The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Title: The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Series: n/a
Author: Katherine Arden
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Historical Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; February 13, 2024

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else? November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.

Katherine Arden—the author of the Small Spaces quartet and The Winternight Trilogy—has returned to adult fantasy with her latest novel, The Warm Hands of Ghost. Set during World War 1, the story is a superb, devastating, and meticulously plotted historical novel with a dark (and thrilling) fantasy twist.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is split between the perspectives of two siblings: Laura Iven, a combat nurse honorably discharged, and Freddie, a soldier who, early in the story, is assumed dead.

This book is a challenging read. Anything set during a war typically is, particularly in World War 1 and 2 as well as any of the conflicts that are part of real world history. But Arden doesn’t use it simply as set dressing. The author draws the conflict closer with stark imagery, detailed writing that immerses the reader, and by making it intrinsically personal to the characters.

Laura’s position as a combat nurse put her up close and personal with the wounded, the fighting, and the horror. She was cynical but also caring, skilled at nursing, and desperate for information about her only remaining family. Freddie’s experience is just as harrowing, and that was especially true of his time in the overturned pillbox and the events afterwards—it forever changes him. Even the secondary characters—for example Mrs. Shaw—are touched by the conflict, although they process their grief in different ways (and it spurs different actions). And that’s what makes each member of the cast standout.

The speculative aspects were excellent. They’re in a like vein to The Winter of the Witch, fitting seamlessly with the setting and themes. It was a period of change, and that too had to adapt to the times. And the result was an eerie, terrifying, and clever antagonist.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts is part ghost story and part story of survival. It’s also about family, loss, change, and hope; a tale that was intense and dark, and an incredibly emotional read. And I loved every second of it.

About the author....

Born in Austin, Texas, Katherine Arden spent her junior year of high school in Rennes, France. Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrolment for a year in order to live and study in Moscow. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature. After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, working every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and making crêpes to serving as a personal tour guide. After a year on the island, she moved to Briançon, France, and spent nine months teaching. She then returned to Maui, stayed for nearly a year, then left again to wander. Currently she lives in Vermont, but really, you never know. She is the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Del Rey) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Music Monday (272): Zulubo Productions, Chapel Hart, Tanner Adell, BRELAND

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I spent some time last week watching playthroughs for Vertigo Remastered and Vertigo 2. I absolutely loved the soundtrack from the games and, when I checked the developer Youtube channel, I noticed they posted some music. Checkout Vertigo 2 Beats To Study/Relax To!

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to This Girl Likes Fords by Chapel Hart, FU-150 by Tanner Adell, and, once again, My Truck by BRELAND. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (245) & Book Beginnings: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE**Note: Freda @ Freda's Voice is taking a break from The Friday 56; Anne @Head is Full of Books is hosting for now.**

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take? Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.One Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.Ronan is one of the raven boys - a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.

Beginning: " A secret is a strange thing."

56: "Just as suddenly as they'd started, both of the machines went quiet."

Comments: I really liked this one, and I look forward to continuing the series. What are you reading this weekend?

I Watched Pokémon Concierge!

Released on December 28, 2023, Pokémon Concierge is a stop motion animation series on Netflix. It follows Haru, a tired office worker, who, after a week of unfortunate personal and professional luck, decides she’s in need of a change of pace and joins the staff of the Pokémon Resort.

I love stop motion animation. It’s one of my favorite styles—i.e. Coraline is still one of my most frequently cited examples of this. I really enjoyed the design of this show. Visually it was a feast for the eyes. The characters (and Pokémon), background, and even the topographical details of the setting were bright, colorful, and full of a variety of textures that made it interesting to view. It really conveyed a laidback atmosphere of paradise, relaxation, and vacation.

Haru was interesting. Her story was a pretty simple and straightforward one, and much of the four episode length is about her learning to navigate her new job. There was a learning curve full of humorous mishaps and endearing interactions with some of the Pokémon (and trainer) guests who were staying at the resort.

Overall, the series keeps a lighter tone, and it goes for cute and funny over something darker and more serious. That’s what I liked about it, though. It was as fun as I thought it was going to be. So it was true to the trailer, which you can checkout below.

If you’re looking for a quick series to view, then I highly recommend checking out Pokémon Concierge.

Check out the trailer!

Music Monday (271): Victoria Monet, Barbara Tucker, Ariana DeBose, Boy George, Nile Rodgers

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: My pick this week is How Does It Make You Feel by Victoria Monet. I like her latest album, Jaguar II, and this song is one of my favorites.

Adri: My pick for today is I Get Lifted by Barbara Tucker. I already featured it, but recently I've been listening to The Underground Network Mix.

Andrea:  This week I'm listening to Electric Energy by Ariana DeBose, Boy George, and Nile Rodgers. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

Favorite Recipes Ice Cream + a Sorbet

Today I want to talk about some of the ice cream recipes I tried. Although I don’t remember everything I made, this is more of a collection post since I’ll be talking about multiple recipes briefly. For all of them, I used our Cuisinart Ice-21 1 ½ quarts Ice Cream Maker—which I love since it doesn’t require salt. However, you don’t need one to make frozen desserts. If you look around, there are ways to do it without a machine.

The first recipe is Simple Vanilla Ice Cream from Cuisinart. It was in the machine’s booklet, but you can find it on Cuisinart’s website. After making it so many times, I found that I like an additional ½ cup of milk, which I have to admit is probably ½ cup too much. After all, the instructions mention something about keeping the base 1½ quarts (about 6 cups), but I push it a little. (But I won’t personally recommend doing this). But overall, this has ruined most store brought ice creams for me.

The next one I made more recently is tea flavored ice cream. I wanted to make it out of the vanilla recipe above, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I ended up using Milk Tea Ice Cream by Catherine Zhang from Zhang Catherine as instructional reference.

In the end I heated 4-6 bags of Celestial Seasonings’ Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride with the cream, milk, and vanilla. Then I poured the hot mixture into a bowl with the sugar and mixed it well. Lastly I let it cool and left it in the fridge overnight before churning. I think this was the best ice cream I made. It was absolutely delectable! But then again this is a favorite tea. As for my reference recipe I’d like to try it one day on it’s own. 

I also want to mention a few things I found after making this twice. I found that dissolving the sugar into a hot base gave it a slightly different texture. I haven’t tried this with any other recipe though. And I ended up straining the mixture, because a film developed on the surface once it cooled. 

I don’t have images for all of them, including this one, but I absolutely loved this Pineapple Ice cream, by Swathi (Ambujom Saraswathy) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen. I haven’t made any in a long time, but from what I recall, it was really refreshing. I do want to try it with coconut since I thought it could be a nice homemade replacement for Thirfty/Rite Aid Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream.

Lastly, (and the last thing I churned last year) I made This Lemon Sorbet by Leigh Anne Wilkes from Your Home Based Mom. It was the simplest sorbet recipe I could find quickly, so it’s a favorite. I accidently messed up since I didn’t let the sugar mixture cool before combining it with the other mixture. But I think it still turned out great. It also tasted great. Unfortunately, I discovered I’m not big on strong lemon flavor. So I do want to try it again (and make sure I cool it enough).

Short Stories I Read In December

It’s the twenty-ninth of January. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in December.

Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge by Eugenia Triantafyllou [Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty-Four)

Before 2023 was over, I tried to play catchup by finally reading one of the short stories released in the final stretch of the year. It was Eugenia Triantafyllou’s short story for Uncanny Magazine, Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge. I adored this story. With a local superstition about the creepy underpass—nicknamed “the tunnel”—of a disused bridge and deals with the devil that have unintended consequences, this story takes being very careful with what you wish for very-VERY literally. With a narrator, Olga, whose choice is, you know, kind of understandable, given the context within the story she was navigating through (i.e. death of a close and younger family member). Being in her headspace was kind of wild. As her wish seemingly comes true (or does it), it reveals a part of the "trick" as more and more of her slips away. She assumed so much about how her situation should play out, and that combined with everything else ensured there was plenty of nail-biting tension to go around. I was on the edge of my seat all the way to the end. The story had this overwhelming, foreboding atmosphere, because with the kind of deal Olga participated in, you just know the consequences aren’t going to be good. But I still didn’t anticipate that twist in the end. Looking back, though, all the clues were right there. This story was a dose of the supernatural combined with a family whose grief allowed the devil in. All-in-all, Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge was fantastic.

From around the web…

• Dog is in the Details [Sarah Pinsker; Apex Magazine; November 16, 2023]
• Wilson’s Iliad and Le Guin’s Battle Between Good and Evil, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sword [Kristen Patterson; Tor.com; December 4, 2023]
• Book Review: The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw [Aigner Loren Wilson; Lightspeed Mangazine; December 2023, Issue 163]

Music Monday (270): Tinashe, Yemi Alade, Tierra Whack

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I've really been enjoying Tinashe's latest album, BB/ANG3L. One of my favorites from it is Uh Huh.

Adri: My pick for today is Shower Song by Tierra Whack. I find the music video a little nostalgic.

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Amazing Grace by Yemi Alade. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (244) & Book Beginnings: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE **Note: Freda @ Freda's Voice is taking a break from The Friday 56; Anne @Head is Full of Books is hosting for now.**

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Beginning: "Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."

56: "The voices in Whelk's head were a roar, but for once, his own thoughts had drowned them out."

Comments: Back in December, I reread Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys. It was about a full decade since I first read it, and I enjoyed the story much more this time around than the last. What are you reading this week?

On Rereading The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

 

There are so many new releases and backlist titles I want to get to in a given year, I rarely have the time to reread books as much as I would like to. But, in December, I took the time to revisit Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys.

I first read The Raven Boys in September of 2013. So it’s been just over a full decade since I first picked up this book, at the time of writing this in December of 2023. So fast forward to November 2023, I’m going through some of the older titles on my bookshelves, and I decide to spontaneously reread the first four pages—the prologue—of The Raven Boys. And I was, to say the least, very intrigued.

Granted, it’s been a very long time and, while I remembered some details of the plot, my recall of the majority the story was…vague. Back then, I liked The Raven Boys, but it wasn’t a favorite novel of mine. But I was also a very different reader then than I am now. I was less into folklore and mythology; I was still discovering what my reading tastes actually were; and my reading habits depended, in large part, on my mood. Most of those things aren’t applicable now, and I’ve gotten very good at being able to tell which books I’ll like—give or take a few instances when I happen to be wrong.

“It was freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrived.” Pg.1

The Raven Boys is a book about hunts—for Glendower, for the ley lines—and the people who search for them, explore them, or simply seek to experience or just to glimpse something…otherworldly. For Blue Sargent, she’s tired of being the sensible one, and wants a glimpse of what her family of psychics see—and is also involved due to rebellious decisions. For Ronan, Adam, and Noah, they’ve joined Gansey’s quest to find Glendower—and they form most of the friend group, and are often referred to as the titular Raven Boys.

Knowing (vaguely) what happens didn’t change how much I enjoyed my reread of The Raven Boys. I took my time with it, just appreciating the details. There is a lot of context and clues to keep track of, some of which I know is laying the groundwork for the sequels (the implications were literally everywhere!). I know I must have overlooked some of it before, or it was simply that I didn’t have as much appreciation for what the story was doing—because it has a lot to say.

The Welsh Mythology is one of the key factors of interest for me. Stories that are deeply entrenched in mythology and folklore are some of my favorites. A more recent book that I read that has a similar vibe was Kate Pearsall’s Bittersweet in the Hollow.

This isn’t the kind of story that has hard—almost scientific—rules for its magic. It had a soft, almost murky quality to it, making it feel natural to the nature of the story’s setting of Henrietta, Virginia. Some things just were or were wrapped with layers of mystique.

But The Raven Boys is also about its characters and their nuances. The cast is colorful, troubled, obsessive, and eccentric. Large personalities that, at times, clash, but the friendships were complex as well as enjoyable to read about, as the story explored their corners.

The ending is…a cliffhanger.

As far as I remember, I never continued with this series, but I plan to finish The Raven Cycle this year. That should be easy, since I now have copies of The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue, and The Raven King.

About the book...

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.