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 …
Oh that cover is gorgeous - I love the marked change from the Lady Julia novels, but it's still so beautiful. I can't wait for it! I'm slightly worried that being in the UK I may not be able to get my little grabby hands on the LJG novella when it's released though!
ReplyDeleteI know. It was the perfect direction to go coverwise.
DeleteOh dear. Surely they'll release it there as well!
I am so excited for this book. I love Lady Julia, but I'm excited to see what Deanna Raybourn can do with this time period. She really hasn't disappointed me yet. :) When I see the cover and the little blurb we've gotten, I'm reminded of M.M. Kay's "Death In..." series, which is one of my all time favorites. LOL - I'll probaby try to dampen my enthusiasm down to something more reasonable before it's actually released but for now I'm blissfully happy.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing with authors who always come through for you. You don't feel that nervous terror when they embark on a new thing.
DeleteI haven't read any M.M. Kay. You recommend then?
I love M.M. Kaye (oops, I had to fix the spelling) and her Death In books are some of my very favorite books to re-read. They are dated and the newer covers are nasty looking, but they really take me to another place and time.
DeleteHm . . . sounds lovely. I will have to explore.
DeleteFlapper dress? 20s? I'm in! :)) And you're right, the cover "creases" are a nice touch!
ReplyDeleteHehe. Yeah, there's really nothing not to love about that synopsis.
DeleteRaybourn, flappers, and Africa? BE STILL MY HEART.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would be on board.
DeleteI found your site on someone's blogroll. The cover of the book is an immediate attention-getter and I had to see what it is about. The cover's gorgeous and I really thought it was an old vintage book at first! I'll be keeping this one in mind. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove the urbane, fantastical sensibility of your header too :-)
Glad you found your way over here, June. :) It really does look vintage, doesn't it? The art designers really nailed it with this one.
DeleteThanks for the header compliment! My brother is a lovely artist and he created it for me.
umm love!
ReplyDeleteI know!!
DeleteI am looking forward to both this book and Lauren Willig's African set book too! Interesting that they are both coming out at around the same time!
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting! I had no idea.
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