Andi's Reviews > The Warm Hands of Ghosts

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book. As someone who devoured the trilogy she had written prior for adult audiences, I like her writing. I really do, and I find that she is one of the best fantasy writers we have currently.

So Warm Hands of Ghosts.

I'm going to tell you, that if you're looking for something with a lot of character development or depth, you're not going to really find it in this book. It's a stand alone. A depressing one, too at that.

Reading this one while easy felt like a chore at times. You have two narratives - Laura and her brother, who may or may not be dead. Laura is a nurse, who was working on the front lines but was discharged when she was injured. You can tell she is struggling and wants to do more but at the same time she is set on trying to find her brother since the effects she got don't make sense.

Her brother, meanwhile, has found himself injured and stranded in No Man's Land with a German. They must trudge across the land, looking for help, each committing to one another to be their company's prisoner depending on who finds them. Who does find them is a mysterious fiddler with a house / inn that appears when you're not looking for it, tempting you of things you want. And, in exchange for a story, you forget yourself...

I guess I expected more. I felt like a window or a wall at times was being put up between me and the characters and moments when the characters passed by this window so to speak (mainly the interactions with the fiddler) did I feel the plot was moving somewhere. I didn't really care about the other characters - there was this girl who was constantly crying about her lost son, and this doctor that apparently starts having feelings for Laura. I was more interested in the fiddler who seemed much more interesting than any one.

Another thing I was saddened by is that the focus was on Laura, but she wasn't written to be that compelling of a protagonist to follow. I would have preferred the focus on the brother, since his chapters - because they dealt with the fiddler - were much more interesting.

At times it made me think of Labyrinth, the fiddler the mastermind, keeping Laura's brother in his world of turmoil and Laura must go rescue him. But, in terms of Labyrinth and Sarah growing up / changing / being a better person. Laura doesn't do much of anything of interest.

SO, overall. It's a great book, and some might rate it higher, but if I had to compare this book to the trilogy? I prefer the trilogy. This will be for people who aren't looking for character, they're looking for a feeling.