Queer marriage of convenience with political intrigue and a side of magic.
The love story was lovely.
Diverse cast of characters with different motives creating a lush world and fun mystery.
Rape is a SIGNIFICANT plot line with rape on page very quickly into the book. Overall it felt handled well, but read safe friends.

Thank you for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book just missed the mark with me. It was very triggering to my own suicidal ideation and my own trauma. But that’s not why I didn’t enjoy it. The story dragged on. The characters and world building were lovely. I wish there would have been more to the plot itself. I understand this was more of a self help fantasy with a little drama but it just wasn’t for me. I read pretty diverse books so Achillian love stories are nothing new to me. I may come back and read this again at a later time.

Thank you Net Galley for the E-Arc.
READ TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING BOOK
This is an amazing book with really complex and difficult themes. They handled sensitively and hard seems extremely well and very respectfully. While I 100% loved the story there is R--- on page and mentioned throughout the story. Please read the triggers before picking up the story as it mentions not only this but self-harm and suicidal thoughts/actions. I think the author did a wonderful job conveying the pain and growth without trivializing or making a plot point of this topic. It feels purposeful and truly a story about healing.
In addition to this, the mystery/main plot is very well detailed and interesting to read about. There is magic and political intrigue. Velasin and Caethari are put into an arranged marriage and you get to see their love and emotions grow and strengthen. This is definitely a slow burn and rightfully so.
Velasin is smart and strong after dealing with so many hardships. As a reader, both Velasin and Caethari are characters that you want to see happy and safe by the end of the story. And while I did kinda guess the culprit there were other characters I guessed as well. Meadows does a wonderful job of creating suspects and leaving clues/red herrings
There is also a wonderful amount of diversity in the characters. There are transgender charters, nonbinary, BIPOC characters, and Markel, mute characters that use sign language. Not only is Markel you and there's a lot of sign language used in the story, but he is a beloved character and friend. He is smart, clever, and desirable; he is an accomplished archer and fighter. I am very glad that they did not adhere to stereotypes and gave him such a vibrant personality. Not only do they not make him stereotype they also address ableism and the tendency for people to look over people with disabilities.

Overall I think this is definitely a book to read and check out but only once looking at the trigger warnings as these topics can definitely be harmful if not prepared for or known about beforehand.

Foz Meadow's newest book is a journey of healing, love, political intrigue and cultural exploration. Velasin and Caethari were a heartwarming couple to root for, and it was lovely watching their romance unfold and Velasin find ways to heal from the trauma and homophobia he experienced in his past.

Romance aside, this was action-packed! I was exhausted just picturing what they had to endure during the course of the few days during which the book takes place. While this is a definite 4 stars for me, I did find the writing a bit rushed towards the end of the book. Still, I'd definitely recommend it to folks looking for a fast-paced romantic fantasy.

The narration was beautifully done and I will definitely recommend it to audiobook customers once it is released. The characters were given distinctive voices and I found the pace at which it was read was perfect to follow.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this audio ALC!

(4.5 rounded up to a 5)

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a queer political fantasy romance with mystery elements by Foz Meadows. The ebook version is 554 pages. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at almost nineteen hours and is narrated by James Fouhey and Vikas Adam. We follow two main characters with third-person points-of-view.

Velasin is a gay man living in Ralia, a very conservative country that forbids same-sex relationships. Being a third son, his father decides to marry him off to a girl from neighboring Tithena to solidify a diplomatic union. However, something happens that reveals his preference for men, and the Tithenai envoy suggests that Vel should marry the brother of his former intended wife.

Caethari is the second of three siblings in Tithena; his older sister is married to a woman as their country supports the union of same-sex relationships as well as nonbinary individuals known as kem. But there are violent forces around them who seem intent on ending their new alliance, and in Cae's name--though he is not giving the orders.

I was glad to receive an audio review copy as well as an ebook version because though I really enjoyed this book, there were sections that dragged a bit for me. I think it I was just reading the digital version, I may have stalled out. Listening to audio really helps me in these instances.

Overall, it was a very good read. It delves a bit into Byzantine politics, which is something I don't see in books very often, and the two leads definitely have great chemistry together. The world building is detailed and expansive, but not confusing. The description of the magic system is kind of vague though--partly because the characters we follow aren't expected to know how to use it--and I'd be interested in learning more about it if there are further books set in this universe. I absolutely plan to read more from this author.

Big head's up that there's an on-page rape in Chapter 2, so please prepare yourself for that. The author does include a note at the beginning of the book about this content warning, but know that it's quite graphic. While I generally dislike using rape as a device to show character growth, the book does a good job showing how that character processes the trauma of the assault over time.

There are a lot of queer or otherwise minority characters in this book. Most of the main characters are queer in some way, and Vel's valet Markle--who's really moreso his best friend--is mute and the two of them use sign language to communicate. I mentioned the kem previously, they are nonbinary folks who use the pronoun "thir." There is also a reference to some kind of bodymagic that allows a person to change gender.

Tropes in this book include: arranged marriage, court drama, political intrigue, assassination plots, strangers to friends to lovers, slow burn romance

CW: rape (on-page, Chapter 2), suicidal ideation, attempted self-harm, violence, PTSD, trauma, death, animal murder (horse), blood, emesis, homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, parental death, infidelity (referenced)

Special thanks to Tor Books, Macmillan, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing an eARC and an audio galley of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

⭐️3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for providing the ARC for my honest review.
The best way for me to describe my listening/reading experience with A Strange & Stubborn Endurance is to equate it with my experience reading From Blood and Ash. No the stories are not similar. But I would probably tell others the same thing. Which is; they were enjoyable reads that I could not put down, however, they possess a good amount of flaws.
I will also warn that Chapter 2 is rough. Definitely check the trigger warnings, because, even though I knew about it from another review, listening to the fairly graphic SA was rough. And I will warn that the following couple chapters dealing with the aftermath were also hard, but it does get easier and better.
So I enjoyed the two narrators for each of the POVs. I recognized them from some of the other audiobooks I’ve listened to and always enjoy them. I also liked that this story brought forth some topics that are not as prevalent in books as they should be. We got two main characters that are gay and got to explore that with one coming from an inclusive kingdom and the other from one where it is frowned upon. It also addressed being transgender and pronouns along with the expectations and limitations of gender set by society. All of this done within a fantasy world that was very thorough and in depth.
Now, the reasons I did not love this book are more so ones I probably would have given the author if I was beta reading for instance. However, you may read them and go, I actually like that, so again, it’s my personal opinion.
It felt a little like the author had thrown everything in, including the kitchen sink. While I think each and every of the topics brought up in this story are important and worth talking about, I wish it focused on only a few of them. Some of the topics didn’t get the space and time they deserved, sometimes dwindled down to a conversation or two. And I think because of this, those conversations or thoughts often felt like you were stepping out of the story to explain something or like one of those educational movies where a scene is set but then a character kind of steps away and explains the science of the thing. It also felt like there was a lot going on but with no real plot. Like the plot was secondary. Which that would have been fine if the story felt more character driven, but it didn’t feel right to me personally. Often I was left wondering how this seemingly random conversation or detail was relevant to the plot. I think a lot could have been cut or condensed.
Overall, I still listened to all eighteen hours of this audiobook. Like with From Blood and Ash, there was something about it that kept drawing me back and kept me there, even when it sort of annoyed me. I would still probably recommend this book because it does bring up some important topics of conversation and uses fantasy to address them.

Reviewed for NetGalley, listened to the audiobook version.

The premise was interesting. A typical betrothal royalty story, but with a very nice twist.

Velasin is to be bethrothed to the princess of a neighboring country, but after learning he is gay, he is then betrothed to the princess's brother, Caethari, instead.

My big problem with this story was mainly the narration. With some serious themes, the narrator came across as somewhat flippant or trivial in the reading, and really took away from the story.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a story of love and self- acceptance, of recovering from trauma, and an exploration of gender roles and sexuality.

Velasin didn't intend to marry, for he has never been interested in women and it is unheard of for men to marry other men in Ralia. After unexpectedly finding himself married to the prince of the neighboring kingdom, Tithena, Vel must find a way to settle into his new role while reconciling with the fact that the homophobia and gender roles of his youth are no longer restricting him from being himself and recovering from heartache, betrayal and trauma.

Caethari was take aback when he received word that his sister's betrothed from the Ralia was now his own with very little reasoning as to the motivation behind the change in plan. He is skeptical about his future husband but the two have no choice but to work together after a series of crimes threatens to undo the alliance and cause harm to Velasin.

Velasin and Cathari are one of my favorite romance subplots I have recently had the pleasure of reading. The two were so sweet together, and I loved every minute of their interactions. The way they supported each
other was just absolutely fantastic.

My other favorite thing about this book was the representation. It was great to see such a wide cast of characters including characters who are gay, bisexual, nonbinary and trans. For the most part, this is not an item of contention and these characters are allowed to just live their lives, which I really appreciate seeing more and more of in fantasy.

The only real issue I had with ASASE was that I felt the ending was a little predictable and, ultimately, lackluster. I would have liked to be a little more surprised, but honestly you may be!

_

Please, please, please look up trigger warnings. There is graphic, on-page SA early on in this book, and I want to make sure no one is surprised when this occurs. The impact of this trauma is handled delicately and gives the main character the time and resources necessary to heal, but the first half of this novel was difficult to read for that reason. Please take care of yourself if you do chose to read A Strange and Stubborn Endurance.

TW: homophobia, assault, gaslighting, (none by the love interest) murder, animal abuse

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely more of a 4.5, so I’m rounding up.

CW: rape, suicidal ideation, self harm, animal murder

I’ve been eager to get to this book since the first time I got to know about it because I was sure it’ll be special. I’m also very thankful to the author for offering me an arc before I managed to snag an audio review copy too and I had such a good time alternating between the two formats. So I guess you can see which direction this review is gonna go.

Just before this book, I had started reading another arc but it wasn’t able to keep my attention. So I put it down and picked this one up hoping that this would be more interesting, and I was instantly hooked. It does start off with a difficult scene but I have to commend the author for handling the aftermath with a lot of empathy. And also for providing the content warnings, because if I encounter a suicide/self harm scene without knowing, it’s an instant DNF from me and my mood will be totally down for days to come later. But I knew it was coming and that made it easier to get through, and I just felt so so sympathetic towards the character. The writing is just very engaging right from the get go and the pacing pretty fast that I didn’t wanna put it down once I began. If it wasn’t for my dear friend Shazzie asking me to slow down coz I had promised to do a buddy read (which wasn’t entirely successful because of my over enthusiasm), I would have probably finished this in a day. I thought the endearing writing was equally complemented by a very well narrated audiobook, with both James Fouhey and Vikas Adam bringing the characters and their emotions to life with their spectacular voice acting.

Velasin or Vel is a gay man from a kingdom which is both homophobic and transphobic, and finds himself both in an arranged diplomatic marriage and a scandalous situation back to back. And then follows his journey, both physical and within himself, to find the place and person where he can belong and finally be himself, not having to hide his true self. While his anxiety, constant spiraling, and self deprecation felt very relatable, it was the other side of his personality that impressed me. He is inquisitive, a keen observer, a born charmer and diplomat who is quite capable of figuring out malicious intentions and motives and investigate political conflicts. But he is also lost when he realizes that he doesn’t have to hide his self anymore, can be open in his affections, and needs time to unlearn all the prejudices among which he grew up.

Caethari or Cae on the other hand is a lord’s son and soldier, who is shocked at his sudden arrange marriage instead of his sister’s but is also curious to meet his prospective husband. He is a much more straightforward person who doesn’t fancy himself capable of handling any political intrigue, and also can get shy around the person whom he finds attractive. But overall he is just a very nice and thoughtful guy.

And the way their budding relationship is written despite it beginning with a marriage, is hands down the best part of this book. Right from Cae trying to help Vel through his trauma and offering his friendship, to Vel taking it upon himself to investigate all the assassination attempts and trusting Cae implicitly, their bond starts with friendship and builds into something more, full of trust and affection. They are just so endearingly written that I found myself helpless but to fall in love with both of them, and root for them every step of the way.

Vel’s friend and valet Markel is also a significant presence in the book and I adored their bond. They have a history and the trust between them is inviolable, and I felt they got to express their feelings towards each other even more now that they are allowed to. And it was amazing how Cae made an effort to learn sign language so that he could get to know his husband’s best friend better. Liran is Car’s ex and current friend who I thought was a delight even though he was only present for a couple of scenes. I just had this feeling that he and Vel would get along very well and tease Cae incessantly. There were also many of Cae’s family members and other people in his household who were all quite interesting and accepted Velasin pretty quickly which made me like them all.

To conclude, I’m absolutely in love with this book. It may have some difficult themes but they are handled sensitively, and along with them we have very easy to love characters, writing that’s engaging since page one, a very charming love story, maybe a bit predictable but still enjoyable mystery and political intrigue, and just overall a very lovely reading experience. I’ll especially recommend this to fans of Winter’s Orbit because it has very similar vibes, albeit in a fantasy setting. Also do give the audiobook a try because it’s excellent. I can’t believe this is the first book of Foz I’m reading despite following them for a long while, and can only hope I’ll get to read more of their works.

4.5

Slow burn romance in an arranged marriage mixed with political intrigue, somehow this book was everything I expected to be while also being nothing I expected.

I was sucked in quite early on, in part because of the narration. Vikas Adam, who voiced Velasin's sections is one of my favorite narrators and this was no exception. I liked James Fouhey's narration as well, though I did find the alternating narrators/POVs in each section a little jarring.

What really got me though was the characters. I thought that the characters were just so well fleshed out and I really felt for them the whole of the book. I loved seeing the companionship between Velasin and Markel, and then when Vel was sent to Tithenai I loved seeing the blossoming relationship between him and Caethari. Even more so, I thought watching him recover from his assault and learning to be himself in a society that won't shun him for being attracted to men was so painful yet so moving.

While I agree with some of reviewers who had issues with the pacing, I didn't take too much of an issue with it because I simply enjoyed spending time with the characters. The same thing goes for the "villain" reveal at the end. I guessed early on who it was, but that didn't take away from the gut punch of emotion when that was revealed to the whole group.

This truly is a book about healing from trauma in so many ways, and I know it will stick with me. That being said, please heed the trigger warnings before going in as there is on page sexual assault, suicide ideation, attempted self harm, and anxiety/panic attacks, among other things.