Loved the slow burn, the world building and how immersed you feel inside the world. I am looking forward to future books!

“The sky foretells a coming tragedy.”

I’m going to admit, this was a tough one to start for me. I considered putting it aside at 3%. But after some encouragement from a fellow reader, I persevered. And I am so glad I did! Once I got into the meat of the story, I couldn’t stop reading and read the remainder in less than 24 hours!

The push and pull of Wren and Boreas’ relationship, the way they bickered and fought from the beginning was a highlight. There was battles, and tension, love, and of course spice! Thoroughly enjoyable once I got going.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The enchanting setting and captivating premise drew me in from the start. Warwick's world-building is rich and immersive, making the story feel like a winter wonderland filled with magic and mystery.
However, while I enjoyed the adventure and the unique characters, there were moments where the pacing felt a bit uneven. Still, it's a solid read for fantasy lovers looking for a fresh, mystical tale.

What you’ll find in The North Wind:
Slow burn
Only one bed
Hate to love / captor-captive relationship
Beauty & the Beast/Hades and Persephone retelling

Quotes I Love:
- “Dramatic is for the unimaginative.”
- “One bed for two people who cannot stand the sight of each other. The gods must hate me.”
- “The king may have the emotional capacity of a twig, but I can’t deny the grace of his movements.”

Absolutely devoured this one. It was different to anything I have read before but I found myself not wanting to put it down!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick is a fantasy romance inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myths of Hades and Persephone, which made for what I thought was a rather engaging and emotional journey through this book.

It's written in first person and follows Wren a young woman who has taken on the responsibility to provide and protect her twin sister Elora, after the passing of their parents. We are constantly told that Elora is the most gentile, most beautiful woman in Edgewood and deserves everything and a happy life because she has the best prospects and was the parent's favourite. Wren is nothing but a brutish, snarky ugly woman who lives to see her sister happy and fulfilled, even if it is to the detriment of herself.

For centuries her hometown of Edgewood has been battered by a horrific never-ending winter whilst the shade, a magical barrier that protects her town from the land of the dead, weakens and begins allowing dangerous creatures who feed on the souls of the living through into the land of the living. The only way that the Shade can be strengthened is when The North Wind comes and takes a mortal woman every few decades to sacrifice to the Shade. It just so happens that The North Wind has set his eyes on Elora, but Wren will do anything to stop that from happening.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, the vibes are very much more of the Beauty and the Beast variety than that of Hades and Persephone. The Hades part was clear, but the only part I felt related to the story of Hades and Persephone was that The North Wind takes a woman back to his lands every few decades.
It is singular POV - written from the perspective of Wren, which at times can feel a bit bristly as Wren initially is not the most enjoyable character. She is convinced that her only purpose in life is to serve and prop up her twin sister and the repetitive self-loathing comments and general ire for her existence can be a bit challenging to get through. It does improve over time and it was just really nice to see Wren build up some respect for herself over time.
There were parts of this book that elicited tears from me because I felt so much empathy for Wren and related to how she was feeling in those moments, with the hurt and realisations she made for her journey in healing. Then there were other parts where I just got so irritated with her because it felt like she was just doing things to spite herself.
I did finish the book with more questions that I hope will be answered in future books. Like, a more in-depth explanation of how the shade came to be, when was it discovered that mortal women could strengthen the shade? I'd love to see more information about each of the four winds and how and why they are the way they are, what are their motivations behind what they do. I'm sure all of these will be answered in future books or even novellas, so I look forward to what comes next for The Four Winds series.

If you are looking for a very solid enemies-to-lovers, Beauty and the Beast retelling, this one is for you. I loved the world and the slow burn between Wren and Boreas is dazzling. I will be reading the second book.

In this captivating fantasy, Wren of Edgewood faces the brutal reality of survival in a land cursed with an endless winter. With her parents gone, she must protect her sister and herself as the magical barrier, the Shade, weakens, threatening their home's safety. Legends tell of the North Wind, an immortal whose marriage to a mortal woman can restore the Shade’s strength. When the North Wind chooses Wren’s sister as his bride, Wren is willing to sacrifice herself to save her. Determined and resilient, Wren embarks on a perilous journey, prepared to defy the North Wind and fight for her family's survival.

This story, unfortunately didn’t grip me as much as I would have liked and felt the pacing was a little slow, especially towards the beginning.

I have conflicted feelings about both of the main characters. Wren is stubborn and spirited and The Frost King (aka The North Wind & Boreas) is stoic and impassive at the start but as we learn more about them, we definitely see more of their personalities. There were just some decisions throughout the story that just seemed a bit off and didn’t make sense for the characters.

The slow burn and chemistry built between the characters was done well and it helped carry the story along. I also found the world interesting, from the different brothers and their territories (although I do wish we had of gotten more but perhaps that will come in later books) and the members of the staff and Neumovos and how they came to be.

There were definitely a couple of times while reading this I could’ve put it down and DNF’ed but I was intrigued with how the story was going to be played out. The writing was good but the plot, at a few times let it down.

Um excuse me? This book was so freaking good. I really love a Hades and Persephone retelling and when I saw that this has acotar vibes I knew I was going to devour it. It was a really great fantasy. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

This is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy set in an absorbing fantasy world. I found Wren's character a little difficult to relate to at first, but she softened over the course of the story. Would love to see more of the excellent world building.

i picked this one up and ended up reading this in two sittings - this was SO much fun! i love a good hades x persephone retelling and i LOVED the beauty and the beast inspiration that shone through!

the characters really grew on me the more i kept reading, i loved seeing the different relationships change throughout and watching the characters grow together! wren was a really interesting fmc to follow, and i really enjoyed her character development and watching her slowly come to terms with everything happening.

overall i thought it was a fab introduction to the series, it was very easy to read and fall into and i loved so many of the tropes! think slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, only one bed and arranged marriage 🤭 the north wind is the first book in a series of inter-connected standalones and i’m so excited to carry on with this lush world in the west wind!

I have wanted to read The North Wind ever since it was first indie release and, honestly, I have no idea why I put it off this long. I adored Wren and Boreas’ relationship and am fascinated by this world. The audiobook was fantastic. It was hard to put down.

For the last 300 years, Edgewood has been trapped in an endless winter. The town is located close to the Shade – a magical barrier – that protects the city from the Deadlands. The 300 years of winter has left the town struggling to survive. Wren is used to suffering. Since the death of her parents, she is now responsible for keeping herself and her twin, Elora, alive. She has risked her life and is left scared, all in the name of keeping her sister safe and protected. The time has rolled around again for the North Wind to claim his bride, which is the price Edgewood pays for his protection from the Deadlands. Wren’s heart breaks when the North Wind sets his eyes on Elora. In that moment, Wren’s need to protect Elora will lead to the ultimate sacrifice – she will pretend to be Elora and take her place as the North Wind’s bride. Wren is brought to the Deadlands to live with her new husband, a god who is said to be as cold as the season he rules over.

I adore Wren’s character growth. She starts as a woman who has been forced into a protector role. She is the eldest twin, and her parents have instilled in her that she needs to look after her sister, Elora. In the wake of her parent’s death, she clings to things role as she struggles with her grief. She really throws herself into this role. At the start, she fixates on getting home and killing Boreas. She blames Boreas for the winter, and the deadwalkers are what killed her parents. I adored watching her settle into her new life and figure out who she was outside of being Elora’s protector. The way Boreas helps her discover her sense of self and helps her realise that she is entitled to be loved and cared for just melted my heart. Wren is brash, impulsive and must deal with the consequences of her actions, which I love to see.

The way Wren’s alcoholism is depicted feels quite honest and has been handled respectfully. It’s clear that at first, Wren doesn’t realise that she even has a drinking problem. But there are little things like she has wine bottles hidden in her room and always has a flask on her. I also enjoyed the way Wren’s rehabbing was handled. You can feel her struggle and need to drink. I love that she gains a support system to help her manage her addiction.

If you love a reserved, slightly grumpy hero, Boreas is the man – whoops sorry God – for you. At first, he seems like this arrogant immortal, but we slowly learn that maybe he hasn’t had many interactions with other people and is awkward in social settings. He is direct and likes to get to the point, which makes sense when his whole job is sorting through people’s lives to understand who they are and, therefore, determine which afterlife they are entitled to. My heart broke learning about his tense history with his brother, Zephyrus, and what happened with his wife. I get why he doesn’t trust people.

The romance is a super slow burn. Wren constantly tries to find a way to kill Boreas, and he gets mad at her for constantly lying and disrespecting boundaries. The pair of them are closed off and are struggling with grief. I adore watching them slowly thaw and open up to each other as they learn they lean on someone. And realise that they don’t have to deal with everything alone. We do have a handful of steamy scenes. There are a lot of false starts to the steam as they keep getting interrupted, which adds to the tension! The epilogue was pure perfection. I adore seeing Wren and Boreas’ HEA.

I love the Deadlands setting. Boreas and his brother have been banished from the God City as a warning as they helped overthrow the previous gods. There is a Greek Myth vibe to this world, which I love. Also, I love how Alexandria has twisted it to fit her world. I am so excited to see more from the world. Also, I cannot wait to meet the South and East winds. So far, they have only been mentioned in passing. It will be interesting to see if the other books have a fairytale vibe to them like The North Wind, and if so, cannot wait to see which fairytales they would be inspired by.

If you loved the winter atmosphere and Morozko from Katherine Arden’s The Winternight Trilogy but wanted more of a romance and love a Hades and Persephone retelling, The North Wind is for you! I am so excited to read the sequel, The West Wind, which is Zephyrus’ book. Since he was the villain of this story, I am interested to learn more about him.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Australia and the author for the chance to read this book.

This is the first book in the Four Winds series and OMG I am hooked! I loved this take on beauty and the beast with some Gods thrown in. It was enthralling from the get-go, and I just could not put it down!! There was deception, mystery, lust, and war, so it was never boring.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books.

Im a sucker for a retelling especially when it's Hades and Persephone, throw in Beauty and the Beast and sure I'll give it a go. I struggled to get into the story, the writing style didn't quite mesh with me and the main female character I just couldn't get behind. I like the premise and that kept me reading til the end. I could see how this will appeal to some readers it just unfortunately wasn't for me.

The book has themes/vibes simular to A Court of Thorns, The Hunger Games, and The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy and I enjoyed the writing style of the book and the descriptive detail or the harsh winter conditions. I wanted to love it more, but found it hard to see The North Wind as the main love interest for at least half of the book due to how he acts towards wren in the earlier chapters. That being said it is a beauty and the beast re telling so it made sense for it to be that way. I still enjoyed the storytelling, mystery, and gods powers, plus found it to be a page turner that I looked forward to reading each night.

Great, action packed, yet slow burn story with a fierce female lead, intrigue and adventure.

Loved the beginning and the weaving of the FMC journey throughout the book and the obstacles she faces.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for honest review.

Okay it took me a min to start this and I’m gutted I waited so long! This is so beautifully written! I love Wrens attitude and personality I feel it really adds to the depth of this story! Especially having two MCs that are both not trusting and shady!! Can NOT wait for the next one!!

This was a really enjoyable romantasy and definitely was a page turner! The romance was satisfying and the world was really interesting however I was left confused at times with the plot and I felt like there were a few things that weren’t explained enough. This is perfect for fans of Beauty and the beast/ Hades and Persephone retellings!

I really enjoyed this book, loved the characters and the growth that they go through. I found the world building incredible, it was super easy to imagine and I found it fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more about it as the books go on!
The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star was that I found the pacing a little off in some bits but overall loved it!

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It had a good combination of battle and adventure, personal struggles, MC interactions and romance. The world building wasn't the greatest. No, it wasn't super original. Yes, some things irked me. But, it was supposed to have Beauty & the Beast vibes, and it did, so I enjoyed it for what it was. 

I would probably pick up the next book in the series to see where that goes. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for letting me read and review this one.