Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

35 reviews

timelord10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is probably my most surprising book of the year. I started the book thinking it was slow, not interesting and that I would end up giving it like 3 stars. But I grew attached to our characters: Laura, Freddie, Winter, and Jones, and I cared about what happened to them. I’ve read many World War 2 novels, but this was my first World War 1 novel and the setting is heartbreaking. In the author’s note, the author says that World War 1 is overshadowed a lot by World War 2, but World War 1 was still just as devastating. What the author did with the setting was just brilliant. Also, in the author’s note, she talks about the character Faland, and how he is basically supposed to be the devil. In the book, she tries to answer what would the devil do if he was irrelevant because the war is doing his work for him essentially? And I think she answered that question brilliantly. The book just has so much depth, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Interesting story. Mostly loved it was about WWI. Seems like there are very few stories about that one, and I’m a bit burned out on WWII.

Was a little surprised homophobia went unaddressed given the time frame it was written in.

Pace of progression was a little fast for me. Seemed like little time passed between all the events and that ordinarily, such said events would take longer to develop. However, I liked it overall.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

juanat77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was a total cover buy. It wasn’t what I thought it was. After all these years I still haven’t learned to not judge an actual book by its cover. Historical fiction with paranormal touches. During WWI. 1917 to 1918. Two POVs (brother and sister) told in alternate timelines. It was a very different way to tell a war story. I really liked the premise but I had difficulty connecting with the characters. When I read I like to immerse myself into the story and think about the characters when I’m not reading and when I’m done with the book. I found myself rushing to get through the story. I enjoyed that it had a relationship between a brother (Freddie) and sister (Laura) as opposed to a romance as it is often done. I was more invested in Freddie’s chapters than Laura’s as his were more emotional and his character was deeply developed. It is beautifully written and the history was thoroughly researched. 

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

beckfest's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and War

midaas010's review against another edition

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Torture

gresor's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed “The Warm Hands of Ghosts”. I came into this read with high expectations and for the most part they were met. I loved the characters, the setting was fascinating, and Arden, just like with her previous novels, seamlessly blends history and fantasy.  I do wish that there had been a bit more character development with

Winter and Jones. While they’re both decently well written and I grew fond of them they felt a bit one dimensional. I also struggled a bit with the ending. I felt like it wrapped up awfully quickly and there wasn’t any real fallout? Like they were just spirited away, facing no consequences for any of the chaos that took place. Also, and this is a bit of a nitpick, Faland’s magic felt as though it changed form to fit the plot’s needs. One minute his magic consists entirely of turning memory into fiddle music and casting illusions, and the next he can teleport people?

I know that I sound like I have a lot on criticisms for this book, but I genuinely loved it and can’t wait to see what Arden comes out with next.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and War

horationelson's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol

whatkireads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a haunting tale about the Battle of Paschendaele and a mix of World War One. It revolves around the battle between the Canadians and the German before the Allied forces came to assist in the battle. 
I'm not sure I fully understand the story, but it was haunting and gripping entirely the same. The book has a sliver of fantasy, where amidst the war, there is a being known as the fiddler, called Faland. Some refer to him as the devil, but he equips a violin and grants your wishes in exchange for a story. 
The subplot of romance was very unexpected for me, the way the story makes you slowly realise when a character is falling in love, just like how the character comes to the same conclusion.
The side characters never really feel like side characters, they all are complex and hard to understand and yet you can't help but root for them all the same. 
This was very different from the books I usually read, but captivating and haunting all the same.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide attempt

ceredonia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

abby_can_read's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

📖
This was a beautiful book. It was emotional and captivating. I liked the two different narratives and how they overlapped and connected. The characters were amazing and the relationship with great.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder