Warning! Minor spoilers coming!! This was a good book. I enjoyed it a lot, but it was such a slow start. The first installation grabbed me by the heart so quickly that I expected this one to do the same. I liked Brielle, but I’m not super into reading about religion. There was a ton of religious talk in this book. I mean, yes because Brielle is a part of an abbey, but still. Little spoiler, Brielle’s like the most religious person I have ever read about.

So the romance took forever to catch hold and even when it did, it was so few and far between. I also kind of hated the West Wind for the longest time. So while I really did like this, there was a lot of pushing against her religion and it took forever for Brielle to find out who she really is inside. And it’s a long book….

I do recommend this, but warning, if you don’t like reading about religion and if you don’t like the haters to lovers trope, then this is not for you.

I enjoyed this one but not as much as the first book. I had high hopes because of the Tam Lin connection but it's just very slow.

This storyline felt more romantically focused than book one and I also did not bond with the central characters quite like I did in the former series instalment. This felt targeted towards an entirely different audience and on one hand that means that many different fantasy readers will find a place for themselves within this series but on the other I had my highly placed expectations altered when returning to this world. I still adore what the author is doing within this series and will continue on, despite not altogether enjoying the focus for this instalment.

An engaging fantasy romance that left me a little teary-eyed at the finale. Loved the world-building.
Brielle's reckoning with her faith and Zephyrus' growing understanding that people can - and do - care about him were well examined. Has just enough spice to leave me covering my Kindle on the bus - you never know who's looking over your shoulder!

The West Wind was unfortunately a struggle to read from start to finish. It is written in first-person present tense which is a bit jarring, and I honestly didn’t get used to the flow of for the entirety of the book. I found myself wanting to skip the dialogue so I didn’t have to read through the first-person present tense inner dialogue.

The story itself was not very original, and the only “plot twists” that weren’t easily foreseen were ones in which there was simply no foreshadowing.

Neither MC’s motivations seemed entirely plausible or fully thought through by the author. To be honest the entire book read like a draft. The bones of the story are decent and some of the plot points are interesting.

In my opinion the story just needed to a few more revisions to live up to its potential. I think this author shows promise and I will look out for more from her in the future. But The West Wind was just not quite there yet for me.

I DNFed halfway through. I loved Warwick’s first book in this series, but this one was so wrong. The characters were unlikeable, and the religion playing such a huge part, as well as the abuse from the people within her community, made me feel very upset while reading it. I don’t think I ever really got past it. The romance wasn’t good either.

I adored the North Wind and was so excited to receive a copy of The West Wind. I loved Zephyrus and his complexities and I adored the last 20% of the book particularly. However the first 80% dragged. It could’ve been shorter - maybe just immediately starting on the Meirlach quest, and then all the other things that happen in Brielle’s first time in the Under can happen in sequence again?
Slightly disappointed.

Oof. I really tried with this one! I couldn't connect with the characters, the storyline was snail's pace slow. It just wasn't for me.
<i> Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this advance reader's copy for an honest review. </i>

A fun and quite engaging read!
I preferred the first volume but here too there was no shortage of action, adventure and romance!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

I found The north wind really good but didn’t enjoy this follow up nearly as much sadly.
It felt really long and drawn out in parts and could’ve done with a heavier edit for sure. There’s definitely good plot development but it really takes a while to get there

I struggled to connect with the FMC. And parts felt a little cheesy for me.

That being said I’ll probably pick up the next in the series still as I enjoyed book one a lot.

This story was quite a perfect blend of action packed adventure, thoughtfully philosophical ideas, interesting MCs and a very hot and passionate romance. Already can’t wait enough to read the next in the series

I really liked the author's first book in the four winds series, however this one left me dissapointed. The MC who's viewpoint we witness is just so annoying, I could not get through it. DNF at about 15%

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. What a fantastic fantasy romance! It kept me hooked and kicking my feet from the get go. Anyone that loves the genre of Fantasy Romance, should absolutely read this!!

The West Wind by Alexandria Warwick is utterly captivating. In this second novel of The Four Winds series, we meet Brielle, a faithful novitiate anxiously awaiting her opportunity to become a full fledged acolyte in the service of the Father. When she encounters Zephyrus (aka the West Wind, aka the baddie in Book 1), she experiences nothing but challenges: to her body, mind, and faith. Still, Brielle finds herself reliant on his help should she wish to be a Thornbrook acolyte. Challenged with navigating Under, the land of the dangerous and cunning fair folk, and retrieving a hidden treasure to prove her faith, Brielle knows no one better to guide her than the god who is tied to Under for his immortal life. The only question is - will she return from the journey with faith and body unscathed?

Like with the first novel in the series, the West Wind is full of artful imagery. Warwick has a talent for describing other worlds and engaging all the senses. There were plenty of times I could practically feel myself choking on the rot of Under or inhaling the incense of Thornbrook. While not each image vibed that well with me (I'd be hard-pressed to find a single chapter that doesn't mention Brielle sweating in some fashion), it was extremely powerful and moving.

All in all, this novel is what you make it. At almost 700 pages, I think it could have been a bit more focused, but the reader would've lost out on so much of the world building and character journeys. I'd highly recommend this to any lover of fantasy, but wouldn't necessarily refer to this as a romance.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andromeda Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

this was such an entertaining read! i think the idea for the plot was super good but not executed that well. the pace was too slow which made the writing very hard to get in to. i personally wasn’t a huge fan of brielle, and while i understand her personality is a reflection of her background i just wish she was a bit more exciting. however, there was a lot of character growth and development in this book that made it much more interesting to read. the world building was amazinggg in this book as well! i also think this book was intended to be a slow burn but her relationship with zepherus developed too fast in my opinion.

I found myself researching a bit too much of the lore outside of the book, some stuff I definitely felt should have been more established in the book. Overall, the pace was a bit slow and very character driven, if you relate to Brielle you'll enjoy it, if not...meh

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this second instalment in the Four Winds Series. I don’t really like books where the main conflict is a character working through their faith, but I didn’t mind how the author approached the topic and where the plot progressed from there. The character development was slow but the redemption at the end was so worth it. With Zephyrus being enemy #1 in the first book, I really loved his story and look forward to more books in this series!

This was exceptional. Despite its being a sequel, this can also be read upfront like a standalone and this is really nice. The female lead was relatable and I could feel myself in the book, made me lose my focus elsewhere. Writing was elegant and not short not long, just enough

I have been looking forward to reading this excellent book since I finished the first of The Four Winds books at the beginning of last year. Zephyrus, The West Wind, interested me as a character in the first book, and I wanted to see where this book took him. I'm happy to say I enjoyed this as much as the first one. The use of Greek mythology and the Scottish ballad Tam Lin were great in this book. There are mentions of The Odyssey and the myth of Hyacinth, which are part of Zephyrus's backstory.

My favorite part of this book was learning more about Zephyrus and seeing his interactions with Brielle. Their interactions were quite funny at times, and I enjoyed watching them fall in love. Watching Brielle grow as a person was also an essential part of this book. She is a character that you cannot help but root for and hope that she will succeed. I don't read books that focus heavily on religion too often, but I found Brielle's journey an integral part of her story.

Another aspect of this novel that stands out is learning about Zephyrus's other brother Notus. I'm hoping that we will get a book about him if Alexandria continues with this series. He is a character that I would love to learn more about.

I highly recommend this book and know that I will add this to my collection along with the first.

Right away this book pulled me in. I thought the Brielle’s character was all around interesting. Her life and circumstances heavily based in religion were unique. When paired with her more curious and adventurous spirit, the book was that much more compelling. Zephyrus was a lot like Brielle in that their characters are a dichotomy. Brielle is both devout, but adventurous and curious for the world beyond her own small one. Zephyrus is both selfish yet selfless. They both grow a lot throughout the book, which I always love to see in books. There was also some unique world-building and magic at play throughout the story that added to the overall enjoyment of the book. However, I did feel that the plot and book were a bit slow at times, making me feel that the book was a little too long by the end.