Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Alexandria Warwick for providing me with a free copy of this book for review. The below is my opinion freely given

Generally not a Romantasy reader but I think I might just be swaying over.

This is a nice story, the world is rich and well built, most of the main characters are well realised, the pacing is really good with the right amount tension both in the story and in the romance.
Slightly more spice then I usually look for in books but it doesn't seem gratuitous. Some scenes could be classed as very light smut/ dark romance but nothing outrageous. In fact, this is a good story for those maybe wanting to explore moving to the darker side of romance.

I found this really enjoyable and entertaining. Boreas and Wren had a wonderful chemistry on the page and they were both the right amount of "damaged" without being self pitying and hard to take. Really keen to follow this series through to the end.

I have to get this out of the way as well- NEVER have the first lines of a book given me the ick as much as this one - "It is the palest of grays, yet a red stain clots the eastern horizon - evidence of the rising sun. The stain expands, sopping the clouds and dripping farther westward. BLERGH - I am sure the author didn't intend this reaction but I cant help but think of a monthly visitor. It was almost enough to make me DNF the book immediately. I am glad I didn't but it was a very close run thing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher of providing me with an e-arc of this book. My opinions are my own.
I saw a review call this "Budget ACOTAR", and while I cant agree because I haven't read ACOTAR. I have read this book, and because of that I can say Ill never read ACOTAR.
I'm not going to lie though, the first chapter was well written, like this book started of strong. But from then on.... well the quality drastically reduced.
From the overexplained first person perspective to the trope checklist, such as; she was not like other girls, wine dependency (Which was a bit on the nose for me because I just finished reading The Broken Blade by Melissa Blair which was another mediocrely written book about a girl not like other girls who had a wine dependency, and honestly there are so many other ways to write an unreliable narrator.), one bed, enemies to lovers, and I could go on. But basically the tropes be troping. Conversely, the plot was not plotting, and by that I mean I have questions? So many unfinished thoughts, so many stupid plans. Why?
These romantic fantasies obviously have their audience, and generally I don't consider myself one of them. But I'll enjoy just about anything if the writing is good enough, and this wasn't.

The North Wind is the first of ‘The Four Winds” series. Our MC, Wren, lives in the mythical land of Edgewood, a land that has had a permanent winter for 300 years, while the lands beyond are encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier which protects Edgewood citizens from Deadwood. The barrier has been weakening and the only thing that can strengthen it again the blood of a mortal woman who has to be married to the North Wind, aka Boreas the Frost King. He is the scary god of death and winter, one of four brothers who each control a season.

The book opens when the Boreas comes to choose his new bride. The belief is that she will be sacrificed to placate the Shade. Wren’s young sister is selected to be one of the candidates for him to chose. Wren has cared for, and protected, her sister since their parents died so she steps in and takes her place, fooling Boreas into marrying her instead. It is hate at first sight.

Wren is one tough cookie, and Boreas has no idea what he’s in for. Wren is strong-willed and tough - all she wants to do is kill Boreas and get back to her sister. Boreas is heartless and hateful; trusts no one. Wren gradually changes her opinion which makes it hard to carry out her plan to kill him, Boreas too is changing his thought about Wren. Eventually they have to work together to save everything and maybe, just maybe, fall in love.

The story is beautifully written - the fantasy world came alive on the pages. It is a slow-paced story that kept me glued to the pages from the scene setting opening “…The sky foretells a coming tragedy. It is the palest of grays, yet a red stain clots the eastern horizon— evidence of the rising sun. The stain expands, sopping the clouds and dripping farther westward. Huddled in the thicket of snow-laden trees, I watch the day waken with fear running cracks through my heart. The sky is red, like bloodshed. Like revenge…” to the very end which I won’t quote as is a serious spoiler. Let’s just say that cake is involved.

Loved the story, the danger, the betrayal, the friendship and above all the true love growing out of pure hate.

This was the exact type of entertainment that I needed. Light, readable, not too angsty, swoonworthy – this was so much fun. I also ADORED the mythology, the scatterings of Greek mythology woven into this fascinating fantasy world was so gorgeous to read.

“The low, lamenting peal of a ram’s horn climbs through the valley and kicks my pulse into a perilous spring. The sky foretold a coming tragedy, and it was right.
The North Wind has come.”

Our protagonists were so loveable – Wren was bold, brash, and so fun. I loved her commitment to, firstly, saving her sister, then to drawing our frosty little North Wind out of his shell. I felt that every decision Wren made was so understandable – she made mistakes, but I simply can’t imagine any other realistic choice that she could’ve made. She was such an enjoyable protagonist to read about.

“If I am going to die, it will be on my terms. On my feet, not on my knees.”

Boreas was a cutie – he started off as a rude, vaguely terrifying, not-at-all-loveable mmc, but the more we got to see his character and the more he opened up for Wren, the more I grew to love him. He ended up being a major simp, which I loved. And I was so happy by the length of this book – the perfect standalone really, it encompassed all the character and relationship developed that I needed, without dragging on too long or including unnecessary angst.

“My captor, my husband, my enemy, my lover, my friend.
A dream I did not dare to dream.
Mine.”

Overall, so enjoyable. Easy breezy romantasy, a quick and entertaining read, beautiful relationship with a simp of a mmc. Loved the ending, plus the little epilogue (he made her a cake !!!). Romantasy standalones are just so fun! Thank you so much to the author, publisher, NetGalley for the ARC copy :).

“Man and woman, god and mortal, we stare at one another, bound by duty, obligation, and deceit.”

Overall this book was a good read, drawing inspiration from Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone this was a true enemies to lovers with a lot of murder attempts.

I had a love/hate relationship with Wren and The North Wind and I struggled to connect at the start, I almost didn’t finish but about 40% in, the characters developed along with the plot. I found the pace was slow at the start but picked up after the 40% mark.
I did like how the author incorporated addiction into the story and how it affects others alone with oneself, I liked how it was addressed and portrayed.

This is a slow burn to start with as well but we get some spice closer to the end. I enjoyed the found family aspect of the book along with the unique world building and magical system.

I feel awful for giving yet another book a 4-star rating, especially as I loved The North Wind. I'll get to the good points of this story soon, but first, let me tell you why I couldn't give it the full 5-stars.

It took me a few attempts to get past the first paragraph. Then it took a couple of attempts to make it through the first chapter. My initial impression of this book was that it read like a high school creative writing project. It started out overly descriptive with more detail than I felt was necessary.

By Chapter 2, the author seemed to be finding their feet with the story. Descriptions started to lessen as the action happened (still a lot of description though). I could immerse myself in the story more fully from this point onwards.

You might be asking, “Ashleigh, why did you rate this story 4 stars if you struggled that bad?”

Well, for a number of reasons.

I loved the world the story was set in. It was a true fantasy story, with castles, magical rivers and caves, doorways leading to other places, and ghostly spectres serving the royal family.

I loved the way the relationship between the Frost King and Wren developed. It felt natural. Wren was terrified of her husband at first, although she did her best not to let it show. Boreas (the Frost King) was a cold, terrifying figure who slowly opened himself up to his stubborn, brave bride. The couple went from enemies, to friends, to lovers at a pace that felt realistic. I absolutely abhor Insta-love, so this type of relationship development was perfect (in my eyes). In fact, Boreas’ and Wren’s relationship was my favourite part of the story.

And I’ve recently discovered that I’m a sucker for reimagined fairytales (I blame Second Star to the Left by Megan van Dyke), and The North Wind had elements of Beauty and the Beast woven through it.

For a book that took me a few false starts to read, I really did enjoy this book. If the first chapter wasn’t so wordy, I would have given it 5 stars.

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely.

Prior to reading this book I had not heard anything about it, nor read any reviews, so I suppose that it read to me like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast means it hit its mark!
But the slooooow burn, painfully stupid decisions made by the protagonist Wren, the concept of shades (ghosts) who can bleed and feel pain, yet food tastes like ash (anyone here tasted ash so they know what it tastes like?) and Game of Thronesesque wights and White Walkers (I forget what they are called in this book) made it total drudgery to read. If it hadn’t been that I accepted the e-book via NetGalley to read in return for an honest review, this would have been on my DNF pile!
So many questions raised, so few answers given, why does Boreas AKA The North Wind AKA The Frost King need to take a wife every 30 years? What does he do with the previous ones? Does he bleed them to death trying to repair holes in the shade? Do they head off through one of the many doors in his castle, never to be found again? Why is Wren, who clearly has kept her and her twin sister alive through all kinds of trauma, a skilled huntress who is prepared to prostitute herself to get nice things for her sister, such an inordinately stupid brat? Why three quarters of the way through the book do we suddenly need passionate, explicit sex scenes? Why, why, why?
This is the first in a series of four books, I am not inspired to attempt any of the next three!
2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for approving my request for this book! It was amazing.

I love a enemies to lovers trope, especially when it’s “Beauty and the Beast”-esq. like the heat in this book is soooooo yummy!!!! Wren and Boreas make such a dynamic duo!!!

I found this book hard to rate.

Firstly thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is firstly and foremost a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It’s a romance heavy fantasy. This is ultimately its downfall because the characters are rather unlikeable it’s hard to get swept up and then the world building at times lacked and things were never really explained outside of “because”

That said the characters are flawed for a reason - while I may have wished them to be a less flawed in ways that specifically annoyed me I also see that they needed those flaws to have a romance.

If you like romance heavy retellings this is your story - if you like fantasy heavy with a touch of romance then this will not be your vibe.

In the end I thought about this book when I wasn’t reading it so it’s one that good or bad you will have it sit in your memory and capture your imagination

The book was a hate to love romance slow burn but once I was halfway through I couldn't put it down. I thought there was going to be a love triangle with the West Wind like in the twilight series. I loved Wren's attitude, fighting spirit and never give up attitude. I would have liked to have more insight into Boreas's thoughts, feelings and past. Boreas making a cake made me giggle.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this story. As much as I enjoy a beauty and the beast retelling, Unfortunately this missed the mark for me. Some parts felt underdeveloped yet at the same time the pace was incredibly slow. Would give it a solid 2.5 stars as I feel I wasn’t the intended reader for this story.

This being a Beauty and the Beast retelling had me intrigued, but it was the witty banter that kept me up at night nonstop reading this beauty.

This book follows Wren, a feisty woman doing everything she can to keep her and her twin sister safe, and Boreas, the nefarious North Wind. This book is filled with hatred, revenge plotting, self-loathing and a whole lot of growth.

I found the world easy to digest and understand, however I would have loved to have seen more depth and perhaps questionings of things that were happening. I found some of the scenes felt kind of out of the blue. Perhaps with even a sprinkling of some details or conversations, parts of the read would have had a more seamless flow to them.

The characters really make this book the fun and interesting book it is. The side characters offer support, love, and confliction, all of which act as tools for our main female protagonist to develop and grow in a really beautiful and honest way. Both Wren and Boreas are both flawed characters in need of a really good wake up call.

The tension was phenomenal, the sass, hilarious, and I loved that even when the main characters grew closer that snappy banter didn’t turn into sappy lovey mush. And this is not to say they don’t have gentle moments with each other because they absolutely do. But the fun essence of the relationship thankfully doesn’t get lost.

The characters were memorable but the overall setting perhaps not the most front of mind. The pacing I would say is in that medium realm. This book also has quite literally the most wonderful epilogue I have ever read.

Worth a pick up if you love a good enemies to lovers. Or more simply if you enjoy Beauty and the beast the parallels are done really well.

This book was interesting. I really enjoyed it for the most part and it had some exciting storylines. There did seem to be a lot of filler which could get boring every now and again. I won’t lie, when I read what the epilogue was about I thought for sure I’d be bored but I thought it was a nice touch. The characters were well written. I loved Wren’s personality and Boreas cracking funnies. All in all it was a good book and I do recommend checking it out.

It turned out okay, but I really wanted a more likeable protagonist and less fingerbanging.

I feel like, if this had focused on being a fantasy story instead of trying so hard to be romance as well, it would have been so much better. The romance felt forced and led to some incredibly awkward, questionable moments. I could rant, but I'll try not to.

The story is a rather blunt Beauty and the Beast retelling, where Wren is taken from poverty by the beastly North Wind. She assumes she's to be sacrificed but instead she's married off to him, for some awfully thin excuse of his needing her 'royal' blood to fix a barrier around the land. He takes a woman roughly every thirty years but none of this is ever really explained properly.

From the start, Wren is a detestable character. There's a really interesting commentary on feminism and the idea of women being accused of being 'too much', but Wren destroys any sympathy for the argument by being an utter contradictory nuisance. For example, she was allegedly raised in poverty, having to do everything for her twin sister because her parents always looked after one sister more than the other (this is never properly discussed, either), but as soon as she gets servants she's ordering them all around like a queen? It didn't sit right with me.

Also, the cake obsession was so stupid. Don't preach to me about how hard her life has been and then tell me how important cake is to her.

There were so many times when I found myself really caught up in the story, only to be jarred out of it by things that didn't seem to match the characters at all, and it was so incredibly frustrating.

As far as the romance goes, maybe people who are really into romance will appreciate it more, but it made me incredibly uncomfortable. A lot of it didn't make sense to me (especially when Wren spends at least 2/3 of the book insisting she still hates and wants to kill this guy) and it also went into far too much detail when so many other details were missed. I also really didn't like that towards the end there was a throwaway comment about something quite serious. I felt it was messy and disrespectful and glanced over an important topic that deserved a lot more attention.

Sigh.

So yeah. The romance sucked and ruined this completely for me.

There was a decent story lurking in here, but it just tried so hard to be another A Court of Thorns and Roses that it fell flat. Which is a shame, because there are some really great ideas in here that I wanted to explore further.

I guess if you love romance with a side of fantasy, you'll appreciate this. If you're okay with a thin plot holding the sex scenes together, you'll get your kicks here. But fantasy lovers will find better B&B retellings elsewhere.

With thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC

I was very intrigued by the description and excited to receive the ARC for The North Wind on Netgalley!

I dove in straightaway and was enjoying it so much that I went and preordered a signed paperback edition from Booktopia!

I really enjoyed this Beauty & The Beast fairytale retelling and the atmospheric writing by Alexandria! Also aesthetically, the book is stunning! (And blues are my favourite colours!)

I am so happy to now own a physical copy to be able to return to the story time and again!

Thank you for allowing me a copy via NetGallery. This hades and Persephone retelling reads so differently from the usual books I’ve read and kept me on my toes throughout. The world building could have been more in depth while we were waiting for the slow burn to…. well burn but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the romance and the plot!


More on the romance… I loved our main characters and I always enjoy a stubborn female protagonist and a black cat with golden retriever tendencies male main character. Let me leave you with this quote to rope you in!!

"I'm not sleeping on the floor," he continues. "If anyone is sleeping on the floor, it's you. You're young. I'm many millennia old. I have back pain."
"You do not have back pain!" I cry, whirling around. If he has back pain, then I'm a snail.
Then I notice the shape of his mouth, its subtle upward curve. "Did you just make a joke?"

Wren’s town has been stuck in the dead of winter for the past 300 years; life is difficult and cold. Orphaned a few years ago, Wren bears the responsibility of keeping herself and her twin sister alive. She hunts for food and sells her body, all to save her sister from the same fate. Every thirty years or so, seven suitable women are chosen from the town to offer theirselves to the greatly feared North King. Each time he selects a wife, he takes them away and they are never seen again. This year, Wren’s sister Elora has been selected as one of the seven women to present herself to the North Wind, and Wren will do anything to save her.

The beginning of the book had strong A Court of Thorns and Roses and Hunger Games vibes, and that made so excited to be reading this book. However, I felt let down by the fantasy elements of this book. I felt that there was a lot of focus on the romance, but not a lot of world-building, leaving the fantasy element feeling unfinished. I would recommend this book to Beauty and the Beast lovers (and Hades and Persephone lovers), and to those who prefer the romance element of Romantasy. Please be mindful that this book contains elements that may not be suitable for Young Adult readers.

2.25/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐

This was a beautiful retelling of a classic with some fresh updated themes. I really enjoyed spending time in thos world that I purchased the audiobook so I can experience it again.

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick is a romantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I loved it! The way the world is described allowed me to really picture it and enjoyed watching the characters slowly reveal themselves.

While it is a Beauty and the Beast theme, it was done quite differently and introduced different characters that will be seen in upcoming novels.

I can't wait to read more of this series!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!

The characters are relatable
Brilliant moving plot with lots of action and emotions and connections that seemed real
The Godly world was well fleshed out