BOOK REVIEW: Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior @hazelpriorbooks @berkleypub #ellieandtheharpmaker #bookreview

Ellie and the Harpmaker is a lovely, debut novel by Hazel Prior that I found completely enchanting!! I found this book to be completely heartwarming—I loved the way it explored an unconventional love story between two people that from the outside shouldn’t work together. A lonely, emotionally abused housewife and a shy, eccentric, and likely autistic harpmaker befriend each other at a time when their souls need that connection.

Ellie is a bored housewife in an unhappy marriage, living in the beautiful Exmoor countryside.  She dreams of being a poet and spends her time writing when she’s not keeping house and caring for her husband Clive. Ellie loves music, words, nature, and dreams of a different life. But in her current marriage, those are only dreams.

Clive is emotionally abusive towards Ellie. He finds ways of manipulating her and destroying her self-confidence. He belittles her interest in music and writing, while peppering her with cute nicknames and love-y saying designed more to demean her than to show love.

Ellie loves to walk in nature—she finds it peaceful and calming. One day while strolling the countryside, she comes upon a barn that has been converted into a workshop by the handsome and eccentric Dan. Dan makes beautiful wooden harps in his workshop. Dan doesn’t speak much—he isn’t very comfortable being around people, he prefers solitude. But Dan is instantly drawn to Ellie, how sad she seems, and her cherry-colored socks, and he gives her a harp.

Ellie is so happy with the gift, but when she returns home Clive is not happy with it. In a state of jealousy, Clive insists Ellie return it. Why would a man give such an extravagant gift? And after all, he doesn’t believe Ellie will be able to learn to play it.

Ellie can’t bear the thought of parting with the harp. Returning to Dan’s workshop, she visits him and learns to play the harp from Dan’s girlfriend Rhoda. Rhoda is beautiful and glamorous. But when Ellie learns a secret about Dan and Rhoda, everything will begin to change. Dan and Ellie may be just what the other needs to heal and become whole.

I found this book heartwarming and surprisingly a bit twisty for a love story. The whole quadrangle between Dan, Clive, Ellie and Rhoda is quite dramatic! Dan is so adorably naïve—he is shocked when he learns how Rhoda views their relationship. He just processes events differently than most. I absolutely loathed Clive! I found him to be so manipulative and destructive towards Ellie—often making her feel like she isn’t good enough and that she is lucky to have him.

 I read that the author herself plays the harp and I thought it made the poetic descriptions of the beautiful harps and their music resonate even more with me. Harp music is indeed beautiful, and harps are certainly not easy to learn to play, from what I’ve heard! Ellie is so isolated with Clive that she takes his opinions about her to heart. I loved seeing Ellie and Dan grow together, he shows her a different side of herself that Clive has slowly tried to diminish.

This is a story of redemption, of hope, of growth, and finding a partner who makes us shine, rather than dulls us. It’s a story of friendship, love, and endless possibilities. And it’s quite charming, from the harp playing to the setting, to Phineus the pheasant who warmed my heart! A lovely story that will sweep you away to those rolling hills and a quaint little workshop filled with music and love.

Thank you Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.