Emily Rath is my idol! From hockey romance to Norse mythology based fantasy, she can do no wrong. I have never read a book like North is the Night before and I find I am fascinated by the Finnish mythological roots. The character development is exquisite and the bestie bond between Siiri & Aina was gorgeous. I absolutely devoured it, highly recommended - can’t wait for the next book.

Ok so I don't normally read fantasy books but this one was good!!

I felt like the story kept me captivated the entire time and I didn't know what to expect.

There is a lot of character development and plot development to the storyline that I enjoyed.

I am looking forward to part two!

'North is the Night' is the beginning of a new fantasy duology inspired by Finnish folklore. With how captivating the fantasy world is in this book, I was surprised to discover that Emily Rath is largely known for spicy ice hockey romance - if you're a fan of her previous works, expect something completely different going into this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for providing me with an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Aina and Siiri are best friends, growing up together in a small, close-knit village in Finland. Despite growing pressure from Swedish missionaries for them to convert to Christianity, many in the village continue to worship their traditional gods and goddesses. Our story begins when Aina is stolen away by a death goddess to Tuonela - the land of the dead. Siiri, destraught that few believe what happened to her friend, embarks on a journey north to find a way to recover her friend.

Prior to reading this title, I had no exposure to Finnish folklore. I have no idea how accurate the representation is here, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different gods and goddesses and the roles they play. The death gods are the most developed here, and the underworld of Tuonela is well developed and fascinating to read about. The story is told from the dual perspectives of Aina and Siiri, which works well throughout the bulk of the book when they are separated - but their voices were a little less distinct and more difficult to tell apart when they were reunited. While I enjoyed the story and the characters, one thing I would have loved to have seen more of was Aina and Siiri's relationship prior to the story unfolding. I would have liked to have seen just a few more everyday life scenes in the beginning that showed, rather than told, us why they were such good friends. There is a small amount of spice, but it is very minimal and not that explicit.

If you're a fantasy fan, definitely check this one out when it releases in January 2025. While it is the first book in a duology, the story is still self-contained enough that I feel it could also be enjoyed at a standalone.

I was definitely interested in this book. It had elements that were good and I did like it. But there were a few things missing for me. I’m hoping book two is the sapphic book we need from the duet.

This is book 1 in a duet and wow what a different read for me but I highly enjoyed it. This was a fabulous story and I can't wait for the second Instalment

This book is beautifully written it’s all about folk lore and the length people will go to to return to each other
The plot moves along nicely

A Finnish folklore-inspired fantasy, North is the Night follows two young women, who will do anything to get back to one another.

The writing style is beautiful and descriptive, building a wonderful world full of intriguing lore, capturing my interest with a mythology that I was not familiar with.

I found the story itself very long and felt this could have easily been two separate books from around the 50-60% mark. The plot moved at a reasonable pace but was very slow in some areas. I felt it was more a tell rather than show kind of read.

Overall I enjoyed this book, I applied for the arc as I love Emily Rath's Pucking series and this was VERY different to what I thought it would be.

This gave NA feels, with no spice and a FF friendship with a soft mention of a relationship.