I gave The North Wind four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. These are my own opinions.

I loved this book! It was well developed and kept my attention straight through. Finally, an FMC that doesn’t spend all their time having a woe is me pity party and guilt fest. Wren is likable, understandable and strong willed. When she does feel guilty, it’s well earned. She’s a little firecracker with a bow and arrow (and salt).

Boreas is everything. He is relatable on how he got where he is in “life”.

Enemies to lovers, captive/captor, slow burn, death and destruction. What’s not to like?

The world building was great! At times, I thought the pacing could have been a bit better and that’s my only complaint.

Read this! You won’t regret it!

The beginning started off almost like ACOTAR and I thought it was a fan-fic for a second. 😅 I'm a sucker for book maps though. It's a pretty map. The worldbuilding is inconsistent. I'm not sure how some of the traveling around happened so quickly based on how the map looked. The concept and execution of this story were decent enough to keep me reading, but I just couldn't finish this. I was so bored. 😴 It needs more refinement. Felt like there were a lot of filler pages. Some of the plot was a bit confusing at times. This is a slow burn, but maybe it's a little too slow for me.

If you love retellings of "Beauty and the Beast" or "Hades and Persephone", enemies to lovers trope, or a slow-burn romance this book is for you. It wasn't for me though. Lol.

Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press, & the author for this ebook.
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I don’t think Beauty and the Beast retellings are for me. This says it’s for fans of Beauty and Beast and Hades and Persephone retellings, which really may be true. I just couldn’t get into this one.

It started exactly as ACOTAR did, which made me feel like there was a lot of hope for the book, but it just let me down. After the first 10% I found myself bored. The world building lacks in areas and is honestly somewhat confusing at times.

This book was just flat. The characters weren’t anything crazy and it turned into just flat fan-fiction later on with not a lot happening.

The FMC achieves her goal of saving her sister within the first 5% of the book. Everything after that has very little plot to it and I just found myself bored. Again, this may just be because I wasn’t a fan of the Beauty and the Beast retelling.

I wish I loved this. It has such great reviews and I’m starting to think it wasn’t just for me.

**Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I want to start by thanking NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me an Advance Reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

There was quite a bit about this book I liked, and some that simply wasn't working for me. The story begins with Wren and her sister Elora who are on their own and must do whatever it takes to survive. We learn pretty quickly Wren seems to be the only one struggling to keep them fed while her sister is painted as too delicate and pretty for such a task. I am starting to dislike the trope where there is always one sibling struggling while the other sits on their laurels and just gets everything handed to them.

The North Wing, aka The Frost King, aka Boreas, arrives in their town, and of the eligible maidens, he chooses Elora because of Wren's obstinance and back-talk. So honestly, she can't even say she was protecting her sister when it was really her own doing for getting her sister chosen. When the North Wind comes to take Elora to his kingdom to become his next bride, Wren drugs her sister and takes her place and then plays the victim the entire time.

I think my biggest issue wit h this book was Wren, she just was not likeable and I did not care whether her character developed or not. Otherwise, I liked most of the rest of the characters. The servants around the house such as her maid and the cook. The other wind, Zepherus (?) was kind of a roller coaster. I think the North Wind himself deserves better. I also kind of wonder what happens to his wives if he has to get a new one so frequently.

This book was fun and pretty well written. Fast paced and interesting. I didn't love the main characters but I recognize that that may be a me problem. It's not a new favorite but it is a solid read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for both the E-ARC and the physically galley of this book!

The one-liner description for this book is pretty much spot on: "Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone, this lush and enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Scarlett St. Clair."

If you like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, or A Touch of Darkness, then I highly recommend picking up this book. Very slow burn, enemies to lovers fantasy that gave me heavy ACOTAR vibes. Wren is a human who has to marry the North Wind (Hades-like immortal), and help keep the magical barrier protects the humans from weakening. Also reminds me of For the Wolf, with sacrifices needing to be made for the greater good. It was a lot of fun and I didn't want to put it down. The really nice thing about this is it's a standalone, but is also part of a larger series if you want to continue with this world. I believe the others focus on each of the brothers (the four winds).

Title: The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
Genre: NA Fantasy Retelling
Pub Date: May 21, 2024


Beauty & the Beast x Hades + Persephone
Super Slow Burn
Enemies to Lovers
"My Wife"
Banter and Tension

My Review:
The North Wind felt like a "copy and paste" of ACOTAR with minor changes, but not good ones. I found our FMC Wren to be unpleasant (pick me, impulsive) and honestly Boreas wasn't much better. I did, however, like the ghostly helpers!

I truly wanted to love it and the premise had so much potential, but the plot was too predictable and reading it felt like a chore..

Thank you so much, NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press, for the digital review copy. ❣️

Ah I loved this Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone mashup retelling so much. The world building and character growth is just impeccable.

On paper, I should love this book. I love the Beauty & the Beast/Hades & Persephone trope and typically really enjoy books with that element. The premise is so cool with The North Wind being an immortal who is tithed a new bride from this village whenever his old one dies. I love Wren disguising herself and taking her sister’s place.

But I don’t love the book as a whole and I can’t force myself to keep going. DNFing at 43% because it is a painfully slow start and I don’t love the characters enough to push through.

I’ve seen other reviews say the last half of the book is better, so I’m sure there are people out there who will pick this up, love the characters, and love the book. It’s just not me, unfortunately.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, all thoughts are my own.

I give this book a solid 4.5 star rating. I absolutely loved the concept of this book with the four winds being brothers/gods. I find that extremely unique and very captivating. I felt like the world Alexandria created was very well written and the characters all have great depths for the most part. I feel like I would have liked to seem a little more emotional depth to both Wren and Boreas. They were both pretty broody and pretty self centered for most of the book in my opinion. I would have loved to see them come together a little sooner in the story. I also didn’t care much for how it ended. I felt that it was pretty rushed from the time the final conflict takes place to the resolve of it. Where it explains in the end why Boreas chose to do what he did, I still felt there should have been something more. I dont feel as I can give many specifics in to what I felt couldn’t be different without spoiling the end for other readers. So I’m just going to leave the end as there was room for maybe a little more besides I made this choice and this followed type of thing. This is where it felt rushed and it doesn’t explain much about why or what with the West Wind. Other then those minor things for me I loved this book. It drew me in from the beginning to the end and i felt my self thinking about it through out the day wondering what else is going to happen. I will definitely recommend this book to others and will be looking forward to adding it to my collection of loved books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for providing the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book!

I will admit that it got off to a bit of a slow start, but the enemies to lovers trope shines so bright in this book. It's been a while that I've gotten a book where the main characters truly are enemies of each other and the confused pining that happens in this story is delicious.

Apart from that, this is a well written tale that takes elements from both Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone and fashions it into something that feels both familiar and brand new. I appreciated the insight into Wren's mind and the fact that she remained tough as nails throughout the duration of the story. Boreas was a bit harder to love initially, and while I did warm up to him eventually, that change of heart and character did not happen as seamlessly as I would have liked. But overall, I really and truly have no complaints.

A great addition to Romantasy!

This is a Hades and Persephone retelling that incorporates its own magical world. The world building slows the start of the book down significantly, but about halfway through it picks up and is more character- led. Wren and Boreas are an enemies-to-lovers couple who have an unexpected happily ever after.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales and I really enjoyed this retelling of it. We follow our FMC Wren who is a twin to her sister Elora. Every few decades the North Wind comes to choose a woman from their realm. Elora was chosen, however Wren slid into her place when no one was noticing. However, everyone believed the North Wind would murder the woman not knowing they were to wed him to the end of their days. It is very slow burn, but the ending was very satisfying and happy.

This book was very well written and I enjoyed it. It started slow, however, but picked up around 40%. I'm also not too fond of the MMC or how he kept calling his wife, the FMC, "wife" constantly. I really did like Wren though!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A human…a god…a forced marriage…darkness…magic…love…loss. All wonderful attributes to a solid fantasy! However, this story fell flat to me. The plot, the characters, the small details of magic seemed very similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses that I found myself spending most of the book picking out similarities.

Now, although it read similarly to other popular romantasy novels, it was still enjoyable at times. Wren struggles with addiction and lack of love, so it was a treat to experience her growth.

This book is perfect for those who are craving an enemies to lovers story that follows a Beauty & The Beast framework.

It has many tropes that readers seek out including
*Enemies to Lovers
*Only One Bed
*Forced Marriage
*Dark Magic
*Spice
*Who hurt you

Although it wasn’t my favorite, I am curious to see what Alexandria does in the future!

Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone stories often feel so similar, that combining them to tell this story felt completely natural!! Wren is a mortal villager who takes the place of her twin in being taken by Boreas, the North Wind, the King of Frost. However, what she thinks will be a human sacrifice turns out not exactly what she's expecting...she becomes his wife.

Now overall, I really came around on this story!! The pacing at the beginning was pretty slow and the characters were tough to love, but I was insanely impressed by the back half of the book. Wren, with a little bit of a push from Boreas and her handmaid Orla, is able to make drastic growth. She was always fierce and tough, but this push drove her to be the best version of herself, tough but open, aggressive but caring.

I also really loved the world building aspects of this fantasy world, with little bits of references to other fairy tales and lore hidden amongst them- all while remaining completely unique!

Thank you so much to Alexandria Warwick and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I love re-telling stories and I went in with an open mind. I wanted to love this book, but I really only got super into it from like 50% in.
The start of this book very much a replica of the beginning of ACOTAR and although I LOVE ACOTAR, I was hoping for something different especially when the next couple chapters gave me huge A Deal with the Elf King vibes as well. I'm starting to wonder if there is any originality to this story. It's supposed to be a Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone retelling, but I felt like it was a menagerie of other books pulled together..

I found the MC annoying and hard to follow all her emotions and thoughts. She became more tolerable after she sobered up.

I think the story had a lot of potential, but I couldn’t get past the annoying MC and how slow everything was. I love slow burn and world building but this just took too long to get to the point.

Maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea and it will be someone else’s

I enjoyed the main character and her fierce independence. 2 stars off because I felt things were a but vague and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I also thought her sister did a total 360 and felt her character wasn't well flushed out and was used as a very obvious plot device. Very much enjoyed the romance, slow burn and teasing and that the characters remained independent of each other.

4.5 stars! ⭐️
Hades and Persephone/Beauty and the Beast vibes!
This was a fantastic romantasy book with magic, angst, and slow but spicy burn. I love the representation of grief and alcoholism. I won’t attempt to explain the plot other than: woman goes to marry the scary Frost King/North Wind in her sister’s place and everyone does a lot of fighting and self discovery.
I will definitely be reading the next book!

And I love indie authors but the updated cover since this got picked up by a trad publisher??? LOVE

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. ❤️

This was a good fantasy romance and I enjoyed it. If you like retellings this is inspired by Beauty and the Beast retelling/hades and Persophene one. The fmc Wren is a strong protective sister who sacrifices herself to save her sister by marrying the immortal and dangerous Frost King. The Frost King finds out that he's married and they immediately hate each other. I liked the banter after the slow beginning and when the Frost King stopped being a broody silent mmc tbh.

The worldbuilding in this book was very confusing and I had no idea why the stakes were so high but it added tension to the romance. I thought the fmc was very interesting and annoying at times but I appreciated that the author explored her substance use disorder and how it affected her. The romance was the highlight to me, it was a very slow burn but I think it paid off once they got together. There were some spicy scenes that were done well and I liked the relationship development once they got together. Overall this was a good read that had lots of angst and a strong no-nonsense fmc. Thank you Saga Press for this arc for an honest review.

Read if you like:
- Retellings
- One Bed
- Slow burn
- Enemies to lovers
- Grumpy sunshine
- Forced marriage