A much different book to what I would usually read, but the summary had me requesting this very quickly.

We follow 2 POVs from siblings Laura and Freddie. Laura put herself through nursing school, much to her parents dismay and she spent 3 years on the front.
When Laura returns to Canada, another disaster hits - this time taking their parents. Laura then receives a box of Freddies things, she won't accept that he's gone and so she returns to the front line in search for her little brother.

Very well written, some dark bits including capturing what life was like in the trenches during the first World War.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the cover of this book which was the first thing that drew me in. I did find the first part a little slow but oh boy did this book make up for that, utterly drawing me into the story and characters. Such a well written book that I would highly recommend

Ooh, I really enjoyed this book. Thank you so much to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something that will draw them in until the end.

When men created hell on earth, of course the devil was there.

The Western Front. Snipers and bombs, trenches and mud deep enough to drown in. Rats. A world where foot soldiers are pieces on a chess board, sent forward to almost certain death, shot by their own if they refuse. No wonder the men tell a story of a place where the wine and music flow, where a fiddler will help you forget your nightmares and show you your heart's desire. Once you've been there, they say, you will spend the rest of your life yearning to return, but you never will...

The Warm Hands of Ghosts follows siblings Laura and Freddie. Laura is the eldest, practical, driven, ambitous. She put herself through nursing school despite parental opposition and spent three years at the front, finally invalided out when her hospital was bombed, only to return to a Halifax Canada about to be hit with a terrible disaster, one which will take both her parents. So when Freddie's things are returned in a box with a hint of ambiguity about his fate she can't accept he is gone, returning to the Front to find out what has happened to him.

Meanwhile Freddie has found himself trapped with a German sniper, and that changes everything. Alone in the dark, wounded, not sure whether they will die when the air runs out, of thirst or drown in the mud, the two forge an unlikely bond, one which will change the entire course of Freddie's life.

Beautifully written, impeccably researched, deeply evocative, moving and heartbreaking and inventive, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is an original take on a WWI novel. Highly recommended.

Following a slow start this story becomes completely engrossing. The prose is captivating but the horrors of WWI are hard to take also, to my shame, I was unaware of the Halifax explosion and its associated horrors and tragedies. Throughout we have the ghostly character of the fiddler bringing his own particular form of malice and confusion. As to be expected from Katherine Arden the characterisation is superb and the interwoven story lines told by Freddie and his sister Laura are compelling.

I loved the Winternight Trilogy so I was delighted to receive an ARC of Katherine Arden's latest. It is a departure from the Winternight trilogy in that the time period is WW1 however, it has the same historical fantasy themes. The story is told from the POV of siblings Laura and Freddie. Laura has returned to Nova Scotia from working as a Nurse on the frontlines in Europe following a grave injury. Freddie remains fighting in Europe and is reported missing in action after Laura receives a package containing his belongings, sent from an unknown source.
The chapters alternate between Laura in the "present" in early 1918 as she deals with the aftermath of her injuries and parents' tragic deaths and seeks to find answers as to what happened Freddie. While Freddie's characters begin a few months earlier in Winter 1917 as we discover what has happened to him and are introduced to the mysterious character the Fiddler. The Fiddler is a bewitching character, and all who cross his path are transfixed by him and desperate to seek him out. However, though the Fiddler may appear to offer solace from the trench lines, his price is costly
This is a tragic and beautifully written story that captures the horrors of WW1 and the devastating impact it had on the lives of the lost generation.

This book tells a story of two siblings, Laura and Freddie and their experiences during WWI. Laura was a field nurse until she was discharged due to an injury and came back home to Halifax, Canada. Meanwhile, her younger brother Freddie is still in Belgium, fighting along his comrades. One day, Laura receives Freddie's belongings along with news that he is 'missing', while other sources say he is dead. Confused and determined to find out what actually happened, Laura decides to take initiative and get back to the front.

I thought that this premise was quite interesting, especially when summary involved mentions of ghosts, so I was curious how that will be incorporated in the novel. That was what initially attracted me to The Warm Hands of Ghosts and that is also the reason which kept me going with it, even though I found this book a difficult to read. I think, the biggest issue for me was the pacing, which I found too slow for my liking as a few times I found myself wanting for all mysteries to be revealed sooner rather than later and it felt to me that the story dragged quite a bit. I'd say that I liked the characters themselves the most. Laura wasn't the typical heroine, who knows exactly what she is doing at all times, she makes mistakes, she hesitates, but she also doesn't wallow or blame others. Meanwhile Pim... I don't even know what to say about her, since I didn't understand her character at all and I always found her actions questionable, up until very end. I enjoyed reading from Freddie's perspective, although I can't say that I liked the main villain of the story - Faland. It is clear that the reader should understand that he is the devil, who offers deals to others in exchange for something he needs. However, everyone simply just accepts that he exists and no one ever questions how and where did he came from. Same can be said about ghosts, which, I thought would be much more prominent in the novel, but now that I think of it, there weren't many actual ghosts in the story... unless this was supposed to be more of a metaphor for the people who lost part of themselves during the war. Then, sure, it works. Despite all my criticism, I have enjoyed this novel to a certain degree and am happy that I got a chance to read it before the official publication date.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Quite a dark story set during the first World War. It is very deep in places and upsetting with talk about what it was like in the trenches. Very different to her previous books, very well researched and gripping from the beginning

January 1918. Laura Iven has been discharged from her duties as a nurse and sent back to Halifax, Canada, leaving behind a brother still fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now home, she receives word of Freddie's death in action along with his uniform -but something doesn't quite make sense. Determined to find out more, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about ghosts moving among those still living and a strange inn-keeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie - but if so, where is he?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped under an overturned pillbox with an enemy soldier, a German, each of them badly wounded. Against all odds, the two men form a bond and succeed in clawing their way out. But once in No Man's Land, where can either of them turn where they won't be shot as enemy soldiers or deserters? As the killing continues, they meet a man - a fiddler - who seems to have the power to make the hellscape that surrounds them disappear. But at what price?

The story is beautifully written; however for me there was quite a bit of fluff and lots of repetitve parts of the story. I really liked Freddie's chapters particularly those before he met the fiddler. I didn't dislike Laura but I can't say I really liked her either but I did really like the relationship Laura had with Jones.

Overall I give this 3 stars. For me it was just okay.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was the girl her parents had formed still alive inside her, believing that the end of the world must come with miracles?
Or must she just spend her life kneeling at the altar of her ghosts?

This is set near the end of WWl, told from the perspectives of siblings Laura and Freddie Iven, with a touch of magical realism where ghosts and devils caper after those individuals haunted by the terrors and tragedies of war.
Laura is a nurse who was wounded by artillery fire, awarded with medals, and sent home to Halifax where her parents are killed when a ship carrying munitions exploded. Trying to deal with the aftermath, she receives the effects and dog tags of her brother Freddie - but no word of his death. Determined to learn what happened, Laura sets out to return to Europe with a few friends.
Meanwhile, we travel back in time several months to Freddie's point of view, trapped in an overturned pillbox with a number of dead soldiers and a living German one. Despite their opposition in the war, they keep each other alive in the dark.

This was breathtakingly beautiful. Slow-moving, character-driven, and interrogating the price and terrors of war and who deserves our pity, hate, praise, and love.

This looks at what people will give up to pacify themselves, their nightmares, their guilt.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I would recommend going in blind (as I pretty much did). This makes the magical realism all the more poignant and can speak to each person individually.

"I'd be here if I was the devil," he said. "Why, half the army'd sell its soul for a decent drink. Bet he's racking up the score."

You can definitely tell the research Arden committed to this spellbinding standalone.

I would recommend this if you enjoyed the Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross!
Thank you to Del Rey for providing me with a physical arc in exchange for a review!

A good book, that shows the author had done her research.

Based in Nova Scotia to begin with, it tells the story of a brother and sister around all the horrors of WW1 and the explosion that rocked their world at home, very descriptive writing here.

Not to sure if the element of ghosts did a lot for the book as after a while it got a little annoying. It seemed to take away some of the praise of what is a good read.

A beautifully woven historical story. Was unsure what I would think of this as historical themed book can be hit or miss with me. But I quite enjoyed this one! Would like to read more stories similar to this.

4+ 🌟


This one left me a tiny bit broken, and with tears in my eyes.
I think that says enough about the book to work as a review 😁

Arden captures, the horror, the loss, longing and love that all come with war beautifully.
So pleased I picked this one up.

I can't believe how good this book is. It's a complete departure to Katharine Arden's "Winter Night Trilogy" but as powerful but in such a different way. "The Warm Hands of Ghosts" conveys the horrors of war via a brother and sister who experience war as a soldier and nurse. The scenes containing the fiddler are haunting and whether he is a metaphorical figure or not, you can imagine that those who went through the war would have sought solace in the fiddler. I'll be recommending this book for a long time to come.

This is a beautifully written novel about a brother and sister lost to each other in the horrors of WW1. I loved that the book starts in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the aftermath of the huge harbour explosion and moves to the battlefields of Flanders. Katherine Arden is a talented author and she captured the different personalities to a tee. I’m not sure the supernatural element was needed - personally this didn’t add much to the story and I found it slightly annoying. All in all, a good read though.

Great storytelling, covering exquisitely researched detail from World War One, characters that you become engrossed with, and the fantasy and magical element that we know this author does so brilliantly.
I did feel it was a slow start, building up the scene and the characters but the story enfolds beautifully: love, horror, obsession, magic, evil, all culminating in a satisfying finish.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is Katherine Arden's first stand alone adult novel. It is told in 3rd person from the POV of Laura Iven and her brother Freddie. It is 1918 during WWI and Laura was a nurse but she ends up discharged after getting injured which means she has to leave her brother Freddie behind. Laura is told her brother died but she decides to go to Belgium to see if it is true. Laura hears there are ghosts at this hospital and wonders what has happened to Freddie. In 1917 Freddie is in No Man's Land with a German soldier after being trapped under an overturned pillbox. This was a well written historical novel but I am not sure if the years the author spent working on this novel have paid off. I am giving this book 4 stars but the novel never really came together for me. Laura's characterisation was very weak and I am not 100% sure she was needed as a character. I think the story could have been told from Freddie's POV and just been his story and I wasn't really satisfied with the romantic elements either. The fantasy felt very light to me.

World War One, and as shells fall in Flanders, a Canadian nurse searches for her brother believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise in this gripping and powerful historical novel. WOW! If this isn't a book to brag about I don't know what is... I started it late last night. Never did I anticipate I would be closing the book at 3am! Simply wonderful!