This was fine...and by fine I mean mediocre and forgettable. This was a romance book trying to be a historical fantasy as well and neither panned out. The romance was SO slow-burn it was a struggle and Cay was the perfect person the whole time which made his character appear flat and one- dimensional. The writing style was also not my favorite. It felt cringey much of the time. The mysterious villian was super obvious from the beginning and I just couldn't bring myself to care about anyone besides Vel and Marcus and their friendship. Pass.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh dear God, help me breathe! The chemistry and romantic/sexual tension in this book was intense. While there's an underlying story about power struggles and diplomatic relationships, this book at the heart of it, is a gay romance. It is classified as a fantasy romance and the fantasy element is not as strong, but if you want to swoon, then this is the book for you.
I was reminded of A Lady for a Duke when I read this book. So, if you loved that book, you absolutely will love this one also.

***4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account***

"I'm unaccustomed to the idea that a relationship between you and me isn't something to be ashamed of..."

The sensitivity to self worth, self harm, and queer romance is beautifully written in the suspenseful romantic fantasy A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by perceptively talented author Foz Meadows.

Vesalin has his arranged political marriage go awry when he is found with another man, his ex lover, who has just sexually assaulted him. However, it is not the liberal land he was promised to that's against any marriage but his own conservative father.

The more welcoming land of Tithenai suggests a marriage between Vesalin and the brother of his once betrothed, Caethari. Told by his father, "You cannot come home." Vesalin accepts this offer to keep peace between the lands.

Ves, understandably is emotional, filled with self deprecation and reliving his rape and betrayal. Cae, once he learns of the attack on his soon to be husband, is kind, understanding and patient.

Told in dual first person narration the amazing Vikas Adam and James Fouhey are perfection as these two characters navigate inheritance politics, suicidal thoughts, and understanding each other.

Not everyone is happy about this union and are willing to kill to keep it from happening including using magic to stop it.

I adored the sweet and spicy Ves and Cae, the world building of the progressive land of Tithenai, it's acceptance of lgbtqia relationships, and the highly entertaining customs like kissing the grooms at the wedding to "tempt" them away from each other.

Clearly a symbolic fantasy of what life could and should be against prejudiced tyranny this story is also about being true to yourself, kind to yourself and that representation matters.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the MacMillan Audio via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Family drama, political intrigue, found family, tension, and blossoming love are all in this story.

Velasin’s preference of lovers is discovered by his father after a former lover assaults him in his family home.

This preference is a disgrace in his home country and Velasin is sent away in this light to marry not a woman but a man in a neighboring country.

Threats and violence shadow their match beginning on the trek to Tithena.

And there begins the drama.

If you can get past the rape in the .... second chapter I think it was and the attempted suicide a few chapters later, This is actually a real good book gave me winter orbit vibes.

This book has every LGBTQ category in it, and magic!!

James Fouhey and Vikas Adam excellently narrate Foz Meadows’ thrilling fantasy and LGBTQ romance, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, in dual first-person POV. The novel focuses on the alliance of two kingdoms through the unexpected, arranged marriage between third son Velasin vin Aaro and warrior/soldier Caethari Aeduria. Velasin never intended to marry anyone, especially a woman. He’s, therefore, quite surprised when his father informs him of his arranged betrothal/marriage to a neighboring Tithena young woman. Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union, letting his family and kingdom down after his assault reveals his preference for men. Although his father disowns him, the Tithenai envoy suggests that Vel marry the brother of his intended bride instead. Caethari knew when he married that it would be for political reasons. However, he’s shocked when his sudden betrothal is to a man from Ralia, where relationships like theirs are forbidden.

An unknown faction tries to kill Vel and commits other acts of violence in a plot to destroy Vel and Cae’s new alliance. Left with no choice but to trust one another, Cae and Vel begin their marriage as uneasy allies. Working together to discover who is plotting to sabotage their alliance/marriage, they grow closer. Vel and Cae learn more about each other and how to live as partners within their new reality, ultimately discovering that love is the most dangerous risk of all—even riskier than survival.

Fouhey and Adam’s vibrant, expressive narration complements Meadows’ writing. They bring Meadows’ story and complex characters to life. Even without the tags for Cae and Vel, it would still be easy to follow the flow from one chapter and scene to the next because Fouhey and Adam’s narration are vastly different. Both skillfully distinguish between the characters, providing each with their voices, using dialects, accents, cadence, etc., to capture their personalities and moods. The narrators speak with crisp, slightly accented, cultured tones that suit the societal structures created by Meadows. One of my favorite things about Fouhey and Adams’ narration is the way Fouhey and Adam make their voices sound similar when narrating for each other’s characters. With how different their voices/styles are, it’s an unexpected surprise.

Meadows’ vivid description, detailed worldbuilding, fascinating characters, and intriguing and suspenseful plot make this novel a fast-paced, enjoyable read. The characters are complex and deftly developed. 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. The author deals with Kel’s emotional/mental stress, anxiety, and panic attacks with sensitivity and care, taking the time to build the relationship between Kel and Cae slowly. 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 his father and culture led him to believe.

Meadows’ well-constructed narrative and complex underlying suspense plot feature a thoughtful exploration 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, adventure, and unexpected twists and turns.

CW: sexual assault, suicidal ideation, and self-harm

Advanced review copy provided by Macmillan Audio via Netgalley for review.

This book originally caught my eye because of the cover, but the description certainly pulled me in more. I enjoyed many aspects of this book. I felt like that author did an excellent job at describing scenery, depicting characters and really making readers feel emotionally invested. How the author portrayed Vels' struggle with mental health and overcoming his fears was, in my opinion, very relatable. I greatly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it and the author to others.

FAIR WARNING: Please be aware that this contains scenes of sexual assault ad the trauma that results from it.

This for sure is not for a younger YA audience as the graphics of the sexual assault scene is very detailed. Mad respect for the author for including this in the story and having the lasting effects of it become an integral part of the plot as this issue is very important and should be brought to awareness more often.

The title is a perfect representation of self healing and learning to love. The plot focuses more on the characters and their growth versus anything else so if you’re looking for that, this is perfect for you.

This was a pretty long book, and I enjoyed every minute of it! In fact, I would’ve happily kept listening if there were more.

The romance was one of the main focuses of the book, and it was so lovely. Slow burn in the sense that it was pretty far into the book before anything happened, but in plot-time it was only maybe a week. So I’m not sure if I consider that a true slow burn or not, but regardless, I enjoyed it! These two spent a lot of time together and bonded so much that it felt believable. Their romance was also just so sweet and healthy and nice. They were cute together.

The other main focus was the politics and courtly intrigue. I am often easily confused by complex politicking in books, especially when you throw high fantasy worlds into the mix, but this, though complex in how thought-out it was, was explained so clearly that I was always able to keep up. So I enjoyed this element too.

Both Velasin and Caethari were such good, kind characters, while also feeling unique from each other. Velasin was friendly and good with people, always treating the servants with extra kindness, making everyone like him just by being himself. Caethari had more difficulty with people but was still a good person, and especially understanding and supportive of Velasin. Both were just the right amount of protective of each other. They deserved each other, in the best way possible.

There were other interesting characters as well, everyone felt unique. Also a sweet, close friendship between Velasin and Markle. Some disability rep too, since Markle was mute and used sign language. And a lot of characters seemed to be POC, based on descriptions.

There are trigger/content warnings at the beginning of the book, but I want to mention here too that the book essentially starts off with Velasin being sexually assaulted / raped, then accidentally outed, then exiled by his father for being gay, and he considers suicide multiple times. But these aren’t plot points only used for convenience, nor do they make the book depressing. Throughout the rest of the book, Velasin deals with that trauma and ultimately starts healing from it, with the help of people who care about him. And the place he moves to is much more accepting of different sexualities and genders, so part of that healing is getting to openly be himself. But there were some heavier, more emotional moments in relation to all this, and other difficulties the characters faced. I really felt for the characters, especially Velasin.

The audiobook, narrated by Vikas Adam and James Fouhey, was wonderful! I love both of them as narrators, and their voices were well-suited to the characters, so this was sort of a dream duo for me. They both did a great job of sounding natural and bringing the personality and emotion for the characters and the scenes. Vikas Adam had some especially emotional moments to narrate, and he nailed them. They also voiced characters similarly to sort of match each others’ voices, Velasin’s voice being higher-pitched and Caethari’s being deeper. I definitely recommend the audio.

Overall, this was a great book that wove themes of trauma and healing with intriguing politics and a lovely, understanding romance, all set in a vibrant fantasy world, and I really enjoyed it!

HUGE thank you to tor books and netgalley for an advanced copy of this gem!

I LOVED ‘A Strange and Stubborn Endurance,’ by Foz Meadows

All the stars for this one ⭐️, all of them.

This book has everything I wanted, and everything I didn’t know I wanted. Action & adventure, political intrigue, horses, LGBTQIA+ rep, and Markel who is frankly my favorite.

It’s important to know that there are quite a few triggers in this one. Make sure to look up CWs

Thank you to Netgalley and McMillan audio for an advanced copy of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance.
Check all trigger warnings.

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When the envoy discovers he has a preface for men… the marriage is altered to fit Velasin.
Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock


How can I describe this book? Adventure, queerness, romance and political intrigue! I rarely read adult fantasy and I'm always hesitant however this book did not disappoint! If you want family drama, political alliances and a friendship that blooms into a romance this is for you!
Trigger warnings for Sexaul Assualt in the first Chapter of this book that is the catalyst for the rest of the story.
All and all I loved this so much I purchased a physical copy as soon as I could and will be reading more for Foz Meadows.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a M/M fantasy romance with a hefty dose of murder and intrigue thrown in. It’s worth noting that the book opens with an explicit depiction of rape, which despite going in forewarned by the note at the beginning, I found difficult to listen to in audio format. There were no other scenes of sexual violence except for memories of the initial instance, none of which were depicted as graphically. As the author notes, the rest of the story is in part about the subsequent aftermath and healing.

I really liked the societal aspects of the worldbuilding; Velasin from the heteronormative kingdom of Ralia ends up in a political marriage with another man (Caethari) from the neighboring state of Tithena, which has much broader views on gender and sexuality. Velasin’s struggle to adjust his worldview to a society that accepts him was well done, though I found Caethari and the other Tithenians’ constant virtuous acceptingness a little one-note.

Though overall I enjoyed reading it, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance doesn’t stand out as particularly noteworthy either on the romance or mystery front. I think I might just be tired of the romance trope of both parties being so convinced of their own unworthiness and inability to be enough for the other person that it takes aaaages for any actual romance to happen. I also thought the murder plot was somehow both convoluted but simplistic; the murders and many misdirections were definitely confusing, but in a muddled way that didn’t exactly keep me guessing about who was behind all of it. I also found it confusing that Vel was repeatedly so successful in combat situations despite the emphasis on his inexperience and general lack of interest in such things.

The two narrators (one for the Vel chapters, the other for Cae’s) were unobjectionable, though I thought they were a little too close to each other in tone/style to properly differentiate the two characters.

I would really have loved for there to be more visual and sensory imagery, and descriptions of the world. I didn’t find myself with vivid mental pictures of the setting very often, which is a shame because Foz Meadows has a very solid foundation for a fantasy world that could be portrayed much more richly than was achieved in this book.

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!

Thank you to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC!

I absolutely loved this book. There’s tension, mystery, political intrigue, and excellent queer representation. OH and arranged marriage! The main characters personal growth story and overcoming of trauma was done so well. Both romantic leads are excellent, well rounded characters. Definitely check the trigger/content warnings!

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". There are better gay fantasy romance novels out there, and this isn't one of them.

This book covered so many elements while not feeling overwhelming, including, world building, court/political drama, and character development. Though this is a fantasy, and the world was unique with its own political and magic system, many of the elements mimic present-day struggles.

I was immediately invested in the characters and the plot, and found myself holding my breath during different moments of trauma. Because of this, I definitely feel the major undertone of this book is the healing process of trauma, which I’ve never seen in a fantasy and found this incredibly intriguing.

Definitely a unique and beautiful story, with an array of representation for different communities.

Major TWs for rape, attempted suicide, homophobia, and other traumas.

to be completely honest, I dnf'd this book after the first chapter. I was just not a fan of the writing style, and maybe it was due to the narrator of the audiobook, but I wasn't vibing with it in the slightest. The main character just annoyed me -- he seemed passive and arrogant at the same time and that just isn't for me. I can see how others may love this book and what to keep going, but there are so many other books I'd rather read.

I love fantasy books for the elaborate plots, world building and magic. This book had very little of any this. Frankly, I found this book quite boring and the plot twist at the end was way to convenient and was not worth the all boring build up. When you are telling me what characters ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner there is to much filler!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to review this arc.

For me personally, this was a good combination of fantasy and romance tied together. We have a politically arranged marriage between two men from different countries, magic, and some smut. There's definitely more to the story than that though, as characters deal with trauma, betrayal, and the societal pressures put upon women and those that belong to the LGBTQ+ community. Overall, I enjoyed my experience reading this book.

Trigger Warnings for on-the-page rape.

CW: Rape, suicide ideation

I'm going to start out by saying that I really appreciated that there was an author's note at the start of the audio warning about these themes in the book. That said, there was no reason for these themes to be in the book. The rape takes place in excessive detail on the page which was wholly unnecessary to the story. Also unnecessary to the story was the rape itself. It served no actual purpose to the overall plot. Yes, it was used as a device for certain moments, but all of those moments could have easily been provided with different backstory.

I really loved the main characters in the story. They were delightful especially once they were together. The depiction of various genders and sexualities, as well as the different ways that various people and countries viewed those things was all excellently handled.

But the story itself was bloated beyond belief. At 40% I couldn't believe we weren't starting to wrap things up yet. At around 60% a character tells another that he had hoped they would confess so the mystery could be wrapped up, and I just truly felt the same. Especially since the mystery wasn't hard to figure out. I clocked the villain almost upon their introduction. Around 65% I asked a friend how it ended and once I knew I was right, I just skimmed through to the end.

The world-building in the book is very detailed and interesting, but at times it is almost too detailed. The author suffers from the need to make all things new for their new world. Creating fantasy words for things like tea (kai instead of chai? really? The words "spiced tea" exist. Just use them) is just adding to the unneeded bloat in this book. I don't understand going to the trouble of creating new fantasy world words for a book if you are going to then just describe the item in so much detail that I know exactly what real world item it is. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Especially when you then use words like "niblings" which you could have created a new word for since so few people actually use the word.

There were some really good things about this book, and I would be willing to try more work by this author. But if I every do and there is a content warning at the start, I will take it to heed and assume that there is again going to be something terrible for the sake of shock value adding nothing useful to the story. And then I will put the book down and walk away, having learned my lesson the first time around. I hope the author gets a better editor for the next book.

The narrator was incredibly good. 5/5, no notes.