A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

by Foz Meadows

Ebook, 2022

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Publication

Tor Books (2022), 544 pages

Description

"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, Foz Meadows' 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"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lycomayflower

CA: rape, suicidal ideation, animal death (off-page; aftermath on-page); fantasy violence

This fantasy romance took me a bit to settle into. The pace is leisurely, and while there is a lot of plot going on, the focus is often on the interior lives of the two main characters. None of this is a

criticism, in fact I think these things elevated the novel. And once I did settle in, I was delighted to be in its company for over five hundred pages. The plot involves an arranged marriage between two noblemen from different territories and the resulting and ongoing court intrigue and politics (plus muuuurder). The world Meadows has built is an affirmational wonder, with one of the territories operating under strict gender roles, heteronormativity, and tight expectations around sex, and the other operating as an entirely queernorm society. With one member of our couple coming from each society, there is a delightful amount of story-appropriate consideration of how two such societies operate, and that was a joy. I loved watching the two characters fall for each other (slowly--it's my favorite kind of slow burn, the sort where the falling and realizing is slow but the characters are rarely apart), and the book as a whole has the kind of tenderness about it that never fails to delight me and which I am always seeking more of in my fiction. Recommended, especially if you wish the current romantasy trend in publishing skewed queerer and/or contained more care and craft at the sentence-level.

Show Less

10 more

LibraryThing member 73pctGeek

I really enjoyed A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. A unabashadely queer novel deliciously somehow saturated with both tenderness and sweetness even though there are a lot of rather grim situations (murders/rape/abuse). After finishing I was left with the same kind of feelings I have

after Becky Chambers or Katherine Addison novels. Absolutely delightful.

Show Less

LibraryThing member ablachly

I loved this. Political marriages! Multilingualism being sexy! Courtly intrigue! Hella queer! Slow burn kind hearted romance! At times it reminded me of Megan Derr’s Tales of the High Court, which can only be a compliment in my book. I do wish the magic element was more introduced a little

earlier in the book.

Show Less

LibraryThing member rivkat

Velasin, a minor noble, is about to be forced to marry a foreign princess as part of an attempt to heal political divisions, but when his preference for men is exposed (via a sexual assault by a former lover, which causes ongoing trauma), he’s married off to a foreign prince instead. In his home

country, sexuality and gender are rigidly controlled, whereas the new place is progressive and accepting of all sexualities and genders, and also into consent. So his new husband, who is also very hot, does not want to force him into anything, but a lot of assassination attempts and other shenanigans get in the way of/end up facilitating their new relationship. It is nearly pure hurt-comfort with a side of palace politics.

Show Less

LibraryThing member clrichm

Loved, loved, adored! Now, I will say that this book might not be for everyone (though what book is?). It starts out near the beginning with a pretty graphic sexual assault that would absolutely be triggering for someone sensitive. On the other hand, it was written in such a way that didn't

sensationalize or use for "shock value" what was happening at all; the character seemed numbed by his shock, and that numb near-dissociation translated to the reader's lens. And the assault did, of course, affect the character in myriad ways for the rest of the book (trigger warnings for self-harm, suicidal ideation), but to have it not affect him would have been offensive.

The romance (which didn't immediately heal all psychic wounds! Hurray!) was sweet and engrossing, the political intrigue sucked me right in, and the world-building fascinated me. I don't need a sequel, as I think it stands alone just fine, but I want more books like this one, right now!

Show Less

LibraryThing member muddyboy

An epic fantasy with a homo sexual twist. Two countries arrange a diplomat ic marraige between a prince and a princess. Things change when it is determined that the prince has a taste for men. No problem. The other country has an older unmarried prince who also has a taste fo men. So, a marraige is

arranged between the two princes. At this point there is and murder and mayhem ensue as a result of the match. What I really liked about the novel is the respectful PG rated relationship between the two princes and the detail used to develop the customs and cultures of the two countries.

Show Less

LibraryThing member spinsterrevival

I thought about trying to reread this again immediately because I loved it so much; also thought it might help me figure out the clues in the mystery only revealed at the end. I definitely will read it again hopefully soon, but in the meantime I adored Caethari and Velasin and their slow building

of a relationship from an arranged marriage to love. I don’t read much fantasy (although this book might help change that), but I enjoyed the world building here and learning more just as Velasin had to in his new home city. Also I think this might be one of the only times I’ve seen rotating between first person point of view for one character and third person for the other; it was odd at first, but I loved how it worked (and want to try it myself).

I was quite paranoid as I knew there was a rape somewhere at the beginning, and I hate that I was glad it was almost immediately because the dreading was rough; I usually won’t read anything with on page rape but had heard so many good things about this. There was a lot of additional violence throughout as well (and oof the climactic action was hard), but in the end this really was a beautiful journey to these two amazing men finding love.

Show Less

LibraryThing member quondame

In this brisk moving fantasy mystery wastrel 3rd son Velasin is caught with his pants down in the wrong company and is sent off to the north to marry not the younger daughter, but the son of a lord of another kingdom with very different customs. Can Velasin overcome his trauma and make a

relationship with Caethari, the kind hunk? And who is trying to kill him and break his trust in Caethari? There is sex, not all consensual but but not an overload.

Show Less

LibraryThing member zeborah

I find it hard to believe in a country that's *such* a safehaven for gay people, right next to a country that's *so* bigoted against them, and yet neither country has much of *any* idea about the other's mores in this respect. But wish fulfilment is a valid literary device, and this provides that

in a lovely cozy yet twisty political/family murder mystery format. Note that on-page sexual violence kicks off the plot and much of the hurt/comfort; that aside, a very enjoyable read.

Show Less

LibraryThing member zjakkelien

Loved it. Two charming and lovable characters, good world building, and murders and intrigue.

LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35

The world building in this fantasy novel is extensive - rarely to I encounter a fantasy world so detailed. I enjoyed Velasin and Caethari as a couple (they're perfect for each other!) and I spent much of the book wishing they could both simply just get to know each other; instead, there's a need to

investigate why someone keeps trying to kill Velasin. As the violence escalates and becomes more and more entangled with Velasin's past, the consequences impact not just Velasin and Caethari, but also the diplomacy between their two countries. Overall, a fascinating read from an author I hope to read again.

Show Less

Fewer