roxiefox4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alliechase's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lisa_does_booksta's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
frostbitsky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.
Arden has a gift for blending fantasy with the real world. Those who are not fans of the supernatural or fantasy but like historical fiction could still enjoy the story. The supernatural element could be seen as an allegory for PTSD, guilt, and grief.
Most historical fiction novels focus on World War II. World War I is often forgotten and so I appreciate that Katherine Arden chose to tell a story about this period. It really made me think about how there was a time when kings and emperors would fight in the wars with their soldiers. Then in WWI, and down to today, they sit cozy in their castles and chateaus to orchestrate the war while the poor, young boys fight, only to come back dead or damaged.
In The Warm Hands of Ghosts we follow Laura and her brother Freddie. Laura, a nurse, is injured during the war and returns home to Halifax. There she gets cryptic messages that Freddie may still be alive. After befriending Penelope, a mother grieving her son's death, Laura finds her way back to Europe to find out what happened to her brother.
Freddie befriends Hans Winter, a German solider. Together they survive No Man's Land until the mysterious Faland lures Freddie into his strange hotel.
I connected to each character in unique ways. Some characters made me feel anger and others I felt pity for. While the story does deal with dark themes, there was hope and it's a story about how love saves us from the depths of despair.
4 out of 5 Warm Hands
Arden has a gift for blending fantasy with the real world. Those who are not fans of the supernatural or fantasy but like historical fiction could still enjoy the story. The supernatural element could be seen as an allegory for PTSD, guilt, and grief.
Most historical fiction novels focus on World War II. World War I is often forgotten and so I appreciate that Katherine Arden chose to tell a story about this period. It really made me think about how there was a time when kings and emperors would fight in the wars with their soldiers. Then in WWI, and down to today, they sit cozy in their castles and chateaus to orchestrate the war while the poor, young boys fight, only to come back dead or damaged.
In The Warm Hands of Ghosts we follow Laura and her brother Freddie. Laura, a nurse, is injured during the war and returns home to Halifax. There she gets cryptic messages that Freddie may still be alive. After befriending Penelope, a mother grieving her son's death, Laura finds her way back to Europe to find out what happened to her brother.
Freddie befriends Hans Winter, a German solider. Together they survive No Man's Land until the mysterious Faland lures Freddie into his strange hotel.
I connected to each character in unique ways. Some characters made me feel anger and others I felt pity for. While the story does deal with dark themes, there was hope and it's a story about how love saves us from the depths of despair.
4 out of 5 Warm Hands
kavasprout's review
5.0
With hauntingly in-depth descriptions and lyrical prose, Arden has once again weaved together an unforgettable tale.
“The Warm Hands of Ghosts” alternates between two perspectives, each bringing us closer to the climax of the novel. While slow starting, every detail is found to be important to the culmination of the story.
There were numerous times in this novel that I felt my heart drop. Panic-inducing situations and shocking reveals, from the moment we made it to the crux of the plot — it was an intense battlefield.
The characters were well-rounded in their feelings and actions, I could truly see each of their personalities form. You could see the research that went into this tale of war and survival and it leaves you with a heavy heart.
I felt connected to our main characters and the others who helped them find their way. Between the descriptions of war, the warm hands that guide us, and the temptation of the new world vs the old, it is clear this will be a story that stays with me. That is all you can hope for from a novel.
Thank you Del Ray, RandomHouse Publishing, and Netgalley for allowing me to hear the tale of Laura, Freddie, Pim, and Winter with this advanced reader copy. It was such an honor to be chosen as an early reader!
“The Warm Hands of Ghosts” alternates between two perspectives, each bringing us closer to the climax of the novel. While slow starting, every detail is found to be important to the culmination of the story.
There were numerous times in this novel that I felt my heart drop. Panic-inducing situations and shocking reveals, from the moment we made it to the crux of the plot — it was an intense battlefield.
The characters were well-rounded in their feelings and actions, I could truly see each of their personalities form. You could see the research that went into this tale of war and survival and it leaves you with a heavy heart.
I felt connected to our main characters and the others who helped them find their way. Between the descriptions of war, the warm hands that guide us, and the temptation of the new world vs the old, it is clear this will be a story that stays with me. That is all you can hope for from a novel.
Thank you Del Ray, RandomHouse Publishing, and Netgalley for allowing me to hear the tale of Laura, Freddie, Pim, and Winter with this advanced reader copy. It was such an honor to be chosen as an early reader!
mrlzbth's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ajardine12's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
thenaptimewriter's review against another edition
4.5
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is one of those engrossing—& not in a polite way—books that grabs you & doesn’t let go.
Set during World War I & featuring two siblings—a woman & a man—who have been separated by war, this book is largely concerned with the front, the combat hospitals & ruined villages & military fortifications where protagonist Laura & her brother Freddie find themselves.
This is a world that’s been in flux for a long time. Their parents worried & warned about the end of days in the 1910s & their once outlandish, paranoid predictions feel all too real in World War I.
Former combat nurse Laura is retired but—upon receiving mysterious items that belonged to her brother & potentially contradictory news about what happened to him—she resolves to return to Europe, serve as a nurse again, & use her downtime to investigate what actually happened.
Laura’s perspective is fascinating, as is her brother’s, who we shortly learn was imprisoned in a collapsed fortification with an enemy German soldier. Left to die, the lines between sides blur, & their journey together further complicates it as their relationship is tested by violence & death, potential & actual.
The war horrors in this book are real & imagined, & there’s a visceral violence to what happens to people ravaged by war & who are ravaging others. It’s often sad & disconcerting but there is hope too, in the relationship between Laura & Freddie & their burgeoning loves.
This is a fantasy that will hold your attention, entice you & leave you feeling both hopeful & unsettled.
4.5 ⭐️. Out 02/13.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is one of those engrossing—& not in a polite way—books that grabs you & doesn’t let go.
Set during World War I & featuring two siblings—a woman & a man—who have been separated by war, this book is largely concerned with the front, the combat hospitals & ruined villages & military fortifications where protagonist Laura & her brother Freddie find themselves.
This is a world that’s been in flux for a long time. Their parents worried & warned about the end of days in the 1910s & their once outlandish, paranoid predictions feel all too real in World War I.
Former combat nurse Laura is retired but—upon receiving mysterious items that belonged to her brother & potentially contradictory news about what happened to him—she resolves to return to Europe, serve as a nurse again, & use her downtime to investigate what actually happened.
Laura’s perspective is fascinating, as is her brother’s, who we shortly learn was imprisoned in a collapsed fortification with an enemy German soldier. Left to die, the lines between sides blur, & their journey together further complicates it as their relationship is tested by violence & death, potential & actual.
The war horrors in this book are real & imagined, & there’s a visceral violence to what happens to people ravaged by war & who are ravaging others. It’s often sad & disconcerting but there is hope too, in the relationship between Laura & Freddie & their burgeoning loves.
This is a fantasy that will hold your attention, entice you & leave you feeling both hopeful & unsettled.
4.5 ⭐️. Out 02/13.
mannis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lalala_hehe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25