A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows: Book Review

A Strange And Stubborn Endurance Book Summary

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows is a story about Velasin vin Aaro who is forced into a diplomatic marriage to a girl from another country. But then it’s discovered he prefers men, and while his father wants to disown him for it, the other country’s envoy suggests marrying the brother of the girl he was supposed to marry. Though his new country, Tithena, seems great and freeing, and his new husband nice enough, Velasin is traumatized — and more than that, there’s suddenly a threat on his life and the life of his new family. 

A Strange And Stubborn Endurance Book Review

While I’m still unsure whether I liked this book, I do appreciate how different it is than standard romance fantasy these days. Instead of broody, borderline toxic heroes, we get a tender romance full of understanding and mutual support. There is some angst but it’s easily overcome with conversation. 

However, there are quite a few things about it I didn’t like. For example, there is a rape scene that happens very early on. It’s graphic and quite triggering, so be warned. But having a rape scene in a book isn’t a problem in and of itself. The problem is that it felt shoehorned in as a catalyst for Velasin and a source of angst for the romance plot. I feel like it wasn’t necessary, and other things could have been done instead. Velasin’s society is extremely homophobic, so just a kiss with his former boyfriend would have served well enough as an inciting incident for the rest of the book. 

The world of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a diverse one, wonderfully so. I loved that we had a third gender, same sex relationships, transgender characters, and I wish more stories went in this direction. 

However, the duality between Tithena (the “good” country) and Ralia (the “bad”, rigid society) struck me as a bit strange. These two countries are right next to each other, and have had trade agreements, wars, etc. How come none of Tithena’s progressiveness transferred to Ralia? Based on our world history, it would have — clusters of nearby countries often share belief systems and culture due to centuries of intermingling. It would make more sense if there was more geographical distance between Ralia and Tithena. 

Throughout the novel, things keep happening. This person is wounded, a horse is killed, messages are left, yet never do these characters get any closer to solving it. The mystery isn’t satisfying, especially because at the end, the characters just stumble into the solution.

Highlights

• A sweet, gentle romance
• Fun side characters 
• Tons of diversity (gender, race, sexuality etc.)
• A mute character and sign language usage
• Decent prose, though overdone at times

Here are a few more things you need to know before you start reading A Strange and Stubborn Endurance:

• It’s written in first POV from Velasin’s perspective, and in third POV in Cae’s perspective
• The plot of this whole book happens over a week (excluding the three-week trip that Velasin takes to get to Tithena)
• This book is the first installment of a duology, though it can be read as a standalone
• There is a graphic sexual assault scene within the first 20 pages of this book. I cannot overstate this enough, please be careful if this is triggering for you. This is followed by two, also early on, suicide attempts.
• Trigger warnings for on-page, graphic sexual assault, suicidal thoughts and on-page, graphic suicide attempts (two), death of an animal, graphic deaths and woundings, homophobia (pretty much any LGBTQIA+ phobia you can imagine), corporal punishment (via branding). 

Books Like A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

1. A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

A Taste of Gold and Iron is another queernormative fantasy book, which is why I think it might be a good choice for you. It follows a shy prince as he takes on a mysterious case to prove his loyalty to the queen with his newly appointed bodyguard. 

2. Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Winter’s Orbit is a SciFi fantasy romance that has a similar forced marriage plot device, so you might like it. A widower prince is forced to marry his former husband’s disreputable cousin. However, when they find out that the prince is suspected as his late husband’s murder, the two must work together to figure out who really did it.

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