Joanna Ruth Meyer's novel, Wind Daughter, is a compelling novel woven with wonderful stories. Full of emotion, adventure, and characters that change from enemies to lovers.

Ugh, I binged this in a day!!

If you are looking for another book focused on lore and fantasy, this is the book for you! There are so many emotions you will experience on this ride just like in Echo North. In Joanna's books, love is of the utmost importance but the romance is usually second to the main character's development. So if you are trying to decide to read, remember there is a lot of self examination and learning on the MC's part.

A lot of other reviewers commented that it felt like the maturity of the book was more like a middle grade or younger feel, but I disagree. Satu, to me, represented a lot of us empaths who don't really fit into the world as children and even adults. I could see myself in her especially with how I am and a lot of us are now later into the pandemic. Isolation is a lot on children and adults, on top of already feeling alone and different from everyone else. Her reactions to going to school, visiting a store, meeting strangers is similar to some of us with social anxieties and different developmental disabilities. For some of us, we live our day to day like Satu does.

Pacing:
Joanna brilliantly paced this so you felt the pain that Satu was feeling through the middle to the end. She is missing who she loves and we, the readers felt that too with the absence of characters.

Characters:
I really loved how she tied Echo North to Wind Daughter and we got to see Echo and Hal happy. It was also precious how Satu becomes close with Inna. The tie in with Hal had me so shocked!! EEP. The weaving of characters and stories is so beautiful.

I lovedddd the Winter Lord. The whole time I was getting Kylo Ren vibes and I was like Satu, if you don't take his hand, I will. Obviously from the pain of TROS in the sequels still hurts me to this day, so I was sobbing around 50-70 pages until the end. (Take heart friends, the ending will leave you feeling way better than TROS).

I do wish we got to know the Winter Lord more as I felt a bit more connected to Hal in Echo North.

All I can say is I felt like I was in a magical story and connected to all the characters. You feel their warmth and their deep, deep hurts.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!! Thank you Joanna for your lovely prose and heart.

Meyer somehow weaves the beauty of wildflowers and honey bees into a gorgeous story full of heart and friendship and love. It’s just as lovely a tale as Echo North, and it was such a delight to see friendship blossom between Echo and Satu, and it felt like Echo and Satu’s stories came full circle in this book, and written in just the perfect way. In a world as real and beautiful as our own, Meyer will sweep you away with one breath from the Wind Daughter.

I knew there was a companion novel to “Echo North” when it came out. I admitted in my review for that book that it was this knowledge (importantly that this second book was coming out so soon!) that sparked me to finally pick up that book. It’s always the best when things work out so well. That you read one book hoping that it will lead to another. And then you love that first book and that other book’s publication date is right around the corner! No grueling, months-long wait. No niggling concerns that the author’s not up for the job. Just pure, unworried anticipation. And here we are!

Satu has always worried that something must be wrong with her. She simply feels too much, easily overwhelmed by the emotions of others and the proximity of larger crowds. But growing up with her parents on a lonely mountain, she has found her peace in the wildness of the snow and cliffs. But her father is no ordinary man. No, he was once the North Wind who gave up his magic for the love of a woman. But that magic didn’t simply disappear into the void, and now, without a person to wield it, that power is beginning to erode the world. So Satu must set out on a mission to quite literally save everyone and everything she knows. Along the way, she must evade the deadly Winter Lord who also wants her father’s magic for purposes of his own.

I was really excited to see that this was going to be Satu’s story. For one thing, I’m glad that it wasn’t a direct sequel of Echo’s story, as that seemed to end in a satisfying way and sequels to stories like that so often go wrong. Indeed, I was pleased to see Echo and her husband only briefly in this book. We got a quick look into their lives and how they ended up, but then we immediately moved on with Satu’s own story. Just now a previous main character should be treated in a companion novel like this. Beyond that, I was very intrigued by the version of the North Wind that we saw in the first book, so picking up his story as a driving force for this book was an excellent decision.

Satu was also a very distinct character from Echo. I will say, it took me a bit to warm up to her and to fully understand her character. As a person who has been called “sensitive” in a…less than complimentary….way before, I was easily able to see the type of character the author was going for. But on the other hand, Satu’s sensitivities are almost prohibitive for her leading a life alongside other people. She struggles to go to school or find work. In this way, I would say that her struggles are more than simply being sensitive and, instead, the author was also exploring the struggles of anxiety. As the story continued, I more fully understood Satu’s understanding of herself, her insecurities, and the very real role that her magical father’s influence has on her actual being. I loved how Satu is never “fixed,” but that she does go through a journey of self-realization and self-acceptance. And through this journey, she discovers the strengths that can be found in her own sensitivity.

I also really liked the magical elements and how it was both unique from the first book but also tied back to aspects of that story in important ways. There were a few moments when I worried that that first book might leak its way into this one in a manner that would undervalue the individual story that was being written here, but the author quickly side-stepped that concern. There was also, once again, a fairly major twist in the final fourth of the book that really turned the entire book on its head. It’s impressive for an author to catch me off guard in one book; truly amazing to pull it off twice!

There were, however, a couple of other twists that I could see coming a mile away and had a hard time not wanting to shake Satu over. But even these came with small twists and turns that allowed the eventual reveal to still feel satisfying when they came. I also enjoyed the romance. It doesn’t play out in the expected manner, but, again, through some of these twists and turns, the author managed to write a story that was both heart-filled and heart-wrenching.

While I think that I preferred Echo to Satu as a leading lady, I’ll say that the romance in this story left me on a happier note than the one if the first book. Either way, both stories were refreshing new fairytale fantasies, and fans of this subgenre are sure to enjoy each of them!

Rating 8: A lovely companion novel to “Echo North,” this book expands on the world introduced in that story and adds its own strong heroine to the mix!

(Link will go live in July)

Joanna Ruth Meyer is a master. The way she weaves her stories is unlike anything else I've ever read. She sets everything up so perfectly, and her writing style is BEAUTIFUL.
I will say I liked Echo North more than this one, I think Satu's set up portion of the story was not as unique as I was hoping.
Meyer writes her books in three parts, the background, the setup, and then the otherworldly magic finale. This set up works, but I found myself impatient through the first two parts of the book just waiting to get the third part.
I was frustrated with Satu through a good part of the book, but the fact that I felt so strongly, even a negative emotion, is a point in the author's favor.
Once I got to the third part, I could not put this book down. It was everything I was waiting for an more! The writing, the storytelling is flawlessly beautiful. A masterpiece above all. Absolutely incredible.

I lost so much sleep to finish Wind Daughter and my migraine from it is 100% worth it. Zero regrets!

Meyer has a supremely uncanny ability to get to the emotional core of her books within seconds. I know that if I read a book from her, I will cry. And, lo and behold, I teared up in the first chapter of Wind Daughter. To that end, it didn’t do much to dry my eyes that the main character is an empath. As the personification of the North Wind, she feels as deeply and volatilely as a wind sweeping across the unending tapestry of the world—literally and figuratively, mind you.

Meyer’s Wind Daughter is, at its essence, a fairytale about fairytales. Think “one story to save all stories.” Or “one story that ties together all the stories of the universe”. Love and empathy are at the forefront as the power that stitches all of these stories together until they become one. This is in large part due to Satu North’s nature as an empath. She uses her empathy as her greatest strength, which is also the thematic core of the book.

Meyer’s writing style in this book is slightly different from the style in her previous books. I believe this might be a conscious choice on her part. A stylistic choice. She uses a lot of telling rather than showing—perhaps to enhance the storyteller feeling of the narrative? I suspect she wants the reader to feel as if they’re being told this story orally by a storyteller of old, just like fairytales were told originally. And she achieves that just perfectly, in my opinion, helped along by the seemingly endless mythos of Satu’s world.

Because I promise you: this is as symbolically rich and imaginative a world as they come.

I mentioned before that the thematic core of the book is that love gives you strength—but it’s not only love. It’s all feelings. Meyer dedicates this book to everyone who feels “too much”, and the book truly is a lover letter to everyone who feels, unashamedly, and rejoices in it.

For Satu North, her primary character development lies in accepting that she can still be lonely even if she gets easily overwhelmed in crowds. She is allowed to feel lonely while also wanting to be alone. The greatest lesson that she learns is that loneliness is not the same as being alone. That existing is not the same as living. She also has smaller lessons to learn, such as the fact that her parents aren’t flawless, and that sometimes your worst enemy is really your best friend (yes, we have a glorious enemies-to-lovers trope here).

As a companion piece to Meyer’s Echo North (2019), we also have recurring characters in this book. I was most impressed by Echo North herself. While she felt familiar to me, she also felt like she was fully grown-up, thus presenting herself as a plausible mentor figure for Satu North.

But I also want to stress that this is a companion novel. That is to say, some of the worldbuilding and the lore may be difficult to follow if you haven’t read Echo North. And this difficulty is enhanced by the writing style that has a fast pace and rarely lingers, as in true “oral storyteller fashion”.

Lastly, if we talk comparisons, Howl’s Moving Castle comes to my mind almost instantly. The love story has the same tragic, but hopeful feel. Whimsical on the surface, but dark underneath. It also specifically centers around a love that is literally broken up by time, exactly as Howl’s and Sophie’s. And that’s all the spoilers I’ll give you for that comparison.

I also couldn’t help but be reminded of Inuyasha. As regards the plot, that is. Satu North goes on a journey to collect fragments of her father’s broken magic, exactly as Kagome went on a journey to collect necklace shards. And while Kagome travels through time, Satu North is chased by a magically unraveling universe (aka time).

Please note: minor spoilers for Echo North. It is preferable to read the first book before diving into this one.

I want to start off by saying that this companion novel was utterly beautiful. The writing was lyrical and the story was magical.

It's filled with self-discovery, love, and loss. When I realized what our main character Satu had to go through, my heart shattered in my chest. I loved the magic and the continued lore from Echo North. I also enjoyed seeing Echo and Hal again.

I did have a few gripes with it, however. To start, the plot was a tad predictable and it took me out of the story a bit, dimming the wonder and magic.

The romance was also an issue for me. I am the first to worship at the altar of the enemies to lovers trope, but this just felt off. It felt underdeveloped, like it wasn't given enough time to build over the course of the story. The main characters are enemies for the majority of the book, then all of the sudden they're in love? Insta-love is one of my most despised tropes. It's honestly the main reason I wasn't as invested as I could have been in the characters or their love story.

Overall, I thought this was a haunting and beautiful tale of love and loss. I definitely recommend giving it a try (though I do recommend reading Echo North before this one).

This is a nice companion novel. It does exactly what it's supposed to do - expand the world set up in the first book, briefly revise some old characters, and further build upon that foundation while introducing a new plot and story.

The thing that threw me off what how middle grade the entire story and characters feel. It's very juvenile and the MC never seems older than a young kid. Which wasn't what I was expecting. ‘Echo North’ is dark and eerie and very much the opposite of this installment. So some personal disappointment there that this didn't have the same tone and maturity.

But overall, this was fine. I think if you are a hardcore winter fairytale fan, then this book will be one you won't want to miss out on!

A hauntingly beautiful novel packed with emotions, adventures and enemies-to-lovers trope that will make readers fall in love with it. Satu, the storyteller's daughter grew up with stories told by her father, who was once the North Wind who lost his power due to mortality. Satu found herself on an adventure to the North in order to save her family and regain her father's power.

Wind Daughter is the perfect pick to read on a rainy day while cuddling up with blanket and a cup of hot tea.

A companion novel to ECHO NORTH, WIND DAUGHTER is woven together in the same magical world. The writing is as lyrical and intoxicating as old magic. Traditional fantasy storytelling at its finest.

Satu North is the daughter of the North Wind and must save the world from unraveling. She feels too much and fears that she is not strong enough for the task. She is both aided and hindered by the Winter Lord; a handsome and mysterious character.

Ok, I loved this. I knew the promo materials call it a complicated romance, and compare it to Kylo/Rey or the Darkling/Alina, but wow. This was so much more complicated than I expected, and I loved it for that.

And because I just finished this, and am still reeling, we've gotta discuss that ending. Oh my god. Very rarely does a book have me visibly reacting, but this one did. Hands over my mouth, gasping, flinching back from the book - all of it happened. This ending had me scared. I was so worried this was gonna go the way of its comparisons, and I wasn't going to be able to recover if it did.

As for the plot, I'll admit, it was a little iffy. Honestly, this was pretty plotless (in terms of valid subplots). Despite that, I never had the urge to put this down. The side characters, the romance, and Satu herself had me hooked. The barrenness of the plot allowed the characters themselves to shine, so it's lacks ended up being something I appreciated.

And finally, I really love the author for the decisions she made. She has no qualms about killing anyone off. She went for it. I'd be sitting here in disbelief as yet another beloved character was murdered. Not something I particularly enjoyed reading, but it really drove the emotional aspects home.

I had no idea that Echo North was getting a companion, and im not even sure if it needed one. But here I am, begging for a companion for this one too. I'm not ready to leave this world or the characters, so I hope we return to it yet again.

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

First off, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for letting me read an advanced copy of one my most anticipated reads!

Come closer, dear reader as a spin you a tale as old as the wind itself. Filled with magic, mystery, and plot twists galore. (Along with the smallest of enemies to lovers, you might not be ready for.) Are you ready to hear it?

Wind Daughter by Joanna Ruth Meyer is a companion/sequel to Echo North. As we as follow the tale of Satu, the daughter of the mighty North Wind, who exchanged his many powers to be a mortal in love. But without a North Wind the world is imbalanced, and starting to unravel at the seams. To save her family, friends, and the world at large, Satu must travel north and reclaim the power her father gave up. But she isn't the only one looking to claim such powerful magic. As the Winter Lord looms around every corner.

I absolutely loved Echo North, and couldn't wait to get my hands on Wind Daughter. Meyer has the power to turn the simplest phrase into the most beautiful lyric, which only makes her stories and world all the more beautiful. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of Satu, I still loved her journey and development and the interesting way we see her interact with familiar characters and some not quite so. Though my favorite was the Winter Lord, for some spoiler-y reasons.

A hauntingly beautiful fairy tale about love and loss, this Echo North companion novel is perfect for fans of the Winternight Trilogy.

In the dark, cold reaches of the north lives a storyteller and his daughter. He told his daughter, Satu, many stories—romances like the girl who loved a star and changed herself into a nightingale so she could always see him shining—but the most important story he told her was his own. This storyteller was once the formidable North Wind, but he lost his power by trading it away in exchange for mortality—he loved her mother too much to live without her. The loss of his magic impacted more than just their family, however, and now the world is unraveling in the wake of this imbalance.

To save the North, Satu embarks on a perilous journey to reclaim her father’s magic, but she isn’t the only one searching for it. In the snow-laden mountains, she finds herself in a deadly race with the Winter Lord who wants the North Wind’s destructive powers for himself.

Satu has the chance to be the heroine of her own fairy tale, only this one has an ending she never could have

This has been my most-anticipated release of 2022 – and it did not disappoint! In fact, while I may be writing this review in February, I can guarantee that it will make on my list of favorites for the entire year. Talk about an absolutely spectacular sequel to Echo North. It’s actually rare for me to be so pleased with a sequel, because they regularly don’t live up to how much I loved the first book. However, Wind Daughter certainly left me in awe.

I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that it didn’t try to be the first book. There was a lot about it that was very different. This particular book felt much more character-oriented to me, while Echo North was really focused on the plot and the magic – and really just the overall vibes. Wind Daughter started out with a much slower pace, allowing you to really grow attached to the characters and understand them in a much deeper way. By the halfway point, I truly felt as though Satu had become a close friend of mine and I was able to connect to her emotions even more.

And we really must touch on Satu’s emotions, of which there were plenty. This beautiful character is practically made of feelings and I loved her for it. She grows up thinking there is something wrong with her, and the entire time, I wanted to just yell at her that she was even more precious because of her empathy! While the plot is full of fantasy, Satu’s personal story is really a coming-of-age, and it was wonderfully done.

Since I had just done a reread of Echo North, it was especially fun to be reintroduced to beloved characters from the first book. I won’t go too in-depth about who we run into, so as not to spoil anything, but let’s just say that there are some familiar faces that will brighten your day (and you may learn even more about them, which makes the plot thicken phenomenally). OH! And there’s a fun little Easter egg for anyone who has read Into the Heartless Wood as well. This part literally made me screech aloud and was followed by me taking a photo of the page and texting it to the author to confirm that it really was what I thought it was!

The second half of the book will blow.your.mind! Originally, I planned to read the book in three sittings. Instead, I read it in two – with the second sitting being the last two-thirds of the book – because I literally couldn’t put it down. I actually tried. It was before bed and I set down the book and turned off the light… only to undo those moves because I absolutely had to know what happened next. It’s been a very, very long time since I read past my bedtime, but this story had me coming back for more. It was riveting!

Read this book if you enjoy the idea of:
– bee magic (I’m terrified of bees and this book made me love them… from a distance… but still love them nonetheless)
– a girl with “too many” feelings
– winter demons
– stories that feel both ancient and new
– time-bending and elemental magic
– love that defies all odds

[Content Warnings: (major) death/death of parent, (minor) suicidal thoughts, (additional) If you have any sort of opposition to bees, be aware that there are lots of them in this book. They aren’t wicked little stingers though – they’re beloved and kind and make delicious honey. I’m terrified of them, but this book never once had me cringing in fear.]

#WindDaughter #NetGalley Thank you to the publisher and @NetGalley for the E-ARC copy of this book. The rating of this book is entirely of my own opinion.

I did not like Echo North for various reasons but I decided to give this a try because Meyer’s prose is gorgeous and lyrical. Alas, I did not like this either. The problem is that she and I appear to fundamentally disagree on what should stay in a fairytale retelling or reimagining, and she removes all the things I thing are essential. This is obviously not going to make me her ideal reader. Once again, beautifully written but I found it hollow because the themes I would expect are missing. However I you loved Echo North, then this is for you. It captures the same feel.

Wind Daughter was a beautiful tale of personal growth told through the lens of a girl who has to save the world. It was a great blend of fantasy elements mixed in with real human emotions and relationships. This would be a great YA read, and I will be recommending it to my students (and adults too!).

I did enjoy the mythology of this book with it's own original twist. Ms. Meyer is one of my new favorite ya authors.

It was such a wonderful read, had me captivated as everything was setting up, and things unpacked. Moreover, I really liked the word building and how well paced it was. Also, the characters were quite fun too. So, it’s a 4.5 stars read for me.

This book was such a great read! I really enjoyed it and flew through it in one afternoon. The characters were unique and relatable which is something I really enjoy in a book. The author did an amazing job and I can't wait to read more.