Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior

Ellie has been out walking when she finds the barn the harpmaker lives in.  He has the most beautiful harps.  He invites her in to see them and, on a whim, makes a gift to her of one he's made from cherry wood.  The cherry matches her socks.  Her husband makes her return it. So Dan puts it upstairs and tells her she can practice there.

Berkley sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Dan is different.  He takes walks, counts the animals he sees, doesn't care so much about money, and leads a simple life.  Clive, her husband is all about money and manipulation.  He loves her, but he will break something she loves if she doesn't do what he wants.

As she learns to play the harp, she begins to admire Dan.  He sees wonder everywhere.  He makes Celtic harps and his sister sells them for him.  She takes harp lessons from his girlfriend.  He hasn't seen his girlfriend for a long time so he calls and asks if she's still his girlfriend.  She says no.  Then Ellie finds out he has a son no one told him about.  To get even the old girlfriend calls her husband and tells him about the harp lessons and how much time she spends with Dan.  Clive gets insanely angry and won't even speak to her.  She spends of her time at Dan's upstairs practicing on the harp but he doesn't believe her.  His way of getting even is awful with consequences for all of them.

This is a mellow read with Ellie and Dan's friendship growing.  Clive is lethal and the ending is harrowing.    Ellie finally stands up for herself and I was glad to see that.  

This was a good read.  Give it a try.