It is a pleasure to be a part of the blog tour for Hazel Prior's debut novel Ellie and the Harpmaker. I confess it was the title that drew me in when Berkley approached me about a possible review. It sounded a bit fey, a bit on the ethereal side. The comparisons to the exquisite Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Finedecidedly did not hurt. And so I readily accepted and opened my review copy to the first page.
A thought:
Some things are easier to hide than others.
A fact:
Harps come under the "others" category. So do small boys. As you know by now, I am such a sucker for a good epigraph, and this one did the trick nicely. As did the novel's opening lines: A woman came to the barn today. Her hair was the color of walnut wood. Her eyes were the color of bracken in October. Her socks were the color of cherries, which was noticeable because all the rest of her clothes were sad colors. And so we are introduced to one Dan Hollis and the particular way that he sees the world and …
Some things are easier to hide than others.
A fact:
Harps come under the "others" category. So do small boys. As you know by now, I am such a sucker for a good epigraph, and this one did the trick nicely. As did the novel's opening lines: A woman came to the barn today. Her hair was the color of walnut wood. Her eyes were the color of bracken in October. Her socks were the color of cherries, which was noticeable because all the rest of her clothes were sad colors. And so we are introduced to one Dan Hollis and the particular way that he sees the world and …
Yay, congrats Fire! I loved both Fire and Graceling. :)
ReplyDeleteChachic, aren't they just the most awesome companion novels ever? I cannot wait to find out what she's got in store for us with BITTERBLUE!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't been able to finishe this book! Remember how I said that the "Hero" books ruined me for a while? LOL. Maybe its time to pick "Fire" up again :)
ReplyDeleteI think it deserves it. :)
ReplyDeleteYAY! Well-deserved.
ReplyDeleteI know! I can't even decide what I like more between the two. I can't wait for Bitterblue too!
ReplyDeleteOh fantastic!! I'm so glad to hear this one got the honors.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to see who'd won. I'm glad Fire won, but I loved almost all the books. So I wanted them all to win!
ReplyDeleteWell deserved!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, lol! Sometimes it just takes you that way. I read FIRE at the perfect moment, but don't push it. Wait till you're feeling it and then see how the rest of it goes.
ReplyDeleteJanice, *nods* I thought you might.
Vanessa, *highfive*
Chachic, I wasn't expecting anything near the sheer awesome of FIRE after the greatness of GRACELING. My hat's off to her.
Michelle, I was really holding my breath. So pleased.
Sami, it was hard enough narrowing it down to those final few, wasn't it? From there it would have been really tough.
Liza, indeed.