foz meadows a strange and stubborn endurance

On the other side of the border, this is less pronounced, but still present. Cae's sisters and grandmother play prominent roles the army commander he serves under is also a woman and women are well represented in the guard. Many gay romances can be light on female characters, but this is an obstacle the book manages to avoid. In fact, there's a handy list under the author's note at the start, which I very much appreciated being a story that foregrounds healing, it's not looking to play gotcha with readers' triggers. The story carries content warnings for sexual assault and attempted suicide, among other things. In order to get to the healing we must first go through the trauma. This makes it very much Vel's story, allowing us to fully experience the complicated emotional journey he's going through. Although it alternates between points-of-view, Velasin's sections are written in first person and Caethari's in a close third person. It does this by being very clear about the kind of story that it is: a story of healing and self-worth. I did not love Winter's Orbit, so the comparison worked in favour of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, which I felt handled several aspects rather better. There was much about A Strange and Stubborn Endurance that put me in mind of Winter's Orbit: a gay romance featuring a political marriage, a protagonist coming from an abusive relationship who is isolated in another culture, and a bigger mystery at play. Thus Vel finds himself exiled to a foreign country and unsure of whom to trust when it becomes apparent someone might be trying to kill him.

However, Vel's father is disgusted by his proclivities and makes it clear he will never be welcome back. This alliance is placed in jeopardy when Vel's father and the Tithenai ambassador catch Vel in a compromising position with his male ex-lover, but the situation is soon resolved by engaging Vel to the prince instead of the princess.

That soon changes when his father announces Vel's impending engagement to the princess of the neighbouring kingdom Tithena. When Velasin is called to his father's estate, marriage is the last thing on his mind.

Foz meadows a strange and stubborn endurance