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Beneath These Fields
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.
World of Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.
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.
World of Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.
- GenresM M Romance
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2019
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Ward Maia
7 books6 followersWard Maia was born and raised in Brazil and has seen almost every corner of that great and beautiful country. With a M. in Geology and Metamorphic Petrology, spending time in underground labs was more commonplace than interacting with real humans, which lead to the creation of entire fictional universes. The heroes that populate those universes are usually flawed and find love in unexpected places.
Having traveled throughout the country from North to South, Ward now calls the northwest of Brazil home. Alongside a grumpy sixteen-year-old poodle (that insists on always having the last word) and hundreds of paperback novels, Ward lives five minutes from the beach and enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee and feeling the ocean breeze while writing about unexpected places and people.
Having traveled throughout the country from North to South, Ward now calls the northwest of Brazil home. Alongside a grumpy sixteen-year-old poodle (that insists on always having the last word) and hundreds of paperback novels, Ward lives five minutes from the beach and enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee and feeling the ocean breeze while writing about unexpected places and people.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 14, 2019
“It wasn’t even lunchtime, and he already wanted the day to end.” — Ellis Campos, Beneath These Fields
In this story about a surprising transformation, a successful divorce lawyer without a personal life finds his true destiny – and it is neither in the city nor anything close to what his rather traditional, rigid family would approve of. Ellis has a lot to learn and a lot to think about once he finds out more about the aunt he doesn’t really remember – she left when he was four, and nobody in Ellis’s family has ever explained why or spoken of her with anything other than disgust. Families can definitely be complicated, and even though Ellis has had his own issues with the rest of them, he was never ready to truly fight for his freedom. Until now…
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
In this story about a surprising transformation, a successful divorce lawyer without a personal life finds his true destiny – and it is neither in the city nor anything close to what his rather traditional, rigid family would approve of. Ellis has a lot to learn and a lot to think about once he finds out more about the aunt he doesn’t really remember – she left when he was four, and nobody in Ellis’s family has ever explained why or spoken of her with anything other than disgust. Families can definitely be complicated, and even though Ellis has had his own issues with the rest of them, he was never ready to truly fight for his freedom. Until now…
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
January 23, 2019
Round up to 2.5 stars.
Whooo boy. I’m going to struggle with this review. I bounced off this story and labored to finish. I’ll try to organize my thoughts coherently.
Ellis. I felt nothing for Ellis. I couldn’t empathize with his character at all. First two thirds of the book he’s angry at his estranged aunt for dumping a coffee farm on him. He’s angry at his upbringing. He’s angry at his family. In addition, Ellis’s age and being a successful high profile divorce lawyer was off kilter given his past. And his first thought to sell the farm without looking into its viability as an asset? Ignorance. I found Ellis to be an unlikable character.
Ruda. Handsome with a dimple. Two dimensional character who had no emotional substance for me. I struggled to understand why he would be attracted to an angry Ellis.
The Romance. What romance?
The setting. I was looking forward to reading a story set in Brazil and I really didn’t get what I was hoping for. For myself, you could have taken the setting and plunked it just about anywhere they grow coffee – Mexico, Columbia, South Africa… I didn’t get a sense it was Brazil other than reference to Rio.
This is in the World of Love series so you know you’re going to get your HEA. The ending was sweet, a nice bit of happy redemption, and a positive resolution to the plot. But for myself, it was struggle to get there. Perhaps you'll find it more to your liking than I did.
Review is cross-posted Gay Book Reviews
A copy of the book was provided by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Whooo boy. I’m going to struggle with this review. I bounced off this story and labored to finish. I’ll try to organize my thoughts coherently.
Ellis. I felt nothing for Ellis. I couldn’t empathize with his character at all. First two thirds of the book he’s angry at his estranged aunt for dumping a coffee farm on him. He’s angry at his upbringing. He’s angry at his family. In addition, Ellis’s age and being a successful high profile divorce lawyer was off kilter given his past. And his first thought to sell the farm without looking into its viability as an asset? Ignorance. I found Ellis to be an unlikable character.
Ruda. Handsome with a dimple. Two dimensional character who had no emotional substance for me. I struggled to understand why he would be attracted to an angry Ellis.
The Romance. What romance?
The setting. I was looking forward to reading a story set in Brazil and I really didn’t get what I was hoping for. For myself, you could have taken the setting and plunked it just about anywhere they grow coffee – Mexico, Columbia, South Africa… I didn’t get a sense it was Brazil other than reference to Rio.
This is in the World of Love series so you know you’re going to get your HEA. The ending was sweet, a nice bit of happy redemption, and a positive resolution to the plot. But for myself, it was struggle to get there. Perhaps you'll find it more to your liking than I did.
Review is cross-posted Gay Book Reviews
A copy of the book was provided by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
January 16, 2019
While this was a mostly enjoyable read, I was hoping for a little more...well, everything.
Ellis Campos is an attorney in Rio. When he receives notice that his estranged aunt has died and bequeathed him a coffee farm, he's unsure of how to feel. With no background on his aunt or the farm, he journeys to the farm to meet with an attorney and set up the sale of the property. He soon finds out there is more to the land than just coffee, and more secrets than he expected.
I thought Ellis was a smart guy. He was an attorney and he seemed to be able to read people. I could not understand how he let everyone he met at the farm get away with keeping what was a major secret from him, when he knew there was something going on. This really bothered me. He was being manipulated by the attorney and the staff and by the time the secret came out, I had no idea why it was a secret. EVERYONE knew. I even figured it out before Ellis.
While the writing was well done, the story just kept circling this big secret. Every stretch of dialogue came back to the same place. I wish there was more to the mystery, or more romance between Ellis and Ruda.
I did enjoy how the story ended and was thrilled at what took place between Ellis and Ruda, but I wish I could have felt more of their bond than was portrayed.
*Galley copy generously provided in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/ *
Ellis Campos is an attorney in Rio. When he receives notice that his estranged aunt has died and bequeathed him a coffee farm, he's unsure of how to feel. With no background on his aunt or the farm, he journeys to the farm to meet with an attorney and set up the sale of the property. He soon finds out there is more to the land than just coffee, and more secrets than he expected.
I thought Ellis was a smart guy. He was an attorney and he seemed to be able to read people. I could not understand how he let everyone he met at the farm get away with keeping what was a major secret from him, when he knew there was something going on. This really bothered me. He was being manipulated by the attorney and the staff and by the time the secret came out, I had no idea why it was a secret. EVERYONE knew. I even figured it out before Ellis.
While the writing was well done, the story just kept circling this big secret. Every stretch of dialogue came back to the same place. I wish there was more to the mystery, or more romance between Ellis and Ruda.
I did enjoy how the story ended and was thrilled at what took place between Ellis and Ruda, but I wish I could have felt more of their bond than was portrayed.
*Galley copy generously provided in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/ *
January 25, 2019
3.5 stars
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.
A Guest Review for The Blogger Girls
The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
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.
A Guest Review for The Blogger Girls
The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
September 6, 2021
When Ellis receives news that he has inherited his aunt's coffee farm in rural Brazil, he is stunned. He travels to the farm with plans to quickly sell it and return to his high pressure job and life in Rio. He encounters a relaxed lifestyle and a lovely property, but a delayed property transfer makes his planned short trip much longer. And soon Ellis comes to feel everyone is keeping a secret from him.
Along the way Ellis meets sexy Rudá who manages the farm, and slowly (very slowly) begins to appreciate the pace of life on the farm and bit by bit uncovers family secrets. I like the general premise of the story, but for only 150+ pages, the pace of this story feels very slow. Perhaps it's because so much of the book focuses solely on the sale of the farm and Ellis learning more about his aunt Meredith. It seems every conversation leads back to this issue and the story begins to feel too "one-note."
Ellis and Rudá's backgrounds are lightly fleshed out and personally I wanted more in-depth character development so I felt I really knew these characters. I like the feeling that the author evoked in the unexplicit sex scenes, but didn't sense a lot of on-page chemistry between the two MCs. And after all the foreshadowing about secrets, I feel many secrets (Ellis' family dynamic and the reason the estate attorney delayed the transfer - was he part of a plan to get Ellis to spend more time on the farm to grow to love it?) were left unresolved. The ending and epilogue show us a HEA, but seems to skim over Ellis' decision about the farm. Overall the story felt me feeling ... uninspired, although other readers may feel differently. 3 stars.
I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
Along the way Ellis meets sexy Rudá who manages the farm, and slowly (very slowly) begins to appreciate the pace of life on the farm and bit by bit uncovers family secrets. I like the general premise of the story, but for only 150+ pages, the pace of this story feels very slow. Perhaps it's because so much of the book focuses solely on the sale of the farm and Ellis learning more about his aunt Meredith. It seems every conversation leads back to this issue and the story begins to feel too "one-note."
Ellis and Rudá's backgrounds are lightly fleshed out and personally I wanted more in-depth character development so I felt I really knew these characters. I like the feeling that the author evoked in the unexplicit sex scenes, but didn't sense a lot of on-page chemistry between the two MCs. And after all the foreshadowing about secrets, I feel many secrets (Ellis' family dynamic and the reason the estate attorney delayed the transfer - was he part of a plan to get Ellis to spend more time on the farm to grow to love it?) were left unresolved. The ending and epilogue show us a HEA, but seems to skim over Ellis' decision about the farm. Overall the story felt me feeling ... uninspired, although other readers may feel differently. 3 stars.
I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
January 25, 2019
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.**
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.**
January 25, 2019
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
For the full review visit https://wp.me/p220KL-fPw
for all our reviews, check out http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
For the full review visit https://wp.me/p220KL-fPw
for all our reviews, check out http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews