Review: Ellie and The Harpmaker by Hazel Prior

In the rolling hills of beautiful Exmoor, there’s a barn. And in that barn, you’ll find Dan. He’s a maker of exquisite harps - but not a great maker of conversation. He’s content in his own company, quietly working and away from social situations that he doesn’t always get right.

But one day, a cherry-socked woman stumbles across his barn and the conversation flows a little more easily than usual. She says her name’s Ellie, a housewife, alone, out on her daily walk and, though she doesn’t say this, she looks sad. He wants to make her feel better, so he gives her one of his harps, made of cherry wood.

And before they know it, this simple act of kindness puts them on the path to friendship, big secrets, pet pheasants and, most importantly, true love.

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Amazon | Penguin Random House 

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What I thought about Ellie and the Harpmaker

 On one of many lonely days in her life, Elle stumbles upon the harp maker's barn and Dan, the harp maker. Dan sees the world in his own special way, and when he meets Elle, he gives her one of his hand-made harps. Elle is fascinated with it, but her husband isn't so happy about it. She ends up keeping Dan's gift at the barn, where she gets to play the harp, see Dan daily and basically get involved in his life. Spending time with Dan changes how Elle looks at life, too.

I really loved the voices in this book, so perfectly tuned for Dan and Elle which really makes this book special. While I'm rating this 5 stars because I enjoyed the whole experience so very much because both the characters and story hit all the right notes for me, I did have some issue with things plodding around a bit, but the ending made up for all of that, at least for me.

I loved this sweet romance between two very unique characters. I'd call it more of a love story than a romance, and Dan and Elle's story left me feeling good about love.

An ARC was provided for review.