A review by saraanneb3
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

I never would've believed I'd be offered a book so specifically in my wheelhouse: about World War I and the Book of Revelation!
What a beautiful and heart-breaking book. It is clearly really well researched and also brings to light parts of the war experience that don't always get much attention. It is about grief, and loss, and survival, and feeling like the world has ended but somehow we have to go on. Laura is such a great character and the magical elements added to evoke her grief and Freddie's trauma and PTSD were really well crafted, and added an interesting element to what was already a compelling plot. 
You do probably need to know a little bit about World War I to really love this book, but even without that knowledge, the story has a lot to offer. Also, don't sleep on Penelope Shaw, you meet her and if you're like me, kind of meh on the character, but she's so much more!
Definitely recommend