Warring lands. Element magic. FMC is a remnant that can harness one of the four elements & goes on a journey running into fae everywhere and meeting Penn (insert a swoon)

This story started off so fast paced so I was immediately hooked. Rhya our FMC was written in a way that felt so real and reminded me of how I would probably act in situations she found herself in.

Really really excited to see where this story goes!!!!

DNF - 26%

The cover is gorgeous, but I honestly do not know how it relates to the story. I feel like I should have a better idea of what's going on, being a quarter of the way in. There is very little plot, and I'm just annoyed with the FMC. She's very snarky but very ignorant. The MMC's secrecy is extremely frustrating. If you're kidnapping someone to save their life, don't treat them like garbage. I understand withholding information, but Scythe is saying nothing for no reason.

I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I just can't seem to keep up with this novel.

This book is an immersive fantasy that has been hailed as a delightful surprise and a perfect way to break out of a reading slump. It's a powerful story that combines all the best elements of the genre, including a rich magic system, compelling world-building, and a sizzling slow-burn romance.

While some readers felt the story’s pace was hindered by an abundance of internal monologue and description, others found it to be a masterclass in tension and plot development. The book is packed with action and necessary twists that propel the story forward, ensuring there are very few dull moments.

For those who enjoy a love triangle and the "touch her and die" trope, this book delivers. The romance is a key highlight, building slowly and satisfyingly. With its intriguing characters and dynamic plot, the book sets the stage for an incredible sequel that fans are already clamoring for. If you're a fan of ACOTAR or similar fantasy reads, this is a must-add to your list.

The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶

Media Type: Audio 🎧

I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the immersive world building. That said, it didn’t quite stand out from the crowd of fae romantasy books. It felt a bit like déjà vu with pointy ears. The plot followed familiar beats, but the writing was undeniably beautiful, and it still made for an enjoyable read.


*Thank you NetGally for the ARC*

Book: The Wind Weaver
Author: Julie Johnson
Length: 544 Pages
Publisher: Berkley
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

Fantastic book that I loved so much. It was an epic breathtaking story that just opened my heart. Slow burn that you just love and once the love action actually happens you can’t help but curl your toes! This is a must read that everyone should put on their TBR. This book was such a good time read and this is the type of book that will get anyone out of their reading slump. I was pleasantly surprised! Now I can’t wait for the next book! A book I highly recommend to run and grab a copy now!

Thank you to Berkey/Ace and Netgalley for this magnificent eARC that I absolutely loved! I did this in exchange for an honest review. All words, thoughts and ideas are my own.


Fantasy✔️
World Building✔️
Love-Triangle✔️
Slow Burn✔️
Magic System✔️
Banter✔️

The premise sounded promising, but unfortunately the story dragged and failed to hold my interest. The writing leaned too heavily on internal monologue and lots of descriptions, which slowed the pace of the story. The world building was interesting, but not developed enough sadly. The book in itself isn't bad, it just didn't work too well for me.

I loved this book. i THINK this book for me was a prefect mix of fantsay and romance. I really loved the plot of this book. I thought this story was so easy to follow and the characters captured my heart. I thought the characters and world were so captivating. I also love the magic system in this one and i am super excited for book 2. Def a new favorite fantsay romance.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || THE WIND WEAVER [thank you to Ace Books, PRH Audio, and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: The Wind Weaver
Author: Julie Johnson
Genre: Romance + Fantasy
Format: Audio + Digital
Star Rating: ★★★★☆

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
If you’ve been looking at this book, or you’ve never heard of it (for shame), stop looking and just pick it up and read it! Once you do, you won’t be able to put it down. I’m so glad that I entered my fantasy era and made it through this one because it was honestly quite interesting and I can’t wait to see where it goes next!

This book is action-packed. There are very few sections where you feel like nothing is happening and that it could easily be cut — because you’d be wrong. Each action scene is either necessary to the plot OR helps to reveal necessary information or a twist (which were all so good).

It does give off strong ACOTAR vibes in some areas, iykyk (and if you don’t know, after you read it I’ll be willing to talk to you about it, ha, but I don’t want to spoil anything). And I know maybe it’s a cop out to describe a fantasy as ACOTAR-adjacent, but I just couldn’t not make the comparison while I was reading - to the point where I called twists and am calling a future twist.

This book is set up for an INCREDIBLE book two, and I literally can’t wait. I will be bothering Ace Books immediately once I see ARCs are live!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Slow Burn
Love Triangles
Touch Her and Die
Unique Magic System
ACOTAR

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.98
# of Pages: 544
Pub Date: April 8, 2025

Overall rating: 3.5

I was really excited going into this book. And I’m not disappointed, maybe a little critical, but not disappointed. I feel like this book has a lot of potential, but I also had some consistent gripes that I couldn’t overcome.

The book really dragged at points. Even towards the end, when there was a sense of conflict, I felt exhausted. It’s one of those books that I had to PUSH to finish. And it felt drawn out to accomplish nothing! Rhya didn’t really improve in her powers, nor did she WANT to improve with her powers. She’s praised as this super strong, fated, awaited powerhouse, but refuses to explore it, despite knowing the amount of people after her.

As much as I liked Rhya, I didn’t love the stereotypical snarky “I’m-not-like-other-girls” narrative. It got old. Quickly. Especially since it felt like she would throw herself into danger and was naive. I also hated (like, really hated) how the other woman in the book was an ultra mean girl. And why? Not because it added substance to the novel. Because she was some level of jealous over a man. Big dramatic sigh.

I also didn’t get much enemies to lovers. They were definitely enemies! And then one day lovers?
Despite the pacing, it didn’t feel like there was much development from enemies to friends to lovers.

Despite these gripes, this wasn’t a bad book! I surprisingly liked the side characters a lot, including Soren. He lowkey gave me Warner vibes from Shatter Me, where he seems manipulative, but there feels like there’s more under the surface. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and imagery, and felt like the audience was really immersed in exploring the world as Rhya did. The politics were also fleshed out really well, which is not a main focus of the story, but something I appreciated nonetheless. Furthermore, though the book did seem to drag at points, it was by no means predictable. I found myself enjoying the twists and not being to DNF, even if I had to take breaks.

Unfortunately, this novel wasn’t my favorite, but I didn’t hate it. Despite that, I’m excited to see how the characters develop, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to read the next one!

* I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm adressing Julie Johnson, if you aren't her then scroll away!!!!

Julie, my darling. Please make this why choose. I'm actually on my knees BEGGING.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF at 50%. The writing is fine, if not a bit repetitive. But the overall story just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.

I found the “banter” between the FMC and the MMC to be less witty, fun, and flirty and more childish and like siblings bickering. The FMC also felt extremely young and immature to me, and I found myself getting more and more frustrated with her responses and decisions. Also so many things were blaringly obvious but our FMC didn’t catch on until much later which was irritating and a bit of a sign of bad writing for either your FMC, or the “telling not showing” writing style.

I also felt like this could have used another POV. Because at 50% into the story I am still so confused about everything and I’m over Penn’s aggressive and broody behavior. And how unrealistically angry he gets with Rhya even though he never explained anything to her and completely refused to tell her anything at all. I can tell that there is going to be a “big reveal” of who the previous wind weaver was to Penn and why he’s trying to redeem himself but I’m not a fan of the reveal being the whole plot. I’d like to know something instead of being kept in the dark along with our very obtuse FMC.

Overall I think this book will have a fan base and the people who love it will definitely really love it. Unfortunately the storytelling and characters were too irritating for me to continue on with.

I had such a great time with this one. The world-building is vivid and full of magic. I loved how the elemental powers felt both fresh and exciting. Rhya is such a fierce, stubborn FMC, and her banter with Scythe was so much fun to read. The romance is a perfect slow burn with just enough tension to keep you hooked. I also really enjoyed the found family vibe and all the little moments of humor that balanced out the adventure.

This is a story about a slowww burn elemental romance

I struggled to get immersed in this one BUT once it picked up it really picked up! The fmc is bold and the banter is clever. The elemental magic system felt both original and reminiscent of classics! Overall, a lovely time,

Thank you so much Berkeley and PRHA!

A strong start to a new romantsy series that involves elemental magic, fated mates, a love triangle, warring Fae kingdoms, betrayals, action and lots of adventure and heartbreak. I enjoyed the main female protagonist, a wind weaver halfling who is just learning about her power and what is involved in the legacy she has stepped into. It was good on audio and I look forward to seeing where the series goes next. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much Netgalley and publishers for allowing me access to this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rhya Fleetwood (who wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Stevie Nicks) lives in a world torn by war, where humans hate all things Fae and Maegic. Running from those who hunt her but also from herself as well for she is the Wind Weaver, a remnant of Air.
Captured by a group of human soldiers intent on executing her for the crime of simply existing, she gets saved by Commander Scythe who unbeknownst to her has secrets of his own.

I loved.. the fuck out of this book! There were a few things that bothered me a wee bit.. but I was able to look past that and enjoy the story. (we will get back to that later)
I loved the world building was good, and I loved the unique maegic system that was created. I enjoyed knowing that their maegic did in fact have limits and could have deadly consequences if left out of control.
I liked the banter and the newfound family aspect when it came to the future soldiers Rhya runs into.
Even though the book was long, it actually didn't feel like it. There was enough action and things going on in it that I wasn't ever bored which is nice.
When the ending scenes started, I 👏🏻ATE👏🏻 IT 👏🏻UP. It was awesome. I could literally see myself there.

Now to the maybe fun part?
Cons:

I didn't really like the whole "I like him. no, I hate him. Okay I like him again. No we are enemies." the back and forth just irritated me a bit.. cause like he would listen to her wishes and leave her in peace but then her inner monologe is "where is he? I miss him. how dare he ignore me." it was just bothersome.
Also.. what I really didn't like was the fact that the main character is practically, almost useless. It was almost like she was purposely kept useless, pathetic and in constant need of saving to fulfill a white knight mentality. Disliked that.
When she does actually help, she does more damage to herself because no one bothers to teach her how to use her maegic properly. How is she supposed to know, if no one bothers to teach her?! 😫

All in all, would recommend with my whole SOUL! Epic journey with alot of action and laughs.
Plus, one bed trope, one horse trope, found family, hate to Love.

TWs for Mentions of SA, Child Loss.
Murder on and off page. Blood, gore. Mild cursing.

Thank you to @BerkleyRomance, @netgalley & @author_julie for the free #gifted copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Wind Weaver
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Julie Johnson
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Reign of Elements , Book 1
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 527

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
𝙍𝙝𝙮𝙖 - She is a halfling that is being hunted/captured by the mortals who want to do away with all things magic. Although she doesn’t fully understand her magical abilities, she is on her way to a fiery death. That is until she is taken by the “Scythe” who ends up saving her life. Rhya is such a strong, fierce character. What a spitfire - I love her sass so much!
𝙎𝙘𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙚/𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣 - He is grumpy helmet wearing commander with so many secrets. He saves Rhya from death and takes her to his kingdom where he trains her to use her magic and reveals an ancient prophecy that they are part of! .

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
Romantasy
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Magic/Mythical Creatures
Slow Burn
Found Family

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: This book is just a reminder as to why I love Romantasy! The Wind Weaver is the first book that I have read by Julie Johnson and it won't be the last! I absolutely loved this cover!

I enjoyed this writing/plot so much. What great world building and so many adventures. That said, I do feel that at times it had pacing issues and could have been a little shorter than its 500+ pages. I love the character development - the tension between Penn and Soren. It gives such an ACOTAR vibe! This book is loaded with angst and banter. I love the elemental magic added to the story. My only real complaint is that I wish this book was a dual POV.

This is such a great start to the series. I am SO excited to read the upcoming books!

4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed this one! I had seen it pitched by someone as being for fans of Avatar the Last Airbender and Prince Zuko and I was immediately like say less, I’m in. Haha! I can see where the comparison is coming from. It does have interesting world building with elemental magic, and it is divided into kingdoms, and the MMC is an angsty and broody fire-wielder with a bit of a temper who was looking for the missing air-wielder, and the FMC is an air-wielding chosen one who is needed to help restore balance. That’s about as far as the ATLA similarities go though!

I thought that the world building felt well-developed and smoothly-incorporated. I like magic systems that have balance and costs/limits so I liked that the foils/counterparts exist between the Remnants and that the magic drains them so none of the Remnants are entirely overpowered. I thought it was pretty action-packed and I thought the pacing was pretty good overall! There was a section in the middle that slowed down a bit and felt more character-driven than plot-driven, but I did appreciate the found family aspect that was being explored and the emotional impact this brought later in the story due to that middle section having us get more invested in and attached to some of the side characters.

This story had complex characters. Penn was angsty and broody and grumpy which, admittedly, I’m always drawn to. I was definitely rooting for them and loved all of the moments of slipped control/composure, and moments of vulnerability and tenderness/softness. That said, he could be kind of a jerk at times as well as a bit controlling and hot-and-cold. Rhya was strong, resilient, compassionate, had a good moral code, but she could be annoyingly stubborn at times haha. I appreciated that she wasn’t just immediately a master of her powers etc. In this book, we get to see her struggling to learn to even wield them at all without losing control and burning herself out, much less really exploring her abilities. But rather than focusing entirely on her wind powers, we get to learn more about her other strengths in this book such as archery and healing. I also like that we got to see her kind of wrestling with questions of morality in the face of her new powers and need for survival. I’m sure she will have a lot of growth and development in the next book(s)!

I think my main complaint with this book was that the romance could’ve been more convincing. Penn was often just off doing other things so it felt like they were separated a lot, but I was just expected to believe they fell in love—like yes he’d often swoop in to save her, they’d have their little moments, they were definitely attracted to each other, but I don’t feel like I really FELT them fall in love. I was just told to believe they did. Sure, I got glimpses in those little softer moments between them but those weren’t enough to convince me of them being in love when they were separated so much, when he was kind of an jerk when they were together, and with him being so push and pull/ hot and cold. 🤷‍♀️ That said, I appreciate that it was a true slow burn as far as the physical intimacy and exploring the emotional connection. They definitely felt a pull to eachother early on, but fought it for a while, leading to some delicious tension and yearning.😍

All that said, with how the dynamics are set up and some of the foreshadowing, I can definitely see things going in the direction that ACOTAR went with the MMCs between ACOTAR and ACOMAF (IYKYK) so I’m definitely interested in seeing where things go with Rhya and Penn and learning more about Soren. I could also potentially see a why choose situation happening with how the Remnant bond is described and talked about so I’m interested to see which direction she takes things (like a ACOTAR-type switcheroo situation or more of a why choose situation—I’m hoping for more of an ACOTAR approach rather than a why choose because I personally feel like why choose stories should be clearly marketed as such for those who may want to avoid them or for those who seek them out 🤷‍♀️).

I am definitely looking forward to book 2! I’m excited to learn more about Soren, to see what happens with the romance, to see Rhya continue to grow into her powers, to learn more about the prophecy and restoring the balance, and perhaps even meet the Earth Remnant! 🤗

Anyway, if you want a story that is kind of like ATLA meets ACOTAR, I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Julie Johnson, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

📖 🐦‍🔥 The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson - 4-4.5 ⭐'s

"Air and fire, an inextinguishable passion. Igniting together into pure, unadulterated... combustion."

The world is divided, fae are hunted by humans, and only the most cunning survive...

The Wind Weaver is a stunning introduction to a new romantasy trilogy from author Julie Johnson that is sure to mesmerize readers. With rich world-building, a unique magic system, action-packed plot, and intriguing characters this story gripped me from the start.

I always enjoy unraveling the why's and how's of the world built around you alongside the main character and that is exactly how this story reads. There are secrets and reveals, twists and turns, a slow-burn romantic subplot and so many little puzzle pieces that I am still theorizing in my head after reading. I can't wait to read book two and see if I'm right in any of my inklings!

The banter between all of the characters kept the story entertaining and helped balance the darker moments in the plot. I also loved the fact that despite this being a fantasy world, there weren't any of those head-spinning info dumps that some books in this genre seem to have. And the found family aspect?! *chef's kiss*

Now the story did slow down a bit in the middle and I did cringe at some moments between the FMC and MMC, especially when a certain someone turned a bit 'T-word' but like I said, it's making me question a few little tidbits in the story and I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out. *wink*

So all in all, a spellbinding tale that I look forward to reading more from!

✔️ Romantasy
✔️ Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Soul Bonds
✔️ Slow-Burn
✔️ Elemental Magic
✔️ Touch Her and Die
✔️ Found Family
✔️ Prophecies
✔️ Fleetwood Mac
✔️ Princess Peach x Aragorn

💨The Wind Weaver🔥

4.5⭐️. 1.5🌶️

🩶Fear of maegic plagues war-torn Anwyvn. Halflings like Rhya Fleetwood are killed on sight. But Rhya’s execution is interrupted by an unexpected savior—one far more terrifying than her would-be killers. The mysterious and mercenary Commander Scythe. In the clutches of this new enemy, Rhya finds herself fighting for her life in the barren reaches of the Northlands. Yet the farther she gets from home, the more she learns that nothing is as it seems—not her fearsome captor, not the blight that ravages her dying realm, not even herself.

💧I love this story I couldn’t put it down and once I did I kept thinking about it. This book has a slowwww burn just how I like them😌

The beginning of the story is action packed which I love though it kind of slow down past the half of the book to give a chance for the romance to thrive.

Rhya was such a likable character I enjoyed her journey though I feel that there is more stuff that I needed to find out about her origins it was not very clear to me. Also I still don’t know what to think of Penn’s character he did have some red flags but I feel that like with Rhya we are still yet to see his full potential. One character that I did love even though he was not much in the picture is Soren he reminded me so much of Rhysand I hope to see more of him in the next book.

But one of my biggest question about this book is; Is this a why choose?????🧐 If it is I won’t mind😏