Hello again dear reader or listener, tis I, the emotional wreck.
Congratulation Mrs. Arden, you managed exactly what you were hoping for. This book now haunts me. (If you’re curious I’m referring to the author’s note she’s left on the Goodreads page of the book – deeply rec reading it).

But before I try to explain, a big thank you to Ms. Folds with Random House for offering an eARC of this novel. My thoughts remain honest, if a little overwhelmed.

I don’t know what kind of otherworldly sorcery Arden imbues her words with to make them feel so visceral, poignant, truthful, beautiful and powerful. I’ve rarely felt with the depth that I have through her writing, even when it’s over extremely simple or seemingly mundane things. But I do know she’ll keep having a space on my shelves any time she writes anything. This latest novel merely cemented that.

Generally, I try to review with as few spoilers as possible, if any at all, and this is one of those books that I feel you really need to go into blind. One day I might just write a spoiler filled commentary, if nothing else to get the words out because I need to. However, I do think it’s important to know one thing.
This book is primarily historical fiction, with some supernatural elements, so do not go into it expecting some big supernatural showdown or magical fights. For those who are familiar with Arden’s Winternight Trilogy, I would say that Ghosts is almost half as fantastical. Maybe even a third actually. And it works perfectly, as frankly making it more of a fantasy with the World War just as an aesthetic backdrop would be a disservice to the memories Arden drew from.

Arden tells the story of Canadian siblings Laura and Wilfred Iven, a nurse and a soldier at the Belgian front between the winter of 1917 and Spring of 1918. Their pov chapters are slightly out of sync meaning Laura is shown in the future compared to Wilfred. As such we have one of my favorite narrative devices of all time, which is the weaving of two timelines in ways that make for emotional and deeply tragic near misses between two people trying to find their way back to one another. And we don’t know until the end whether they actually do. How many times have you found yourself watching or reading one such scene and started yelling at your screen or felt your chest tighten? For me, it’s every. Single. time. The author also touches on the Halifax explosion in 1917, a disaster I had distantly heard of in the past but never truly learned about until reading this book.

Arden managed to encapsulate in one book the sheer absurdity, horror, pain, hypocrisy, and anger that resulted from the first World War and the loss of an entire generation from the western world. The villain in this story is not who you think, not really. It’s the very thing that pushed people such as the characters in the novel to seek oblivion at the hands of the mysterious hotelier. It must be said however that the nuance in the hotelier’s character and the distribution of hints as to his real identity is truly impeccable, regardless of whether you clock it right away or you realize it fully in the author’s afterword. The effect is the same. Because like I said, his role as the villain and his true identity pale in comparison to the man-made horrors of the War. And that I believe is the whole point this novel is trying to make. But in between the harshness, the author also makes spaces for the little moments of joy, for the small but pure beauties characters and readers need to hold on and get through everything.

Another thing I loved in this book is the way Arden wrote the hotelier. She had shown this previously with Morozko in Winternight, but this author has a way of writing timeless beings that not only make perfect sense but they are not sugarcoated either. They are never immortal/timeless beings behaving like humans for instance, and I know I may not be explaining it well but this is the kind of immortal done right that I always crave. We discount how much of our being/life/culture is defined by the very fact that our time is finite, whereas Arden is aware and writes this type of character accordingly.

He whispered, “Winter said there’s ghosts all round you.” Faland snorted. “When you swim in the ocean there’s water all round you, but no one mentions it.”

It is also clear how well researched this story was, and personal knowledge aside, Arden brings the War to life in ways that are both authentic and oh so specific so as to give you the kind of full immersion that doesn’t leave you unaffected. It was really easy for me to picture the scenes she described, mainly because I live in Italy and my father puts history buffs to shame. That means I’ve been exposed to monuments, remembrance ceremonies, and countless documentaries for as long as I can remember. Arden’s words however made me feel in ways I don’t do often. There’s something different you can’t quite put into words, between listening to sometimes sterile documentaries, and reading a story, however fictional, informed by first-hand accounts and written the way Arden does. Moreover, I found her portrayal of complex trauma, shellshock, or PTSD, both respectful and honest, especially for how it was understood in that first war that irrevocably changed the western world in so many ways.

I said at the start that maybe Arden has her own kind of sorcery imbued in her work, but the true magic is in her not relying on the supernatural at all. She writes deeply emotional and realistic characters who struggle with all their might to hang on to what little shred of sanity and hope they have left. And she does so by showing truly everything. Every single one of the good but also the ugly emotions and thoughts that make us who we are. For the longest time you cannot be certain whether the ghosts haunting the characters are “real” or figments of broken minds, and at the end of the day it doesn’t even matter because the result is the same.

Her story was about loss and war and human nature, and trying to heal after going through an actual end of the world. It was deeply beautiful as it was harrowingly painful, in what I can only describe as the way you fully grasp your surroundings in the first quiet moments after a rush of adrenaline or intense fear. It was simplicity after chaos, that feeling of sound returning slowly in stages after something sudden and loud caused your ears to ring.

She didn’t look at him. No, she wanted to say. No, it’s not real, whatever this is. Good things don’t grow in this rotten earth.

I simply love this book. I loved the story, that way the plot unfolds expertly and through different views. I didn’t feel like the strength of emotion shown by characters, even in a short time, was ever out of place because that right there is the only way a person can survive through events like that. And by the end of it all, by the satisfying wrap up of everything, however bittersweet – because no story about the wars can have a happy ending the way we commonly think of it given everything that has been lost in the process – I was thinking back to everything I know of this moment in history often eclipsed by its more discussed second act, and while I did, I read Arden’s afterword, and it finally broke me.
I sat in bed crying at 4 am. Not because of the plot itself but for what it meant, for the messy depth of emotion it brought forth in me specifically with how I move through life and how certain things affect me. It won’t mean the same to everyone and that’s fine, I’m pretty sure you could closely relate the reactions to this book with each reader’s cultural/historical background which makes perfect sense. But it’s a story that needed to be written and demands to be read.

One thing is for sure, Arden will make you feel for and through her broken characters. It will not be pretty and there won’t be the generally accepted heroics or tropes. It will be unashamedly human.
And that, is why it is extraordinary.

Until next time,
Eleni A. E.

5 Stars

“Armageddon was a fire in the harbor, a box delivered on a cold day. It wasn't one great tragedy, but ten million tiny ones, and everyone faced theirs alone.”

This story is set during World War 1 following Laura Iven, a combat nurse who has been honorably discharged after her hospital was blown up and her brother Wilfred Iven who is a soldier in German occupied territory. Laura receives a heart- wrenching package bearing Wilfred’s belongings and a cryptic note of his disappearance, she resolves to find him and then journeys back to the front lines.

Long after the last pages, this book lingers in my thoughts. It was haunting, filled with hope, survival and the sacrifices people are willing to make. This book doesn't hold back punches, War is grueling and disgusting. Katherine has a way of making her story break through all your walls and have Warm Hands of Ghost settle into your heart.

This book cements Katherine Arden will be a permanent figure on my TBR whenever she releases a new book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey, and Katherine Arden for the EArc.

I inevitably have the hardest time appropriately reviewing books I’ve loved. Though loved is too tame a word in this instance. This is one of those books that I would love to devour, so that its words will somehow absorb and meld themselves to some part of my innards and become a physical part of me forever. It’s no secret that Arden’s WINTERNIGHT trilogy ranks among my favorites of all time, and now THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS will follow suit. ⁣
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An exploration of the far-reaching consequences of war, this book takes place during The Great War (or WW1). Families are torn apart, people are killed, soldiers and civilians and nurses alike have physical reminders of the high cost of battle. The hardest part, the invisible part, is the mental toll. Laura, a battle nurse, returns home to find her family killed in an explosion and her brother, Freddie, missing and presumed dead. Something won’t let Laura truly believe he’s gone and she sets off a mission to either find him, or to find out what happened to him. ⁣
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Historical fiction is always better with a touch of the paranormal, and Arden deftly weaves in a bit of supernatural mystery and magic into this book. Despite its heavy themes and heavier tone, there are some bright spots in this book that help lighten things up. The characters sparkle, particularly the old women that Laura boards with, and there’s a bit of a romantic element later on in the story. I wish I could read this one all over again and relive that enchantment and delight that this book brought me, but instead I’ll just have to add it to my annual reread list. 5 stars.

**Content/Trigger warning will be listed at the end of this review**

For once, the back cover description is correct on a book. This is a historical fiction book with a speculative element. If you are going into this thinking it will be like "The Bear and the Nightingale," please readjust your expectations. Please note, this does not make it bad, just different. Although "The Bear..." trilogy does have elements of historical fiction, it is much more fantasy with magic revolving around Russian mythology. "The Warm Hands..." really focuses on the historical (WWI) and the speculative element lends itself much more to helping explain the horrors of war.

I won't give away how the speculative element plays out, but what this book really dives into is the atrocities of war. And this is true for both the physical and mental injuries that occur. It has some really rough passages that explain the horrendous injuries that people suffered, both on the field, and how they were treated (or not-basically because there wasn't anything that could be done) once they reached a hospital/aid station. But I would say mostly that this book is about the mental toll it takes on, not only the soldiers, but on those who care for them. PTSD is talked about, and is a known response of soldiers during this time (although it's not called back then, it's called "shell shock").

It's beautifully written and heart-wrenching tale that's told in two points of view from siblings: the brother in war, and the sister who is a nurse during the war. Both dealing with their jobs and the realities of war from different angles. It's also about a loving sibling relationship and what you would do to save the other and get closure.

**Content/Trigger warnings: scenes of war, death, grief, PTSD, gore & blood, descriptions of grievous injuries, mental health

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. This book is a classic case of 'its not the book, it's me'. I had trouble getting into this and DNF'd (for now). I'm still interested in seeing where this goes but when I'm in the right mindset for a more serious and emotionally heavy read.

I think this is one that I'll have to come back to. I was expecting a little more on the supernatural front from the get-go, and after about 30-40%, I felt like I was still waiting, so I decided to put it down. If you're looking for a historical fiction about WW1, though, you'll love this! It's compelling and well-written. Just not what my expectation was.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Beautifully written story of battlefield horror, love, trauma, and the power of memories. A supernatural element makes this war novel unusual and eerie, and the characters are remarkable.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a beautifully written historical fiction with some fun speculative elements (the devil, hello!!!). Laura Iven returns to the Belgian war front in early 1918 to search for her younger brother, Freddie, who has been declared killed in combat. Arden weaves the two points of view and timelines together so well, and I found both to be very compelling. The characters in this, while at times prickly and difficult, were easy to like and become invested in.

I loved Arden’s prose—it depicted the horrors of trench warfare starkly and allowed for the emotional toll of fighting during WWI to breathe. The prose is also quite atmospheric and haunting, and it contributed to the setting feeling very real. The characters were rendered beautifully, and while they are perhaps a little dogged in their pursuits, the context of the novel makes it work. I particularly loved the way Laura and Freddie’s relationship was portrayed and that their sibling relationship took center stage, though I did also enjoy the way the romantic tertiary plots developed.

I personally really enjoy war novels, especially when they are less about glory and more about the effects it has on one’s psyche and humanity as a whole. The speculative twist in this was catnip to me, and I was really interested in seeing how it would play out. This one is definitely weakest when it comes to plot—there are times where things become maybe a smidgen too easy or tidy, but I am not a plot-driven reader and I didn’t mind. This is definitely a slower read and I enjoyed lingering in the pages, though I imagine that won’t be the case for everyone. Still, I loved this and it will stay with me for a long time.

Genre: historical fantasy
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1918 and Belgium, 1917

In 1918 Nova Scotia, Laura Iven grapples with loss: her parents died in the Halifax Explosion in December of 1917, and she’s been living with three older women who are spiritualists, who summon ghosts as a hobby. In January of 1918, Laura receives a package containing her brother Freddie’s jacket and both dog tags. She’s stunned, because she knows as a war nurse that one tag stays with the body, the other is sent to the family. So is Freddie gone? Her spiritualist landladies think not. Laura embarks on a journey back across to war ravaged Europe amidst the rise of influenza, to try to uncover the mystery of the last of her family. Told in dual timeline, with Freddie’s perspective from the battlefields of Passchendaele in November 1917, the Warm Hands of Ghosts takes a spiraling dream-like lens to watch the horrors of World War I.

Katherine Arden is a master of the atmospheric. The atmosphere of this book is war, terror, devastation and the ghosts of World War I, from the horrors of Passchendaele to the explosion in Halifax to the losses from influenza. We see this from the perspective of practical Laura, who was determined to become a nurse at a young age against her parents’ wishes. We see this from the perspective of the idealist dreamer, artist, and poet Freddie, turned soldier to fight against the great evil. Arden a master worldbuilder, using moments of reflection and memory, through the anguish of loss and pain, building an atmosphere of reality rife with the ghosts of war.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is dark. Arden never shies away from the grittiness of what she calls the "time travel" of the experience in WWI - with weapons of immense destructive powers and nurses running onto battlefields in corsets and gas masks, the perfect juxtaposition of their old world and the new. Her author’s note draws on the tradition of apocalyptic metaphor surrounding the Great War. When writers of the time couldn’t bear the terror, they used science fiction tropes to distance themselves from the horrors.

This novel will have a very different feel than Arden’s Winternight trilogy, and it’s a testament to her writing skills that she can tackle a different subject matter and retain some of her signature style, but to different effect.

2.7 stars
One Liner: Umm… tries too hard

Jan 1918: Laura Iven is an efficient field nurse even after an explosion left her wounded. Back home in Halifax, Canada, she continues to volunteer at a local hospital. However, the news of her brother’s death in war results in too many questions and not enough answers. Laura decides to travel to Belgium as a volunteer at a hospital to find out the truth.
Nov 1917: Freddie Iven thinks he is dead until he realizes he is alive, but the clock is ticking fast. He and a German soldier (the enemy), Hans Winter, have survived. However, life is uncertain and dangerous with the war around them. What happens when the new acquaintances have to decide their next step?
With the brother and sister haunted by the ghosts of the past and present, can they find a way to save others and themselves?
The story comes in the third-person POV of Laura and Freddie (Wilfred) in alternate timelines (1918 and 1917).

My Thoughts:
After many recommendations for the author’s famous trilogy, I was delighted to see a standalone work by her. It’s easier to read a single book than three (that too big ones). Alas, the result is disappointing.
The bare bones are intriguing- World War 1, PTSD, soldiers, nurses, healing, hope, and a touch of paranormal. What’s not to like? But why is the book like this?
Laura should have been a terrific character. She is an efficient nurse, someone capable, assertive, decisive, and determined. The character is exactly the kind I like to read. Yet, there wasn’t a single instance I could empathize with her.
Freddie gets more of my support. He also has some intense emotions to display. His vulnerability has the pull to connect with the readers. Winter is decent, too, in a grumpy, wounded hero kind of way (he is not a hero here).
The desolate and bleak side of war comes across very well and is the highlight of the book. Can’t say it’s something new, but still, the desired impact is achieved.
Now, I love paranormal touches in books. But this one almost went over my head. I’m not a Christian, nor do I know much about the theories like ‘end of the world’ or the Book of Revelation. I could guess who the fiddler was, but there’s nothing new/ unique about the concept. (Moreover, my go-to expert on the topic has yet to read the book, so I couldn’t ask and spoil it for her.)
There’s some love inserted in the last section. Not sure whose idea it was, but the book would have been better without it. Or, the concept could have been explored in detail. Healing is different from trauma bonding. And can we please respect platonic friendships for what they are without forcefully turning them into romantic tracks? Also, given the period, the lack of self-exploration on certain aspects is unrealistic.
The ending is hopeful. But then, everything so easily falls into place! In fact, the same happens almost throughout for Laura. She puts in 1x effort, and others clear the path for the rest.
The author’s note helped me understand a few things. It reminded me of when I spent extra time and care on a project in college because the topic was a favorite. However, the final result was an average piece and not something I could call my best in any manner. I gave it a lot more than what was necessary.

To summarize, The Warm Hands of Ghosts has its moments but fails to impress as a package. The slow pacing doesn't help either. Maybe readers with more knowledge about religious concepts will understand and like it better.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing (Del Ray), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Haunting and incredibly fascinating! It would make an amazing reread.

The ending felt rushed and it took me until about 70% before j was truly hooked. That's why it's not 5 stars.

All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful and dark tale that I absolutely loved. I was a little hesitant going into this novel as I normally shy away from historical fiction, but I am so very happy that I read this!

Beautifully written, sad and heartbreaking at times. I found myself so captivated by these characters and their struggles. The magic was woven through this story so well and just everything about this was amazing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This is a beautiful poignant character study of war. Not only the side of mortality, but an in depth look at the loss of who we are before and who we become after. Katharine Arden gives us an in depth look at the effects of war on our hearts, memories, and morality moving through and after war time. How we as humanity so often lose ourselves completely and have to fight even harder to find the will to come back to this side of life when nothing is as we left it. This is somewhat different from her previous Winter Night trilogy, but no less powerful and beautiful.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is a captivating blend of WWI Historical Fiction and Paranormal Intrigue! I was delighted to receive this ARC as I have long been a fan of Katherine Arden, in particular her Winternight Trilogy. Get ready for a journey through the echoes of history and the whispers of the supernatural in this captivating tale by Katherine Arden.

In The Warm Hands of Ghosts, we meet Laura Iven, a resilient field nurse grappling with the aftermath of WWI. After being wounded and sent back home to Halifax, Canada, she receives the devastating news of her brother Freddie's disappearance on the battlefield. Touching his blood-stained jacket and ID tags, Laura refuses to accept his presumed fate.

Despite her own painful leg injury, Laura embarks on a journey back to Flanders, Belgium, volunteering at a private hospital in search of answers about Freddie's fate, clinging to hope that he may still be alive...

Arden masterfully weaves together alternating timelines of Laura and her brother Wilfred (Freddie) Iven, plunging readers into the heart of wartime chaos and ghostly mysteries. With each turn of the page, the lines between reality and the supernatural blur, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts delves into the profound themes of injury, loss, and the haunting specter of war, infusing the narrative with a spellbinding touch of the paranormal. Arden's imaginative storytelling breathes life into the historical backdrop of Flanders, Belgium, transporting readers to the trenches of 1917-1918.

Through Laura's eyes, readers experience the convergence of past and present, with hints of Steampunk and subtle nods to Science Fiction adding layers of intrigue. Arden's rich characterizations and original premise make The Warm Hands of Ghosts a must-read for fans of Historical Fiction with a twist of Fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey, and Katherine Arden for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

* This review is based on e-ARC I was given for the read-along, thank you Del Rey and Katherine Arden.

It’s not exactly a secret that I’m a big fan of Katherine Arden’s writing and storytelling, and especially her Winternight trilogy is very close to my heart. It was the series that made me, along with The Dark Days Club, an avid fan of historical fantasy. With her new book for adults, Arden proved that she can write pretty much anything, and I will love it.

Ghosts takes the reader far from magical medieval Russia to the horrors of World War I. The Canadian nurse Laura searches for her younger brother Freddie, believed dead in the trenches, despite signs that state otherwise. With both of the siblings narrating the story, Arden shows the absurdity and brutality of the great war, which feels in a lot of ways like an apocalypse. No wonder ghosts haunt such a cursed timeline, and also a certain someone who seems like salvation and damnation both.

I was incredibly lucky to be part of the secret read-along, in which Arden herself discussed Ghosts with the readers. She mentioned wanting a fantasy element that was in conversation with history: an element that explores life and war in a way historical fiction alone can’t and that seems almost plausible. I think it comes across very strongly from this book and is an important reason why it moved me so much. Also, no one writes about multi-dimensional otherworldly antagonists like her, fascinating and terrible but also sympathetic at times.
I loved all the main characters and the way their storylines intertwined together. There were a lot of scenes that made me stare at the ceiling because they were just A Lot in the best kind of way.

Ghosts is in many ways haunting and bittersweet story, but its main message is, at least to me: despite everything, there is love. There is familial love and platonic and romantic love, unexpected bonds people form in the dark. Ghosts says that when it’s the war we talk about, everyone loses. But you can try to move forward. This story will stay with me just as The Winternight.

Thank you so much to Ballantine books and NetGalley for this ARC!

Wow, that was perfection. I finished this book two days ago and I’ve been putting off writing a review because I know I can’t do this book justice.

There are two things I think this novel does particularly well: the WWI setting and the characters. The descriptions of the war are harrowing and heartbreaking. The characters (especially Laura, Freddie, Pim and Jones) and their relationships will stay with me forever.

I have already recommended this beautiful book to several people and I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy for myself.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy! So grateful!

I will start off by saying that this started off slow, and didn’t really pick up for me much throughout the rest of the book. There were definitely parts that were suspenseful but for the most part, it was a slower read.

However, Arden’s writing is very beautiful and impactful. The depictions of World War I were powerful. I truly felt for all the characters and the horrors they were forced to face. The characters felt so relatable with so many of their thoughts and feeling about religion and humanity sadly still being so relevant today. All in all, I think Arden excels at writing historically accurate works and making them magical yet feel completely realistic!

If you enjoy historical fiction with hints of magic and the paranormal, highly recommend!

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Slow to medium. Once the author explained the backstories, the pacing slowed way down, almost to a snail’s pace. That caused the storyline to drag in some spots. The pace did pick up to medium at the end of the book.

POV: 3rd person (told by Laura, Freddie, and occasionally Hans Winter).

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving war themes & military violence (on-page), death (on and off page), blood (on page), death of parents (off page but how Laura found her mother was on-page), violence (on page), medical content (on page), injury & injury detail (on and off page), gore (on page), grief (on page), medical trauma (on page), body horror (on page), panic attacks (on page), murder (on page), gaslighting (on page), gun violence (on page), confinement (on page), suicidal thoughts (on page), xenophobia (on and off page), fire and fire injury (on page), post traumatic stress disorder (on page), alcohol consumption (on page), dead bodies & body parts (on and off page), needles (on page), physical injuries (on and off page), scars (on page), disappearance of a loved one (on page), explosions (on page), knife violence (on page), chemical gassing & warfare (on and off page), and riot (on page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is little to no swearing used in The Warm Hands of Ghosts. There is language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: The Warm Hands of Ghosts is primarily set in WWI-era Belgium. There are several chapters set in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There are also stops in England and France.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Laura, a renowned WWI nurse, had been sent home when she sustained an injury to her leg. While she is recuperating, a horrific explosion of a ship kills and injures hundreds of people. Her mother was killed, and her father was presumed dead (he was at ground zero for the attack). Several days after the explosion, Laura receives a package containing her brother Wilfred’s (a.k .a. Freddie’s) personal effects. However, several things do not make sense or are missing. So Laura and her friend Pim travel to Belgium to help in a hospital in The Forbidden Zone. But Laura is also there to look into her brother’s death/disappearance. What she uncovers defies any sense of reason, and when she finds out that Freddie is caught up in that web, Laura will move heaven and earth to save him.

Characters:

The two main characters in The Warm Hands of Ghosts are the Iven siblings, Laura and Freddie. I liked that the author showcased their strong relationship on top of creating well-rounded, well-written characters. These characters were well fleshed out, and I was able to form a connection with both of them. I connected with Laura more than Freddie, but that was because she was in the book more.

Numerous other secondary characters added depth to the main storylines. But the ones that stood out the most to me were Pim, Winters, and Faland. Pim, because she was devastated and haunted by the death of her only son in this war. She was clinging to a fragile hope that he was still alive. Winters, because he was the strongest out of all the characters. His bond with Freddie transcended anything, and I liked that he saw Faland for who he was and was ready to move mountains to get Freddie back. And lastly, Faland. I will leave a minor spoiler here (because otherwise, my references wouldn’t make sense), but Faland was an aspect of the devil. He dealt with stealing souls and secrets. His entire character was contrasts.

My review:

I had eagerly waited for Katherine Arden to release her newest adult novel since The Winter of the Witch was published. I had read her middle-grade series, Small Spaces, and while it was good, it wasn’t what I wanted to read from her. So, when I saw that Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Del Rey had The Warm Hands of Ghosts as a wish on NetGalley, I immediately clicked that button. And I was thrilled when I saw that they had granted my wish. This book is one of my top choices for February.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts has dual storylines. Freddie’s storyline starts in November 1917 when he and Winters are trapped in a pillbox. Laura’s storyline begins in January 1918, right after the Halifax Explosion. Both storylines were well-written and well-fleshed out. The storyline did drag once Laura arrived in Belgium and went to The Forbidden Zone. But it picked back up when Winters connected with Laura. Once the storylines merged, the book flowed better but kept up that same medium-slow pace until the end.

I do have a trigger warning list above, but I want to reiterate that this book takes place on the battlefield. There are explosions, people dying, body parts, and people suffering from mental trauma portrayed in the book. This book also takes place during WWI, when chemical warfare was widely used and the effects from the chemicals were awful. It makes for a sad and often frightening background. I didn’t mind it and thought it only accentuated Freddie’s time with Faland and Laura’s quest to find him. But some people might be triggered. So, go into reading this book with care.

The fantasy angle of The Warm Hands of Ghosts was exciting and, at the same time, a little scary. Freddie got sucked into something that was beyond him, and when Winters left (unwillingly, might I add), his sense of time got hazy. I liked how the author connected music to the magic that Faland did and a mirror that showed your true heart’s desire. The haziness of Freddie’s recollections and the music make for an almost dreamlike state that Freddie lived in.

The end of The Warm Hands of Ghosts was bittersweet. I won’t get into it, but the damage that was done by the war was immense. That’s all I can say without giving away spoilers. I liked Laura’s spot of happiness on the last page.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Katherine Arden for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Warm Hands of Ghosts. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

The warm hands of ghosts
By Katherine Arden

A beloved author has come up with another remarkable tale. She has changed her focus from Russian folk lore to one of the most difficult times in our history. World War 1 had so many changes and affects to our history. The Zeitgeist of the times affected literature and warfare is unthinkable ways. This book shows the Celtic influence on the area in France where the darkest days of the war happened. Where no man's land was an insurmountable wasteland. Of boiling pits and craters of death shown in the land of Mordor, by J. R.R. Tolkien. The characters are faced with a supernatural being of unknown power, feeding on the memories and misery of the combatants. Their difficulty begins with the horrors of war, and ends with the lost tracks of the mind.

We're following two perspectives in World War II. First is Laura, a nurse from near the front lines of the war who has just received a box full of her brother's things, whose presumed dead. She is desperate to learn what happened to her brother, so she facing her nightmares and goes back to the war to nurse the wounded soldiers and try to find out what happened to her brother - but no one is giving her a direct answer. Then there's Freddie, Laura's brother. We're following him 3 months before, leading to his disappearance. His perspective is harsh, he's in No Man's Land with an incredibly unlikely companion in the form of a German solider. His story is a fight for survival and then a desperate need to escape the horrors of the war surrounding him. Though the Fiddler doesn't have POV chapters, he is a prominent character. He's viewed nearly as the devil himself, allowing people to forget the horrors they've seen, but always for a price. He's a mystery. He's salvation to some, but damnation to most. This is a story of survival, PTSD, Faith, love between siblings, love between two unlikely people, and a fight for life - not just surviving but actual life. This explores the war in more apocalyptic terms and what place the Devil would've played in this new earth and hell. Also, I'm just a sucker for a story about siblings moving heaven and earth for one another.