This is a really interesting Cornish Gothic tale with a gay slant, quite different to anything I've read before. A slow burn at first but well worth continuing to the end. This will keep you thinking about the book long after you've finished!

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.

surprised this is sub 300 pages tbh - it took me weeks to read the first bit and then i FLEW through the rest. ultimately loved this. slippery, strange, gay, weird. wanted to know what was happening and felt very worried that i WOULDN'T ever find out. a slow burn but a satisfying one!

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy this one at all. At first I thought it would get better as I felt it could be a slow burner but I couldn’t relate to the characters so eventually I gave up.

My thanks to the author, to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

When Merryn returns to Bodmin Moor for her ex-girlfriends memorial, she starts to wonder if there’s a more sinister reason for her mother and aunt asking her to return. Well, there is.

Merryn’s family live on the outskirts of the village, in a house that seems to have a mind of its own. Her mother and aunt have a close relationship with nature and folklore, which brings us on to a big secret that has been kept from Merryn and will be revealed with devastating effect.

This isn’t a full on horror story, in that it’s not full of blood and guts (well, I say that…), but it is really unnerving. There’s something bubbling away under the surface that makes Merryn (and me!!) feel really uncomfortable. It was great writing.
Recommended

As a Cornish girl and a girl who is a lesbian, stumbling across this title seemed everything representative and more! It is a tale entrenched in the myths and legends I grew up with wild fascination of and have a deep appreciation for the acknowledgement of a very different Cornwall to the one known popularly in modern tourist climes.

The narrative itself was a darker one and I found this is a bit ungiving at times but nonetheless found the story to be one I could identify with in a variety of ways and is one that spoke to my own experiences in a rare kind of way, recognising culture and community too.

This was so good. I did not really know what to expect, but Jodie Matthews delivered! This story was deliciously sapphic, it had a good dose of slightly toxic girls loving one another, and on top of that, the vibe in this had me on the edge of my seat. I love folklore, I love the vibes of the Bodwin Moor that I could feel when I was reading, at times it felt like a thriller, like the walls were closing in on me and I just wanted to figure out what was going on, who - or what - was doing this to our main character, and in the end the pay-off for this was so good. Loved it!

This book absolutely gripped me from the very beginning. I was so invested in the queer romance and friendship that was very much like one of my own, and also my first. Folklore is something I don't usually read about so this was all brand new to me and I truly loved it! It was written in a mysterious yet still accessible way to someone new to this genre.

I loved the dreamlike quality of this book. The way the boundaries of the real world and the mystical are permeable and shifting. There is a wonderful sense of eerie tension with the short chapters of Cornish myths interspersed with the main story of long-held family secrets. It adds tension to a story of small-town judgement based on a mixture of homophobia and ancient superstition, the second of which may be more accurate than expected. The tangled relationships, particularly of the women, Merryn, Claud, Lowen, Ysella and carefully rendered in all their thorny complexity of love and hurt. It's a haunting, hypnotic work that sweeps you away.

This debut is a remarkable achievement, perfect for when you're craving a dose of Cornish Gothic. Be prepared to rethink eels entirely, as the book’s atmosphere and thematic depth linger long after the last page. Highly recommended for those who relish dark, atmospheric fiction.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

The writing in Meet Me at the Surface was beautiful and that's what kept me going for as long as I did. However, I prefer a faster-paced, plot-driven narrative, which I felt was a bit lacking. I was very interested in the story, but it was just taking too long for me. I will keep an eye out for other works by this author though.

This is an incredible book.
Someone who has left Cornwall returns to mourn an ex girlfriend who has passed away.
She reconnects with family who seem to have become quite odd in their habits.
The setting is a huge part of the book and the magical, evocative Cornish place names are put to good use.

The idea that we can never go home again is one I’ve always read less literally and more that we can never be children who don’t see the world through innocent (and ignorant) eyes. Growing up gives perspective and many stories explore how people get these revelations. In Jodie Matthews’ modern folk tale Meet Me At The Surface we have a tale of lost love, secretive families and grief but not really enough to make me fully invested.

Merryn returns for a memorial surface for her ex girlfriend and finds her home strange and family are hiding things. The date is forever put off and conversations continually avoided. This makes Merryn consider the mysteries of her childhood and she delved into ancient lore that suggests powerful secrets her family have avoided for far too long.

This is a strange piece of storytelling. Tonally Matthews captures a feeling of alienation and dislocation. Merryn very much feels the outsider and she is herself perhaps out of grief not engaged with the world. But this is a story that lacks any pace and tension. It’s lacking much structure and feels more gently edging to a conclusion which itself is ambiguous. It’s more mood piece than actual substance of a story and I never really connected with anyone in it despite it having some interesting ideas. Not enough to be folk horror and the fantastical seems a little undercooked. Ultimately a writer with talent but this feels a rough debut not quite hitting the mark.

I liked the darkness and the setting and that Meet Me At the Surface was a sort of coming of age into folklore but I do agree with other reviewers who have commented negatively on the way the reader is held at a distance from the protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and Wiliam Colins for the advance reader copy,

I really wanted to enjoy this book especially because of the synopsis and the themes but I feel like it fell flat for me.

The descriptions are very detailed which provides an amazing set of imagery for the reader but there felt like something was missing with the characters.

For the length of the book it took me a lot longer to read than expected.

This was a DNF at just about halfway for me - I think it will be perfect for those who like haunting, atmospheric literary novels, but I found myself struggling to get on with the characters, and hoping for a little more overt fantasy. I do recommend it to those looking for a dark read that explores a lot of family and romantic emotions in a fairly abstract way.

I absolutely devoured this book, it was a great read and I felt as though I was included in the story, I would definitely recommend

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I think that's why I enjoyed it so much.
It's hard to describe. There is a teenage love story, folklore and a sort of creepy semi reality. I was never quite sure if the folklore was true or if the characters were imagining things.
Merryn was a great main character as she seemed as clueless and confused as I was as a reader. Coming home to Cornwall for the memorial of her girlfriend to find that home didn't feel like home anymore.
I'll be thinking about this for a long time. I think it's much deeper than it first appears.

It took a bit longer for me to finish this book than usually but that is not to say that it wasn't great. It was a slow flow story and I honestly appreciated it, even though in general I prefer fast paced. But we really got to dive into nature, the complicated relationships, that young love and grief.

The writing style was my favourite in the whole story, I did feel like I was actually there.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for the author.

This should have been completely my thing - folklore, UK set, LGBTQ etc - and yet I found the style off putting. I really wanted something rich and bewitching and dark, and it felt like the MC just held me at arm's length the whole time. Competent debut but not for me.