The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Posted on by lynndellwatson

“Ghosts have warm hands.” World War I historical fiction!

Laura receives her brother’s dog tags and uniform in the mail. This means that Freddie has died in World War I. She’s devastated but has a feeling that he isn’t dead. She leaves her Canadian home and travels back to World War I and takes up her mantle as a war nurse again to search for any information she can find about Freddie. What she discovers will change her life forever.

Likes/dislikes: Laura’s strength, perseverance, and love for her brother makes her a great character. My heart warmed as Freddie and the German soldier helped each other and became like brothers. I appreciated the World War I setting and learned quite a bit about its history. I didn’t know about the Halifax explosion before I read this book.
Language: R for 93 swears and 3 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for adults drinking.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Tale of horse-racing, magic, and power!

17yo Mikira secretly races her horse to earn money for her father and sisters and to save their business of raising strong racing horses. Rezek makes a bargain with her; if she wins the dangerous race coming up, he will leave her family in peace. 20yo Damien sponsors Mikira because he hates Rezek and will do almost anything to spite him. Damien hires 18yo Ari to create a racing horse golem that has speed, endurance, protective instincts and strength. It’s against the rules of the race to use an enchanted horse so they must keep the fact that the horse, Atara, is a magical golem a secret. The race is dangerous and everything is on the line for Mikira, Ari, and Damien.

Likes/dislikes: Jewish mythology adds an interesting factor to the story. I like that Damien wants to help others even though he could use his money and power for anything he wants. Reid is unusual and I want to learn more about his background.
Language: PG-13 for 25 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: a variety including dark, alabaster, olive, light brown, tawny, pale, brown, fair, deep bronze, and golden-skinned people.