2.5 stars
TW; Alcoholism
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

This wasn't the read for me. Most of my issues with The North Wind were surrounding Wren and her overall character. Since she is the main narrator of this piece, I found it challenging to be stuck inside her erratic and inconsistent mind. Her dramatics and treatment of all characters often resulted in tantrum-like reactions, and I didn't enjoy when she would dither back and forth with her responses. She would put up a big fight and then like a switch, submit to the situation or person and I spent a lot of time exasperated by this.

Inconsistencies riddled the world-building from the beginning too. Most were small issues, such as claiming no animals could thrive in the current world and they had no livestock or animals to farm from, and then in the next paragraph mentioning about Miss Millie's horse, but they racked up quickly and diminished the author's attempts in creating a world of interest to me. The imagery thus was shallow at best, and often times I felt like I was reading directly from other worlds in fantasy novels. The start feels exactly like the beginning of ACOTAR, and I'm not one to make comparisons with books in reviews where possible, but it was really hard to shake off the feeling that I was reading a fanfic for the Sarah J Maas series.

The use of Greek mythology in the storyline kept my interest for a little while, but I admit, I didn't vibe with the romance or storyline involving Boreas when there were so many loopholes.

Overall, I didn't have a great time reading The North Wind. For transparency, I didn't realise this was a new edition release of a book originally released in 2022, and I wish I had looked at reviews before accepting the invitation from the publisher to read this.

In the town of Edgewood, Wren faces the challenge of protecting her sister amidst the weakening magical barrier, the Shade, which has safeguarded them from the dangers beyond. Legends suggest that the weakening barrier could threaten their safety, and the only solution is the marriage of a mortal woman to the North Wind, an icy ruler. When the North Wind targets Wren's sister, she vows to defend her, even if it means sacrificing herself, determined not to yield without a fight.

This book is marketed as a retelling of "Beauty & the Beast," evident early on with echoes of ACOTAR, another retelling story, in the initial chapters. While it offered a decent read, it took quite a while to gain momentum. Things did notably improve as the story progressed which did improved things somewhat..

Heavily character-driven, the plot remains relatively stagnant until at least midway through the book. This lack of balance between character and plot was frustrating, leaving numerous plot holes and unexplored concepts that I felt could have enriched the storyline.

It’s no surprise that the characters and their development was my favourite part. Wren is a well-rounded but imperfect FMC, and the exploration of her self-worth, alcoholism and coping mechanisms was delivered in a thoughtful and engaging way. Boreas (aka. The North Wind) took a little longer to warm up but again his story was well developed and interesting.

I also really loved the way the relationship between Wren and Boreas unfolded. The tension and slow-burn between them was well-executed, and their transition from enemies to lovers felt authentic and compelling. Their dynamic added depth to the story and kept me invested in their journey.

The North Wind is the first in a series, however this first book wrapped up the story of Wren and Boreas quite neatly. While it was a good read, I think it works well as a standalone and isn’t a series I’ll necessarily continue with. However, for readers who enjoy a more character-driven narrative with just a touch of fantasy, it might still be worth picking up.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read this ARC.

It is a good book, unfortunately I found it hard to get into. A slow beginning but the second half was much better.

Great for those who enjoy fantasy, but not my favourite genre.

♡ ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 (rounded up to 4) ♡
🌶️ 1.5/5

This was an enjoyable fantasy read.
It incorporates elements of the Hades/Persephone myth and Beauty and the Beast. As others have mentioned, I could see the resemblance to A Court of Thorns and Roses and Feyre within the book—bow, hunter, ungrateful sister—but I don’t feel like it was so similar that I felt like I was reading fanfiction.
I enjoyed the character and relationship development of Wren and Boreas, and the premise of the four Winds/Gods and brothers was an intriguing element. Watching both main characters struggle with their particular vices gave the book a raw and natural feeling. I also enjoyed that while Wren grew into herself, she didn’t lose her personality—she stayed feisty and strong throughout the book.
I especially loved the side characters – Orla has my heart, and I wanted to tuck Thyamine into my pocket to keep her safe!
Although I felt a few plot lines could have been expanded and some plot holes needed to be filled, I still enjoyed reading it.

The North Wind was a fun read and a great start to the Four Winds series!

*I received an eARC copy in exchange for my honest review of this book*
Big thank you to NetGalley, Alexandria Warwick and Simon & Schuster Australia for the chance to read this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

What to Expect:
🏹Beauty & the Beast Retelling (very close to some of these plot lines)
🏹Enemies to Lovers
🏹Forced Proximity
🏹Arranged Marriage
🏹Who hurt you?
🏹Slow burn

Favourite quotes:
If you knew what it felt like to love someone with your entire being, you'd know I never had a choice.

The Frost King's beauty is riveting, sure, but he has the personality of a pustule.

—

This was a great little read despite the storyline having a lot of congruencies with the first ACOTAR book, which you can sort of forgive given they are both Beauty & the Beast retellings. Outside of those plot points, the FMC is very reminiscent of Feyre as other readers have pointed out. She's a huntress who uses a bow and provides for her starving family, her sister Elora is pretty much another version of Elain and completely ungrateful for the sacrifices made for her benefit, and Wren gets taken through a portal to another realm to live in a castle with an immortal god.

That being said, I found Wren a much more well-rounded and complex FMC in comparison. I loved the exploration of her battle with her addictions as coping mechanisms, and she was snarky and witty in a way that Feyre isn't, which made her interactions and dialogue much more satisfying.

The slow burn tension between the two MCs was really well done, an authentic transition of their relationship from enemies to lovers and a nice build up of spice to go along with it. The book was very much character driven rather than plot driven, there honestly wasn't a lot happening until the later parts of the book and the descriptions of some of the action scenes were a little hard to follow.

Despite that, I had a great time reading this and would definitely continue the series in case his brother gets a redemption arc, because we love a morally grey MMC with a shady past.

Also worth mentioning the epilogue at the end was extremely cute and loved that addition to tie up this story. Very satisfying ending.

This was a solid first book and I am so excited for the rest of the series. The emotional growth of the main character was very well written, and the ending threw me for a loop!

This was a good enough read but not a great read. It was a bit slow moving. It got a bit more interesting over half way through.

For a few hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been immersed in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens.

The characters are interesting but there’s some confusion about the necessity for 30 yearly wives for Boreas the Frost king and North Wind , etc . The brothers were each meant to represent a wind but we really only heard much about one of them. The Four Winds are Gods that control different seasons.

Wren of Edgewood lost her parents during an atrocious winter as a child to famine. She was left to take care of her twin sister, Elora. Wren loves her sister dearly and there is no low that she will not stoop to in a harsh world to keep body and soul together for the both of them. Boreas wants to marry her sister to save his kingdom but Wren isn’t having any of it. She will sacrifice anything, even herself, to prevent it.

This book may appeal to others more than it did to me. I just didn’t find it easy to get into it that much.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The North Wind was an enthralling read, with Beauty and The Beast and a Hades and Persephone vibe it was pure fantasy with so many things to have you hooked!
Wren was the strong and snarky female lead, while Boreas was the morally grey male main character with a traumatic past.
The slow burn between these two is fire, and I truly couldn't get enough. I love the enemies to lovers trope, and this one might be up there with some of my favourites of all time!
The world building was fantastic, with little details that kept things interesting.
Although this is a stand alone novel, I believe it will be an interconnected series, I am interested to see who the world builds in the coming books!
Absolutely loved this book! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

A great romantasy with a beauty and the beast like story with a mix of hades and persephone.

I very much enjoyed Wrens fiery stabby character who matched Boreas's energy perfectly. The slow burn and enemies to lovers tropes were really well done in this book. They truly hated each other and the whole time Wren was trying to kill a God who could not be killed.

Some of my cons about this book is that I didn't feel the writing style suited. It's all written in first person as Wrens point of view which is a great pov but a lot of the sentences started with "I." Which felt a bit overused.

There are also some plot holes I wish were better explained. Such as why Zephyrus did the things he did. I felt like more explanation was needed for the barriers and the darkwalkers. I thought there would be more of a storyline in terms of the blood being used to strengthen the barriers.

All in all I think it was a decent read. It felt more heavier on the romance than the fantasy.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Is it my face? You can't stand to look at it?" The Frost King does not turn around as he says lowly, "There are many ugly things in this world, wife. But I do not think you are one of them."

"If anyone is sleeping on the floor, it's you. You're young. I'm many millennia old. I have back pain." "You do not have back pain!"

A Hades and Persephone retelling meets "A Court of Thornes and Roses" in a unique way that has be on the edge of my seat the entire time. You are immediately drawn in my the world building, and then kept hooked my Wren's wonderfully complex character.

I love Beauty and the Beast and Greek mythology so I was immediately drawn to this book.

This was exactly as it was touted to be on the blurb, a slow-burn fantasy romance and I loved it.
Learning more about Wren and Boreas as the story progresses, understanding the events that shaped them into the people they are now, and watching their love story unfold. It was absolutely lovely.

I will be looking for the other books in the series now.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

➼ ★★★.5 stars

if you’re looking for an enthralling, steamy, captivating romantasy read - you need to read Alexandria Warwick’s ‘The North Wind’ RIGHT NOW!!! Prepare to be transported to a world where Boreas, a devilishly handsome and misunderstood God who reigns over the deadlands, collides with Wren, a headstrong, stubborn, altruistic heroine determined to flip his realm upside down…

“Endure. Survive. Fight. It is all I can do”.

we LOVE a girl who would do ANYTHING for the people she loves and miss wren does just that!! Her relationship with her sister was very real in terms of the burden eldest daughters have to carry when it comes to their younger siblings.

“unhand me…or I will castrate you, immortal or not.”

wren made me laugh in this book so much bcs she has NO CHILL HAHAHAH she really eats up these one-liners when interacting with those in the way of what she wants to achieve, and i love that for her lol

“but he only pushes back his hood, revealing a countenance of such agonising beauty that I can only look at him for so long before I’m forced to run away”.

Now, let’s talk about THE NORTH FREAKING WIND mmhm…

Boreas is your classic dark-hair, misunderstood, cold-hearted, “villain” mmc and i ATE IT UP!!! That man could take me to be his wife, and I wouldn’t complain one bit if it meant I got to live with his GORGEOUS self, lol. He was actually kinda funny too bcs some MMCs lack substance, period.

- worldbuilding was great!
- the pacing was great up until about 75% of the book - it got quite slow here and kinda felt like filler chapters and then picked up in the last 30-40 pages!
- the side characters are so cute esp orla, pallas, and thyamine (my faves)

tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- slow burn romance
- greek retelling (inspired)
- one bed

A Beaty and the Beast retelling but with a unique twist. The world that the author has created is unique and captivating.
Wren reads differently to your typical FMC and I enjoyed her growth as a character as she overcame her addiction and grew as a person.
And who can resist a grumpy, morally grey MMC.
The main characters had good chemistry and their relationship developed naturally over the course of the book, all be it a little rushed at the end.
The world building is good, I was interested in the different places introduced.
The whole story did feel rushed towards the end but overall the pace was good.
There were a few things that I think could have be improved which would have made it a more enjoyable read for me; there were some plot holes, time inconsistencies, plot lines started but not returned to etc. But overall the story kept me interested and I enjoyed it.

The North Wind was an enjoyable fantasy romance. It incorporates elements of Beauty and the Beast and the Hades and Persephone myth. Thus it is very trope-filled and there was much that happened that I hadn't easily anticipated, including the villain reveal. It was still entertaining in spite of that, and I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Wren and Boreas. One place where the book fell down a little for me, though, was in the pacing. Things started well, but the final quarter of the story seemed rushed after the slow build up, the ending/final battle over a bit too quickly to feel fully satisfying. But in all other respects I enjoyed it, and I would be interested to read the remaining books in the series in the future. I am giving this four stars, and I recommend it to readers who enjoy trope-filled fantasy retellings with a dose of steamy romance.

Wrens village has been suffering the effects of an ever-lasting winter.
A sacrifice is required of her village in the form of an eligible woman to appease the North Wind whose magic has left the land barren. The shade which is maintained by the North Wind is the only barrier protecting the humans from the Deadlands, but what if that barrier fails?
Wren is about to find out as she makes her own sacrifice to save her sister who was chosen by the North Wind.
But not all is as it seems and Wrens journey is steeped in emotional healing as she battles against her own prejudice.

This book feels incredibly nostalgic as it reimagines Beauty and the Beast while throwing in every fantasy trope known to mankind.
If you love tropes this is a must read fantasy novel. This book is a fun take on some themes that are arguable over saturated in the market.

Wren is fiesty and stubborn. Boreas is the morally grey MC with a traumatic past. Their relationship builds against all odds and Wren learns that she may be more beastly than the lord of the dead.

If you’re after a fun read that is purely fantasy, with slow burn and a snarky female lead you won’t be disappointed.

Will I ever stop simping over emotionally unavailable morally grey men? Absolutely not. The North Wind is a Hades / Persephone retelling and I was obsessed.

The story focuses on Wren, who lives alone with her twin sister after they lost their parents as teenagers. There were strong ACOTAR vibes with the relationship between Wren and her sister. Wren hunts for food while her sister, Elora, doesn't lift a finger.

In this fantasy world, there are four brothers / Gods who control the seasons. This story focuses on Boreas, the North Wind. Every few decades the King (the North Wind) arrives to choose a woman from their village to take back to his kingdom never to be seen again. When he chooses Elora, Wren disguises herself and takes her place to save her sister.

This is a true hate to love story. Boreas is cold hearted and considers himself above mortals with a "I am not a man, I am a God" attitude. Wren attempts to kill him and escape back to her village while Boreas pays her little attention. The slow burn romance is so incredibly well done and the tension between them was perfect.

I also really liked the character development. We watch as Wren battles addiction and Boreas learns to navigate a life where he doesn't have full control. I loved how awkward Boreas was at communicating with mortals and his utter lack of social skills at parties was endearing.

This is a standalone book but I will absolutely be checking out other work by Alexandria Warwick.