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A review by mariakureads
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved the tone, pace, and overall story that Arden put together in and around the last year of WWI among the battlefields of Belgium.
There was a great touch of realism with all the details and grit that she manages to not just give me a fantastic historical book, but she adds adds in layers of magic and fantasy and I got a great merger of the two that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The book flashes back between discharged combat nurse Laura and her brother Freddie, a soldier still on the front lines, weaving both along as Laura who gets a cryptic message regarding her brother along his belongs decides to go back to the front lines seeking answers which leads her to finding out that not everything is as it seems.
I found this to be a great read, at times an ode to the war and the people affected, and others time a magical tale laced with hope, and dash of madness yet highly detailed that I never lost my place or the realities of the time and the surprise that the characters not just navigated through the war and it's nightmares but also their adaptation to seeing their world transformed before them.
I loved Arden from her previous work, The Bear and The Nightingale and it's safe to say she's got me for her next book and wherever she may take me.
There was a great touch of realism with all the details and grit that she manages to not just give me a fantastic historical book, but she adds adds in layers of magic and fantasy and I got a great merger of the two that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The book flashes back between discharged combat nurse Laura and her brother Freddie, a soldier still on the front lines, weaving both along as Laura who gets a cryptic message regarding her brother along his belongs decides to go back to the front lines seeking answers which leads her to finding out that not everything is as it seems.
I found this to be a great read, at times an ode to the war and the people affected, and others time a magical tale laced with hope, and dash of madness yet highly detailed that I never lost my place or the realities of the time and the surprise that the characters not just navigated through the war and it's nightmares but also their adaptation to seeing their world transformed before them.
I loved Arden from her previous work, The Bear and The Nightingale and it's safe to say she's got me for her next book and wherever she may take me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Medical content, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts