I was so excited for this book as I loved The Winternight Trilogy and it did not disappoint. This book is a lot different than Winternight, but awesome in it's own right. It is a WWI book with a kind of "Hotel California" vibe. I love the darkness that is entwined throughout the story. Using fantasy to process the darkness of war - and particularly WWI - works really well in this book. This book gives the hellishness of the war a personification and the characters living through the war wish to trade their humanity for oblivion. Sometimes the horrors of man's inhumanity to man is just too much. 5 stars for this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an advance copy of this book for review.

A blending of supernatural and historical fiction, this one follows a WWI nurse who returns to Europe to try to find her missing brother.

I was really intrigued by this one because of the supernatural elements, but I just don’t think this author’s style is for me. I didn’t really love The Bear and Nightingale but people who did will enjoy this one more than I did!

There are no words for how much I loved this book. It is dark, heartbreaking, absolutely destroyed me, and was transformative in so many ways. I loved the Armageddon imagery (chapter titles are from Revelations) her accurate and very human portrayal of WWI and the experience of the soldiers, their families, and people living in the war zones. I think that the magical realism in this book absolutely works and is what softened the most difficult subject matter enough for it to be digestible and bearable. I love how allegorical it was, how she used the biblical references to represent how it must have felt for people living during that time. It took a while for me to get into it, the pace is slow but consistent, but I am so glad to have experienced this book. I think the timing of it's release at another time when the world is changing dramatically made this book even more relevant for 2024 readers. Thank you Katherine Arden for this perfectly crafted book that opened up a unique perspective of the past that can help us process the present and future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

I rated this 3.75 stars. In this historical fiction based off the Great War, we follow a combat nurse who is searching for her brother who’s in the military and fighting in the war after being told he’s dead. The things she was told weren’t adding up, so she didn’t believe it to be true and went searching herself with a few others she met along the way. During her search, she meets a magical man who steals your memories and turns them into songs for others to hear, and that’s how you repay him for giving you shelter and feeding you. In my opinion, I believe historical fiction works about war aren’t necessarily my favorite, so I only took off the 1.25 stars just because the talk of war pulled me out of the magical and beautifully written story i was reading, even though it’s based on war. Its definitely a me thing, not an author thing.

Laura Iven is a Great War combat nurse, home in Canada after receiving battle injuries when an explosion levels her house and kills her parents. A reading from a physic-someone that Laura normally has no time for- reveals that her younger brother Freddie may not have died in the war. Laura decides to venture back to Belgium to look for her missing brother. A secondary timeline follows her brother's previous exploits. Being a fan of the author's previous Bear and the Nightingale series, I knew coming into this that the world building would be extravagant and it was. The Great War as Laura and Freddie experience it is horrible and tragic and weaving in the supernatural is a great fit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest albeit late review.

It’s 1918 in the midst of World War I and Laura Ives believes her brother Freddie has died in the trenches. That is until the day she receives a box of his personal effects and something doesn’t add up. She hears rumors of strange man who runs a hotel few have ever seen, where those that do come back are forever changed. Leaving her home in Halifax, Canada, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital to find out what happened to her brother.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is quite a departure from Arden’s Winternight trilogy. In the Winternight trilogy, I fell in love with the author’s lush, fairy tale-esque writing. Her descriptions of the setting and viivd atmosphere made the reading experience especially rich for me. And while Warm Hands of Ghosts is also atmospheric and there are occasional glimpses of that same ethereal beauty in the writing, this is a very different project and writing style from Arden’s fantasy trilogy.

It has a speculative, fantastical element to the plot for sure, but it’s a much more historical tale, focusing on the horrors of war, the trauma of the men and women serving, and how war forever changes a person, how you can never go back to who you were. I still felt rooted in the setting and could immerse myself in the story, but this novel is more focused on exploring character growth and development instead of its descriptive settings or leaning into the fantasy elements.

The author’s note as the end was almost more enjoyable for me than the novel! It discussed the themes and ideas in a way that I wished had been incorporated even more into the story. I also wish the metaphor of the ghosts would have been more explicitly described in the book.

It’s a story worth reading, and I’d still recommend it especially if you enjoy historical fiction, appreciate discussions of war and trauma and like a speculative element to your historical fiction.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books/Del Rey for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

THE 411...

It's 1918, Laura Iven has been honorably discharged from the Medical Corps as a highly decorated field nurse. Wounded while on the field, Laura returns to Canada where she receives word of her brother Freddie's presumed death in combat. A box is delivered to her with his personal effects, Freddy is presumed to be dead because his body was never recovered. How then, have his belongings made it to her doorstep? Laura decides she must go back to active duty in Belgium if only to be closer to the front lines and get answers/certain proof of Freddie's demise. What she isn't anticipating is to be met with an alternate possibility. A man who has deserted the battlefield and is caught is then executed by the military. Did Freddy leave the battlefield? or could he still be alive? and is his fate worse than if he had been killed in the field? 

Told in dual point of view and past/present timelines between 1917 and 1918, we get Freddy's account as he is trapped in a ditch created by one of the many explosives dropped. In this ditch is also a German soldier who has been severely wounded. Hans Winter should be his enemy but in these presumed final hours, he is a comfort. Together they help each other get out of that hole but are unsure of which way to go once out. They both can't fathom the thought of returning to their respective front lines. In the chaos of raining shells and gunfire they meet a mysterious man who owns a hotel and has a penchant for creating music. The type of tunes that can make you forget the misery that surrounds you. An escape from the violence and senseless killings they've witnessed. For some soldiers the escapism being offered was too good to pass up. 

This was not the book I thought we'd get next from one of my favorite authors and yet this story will remain with me for years to come. Full transparency, I am never the one to pick up books set during WWI or WWII. That being said, it's Katherine Arden! she can write the hell of a story and creates characters who leave their mark. If you love books with a speculative touch then this one is for you! it is slow paced within reason, every time I opened this book I felt instantly transported to the front lines and it terrified me. Heavily researched (notes and photos included in the Barnes & Noble special edition) and delivered by a skilled pen, it is haunting and feels like a story that needed to be told. In her author's note Arden speaks of the juxtaposition of nurses in corsets while wearing gas masks while cavalry charged at tanks. It really doesn't get any more real than that. It was the author's note and photos of the graves she visited that hit hard and make for a powerful read. It's a story about times of war but also hope where there's none to be found. Grief and trauma as well as remembrance. There are feelings of repressed rage we see play out in characters like the mysterious hotel owner. The same rage Arden says can be felt to this day while walking alongside the final resting place of many French and German. A powerful read for fans of Arden who were patiently waiting for her next spellbinding tale.

Review scheduled for 8AM 3/26/2024

I absolutely loved this book. It is set during WWI, and it is heart wrenching as it is beautifully written. One of the things I like about this author is that her writing transports you to the location that the book is set it, and this book is no different. You can see the darkness, the oppressiveness of the war, and the struggles the characters are going through trying to cope with this new world. This book is as heart wrenching and it is heart warming.

Who doesn't love a good ghost story?Thought provoking and heart wrenching. This slow and lovely story is one I won't forget. If you love historical fantasy, give this a try. Although, I don't think this book is for everyone, I think it will find it's audience

Thank you to the publisher for granting my wish!

I wish this book focused more on Freddie's POV as his story was much more compelling. While I felt for Laura and her longing to find Freddie I was just reading through her chapters to get to Freddie's rather an truly enjoying her story. Heartbreaking, edge of your seat, stay up all night reading because you have to know how it ends.

Dual POV, WW1 Setting, Death, Grief, Mental Health, Loss

*5 stars*

This was a bleak, heartbreaking story of war and love.

Arden’s idea of what a devil of the old world would do if he found himself in the new hell brought forth by the Great War blended the historical with the fantastical perfectly. The science fiction feel of the new reality and the realistic trauma of the magical hotel gave this book an eerie atmosphere. This was my first book by Arden, and I will definitely be going through her backlog after this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

It’s January 1918, and Laura Iven is back in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the city of her birth, after having been recently decommissioned from the Belgian war front where she served as a nurse with the Canadian Medical Corps. She has earned a medal for heroism and has an injury that almost cost her the use of her right leg, consequence of the Germans shelling the makeshift hospital where she worked, which was located next to an ammunition depot. In Halifax things are not any better than the war front . A ship carrying explosive cargo exploded in the harbor, costing thousands of lives and untold property damage.

Laura has been tending the injured of the harbor disaster, where she lost both parents, when she receives a parcel containing items from her soldier brother, Freddie, who is presumed missing in the Belgian front. Using old and new connections, Laura embarks on a trip to England in early spring of 1918, then to France-Belgium’s Forbidden Zone, to retrace Freddie’s last whereabouts and find out, if possible, what happened to her brother in the end. For that purpose, she is willing to re-enroll as nurse and confront the horrors of life in the front once more.

Most soldiers would rather trade their cherished memories, or the ones they’d rather bury deep within, for the comfort of a glass of wine, by a warm fire, listening to delightful music… And who would blame them? But in so doing they may be buying oblivion from an elusive master with an obscure agenda—one that would imperil their very souls. In November of 1917, Freddie Iven is in that unenviable position. He has attached to a mysterious fiddler, who wanders the war front causing havoc in his wake, after having survived being buried alive when his bunker collapsed, and having been rescued by a German soldier to whom he procured medical aid. Deserting the army and aiding an enemy are grounds for death by hanging, things that Freddie would rather not dwell upon, hence the fiddler. Can he make his way back to his sister with his sanity intact? Will there be any part of him left for saving?

Gloriously immersive and atmospheric, more than pure historical fiction or war story, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a genre-bending character study on the effects of war and trauma on soldiers and civilians in the frontlines, that unfolds at its own pace, not rushing but not deliberately slow either, with great world building and paranormal elements that suit the mood of the narrative and give it an otherworldly feel.

There are two storylines, one in November 1917 and on (Freddie’s), and one in January 1918 until late Spring (Laura’s). Eventually both storylines converge, but the result is slightly disorienting because it doesn’t happen in real time. Chapters alternate between settings where Freddie and Laura happen to be at a certain time, mostly along the Forbidden Zone. The main characters—Laura, Freddie, Hans, and the fiddler—are very well realized, the others less so, but not to the extent in which they feel superfluous or wooden. It is, after all, on these four characters that the story relies heavily upon, so there’s little loss by not making the remaining characters as sympathetic or “real” as the main ones feel.

Overall, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is an immersive, atmospheric exploration of war and trauma via a character study of two soldiers on opposing sides of War World I. Paranormal elements give it an extra layer of complexity and mystery than that of a straightforward historical fiction novel. Well done!

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to a free digital copy via Netgalley.

This book was unexpectedly wonderful. The backdrop of Europe and Canada during WW I was a new place and time for me in my reading life, and I felt like Arden painted it well. It feels like an apocalypse, for sure, and I felt less than surprised when this book took on some magical-realism/dark fairy tale vibes. I loved the sections written from Freddy’s POV most for most of the book, but the last 30% or so altogether was wonderful. Fantastic read, and thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This wasn't my cup of tea. The synopsis really caught my attention, but I honestly found myself very bored while reading, There were parts that brought me back into the world and the characters, but ultimately this isn't something I would pick up again. I may not be the target audience. I have read The Bear and the Nightingale before, so I had high hopes since I enjoyed that book. I'm sad that I didn't like this one, and I would have DNF'd it if it wasn't for a Netgalley review.

I’m so emotional right now ohmygodd. My chest hurts. The author did not hold back. The characters and the story is so humane and beautiful. Her writing was so beautifully haunting, and I couldn’t help but feel for almost every character in the book. I loved both Laura’s and Freddie’s chapters, and while sometimes it was a bit slow, I was still engrossed in the story. and when it picked up again, I could not put it down. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. Thank you, to NetGalley and the publishers.

For having everything that I would normally enjoy in historical fiction, this did not deliver.
The themes throughout and the split POVs between brother and sister were promising. However, the character development was so non-existent that the story almost felt inauthentic. Laura's drive to find her brother was overshadowed by her self-wallowing, which made her unlikeable and lacking in personality. Her chapters were such a chore to read that they took away from Freddie's, which were otherwise far more intriguing. I think the author was aiming to compel with the hint of magical realism, but it seemed like overcompensation for the two-dimensional nature of the characters. This is meant to be a heartfelt story of love and survival, but was frankly underwhelming and banal. I understand what the author was trying to convey, but the execution was poor.

Another masterpiece from Katherine Arden. I loved how intriguing the story was. It was dark, it was mysterious, and it was love. I can’t wait for all my special editions to arrive! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Maybe this was a case of mismatched expectations, but I was expecting more fantasy/magical realism than what was given. Sadly, this was a lot more historical fiction than I thought it'd be.

So with that said, this book wasn't really for me. Which is odd for me to admit because I love war stories, both fiction and nonfiction. While I was interested in Freddie and Winter's story, Laura's narrative put me to sleep. She was one of those characters who just really wasn't interesting at all, despite her cool background as a wounded field nurse.

I did like the writing though and I liked how the author dove into the horrors of war, using both Laura and her brother's experiences to point out similarities and contrasts between civilians and soldiers in war. I just wish it held my attention more.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc.

DNF @ 50%. I tried and tried and tried and TRIED to get engaged with this book but it just fell so flat for me. I couldn’t connect with Laura at all. The way the story was told was very slow and unexciting. There was so much that I thought could’ve been done with the story as is, but it just wasn’t executed in a way that made me feel the way I hoped to feel while reading this. Not my cup of tea, hopefully someone else’s. Thanks for the ARC!

This is the story of Laura and Freddie Iven, sister and brother. Set during WWI, both Ivens serve in the Canadian army. Laura serves as a nurse, Freddie as a soldier. Both have different, but horrifying, experiences of the war. Laura was wounded and sent home unbeknownst to Freddie. While home recovering, she receives a package indicating that he is dead. But, it's light on the details. And no matter who she talks to, she can't find out where or how he died. When the opportunity arises, Laura seizes it to go back to the war zone and search out information herself.
Freddie had been trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded German soldier named Winter. They make a truce and against odds, dig their way out. They then need to cross the hellscape of war to get to safety. By that time, the tentative bond they forged in the pillbox has gotten much stronger. Neither is willing to give the other up as prisoner nor participate in futher killing.

Both Laura and Freddie have heard rumors amidst the war of a fiddler or hotelier who can give you ease. Those who claim to have seen him have often gone mad - some for the peace he provided. But every peace has its price. Are they willing to pay it?

This book is very well written. The prose is nice, the research impeccable. The descriptions conjure pictures of slices of the war. Their stories are told in alternating viewpoints between Laura and Freddie.

I loved the characters, especially Laura. I felt she had the strongest characterization in the book. Freddie would be second. Laura has as a companion a well off woman who lost her son in the war. The woman goes by the nickname Pim. Freddie has Winter as a companion for much of the novel, but significantly not for some parts. Laura is strong when Pim seems weak. And Winter is strong when Freddie seems weak.

Pace and plotwise, basically it hits the ground running and doesn't let up much. There's both war action and hospital action with a smattering of other. All of it advances the plot.

I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. Overall, it's well written. Prose flows nicely. Action moves the plot forward at a good pace. Characterization is good, especially Laura. I would recommend this book to people who like a vivid, yet creepy, sort of war story. There are ghosts and hints at other.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden was published February 13th, 2024 by Del Rey.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion.