The Harmonious Blacksmith - Susanna M. Newstead

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AUTHOR: Susanna M. Newstead

GENRE: "Historical Fiction"
RATING: 1.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Started off well, but soon went down the slippery slope. Whoosh all the way to the bottom!


Story Synopsis:
Village of East Kennett, Wiltshire. Around 1200 AD.
Guy Ferrier is a respected blacksmith and ferrier who is also known for his singing talent. At thirty, he decides it is high time to get married. Unfortunately for him, he falls in love with his Lord’s daughter, Adele. He knows the dalliance isn’t possible as he is just a commoner and she, a member of the nobility. Moreover, she has been engaged to an aristocrat since many years. However, there’s a change in circumstances, and Guy’s reputation comes under question. What will happen to this blooming relationship?
The story comes to us in a limited third person narration.


Where the book worked for me:
🌷 The book begins very enthusiastically. Unlike most stories set in the 13th century, this one was quite cheerful and serene, with the focus only on love and friendship.

🌷 I loved the character of Parnell, who seemed like a strong and mature young girl with a smart head on her shoulders.

🌷 There are some fun scenes, and some interesting banter.

🌷 The plot covers, albeit at a minor level, several themes such as women's rights, freedom of will in the nobility as well as gentry, the undue importance given to priests/religious heads.

🌷 The pace is also quite decent, despite some meanderings off the main track.


Where the book could have worked better for me:
🌵 Except for the mention of the year at the start and in the final sections, and a constant reference to the old professions such as stewards and bailiffs and Lords and blacksmiths, there is nothing to suggest that the story belonged to the 13th century. The dialogues seemed modern, with even some contemporary phrases popping in randomly. (I am still not sure if this was done on purpose as some kind of satire, or is just a writing boo-boo. But it didn’t feel historical in its atmosphere.)

Sorry about the spoilers ahead, but I really need to vent my frustration about a few things!

************ SPOILERS BEGIN************ 

🌵 The blurb reveals too much. There is a time jump of a whopping 900 years, as revealed right here on Goodreads. The time jump comes at the 83% mark. What’s the point of revealing something coming so late in the story? The blurb even reveals the name of a character who dies. Leave something for us to discover, blurb writers!!

🌵 Get a load of this. Guy falls in love with Adele. Adele declares her love for Guy. Guy declares he can’t marry her. Parnell declares she won’t ever marry. Emma declares his love for Guy. Guy refuses to acknowledge her. Guy declares that he will marry Parnell. Parnell agrees after being kissed by Guy. Guy declares that he will marry Emma. Emma isn’t available anymore. Guy declares his love for Adele. Adele marries someone else. Guy marries Parnell. Time jump of many centuries. Guy meets Adele. Guy declares his love for Adele. Guy marries Adele.

Anyone understood what was happening above? I sure didn’t! Guy and Parnell were perfect for each other. The scenes were written in a way that it was logical to bring them together. Why the constant to and fro?

🌵 On the same note, the time jump is what dashed the book firmly into the two star territory. It wasn’t warranted at all. But worse than that, it simply didn’t make sense. So all our main characters are reincarnated at the same time in the future. They have the same names as well. And when Guy and Adele meet, it takes just about half a day for them to remember everything that happened 900 years ago and declare their love to each other and even propose getting married. Within half a day!!! I mean, Jeez! Even C-grade Bollywood movies have better reincarnation scenes than this one! And that’s saying quite a lot!

************ SPOILERS END************ 


Usually I get bugged when books don't cater to the period they are set in. But this was so easy-going at the start that it felt almost like a spoof historical and I just went with the flow. But it became sillier as the chapters went ahead, and the ending was just Oh-my-God-just-kill-me-already level of stupid!

I honestly can’t recommend this, especially to avid historical fiction readers who will find the lack of authenticity either laughable or infuriating, possibly both. With a decent start and a nonsense end, it’s below average as a whole.

My thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Harmonious Blacksmith”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this turned out to be such a disaster.

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