A review by ryreadsreviews
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Title: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

• Publication Date- 02/13/24
• Publisher- Penguin Random House- Del Rey
• Overall Rating- 4 out of 5 stars 

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I have to say, I have never read a book like this before. This was also my first book by Katherine Arden and I am pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed her writing. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a well crafted historical fiction that adds the paranormal. I want to start off by saying if historical fiction is something you really dislike, it’s not like in the backdrop of this story, it is the main genre. I am not the biggest historical fiction person however, I really loved this. Just use extreme caution if you are not interested in WW1 and a very slow wartime story. If you can get past those elements there is so much to take away from this story. 

What worked: This is just such an interesting story about a deeply sad time in history. Often, we see historical fiction taking place during WW2. In my experience, it is rare to find a book about WW1. If you do decide to read this, make sure you read the author's note at the end it’s very important and informative and touches on the lack of interest in WW1. Throughout the story we learn about the madness and horrors that war creates and I appreciate that Katherine Arden showed how women were involved and the horrors they faced too which are almost always left out in literature. 

The characters, you will meet some deeply moving, resilient, bad ass characters. Wow, our main character, I would love to see this story be turned into a movie just so I can see her on screen. It would be impossible for me to formulate the words to show the strength these characters possessed that isn’t too far off from the real lives of those during WW1. This book doesn’t play sides. If you read it you’ll see what I mean. 

The paranormal aspects were very well developed and interesting. They also wove into the story in ways that made sense and weren’t too complicated. Reading this, makes me want to read the Bear and the Nightingale trilogy also by this author. She combines history and folklore in deeply meaningful ways. I’m realizing I’m using the word deep a lot but this book truly has depth to it in ways I didn’t expect. 

One of the strongest points of the book is the ending. I loved the ending. Not much else to say about that except read it and find out. This is a story that will stick with  me for a long time. 

What didn’t work: For some this story may be too slow. As someone who has grown to love slow pace, character stories, the middle of dragged on just a bit too much. That’s the only reason this isn’t a five star, I wonder if it could have been slightly shorter or if that’s my lack of experience with historical fiction speaking. This is really my only complaint.