I absolutely loved this book. I was so invested in all aspects - the politics, the mystery, the romance, the friendships. The main characters were really fleshed out. I could have done with less secondary characters- there were A LOT. But for the most part they added to the story. A section that outlines who everyone is would have been helpful. I only have two wishes - one that the magic system was a little more fleshed out. And two that this wasn’t a standalone - I just love Val and Cae so much. I want to see what happens next!

Amazing amazing amazing! A perfect blend of fantasy and romance and as delicious a treat for readers as the little suns were to Vel.

This book was written very well. I loved the characterization, the plot was original and well woven, and I loved the fantastical elements throughout.

I had really high hopes for this and... this wasn't for me. The amount of world-building was excessive. (Maybe that's a personal preference.) The story is essentially: Man is sent to marry the daughter but he marries the son instead. There's also a hit out on his life. Honestly the romance was way more interesting than the murder plot. It didn't have excitement. I'm glad that queer stories are continued to be represented in fantasy but it was a disappointment.

This book satisfyingly interweaves slow-burn romance and political intrigue. I was pleasantly surprised by how well fleshed-out the side characters are, especially because the cast is fairly large. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Velasin and Markel. Overall, this was well-written and a quick read which managed to maintain a relatively light tone even while giving darker elements the time and care they deserved.

This was a hell, and a joy, of a ride. There’s the standard arranged marriage/actually falling in love with the other tropes, but it is tied up beautifully and wonderfully with a story of healing from sexual assault (trigger warning up front obvs - it happens very early on in the page, and there is realistic aftermath emotionally) and a slow burn of a romance that ties into it. And no, it is not SEXUAL HEALINZ WITH THE DICKINGS, and when the sex does happen, you are cheering for them. Throw in the intended having to solve murders that are happening seemingly because of the politics of the marriage, and you just have a great romp of a book. The world building was a bit eye crossing at first, but it’s gently reinforced and explained throughout the book (and one being an outsider to the culture he’s marrying into helps this a lot), and ties into the mystery of what’s going on. I get the sense that this is a one off book, but if Mx. Meadows chose to come back to these characters/this world, I’d pick up more in a heartbeat. This comes out in July, go pick this up when it does, and you’ll be in for a great treat.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is part mystery and part romance--thing is, it didn't work for me on either front.

To me, the biggest issue with this book is by far the lack of cohesion when it comes to the plot and the characters. I am first and foremost a character reader, so I'm willing to forgive a book a number of plot issues if the character work is well done. With A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, though, it wasn't so much that the plot or the characters were bad, per se, but rather that they were constantly in tension with each other so that they both suffered in the end. Like I said, this book is part mystery and part romance, but it always felt like the former was always interrupting the latter. We'd get these nice character moments that seemed like they were heading somewhere interesting, and then what do you know, some random character barges into the scene to talk about some plot thing that I literally couldn't care less about. And this happens so often, too; the plot feels like it's constantly intruding on these characters, and it becomes quite irritating the more it happens throughout the novel. More than just interrupting the character moments, this also makes the book feel really disjointed. Like rather than have a narrative where the characters and the plot seamlessly blend together so that the one contributes to the other, we get a story where plot and character always feel very starkly delineated: here are the Character Development Scenes, and here are the Plot Development Scenes. All of this is to say, the plot and the character moments felt to me like they were always out of sync with each other.

Maybe this wouldn't have been that big of an issue if the plot had been interesting, except that, like I said, I found it to be quite irritating. The plot of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance doesn't progress so much as it just...happens; like the plot points don't escalate or build up so much as they just continue to occur one after the other until the end, where we get a whole bunch of answers revealed to us all in one go. And yeah, maybe that's the nature of mysteries, but I didn't feel like this one was particularly well executed. It was just like, mysterious event A happens, mysterious event B happens, mysterious event C happens, mysterious event D happens, etc, etc, etc. And all the while the more interesting character building moments are being set aside or interrupted so that the characters can, over and over and over again, speculate on the nature of these mysterious events. I didn't care about it at all, and then the reveal at the end made me care for it even less. It felt very far-fetched and slightly ridiculous and even then we didn't get enough time for the characters (or the reader) to really process all that had just happened.

All of this isn't to say that this book is a complete write-off. I didn't hate it, but I also wanted to enjoy it so much more. I love reading romance, especially in fantasy, and so I was pretty much ready to love this--but I just didn't. The romance was okay to begin with--and I did like how the author explored healing in the aftermath of sexual trauma--but everything around that romance ended up making it feel less and less enjoyable as the book went on.

Thank you to Tor for providing me with an e-ARC of this via NetGalley!

Velasin, a younger son who doesn’t expect to amount to much, is shocked when he’s recalled home by his father for his engagement to a princess from the neighboring country Tithena. After Velasin suffers a brutal and public encounter with a former lover, the Tithenai envoy offers another solution: for Velasin to marry Caethari, the Tithenai prince, instead. Tithena, with its more accepting approach to sexuality and gender, might seem a paradise, but Velsain has no time to recuperate before a series of mysterious attacks begin. As he and Cae race to stop the attacks, they find themselves growing closer and closer.

This is an extraordinarily sweet book about recovering from trauma and falling in love. The plot involving the attacks is fluffy at best and the fantasy element is cursory, but that’s not what we’re here for. The growing friendship and love between Velasin and Cae are the stars of the show, and I found the book a delight.

(CW: SA & Suicide)

This book is certainly a romantic romp and the plot definitely takes a backseat to the two main Characters, Vel and Cae, as they warm up to one another and fall in love. Readers of more mature high fantasy won't be too taken aback by the sexual assault scene that sets the basis for Vel's reticence and resulting trauma, while YA readers may find this a very graphic and jarring moment if they expect a much softer tone. It is, however, masterfully executed and Vel's journey of self-insight and healing which comes as a result is a delight to read, ushered along by the wholesome and charming character of his beloved husband. I usually don't read books for romance but this one had the same sort of tone as A Marvellous Light and I was eagerly rushing through the politics and word-building (also well done) to get to the scenes of the lovers, keen to watch them grow into a stronger relationship.

If you want a fun, silly (fanfic levels of porn included) love story, then this will be a charming addition to your bookshelf.

First off, I loved this book. I generally read pretty fast, but it’s been a really long time since I read a book this long in less than two days. Considering the book is not exactly a thriller, it’s a testament to Meadows’s sense of pacing that I raced through it the way I did.

CN: sexual assualt, suicidal ideation, semi-graphic violence

Premise: Velasin vin Aaro is the third son of a Ralian noble. When his father arranges his marriage to a Tithenai princess, Velasin resigns himself to a loveless marriage: his father doesn’t know Velasin is gay. But when the Tithenai envoy discovers what looks like Velasin caught in the act with a male lover, the envoy suggests the arrangement be between Velasin and Prince Caethari instead–a union that, while reviled in Ralia, would be accepted in the more tolerant Tithena. Recovering from the betrayal and sexual assualt of a former lover, Velasin has little hope for a happy marriage even after Caethari turns out to be kinder than expected. When Velasin’s own life appears to be in danger from unknown culprits, Velasin and his new husband unite to find the culprits before diplomatic relations between their nations can be destroyed.

Rep: obviously the main characters are gay (well, Cae is bi), there is a main character who is trans and another who is nonbinary, Cae’s sister is married to a woman, and a good portion of the supporting cast is queer in some way. Most of the characters aren’t white; Meadows isn’t super specific with race beyond that.
There is also a disabled character, Velasin’s friend/servant Markel who is mute. I’d love to read reviews on the use of sign language in this book from someone in the Deaf community. Personally I liked that Markel is a significant (and interesting!) character whose disability is both important to the plot and far from being the only important thing about him.

What I loved:
1. The pacing, as I mentioned already, is so amazing, but what really makes it incredible is that, though the 500+ pages go incredibly fast, Meadows packs so much heart into this story. It feels like a million things are happening at once, and yet there is a sense that the characters also feel that relentless pace. They are tired and hungry and hurting, their emotions speeding me along just as quickly as the events in the plot. So often, fast pacing sacrifices the emotional development of the characters, or makes them have to be unbelievably tough, with nerves of steel, to make it through so much sh*t happening all the time. But Meadows has a rare gift for managing a breakneck pace with characters that would just really like to sit down for a second and have a cup of tea, please, because they just can’t handle any more today!

2. The worldbuilding, although not as complex as many fantasies, is excellent. I actually really loved the choice to have magic exist in the world, but have the two main characters not be (competent) practitioners of it. What was especially interesting to me was the focus on the difference between cultures in the two countries; Velasin navigates his new country in a way that will be very familiar to anyone who’s moved internationally (or even just to a very different part of their country). A lot of the time, the “new arrival in town” plotline seems to serve only as a convenient way to introduce the reader to a world, but in this book, I never got that sense that it was little more than a plot device because of the perspective shifts: Velasin’s first-person narrative is full of noticing strange little aspects of Tithenai culture, while Cae’s third-person account is barren of those side explanations to the reader. It’s really well done. And speaking of the perspective shifts, I also liked the choice of not doing a switch every chapter, which seems to be the trendy narrative thing now. Instead, Meadows does entire large sections for both characters, which personally I think really helped cement the character development and worked well with the pacing style.

3. The romance!!! I’m not going to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do want to say that I very much expected this to do the “we don’t kiss for 400 pages in because we continue fundamentally misunderstanding each other for the sole reason that we REFUSE to actually talk.” This doesn’t do that, at all, and it was…refreshing? I mean, they still don’t kiss for almost 400 pages or so, but if was not because they refused to talk to each other, it’s for very understandable reasons like a) they literally are strangers whose marriage was arranged, and b) see point #1: lots of things happening all the time. Actually, there is a pretty significant plot point that occurs because Velasin is immediately vulnerable with Cae, which I really liked. And, well, they’re just a really adorable couple, what can I say? (If you’ve read Winter’s Orbit, the gay arranged-marriage space opera by Everina Maxwell, Velasin and Cae have very similar vibes to me as that couple.) (Also, there is light spice, if you care.)

What I didn’t love:
1. The only real critique I have is there is something a *tad* annoying about the “Ralia bad, Tithena” good sort of thread throughout the book–but then again, it’s an understandable thread considering the perspectives of the characters. I just wish, I guess, that Ralia’s culture had gotten even a small amount of the attention and explanation that Tithenai culture got, other than that Ralia is ruled by magic-hoarding and homophobic nobles. There were a couple of flashbacks/storytelling sequences that sufficed for the purposes of this story; I’m just a worldbuilding nerd and would apparently have liked this 500+ page book to be even longer (I would actually have loved it if it had been 800 pages, not gonna lie.)

Five stars, though, this book is fantastic.

It takes one day for Velasin's life to implode.

Dutifully summoned to his father's estate to find he his to be betrothed to a stranger, Velasin is sexually assaulted by a former lover. This exposes Velasin's preference for men, a preference that is completely taboo in his society, causing Vel to be exiled from his homeland with only his friend of a servant and the clothes on his back. He is still forcibly engaged, only now he his destined for a foreign prince, surrounded by soldiers and diplomats who do not know why Velasin flinches from physical touch or that he dreads his wedding night.

Written in alternating POVs between Velasin and Caethari, his husband-to-be, A Strange and Sudden Endurance does a beautifully job of showing complex culture shock and non-linear healing. Quickly caught in an assassination plot that accidentally pulls Cae and Vel closer together instead of driving them apart, the two men find that they both have a lot to unlearn, a lot of insecurities, and a lot of love they want to give to each other.

This book is not perfectly written. Its switches between first- and third-person perspective sometimes seem arbitrary and its prose is occasionally stilted. Despite their well-developed personalities and banter, Velasin and Caethari's narrative voices often sound sadly similar and difficult to tell apart. However, I flew through this book. I loved its diversity, its representation of sign language, and every single one of its characters. I would happily read it again in a heartbeat.

This book is not for readers who cannot handle neo-pronouns. Nor is it for those who need long, drawn-out paragraphs of descriptions; the book is too fast-paced for that. It is perfect for lovers of Winter's Orbit, those looking for stories of belonging in the midst of hate and turmoil, and for anyone looking for a book that shouts with all its worth that kindness is not a weakness, but the greatest strength that anyone can have.

Okay, this is an absolute new favorite book for me. It was so incredibly romantic, with lots of excitement and a murder mystery type of storyline. I loved the development of the relationship between our two main characters and I just really loved everything about this. Highly highly recommend to everyone, trigger warnings for sexual assault written on the page with continuing story line of that. The gender and sexual fluidity with the contrast of our MC coming from a homophobic society was brilliant and I wish I could be reading Cae and Val’s POVs forever.

I’m sorry, I have never ever DNF’d a book on NetGalley before, but I really did not connect with this story. I was intrigued by the description and I thought I would love it, but I did not enjoy the prose AT ALL. I did not connect with this story or any of the characters.

However there are tons of positive ratings for this book, so these are only my personal thoughts and there is a high chance the average reader might like this.

I can’t wait to reread this book. It’s the definition of a slow burn. The romance steams to a boil about 80% through, and the plot has constant rising action. I want another one. I could read about these characters doing nothing but picking clothes out and I would enjoy it. There’s a lot of tension and mystery, but so much heartwarming kindness that it balances out. All the trigger warnings for this book, all of it is respectfully handled but there is: rape, suicidal ideation, homophonic, sexism, grief, violence, death, death of an animal, neglect, and family politics. Don’t let these themes deter you! There’s is also a lot of representation; sign language, warrior ladies, and trans and non-binary beauty. Fans of “The City of Brass” trilogy will love the political intrigue and slow burn romance. Fans of “A Marvelous Light,” and “The Charm Offensive,” will love these opposites attract queer couples set on a fantasy world. Fans of “The Goblin Emperor,” will also adore the two cinnamon roll narrators in this satisfying read .

I LOVED this book.

It took my a few days to read, but every time I sat down with this title, I lost track of time.

Foz Meadows blended personal strife and political intrigue impeccably in the new adult fantasy novel. (TW: Sexual Assault and Suicidal Ideation). Loved reading from both Vel and Cae's perspective, and I really enjoyed that the author gave us multiple chapters at a time before swapping, as it made the writing flow. I never felt like I was yanked away from a character too soon, and I really felt like I got to know the in and outs of their personalities.

I feel as though Meadows dealt with the assault and suicidal ideation of her character in a respectful manner. It was heart wrenching to read, but I didn't feel as though Meadows glamorized it in any way. I do think the timeline for "recovery" in the book felt a little quick, but it wasn't unbelievable.

The ROMANCE... I loved the pining each of the characters had for one another. Reading from both sides of the developing relationship had me eager for the two characters to get together. It was attraction from first site, and then the slow decent into getting to know each other was so fun to read.

The political intrigue of the book was also so enjoyable. I probably should have seen the twist at the end coming, but I definitely didn't, and had my mouth dropping open at the reveal. The world building, while semi hard to follow at the beginning (as with a lot of fantasy novels), was well fleshed out- I definitely wouldn't mind reading more written in this world. Personal preference, I would have loved to have a map to refer too, but it didn't take away from anything not having one.

Overall, I can't WAIT to get this book in store so I can start convincing my customers to pick it up.
Thanks for the ARC!

What a unique experience this book turned out to be! I really enjoyed so many aspects of this story. It was really a magical (and strange as the title suggests) way to explore some serious topics. The story hit the ball rolling and never really let up. Full of interesting diverse character, it was easy to root for them.
Full review to come on YouTube.

HIGHLIGHTS
~knives make the best wedding presents
~political genius + warrior cinnamon roll
~THAT’S NOT WHAT PITCHFORKS ARE FOR
~sweet, intense romance
~oh no they’re out to kill you – or are they???

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a beautiful treaty-marriage fantasy that blends intricate political intrigue with idyllic romance and exquisite worldbuilding. Although it has something of a dark start, this is fundamentally a warm, silken, feel-good fantasy, unquestionably one of the best books of the year for a whole host of reasons!

Velasin is a gay man in the nation of Ralia (which has roughly a Renaissance-esque level of technology and culture); the third son of a technically-not-noble family, he’s been able to play the wastrel a bit and keep his sexuality hidden from his father. But after breaking up with his long-term lover Killic, he suffers a second blow in learning that, in a bid to strengthen ties to neighbouring Tithena, his marriage has been arranged to a Tithenai noblewoman.

When his sexuality is revealed – in the worst possible way – the Tithenai ambassador suggests he marry said noblewoman’s brother, instead.

It’s the best thing that could ever happen to Vel – but it sure doesn’t feel like it at the time. But then, he has no idea that Cae, his future husband, is so perfect a human being that it’s almost ridiculous. Only almost, though, because Meadows does a marvellous job at keeping him mortal and fallible (interestingly, the book switches back and forth between Vel and Cae’s PoVs, and while Vel’s chapters are in first-person, Cae’s are in third. I don’t know what prompted that decision – maybe to emphasise what different people they are, and how different are the cultures they come from and thus the way that they think? – but it works extremely well). The two characters are the best kind of complimentary opposites; which is to say, opposites in a few significant ways, but sharing positions on everything important. Cae is an honest, more straightforward warrior type (not stupid or bad with people, just better with literal swordplay than verbal), while Vel is a genius when it comes to politics, and they meet in the middle with heartwarming trust and openness. Probably my favourite aspect of their developing relationship was that they were honest with each other – open even when it was awkward, or difficult, or painful. Speaking as someone who’s been married for over a decade, that kind of honesty is what convinces me, every time I see it, that a relationship is going to work. And it’s just so damn refreshing to see characters who talk to each other, like grown-ups, rather than acting like dramatic teenagers.

Vel and Cae aren’t teenagers. Their relationship starts small, from a foundation of honesty and trust and a desire to make a good life for themselves together, and grows into something deep and real and heartwarming. I’ll admit it develops quickly, but five days after we met the hubby and I admitted we knew it was forever, so between that and Meadows’ care and skill in telling their story, I have no trouble believing in it. Especially given the circumstances in which their relationship is forged.

And this is, ultimately, a romantic fantasy, which means some suspension of disbelief re falling in love is permitted. Although there’s a good deal of intrigue – someone is not happy about this marriage, presumably for political reasons – there’s no getting away from the fact that Tithena is a queer fantasy of a fantasy realm, an idealised queernorm state that could have come straight (hah) out of my own daydreams. Jacqueline Carey says in the cover quote that “Many readers looking for a sense of homecoming in the realm of romantic fantasy will find it in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance.” and I think that’s what she meant; although we get a brief glimpse of the queerphobia of Ralia, the vast majority of this book takes place in what’s functionally a queer wonderland, and there is absolutely a sense of relief and joy and homecoming in that. We don’t have to think about any of it too hard or too closely; just let it wash over us, and wash our hearts clean in the process.

But of course, if you decide you do want to look at things more closely, you won’t find anything to nitpick. All the worldbuilding prowess that was on display in Meadows’ previous books – the Manifold Path duet – comes through loud and clear in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. Meadows has thought of everything; not just the different attitudes Ralia and Tithena have towards gender and sexuality – obviously very plot-relevant! – but details like clothing, cuisine, marriage traditions, views and uses for magic, and religion. And by that, I don’t mean Meadows decided one country wears trousers and the other doesn’t; I mean they’ve invented entirely new items of clothing. While there might be slight influences from a couple of real-world cultures, the world Vel and Cae inhabit is entirely Meadows’ own – and I loved it. Especially since Meadows is an expert at not overwhelming the reader with new strange-sounding nouns, or expecting the reader to have them all instantly memorised – and creating idioms that instantly make sense!

<“Sorry,” he said. “I was whittling trees out of firewood.”>

And you cannot talk about this book without talking about Markel! Vel’s manservant is also his best friend – and they communicate via sign language because Markel is mute. They’re so close that at first some people think Markel and Vel are romantically involved or want to be, and I loved getting to see that strong a relationship – especially between two men! – with no romantic or sexual elements at all. (Listen, we stan Steve/Bucky in this house but we also stan beautiful intense platonic love because THAT IS AMAZING TOO.) Besides which, Markel is just awesome for his own sake – very kind, and also extremely smart and funny, and I will be amazed if anyone walks away from this book not adoring him utterly, okay? He’s that wonderful.

One critique I’ve seen – but don’t share – for this book is that there’s several small plot points that don’t go anywhere: for example, Vel and Markel hide Markel’s knowledge of the local language in the hopes of him overhearing something useful, and he doesn’t. But to me, that just made the story feel more realistic, because in real life, not everything is relevant, or comes up again later. Not every idea you have works out, and not every plot results in ah-hah!clues. I know that’s something we usually don’t let stories do – and I’ve critiqued books for it before. But here it felt deliberate, which is what makes the difference. Here the characters did things that were logical for them to do, or worried about things it was reasonable to worry about – and those things didn’t always pan out, because in real life, they don’t always. It adds a bit of realism to what is otherwise a very idealised story.

Ultimately A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is just – so sweet and sex-positive and big on consent in an effortlessly queernorm setting and how??? do you??? even??? The takeaway is just HAPPY FEELS and bubbly joy through and through. Which is impressive, because the beginning is pretty dark, and yet this really is a book you want to hug to your chest because EEE! It’s idealised and escapist, detailed and delicious, with plenty of plot and a swoonworthy romance – an instant fave.

I ended up DNFing this book. I liked the premise but the execution of the plot just don’t work for me. The pacing was disjointed and I had a hard time getting into the story.

This book was so engrossing! I really enjoyed the romance of it. Velasin and Caethari were adorable and I loved the friendship between Markell and Velasin that opened up to include Caethari.

I wasn't as enamored of the mystery aspect of the story, but that may have been just me. I tend to get impatient with mysteries. There were also a few times where the phrasing was awkward or an extra word that didn't belong, but it was an ARC so hopefully that won't be the case in the finished product.

I had such high hopes for this book based on the premise and beautiful cover, but unfortunately it didn't measure up to my expectations.

I really liked the unique take on arranged marriage between two men in a setting where that is possible. The author did a great job depicting societies with different social rules, including how it was difficult for the character to adjust - even in a place where things are better - due to internalized shame and trauma. The developing relationship between the two characters was very sweet and I loved seeing the way they respected each other. We also see trans and nonbinary characters, characters with disabilities, and more underrepresented groups, who are treated with refreshing dignity by the other characters.

However, I did not enjoy the voice of the first person chapters - it felt overdone to me. I understand that that was part of the character's personality, but, the third person chapters were so much clearer and I would have preferred the whole book written in that style. The author clearly put a lot of thought into worldbuilding, but we get much of it from long info dumps in the character dialogue. The court intrigue plot was cheapened by the sheer frequency of murders, which didn't do justice to the complex cast of characters.

What I struggled with most was the continuing violence against people and animals that interrupted nearly every quiet moment of the story. It came to feel a bit like a soap opera, where things go wrong again and again in increasingly improbable ways. I know this book was meant to show a character healing from sexual assault (which was helpfully presented to readers before the start of the book) but the ongoing violence felt particularly jarring when set next to that recovery. I'm not opposed to dark stories - but these scenes didn't fit well with the tone in other parts of the book for me.

I think this book definitely has an audience (it made me think more than once of some popular Mercedes Lackey books) and in particular might appeal to new adult readers who are familiar with the style of young adult fantasy romance books, but who are looking for stories with more mature themes. I've purchased it for my library, even if it wasn't the right book for me, and I look forward to the chance to purchase more fantasy books featuring queer relationships.