I wish I could say that I loved this book. I really enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale and I was excited to try out something else by Arden. This was 100% a case of "this is a me problem". I just can't get into stories based in "modern" war time. The most enjoyable part of this book was the afterward giving some of the background on her story along with the inspiration other authors have taken from wars and serving in the military.
I wouldn't ever tell someone they shouldn't read this book. It just wasn't for me. Arden is still an amazing author and I will pick up her next book happily!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a story about orphaned adult siblings who each navigate the trials and tribulations of WWI in their own way. The story alternates POVs between Laura, a war nurse, and her brother Freddie, a soldier, as well as dual timelines.

At the beginning of the book, Laura has returned to Canada after being injured on the job on the European front. She is told that Freddie is presumed killed in action during a battle, but the military did not recover his body. Laura does not want to accept that her brother is dead, so she returns to Europe to seek answers. I felt the strengths of the book were the author's searing descriptions of the horrors of war and the emotional toll it took on the public, especially those on the front lines.

It initially took me a bit to get into the story, but then I became quickly captivated by how the dual timelines of the MCs came together. I deducted one star because I felt the story was trying to do too much to its detriment. It interwove too many genres, including fantasy, magical realism, paranormal, historical fiction, mystery, etc. It seemed like the author bit off a bit more than she could chew with combining so many elements, so it made the ending feel a bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this read. The story is unique and very well written. I will admit I was a bit confused in the first few chapters but I hit my stride somewhere around 20% in and absolutely devoured the rest of the story!!

Katherine Arden captivates with her haunting folktale style once again. You’ll fall in love with the characters and your heart will break for them over and over.

i really struggled with The Bear and the Nightingale, but this one i liked a lot! it was very slow, and i'll admit there were times where i wished it would pick up a little but overall, it was very atmospheric, and i was invested in the outcome. also, poor Pim. i felt for her so much and all the mothers who had to bury their sons. the futility of war, indeed.

In a Nutshell: A character-driven historical fantasy set during WWI. A lot more historical with just a smattering of fantasy. Interesting characters, slow pace, (surprisingly) religious undertones, fabulous atmosphere, underdeveloped plot. Might work for those who like character-oriented fiction and don’t need likeable protagonists.

Plot Preview:
1918. Nova Scotia, Canada. Laura is back home after serving as a combat nurse and discharged from the medical corps because of an injury. Having lost her parents in the Halifax explosion of 1917, Laura’s only surviving family member is her younger brother Freddie, who is still fighting in Flanders. But when a telegram arrives containing his personal effects, there's something strange in the parcel that makes Laura go to Belgium to look into what happened to him. Is Freddie dead, or missing in action, or has there been some other confusion?
The story comes to us in Laura's third person perspective from 1918 and Freddie's third person perspective from 1917 onwards.

With a plethora of stories set during WWII, a book focussing on the ignored but equally deadly WWI is always welcome. But I wish the execution of this novel had been more satisfying.

Bookish Yays:
🎖️ The titular “ghosts” have several manifestations in the plot, ranging from personal ghosts to actual ones. It’s an apt title for the story.
🎖️ No fake glorification of war or of the indefatigable bravery of soldiers. Rather, the story offers a gritty portrayal of the on-field struggles of ordinary soldiers stuck in deathly circumstances because of political policies. The raw unfiltered reality of the on-ground scenes is so visceral that it generates shivers down the spine.
🎖️ The atmosphere is brilliant throughout the book. The writing really brings out the setting as well as the emotions.
🎖️ Freddie is a good representative of how twenty-one-year-olds behave. Uncertain, impulsive, scared, and vulnerable, his reliance on and conflicting feelings for the German soldier who is also stuck with him in no man's land is convincingly written.
🎖️ The medical and historical research is fabulous. I especially appreciated learning about the Halifax Explosion of 1917, though it was mentioned only in passing. I'd love to read more stories on this incident.
🎖️ Laura is mostly stoic in her feelings and firm in her work interactions. This could go either way for readers, but I liked the uncommon writing choice. Not every lead female character has to be melodramatic or loveable! And considering how annoyingly grating Frankie’s over-the-top melodrama was in Kristin Hannah’s The Women (That book has scarred me for life, I swear!), Laura, with her muted feelings and pragmatic approach and readiness to accept assistance, is more realistic and far better sketched. Perhaps readers who expect an greater display of emotions from main characters would be disappointed in Laura’s seemingly aloof demeanour, but I can just say, not all of us sob or fume during tough times.
🎖️ The key secondary characters are memorable. Pim shows how our main motivation in life is love, Mary demonstrates the power of a determined woman, and Dr. Jones highlights the dedication of a committed doctor who chooses professional passion over personal glory. Hans, in his limited role, also leaves a mark.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
⚔️ The plot has two distinct storylines, but as each is so discrete in its plot, characters and approach, it is tough to reconcile the two as belonging to the same book. Laura’s story had typical historical fiction content for the most way. The differentiating factor was Freddie’s narrative, which is much more gripping. I might have liked the book better if it had focussed mainly on his experience and kept Laura secondary, instead of vice versa.
⚔️ The intriguing decision of writing the story from two timelines just a few months apart was interesting. So though Laura is in the dark, the reader knows what happened to Freddie, BUT not in "current time". However, this also means that we see all twists and turns of the plot way before Laura. We need to be patient to wait for Laura to catch up with what we already guessed many chapters ago.
⚔️ The two romance tracks in the book stay quite lowkey, which I appreciate as they don’t overpower the core narrative of Laura’s search for her brother. However, I am not convinced that the romance tracks were needed in the first place. One felt included only for the sake of inclusion and the other felt like it was shoved in because a platonic relationship might dissatisfy readers. (So incorrect!)

Bookish Nays:
💣 As someone who had totally forgotten the blurb and hadn’t read this author before, I didn't foresee the sudden veer into fantasy. However, for a work by an author who specialises in fantasy, the fantastical content of this book is mostly muted, coming in bits and pieces without being explored to the fullest potential possible. Faland’s character was especially intriguing but we simply don’t get to know the truth about him, despite several assumptions going around. (Actually, it is fairly easy to guess who Faland might be as that trope is somewhat common in horror fiction, but it would have been good to learn more from the plot itself.)
💣 I didn’t expect such a strong religious undertone to the proceedings. While a tiny part of me was fascinated by how the author correlated the apocalyptic details of the Book of Revelation with the Armageddon that was WWI, using the word “Christian” to depict this was a misnomer. The “Christianity” used in this book is primarily that followed by Jehovah's Witnesses, whose beliefs as well as whose Bible are different from those of other Christian denominations. While JWs did refer to themselves as Christians, the term might be misleading to those who don’t know the deeper tenets of mainstream (Latin/Orthodox) Christianity, and might assume such beliefs to be representation of all Christians. Generalisation is such an easy trap to fall into!
💣 The chapter titles are also fragmented lines (but never complete quotes) taken from the Book of Revelation, which might suit some chapters but hardly make broader sense, especially to those who wouldn’t know the source material. I wouldn’t even have guessed this, had some of the “titles” not felt familiar. I don’t think this stylistic choice served its purpose aptly.
💣 While the overall pacing is on the slower side (quite common in character-driven plots), the middle of book really drags. After a point, I felt bored as the plot was going nowhere. Only the final few scenes shook me out of my reverie.
💣 The ending is overly positive and smooth for such a dark narrative.

All in all, I did like the story but I felt like it could have done so much better. The author certainly knows how to create an excellent atmosphere and imagery with her words. I just wish the pacing and the fantastical content had been more finetuned. The author's note offers much clarification on some of her writing choices. It helps us understand her perspective, and hence the content, better.

I suppose I should be grateful that this was my first try of Arden’s work. I went into it with no pre-set expectations and was hence fairly satisfied. Considering the high ratings of her earlier novels, things can only improve from here. (Fingers crossed!)

Recommended, but not with gusto. This might work better for those who enjoy slow-paced atmospheric historical fiction and don’t mine religious content or an unlikeable main character.

3.25 stars.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing the DRC of “The Warm Hands of Ghosts” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I was so excited to get this in my hands, but unfortunately, it did not have the same magic that The Bear and the Nightingale series did. This was slow and honestly kind of boring. I wish she was searching for someone that I was more invested in like a lover or a friend than her brother. I did like the aspect of the Canadian side of WWI that we got glimpses of. I would have been happier and much more interested if the whole story took place in Canada.

Without a doubt one of my favorite books of 2024. I finished it and wanted to read it again immediately. I don't know how to explain how perfect this book was to me. It's not normally the kind of book I'd gravitate towards but I'm so glad I trusted in Katherine Arden and picked it up.

One of my few 5-star reads of 2025.

This book was... interesting. I expected a war story historical fiction with magic and creepy ghost stories... and I found it to be more of a slow historical fiction with a supernatural subplot. Overall, the writing was good but it just wasn't the story for me.

a beautiful novel from an author i would now consider a favorite of mine. this book was everything & more — lovers of history will certainly enjoy this poetic and heart breaking tale of a sister who will do anything to reunite herself with her family, against a war torn european landscape. 4/5 stars! thank you netgalley

Unfortunately, I was really disappointed by this book. While I’ve loved the author’s middle grade books, this was my first experience with her adult fiction, and it just didn’t work for me.

The writing itself was beautiful and immersive, and the depiction of war was dark, gritty, and vividly portrayed—I truly felt transported into the scenes alongside the characters. However, the story and characters failed to draw me in. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, which made it hard to care about their journeys or outcomes. The plot lacked the intrigue and emotional pull I was hoping for, leaving me wanting so much more.

The fantasy element, which I had anticipated eagerly, was underwhelming and felt underdeveloped. There was so much potential for it to shine, but it didn’t deliver. As a result, the story lacked memorability—so much so that as I write this review, most of it has already faded from my mind.

I listened to this book on audiobook, and honestly, the excellent narration was the only reason I didn’t DNF it. The narrators did a fantastic job bringing life to the story, even if the content didn’t resonate with me.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this book. However, if you’re a fan of the author or find the premise intriguing, you might want to give it a try—especially in audiobook format, which I highly recommend.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it felt too slow paced without a lot of suspense to keep the reader interested. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

This was such a huge surprise for me, was so pleasantly surprised in every way. When one picks up a fantasy book, we often feel that we have to choose between the fantasy genre and works that have literary merit, but it's with books like these that we get the best of both worlds; Arden manages to write something so stunningly beautiful in terms of technical writing, as well as the storytelling elements.

I was captivated by this from the very beginning to the end, the pacing was damn near perfect. The characterizations that took place here were absolutely beautiful to read about. There was so much more depth and meaningfulness that I wasn't expecting from this and was very happy to get. The character work is impeccable, I was so invested in these characters that my heart was left in a million trillion little pieces!

While being absolutely beautiful, this was still a very gritty tale that depicts the realities of war and doesn't pretty it up, we get very raw and unflinching POVs that really work to help the characters grow. The growth of our MC was my favorite part of the book.

I was a huge fan of "The Bear and the Nightingale" series, so I was really excited to be able to read Katherine Arden's latest book! Because she is so good at world building, I think I was expecting something that takes place in another realm. However, while this story has fantastic elements, it is rooted also in a very real battlefield. As a reader, I was completely immersed in the story. She is so good at making a reader feel what the characters are feeling at any given moment. There were several points when I felt a little claustrophobic as I read about soldiers trapped in tiny places.

When I finished the story, I couldn't quite move on to another book. It was a really powerful and poignant story. I'm excited to recommend it to customers.

I came back to this novel after “DNF’ing” it earlier this year when it was published (definitely and wholly a me problem when I “DNF’d” it), and coming back to The Warm Hands of Ghosts made me more appreciative for what Katherine Arden is doing with this novel. Where Arden’s prose in the Winternight trilogy evokes the folk tales and medieval Russia, her prose in this World War I set historical fantasy bares the horrors of war. The catalyst—and overarching plot—is Laura’s search for her missing brother, Wilfred, when she receives word that he is missing and presumed dead. There were a handful of times that I was taken out of the story—a few character motivations and relationship developments would have worked better for me if they were a bit more fleshed out—but the thematic explorations of trauma more than made up for it. Our sibling protagonists, Laura and Wilfred Iven, navigate war from the medical and front lines with their perspectives making for an almost detached reading experience, focusing on the internalized trauma of the Great War.

I fell in love with Katherine Arden's writing in the Winternight Trilogy, and this story did not disappoint. It also has a bit of the magical realism that propels the working class forward.

This is a beautiful story about those that go to war and those that are left behind, and the effects on their ability to form relationships. Laura is discharged as a field nurse due to an injury she sustained, when her brother goes missing in combat. Laura travels back to the war zone to find her brother. We see the relationships formed between the characters and those who they depend on out of necessity.

Arden is a master of description and creates complex characters and relationships.

Another beautiful book by Arden. The way she puts a fantastical spin into historical fiction is brilliant. I honestly haven’t read too many books set in WWI, so it led me to look things up and read up a little bit on the war. We follow a Canadian brother and sister, Freddie and Laura, in Belgium through a few months of WWI. It's horrible, but done so well. While not gory, there are parts that make your stomach turn. And even more so when you know those things really did happen. Arden is such a great writer. While this was a slightly slower story, it was still impactful and I did want to keep reading to know what would happen. It was all just done so well. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend this book to those who love historical fiction.

I loved this! A perfect blend of folk tale and gritty war. I haven't really read any WW1-based books and now I want to read more about it. Katherine painted a very vivid portrait of both the hospitals and experiences of the soldiers.

This was a heartbreaking story. I normally don’t read books that feel so close to reality specially based on the time period this story is set in, but the language and storytelling was so good that got sucked in without realizing it.
I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop and breathe to not cry because man, I felt so much for the characters.

The trapped scene will forever hunt me and I don’t think I’ll will ever be able to reread this one but hey only good storytellings are able to do what this one did to me

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. A mostly historical fiction with a touch of magic thrown in, I was invested in the lives of these characters throughout the story. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a little of everything: magic, history, adventure and love.