Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The Warm Hands of Ghosts

First I would like to give major props to the narrators because they crushed this one. I love how Arden completely transports you to WW1. The way this book focuses on the horrors and experiences of war and trauma is breathtaking. The fact that siblings love is the core of this story had me completely obsessed from the first page. I loved this historical fantasy! Once again Arden doesn’t miss for me.

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lilyoliviareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow this one broke me. The horrors of WW1 painted so viscerally, combined with the themes of humanity, perseverance and love, was just heart shattering. I'll be thinking about Freddie, Laura and Winter for a long time.

Now I need a Novella of them all living happily ever after please and thank you.

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library_kb's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I listened to an ALC of this book from @Libro.fm. Listening to this book both made the story for me but also was hard. January LaVoy's narration was amazing as always and drew me in to the story, however, the sound balance on the other narrator's voice was really hard for me. Sentences often dropped to such quiet levels that I couldn't hear what words were actually being said. Definitely not a great one for road tripping (unless the sound balance gets fixed in the final version!). I did really like the way that the story was told with the mythic intertwining with historical fiction of World War 1. I think the genre choice definitely works well for depicting the effects and absolutely tragic discriminations that happen because of war. This book is both beautiful and gruesome and I would highly recommend.

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acarolinabelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book is raw emotion. It deals with the horrors of war, the pain of loss, and the will to go on. Folklore meets war on the Belgian front in WWI.

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janeywaneyb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If you are expecting a tale similar to The Bear and The Nightingale, you will not find it here.

Laura has returned to Belgium to find out the truth of her brother's death, but she is met with tales of a strange fiddler gathering the souls of soldiers. Can Laura find the truth and save her brother from the man they call Faland?

Arden has written a unique tale of war, loss, hope, despair, fear, death, life, and love. There are so many emotions splashed across the pages as you walk the trenches, war-torn Europe, and battlefield hospitals of World War I.

This story transported me to the horrors of WWI entwined a story of hope. Just because you can't explain something with science doesn't mean it isn't real, and don't we all need a little magic to save us.

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