwining it with complex family relations, a partially hidden sapphic relationship, grief, mental illness, and love. I throughly enjoyed my time with it - a brilliant debut novel.
Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.
March 8, 2024
2.5 rounded up.
To be honest, I don’t really know what I just read. I’ve come away from it feeling quite confused.
It started off quite slow, and I found it pretty difficult to get into.
I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, but I know that I desperately wanted it to be good. The premise sounded really intriguing, and I was looking for something strange with eerie vibes. This book delivered with that, but I’m pretty sure the deeper meaning of the story just completely flew over my head: and that has nothing to do with the book itself.
The writing style was brilliant, and the author had a great way with words… I just didn’t totally GET it, you know?
I rate my books based on how much I enjoyed them, so my 2.5 stars has nothing to do with how well-written the book was, or how good the story, but my own experience whilst reading it.
I just didn’t quite connect with it.
To be honest, I don’t really know what I just read. I’ve come away from it feeling quite confused.
It started off quite slow, and I found it pretty difficult to get into.
I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, but I know that I desperately wanted it to be good. The premise sounded really intriguing, and I was looking for something strange with eerie vibes. This book delivered with that, but I’m pretty sure the deeper meaning of the story just completely flew over my head: and that has nothing to do with the book itself.
The writing style was brilliant, and the author had a great way with words… I just didn’t totally GET it, you know?
I rate my books based on how much I enjoyed them, so my 2.5 stars has nothing to do with how well-written the book was, or how good the story, but my own experience whilst reading it.
I just didn’t quite connect with it.
April 14, 2024
There is nothing I love more than a main character going back to their childhood home, and it's weird and creepy, and really, they never should have returned. I'm a sucker for an isolated setting, and Bodmin Moor was perfect, so misty and boggy, seeping into your subconscious. Not to mention, the uncomfortable family dynamics are *chef's kiss, and it's quite literally dripping in folklore. I can't believe this is a debut. Matthews really knocked it out of the park, and I'm so excited to she what she does next. If you love your novels damp, dark, and devourable, like a car crash, you can't help but peak at. You need to grab this book.
Thank you to Jodie and 4th Estate for the gifted copy 🧡
Thank you to Jodie and 4th Estate for the gifted copy 🧡
March 5, 2024
I LOVED reading this. It's not my usual genre and I generally avoid books set in Cornwall at all costs, but knowing that the author is from Cornwall and that it's not the usual idyllic version of home that we don't always see that made me even more intrigued to read it.
Meet Me At The Surface follows Merryn, who returns home from uni for her ex-girlfriend Claud's memorial a year after her death. But home doesn't feel the same after being away, especially now Claud is gone. She can't make sense of the things happening to and around her, and her mother and aunt are acting strangely, but she just wants to get the memorial over with so she can return back to Manchester and away from the small town life. But as she unearths more about the folklores that she grew up with, she learns a lot more about her family.
What I really loved about this (in a spoiler-free way) is how we find things out along with our narrator. She isn't necessarily unreliable, just in the dark and we are finding out what's going on as she is. We learn about the folklore, weaved throughout the book, as she does, whilst going back and forth learning about Claud and Merryn's relationship and why we are where we are in present day.
I also really appreciated the casual bisexual representation. Without it being the main topic, both sides of Merryn's sexuality were shown in a real way which was lush to see.
Despite not being my usual go to, the gorgeous cover and learning about the author themself drew me in and boy am I glad because I loved every second of it.
This is my full from my insta because I got excited so enjoy
Meet Me At The Surface follows Merryn, who returns home from uni for her ex-girlfriend Claud's memorial a year after her death. But home doesn't feel the same after being away, especially now Claud is gone. She can't make sense of the things happening to and around her, and her mother and aunt are acting strangely, but she just wants to get the memorial over with so she can return back to Manchester and away from the small town life. But as she unearths more about the folklores that she grew up with, she learns a lot more about her family.
What I really loved about this (in a spoiler-free way) is how we find things out along with our narrator. She isn't necessarily unreliable, just in the dark and we are finding out what's going on as she is. We learn about the folklore, weaved throughout the book, as she does, whilst going back and forth learning about Claud and Merryn's relationship and why we are where we are in present day.
I also really appreciated the casual bisexual representation. Without it being the main topic, both sides of Merryn's sexuality were shown in a real way which was lush to see.
Despite not being my usual go to, the gorgeous cover and learning about the author themself drew me in and boy am I glad because I loved every second of it.
This is my full from my insta because I got excited so enjoy
January 13, 2024
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this to review.
A beautiful and literary tale that feels like folklore crafted and forged from the depths of Cornwall itself. This book was a slow mover for me but I loved getting lost in the landscape of the Moor and the vastness of our main character, Merryn's, childhood. As we flick between the past and present there is this heavy feeling that both Merryn and us as a reader are missing something. Nothing makes this more clear than the beautiful folklore chapters that pop up time and time again through the narrative. Like a puzzle to solve you stumble around trying to piece everything together as you have this feeling that it could be too late.
This book is a perfect study of grief, complicated relationships, the intensity of young love, and the idea of not fitting in. I enjoyed watching this story slowly unfold taking in the beautiful writing and the beautiful imagery of the Cornish moors. You do truly feel like you are there standing at that farmhouse with Merryn and her mother and aunt. The writing was so visceral and real and I loved the different ways Matthews writing connected to nature and the area itself. Such a beautiful and magical read!
A beautiful and literary tale that feels like folklore crafted and forged from the depths of Cornwall itself. This book was a slow mover for me but I loved getting lost in the landscape of the Moor and the vastness of our main character, Merryn's, childhood. As we flick between the past and present there is this heavy feeling that both Merryn and us as a reader are missing something. Nothing makes this more clear than the beautiful folklore chapters that pop up time and time again through the narrative. Like a puzzle to solve you stumble around trying to piece everything together as you have this feeling that it could be too late.
This book is a perfect study of grief, complicated relationships, the intensity of young love, and the idea of not fitting in. I enjoyed watching this story slowly unfold taking in the beautiful writing and the beautiful imagery of the Cornish moors. You do truly feel like you are there standing at that farmhouse with Merryn and her mother and aunt. The writing was so visceral and real and I loved the different ways Matthews writing connected to nature and the area itself. Such a beautiful and magical read!
April 16, 2024
2.75⭐️ rounded up to 3
The writing is good, and the Cornish folklore is intriguing, but it's all soooo depressing, relentlessly depressing. I like dark, I like mysterious but this made me just feel grimy. There's no let up. It's also quite repetitive. Probably not a book for me, but I was lured by the beautiful cover 😅
The writing is good, and the Cornish folklore is intriguing, but it's all soooo depressing, relentlessly depressing. I like dark, I like mysterious but this made me just feel grimy. There's no let up. It's also quite repetitive. Probably not a book for me, but I was lured by the beautiful cover 😅
February 12, 2024
I really enjoyed this captivating story of Merryn, who returns from University to Trewarnen on Bodmin Moor, where she grew up with her mother and aunt. She has returned on the promise of a memorial for her ex-girlfriend, Claud, but she soon starts to wonder whether there was a more sinister reason that she was called to return to Trewarnen.
Interwoven between what we learn about Merryn and Claud's relationship are snippets of Folklore, which Merryn's mother and aunt are particularly drawn to. Merryn comes to realise that Lowen and Ysella are keeping secrets from her, including one big secret that will make Merryn question her entire existence.
As someone who loves a witchy type of read, I fell straight into Meet Me At The Surface and felt throughout that there was something very unusual hiding behind Lowen and Ysella's lies. Jodie Matthews very cleverly keeps that sinister side of this story just bubbling under the surface right until the very end, where all will become vividly clear!
Interwoven between what we learn about Merryn and Claud's relationship are snippets of Folklore, which Merryn's mother and aunt are particularly drawn to. Merryn comes to realise that Lowen and Ysella are keeping secrets from her, including one big secret that will make Merryn question her entire existence.
As someone who loves a witchy type of read, I fell straight into Meet Me At The Surface and felt throughout that there was something very unusual hiding behind Lowen and Ysella's lies. Jodie Matthews very cleverly keeps that sinister side of this story just bubbling under the surface right until the very end, where all will become vividly clear!
May 8, 2024
I love folklore and small towns being weird, so this premise was basically made for me, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy Meet Me at the Surface. The prose felt sluggish, claustrophobic almost, and the events were an endless cycle of the main character Merry being confused, depressing flashbacks, and Merry being gaslighted by her mom and aunt. It's all intentional, I am sure, and some readers have enjoyed relentlessly depressing tone, but to me it was way too much.
In theory, Merry and her ex-girlfriend Maud's all-consuming, destructive relationship was interesting, but in this book's context, it just felt like another exhaustingly wrong thing about Merry's life.
In theory, Merry and her ex-girlfriend Maud's all-consuming, destructive relationship was interesting, but in this book's context, it just felt like another exhaustingly wrong thing about Merry's life.
October 10, 2024
Cornish mythology, body horror, and toxic sapphic situationships, what more could you want
February 20, 2025
GODDAMN THAT ENDING
March 10, 2024
I really enjoyed this uncanny story based in my home county. I was a little nervous going in as I attended a talk by author Jodie Matthews last week and found her (thankfully spoiler free) discussion equal part compelling and entertaining. I thought it would be hard for the book to live up to this but pleased to say i really enjoyed the mystery and weirdness that i was promised. I particularly enjoyed how real the setting felt as Cornwall often feels like a sketch of the place i know.
I would recommend the book (and also hearing Jodie talk about it if you get that chance).
I would recommend the book (and also hearing Jodie talk about it if you get that chance).
May 17, 2024
"Everything that comes from the ground has to go back down, eventually…”
Ladies and gentlemen behold: one of the best examples of style and atmosphere matching theme and content I’ve encountered in a long time. That is simultaneously this novels greatest strength and deepest downfall. It’s the kind of book about grief and alienation that I deeply love for its still in capturing a profound experience, yet can’t quite say I fully enjoyed reading for that same reason.
The Story:
A young woman returns to her childhood hometown; a decaying village on the Bodmin Moors, to attend the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claude. Amidst the décor of many of her formative childhood experiences, she finds her hometown stranger and more alienating than ever. She’s sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore than seems to be linked somehow to Claud… Memories resurface, and Merryn soon realizes she is, despite her best efforts, far more rooted in this place than she thought she was…
What I Loved:
When I say “style matches substance”, I mean it. From its desolate Bodmin-moor setting to its dark folk-tale motifs, every single page of this novel breathes gloom, melancholy and “murk”. It’s an exploration of the protagonists slow sinking into the marsh of her own grief and the cyclical trauma of not-belonging. It’s claustrophobic, suffocating and dragging. Just like that feeling is… And yet there is a certain kind of beauty in it too. A haunting quality that makes you linger.
If I had to capture this novel in one word, I’d use one that the novel actually quotes itself too, alongside with a few other untranslatable words from the Irish and Cornish language that introduce the chapters. Hireath : a sense of isolated longing tinged with grief and sadness. A homesickness for a place you can never return to, or which maybe never even was.”
I am in awe of how well the author was able to capture that sensation in the smallest of moments. Uncanny folk-traditions , warping of midwives tales and nature writing of icy cold fens and damp moors frame the margins of the story and settle it firmly in time and place.
When it comes to its portrayal of complex grief, loneliness and a toxic queer relationship with all its ramifications: this was top-tier.
What I didn’t love:
As mentioned: the qualities that make this novel amazing, are what will make it a marmite read to many. The pacing is slow, deliberately so. The story drags itself like a wounded animal and you can feel in your bones from the start that there’s no way this is going to end well. If anything, the book could’ve benefited from a little more light to balance its darkness. That might have made it a bit more readable, but might also have intensified the contrast when things eventually get dark.
Overall: this is modern Cornish Gothic at its finest. If that’s your cup of tea like it is mine: this one is for you. If you’re in the market for something more lighthearted, I recommend giving this one a pass.
Readalikes: Everything Under
Ladies and gentlemen behold: one of the best examples of style and atmosphere matching theme and content I’ve encountered in a long time. That is simultaneously this novels greatest strength and deepest downfall. It’s the kind of book about grief and alienation that I deeply love for its still in capturing a profound experience, yet can’t quite say I fully enjoyed reading for that same reason.
The Story:
A young woman returns to her childhood hometown; a decaying village on the Bodmin Moors, to attend the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claude. Amidst the décor of many of her formative childhood experiences, she finds her hometown stranger and more alienating than ever. She’s sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore than seems to be linked somehow to Claud… Memories resurface, and Merryn soon realizes she is, despite her best efforts, far more rooted in this place than she thought she was…
What I Loved:
When I say “style matches substance”, I mean it. From its desolate Bodmin-moor setting to its dark folk-tale motifs, every single page of this novel breathes gloom, melancholy and “murk”. It’s an exploration of the protagonists slow sinking into the marsh of her own grief and the cyclical trauma of not-belonging. It’s claustrophobic, suffocating and dragging. Just like that feeling is… And yet there is a certain kind of beauty in it too. A haunting quality that makes you linger.
If I had to capture this novel in one word, I’d use one that the novel actually quotes itself too, alongside with a few other untranslatable words from the Irish and Cornish language that introduce the chapters. Hireath : a sense of isolated longing tinged with grief and sadness. A homesickness for a place you can never return to, or which maybe never even was.”
I am in awe of how well the author was able to capture that sensation in the smallest of moments. Uncanny folk-traditions , warping of midwives tales and nature writing of icy cold fens and damp moors frame the margins of the story and settle it firmly in time and place.
When it comes to its portrayal of complex grief, loneliness and a toxic queer relationship with all its ramifications: this was top-tier.
What I didn’t love:
As mentioned: the qualities that make this novel amazing, are what will make it a marmite read to many. The pacing is slow, deliberately so. The story drags itself like a wounded animal and you can feel in your bones from the start that there’s no way this is going to end well. If anything, the book could’ve benefited from a little more light to balance its darkness. That might have made it a bit more readable, but might also have intensified the contrast when things eventually get dark.
Overall: this is modern Cornish Gothic at its finest. If that’s your cup of tea like it is mine: this one is for you. If you’re in the market for something more lighthearted, I recommend giving this one a pass.
Readalikes: Everything Under
January 29, 2025
How do I explain this experience?
Unsettling, like worms crawling out of a small contained space you had no idea would contain such creatures. The amount of times I had to look away from the page, shut my eyes and try to will those images away; try to shake the feeling of another in the room with me.
Heartbreaking, in the longing for another who cannot take your love for what it is, so they spit it back at you like its rotten food.
And then this: "I did not need to mine an old memory in the search for tenderness. My mother had already done me a kindness. She was letting me go."
I think it says it all.
Unsettling, like worms crawling out of a small contained space you had no idea would contain such creatures. The amount of times I had to look away from the page, shut my eyes and try to will those images away; try to shake the feeling of another in the room with me.
Heartbreaking, in the longing for another who cannot take your love for what it is, so they spit it back at you like its rotten food.
And then this: "I did not need to mine an old memory in the search for tenderness. My mother had already done me a kindness. She was letting me go."
I think it says it all.
May 20, 2025
A weird little book but I rather liked it - good folk horror vibes and a really effective claustrophobic atmosphere. It's the kind of odd tale where you don't want too much over explanation, as that would ruin it, but also you don't want the ending to be so weird/ambiguous that you are left confounded: I thought she walked the line pretty well. Maybe 3.5 stars if I was being very picky but happy enough to round up.
April 16, 2025
I loved everything about this. It basically achieved everything I want to do with my own writing. Sapphic queer nature based folk horror with really rich delicious descriptions of a very specific landscape. Perfect.
March 29, 2024
Difficult to read and confusing..
January 15, 2024
“I will meet you in the ground, my love, between the roots and the sand and the silt. I will hold you near and beside, my love, together our bones shall meet.”
Meet Me at the Surface is a beautiful and haunting exploration of Cornish folklore and deeply embedded generational secrets. It follows Merryn as we flick between the past of her childhood growing up on the Bodmin Moor and the present as Merryn returns from Manchester for her ex-girlfriend’s memorial service. It soon becomes apparent to both Merryn and us as the readers that something isn’t adding up, as Merryn's aunt and mother become even more secretive and strange, the locals ramp up their "hunts" in the Moor and Merryn discovers a mysterious handwritten journal containing folklore somehow linked to Claud, her ex.
Honestly this book is magical and I can’t believe it’s a debut. It delves into grief, complicated mother/daughter relationships and volatile first love in such compelling ways and is really well written; Jodie Matthews writes with such vivid imagery that you will be transported right to the stunning Cornish landscape with Merryn. If you liked Our Wives Under The Sea, this is definitely a book for you (it actually resonated with me so much more than Our Wives did!) I am very grateful to 4th Estate and Net Galley for the ARC of Meet Me at the Surface and I will most definitely be buying a copy when it is released in a months’ time (15.02.2024!)
Meet Me at the Surface is a beautiful and haunting exploration of Cornish folklore and deeply embedded generational secrets. It follows Merryn as we flick between the past of her childhood growing up on the Bodmin Moor and the present as Merryn returns from Manchester for her ex-girlfriend’s memorial service. It soon becomes apparent to both Merryn and us as the readers that something isn’t adding up, as Merryn's aunt and mother become even more secretive and strange, the locals ramp up their "hunts" in the Moor and Merryn discovers a mysterious handwritten journal containing folklore somehow linked to Claud, her ex.
Honestly this book is magical and I can’t believe it’s a debut. It delves into grief, complicated mother/daughter relationships and volatile first love in such compelling ways and is really well written; Jodie Matthews writes with such vivid imagery that you will be transported right to the stunning Cornish landscape with Merryn. If you liked Our Wives Under The Sea, this is definitely a book for you (it actually resonated with me so much more than Our Wives did!) I am very grateful to 4th Estate and Net Galley for the ARC of Meet Me at the Surface and I will most definitely be buying a copy when it is released in a months’ time (15.02.2024!)
February 10, 2024
“I will meet you in the ground, my love, between the roots and the sand and the silt. I will hold you near and beside, my love, together our bones shall meet”.
Meet Me at the Surface is a deliciously gothic tale, laced with traditional Cornish folklore that will leave you with goosebumps and a lingering taste of loam, earth, iron and magic.
The story is of Merryn, who recently escaped her small Cornish village amongst locals who fear the wild that lurks beyond their doorstep, for the big city university life of Manchester - but now is returning to Trewarnen, the farmhouse perched upon Bodmin moor that her mother shares with her aunt. She’s back to attend the memorial of her ex- ‘almost’ girlfriend, Claud (enter, complicated female relationship #1 - bonus points for sapphic), but finds that her home feels even more unsettled than it ever did before. Her mother and aunt (complicated female relationships #2 and #3 - not to mention their relationship with each other!) have never been one for gossip, but instead have obeyed the ways of the moor and those who govern it. But now they seem to be evasive, on edge and increasingly ritualistic.
With a tangible sense of disquiet looming, locals whose gazes seem to follow her everywhere she goes - not to mention the grief of losing Claud, Merryn feels drowned by the sense that all is not as it seems. When she uncovers a notebook that belongs to her aunt which houses cautionary tales of ancient folklore, which seem somehow enmeshed with Claud, Merryn just can’t stop digging.
The writing in this was just beautiful, I can’t believe this is a debut! The atmosphere of the moors, the shadowy nights and the sounds of things that inhabit a realm both amongst and beyond ours is so eerie and uncanny - and the claustrophobic sense that the final piece of the puzzle is so close and yet the heat is rising and the light is fading and walls are closing in before you can make final connections. Like it is too late to change anything. Like that which is given willingly is not always without cost.
Meet Me at the Surface is out 15th February and I would absolutely recommend you get your hands on it as soon as you can!!
Meet Me at the Surface is a deliciously gothic tale, laced with traditional Cornish folklore that will leave you with goosebumps and a lingering taste of loam, earth, iron and magic.
The story is of Merryn, who recently escaped her small Cornish village amongst locals who fear the wild that lurks beyond their doorstep, for the big city university life of Manchester - but now is returning to Trewarnen, the farmhouse perched upon Bodmin moor that her mother shares with her aunt. She’s back to attend the memorial of her ex- ‘almost’ girlfriend, Claud (enter, complicated female relationship #1 - bonus points for sapphic), but finds that her home feels even more unsettled than it ever did before. Her mother and aunt (complicated female relationships #2 and #3 - not to mention their relationship with each other!) have never been one for gossip, but instead have obeyed the ways of the moor and those who govern it. But now they seem to be evasive, on edge and increasingly ritualistic.
With a tangible sense of disquiet looming, locals whose gazes seem to follow her everywhere she goes - not to mention the grief of losing Claud, Merryn feels drowned by the sense that all is not as it seems. When she uncovers a notebook that belongs to her aunt which houses cautionary tales of ancient folklore, which seem somehow enmeshed with Claud, Merryn just can’t stop digging.
The writing in this was just beautiful, I can’t believe this is a debut! The atmosphere of the moors, the shadowy nights and the sounds of things that inhabit a realm both amongst and beyond ours is so eerie and uncanny - and the claustrophobic sense that the final piece of the puzzle is so close and yet the heat is rising and the light is fading and walls are closing in before you can make final connections. Like it is too late to change anything. Like that which is given willingly is not always without cost.
Meet Me at the Surface is out 15th February and I would absolutely recommend you get your hands on it as soon as you can!!
March 21, 2025
Absolutely adored this book. An immediate sense of unease abounded from the first page, and throughout the book it wove a dark story of folklore and sinister mystery. The hints at various mythologies and folk stories helped to create an ambience all throughout, and there were just enough hints for me at slight surrealism to keep me engaged and loving every bit of it.
My one criticism is falling into the trap at the end of one character monologuing a full expository reveal, which felt a little unnecessary and spoonfed.
Interestingly almost everyone at my book club disliked the book apart from me, so maybe I have terrible taste, who knows! But this was one of my favourite reads in a good long while.
My one criticism is falling into the trap at the end of one character monologuing a full expository reveal, which felt a little unnecessary and spoonfed.
Interestingly almost everyone at my book club disliked the book apart from me, so maybe I have terrible taste, who knows! But this was one of my favourite reads in a good long while.
June 9, 2024
3.5 🌟
This was a brilliant debut from Jodie Matthews. It was fascinating to learn a bit more about Cornish folklore and it’s definitely whet my appetite to learn more but, in the end, I felt I didn’t fully understand the connection to the folklore weaved throughout and I was left wanting more. However, beautifully written and looks at relationships and grief in a delicate a interesting way. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Jodie.
This was a brilliant debut from Jodie Matthews. It was fascinating to learn a bit more about Cornish folklore and it’s definitely whet my appetite to learn more but, in the end, I felt I didn’t fully understand the connection to the folklore weaved throughout and I was left wanting more. However, beautifully written and looks at relationships and grief in a delicate a interesting way. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Jodie.
October 19, 2025
How to describe Meet Me at the Surface? A folk horror novel cloaked in the lore of Cornwall, it captivated and devastated me equally. Some books are meant to be devoured. This book is meant to be savored- taken time with- and ultimately be lost in.
Merrin, is called back to the small Cornish village where she grew up to attend a memorial service for her high school girlfriend Claud, after her apparent suicide. But, no one will tell her exactly when the service is taking place. So she waits…. and she notices. Things are stranger in the little village than she remembers. Her aunt is coating the windows in some kind of concoction she makes with the eels from the local lake and the villagers are hunting the moors at night for something….. Meanwhile Merrin is drowning in grief and there is something dark creeping around the edges of her room. And most importantly, she has found an old book full of local lore.
I loved this book so much. It is a slow read. The language is beautiful and you need to take your time to savor it and immerse yourself in this tale of creeping dread and grief. But as things become stranger and Merrin enters a fevre dream of confusion and terror about what is going on, the suspense ramps up and I found it impossible to put down. It’s rare to find a book that is pure folk horror, but this one is, complete with every trope, but also a uniqueness and sadness and visceral quality that compelled me in a way books seldom do.
Merrin, is called back to the small Cornish village where she grew up to attend a memorial service for her high school girlfriend Claud, after her apparent suicide. But, no one will tell her exactly when the service is taking place. So she waits…. and she notices. Things are stranger in the little village than she remembers. Her aunt is coating the windows in some kind of concoction she makes with the eels from the local lake and the villagers are hunting the moors at night for something….. Meanwhile Merrin is drowning in grief and there is something dark creeping around the edges of her room. And most importantly, she has found an old book full of local lore.
I loved this book so much. It is a slow read. The language is beautiful and you need to take your time to savor it and immerse yourself in this tale of creeping dread and grief. But as things become stranger and Merrin enters a fevre dream of confusion and terror about what is going on, the suspense ramps up and I found it impossible to put down. It’s rare to find a book that is pure folk horror, but this one is, complete with every trope, but also a uniqueness and sadness and visceral quality that compelled me in a way books seldom do.
November 18, 2024
Unsettling and eerie, this book was beautifully written and so atmospheric, and I feel like I’ll be thinking about it for a while.
I usually avoid books set in Cornwall (they’re too idyllic for me) but I was really taken in by the haunting nature of Bodmin moor. I also found parts of it oddly relatable; returning to Cornwall after living in a city and realising that nothing has changed even though you have. The Cornish folklore was really interesting and considering I’m Cornish, I know barely any of the mythology so I enjoyed it.
The mother-daughter relationships throughout the book were tense and at times uncomfortable, as was the relationship between Merryn and Claud. I always like books with complex relationships between women so this definitely ticked that box.
However, I found it was quite slow and borderline repetitive in the middle. I wanted to learn more about the pedri more quickly, but I suppose that just shows I was engaged. I also saw the ending coming from very early on so it was fairly predictable in that sense.
Thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for the arc of this.
I usually avoid books set in Cornwall (they’re too idyllic for me) but I was really taken in by the haunting nature of Bodmin moor. I also found parts of it oddly relatable; returning to Cornwall after living in a city and realising that nothing has changed even though you have. The Cornish folklore was really interesting and considering I’m Cornish, I know barely any of the mythology so I enjoyed it.
The mother-daughter relationships throughout the book were tense and at times uncomfortable, as was the relationship between Merryn and Claud. I always like books with complex relationships between women so this definitely ticked that box.
However, I found it was quite slow and borderline repetitive in the middle. I wanted to learn more about the pedri more quickly, but I suppose that just shows I was engaged. I also saw the ending coming from very early on so it was fairly predictable in that sense.
Thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for the arc of this.
November 6, 2025
Cornish literature is something I became intrigued with a few years ago (thanks, A Midwinter's Tail), and I’ve dipped in and out periodically. I think it’s the Cornish spirit of rebellion, and unique cultural history, that really appeals to me (in contrast to majority British literature that doesn’t really “ring” for me).
“The Moore” is as much a character as it is a setting in Meet Me at the Surface. The novel feels kind of like a trek through a moorland - more a place to dissolve into than a destination to get to. It feels like an oppressively cloudy day, gothic and yet sentimental. It feels like grief, and otherness.
Then there is the toxic sapphic relationship that, I think, most queer women can relate to. (Haven’t we all dabbled in at least one toxic, cloying relationship that it seemed we just could not shake?) One doesn’t so much want to shake Merryn as pull her into yourself.
I will happily admit that I allowed the folklore to swim around me, to nearly dissolve me. I allowed it to surround me and befuddle me, because I DON'T understand it, it is not my own, but it is so enthralling, so other in a way that the reader need only sit with it, rather than analyse it.
The conclusion is at once horrifying, and apt. That is to say, it gives me nightmares, and I hate it, and can’t imagine a better way to conclude it.
Thank you to Netgalley and 4th Estate and William Collins for the eARC.
“The Moore” is as much a character as it is a setting in Meet Me at the Surface. The novel feels kind of like a trek through a moorland - more a place to dissolve into than a destination to get to. It feels like an oppressively cloudy day, gothic and yet sentimental. It feels like grief, and otherness.
Then there is the toxic sapphic relationship that, I think, most queer women can relate to. (Haven’t we all dabbled in at least one toxic, cloying relationship that it seemed we just could not shake?) One doesn’t so much want to shake Merryn as pull her into yourself.
I will happily admit that I allowed the folklore to swim around me, to nearly dissolve me. I allowed it to surround me and befuddle me, because I DON'T understand it, it is not my own, but it is so enthralling, so other in a way that the reader need only sit with it, rather than analyse it.
The conclusion is at once horrifying, and apt. That is to say, it gives me nightmares, and I hate it, and can’t imagine a better way to conclude it.
Thank you to Netgalley and 4th Estate and William Collins for the eARC.
February 3, 2025
Unsettling and insular this was exactly what I want when I pick up folk horror.
Matthew’s captures the experience of growing up Cornish so well in this book, It felt like reading about my own life in parts. It’s great to see someone explore some very real aspects of Cornish living rather than just using it as a picturesque backdrop.
Matthew’s captures the experience of growing up Cornish so well in this book, It felt like reading about my own life in parts. It’s great to see someone explore some very real aspects of Cornish living rather than just using it as a picturesque backdrop.
June 10, 2025
Flawless, intricate and truly a special book. If you enjoy folklore, damned character arcs and intricate relationships between women who are broken then this is a book for you! I usually shy away from 'troubled' books, but the folklore element to this tale makes it a perfect read. Will read this repeatedly!
June 19, 2025
Folklore, women and grief make a very satisfying read!!
I got a little lost in what was real and what wasn't by the end but I've got to say I really enjoyed the journey! Complex and frustrating relationships aplenty but written well enough to make it enjoyable :)
I got a little lost in what was real and what wasn't by the end but I've got to say I really enjoyed the journey! Complex and frustrating relationships aplenty but written well enough to make it enjoyable :)
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