I loved this author's other books, so I was really excited for this one. I know I'm in the minority, but I did not like this at all. The generous 2 star rating is just because her writing style is beautiful as always, I just hated the story.
There was no character development at all. I didn't connect with them, so I didn't care what happened. Based on all the high ratings, this book is obviously appealing to a lot of people, but it did not work for me. It deals with war, grief, death, ptsd, with paranormal twists.
I was bored and thought it was way too long. If you're looking for another Bear and the Nightingale, you will be disappointed.

God, Katherine Arden could sell me a post-it note with a smiley face on it & I would die & give it eleven stars. She didn’t have to write such a devastatingly tender magical war book with an afterword that made me outright sob BUT SHE DID. In this world there are people who pause their entire lives when Katherine Arden or Naomi Novik publish anything & if you are one of these people I have great news for you: this book SLAPS. Give it a preorder!

I’m always interested in the intersection of magic and trauma, and this book is a compelling contemporary reimagining of WWI through that lens. I am a poet and read Vera Brittain’s haunting memoir during my PhD & I now spend my life passionately lecturing undergrads about Wilfred Owen & Paul Fussell’s book “The Great War & Modern Memory,” so this book 100% had my number from the very beginning. I loved the story & I also loved Arden’s incredible essay that closes the book where she describes WWI’s “steampunk” aesthetic with regard to sci fi & Tolkien. KATHERINE I WOULD ENROLL IN THIS WHOLE DAMN LIT SEMINAR PLEASE SEND ME THE SYLLABUS.

Anyway, a million thanks to the publisher for letting me read & think about this dazzling, dark & stunning novel from one of my favorite writers.

In her author’s note for The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden writes that she struggled to get this story from idea to the page. For an author known for her magical, lyrical prose in the extraordinary Winternight Trilogy, having to sweat over every word must have been exhausting. Somehow, though, the laboring suits the brutal, surreal setting of her latest novel, which takes place in the final years of the Great War, following a decorated an injured Canadian nurse who returns to France after learning her brother has supposedly been killed in action. The circumstances of Freddie’s death are shrouded in mystery, and something seems not quite right, even before the trio of old fortune tellers who Laura cares for seemingly contact a dead soldier who claims Freddie has not died after all.

In truth, it took me about a third of The Warm Hands of Ghosts to really get into the story. It grabbed hold of me once the narrative shifted back to France and the strange circumstances around Freddie’s disappearance during the bloody push on Passchendaele Ridge begin to be revealed. Who exactly is the fiddler, and what strange power does he wield?

The scenes set among the shell craters-turned-mud-filled death traps of no man’s land and overrun hospitals are told with unflinching clarity. There’s no poetry in the apocalypse. But because it’s Arden, the world still holds something magical: Music is both a nightmare and testimony. The devil offering oblivion may be the kindest path.

Don’t come to The Warm Hands of Ghosts if you’re hoping for heroic wartime adventures or a sweeping, star-crossed romance. Instead, pick it up for the honest, gritty, human story told against the backdrop of one of the world’s darkest hours. Good things can grow in rotten earth.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 4.5 stars rounded down

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book might have converted me to like historical fiction, which is no small feat.

I thought the fantastical elements would be a lot more pronounced but its actually rather light on it. That is the strong suit of "The Warm Hands of Ghosts".

The actual horrors of WWI are not altered just included with these fantastical elements that elevate the reality.

The writing here is also beautiful but easy to read. I was afraid that this book would be hard to get through but I eased through the prose.

And just thinking about it, there's not much that I have to critique about this book. There was never a moment where I felt it got off track or included unnecessary information.

It's a solid read and earned a definite recommendation from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. World War I sometimes gets overshadowed by its successor, so having read a glut of recent books set in WWII time, this is welcome reprieve. If "welcome" is the word to use here. It is a pretty bleak book, but so worth the read. The characters feel real, the otherworldly elements don't feel that otherworldly at all. So even if you aren't a fantasy reader, the supernatural elements serve as a metaphor more than anything else.

Faland=Voland, but I don't think that was meant to be hidden from the reader, even upon the first meeting.

Lastly, I've read first 2 books of the Winternight trilogy, and this book is a much more mature read than the trilogy was, in the matter of topic, character building, and overall plot. And imho, a superior book!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts
By Katherine Arden
4/5⭐️

-historical fiction
-strong sibling relationship
-supernatural
-magical realism
-WWI setting
-dual POV/timelines

This is a gripping story on the horrors of war and what you will go through for a loved one. I appreciated the characters and how driven Laura was to find her bother. I did find the beginning to be a little slow and then it picked up for me, which is why I dropped a star.

If you like historical fiction, a touch of magical realism, and a story of siblings who will do anything for each other, try this book out!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This was an achingly beautiful story of how war can change a person to the point of no return. And what I mean by this is that Ghosts did a phenomenal job of depicting the horrors that came with WWI and how the survivors tried to continue living despite maybe not wanting to. 💔

The book follows a pair of siblings as they try to find their way in the ending year of WWI. Laura is a woman traumatized by her recent past in Halifax that learns that her brother has mysteriously died. She was practical and pragmatic, really keeping a level head throughout her story, even when she felt like her sanity was slowly disintegrating. Her brother, Freddie, finds himself locked in a dark pillbox with an enemy soldier, but working with him in order to escape. His POV was the most heart wrenching as he slowly learns to trust Winter. His relationship and desire to save Winter was so sweet and their ending was just *chef’s kiss* 😚

Faland as a character I thought was really interesting. He comes off as a tragic figure, but his need to feed off of others emotions reminds me classic deeds with devils plots. Pim was so incredibly interesting that her ending left me speechless on an overnight flight. I don’t think I’ve been this shocked by a character plot twist since El-Arifi’s Battle Drum. 🎻

In general, this was a harrowing story filled with mystery and historical settings. This should definitely be on lists of fans of Carlos Ruiz Záfon. A fair warning to prospective readers: it is gruesome the depictions of war. Don’t go into this if you’re not comfortable with graphic depictions of human suffering and gore. Also, this should be on people’s radar for just WWI history. ⚔️

Thank you goes out to Del Rey Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for an honest review, and to Katherine Arden for writing an incredible story about the tragedies of WWI in such a harrowingly beautiful way. 💛

Overall: 4.75/5 ⭐️

Thank you to Del Rey for sending me an advance copy of the book!

As we saw this with the Winternight Trilogy, Katherine Arden has a talent for being meticulous in her research of a subject and weaving it seamlessly into a story. Though the subject matter couldn’t be more different, The Warm Hands of Ghosts still reflects this same talent.

At its core, this is a story about the brutality of war and the loss of innocence, and finding a way forward when it seems all hope is lost. The true villain of this book is war itself. After all, how do you create a villain when nothing you can dream up would be worse than what soldiers experienced during this time? The answer is: you don’t. You lean into the natural horror and tweak things just a bit to include a character like Faland, the violin playing ghost of a man intent on taking the souls of broken soldiers. I thought it was exceptionally harrowing to have the villain be something that represents the dreadfulness of war and slowly chips away at your humanity and your very own sense of self.

The Winternight Trilogy is known for being incredibly atmospheric, and the same can be said for The Warm Hands of Ghosts. It just so happens that this atmosphere is nightmarish and bleak. That’s not a negative thing in regards to the book, though. It was imperative to convey just how dire this situation was, and Arden did an excellent job at doing that. Yet even so, the book still leaves you with a thread of hope and the promise of a future.

Overall, I really liked this book and I recommend it, but expectations should be adjusted. I think this is being billed as an adult fantasy, and I would not categorize it as that. This is historical fiction with just a hint of the supernatural, so don’t go in expecting heavy fantasy elements.

I appreciate that Arden went in a wildly different direction in her follow up to Winternight. Also, as a history major, I just found the historical setting really interesting, particularly the Halifax explosion. It sent me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole because I’m a nerd who enjoys learning new things.

I love WWI stories. They are not as many as those set in WWII, but they resonate more with me. Having visited battlefields and memorials throughout France and Belgium, this book hit hard.

It's realistic, and slow, and gritty, and it shows you the horrors of war in zoomed-in detail. Slowly, a magical thread in woven through the first half of the book, creeping around the plot until neither reader nor characters can ignore it any longer. And then the story really blooms.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story. I'm sure many will enjoy this book but I am just not the right audience for it.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and the author for the opportunity to check out this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I’m a huge fan of Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy and was really looking forward to The Warm Hands of Ghosts. This had so many positive elements for me: strong sibling relationship, historical fiction, the supernatural. It’s a strong story full of emotion but at some points the writing fell a little flat for me. Overall, 3.5/5 — the author’s note gave me more appreciation for the story as a whole.

Katherine Arden writes absolutely haunting yet lovely scenery and turning her attention to the battlefields and combat hospitals of World War I resulted in more of the same. The amalgamation of the real horrors of a war that is mostly overlooked by Americans and a speculative twist with ghosts and magical hotels works in a surprising way. Highly recommend to those who enjoy a quiet and dark tale (but who don't have a squeamish stomach for gore) but want a little light and beautiful descriptions even of the horrific wartime scenes.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have really mixed feelings about The Warm Hands of Ghosts. Arden most definitely did her research for this one and it shows in the details. However, this was almost difficult to get through due to the pacing and one of the POVs (Laura’s). I enjoyed the first 25% of this book and the last 15% was amazing, but everything in between was so slow paced that I found myself speed reading. I thought Arden’s writing felt very stilted and clunky at times, too. I found Freddie’s POV the most interesting and really enjoyed how this one ended. Idk I have a lot of mixed thoughts and I am definitely slightly disappointed by this one considering how much I love The Winternight Trilogy.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While Arden continues to be an author with undeniable talent, this is a pronounced shift in her style of writing and storytelling. While the truth of war is certainly laid bare — its haunting, nightmarish, raw and brutal, I did feel that the characters themselves felt flat.

They felt more like vessels for narrating the realities of war instead of having distinct storylines of their own or being able to really see the shift in who they were before and after the war. They felt too simple in their emotions and connections and lacked personality and nuance.

I didn’t find the magical realism / fantastical elements to be compelling or necessary, but I do understand how it’s used for symbolic value. I thought it could have been used a bit more strategically instead of the ending where it drags a bit.

Ultimately I struggled to find a lot to compel me to read and keep my attention. It just felt like nothing was happening other than repetitive gruesome scenes of war.

And, most surprisingly of all, I found the ending too convenient and neat, I expected more losses given the initial set up and the war setting itself.

While I respect the work and writing, this just wasn’t a story I enjoyed. Rating 2.75 up to 3 stars.

I liked the author’s Winternight trilogy, so I was excited to read her newest book. I liked it a lot, but I think it’s important to note that this is different in tone. It’s fantasy/folklore as far as the villain, but it’s also very much WWI historical fiction. A nurse is wounded and sent back to Canada, where she finds out her brother is missing, presumed dead. She’s not getting real answers about what happened, so she returns to the war to find out. The story shifts between her current perspective and that of her brother in the year before.

The scenes in WWI can be emotionally intense. The descriptions share the living hell of the experience. I found the story gripping and wanted to know what happened next. It comes out February 13. Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for the eARC.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a spell-binding and gripping story of the horrors of war and what one will do to find information on a lost loved one. Much different than the world of The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden still pulls you into a different kind of fantasy, one where you are not sure if its the living or the dead telling the story. Whether the devil with a violin or some other kind of creature stalks the forbidden zone of World War 1 looking for souls to devour.

If it wasn't for daily distractions of life I would have had this finished in one sitting. Its a wonderful book that shows the devotion we as humans strive for with those we love, enter Katherine Ardens world in The Warm Hands of Ghosts as Laura finds herself returning to the War after having been discharged when the hospital she was working at was targeted by the Germans. Now that tragedy has once again struck she is determined to find out if her brother Freddie still lives.

Freddie wakes in the dark his only company corpses and a Germin soldier he has no desire to kill, they will be dead soon enough in this overturned pillbox. They will slowly suffocate to death and neither will see the light of day again.

Out in the Forbidden Zone a man walks, carrying his violin case he enters a newspaper shop meant mainly to send out funnies to the troops but much to everyones surprise he wants to place an ad for dancing, music and revelry. He places no address just that those who want to come will be found or will find the hotel and cash payment is not accepted. Just like that this man disappears into the night, many will follow the sound of the Fiddler. The Fiddler takes payment in another form, when Freddie meets the Fiddler will he agree to price that is asked of him?

Thank you to #Netgalley for the chance to read #TheWarmHandsofGhosts by #KatherineArden in return for a fair and honest review.

With war taking its toll on countries and people, memories left in the wake of attacks haunt the lives of those who remain in The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.
Wounded in the line of duty as a field nurse, Laura Iven has returned home to Halifax, where she relives guilt-laden memories of her mother’s death as a result of an explosion. When Laura receives word of her brother, Freddie’s, presumed death with a box of his effects, the facts don’t seem to add up, making Laura determined to venture back to Belgium to learn the truth of her brother’s fate. Freddie Iven, serving his country against the Germans, finds himself trapped in a pillbox with an injured enemy soldier, Hans Winter; working together the two men manage to escape and find their way beyond the trenches to the halls run by a mysterious man, where Winter is hesitant to accept his aid but Freddie decides to stay despite the cost. After returning to the front, Laura and her traveling companions hear rumors of and experience the hospitality of an odd man, Faland, whose hotel provides a respite from the horrors of war that lingers in the mind and can drive you mad. In searching for answers, Laura’s investigations unearth inconsistencies and questions, which when she meets a rumored one-armed German spy who knows of her brother become a bit clearer as the two endeavor to rescue Freddie, and themselves, from the haunting fates they’re facing.
Detailing the haunting horrors of war and unimaginable loss of loved ones due to calamitous events, the story provides the perspectives of both Laura and Freddie’s experiences and how they each manage the difficult decisions they’re faced with, many of which revolve around the heavy topic of death. While a majority of the story is anchored rather firmly within historic confines of World War I, the paranormal addition of Faland as a man who is rumored that you only see once, who ghosts follow, and who takes the stories of men and turns them into music was an interesting method of demonstrating the mental toll that traumas, such as those that war can impart, can take in turning hearty individuals into ghosts of their former selves. The pacing of the story was rather slow as it establishes and develops the characters and narrative arc, though it did accelerate toward the latter part where there was an increase to the supernatural involvement, which didn’t feel entirely explained or explored to a satisfactory level despite being interesting and engrossing.
Overall, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.

I really wanted to like this book, but I had a difficult time getting through it. I know several people who are huge fans of The Bear and the Nightingale who are anxiously awaiting their copy of this one. However, I just could not get into it. I felt like I really had to force myself to read it, which never makes for an enjoyable time. Also, maybe I am just not smart enough to like this book? I definitely know several library guests that I would recommend this to, so I feel bad even writing a review for something that was just not for me.

✨3.5 Stars✨
Thank you to NetGalley, and Random House for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re picking this up because you are expecting it to be similar to Arden’s last series you will be disappointed. It has the same beautiful and descriptive writing quality but the two topics are nothing alike and this book focuses more on the historical than the fantasy. I would go as far to say that there really isn’t much fantasy in this book at all. I didn’t realize that when I initially when to request it so I think I’m necessarily the target audience for this book.

With that all being said I did think this was a very well written book. It does not shy away from the gritty realism that comes with war and what happens to people who survive it. The book started out very slow for me but towards the last quarter really picked up and I enjoyed everything that happened. I think someone who enjoys historical fiction, especially WWI books would really like this. Personally, those topics are not something I normally pick up so the overall effect was lost on me but I still appreciated the book and how it was written.

I don't know what I was expecting when I started The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. I knew of her previous work and knew she is a fantastic writer but I personally hadn't read it yet. I loved it, though. The story was so different from anything else I've read. Especially anything set in that time period. It was devastating but beautiful. I thought it was so original and unique to anything else out there. It was haunting and I find myself thinking about it randomly. I cannot wait to recommend this to everyone.