Thanks to Saga Press #SagaSaysCrew, NetGalley, and the author for a free copy of this book!

This is a reimagining of the Greek myth of Hero and Leander and the Scottish Ballad of Tamlin. It's a beautifully written, slow burn fantasy adventure and character study with an eerie forest mood.

It tells the story of Brielle of Thornbrook who has committed her life to the abbey, vowing never to touch a man. However, she finds an injured man in the forest who turns out to the West Wind, setting off a chain of events that lead her to the land of Under, the dangerous and mysterious land of the fair folk that feels like it's straight out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

I loved the themes this book explores: redemption and mistakes, desire and boundaries, faith and kindness. It's a book that really makes you ponder deeper ideas about the choices we make, how we can change, and our agency in our own stories. It was a refreshingly unique fantasy book compared with all the others I have read this year.

It's part of the Four Winds series, which will be 4 interconnected standalones. You don't need to read the previous release, The North Wind, to enjoy reading this one. Definitely looking forward to the next books in the series!

This is a fantasy romance book for the religious trauma girlies. Brielle has been working hard for years at the abbey to become an acolyte and feels her time must be soon. But her plans get a little complicated when she finds an injured man in the woods and rescues him. It is against their religious for her to ever touch a man, much less start to have the feelings she does for him. She goes through a journey of understanding her faith while also working to save the man she learns is, Zephyrus, aka the West Wind aka the Bringer of Spring.

We met Zephyrus in the first book, The North Wind (which I loved) and he was definitely painted as a bit of a villain so I was interested to see how he developed in this story. It is inspired by the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin so the plot its self was a bit predictable but his arc was ok. What brought my rating down was how slow the book is overall. Not only is the romance a slow burn, the plot moves slowly with strange time jumps. The general concept of the "Under" where the fae and other immortal creatures live is interesting but didn't feel as connected to the world we had already learned about in the first book.

I am still intrigued for the next book but I fear this one suffered from second book syndrome.

I had a hard time getting into this book and staying engaged. I think because I didn't realize it was a sequel I was missing key information.

The West Wind, the latest standalone in Alexandria Warwick’s Four Winds series, brings a darkly reimagined tale influenced by the Scottish ballad Tam Lin. While the first book, The North Wind, enthralled me, The West Wind left me with mixed feelings.

Warwick’s poetic writing is beautiful and evocative, painting vivid pictures of both Thornbrook and the eerie Under. However, the pacing felt slower this time around, with multiple points in the story that could have served as the conclusion, leaving the narrative feeling uneven.

As for the romance, I struggled to feel the connection between Brielle and Zephyrus. While there were moments of potential, the emotional depth I was hoping for between them never fully materialized. Even Brielle’s jealousy over Zephyrus’s interactions with Harper didn’t add much tension or complexity to their dynamic.

The inclusion of the South Wind felt more like a setup for the next book than a meaningful addition to Brielle and Zephyrus’s story. It pulled me out of the main narrative and added to the sense of disconnection I felt with this installment.

While The West Wind wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for after The North Wind, I still appreciate Warwick’s lush storytelling and creativity in weaving Greek lore with her unique mythology. Fans of atmospheric fantasy romance may enjoy this one, but it might not resonate as strongly as its predecessor.

I’ll start by saying that i didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first. I don’t love it when a “series” follows different characters for each book. with that being said i did still like this. i loved the representation we had in our FMC and i also loved that it didn’t take over her character. The dialogue was witty and fun and the mystery of the book kept me interested!

The West Wind by Alexandria Warwick

The West Wind is book two in the Four Winds Series by Alexandria Warwick. Thank you to Saga Press and Net Galley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an immersive slow burn romantasy based on the greek myth of Hero and Leander and the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin. Both of which I was unfamiliar with so I went into this one blind.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I had some issues but I would recommend this to readers looking for a leisurely read with a little spice and a sweet FMC to root for. It gives dark fairytale for grownups and I think has many different elements for every reader.

Things I did like….
-Plus size FMC. I LOVED how she was described. Often when you get a full figured FMC, her descriptors are borderline rude and in a nutshell are just some version of “FAT”. The author in this instance SHOWED the reader the FMC’s size in multiple different ways AND the love interest appreciated it WITHOUT focusing on it. As a bigger girl, I appreciated this detail. So many authors get it wrong.
-He fell first…. This was so subtle but you felt his interest right away and I liked that.
-Brielle being the breadwinner….and being a swordsmith.
-The descriptions of the fae and the different realms, great detail here.

The story follows Brielle of Thornbrook, a novice of a covent set on the edge of Under, the fae realm. Brielle is a gifted swordsmith and talented in sword play but all her strengths are constantly dimmed by the people around her and her own self doubt/lack of confidence. I found her inner dialogue to be distracting mostly because she was constantly repeating almost verbatim what people were telling her. Like she was piling on to her own pity party. There was a lot of apologizing and feeling sorry for themselves from all the characters not just Brielle. I started the novel rooting for her but by the middle of the book, I was ready for her character development to hurry up and happen cause I was SO sick of the sad puppy dog routine. The MMC Zephyrus was NO help with this.

Speaking of him….. he also suffered from being a Debbie Downer on himself and generally the world so all his false niceness and good nature smiling “good retriever” tinge of a personality never hit like it should. His character development took WAY too long as well. I found myself rolling my eyes after he repeated for the 100th time, that he was a disgraced god. WE GET IT YO…….

A few other things I didn’t like…..
-IT WAS WAYYYYY TOOO LONG….. the first 45% should of been three chapters and gotten right to the tithe!
-The whole novel needed more editing or flushing out of ideas. It was doing too much. There should have been a consolidation of plot and subplots CUT CUT CUT.
-DID I MENTION IT WAS TOO LONG…… the pacing was all over the place
-Character development happened WAY too late in the story
-The wrap up at the end was too quick and too easy.
-Wasn’t a fan of the twist AT ALL. Brielle watched the climax happen, she didn’t bring it about herself….. it was too obvious she was a pawn in a story SORT OF about her. At some points she stops being the FMC and she feels more like a secondary character.
-Lot of superfluous character who felt like they served almost no purpose at all other than to be background objects or devices to move the story along.

Solid three star read for me. A lot of things I liked but a lot I just did’t vibe with. Would still recommend this book to several friends of mine and planning on buying as a gift for one! Also posting a video review on insta a little later on!

The West Wind by Alexandria Warwick is the second book in the Four Winds Series. I really wanted to love this book, and there are parts of this book that I did love. I loved the writing, the plot, the world building, the journey, and the relationship between Brielle and Zephyrus. But, and there is no easy way to say this, the physical relationship between the two is cringe. The dialogue is awkward - the whole of their physical relationship is incredibly awkward. This is a romantic fantasy and so lowers the experience of the whole story. I still give the book 3.5 stars. I want to thank #netgalley and Saga Press for my e-arc.

This is a captivating, magical series. This fairytale retelling (Tam lin) is steeped in fae, magic, wit, and a little spice. The fmc goes through an amazing transformation, morphing from something timid to a strong, independent woman. The west wind himself is witty and teasing, very much like loki. Like the first book this is a slow burn. But, spice is done very well. I can't wait to read the next installment.

It is the second in the series about the gods of the winds. In this tale, which is a similar retelling of the myth Hero and Leander, Brielle, a devout woman of faith, finds and heals Zephyrus, the West Wind. While the first book, The North Wind, was more to my liking (more angst, more romance), this one was intriguing. I love a good redemption story and this one is filled with them. Brielle is an amazing main character - her strength, her love, her faith, her compassion etc. She grows and changes as the story evolves and that is something I also hope for in a character. Her nemesis, Harper, is hateful and truly despicable until her chance for redemption. Lastly, Zephyrus. He is not a hero but maybe an anti hero? He too changes throughout. So, like the Bringer of Spring and the changing of the seasons, this book is more about that - change and redemption. There were some factors that were not my favorite throughout and there wasn’t as much connection between the two mains as I’d have liked but I truly don’t think it was the point of the story. I really enjoyed the voyage to Under and all the encounters with the fair folk. I can not wait to read The South Wind and eventually meet The East Wind. I wish we had visited with the North Wind and Wren in this one but maybe the next? I love strong female leads and this author doesn’t disappoint. Thank you @sagapressbooks #thewestwind for the chance to be in the brothers’ world again.

I loved The North Wind.
So I was super excited for the chance to read and review book two in The Four Winds series The West Wind by Alexandria Warwick.
A phenomenal New Adult Fantasy Romance story with a plot that was absolutely fascinating!! I was enthralled.
It's enriched with Greek-myth inspired lore and transports you to a new dark fantastical world.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Romantasy • Fae • Religion and Faith
Pub Date • 12 November 2024

🎉 Happy publication day! And thank you to @sagapressbooks for the galley!

If you liked The North Wind, you should give this one a try. The stars of this book are Brielle of Thornbrook, adopted by the abbey and committed to a chaste life free of sin, and Zephyrus, the broody, tortured immortal God of the Spring Winds who’s lived a thousand lives and yet still wanders, cursed for all eternity.

It was a little unclear to me at the beginning what these two saw in each other, when Brielle finds Zephyrus apparently dying in the woods and chooses to save him at great risk to herself.

Brielle is meek, timid, self-conscious of everything from her body size to her place in life, but as the book progresses she gains confidence in her strength, her faith, and her path in life. I appreciated this character growth.

In the second half the romance picks up, although this one is harder to get into than Book 1 which is faster paced from the start with a more clear plot. The first half could have benefited from additional editing. If you stick with it the second half is a banger.

Although this is book 2 of The Four Winds series, these can be read as standalone without losing context. I’m looking forward to reading the East Wind’s story next!

I enjoyed reading more of Warwick’s “The Four Winds,” series, but unfortunately this story just wasn’t my favorite. I’m not sure if it was because Zepherus was set up so spectacularly as a horrid character in the first book, but I just couldn’t make myself love him. The formation of their relationship felt a little fast/convenient and I just didn’t have the connection with these characters. I’ll see where Warwick goes with the rest of the series, but this felt like a bit of a sophomore slump compared to book one.

Was a huge fan of The North Wind and was excited to continue the series. Although Warwick's writing still was absolutely gripping from the beginning, this story was definitely much more fantasy with a side of romance in my mind. I don't mind that aspect at all, but I think it would have helped my mindset and mood going in knowing it was mostly about Brielle (whome I love with every fiber of my being).
Excited to read the rest of the series as it is released.

This was a great book on its own, but it probably should have been two because it was long and it was actually divided by two parts.

I loved the journey of Brielle and Zephyrus and the new take on an old fairy tale of Tam Lin. The world is bright and beautiful and unique and all of the side characters and plot came together really well. There is betrayal, triumph, love, and growth. My only only complaint is that the ending was a bit soft and a lot about 🌶️🥵. I think it could have been condensed but it was still a wonderful read!

I did not read the first book, so that maybe why I felt a bit lackluster with this one. The plot seemed fun enough, good bones, her writing and world building was easily visible and I felt immersed for the most part…the romance was hard to settle into and felt very unauthentic. I loved Brielle, as our FMC you wanted to cheer for her (most of the time) she was unapologetically herself, even when that hurt her heart. I did wrestle with her constant insecurity with her faith. And that’s more a personal thing, it didn’t sit well with me. The pacing felt slow tell the last like four chapters and then when it was done I wished the whole book had been like that! Warwick definitely has a talent, but in its entirety the book just wasn’t a winner for me. I am definitely going to go read North Wind now though!

Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press and Warwick for this generous ARC.

Stephanie Garber's once upon a broken heart meets Greek retelling

I read this as a standalone novel and the tale was engaging, especially the character arc of Brielle and Harper (her nemesis turned ally). In a disciplined world of the abbey, Brielle has more than proved her faith and is yet to be promoted to an acolyte, in service to the Father. Her skills as a bladesmith and her being a larger woman were points which drew me to the story.

She saves a man, nay God, the West wind and bringer of spring, Zephyrus, and is cast into adventures and mishaps, thanks to his errors and omissions. Their tale is one of forgivable, vengeance and truly accepting flaws. With Zephyrus caught in an eternal curse, can Brielle teach him forgiveness and earn the second chance he deserves?

This tale has deep undercurrents of faith and yet does not fully etch the belief systems between the humankind and the fair folk.

A good read, with Brielle transforming from a doormat to owning her decisions and accepting consequences. Thank you Netgalley and Safa press for the ARC!

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted ALC and thank you Saga Press for the gifted physical copies!

This is the second book in the Four Winds series. While they can be read as stand-alones, it’s always fun to immerse yourself fully into a universe and all of its characters. We first met Zephyrus in The North Wind and he left me so intrigued and eager for his story!

Brielle is our FMC, she is devout in her faith, lives in the abbey, and works by forging iron. She is strong in all the ways. She is also a curvy girl and I loved seeing that representation. She is focused and driven and nothing is going to stop her from achieving her ultimate goal of becoming an acolyte. But then she encounters a strange man in the woods and her resolve is tested. Zephyrus is our morally gray MMC. Very much vilified in the first book, the hope here is that he will get his redemption arc. Obviously I can’t tell you how that goes 🤐

The pacing of this book felt unique from what we saw in The North Wind. This felt more like a tale of self discovery, redemption, vulnerability, and faith. The religious themes are prevalent throughout and play a huge role in everything Brielle does. The battle between her own self identity and her faith is really the biggest source of conflict in the book, despite there being plenty of others.

The dynamic between Brielle and Zephyrus was a complicated one and did not feel like your typical romance vibes. Slow burn but also bumbling awkwardness from the both of them, to a point that most of us in the buddy read were scratching our heads in confusion. But In sitting back and reflecting on it, I feel like this fits both of their journeys as they were finding each other but also finding themselves.

“𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵? 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆.”

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

4⭐️
If you had asked me for a review at the 50% mark, I would have rated it much lower but this book is a definition of “trust the process”. The writing is beautiful and descriptive. The characters had depth and you are able to see their growth and the way they change unlike some books where it seems like characters will change with the breeze.

The characters, plot, were wonderful and I love a good redemption arc. The pacing and writing style sometime felt like it was starting to drag or was going off on an unnecessary route but it never lasted long and inevitable pulled me back in. I will be recommending this book to others, especially those who love a fantasy/romance but aren’t interested in “smut” (this book only contains one explicit sex scene).

I want to preface this by stating that I did not read the first book in this series, but I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. The author did a wonderful job of world building which did not spoil the events of the first book. Honestly, if I didn’t know this was the second book in a series I would’ve never guessed it wasn’t a complete standalone.

Now, when I requested the ARC I was obsessed with the synopsis. I thought this was a book FOR ME. You know the one book that covers everything that you enjoy reading. Well.. sadly this just did not work for me as much as I wanted it to. The plot progression was painstakingly slow with multiple plot derails. The romance just did not work for me at all. I was about 50% the way through before realizing the MMC is one of those “misunderstood” types and I just don’t care. I didn’t care about the FMC in the end. She started off strong and was firm in her beliefs, but when it came to the MMC it seems like she just lost her senses.

I think my biggest problem about this book is the pacing. Everything happened so slowly (until the FMC suddenly flips and is in love with the MMC). The book is just simply too long, there are some scenes that could be cut and the book would be fine.

Overall, I cannot recommend The West Wind, there are much better fantasy romances out there.

Final rating: 2.5 stars ✨
Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for the ARC and the chance to honestly review

I adored The North Wind and was very excited to see what was in store for book two of The Four Winds Series. I found it hard to root for Brielle and Zephyrs...I don't know if it was their personalities or just difficulties with me fully engaging within the plot. Even though the romance aspect fell a little short for me, I did enjoy how Alexandria Warwick wove together Tam Lin and Greek Mythology! That was absolute genius. I also felt it was very poignant on how in a way she seemed to address mental illness and religious trauma in a fantasy setting, which is not something that I have come across in my reading of the genre. I will definitely be continuing on with this series, even though The West Wind just was not my favorite.