Ellie and the Harp Maker by Hazel Prior (Book Review)

Ellie and the Harp Maker

 Hazel Prior

Today I am so pleased to be joining this Blog Tour for Ellie and the Harpmaker.Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours, the author, and publisher for a copy of the book, which I have reviewed honestly.

Here is a list of all the stops on the tour.

Sometimes it takes a chance encounter to discover what your life could be like…

Meet Ellie. She’s perfectly happy with her home and her husband and her quiet life. Happy enough, anyway. Which is why she’s so surprised to find herself drawn to an extraordinary stranger who gives her a gift – and a fresh perspective.

Meet Dan. He thinks that all he needs to be content is the time and space to carry on making harps. But the last thing he expects is for Ellie – and her cherry-coloured socks – to whirl into his life, bringing a string of surprises to his ordered existence.

As Ellie and Dan get to know one another, they begin to see the world – and themselves – in an entirely new way…
Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and Three Things About Elsie

Purchase Link

My Review of Ellie and the Harp Maker

It was such a treat to read this sweet and breathtakingly simple story of two quirky individuals (and a pheasant) who form an incredible relationship.

Ellie is out walking when she stumbles across a workshop in the middle of nowhere. She is drawn to the entrance where a handsome man is working with wood and he ushers her inside. Dan sits alone every day, making beautiful harps, not as a business enterprise, but purely for the love of creating an instrument using wood from the surrounding countryside. Ellie is intrigued by his extreme craftsmanship and takes a liking to Dan, a man who sees the world very differently to most people. They develop a relationship which grows through their love of music, poetry, and nature and a sweet companionship materialises.

I loved Dan and all his eccentricities. The way he collected pennies, smelled coffee and viewed life in a simple but unbelievably unique way. Ellie was obviously a loner too, despite being married, and I thought it was so sad that she wrote poetry that she believed no one would ever read. I was frustrated that she was so loyal to her nasty, overbearing husband, and I desperately wanted her to be happy.

The chapters alternated between the narratives of both Ellie and Dan. Reading their own thoughts and feelings made me feel closer to the characters and I really invested in the wellbeing of both of them. The descriptions of Exmoor were beautifully vivid and I thoroughly enjoyed learning how harps evolve from simple pieces of wood into instruments capable of creating extremely beautiful melodies.

Ellie and the Harpmaker is a refreshingly different novel, beautifully written and highly recommended.

Hazel Prior lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger
cat.

As well as writing, she works as a harpist.
You can find Hazel at @HaveAHarp.
#EllieandtheHarpmaker