A Strange and Stubborn Endurance: 1 (Tithenai Chronicles)

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You know the real deal when you see it. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is that book and Foz Meadow is that author. I haven’t gobbled up a book so fast in years and in one sitting I knew that we have an author who has the potential to be a big deal for us. It’s an amazing fantasy with incredible characters and a male/male romance that is by turns sweet and sultry. It’s an unflinching exploration of trauma and healing, of gender and identity, and of how one comes to terms with self-worth, and on top of it all, a delicious mystery plotline that I didn’t solve until the big reveal—and THAT hasn’t happened to me in a very long time. I am so proud and excited to bring this author to our list!”

An emotionally gripping, delightful queer fantasy filled with political intrigue, family dynamics, and tender moments that will grab readers' hearts and minds.”— Library Journal, starred review Ren Vaia. This is the new Tiern Velasin vin Aaro, and this –” he looped the bay’s reins over its head as Velasin dismounted, “—is his faithful steed. He’s just arrived from Ralia, so treat him kindly, you understand?” Recognising Cae, the arguing guards snapped to attention, but before either Raeki or Ru Zairin could speak, Velasin stumbled between them, shoving his way to the bedside. Blending intrigue and queer romance, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance stitches together two cultures and re-embroiders gender conventions. Meadows combines the personal and political through an elegant voice, and finds time for tender moments of healing.”—E.J. Beaton, author of The CouncillorThat Meadows manages to have a novel that details the slow healing that comes after trauma so beautifully and respectfully, while also making it a high-stakes political thriller, and then folds in a lovely and sweet slow-burn romance between two complex characters, each fearing their new situation while also falling heads over heels for their new husband only showcases why A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is such a triumph. Sexy and sweet, kind and at times funny, Meadows shows that you can have clearly stated boundaries and consent while also showcasing just how much a soul smolders when your crush enters the room. Their writing is especially beautiful as little by little, a healing Velasin comes to see joy in Cae’s love for life, his expertise and skill, just as much as Cae gives Velasin time to heal, only to notice how deeply his strict soldiering heart begins to melt for his new husband’s bravery and intellect, his thoughtful regard and biting tongue. Pixieltd on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 3 hours ago Oh,” said Velasin, swaying slightly. He gripped the edge of Markel’s bed, trying to steady himself, and all at once, Cae realised how pale he was. “Do you want me dead, then?” An engrossing political intrigue and romance set in a world that feels complex and lived-in; beautifully realised and a pleasure to read!”—Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies My reply was forestalled by the sudden appearance of the man himself, trailed by a nursemaid carrying baby Jarien. Remarriage certainly suited Father; I hadn’t seen him so hale in years. His paunch was gone, new muscle firming his arms and shoulders, eyes bright, skin clear. Even before the awful wrangling of what was now called the Dissension, the decade or so in which a loose cadre of antagonistic nobles had stoked political strife within Ralia, and which had finally ended, somewhat anticlimactically, with the exposure of Lord Ennan vin Mica’s plans for rebellion and the arrest, imprisonment and/or execution of his various co-conspirators, my mother’s death had wearied him on a level I’d been too young to fully comprehend, for all that I witnessed it daily. But not even civil peace had eased him as Lady Sine did; or perhaps that was Jarien’s doing, if not the two in combination. Either way, his positive transformation threw into sharp relief my own, inverse trajectory, and in that moment, had he asked for the truth, I would have confessed to everything—even, perhaps, beyond my culpability.

Inwardly, Cae sighed; outwardly, he straightened. “Tiern Caethari Aeduria,” he said, softly. “Or Cae, if you like.”

I stared at him. “In principle,” I said, pulse galloping in counterpoint to my careful speech, “I have no objection.” A bald-faced lie; I had every objection, though none I dared to voice. “But in all practicality, Father—and I say this with no false modesty—what good Ralian heiress would have me? They are not such abundant creatures as to have no better prospects than a sinecured third son, no matter your elevation.” Not that the vin Aaros had risen in rank, per se, but as any good Ralian knows, there are lords and there are lords, and since being awarded vin Mica’s holdings in the still-recent aftermath of the Dissension, Father was now much closer to the latter than the former. No, I decided, inhaling a lungful of crisp, clean air. Little Jarien can have it all, and welcome. My infant half-brother, Father’s son by his new wife and, through her, heir to all I surveyed, was a fraternal blank slate. Whatever relationship we might one day have was untainted by the childhood I’d shared with Revic and Nathian, and though that unpleasant template might yet reassert itself, I was disinclined to borrow such a worry so preemptively. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a book of nuance, passion, and insight, and effectively showcases Foz Meadows' talents." - Juliette Wade

That being settled within me, I found myself admiring the new vin Aaro lands—which is to say, the old vin Mica lands—as a traveller might, without thought to their upkeep or earnings. We’d passed a small township earlier on, and since ignored the diversions of smaller, only occasionally signposted roads that presumably led to the various other farms and hamlets now under Father’s purview. Before vin Mica’s folly, trade had flourished along this route, goods moving to and from neighbouring Tithena and Khytë through a single pass in the otherwise forbidding Snowjaw Mountains. Though tenants and traders here had likely suffered for their previous lord’s mismanagement, the physical beauty of the land, at least, remained untouched. The road on which we travelled wound prettily through late-fruiting orchards and gentle hills, the bright grass dotted with flowers. The autumn sky was powder blue, shading to lilac around the gleaming caps of the distant peaks, which shone white this late in the year. Pleasant birdsong coloured the air like music.

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He broke off, and we shared a certain fond, pained expression at all that the absence entailed. “I know,” I said softly, and left it at that.

But he did not ask; just clapped my shoulder, fingers squeezing briefly against the bone, and bade me welcome. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a book of nuance, passion, and insight, and effectively showcases Foz Meadows' talents.”—Juliette Wade That will doubtless please my lord to hear,” said Lady Sine, and for a moment, her gaze was shrewd as Markel’s. “Though he might wonder at the occasion.” Sorry,” he muttered, flushing at the error, and promptly snugged his arm around Velasin’s ribs. “There. You can lean on me, now.” An engrossing political intrigue and romance set in a world that feels complex and lived-in; beautifully realised and a pleasure to read!" - Sam HawkeCompelling characters and a fascinating world. I can’t wait to read the next book.” – Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author of the Murderbot Diaries, on An Accident of Stars