Laura is a field nurse, sent home after a leg injury, received word that her brother has been killed in action. Laura refuses to believe that he is actually dead, a belief fueled by the words of her neighbor, a medium, so she finagles her way back to the front to search for him.
I'm not sure what I expected from "Warm Hands," but I had a difficult time getting into it. I just did not connect with Laura, a little more so with her brother Freddy, but as I was constantly pulled away from him scenes it was difficult to fully engage.

I loved this beautifully written, historical fantasy up that takes place during WW1! The plot was so interesting and I loved the brother and sister relationship aspect! Katherine has such a way with words, that it's hard to put her books down! The romance in this book was well down and I loved their chemistry! I can't wait to read more books from Katherine Arden!

Sorry for the late review, I was dealing with some health issues the past few months, but now I'm catching up on all of my reviews and arcs!

*5/5 Stars*

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC!

I absolutely loved this book so much. It was the right amount of blend of historical fiction and fantasy. Katherine Arden writes the most atmospheric books I've ever read. She didn't shy away from the horror that is World War 1. I will forever be a fan of her work and I can't wait for her next book.

Such a beautiful and well-researched piece of historical fantasy. The true and the fantastic merge together seamlessly, in the service of bringing out the larger truths about grief, about what it means for a world to end - whether that be a personal world, or a larger societal loss.

I struggled with this book. While the prose was gorgeous and atmospheric, I had difficulty connecting with the characters and the general progression of the story. This book was not for me.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise is amazing, but it fell flat due to the abrupt writing style. The characters weren't compelling enough because I couldn't really get to know them, and the ending with the brother and Winter was not my cup of tea. I did love the idea of using Biblical prophecy and war time to explain things. That was a cool twist that I haven't seen often in war themed books.

I really enjoyed this novel, despite, still – at the end – not truly knowing who the character of Faland really was. Was he a ghost? Was he the devil? Was he a symbol of the atrocities of war? Was he all of the above? Well, this is, after all, billed as fantasy – so anything is possible!

Either way, Faland added an ethereal element to the horrors of war and was a great mirror to soldiers fighting to maintain their sanity during WWI. One of the main characters, Laura, was tough as nails – a decorated nurse during the war – and her brother, a soldier, who finds himself in the trenches with the enemy, provided deep emotional insight about divided loyalties.

There is a love-interest element in this book that I thought was superbly done … perhaps one of the best I’ve read. No broadcasting or expectations… just a natural progression of a relationship. And there were surprises here and there that kept the pace up.

I enjoyed this talented author’s previous book The Bear and the Nightingale as well.

*3.5 rounded up*

"The Warm Hands of Ghosts" was a lovely mix of historical fiction and fantasy, set during the time of the Great War. I was immediately drawn to Laura as a character and her plight to find out the information about her brother. I was also immediately immersed in the story! With the use of two storylines, Katherine Arden leads her reader through a story of mystery and family. Once I started this book, it was hard for me to put it down or stop thinking about when I did put it down. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Katherine Arden remains steadfastly one of my favorite authors. Her writing completely transports me into another world. This novel wrecked me. I fell in love with the characters and the magical realism. I will admit, I didn't know too much of WWI and this novel lead me down an historical rabbit hole of pill boxes, major battles and folklore. This is the Hallmark of a glorious novel: one that makes you think, feel and research. Poetic language and a masterfully woven narrative makes reading this novel delightful.
Told from alternating points of view between two war-torn siblings, the plot unfolds when one is orphaned at home and one is lost in the ravages of war.
Laura is a battle-scarred nurse who returns home to watch her world crumble. She's taken in by three older ladies in need of a live-in nurse. Freddie is trapped with the enemy with little hope of surviving. Their fates and fortunes are intertwined the beat of a fiddle played by the most masterful of manipulators.
Will fate see these siblings reunited? Read on to find out!

What I loved most: the poetic writing, the flawed characters, the musical magic of folklore, the infusion of history

Katherine, I hope you never run out of the ideas.

This story dug it's hooks into me from page one and it never let go. What a satisfying and eerily beautiful journey through grief and trauma with an overlay of love.

The story is focused on two timelines that slowly interlock as the book goes. Both main characters, siblings Laura and Freddie, are captivating and relatable. I felt so deeply for both and wanted nothing but for them to reunite. Sibling bonds are always an important theme for me and this one did make me tear up once or twice.

The fantastical elements were also subtle but powerful and the tension never dissipated. Seeing how everything came together at the end was rewarding, and I appreciated that it wasn't an easy or picture perfect ending for any of the characters. But it did end with hope. Hope to live, hope to love, and hope to heal.

What a beautiful story.

Thank you to Net Galley & Random House Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Arden’s Winternight trilogy and was so excited to read this new book by her.

I was not disappointed! Arden has definitely become an author who I will instantly buy any of their books.

4.5 ⭐

I devoured this audiobook in one day - this story took me completely by surprise with how much I enjoy it. There are multiple references to the Bible and religion. I don't usually care for this, but this ties the story together from just a war story to something a bit supernatural and a bit more. If you want something that gives a similar feeling to Addie LaRue, this is it!

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a story showing the dark side of war mixed with supernatural elements. I do not usually read stories of real-life wars, however, for Katherine Arden I was willing to make an exception. This takes place during 1917/1918 during World War I, following dual timelines of siblings that are trying to get back to each other: Laura and Freddie Iven.

During the alternating chapters following each sibling, we see themes of struggling for survival and the perseverance to achieve their goals. Though my heart hurts from the story of war, grief and loss, there is so much love within it.

🌹 Dual POV & timelines
🌹 World War 1
🌹 Grief & Hope
🌹 Heart aching story
🌹 Surpernatural figure
🌹 (Very minor) romance

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the eARC of The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.

I've read Katherin Arden's writing before. I thought it was beautiful, but the story wasn't my cup of tea. This book, on the other hand, was so beautifully written that I couldn't help myself. I loved the plot and the relationship that was between the brother and sister was really interesting to see. I liked that we were experiencing the plot at different times and the fact that there's just a hint of fantasy in this story really makes it that much better to read.

I read on NetGalley and listened to this on audible and the narration was very well done- multiple narrators and accents for different characters. This is the story of a combat nurse-Laura-who is wounded and returns to her home in Canada. While home she mourns her brother Freddie, who is presumed dead. All his belongings are returned to her but she is not convinced he is dead. She returns to Belgium to search for him. Then she hear whispers of the violinist who is a ghost? A monster? A way to escape from the world? She is convinced he has something to do with Freddie’s disappearance.
Freddie’s story is compelling- he is in Flanders fighting, then wakes up in the dark in an overturned pillbox. Next to him in the dark is a wounded German soldier named Hans. Together the men escape from the pillbox but don’t want to return to the battlefield. They meet the famed hotelier and violinist who helps them forget their trauma. But once with the violin man can they ever leave? This book is dark, magical and full of secrets. I loved the historical elements which were meticulously researched and very interesting. The setting was bleak and portrayed the horrors of the Great War. While I enjoyed this book, it didn’t hold me the way the bear and the nightingale series did. it was much slower paste and didn’t really pick up until the second half of the book. All in all, a worthwhile read.

Atmosphere and strong sense of place - check
Fierce, no-nonsense heroine - check
Beautiful sibling relationship - check
Magic - check
Romance - check

Must be a Katherine Arden historical fiction fantasy! I have pressed The Bear and the Nightingale into so many of my people's hands. I was refreshing Netgalley daily waiting for this one to drop after Arden announced it. It is sumptuous, spooky, and raw. I adored it. I love Laura and Freddie - I just want to bundle them up in a soft, warm blanket and take care of them. Not that either would be likely to let me. This book is dark and painful in many ways, but I think readers of the Winternight trilogy are comfortable with that style in their books. It was also great to get a war book about WWI and from a Canadian perspective, a refreshing change from the constant WWII books cropping up everywhere in the last decade.
Since reading, I've gotten to sample the audiobook and I highly recommend it as well!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC.

A dark tale of siblings trying to find their way back to each other during the great war. One a soldier and one a nurse. Each all the other has left & each so changed and scarred by their experiences they can never be the same.
The writing is raw and horribly beautiful. Freddie's story is heartbreaking and desperate. Laura's is built in strength and determination. There are minor romances that happen along the way but are in no way the main focus of the book. Its even hard to call the other characters "supporting" because their storylines are so important to the climax of the book. A great read for historical fiction & Katherine Arden fans.

What an interesting way to tell a war story. I don’t know if it’s wholly unique but I liked the way this played out and how we were introduced to the horror and fantastical elements. Our main character Laura is back in Canada after being injured as a nurse in Europe. She hasn’t heard from her brother and receives news about him. She doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead but she returns to Europe to find out. At first this was reading as just a historical fiction novel but slowly we see the other elements take shape. I really enjoyed the alternating timelines between Laura and her brother, Freddie. It kept me wanting to read more to see if they ever overlap and find each other. This is a novel about war and how it affects everyone. Soldiers, their loved ones, healthcare workers, etc. the fantastical element adds another layer to the pain and suffering caused by war. I did think this was a bit too long and I wished we had more time with some characters together to allow their connections to develop more on page. Still enjoyed this.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is about the Great War and how a combat nurse searches for her brother who she believes died in the trenches despite eerie signs that say otherwise. This book was sadly not one I loved because it was slow, depressing and for me it was hard to read at times. The characters were decent and overall the author wrote this good. I would suggest this historical fiction book to readers so that they may give this one a try to read since I just did not enjoy but other readers have. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this book in exchange of my honest review of The Warm Hands of Ghosts.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts had a totally different vibe than other books that I have read by Arden, but I enjoyed it just the same. The time period is one that I haven’t read much from, but it was really interesting to examine the events of World War I, and the Halifax explosion in a work of fiction. Most books that I have read that choose a World War focus on World War II.

Freddie’s perspective was a lot more gripping at the start than Laura’s, but as the story progressed, both were equally compelling. Freddie’s was a stark examination of war and the bonds that are formed while trying to survive while Laura’s look at her struggles to integrate back into normal life after the events she witnessed. Arden wrote both so beautifully. She captured the internal struggles these characters faced, while balancing the fantastical elements that make her stories so unique.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine/Del Rey, and Katherine Arden for the e-arc of The Warm Hands of Ghosts in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

And with this, Katherine Arden has solidified as an auto-buy author for me.

I’m not usually a historical fiction person and I usually stay away from war books but I of course had to read Arden’s newest book and I am so glad I did. Arden’s writing is so immersive, making you feel things so vividly and deeply. Arden weaves present and past POVs, reality with the fantastical, in a way that was seamless. Arden writes about the dark, harrowing parts of war in a painfully realistic way. The story is heartbreaking but also hopeful. The characters push through to the end, reminding us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Arden takes great care in writing accurate portrayals of the soldiers, nurses, doctors, families and everyone affected by the real life events that happen in the book. You will feel all the emotions while reading this book which is, simply, a masterpiece.