The Harmonious Blacksmith

Kennet Valley Tales

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Pub Date 16 Dec 2021 | Archive Date 06 Jan 2022

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Description

A tangled tale of love, loss and loyalty, the Harmonious Blacksmith is a magic realism exploration of Medieval folklore and myth; tragedy and disappointment.

And above all, hope and rebirth.

♥ You always fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected moment and sometimes for the most unexpected reasons. ♥

In 1200 Guy Ferrier's wonderful singing voice is renowned throughout the county of Wiltshire.

A well respected blacksmith of thirty, he thinks it's about time he married. But how should he go about it?

Fate takes a hand when he meets Adela Lillebon, his Lord's daughter. It's love at first sight for them both.

However there is no hope of the two lovers being together; he is a commoner, a simple artisan and she is a member of the nobility. Besides, Adela has been betrothed to Guiscard Courtenay for years, an arrogant member of the Berkshire aristocracy.

How can Guy and Adela contrive to be together save for the few moments they can snatch whilst Guy is working on the church door; an amazing metal work of art showing Noah's Flood? And how can Guy fulfil his promise to his old friend the bailiff of East Kennet, to look after his wayward daughter, Parnell? To crown it all, Guy composes an innocent song which, upon its first hearing, causes him considerable anguish and plummets him into danger.

Blamed for the death of Guiscard, Guy moves closer and closer to death himself.

◆ And then 900 years later... ◆

The magic of love continues across time...

A tangled tale of love, loss and loyalty, the Harmonious Blacksmith is a magic realism exploration of Medieval folklore and myth; tragedy and disappointment.

And above all, hope and rebirth.

♥ You...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781909237148
PRICE £2.99 (GBP)

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Average rating from 16 members


Featured Reviews

The Harmonious Blacksmith by Susanna M. Newstead.

Authors have bought us Darcy , Rhett Butler , James Bond and now we have Guy Ferrier . A man for his time.
I really enjoyed this book. Not fast paced , not excitement on every page , but a really good tale of life , love and loss In 1200 England.
Loved the characters and the plot , especially the one set In the earlier time but bringing it back to modern time helped to bring the story to a great conclusion . A very good , entertaining read .

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Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of The Harmonious Blacksmith! This book was SO sweet. A lot of books set in the Medieval Period are kind of brutal, but this rendering of the time period is really heartfelt.

Guy Ferrier, the blacksmith of East Kennett, finds himself in trouble after falling in love with the village lord's daughter, Adela, at first sight. They try to see each other in secret, but they are unable to ever be together, especially since Adela is betrothed to Guiscard Courtenay. Guy has also promised his friend and mentor Bailiff Truman that he will take care of his daughter, Parnell, when the bailiff passes away. Guy and Nell are friends, but her father desperately wants them to be more. Guy finds himself pulled in many directions, caught between his love for Adela, his desire to watch after Nell, and rumors that he is using the magic blacksmiths are apparently known to possess for less than wholesome purposes.

This is definitely a character-driven story, which is very reminiscent of a lot of medieval literature. Guy is charming, especially with his singing and ability to make up songs on the spot. He is very clever and uses people's beliefs about the magical nature of blacksmiths to help his community when he can. I loved his relationship with Nell and their banter back and forth. I also really liked Nell. She is caring towards Guy and her father, but also has a sharp tongue towards those who she cares for less. Adela falls a little flat in comparison to Nell, but still comes off as very sweet. As Guy was falling for Adela, I really wished he was thinking about Nell instead.

The pace of this story is leisurely, put there is still plenty that happens, especially towards the end. I love the detail in the setting and the attention to historical detail. This story felt like a nice stroll back in time. I do feel like the dialogue was occasionally a little stilted, but then again, English has gone through a lot of change since the 13th century. The romance(s) were just so sweet and I wanted to see Guy be happy because he is a good man and deserves it. The time switch towards the end was unexpected and reminded me a lot of a gentler version of a similar concept Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick. I really liked the jump in time as it really solidified what was meant to be.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, which was a really pleasant surprise. The cover is gorgeous and so is the story. Any fan of magical realism and/or medievalism should give it a read!

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Brilliant read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read a digital arc in exchange for my feedback.

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Early thirteenth century & East Kennet blacksmith Guy Ferrier, well known through the county for his singing & ability to make up lyrics on the spot, is approaching 30 & has decided it’s time to think about settling down & finding a wife. He visits the church in nearby Marlborough & falls in love with the sight of Adela Lillebon. However, as she is the daughter of the lord of the manor, their romance is unable to progress further than a few snatched moments to discuss the repair of the ironwork on the church door.
When Guiscard Courtenay, Adela’s fiancé, is killed in a tragic accident Guy is blamed of sorcery after being overheard singing about a hare. Then his neighbour is pronounced dead only to wake the following morning after Guy is again heard singing to the moon.

I really enjoyed this although I’m not sure how I felt about the jump to modern day to tie up the characters love lives! I didn’t feel the connection between Guy & Adela & preferred his relationship with Nell!

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Cute and enjoyable, I picked this because I liked the cover but I was not sure about the title. It was a very nice read, it flowed right along and I enjoyed it.

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I liked the book.
It's been a long time since I had liked a book with romance.
The story is diverse but it takes a while to really pick up pace, however, once the action begins, the book develops with an intensity impossible to let go of.
The characters are well written and I could clearly picture them in my mind.
The whole structure of the story happening in the 13th century was something very different for me, I found it very interesting.
Regarding the time shift, I thought it was a little unnecessary, it wasn't bad but I would have preferred to know more about what kept happening to the characters in the 13th century.
I understood the impossible lovers situation, but the way the story ended with Guy marrying Nell and the characters living their normal lives would also have been very interesting to read.
I like stories with imperfect endings where the lovers are separated, where the good guys don't always end up winning, because that's the reality of the world. Most real stories aren't perfect.

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