This an immersive, bright new fantasy. The sapphic element doesn’t come in until the end, and it is definitely a set up book for the next one, but it is still great. There is in-depth world building, some great themes, and some crazy characters! A great, new fantasy, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Listening to this book was such a good choice! The narrator did a fantastic job bringing this story to life!

This was my first Emily Rath book and it was ok.

I am kinda new to romantasy so maybe not a good starter to get into the genre. The narration was ok and I was looking into the folklore as the story went on to get a better understanding.

I do have a couple of her other books to go, so not totally giving up on this.

I loved this! The narration is fire and the story flows perfectly. Emily rath has yet to write a book I don’t love. 10/10 recommend 🫶🏼

This book actually surprised me on how much a loved it. Im starting to go into books blind and im loving it a lot more.

Last year I got to meet Emily at Meet Cute Book shop and she gave us a little taste of what this book was gonna entail. It immediately caught my eye nd I couldn’t wait to see what this adventure was gonna be like. She told us that the two love interests are separated and whole book is spent trying to get back to each other.



Siiri is your ride or die character, when you mean something to her so will go to whatever end with / for you. I loved her character and what she went through during this book. How powerful she became AND what she is/ will be doing to stop the religion take over.

Aina is your delicate flower that doesn’t understand the choice she made bound her to a certain life and now we watch her character grow a and change into a strong opinionated women!



The men aspect of this was interesting, I understand why it was added but also im very interested to see what happens in the next book. How many year will have passed. Will this added thing be a new pov or .. she has so many way to surprise us!

This was good I didn’t really think it was a sapphic novel but that’s what it was advertised as. This was different then I normal read and I enjoyed it

I was fairly excited for this one because of an interest I have in folklore as well as Scandinavia. The narrator lost me right away as the reading was very flat. The story ended up losing me not long after. I started to have questions about the indigenous groups in the area and took issue with whose voices are heard in popular publishing and at large. The two issues combined, though very different, resulted in me giving up on the book.

I have mixed feeling about this one. I liked the mythology and folklore mixed into it. The story fell kind of flat for me. The narration was good though.

Thank you Netgalley, Quercus Books | Arcadia and Emily Rath for the eArc of North is The night.

North of the Night is A fantasy folk lore tale and one that took me by surprise. We follow Aina and Siiri, almost inseparable friends despite their opposite personalities. But one is kidnapped by the goddess of Death and the other won't rest until she fins her soul mate.

I don't know much about Finnish Folklore but from this book has left me thirsty to find out more, I loved the polarising sides of the characters, mages, goddesses and the god of Death and many more.. The world building within both worlds, our earthly realm and the realm of underworld Tuonela captivated my imagination and was beautifully described. The pacing of the narrative itself starts off slow, building in the characters and world building then builds to a medium pace. It did take me a while to get into but once I was invested, I didn't want it to end.

I also listened to the audio version of this book in which Lucy Doig and Maryam Ali kept the characters both separate and the characters individuality. Both narrators were a pleasure to listen to.

4 stars

rated 3.5
I'm glad I got the eALC of this because I wouldn't be able to pronounce any of the names or places. I enjoyed the beautiful story as a whole, but didn't really connect fully so I found myself zoning out at times.
Hoping to go to Finland in the next couple of years so here is hoping I can learn more about this folklore and other things in the country.

I liked the Finnish folklore and mythology of this book. There were a few twists that made the story sort of turn upside down. I did not like the way this book ended. I was about 60% of the way through with this book when I thought that it was over, then I realized I still had almost half the book to read. It just wasn’t what I was expecting to get out of it.

DNF @ 30%

Was marketed as a sapphic fantasy and is not sapphic at all. Too long to dedicate more time to something that is not what I wanted.

<spoiler> The fact that one of the FMCs ends up pregnant and they both end up with men? Absolutely not. </spoiler>

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited to read a book based in Finnish myth that I powered through this in hopes I would find something to latch onto, but by the end I was mostly just having a bad time. I understand that most people would have just DNF’d, however I can be rather bullheaded and in skimming reviews it seemed like maybe there would be some sapphic happenings. It doesn’t really matter what happens by the end because despite the story being driven, in part, by Siiri’s drive to bring Aina home, the romantic developments were so tepid I barely noticed them, and I suppose I should clarify I mean this for both romantic relationships—I could not bring myself to be interested in either the F/F relationship or the F/M relationship (which honestly I was rooting against, but YMMV because I don’t like shadow daddies and I don’t particularly enjoy the “Hades/Persephone vibes” anymore).

In reading the author’s tags/content warnings on her website, I do realize this book and I are diametrically opposed. I found the “Christians are the bad guys” bit to be clumsy and clichéd and I don’t think Rath is a skilled or nuanced enough writer to tackle colonization especially looking at how she handled writing the Sámi characters. I’m glad this wasn’t a romance-driven novel because the development is so shallow, but the overall plot feels bloated. This very easily could have been 200 or 300 pages shorter, and I think with tighter editing/writing it could have been good (you know, barring the exploration of some themes that I just don’t think she can write well).

I thought the narrators were good enough, though I cannot speak on the pronunciation of Finnish words. The audiobook definitely contributed to me being able to actually finish the book.

My goodness, this book swept me up. It is based on Finnish mythology, which is something I haven't read before! I love romantasy and the unique spin on this was very refreshing. This book is dual POV and I feel like that was done exceptionally well. We start following Siiri who has to travel to Tuonela (the Finnish mythological underworld) to rescue her friend Aina after she was kidnapped by a death goddess! Siiri has to travel to the far north seeking a Shaman who has traversed the underworld, while Aina is working to survive in Tuonela at the mercy of the witch queen and king of the underworld himself.

I believe this is Emily Rath's first venture into fantasy, and I really enjoyed it. The deep lore may be difficult or hard to follow for some but I've always loved low heavy books. I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel!

Audiobook review: North of the Night by Emily Rath - Narrated by Emily Lawrence and Khaya Fraites.

When I had the opportunity to dive into the world of North of the Night via audiobook, I started it immediately. And yes, it was one of those books that, once you start, you know there is no turning back until the last page—the vivid Nordic setting and the romance had me wholly invested.

Narration: The duo of narrators brought this book to life and let the reader join the journey in this world. Both voices brought life to the characters, and every moment felt authentic and personal. Both narrators delivered each character's emotional state throughout the story outstandingly.

Story highlights: Not only is Emily’s writing magical, but it is also on another level, in combination with the audiobook. The narration brings the Nordic wilderness out vividly from a world covered in snow and harsh winter, with tension elements, survival is the aim, and romance is unexpected, a combination that keeps the reader on edge in the best way. I also loved how the audiobook pacing let me savour the story. The balance between action moments and romance moments was perfect. The romance, not cliché!

I’m thankful for having the chance to read ‘North of the Night’ as an audiobook, as it kept me company throughout my day. I will miss all the characters. From me to you, the future reader, I would say if you love immersive, emotional, and beautifully written books, this one's for you! This book is a must-read or, in my case, a must-listen-to. Emily Rath’s writing, combined with the narration, has created an unforgettable experience. This book is one of the reasons I enjoy audiobooks, plus their accessibility and flexibility due to lack of time.

My rating: not a brainer 5/5 – this book is not just to listen; it’s the experience! Highly recommended.

Full Goodreads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7114420021

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an ALC for this book! All opinions are 100% my own

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️? Maybe a half

As a lover of Emily Rath’s other books, I was pumped for her fantasy debut. This one unfortunately, fell a touch short for me. The inspirations from mythology / Finnish folklore were definitely present, and it started quickly with some fast action which I loved, but I think the middle portions lacked some excitement. Throughout the book it was very clear that Siiri and Aina are very close friends who are very much dedicated to “saving” the other, so when all of sudden it goes from best friend / almost sister-like dedication to them fully in love in the romantic sense, it felt a little out of left field for me. I personally would have believed it more as two girls who definitely had not explored or seemed to have questioned their sexuality to have gone through some more… not struggle, but questioning maybe? I for SURE thought that Aina was going to embrace being Queen and lean into her love for Tuoni. I actually would have loved to see that and was curious how Siiri would work into that until it took a big turn. The plot twist with Siiri’s reunion with Aina felt unnatural and slightly forced so the story kind of started to lose me particularly at that point. I am curious to see where the story goes in book two and will likely read it to wrap up this story in my head!

3.5 ⭐

North is the Night was a good read, but I fear it may not have been for me. I really liked our characters, once the POV's split I did find myself favoring one story over the other so it was hard to stay engaged. It is pitched as a sapphic book but I just didn't find that in this book. I don't want to go into too much details since I would land in spoiler territory. I think there may have been too much happening for everything to really flow well together.

The writing is good and the idea was great I just wanted more.

3.25 stars

I have mixed feelings about North is the Night. Some parts were interesting but others were very underdeveloped and a bit of a mess. I thought it was a sapphic story but think the female relationship was too vague and steeped more in friendship to be considered sapphic. There was more romantic tension between the FMC and the male death god.

It was also a little long and drawn out, but the actual writing wasn't bad.

This was such a surprising novel to read by Emily Rath. This was the first novel I read by her. I listened to the arc audio of, North is The Night. Let me tell you, I Looved the two narrators in this book! 📕 They both were phenomenal in the way they brought out Aina and Siiri. The narrators brought two bold women in this raven allegorical novel. The book is full of Finnish-folklore inspired creativity. This book is a dual POV and they brought out the characters famously.
I went into this book, blank, and I absolutely thought that this book was amazing!🤩 I think it was her first fantasy book and if it is?? She did such a great job! It left me wanting to read more and I even bought the book after I listened to the book. I was so impressed with the story and how well rounded the whole story, characters and plot.
I am soo excited for book 2 of North is the Night! I look forward to see what happens next!

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I think this book will be enjoyed by people who enjoy Emily Rath's romance novels and are interested in her take on romantasy. But I think fantasy or more experience romatasy readers will be disappointed. Since this is based on Finnish mythology, I expected it to be fresh and unique. But unfortunately it falls flat. There is little to no world building. There is very little sense of setting. And I think it makes sense that the author mainly writes contemporary romance, where you don't need to build out a world from your readers' imaginations.

The story follows a young woman who travels North to try and save her best friend (who she is also in love with but does not seem to love her back). But we did not see enough of the relationship before they are separated to really care about the quest. I actually think this would have been better as the second book in a trilogy where in the first book the world and relationship could have been built out. We could have seen examples about how the world is falling apart to set the stakes for everything that happens in this book. But without that, this book feels rushed/ does not have the emotional depth to match the stakes.

I do not know much about Finnish culture or history. But other reviewers have flagged issues with the depiction of the Sámi (indigenous peoples in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia). I've also heard from others that are more familiar with Finnish that the pronunciation of some of the Finnish words was incorrect, which is disappointing if true.

Editing to add that I don't understand why this is tagged/marketed as adult. It feels very YA in both the writing style and in the characters' maturity levels. The two main characters are young women going on the classic "coming of age" and "leaving home for the first time" adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for providing an eARC of this book.