The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is a historical fiction/magical realism blend that had me completely enthralled.

When Laura is recuperating at home in Canada following wounds sustained in war-torn France/Belgium in 1918 she is given a suggestion that her brother Freddie who was missing presumed killed may actually be alive, so she returns to Europe to try and find him.
The story is told from Laura's perspective in 1918 and Freddie's perspective from 1917-1918 from his injury that brought him into close contact with German soldier Hans Winter (we also get some interjections from Winter's point of view).

The author absolutely captures the bleakness and desolation of the trenches, the mud, the cold, the barren landscape. I've spent many days exploring the area and the historical sites so it felt incredibly poignant to me. Being able to tap into my experiences in the region made the experience of reading this beautifully desolate novel more personal.

I was entranced by this novel and would definitely recommend it.

As someone who is not a fan of historical books, I gave this one a chance just like I did with the Winternight trilogy, and once again Katherine Arden smashed it out of the park. This book was absolutely stunning, her writing is beautiful and my heart hurt for the characters. I loved all of the main characters in this and the romance side of the story worked perfectly as a companion to the main plot of Laura searching for information on her brother.

THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS is a haunting tale of world war one, blending a ghostly nightmare into the very real living nightmare of the war.

The best way I can describe this novel is like someone wrote a gothic novel about the first world war. As well as the grimness and waste of the war and the trenches, the book contains a slow, creeping unease that there is something else deeply wrong here. It is compelling and just serves to highlight the horrors of the fighting, the indiscriminate nature of death.

As it is a slow build, it does mean there's a long time before the speculative elements come into play - and even longer until they're a major part of the book. For this reason, the book should probably be approached more as a historical with a few speculative elements rather than a more typical historical fantasy. I really liked this blend and how it could be interpreted as a metaphor for shell shock at times.

The atmosphere in the book is so taut and thick you can almost taste it. There is a feeling of unreality to it all because it is so horrifying that you almost doesn't feel real, and yet there is a part of your mind pointing out that this and worse happened then. Freddie and Winters' experience in the pillbox feels like a piece of modern theatre trying to understand hell, all that crushing blackness. Laura experiences and treats horrors both at the war - the hospital being placed somewhere that's a key target - and at home - when a ship explodes in the harbour. The war touches everything and leaves scars visible and invisible.

The book follows both Laura in 1918 returning to the front to track down her brother and Freddie from 1917 as the Passchendaele campaign thunders on. It begins with Laura and it's not until she starts to learn what's happening that we see it, and it's so much worse than expected. I liked getting to see both sides as it underscores the danger of the mysterious Faland.

In all, this was a great book - and I will definitely be putting her debut series on my list.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a historical WW1 novel with sprinklings of the supernatural and paranormal - certainly different from any war fiction I have ever read before!

The story itself follows two main POV characters, Laura Ivan, a discharged field nurse, who is sent home following being injured after a traumatic shelling incident and her brother Freddie Ivan, a soldier missing, presumed dead by his family and peers. What follows in an interwoven story told across different timelines.

I very much enjoyed Katherine Arden's writing style, and I feel she captured the trauma and pains of war vividly. The story really is a love story of the heights we will go to for family and the loved shared between siblings, and you can really see that in the pages. Where the book fell a little flat for me, was on the *actual* love story plot - which honestly didn't work for me at all, but it didn't make me enjoy the book any less, I just felt it wasn't the main focus and didn't really add anything to the story.

Overall, a very enjoyable read! I dipped in and out of the audiobook also which was wonderfully narrated.

A bit late as per, but thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC - by the time I got round to reading it I had my lovely SE to read!

I adore Katherine Arden and I think her writing is so captivating and addictive.

However, I am not the biggest fan of books surrounding wars, especially the Great War. In reality I shouldn't have requested this one but I was so excited to read something new from Arden and tried to look past it. Stupid, I know.

I couldn't read this one but that is nothing against the book or Arden's amazing writing. It just wasn't a premise I enjoy.

I quite liked this...a combination of Faust, Tales of Arabian Knights, and All Quiet on the Western Front. Was skeptical, but it was quite compelling. When her parents are killed in the Halifax explosion in 1917, and she curiously receives BOTH sets of ID tags from her brother fighting on the Western Front and reported dead, Laura Ivers goes in search of her brother, a sensitive poet named Wilfred (hm....a not so subtle nod to Wilfred Owen). Freddie has seen the most horrendous horrors on the front, and has survived with the help of a German soldier. But when the mysterious Monsier Faland offers respite in his "hotel" and wine in exchange for stories as he plays his violin, the plot is set in motion. Laura has to save her brother, but knows the compulsion to follow Faland as she herself has felt his pull. A sort of surreal WW1 story, but it really works! Enjoyed it immensely.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a lovely, slow burning book about the horrors of war, hope, and humanity. Arden's prose are (unsurprisingly) lovely and I absolutely adored both Laura and Freddie's points of view. They're both complex and imperfect characters (my personal favourite), but Arden injects them with such an incredible sense of self and strong personalities. The wide supporting cast is equally wonderful and compelling, and their interactions with the two main characters really bolstered the story.

I always love historical fiction with a touch of fantasy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a fantastic book. I'm a huge fan of Katherine's and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Wow, I struggled to start with, it was very slow but the story is complex and once over the first few chapters I was into my stride with this fascinating story. Set during the first World War in Ypres Belgium. The story follows Laura Iven, a nurse sent home from Flanders to Halifax Nova Scotia after being seriously wounded. Struggling to rebuild a life for herself and reeling from the sudden deaths of both her parents after a munitions ship explodes in Halifax harbour, she receives word that her brother Freddie, serving at the front in Belgium, has gone missing and is presumed dead. She decides she must return in the hope that he might still be alive. She volunteers to return to Belgium and work at a private hospital with a handful of other women.

A second story line set a few months earlier follows Freddie’s story on the front lines, where he is trapped beneath a German pillbox during the fighting. Buried underground, Freddie is sure his own death is imminent, ironically trapped right alongside a man named Hans Winter, one of the very German soldiers he had been trying so desperately to kill. But Hans and Freddie miraculously survive, leaning on each other and embracing the unlikely bond that springs up between them to dig their way out of the mud and find a way through the battlefield.

Strange characters and bargains seemingly made with fictitious events or mental sub conscious take place on this journey for all characters back to safety. Intriguing and challenging.

Wow what can I say! The Warm Hands of Ghosts is an historical fantasy that gets under your skin … in the beginning I wasn’t sure whether this story was for me (or rather for where I was emotionally). I loved the Winternight Trilogy from the same author but I wasn’t sure where this story would take me. I’m so glad I continued! I was totally pulled in.

In the beginning I thought there was such a contrast between what was happening at the time (the history) and the scenes with Faland. But as I continued reading, I realised under the surface, they weren’t so very different.

There is a contrast between Laura and Freddie’s characters. One with such strength and dedication and one shattered and lost yet both are broken and needing another person to break down the walls and offer compassion and nurture. The fear and guilt are tangible for them both. I was hoping Laura could get past her guilt to understand how important the warm hands of ghosts were. And for Freddie to find redemption and accept his own path to love. Faland is so nebulous, faery-like and hard to define. I love a character that makes me feel uncomfortable! One that I shouldn’t like but actually felt a lot of compassion for.

Many scenes in both narrations are hard-hitting and made me think. I loved the ‘darkness’ but equally loved the hope and possibilities.

I was sucked into the history in The Warm Hands of Ghosts but the feelings that stayed after reading are all related to the characters and how tangled their emotions were (and how they made me feel). It made me reconsider what I thought a ‘monster’ was.

Recommended if you need a push out of your comfort zone.

Many thanks to Random House UK for letting me read a copy of this book in advance of its release!

Katherine Arden has been on my radar ever since reading her fantastic "Winternight" trilogy, so I was utterly excited to hear of her upcoming book. Admittedly, I went into this expecting a similar atmosphere to her prior work, which initially hindered my reading experience, but once I decided to interact with this piece without drawing comparisons, I found myself greatly enjoying it.

Arden does a brilliant job at portraying the horrors of war, with this book specifically taking place in and around the trenches of WW1. Her decision to reflect and comment on the severe trauma of being caught in the crossfire through the lens of ghosts and devilish personages really resonated with me. I felt that she excecuted this idea brilliantly. The intense bond of the two siblings was absolutely heart wrenching, experiencing this story through both their eyes while their timelines slowly approached each other was a great decision craftwise.

On a more personal note, I also greatly enjoyed the medical aspect of Laura's profession and POV - I can't help it, I'm always a sucker for doctor/healer protagonists!

The Winternight trilogy, was my introduction to Katherine Arden, and she was phenomenal then, and even more so not.

The Warm hands of Ghost, is a breath-taking and emotional read, I could not put this down. She took my emotions on a journey very few books have done before. I enjoyed every aspect of this book, from the writing to the story and the world in itself. Love and despair go hand in hand with this books and by the end you will not be able to tell which apart. Freddie and Laura which be constant mental companions for the foreseeable and if you are on the shelf about this book, i suggest you jump off and right in.

You will not regret it

Stunning

I could not decide initially what I thought of this historical ghost story - it disturbed me and gripped me - atmospheric and haunting.

First World War, Belgium - combat nurse, Laura Ivan returns to Flanders to try to find out what has happened to Freddie, her brother, who disappeared - presumed dead - in November 1917.

He found himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a German soldier - together they determine to live and claw their way out. But to escape the war they take refuge with a mysterious fiddler who has the power to give oblivion. Freddie sacrifices himself to save Winter, the German soldier.

Laura, against all the odds, has to find a way to rescue her brother before he becomes too traumatised to save.

The portrayal of war in the trenches was dark, raw and heartbreaking. The siblings fight for each other in the midst of devastation, mindless violence and deprivation. They are made to face their individual traumas and find a way forward to face the future.

All in the face of evil and the ghosts of the past.

A haunting book which will stay with me.

Brilliantly written story. I absolutely loved it. I held off for a few days after reading to allow some time to pass before reviewing, but my awe at how beautiful a book it is, hasn't worn off. It's just simply magical.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

A beautiful book for sure, but unfortunately not my favourite from Katherine Arden. I think that it was really just very different to what I was expecting it to be? I think that I was honestly expecting more of the Winternight trilogy, and this just wasn't that. The magical element didn't feel as important to the story as the relationship between brother and sister was, which of course is not a bad thing by any means, just not what I was wanting from the book. However, this author is incredibly talented and this book continues to showcase that - she is a true master of crafting a story and I did feel like these characters could have been real historical figures. The author also puts across the bleakness and desperation of war very cleverly and clearly, and has a massive impact. All of the horrors of war are shown in this book (so please be aware of that going in). It is a book of hope however, and that theme plays from beginning to end. I think I would have definitely loved this book more if I hadn't gone in with the expectations of wanting it to be more like the Winternight trilogy.

I received this book from the publishers via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I held off reviewing this for a couple of days after finishing because I just needed to sit in the glory of just how good this is.

I should start by saying I am not a historical fiction girlie at alllllllll, especially with war settings. So this just continues to prove to me that anything Katherine writes I will read with great abandon.

This did take me a second to get into because of the setting and because Laura is quite no nonsense. The writing just drew me in though and soon I was just speeding through. I loved Freddie and Winter’s journey so much, and Laura’s drive to find her brother.

The way the supernatural folds into the desperation of the people, and into the stage of war felt so real to me, and so delicately, beautifully done.

I’ve seen people say how different this is to Bear, but I can see so many similarities in how it felt to me, so I do think if you enjoyed that I would definitely recommend this.

4.5 stars. Read it.

First thing first: the cover is gorgeous.
A story about WWI, poignant and emotionally charged. I knew Katherine Arden's fantasy novels and this one was something more.
Not fantasy but the raw and horrible reality of war and what WWI was.
Great storytelling and character development, a book that moved me and kept me reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.5 stars

A nurse in the First World War, Laura Iven is back home in Halifax, Canada after being discharged.
Laura's brother, Freddie, is still fighting as a soldier in the war, but one day Laura receives his uniform in the post.
Desperate for answers as to what happened to Freddie, Laura makes her way back to Belgium.
Laura hears whispered stories of ghosts walking alongside the living, and a man with a violin who can make people forget their troubles.
Will Laura find out what happened to Freddie?

The premise for this book really intrigued me, and I was excited to read it.
I really liked Laura as a protagonist - she was likeable and relatable. She had been through a tough time, but was still determined to help others despite still grieving herself.
Freddie, Pim, Winter and Jones were all characters that I liked, but Laura was my favourite.
Faland was an interesting character, and I liked the mystery surrounding him. He was quite a complex character, and I was never entirely sure how he would react.
The setting of Belgium in the First World War was interesting, and I thought the author did a good job of capturing some of the horror of what happened.
The plot was enjoyable and held my attention. I did find that my enjoyment dipped in the middle to second half, but only a little.
I enjoyed the split perspective narrative of Laura in her present, and then Freddie several months previous. It was interesting to see how they lined up/came together.
The writing style was easy to follow and I am interested to see what the author does next.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

I’m a big fan of Katherine Arden following the incredible Winternight trilogy and I have a lot of respect for her writing and the mind it comes from, so when I saw that Arden was bringing out another book, I was ridiculously excited. Unfortunately The Warm Hands of Ghosts left me with some mixed feelings.

To be clear, on the face of it, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a brilliantly written story, and possibly if I weren’t reading this with a critical eye due to needing to review this, I would be able to be less, critical, and enjoy this at the face of it. However following such a brilliantly rich trilogy, the expectation was incredibly high and it mostly gets there but not quite.

The story is set during World War I, between 1917-18 and follows discharged Canadian field nurse Laura Iven who in 1918 has been notified her brother Freddie has died in combat, receiving his trunk and personal effects. However no body has been recovered and Laura is not ready to accept the death of her sole remaining family so she travels to a private hospital in Belgium, close to where Freddie was last stationed, to try and discover the truth. Along the way, Laura and her companions hear about the mysterious Fiddler, appearing as a Hotelier, who helps wipe the memories and trauma of soldiers and give the ‘gift’ of oblivion. Is this the fate of Freddie? The book jumps from Laura’s story to Freddie’s, jumping back to 1917 where Freddie wakes up in an overturned pillbox following an explosion with an injured German enemy soldier, Hans. Relying on each other to survive, the 2 quickly form an alliance and rather than return to opposing sides on the killing field, Freddie and Hans travel together and end up in the hands of the Fiddler, but is Freddie truly lost or can be found once again?

The scenes involving Freddie and Hans in the trenches, under fire, scared and disoriented, are incredibly written. Arden creates a suffocating energy between these 2 characters trapped in the pillbox and then subsequently travelling across the killing field, that drags you into the scene and the relationship between these characters instantly, intensely and intimately. The frustrating thing for me was that with this being the best part of the book, there just didn’t feel enough of these scenes or interactions. Hans quickly becomes very important to Freddie but they spend more of the book apart than together when their relationship is so vitally important to Freddie’s character.

While Arden does a great job of creating the horrors of the war while Freddie and Hans are escaping, a lot of the other realities of that time are, for me, not acknowledged enough. For one thing, Hans is Freddie’s enemy, he is a soldier for the opposite side in the war, and yet there is no real conflict when it comes to this. I know both character are just trying to survive and possibly it feels irrelevant in that greater scheme, but when the feels blossom into friendship and then more, there is no real issue about accepting a person who has possibly played a role in the deaths of your allies. These are 2 good men caught on opposite sides, this should be a complex issue with a deep exploration but it’s quite neatly glided over. Likewise, and I hope this isn’t a spoiler but in case it is, SPOILER, being a homosexual in 1910 was not an easy thing, let alone for men on opposing sides of a war. We don’t ever find out if either character have had homosexual appears prior to each other, there is no fear around this love or the shame that would have been (wrongly) forced on them. This in itself is an ugly part of history but the ugliness is just ignored or hidden away to fully commit to it.

The idea of neatness is reiterated again come the ending of the book. I won’t go into detail because spoilers so it’s difficult to expand on, but bar a character death (obviously my favourite character because I’m cursed), the story is wrapped up quite cleanly and happily with the ugliness, again, glided over.

Laura’s story and the private hospital didn’t feel very relevant or needed for me, at times yes it moves the plot along, but it takes up a lot of the book that could have been used to focus more on the war itself. There’s a romance that has it’s sweet moments but no chemistry (I mean, I genuinely thought Laura and Pim were going to end up together so…).

I can’t say I disliked this book because it’s brilliant in a lot of ways, but it frustrated me at the wasted potential and I finished the story unsure of my feelings towards it. Arden covers complex themes of love and loss and grief and trauma, and the writing is beautifully done. But at times it does feel too nice, too pretty, it’s a book about war but without the brutality, a book about love with too little characters falling in love. It’s so close but just not quite there on so many issues. It’s a lovely book, but I think for me it would have had a greater impact if it weren’t so lovely. I’m still very confused about how I feel, I just know I finished still wanting. At face value it is a beautiful book though, and I get why many people love it, I just wanted more.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is definitely going on my best of the year list. Arden is an author I would always recommend, her Winternight trilogy solidified what an amazing writer and talented storyteller she is. I was only thinking a few months ago that I hadn’t seen a new book and hey presto this popped up.

I have been telling everyone about this book, it’s absolutely remarkable. It has the trademark wandering into the elements of life that cross the lines of preconceived norms and delve into things that lurk in the shadows. Simultaneously it also has such an accurate connection to not only that period in history, but also the emotional and physical wounds caused by the destruction and devastation of the Great War.

Capturing the conflict from a variety of views and people gives a better perspective of the tragedy, the losses and the terrible impact. The allies, the enemy, the medical staff, the volunteers, the civilians, the lost souls and the ghosts. In the end everyone is the same. This is especially evident in the relationship between Freddie and Winter. When push comes to shove, and survival or death are the only choices, is there really any room for two sides?

The scenes with Winter and Freddie, especially when they first meet, they are extraordinary. The reader feels the darkness, the damp, the mud and the fear. Fear is the same regardless of which country you are fighting for.

Laura is on a quest to find her brother, despite the odds of him being dead being very high. Her own trauma makes her vulnerable to Faland, as indeed are many on the fields of battle. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book – it becomes a metaphor, a way to survive, a mindset and a conjured mass hallucination shared by destroyed and frightened souls. Or is it?

I loved this story, wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it and think it is indicative of the power of word, storytelling and suggestion. It is a haunting experience – it is a haunting.