A review by betterwithabookinmyhand
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

adventurous emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The writing was fantastic. Arden ropes you right in to the time with these historic events being mentioned during character interactions. All the details about what life looks like at that time really drew me in. The author is also SO good at showing vs telling. The audiobook was a beautifully atmospheric listen.

It was a little slow for me but I don’t read many historical fiction novels. It’s labeled as a historical fantasy but the fantasy is just a small sliver of the story I could have done without it. For me it either needed no fantasy or more fantasy.

I love the setting but I felt myself waiting for the fantasy to jump into the story but it was all very subtle. I wish it was just labeled as a historical fiction.

Overall I think it rocks as a historical fiction I just wish it either went harder on the fantasy or took out the fantasy altogether.