A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
Publication
Date: July 26, 2022
Hardcover, 544 pages, Tor Books
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”
Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.
Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.
With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love—as both will learn—is quite another.
Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.
My Review
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is the story of an arranged marriage within a fantasy world that has a small amount of magics and a lot of political turmoil. The tone of the book and its writing style make it the perfect next read for fans of Alexis Hall's historical romance books or Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit.
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance follows two main characters: Velasin, the third son of a noble from Ralia, and Caethari, the only son of the leader in Tithena. The writer does something interesting with the perspectives for these two main characters. Velasin's point of view chapters are told in first person, while Cae's are told in third person. It was a shift that allowed for less confusion between POV switches, but it did kind of baffle my mind once I realized that's what was happening. Velasin, as the first person POV, is very hard on himself and has experienced a trauma early on in the book, while Cae is a soldier who doesn't really want to rule and would rather leave that task to his sisters.
Now, my big complaint with this book is the writing style. It's just too darn dry. It's a very formal style. Though I did get used to it eventually, it's easier to get attached to the characters, in my opinion, when it's not written like an Austen novel or an old-time fantasy book. This style also made following some of the logic in the plot-based discussions very difficult. Like when everyone was trying to figure out why someone was attacking a certain group of people. My brain fried trying to keep track of their discussion. Also, some terminology could have been more organically introduced, like the terms for royalty and regular people (tiern and ren, if you were curious).
Another gripe for this book is that major revelations happened pretty early on, making the story rather anticlimactic in the first half. It left little tension between the two main characters that would've been better served if it remained in place a while longer. However, about halfway through the book, Cae and Velasin's relationship turned into a cuter, more awkward domestic arranged marriage. So while I was hoping for more romantic tension, secrets, and pining, the awkwardness was adorable at times. I felt very much like Markel, Velasin's friend, in those instances, smiling at the pair. Oh, and speaking of Markel, there's deaf representation as well as queer representation in the book. I'd hope by now that every fantasy would have this sort of real-world representation in their stories, but alas, that's not always the case. So it's fantastic to see here. And the terminology for titles and gender identities was clever too, though it did get confusing trying to juggle all of them. I think this book could've benefited from a breakdown of terms in the frontmatter.
Okay, so I'm not done griping. I do have to say, that it's just weird that there were no bodyguards assigned to any of the royals. In fact, a lot of the plot developments in terms of the assassin storyline just didn't make sense. Why did the father (the ruler), just let his son and his husband roam around without any kind of protection? And the characters are also weirdly naive considering a murder spree is going on. They're all "Oh, let's just go visit the shop by ourselves, surely nothing bad will happen!" And perhaps the weirdest development of all, the Tithenai people are very lackadaisical about killing. "Ope someone's been stabbed. Oh, well, let's party!"
Other than some naivety, the ending of this book was fun and dramatic. I suspected pretty early on who was responsible for everything, but it all played out in a twisty manner that had me flipping pages fairly quickly.
All in all, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, is a good book for fans of political maneuvering, diverse characters, and good representation. I wouldn't suggest the book for all romantasy readers though, as it is a dry tale. But I think some readers who have an appreciation for that old-time fantasy feel will really enjoy this one.
*Note: I received a NetGalley ARC of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble
Publication
Date: October 18, 2022
