Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

“There’s Power in Stories and This is a Story of Power” - cover tag line ‘Widow’s Welcome’

My thanks to Head of Zeus for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Widow’s Welcome’ by D.K. Fields in exchange for an honest review. It was originally published in August 2019. My sincere apologies for the late feedback.

I have since purchased its ebook and audiobook, narrated by Helen Vine, and utilised Whispersync mode for an immersive experience.

This is the first in the Tales of Fenest trilogy and combines the themes of politics and storytelling with a police procedural set in a fantasy realm. Sounds ideal for my tastes!

It is election year and the streets of Fenest, capital of the Union of Realms, are crowded with visitors from all six realms. Detective Cora Gorderheim is used to finding dead bodies in the alleyways of the city. Yet when she finds the body of a Wayward man, arranged precisely with his mouth sewn shut, she knows that this isn’t merely a mugging gone wrong. She suspects that this murder is meant as a message.

In the Union once every five years stories are told by officially designated storytellers and voted on by a group of masked voters known as the Swaying Audience, each representing a god of the Realms. The novel opens with a list of these gods including the Pale Widow, god of death and renewal, referenced in the title.

It turns out that the victim was the Wayward storyteller, scheduled to tell his story as part of the election. The question is who wanted to stop him from telling his story?

I will admit that it took me a while to feel in synch with the narrative. At first I felt a bit plopped down in the middle of Fenest. Still, I soon gained a sense of the city and its inhabitants. I especially took to Cora and appreciated her determination to uncover the motive for the murder as well as whodunnit.

Alongside Cora’s investigation both the Casker and Seeder stories are included as part of the narrative. They are novella length at about 100 pages each. Given that this is a trilogy I expect that each book will contain two of the six tales. The concept that the realm that delivers the most convincing story achieves political power seems an appropriate metaphor for our times.

That the stories have deeper meanings was also intriguing though as this is the opening act for the trilogy it is hard to judge the effect that the stories will have on the overall plot.

Overall, I felt engaged with the story, characters, and setting and I am looking forward to reading Book 2: ‘The Stitcher and the Mute’, which is due to be published in November.

On a side note the cover artwork is very striking.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC!

This was an engaging read and a great start to a series. i enjoyed the characters and the dystopian setting. The main-character's quest and plot were interesting and kept me wanting to know more! Also, the writing was fab and I can't wait for the sequel!

I did like the world building in this and thought that, for the most part, the characters were well developed and interesting. I did lose interest in the story a little bit as at certain points it seemed like something should happen, only for a completely unexpected thing to happen. This book isn't bad in the slightest, it just need to sort its narrative voice out and tighten up some of the action.

An intriguing start to a new fantasy series. The world-building was fantastic and I was excited by the range of interesting characters throughout the story. I eagerly anticipate the sequel!

Widow’s Welcome is the first book in the Tales of Fenest trilogy, set in a world where elections turn on the stories Realms tell, determining which one rules and when power passes to another.

For a book set in a world where power emanates from stories, it seems only fitting that there are stories within stories in Widow’s Welcome. Here we’re told the election stories from two of the six Realms, the Casker and the Lowlander, with two more to come in each of the subsequent books. They’re very different stories but telling in what each one reveals about the Realm it represents and how the wider world within which those Realms reside, functions. I enjoyed seeing layer upon layer slowly uncovered as I progressed further into the world of the book, and am keen to learn more as the series continues.

I don’t completely understand how the Swaying Audience works just yet, and am hoping this is something that becomes clearer with the next two books. I kept flicking back to the index at the beginning to try and get a better handle on them and what the gods represent. In some cases, it’s clear enough, but in others, it’s less obvious or they cover multiple things, not all of which share an obvious or immediate connection.

The election stories are framed by a murder-mystery and this helped to lodge the book in more familiar territory for me, while the Realms and their relationships to one another remained more of a mystery. That’s not to say that the case isn’t an unusual one but we do at least have a police force in the Union of Realms and a detective to investigate it. She’s a young detective called Cora Gorderheim and her family backstory is riddled with secrets and one likely to be teased out over the course of the trilogy.

It might sound confusing to have so many stories to contend with but each election story is long enough to be immersive while you’re reading it but not so long that you forget or lose the thread of where Cora’s investigation takes her. In fact, every time I heard Cora’s distinctive voice, it worked like a tuning fork, bringing me back to Fenest after each Realm’s story had been told, and focusing me once again on the case she’s working.

Cora’s a great character with a strong voice and a sharp suit, a weakness for games of chance and a propensity for smoking bindleleaf. I liked her immensely and want to know more about her decision to become a detective, and find out why she chose a life that revolves around her cramped cupboard of an office and the brothels, gaming houses and altogether seedier side of Fenest.

As the first in a trilogy, this sets up the world of the novels and its society well. I learned enough to pique my interest about the Union of Fenest, its constituent Realms and start to understand how they all tick, and want to see how the whole picture slots together. I found the case Cora investigates to be a sufficiently unusual one that I wanted to know who’s behind it and why, although I also want to know more about Cora herself and her odd place in this world, within the entire hierarchy of Fenest. I also loved the glimpse at the end of where this may be headed and who we might get to meet in the next book.

I really enjoyed the two election stories we’re told in this first book; they’re stories we were asked to vote on, after hearing an excerpt read at the book’s launch. I find it a little concerning now, after having read the entirety of both, that I’d no longer vote the same way as I did on that launch night. Art mirroring our current political climate, perhaps? (Not that I’d vote differently in that real-life instance.)

This was an immersive and involving read which still has me thinking about the Realms, their traits, alliances and rivalries, weeks after having finished reading Widow’s Welcome. I’m intrigued and eager to see where the next instalment takes us in the Tales of Fenest.

I quite liked this book. I loved the premise of deciding who would govern this dystopian world throughgh storytelling, it felt very apropos considering the state of current world governments and I quite enjoyed the side quest of the MC having to investigate some gruesome murders. I think the state of confusion felt throughout the book as to time sequencing etc just added to the dystopian setting.

Great world building.
Interesting plot.
Enjoyed the character development.

All in all a good read.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

Quite honestly, I cannot tell whether this is a clever, impressive, artful book. Or one that is too far up itself to tell the reader the truth.

At around the 25-30% mark I was willing to give up. I've never DNF's a book and I was seriously considering it here. The story wasn't moving anywhere. Cora, as the apparent protagonist, was unlikeable, and was showing no development. She was missing leads and opportunities in the case, or allowing her subordinates to investigate for her, which meant that as a reader you were following her blind. The first couple of chapters contained all the interesting information and then the story went NOWHERE.

Not to mention, this was all taking place with reference to THE MOST COMPLICATED pantheon of gods ever imagined - they're listed at the front of the book. There are 50, FIFTY, of them and they all have specific traits, characteristics and preferences.

And in addition, this was during an election, where storytellers from five nations told a story to gain votes for the assembly. I mean, using stories to gain political power? That's a fascinating concept, and really appeals to the (one-time performing) storyteller in me. And I loved the idea of the collective gods as The Audience, who would listen to one's stories, before you would join them in death. Great imagination, really interesting.

But the explanations of these genuinely complicated concepts - both the gods and the election - were dry, difficult and meant that I was very nearly turned away from finishing.

And then came the stories: this book has two stories contained within the story (although if I was feeling clever, I might argue that this is, in fact, a wheel of stories, wrapped around each other, which is why the Casker and the Lowlander stories interrupt the main story and how they all become interconnected).

Now these two election stories are beautiful. They are fascinating, they are haunting, they are full of pain ... they are everything that the main story is lacking in its current form.

And that's what makes this review, and this rating, very difficult. Those two 'teller stories were everything I wanted to read - I wasn't at all mad that they took up a good 30% of the book in total, in fact, I was annoyed when I ended up back in the original narrative. But in order for them to have that kind of impact, the main story had to be, well, blegh.

The passage of time in this book is also very odd. I couldn't tell whether these events were happening over a few short days, but at other times there was reference to weeks passing. This also added to the feeling of disatisfaction at the end - by this point you had become invested in the election stories, and the conclusion wasn't clear whether there had been an outcome to the election, and the main character just wasn't interested, or whether it hadn't happened yet, and that future books would include the other election stories.

And finally - and this is my last gripe with the book - at 95% I knew the only way the story could wrap up, but I really didn't want it to finish that way. And there was no time left for it to finish without lots of unanswered questions. I was almost longing (a glutton for punishment) for the book to be twice as long so that it could contain the rest of the election stories and finish properly. Instead, it felt like someone had axed it halfway through and the author remembered towards the end that there would be two parts.

This author can write - the election stories prove that - so why do I feel relieved that I made my way out of this book?

A good story, engrossing and entertaining.
I appreciated the character development, the world building and the pace.
The plot is well crafted even if a bit confusing at times.
I hope this is part of a series because I'd like to be back to this universe.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is an incredibly clever book. The plot centres on a world where six governing bodies decide on who is to lead by the judging of a story from each. Politics naturally lends itself to tall tales so that worked for me. In addition there is a linking plot, where MC Cora must solve a murder mystery. For me that blended very slightly less seamlessly with the rest – but I am being super picky saying that. The world building is excellent, the plot is clever and convoluted. It gave me slight Cloud Atlas vibes but more because of the portmanteau narrative than the themes explored. This is intelligent fantasy done right.

Widow's Welcome is the first in a trilogy that is set in a sort of Victorian PanAm with six different realms that determine which one is to govern for the next term through storytelling. Votes are cast and the best of the six stories wins the leadership contest. The first two stories were good at world building and had an engaging narrative. The novels are written by two authors working in tandem to pull the work together but the editing and flow are seamless. Interlinking the stories is a detective story following the murder of one of the storytellers.
I would vote for the Lowlander Story, a tale of apprenticeship and loss of innocence, out of the two in this volume.

If only all political decisions could be made by the telling of tall tales... oh, wait...

Firstly can we talk about how amazing the cover of Widows Welcome is? Absolutely beautiful.

I found the plot confusing in some areas but I was gripped throughout and thought it was a really strong story. I hope there’s a second one!

Heads up, there is only so many different words I can use in place of brilliant so I will almost certainly repeat it. Several times.

I loved this book, It is without doubt, brilliant. Political intrigue at it's very best.

The world building is top class. A little confusing / overwhelming in the early chapters but I told myself that it would all make sense eventually and I relaxed into it. Sure enough, within a few chapters, it all made sense.

The characters are fantastic. The ones we meet (even if only for a few minutes) are all three dimensional with clear voices. The ones we only hear about loom just as large in the story as the ones present, more so in some respects and I love that my opinion and visualisation of these characters is coloured by the present characters views.

The plot is superb. I love how deep and complex it is and that the complexity grows in scale the further into the book you get. The faction stories told within the main story fit wonderfully. I loved how the main character grows into the plot alongside the reader, it really makes you invested in both the character and the plot.

The ending. I'm always nervous about endings, and I got super nervous about 80% of the way through with no clue as to how it would all be wrapped up but the ending is bang on. It wraps this up as a complete story while leaving plenty hooks to make sure I come back for book 2.

Overall. It's a brilliant book. A bit slow to start but it doesn't take long to hit its stride and it doesn't let up. The rambling above talks about all the stuff I love that's in the book but I also love that it doesn't rely on huge battles and mass killings to provide shock and awe. It's clever, complex and beautifully written.

This is a quirky story filled with intrigue and mystery. The setting is an alternative world, the capital city of the United Realms; a group of six realms united by their desire for a peaceful existence. It is election time and the realm that will rule for the next five years is decided by voting. This isn't a straightforward affair. What happens is that each realm must tell a story which is heard by 50 listeners who vote on the merits of the story. The realm whose story gets the most votes become the new ruler.
The book has several layers beside the election. There is the central character of Detective Cora Gorderheim who is charged with the task of discovering a murder. There are also the stories told by each realm and their impact. In addition, Cora's own family history underlies who she is. The themes of the book include power, story telling and truth and lies.
I found the book innovative but also confusing at times. At the beginning it was difficult to make sense of the setting. The character of Cora is very likeable as are many of the minor characters although they do lack depth. The stories told by the realms (two in this book with presumably more to come in further books) went on too long and disrupted the flow of the main story.
Overall I would say that this is a good book that would appeal to anyone who likes something unusual and different.

So, this concept is amazing. It took me a while to properly understand how things worked but essentially the government in this world is decided based on the votes for stories told by storytellers from respective members of various societies. I thought that was incredibly cool. It’s not the first time fantasy authors have played with the idea that stories have power, but tying that to government and elections felt like a new and fresh idea to me. As I say, I’m not sure this is conveyed enough at the start of the book and I might have appreciated a little bit more of an explanation as to why that is, but once you know what’s happening it isn’t too difficult to follow.

Let’s talk about detective Cora. I love a female detective and I thought Cora was a good example. I liked having that sort of ‘gritty grumbly’ detective trope, and it is a trope, but also Cora is pretty sex positive which was refreshing. I enjoyed reading her character and I would be interested in reading more, perhaps getting a bit deeper into her backstory and motivations beyond ‘solve crime’.

My biggest criticism of this book is that it feels incredibly strangely balanced. As you might expect, a large portion of this book is given over to solving the murder. However, at an early stage in the book, it switches to being one of the stories being told as part of the election. That was fine and to be expected, in fact, I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t got to hear one of the stories. But that story takes up probably a third of the book. It was a really good story and I would probably have happily read it as a novella, but it felt so strange to me that something that didn’t actually have that much bearing on the plot took up such a huge portion of the book. You only get one other ‘story’ in the book and it takes up much less time – so it just felt odd to me. I think if you went in knowing that was going to happen it would be less jarring but for me, it was a surprise and it did affect my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

Overall, I liked this, I’d certainly enjoy another book in the same world – I want to hear more stories and how they relate to politics – that part was incredibly cool. But I think this book has a little bit of work needed to make it live up to that concept in a way that it just doesn’t quite do.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Widow's Welcome publishes August 8th!