A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a vivid high-fantasy read that grapples with both desire and fear in a complex and intricate way, while also navigating the political and personal conflict of healing deep wounds. Velasin and Caethari are a wonderful spin on the arranged-marriage trope and I found their story to be the heart and endurance of the novel. They easily deserve another story.
I struggled with some of the denser and winding language, however, and found that it inhibited some of my experience. Also, I found that some of the secondary and tertiary characters fell flat in comparison to our lead's full-rounded arcs.
I do also deeply appreciate Meadows' trigger warnings before the beginning of the novel, because the content at the forefront took me some mental time to process. They exist for a reason, and the story may not be for everyone. Regardless, stories of assault and placing value in the survivor's narrative should not be unaccounted for, and Meadows does offer an earnest portrayal of healing.

One thing I’ve enjoyed with the mainstreaming of queer stories is we can now have all the tropes associated with romance, fantasy, etc., without having to rely on “coming out” or other stereotypical issues in queer fiction. It’s trading one set of tropes for another, but at least it’s now possible to read whatever genre you want, just with highly visible queer characters. There’s a lot of diversity in this one, both with sexuality and gender, as well as disability visibility with a mute character.

Velasin is gay, but in Ralian society, that’s against their religion, so he maintains a small circle of queer people, but knows he’s still constrained by societal conventions. He’s a third son with a small income, sort of sliding through life hoping no one will notice he’s gay. His father summons him to tell him he’s being married off to a Tithenian noblewoman, and he can’t exactly protest, as this is how things are done.

His former lover who cheated on him shows up and tries to seduce him, which ends up being a sexual assault on the page. Uncomfortable to read but not overly graphic, this early scene sets the stage for later events. The Tithenians are a much more tolerant society, so their ambassador suggests marrying him off to the noblewoman’s brother instead. This is a slightly better deal for Valasin, but it’s still an arranged marriage to a stranger, and his family is cutting him off due to the scandal, so he’s going off to a strange land, never to return home.

Caethari is surprised to learn he’s going to marry Valasin, but he isn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, nor his future husband. When Valasin and his Tithenian escort party are attacked at the gates of his new home, Caethari is a witness, and begins investigating what turns out to be a plot with possible court intrigue. Is the enemy within or from one of the many neighboring countries? The two work together to figure it out, in one of the strangest “get to know your husband” methods ever seen.

I enjoyed the characters, but I would have liked to see a bit more of court intrigues. There are hints of it, but it’s difficult to understand some of the “who, what, where, and why” without more details. The reveal of who’s behind the plot losing a bit of punch without laying out why they do it before they do a Villain Monologue explaining it. Some sequences felt a bit long, and might have been tightened up to allow more of the character and worldbuilding details to set up the reveal. I guessed correctly before the reveal, but if it was to be someone we’d actually seen on the page, there weren’t that many options.

This is a romantic fantasy, which is a favorite genre, and I would love to read more set in this world. I would also say this has a lot of fanfic tropes and writing style, but that is in no way a negative thing.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Despite being comped to books I truly loved, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance really was not the book for me. The novel ended up having more A Little Life energy to me than Winter’s Orbit energy, and thus I DNF’d it around 30%.

Tonally, I was expecting something more positive and uplifting from the blurb and cover copy. There is a content warning for sexual assault at the beginning of the novel (amongst others), but I do think readers should be advised that this novel centers Vel’s recovery from sexual assault, which is also graphically depicted on page. It plays a far more significant part in the narrative than I realized and I found it heavy-handed on the suffering and needlessly gratuitous; other readers may find it cathartic or healing.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

BY: SAFIA H. SENHAJI
ISSUE: 1 AUGUST 2022

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, one of my most highly anticipated books of the year, is delightful and lush and absolutely worth the wait. Apart from containing some of my favourite tropes and pairings, it is a hopeful and healing story of recovery and belonging. A standalone fantasy romance with Byzantine politics, a little bit of magic, amazing characters, and great diversity, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance delivers all of the romantic and found-family feels a reader could want—as well as fleshed-out characters, setting, and oftentimes humorous lines

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/a-strange-and-stubborn-endurance-by-foz-meadows/

Grade: B- / 3.5 stars

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an enjoyable fantasy romance novel in which an arranged marriage provides the spark for murder, intrigue and political shenanigans. The worldbuilding is solid, with well-developed and detailed societal customs and hierarchies, the protagonists are likeable and the central romance is tender and drips with lots of lovely UST. On the downside, the book is at least a hundred and fifty pages too long, the pacing is stodgy in places, and the mystery is too drawn out and easily resolved.

When the story begins, Velasin vin Aaro, a nobleman of Ralia, is on his way home in response to a summons from his father. He has no idea what it’s about, and hopes word has not reached home of his more… disreputable exploits; namely that he beds men rather than women, something Ralian society considers a degenerate perversion. Travelling with him is his best friend and valet Markel (who is mute); left behind is his former lover, Lord Killic vin Lato, whom Velasin dumped after discovering him cheating – again.

Not long after his arrival, Velasin discovers why he’s been brought home. His father has arranged a marriage for him with the daughter of the Tiern (Lord) of Qi-Katai in Tithenia – and Velasin knows he has no alternative but to agree to the match. The Tithenai envoy is to arrive the next day, but before Velasin can think much about what’s to come, he’s stunned and angry to hear that Killic has followed him and is asking to see him. He tries wheedling his way back into Vel’s good graces with pretty words – and when those don’t work, he resorts to sex, and won’t take no for an answer. Be warned, the assault happens on the page (it’s hard to read, but so much of what follows is built around it, it would be impossible to remove it) – and stops only when they’re seen by Velasin’s father and the Tithenian envoy, who has arrived early. Wretched, humiliated, sick to his stomach Velasin watches as Killic is run off while he is left alone in utter disgrace.

The following morning, Velasin is summoned to his father’s presence and informed that the marriage is still to go ahead. He’s surprised to see that the envoy is “one of Tithena’s third-gender souls, called kemi…” whose existence “scandalised the Ralian court”, which is rigidly traditional about everything including gender roles and women’s rights (or lack thereof). Equally surprising is the envoy’s suggestion that instead of marrying the Tiern’s daughter, Velasin might marry his son without changing the terms of the contract. Velasin’s father is aghast at the idea of his son marrying a man, but agrees – then tells Vel he can never return home again.

Caethari Xai Aeduria is surprised to discover that he, rather than his sister, is to be married, but at least has a little time to get used to the idea while the Ralian convoy is en route to Qi-Katai. He’s curious about his future husband, but has been able to find out little about him, and really isn’t sure what he ought to feel or how he should act when they meet. That becomes of secondary importance once Velasin arrives, however; watching from the rooftop, Cae sees the convoy enter through the city gate, and then watches helplessly as someone in the crowd rushes at Velasin with a knife – which is deflected by Markel, who bears the brunt of the strike. Hurrying to the scene, Cae almost collides with a very dishevelled and worried Velasin, who is desperate to get to Markel’s side. It’s not exactly the way Cae had envisaged meeting his betrothed.

Even before Velasin arrived in Qi-Katai, there were signs of trouble when the caravan travelling from Ralia was attacked, leaving one guard dead and others injured. The attack at the city gate is followed by one on Cae’s father – all of them pointing to there being a deep-seated anti-Ralian sentiment at large and to someone intending to destabilise the already fragile relations between Ralia and Tithena.

I was looking forward to getting my teeth into a plot filled with conspiracies and court intrigue, but the mystery plot is fairly weak, little more than a series of events, one after the other, with no real escalation or building on what has gone before, and no real investigation. Vel and Cae ask questions, but are never given the time or opportunity to act on the answers as it seems that every time they come close to doing so, another character interrupts them and sends things off in a different direction or just continues the earlier conversation without reaching any conclusions. It’s too drawn out with little happening, and then, to add insult to injury, the reveal happens literally by accident when Velasin and Cae overhear the bad guys arguing and blaming each other for not doing things properly!

The romance is easily the best thing in the book, as Cae gently tries to help Velasin work through his trauma, offering friendship and understanding and not pushing for anything more. The way they move from being strangers to forging a tentative friendship, then from friendship to absolute trust and more is really well done, with great chemistry and lots of lingering touches and longing looks that build the romantic and sexual tension.

Grading A Strange and Stubborn Endurance was tough because while the plot leaves much to be desired, the romance is lovely, and there are many other things about the book that should be celebrated. I’ve mentioned the worldbuilding already – and within that, there’s excellent queer rep that includes prominent non-binary and trans characters and a welcoming society for all. Velasin’s bewilderment at becoming part of this society is well portrayed, too; having been brought up within the strict conventions of Ralia, he finds it hard to adjust to the fact that he no longer has to hide his sexuality or be surprised at the fact that people like him are treated with respect. He has no idea what is expected of him as Cae’s husband, and is struggling to un-learn many of the things he’s been brought up to believe. He’s a more well-developed character than Cae, who thinks of himself as a bluff soldier, good in combat, not so good when it comes to reading people and politicking. Fortunately, Cae proves to be very insightful and sensitive to the needs of others, intuiting almost at once that all is not well with Velasin and determining to help him however he can. I also liked watching him get turned on by his husband’s mind on those occasions where Velasin is able to cast off his self-doubt and desire for self-effacement, and reveal his true self – inquisitive, clever, observant, a charmer who is skilled at playing the courtier and navigating his way through layers of malice and misdirection. In fact, I wish we’d seen much more of that side of him, especially as part of his journey in this book is finding his way back to being the person he was before the assault and realising he doesn’t have to let it define him.

I really wish I could give A Strange and Stubborn Endurance a strong recommendation because of all the things it gets right, but the weakness of the plot really does drag it down and the slow pacing makes it difficult to invest in the outcome – especially when it seems that sometimes, even the characters themselves have forgotten about it! The final ten percent or so is terrific, and had the rest of the book been able to sustain that level of nail-biting tension, I’d be extolling its virtues. In the end, I’m going with a low B and qualified recommendation overall – a low C for the mystery and a high B for the romance, worldbuilding, characters and representation. I’d definitely read another fantasy romance from this author – here’s hoping for something tighter next time.

TW: sexual assault

I very much liked the premise of this book. It’s got fantasy, arranged marriage, fighting, political intrigued. All the elements of what should be a great story. I’m going to be honest: I didn’t make it farther than 25%.

It’s not because of the rather graphic on page sexual assault that definitely did NOT need to happen and definitely took my by surprise despite the content warning at the beginning of the book. No, the real reason was I was bored. Sure a lot of things happen. There’s several attempts at assassination but there was not much emotional follow through. A lot of random bits of information were thrown out about the world which made the world building very clunky and awkward. The dialogue was either very formal or far too casual for a high fantasy book and didn’t fit the genre.

I wanted to like it but it just fell flat for me and I had to sadly DNF before hitting the 50% mark.

Surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. Characters are wonderfully fleshed out, the romance is genuinely interesting and well-written, and the world and story is well-made. Complex and interesting.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance was absolutely beautiful. The pacing was perfect. The story was so lovely and I couldn't get enough. I highly recommend EVERYONE reading this.

First and foremost, if you like a love story, this is one of the best I’ve read in recent times. In this novel, Foz Meadows explores gender and sexual identity with ease, creating a world where there are intricate and beautiful relationships, caring and loving characters, intriguing magical elements, and intricate politics and intrigue. The novel is addictive and beautiful. 

What makes the love story shine in this fantasy novel is the level of detail to both characters, Velasin and Cae. Both characters are deep and complex. Vel struggles with accepting the relationship, with past events while Cae gives him honesty and caring. Both characters are engaging and incredibly easy to like. 

While I did make a guess as to who was trying to kill the alliance, the conclusion was also well written with enough surprises and intrigue to keep a reader engaged and the pace made me not want to put the book down once. I gulped down the novel. If you like a beautiful love story with a romance not set up in the typical fashion, then I highly recommend A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. It was an addictive and beautiful story.

A beautiful and lush fantasy filled with intrigue, passion and just the right sense of humour. I find I can’t put into words how much I loved this world, the descriptions of food and the author’s choices to celebrate kindness and embrace the difficult journey with finding acceptance. Please be mindful of triggers in this book as it deals with SA and the importance of consent.

(Please be sure to mind the content warnings in the author's note! This book definitely warrants them.)

Where to even start with this one? The worldbuilding is extremely well balanced, the main cast of characters are delightful and hilariously charming, and the <i>romance</i> at the center of it all...

You can really tell that this book was written by someone with a love of the craft, and a love of tropes - and I mean that in the best way possible. It's one thing to take a list of everyone's favorite romance tropes and cram them into a book in a way that only vaguely makes sense, but A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE manages to take it an order of magnitude further than that and spin something unique, original, and wholly beautiful. Just... it's so fun. I had a smile on my face for 95% of this book. It feels like a warm hug of acceptance and recovery and healing, a safe place where the bad things in the world still exist but aren't as pressingly important, a reminder of what's good and worthwhile in life. This has "comfort read" written all over it.

There are some weak spots - I would have liked to have seen the supporting cast of characters fleshed out a bit more, and the political intrigue that propels the plot forward felt a bit too tidily concluded. But honestly? I don't care about that. This book did exactly what I hoped it would and dragged me out of a reading slump. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for days now, and that, I think, is a mark of something special.

I can't wait to read this one again.

(Special thanks to Tor Books for the recommendation and the ARC!)

This was a great read which is about a nobleman who must marry a princess until the kingdom realizes his sexuality and decide he can marry her brother instead where they both must not be allies. I haven't read many m/m books in my life but wanted to change that and was glad to see this book. I'm glad to have picked it up because the story was amazing and I enjoyed this epic fantasy. Meadows has an incredible writing style as they somehow knew how to balance all the world building, mystery, romance, magic and other themes into one. I do have to say that the pacing was a little slow for me so it was hard to get into in the beginning but once the drama starts, it's easier to get into.

So the main characters in this book are Vel and Cae whom I both enjoyed reading about. Both were enjoyable and likable characters with amazing character developments. Vel is the nobleman who almost destroyed his union until he learned he could marry Tithenai's brother, Cae. There were many side characters in this book a lot that I hated just because of the way they were written and they were a little hard to connect to. There is a lot of LGBTQ+ rep in this book which was great! But the romance guys was so cute and I enjoyed it a lot. It was healthier compared to other book relationships I have seen before and this was a forced marriage trope.

The ending was a hea but honestly could have been a tad better in my opinion. Nowadays I'm not a huge fan of the way books are ended so I think it's just me. I did have some minor problems with this book but I have to say that the author was incredible with balancing everything together in this amazing world. I would also like to mention that there is a lot of triggers in this book like self harm, rape, and homophobia. I do recommend reading this book especially those who want a good m/m fantasy

Truly, we are living in a golden age of queer fantasy. From continent-spanning epics and fairytale reimaginings to seemingly futuristic dystopias and worlds built on complex systems of magic, these are stories that run the gamut from thrillers to romance and everything in between. The best of the lot, however, are usually those that mix various genres and elements in a way that feels fresh and new or gives readers something they haven’t seen before.

And Foz Meadows’ new novel A Strange and Stubborn Endurance does exactly that, simultaneously offering readers a lush, fully realized fantasy adventure, a delicate exploration of healing and trauma, and an incredibly satisfying, sexy slow-burn romance. The book’s worldbuilding is rich and enticing, its supporting characters detailed and memorable, and the politically motivated intrigue at its center compelling. Yes, this is the sort of book that may take you the first 50 pages or so to settle into—Meadows drops readers directly into the story’s action and trusts that they’ll be able to both keep up and figure out the rules of the world they find themselves in—but once our two leads meet, the emotionally gripping bond between them will keep you turning pages as fast as possible.

This is one of my favorite things I've read in a very long time. Foz Meadows bewitched me entirely and all I know to say is thank you, may I please have another.

There are so many fantastic things about this book that are worthy of praise that I hardly know where to start. The worldbuilding is expansive enough to feel immersive, but straightforward enough that there's never a need for an infodump or excessive explanations. This lush world simply exists and allows the reader to find their way through it as the story progresses and I appreciate that Meadows trusts the reader enough to do that.

The pacing is so intricately balanced. I don't even know how Meadows did it. There's a ton of action and exciting reveals all paralleled by this slowly unravelling mystery and an even slower building romance. We jump from dangerous, fast-paced moments to tender, softer moments but it never feels jarring or out of place. I never wanted to put this book down because there was always something keeping me glued, even if that something wasn't always the same something.

But the thing that really kept me going through this book are the characters. Meadows crafts characters that you can't help but love and care for. I quickly fell for Vel and Cae both and was rooting for them, both in their individual challenges and as a pair. Their love is so precious and sweet and it's such a joy to witness it unfold on the page. I could read an entire book of them just being playful and sassy with one another and I promise I would rate it five stars. I also really enjoyed Markel and Vel's relationship. I feel like we don't get many books that explore incredibly close platonic male relationships (BFF soulmates??) and that was another beautiful, warm gift this book gives.

As much as I'm gushing about this amazing world and it's lovable characters, there's quite a bit of darkness in these pages as well. I commend Meadows for handling such sensitive topics with so much respect and tact. There are many things someone could find triggering in these pages, so I would absolutely recommend checking out content warnings if that is something you are concerned about. In addition to the traumas themselves, Meadows allows readers an intimate look into the aftereffects of trauma and the healing process that follows. We see the road to recovery and the moments when those damages rear their ugly heads. It's intimate and raw and feels terribly authentic. It's all handled incredibly well and I'm so glad I got to experience a book that represents mental health and trauma so tactfully and with so much hope.

I loved this book. Everything about it. I'm grateful I got to experience it and can't wait to read it again in the future. Although I'm very happy with how this concluded as a standalone, I would absolutely jump at the chance to revisit these characters should the author opt for a sequel.
A million stars, can't wait to recommend it widely.

I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Content Warnings: sexual assault, suicidal ideation, self-harm, animal death.

Well now wasnt this just a pleasant surprise. The first half and the last half were 5 stars for me but I found the middle dragged a bit so I did lower to 4 stars. However when I reread this book (and mark my word I will) I can almost guarantee my problems in the middle won’t be an issue and I’ll bump it to five stars.
This is definitely a heavy read and those trigger warnings are in there and very present. I’m talking within the first 30 pages so please make sure you will be okay before picking this one up.

What truly made this book for me was the two main characters relationship. I just love how sweet and gentle it was. Both characters were so well developed so it just felt really well balanced.

The world really interested me and I do love fantasy with political intrigue and this one had a ton of that!

I really had a great time and can totally understand the hype this one has been getting! I hope to read more from this world very soon

Thank you so much to Tor and Raincoast books for the early copy!

This felt like a bad fanfiction. And while I would have absolutely eaten this up as a fanfic about two of my favorite characters that I already have a deep knowledge and affection for, it does not work for characters that I'm just now meeting. Also, spoiler for the beginning, but big trigger warning for sexual assault/rape. It is a pretty graphic scene in the second chapter, and it's brought up over and over again. Also a trigger for attempted suicide. That threw me off for the longest time because I was not prepared for that awful scene. But the plot felt like it fell to the side at times (was there ever actually a plot besides "pining" that only lasts for like... a week? Not really), and there was so much repetition that I started rolling my eyes every time I heard "my... no, OUR rooms". This also felt like a book that REALLY tried to emphasize that gender roles don't need to exist (which I agree with 100%, but the amount of times this was repeated over a 500+ page book was overkill). There are better gay fantasy romance novels out there, and this isn't one of them.

dnf @ 12%

I ended up borrowing the audiobook from my library for this book because I was late reading it. I started off really enjoying it. I think had it not been for my current mental state, I would have really enjoyed this. The world seemed interesting. But the main character is raped and they are dealing with the emotional trauma that comes with something like that. I knew the content warnings and thought I was okay to read this, but I was not so I will be dnf'ing this. I might try it again in the future when I'm feeling better, but for now, I shall pause about two hours into the audiobook.

In dual first-person POV, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows explores the impact of gender and sexual identity politics on the alliance of two kingdoms through the unexpected, arranged marriage between third son Velasin vin Aaro and warrior/soldier Caethari Aeduria. Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry anyone. However, his father informs him of his arranged betrothal/marriage to a neighboring Tithena young woman. After he’s assaulted, revealing his preference for men, Vel fears that he has let his family and kingdom down by potentially ruining the diplomatic union. His father plans to disown him, but the Tithenai envoy suggests that Vel marry the brother of his intended bride instead. While Caethari Aeduria knew any marriage of his would be political, he’s shocked when he’s suddenly betrothed to a man from Ralia, where relationships like theirs are forbidden.

An unknown faction proves their willingness to kill or hurt anyone to end Vel and Cae’s new alliance, leaving them no choice but to trust one another. Cae and Vel begin their marriage as uneasy allies, but as they work together to find out who is behind the plots to sabotage their alliance/marriage, they grow closer. As they learn more about each other and how to live as partners within their new reality, they discover love is the biggest risk of all—even greater than survival.

Meadows’ vivid description, detailed worldbuilding, fascinating characters, and intriguing and suspenseful plot make for a fast-paced, enjoyable read that sucks you in quickly. While Vel and Cae are complete opposites, they match each other nicely. Meadows deftly develops their relationship with sweet, humorous, intimate, emotional, and intellectual banter plus great chemistry. I really like how Vel and Cae learn that first impressions rarely show the whole of who people are or what situations appear to be at first glance. Cae helps Vel to heal the wounds from his past, and Vel helps Cae to broaden his worldview. Vel discovers that he has so much more to offer the world than he had always believed. The characters are complex and deftly developed.

Within the bounds of a well-constructed narrative that has several unexpected twists, making for a compelling underlying suspense plot, Meadows thoughtfully explores issues of sexual gender and identity, discrimination, prejudice, self-esteem, and sexism. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a thrilling, emotional, suspenseful, entertaining LGBTQ romance with a great blend of royal/political intrigue, light fantasy, magic, humor, and adventure.
CW: sexual assault, suicidal ideation, and self-harm

Advanced review copy provided by Tor Books via Netgalley for review.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Good and engaging story. There are trigger warnings for descriptions of sexual assault and abuse, which I appreciated, as a survivor. I will read more from this author.

This book has it all. I was initially worried about how I would feel due to the thoughtfully placed content warnings, but Foz Meadows has handled something very sensitive thoughtfully, and has written characters so thoughtful and vulnerable that I couldn't help but love them. This is amazing and I can't wait for more, a great reminder that healing need not be a solo endeavour.