When I received the little ‘hey, you might like this book’ email, it didn’t take more than two seconds for me to get heart eyes for this beauty. The new cover art looks amazing, and the gorgeous story inside? Even better.
I loved the dynamic between the two leads so much - there was so much banter, and that delicious mix of heavy weaponry and UST couldn’t be beat. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series, but I don’t know how the other winds could possibly top this one.

Was very hades and Persephone vibes. Enjoyed it. Sometimes read a little weird but I think that’s just the style of the author and not being used to it.
I did find it slow to read though, but did pick up.
The characters were good, over all not a bad book, but not great. Enjoyable.

The North Wind follows Wren, who has been providing for her twin sister since they were orphaned by any means necessary. In the desolate wintery lands of Edgewood, the immortal North Wind selects himself a bride to be sacrificed and feed the magical barrier surrounding the lands each year.

When Wren’s sister is selected as the sacrifice, Wren disguises herself and accompanies the North Wind back to his lands in her sister’s place. She plans to kill the immortal to end the blight on her villages, but the longer she stays the more she realises that his murder may not be the way to save the mortals.

Warwick’s writing is captivating, and I was instantly immersed in this story. There was a lot for me to like - enemies to lovers, one horse/one bed, forced proximity, a fierce and stabby FMC and a grumpy mysterious MMC. There is inspiration from beauty and the beast and Hades and Persephone and even mental health rep with addiction and loss.

Thankyou to netgalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Didn’t end up finishing this as I thoroughly lost interest by about halfway. Half-baked mythology mish-mash thrown together from various cultures/folklore, flat writing, annoying main character - being universally rude and petulant and telling the reader every two pages how strong and brave you are does not a complex character make; also, author apparently couldn’t even decide on her appearance as she goes from brown-skinned to pale and back several times, and she acted like an angry teenager rather than the 20-something she’s apparently supposed to be. The other characters seemed to barely exist other than as person-shaped receptables for the MC's various outbursts.

If you want this trope/character configuration and Russian-inspired mythology done well, go for Naomi Novik or Katherine Arden instead.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own
I really wanted to love this book, as so many people have… but I found it hard to like the main characters. They were both quite contradictory in their actions and goals. It may have been simply bad timing on my part, but it took quite a while to get into.
In some romance fantasy books there’s a lot of tension whenever there’s a scene with the MCs, and it didn’t feel that tense here.

- Fantasy Romance
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Beauty & the beast retelling
- Hades and Persephone

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The North Wind is book 1 in a new series that I imagine is going to be a massive sensation! I seriously devoured it and loved it so much!!

I loved Wren straight of the bat, she had a certain edge to her that I just gravitated for and connected with straight away.

As for the North Wind, we’ll we all love a grumpy mean guy that deep down has a heart for those that are in need but has a heart encased in steel and let’s no one in.

This book had everything in it and more!! I loved the angst between the characters, I enjoyed the world building and I’m super excited to continue the series and see where it will take us.

I enjoyed this work of fantasy. It owes a great deal to Beauty and the Beast in its plot lines, and is a classic enemies to lovers tale. However, it is an entertaining version and well worth a read.

The North Wind is an enjoyable read in the romantasy genre from a reshaping of Beauty and the Beast, the myth of Hades and Persephone (loosely) and the personified wind Gods, specifically Boreas, the God of the North Wind and Winter. It is the first in the Four Winds series.

I struggled through the narrative voice in the first three chapters, while the scene and context for the story was basted across the page. Repeatedly. However I will say that Ms Warwick seems to have quite a talent for spinning a tale once she has her characters in play. The standard mash-up of tropes are used to carry the protagonists to their HEA. There were some twists on the general format (the back story has a slight Katniss ring to it, ethnically ambiguous character description), but I didn't engage with the secondary characters (particulary Zephyrus, the God of the West Wind) and there wasn't enough depth or tension in the plot to hold my attention. While this novel didn't hit the mark for me, this is an easy read for anyone who enjoys Scarlett St. Clare, Naomi Novik, Alexander Bracken, and J.L. Armentrout.

I received an ARC in return for an honest review.

Wren and her sister Elora live a hand-to-mouth existence in the town of Edgewood, close to the border between the worlds and shrouded under a permanent winter. Once every 30 years the Frost King arrives to claim a woman from the village to strengthen the border between the worlds. This is the year the Frost King returns. When Elora is chosen by the Frost King, Wren sacrifices herself to save her sister, and taken through the Shade into the Deadlands...but things are not exactly as they seem.

This was an interesting read - the world building was fantastic with the Shade and the Deadlands and the Citadel and the doors and doors and doors. . There was heavy leaning on the Greek mythology of the Anemoi, with a touch of Beauty and the Beast thrown in there, too. I loved the Spectre characters, and the Darkwalkers were wonderfully nightmarish.

BUT. I did not like the two main characters. While there was no set time period for this to be set (other than the vague fantasy-medieval time), Wren appeared to be an anachronistic, modern, Mary-Sue style character with a martyr/saviour complex who rarely thought about her actions, and Boreas was a one dimensional character, all hot body and tortured past. A few times Wren annoyed me to the point where I just had to walk away from the book. The spectre characters were much more entertaining.

There was a lot of sexual tension and brooding looks, making this a slow burn enemies-to-lovers book. I've seen some readers classify this as YA, but while the overall language is accessible for YA readers, given the explicit sexual content this is NOT a YA book - NA (New Adult) perhaps, instead.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 . Romantasy fans will enjoy this one.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

Wow, what a magical story! It's a captivating retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth, with a sprinkle of Beauty and the Beast woven in seamlessly. The world-building is exceptional, drawing readers deep into the universe of the story. I found myself deeply attached to the main characters and thoroughly enjoyed the journey they embarked on. While I was a bit annoyed with some of the main female character's choices, I appreciated the complexity it added to the story. The enemies-to-lovers aspect was particularly engaging, and there was some spicy writing near the end of the book that added an extra layer of excitement. The growth of the main male character was touching, and I adored every aspect of this tale. I'm eagerly hoping for more books in this series!

I really liked the premise of this look - a little greek influence, a beauty and the best retelling - it was totally up my alleyway. Unfortunately I ended up DNF'ing this book and for no particular reason. There wasn't a lot gripping me despite having a beautiful writing style. I did love seeing the relationship develop between the Frost King and our protagonist, there was a sense of growing feelings which is fantastic to read but this time round, I just couldn't get into it. There wasn't anything inherently bad about the book, and I encourage readers to still pick this book up and give it a shot.

I want to thank NetGalley and Alexandria Warwick for allowing me to read this early and I do look forward to reading more of her work.

I am a sucker for a world of magic, the underworld, enemies to lovers, only one bed, feyre caretaking vibes and Katnis style ‘i volunteer as tribute’ trope.

Its a good read. Wren is flawed and has had to endure hardships so she is a bit rough around the edges, but when she steps in to protect her sister from the Jack Frost/morally grey / villian the story gets good!

Loved the banter, there is something abbot witty retorts and cheeky side lines that just make this story hum.

Overall recommend for fans of ACOTAR, The Ever King, and the Cruel Prince.

If romantasy is your genre of choice, there probably isn't anything new here, but you'll likely enjoy this Beauty and the Beast inspired story. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are lots and lots of similarities with ACOTAR - so if that's your thing, then give this one a try too.

Prickly heroine (this time with an addiction problem) meets cold, bored superior immortal (who of course is hiding a soft sentimental side)- throw in the only one bed and slow burn captive/captor tropes and you have a satisfying and slightly spicy romance with plenty of intrigue and action alongside. The character development arc and world building is a little bit patchy at times, but overall the pacing is solid enough to keep things moving along.

Apparently this story was also influenced by Hades/Persephone (and one of the main reasons I wanted to read). However I found the random and not very subtle nods to Greek mythology a bit clumsy. It would have worked as well without this element and although the North Wind is Hades-like, Wren doesn't really have anything in common with Persephone.

Is it the best book I've ever read - no. Is it an easy entertaining read - for sure. As I said, if this is your genre of choice, it's a worthy addition to your TBR pile.

This book was so captivating that I found I didn't want to put the book down. The book has a nice fast pace about it, and I just love the characters. I really enjoyed this book.

I will be completely honest, I really thought this was going to be a DNF for me and for the most unusual reason - someone needed to take the thesaurus away from the author or editor or whoever went ham with the synonyms in the first chapter or so. It was painful to read, and one of the worst pages for it is the first page... If that had been throughout the whole book I would not have continued but the worst offenses were located at the start of the book and then whoever calmed down/had their thesaurus taken away from them and suddenly I was left with a much more readable book.

Now for the story itself - I enjoyed it, it was a nice read and there are similarities in the storyline to authors like Sarah J. Maas (as it claims in the book bio, just so you know it's not lying) without it being a copycat. I liked Wren, her strength of character and things she has endured. She has quite a few blind spots and is stubborn/unwilling to trust her instincts at times but she is a strong and likeable character. My only pet hate is how she describes herself compared to her sister - they are identical bar one scar on her face and yet her sister is the most beautiful, most lovely, most coveted, while she's obviously an undesirable hag in comparison... As for the North Wind, he remains fairly aloof and mysterious throughout (let me be clear, there are some clues to his character but Wren either can't or doesn't want to connect the dots until the information is truly shoved in her face). I find the North Wind's character very petty in a lot of ways and it's only at the end that he truly shines, otherwise he's kind of lackluster bar the amusing dialogue between him and Wren.

There is a part of the storyline that don't quite align with the overall story but it's not so jarring that it causes a problem or reads as incomplete, just doesn't feel fully fleshed out. The one thing I find stupid about the whole book is (and this isn't spoiler) is the whole wedlock to the North Wind that's announced in the blurb but in the book itself the villagers believe whichever girl gets picked will be sacrificed, and yet they still choose to present their most 'beautiful' and 'best' when it's clear that the North Wind literally just needs a young, human female and looks don't matter. It's kind of explained but it's so thrust in that it seems more like an after thought to justify the series of events.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgally for the honour of reading the ARC.
This book was engaging, tricky to stop reading.
Had a hint of beauty and the beast however it stood it's own ground as a story which I liked.
Loved the fantasy elements.
Trigger warning to those who don't venture to spicey reads.
When reading the epilogue, it gave me smiles and laughs.
Well written and the descriptive language was done in a good way, so it didn't take away from the story and understanding it.
I recommend to other readers.
Thanks again to the author, netgally and publisher it was an honour to read the ARC.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Simon & Schuster Australia). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book in which we meet Wren (FMC) - a provider and protector for her sister. We are immediately immersed into the cold landscape they call home and the hardship that they face. Then we meet the Frost King - a formidable god who controls winter and whom Wren blames for all the heartache over her life.
Choices are made and Wren switches places with her sister as the Frost King's sacrificial lamb. And there the story unfolds.
This story has Beauty and the Beast elements which were very nicely done.
I loved that Wren was the imperfect heroine - snarky, a bit mean and fighting addiction.
On the other side of the coin we have the Frost King - cold hearted, selfish and above us mere mortals.
The interactions between the two had me giggling as they are so snarky with each other.
It was slow burn hate to love trope with dollops of banter and I was here for it.
Each character has past trauma that has shaped them into what they are today.

If you enjoy snark, imperfect main characters and found family then this book is for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I’m not normally into this genre of books but I didn’t mind it at all. I found myself trying to find moments to read it.
I didn’t really see the theme of beauty and the beast.. unless you count the books theme. But it’s not very big anyways.

Not too much fighting which was great. I hate the fantasy books when all they do is have fighting scenes.

They need to leave Wren and Boreas’ story alone though- I see this is number 1 in the series. If they make a sequel and ruin the story I’ll be mad.

Did you read ACOTAR and wish that everything had ended after the first book because you’re a Tamlin stan? Did you want Feyre to have a bit more personality? Are you an absolute fiend for a well done one bed trope, and are looking for an actual enemies to lovers romantasy?

If so, The North Wind should be your next read. I LIVED, LAUGHED, LOVED this book and you bet I’m excited for the second (and the rest of the series, but book two is already out so). The North Wind is mysterious, dark, has hidden battles and our FMC is actually a badass if you ignore the people pleasing problems.

One thing done really well in this book was character evolution; how we can harden over time and judge people by a sliver of their actions without looking at the whole picture; how alcoholism feels and can save us (we think) yet it becomes a worry and a shame to those we love; how oblivious those sheltered can be to the woes of those who protect them.

I honestly loved this book, it felt more like a Hades x Persephone influenced retelling than Beauty and the Beast but it was a very fun read with beautiful prose. It felt that it dragged at times but I was never bored as the writing style kept me invested - but this book did take me a lot longer to read than usual.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an eARC of this book - I’m now running to snap up special editions of the first two - my wallet is screaming.

The Beauty and the beast romance really came through very strong with this one. I absolutely loved it and will be picking it up in physical form as a trophy for my bookshelf I had the best time with this book.