The South Wind was so good! I've loved each book in this series (The West Wind being my favorite) and this one didn't disappoint! Warwick had my attention with the second-chance trope, and I stayed for the storyline. SO good!

“There is no separation between sorrow and longing, bitterness and grief. All are woven into the same tapestry.”

“The South Wind,” by Alexandria Warwick

I love this series so much. Every book so far has the perfect combination of romance and story plot mixed in with characters that have big character flaws and mental illness they work through throughout the books. Both the main characters in this book have insecurities that were so raw, and I could not get enough of the relatableness of it. I absolutely adore the type of romance in this book, chef’s kiss. I loved how Greek mythology was mixed in with the lore, without making it feel too mythological (I personally don’t always love it to be too overwhelming in the mythology aspect sometimes because I’m a mood reader lol). Literally loved every single thing about this book. cannot wait to read more books by Alexandria Warwick. 5 out of 5 stars.

-Arranged Marriage
-Love Triangle
-Desert Setting
-Insecure MC’s
-Greek Mythology

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

“His expression is made of layers: regret and misery, shame and remorse.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Standalone novel
Enemies to lovers
Second chance
God/mortal
Arranged marriage

Highly enjoyed this! Loved how everything was revealed during the second half of the book, and I thought the concept of the labyrinth was interesting! Not a ton of overall world building since this was a standalone novel and not a series. This book continued to be a page turner, and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy a single novel & doesn't want to commit to a long series!

Warwick continues her story of the Four Winds with Notus, the West Wind, who made a brief cameo in the West Wind. Notus has been patiently living in the southern desert, where he initially met Princess Sarai. Now, looking to escape an arranged marriage, she asks Notus to pose as her fiancé while she investigates the deadly curse which has impacted her kingdom.

Part of the fun of the Four Winds has been the drastic change in setting - from an Artic like environment of The North Wind, to the lush forest of the West Wind, to the desert of this one. Warwick doesn't disappoint with her lush sense of atmosphere. I also really appreciated that this book involved a side female character who begins to build a strong friendship with Sarai - after reading the West Wind, I wanted to see more female friendships, and the South Wind definitely delivers.

I also enjoyed that the book went more into the detail of the mythology of the Aenomoi and the Council of Gods - we've received pieces of the brothers backstory, but I've always been curious for more. The ending of the book hints that there may be cause in the next book for the four brothers to reunite, which would be an interesting conclusion to the series. I'll definitely be reading.

♡ Thank you for the free ARC, Saga Press Books and NetGalley.

I enjoyed this story. The North Wind remains my favorite in the series so far, but this comes in second place. I loved reading about the love story of the third immortal brother, Notus, and Princess Sarai. Like the previous books, it was a quick and atmospheric read. The covers for this series are lovely, too. I'll have to pick up a copy for my home library.

I love fairytale and mythological based retellings! I’ve not read any of the other books in the Four Winds series, The South Wind is my first. I don’t know that it’s imperative that you do read the others before venturing in (I made it through this one fine with no previous background). I enjoyed The South Wind enough that I will more than likely investigate the other books in the series. I do, however, hope the main characters are more enjoyable than Sarai and do not overly stress the miscommunication trope.
3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this arc!

Publication Date: May 27, 2025

Thank you to @sagapress for the advanced copy. #sagasayscrew

I’ll be honest: I first wanted to read this book because I thought the cover was beautiful. But oh man, I’m glad I judge this book by its cover.

The South Wind is a story about the layers of grief. A story about doing what you should and being who everyone expects you to be at the cost of being true to yourself. A story of the burden of never feeling like you are enough and the journey of laying down the heaviness, confronting your past and giving yourself the grace to be enough.

Alexandria Warwick’s writing is beautiful, and I really loved that music was such an underpinning of the story.

Check your trigger warning as the book does deal with some heavy mental health issues in addition to examining grief. This can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed it even without reading the first two books although there is some mention of the other brothers.

Some of what you’ll see:
Second Chance Romance
Body Guard Romance
Miscommunication at first
Mythical creatures
A labyrinth

It's been a while since I've read this series, but the story of Sarai and Notus isn't one to be glossed over. We delve deep into the weight of family duty and the consequences of living half of a life. Sarai is set to marry a prince, but a storm blows back into her life that has the power to upend well laid plans. For a twenty-four year old, life should be one big party, but that's not the life Sarai has ever lived. Unknown to everyone, including the one who once held her heart, turning twenty-five is a death sentence. The realm is in a state of decline with the threat of darkwalkers everywhere. Can Sarai overcome this cursed life, or will she succumb to the fate the gods have bestowed upon her? The story of Sarai and the South Wind is a tumultuous love story that I couldn't put down. From them, you learn that fate is as hard to dodge as duty.

A cursed princess. A fake engagement. A dangerously swoony immortal.

The South Wind is an emotionally rich, beautifully written romantasy that swept me away from the very first page. With echoes of Sleeping Beauty and the Theseus myth, Alexandria Warwick crafts a haunting, slow-burn tale of second chances, generational trauma, and the courage it takes to break free from the past.

Sarai’s journey is heartbreaking in all the right ways—her pain, her strength, her quiet resilience. I cried more than once for her. Warwick does an incredible job of showing how a legacy of emotional damage can shape us, but doesn’t have to define us. Sarai’s growth was powerful and deeply moving.

And then there’s Notus. Mysterious, alluring, and full of regret—he’s the perfect counterpart to Sarai’s guarded heart. Their chemistry sizzles, but what really got me was the yearning. The fake engagement trope is handled so well here, adding both tension and tenderness to their dynamic.

While The North Wind remains a favorite of mine, I was honestly a bit let down by The West Wind. So I was thrilled that The South Wind brought back everything I loved about Warwick’s world: gorgeous prose, vivid mythology, and aching romance. It’s a return to form, and I couldn’t be happier.

This installment also deepens the world of the Four Winds series in such a satisfying way—and now I’m counting down the days until The East Wind.

If you’re into romantasy with emotional depth, myth-inspired magic, and a heroine who earns her happily ever after, The South Wind should be at the top of your list.

This books was stunning! Thank you so much NetGalley, Saga Press, and Alexandria Warwick for this book. I truly loved it.

Fantasy is such a favorite genre of mine, and retellings are always so fun to read. I love how Alexandria likes to blend both fairy tale & Greek mythology in her retellings. It adds another layer to the story and makes it much more interesting. In The South Wind she blends Sleeping Beauty with the story of Daphne and Apollo, a myth which after reading I think it paired beautifully with sleeping beauty.

Sarai and Notus’ love story was beautifully written. I love a good second chance romance, and this one was so so good! I loved that Sarai tried so hard to stay away from him, but the pull he had on her was so strong. I fake engagement was a bit of pleasant surprise and again added another layer to the story.

The world building was epic and detailed, and the story flowed so well. I love the cameos from Wren and Boreas from The North Wind. Those two hold such a special place in my heart. This story ended on a bit of a cliff hanger with things left unanswered. It makes me wonder what she has in store for us with the next book.

Thank you again NetGalley and Saga for this book. It was such an enjoyable read.

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own. I will try and be as spoiler free as possible but will mark it as a spoiler warning just in case.

The South Wind is the third book in the Four Winds series following Princess Sarai and the South Wind, Notus. It’s an extremely loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty, mixed with the Greek mythology of the Cretan Minotaur.

Here are my thoughts: I was super excited for this as The North Wind has been on my tbr for a while, and a Sleeping Beauty/Greek mythology tale? Sign me up! However, I’m not sure if this fully delivered the way it intended to. There were so many moments I contemplated DNF’ing but wanted to push through as if I did DNF, I know I’d probably never read TNW. The FMC and the MMC were so wishy washy throughout the book on whether or not they cared/wanted to be together and it was very much “do you want this?” “do you want me to want this?” and I found it extremely childish because we would hear Sarai’s inner thoughts and she would essentially do the opposite and try and push Notus away/would not let him in. HUGE MISCOMMUNICATION TROOE AS WELL but I’m leaving this out for overall spoiler purposes. Overall, I wasn’t a fan of the FMC and had a hard time relating and rooting for her. She was pulling rank at least once a chapter, and not even in a way that she absolutely needed to. I’m also not familiar with the author, but the way Sarai is distrustful of other women/describes them and the way the other women at court are written is pretty disheartening. Again, I couldn’t connect with her character and found her annoying.

This book was also filled with some extreme instalust and there’s a spicy scene where they go at it at a time that was DEFINITELY not the most appropriate like I don’t know how they got away with that 😅 It made no sense based on the urgency of the other situation and it felt like the author was like “pause- nothing will happen to them here even though they’re technically in the danger zone.”

I will give admit that part 2 really saved this book for me and I enjoyed it way more than part 1. There was some crossovers for characters and the story overall seemed more cohesive and thought out. I did like the end, but I’m just glad I’m finished with the book so that I no longer have to be in the FMC’s head.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5

Im going to be brutally honest here… I am only giving this book 3 stars because it had some redeeming qualities.

The story starts off really slow and with no context whatsoever. This is a standalone in a series, but I felt like I was missing so much making it hard to really connect with the story. I honestly think this could have gone much better had the author taken some time to do some world building.

I can’t say that the story was all bad. There was a couple of moments when I forgot why I wasn’t enjoying this read, but they were few and far in between.

Setting that aside, I really couldn’t stand the MFC, Sarai. She spent the entire time complaining or lying. She was not likable at all and given that the story was told entirely from her POV, we don’t get a break from her. Idk, I just hate when I can’t stand the main characters in a romance/fantasy.

Looking at the bigger picture, I just could not wrap my head around the lack of communication between the main characters. At first, it brought a certain level of tension between the couple, which I thought was nice, but after a while it got old and tired. At a certain point, I was practically begging these too to sit down and talk it out.

The only thing that kind of saved this book for me was Notus. I just loved how he protected Sarai not only from actual danger, but from her family and even herself. I also loved it when his jealous side showed. He was totally delicious and I couldn’t get enough of him. He really deserved better.

Overall, as much as I loved Notus, I really couldn’t stand the story or Sarai. For as long as this book was, there really wasn’t a whole lot going on. I definitely think if the story wasn’t so drawn out, I could have enjoyed this.

I personally, won’t reread this book and I can’t say that I recommend it.

Could it be a second chance at romance ? When our FMC Sarai is set up for an arranged marriage to strengthen her kingdom and hopefully break the curse put on her, she has to think fast to get out of it. She tells her father she’s already promised to the man that broke her heart, the South Wind. Together they have to figure out the secrets that are going on with the prince she’s supposed to marry, the chaos in her kingdom and what really happened when she was born. While dealing with all of this she’ll have to deal with past and present feelings for her first love.
Fast paced , well written and kept me guessing. This book can be read as a stand alone. There even was a dash of Olympian Gods and Goddess. What’s not to like ? Definitely would recommend.
I was able to preview this as an eARC thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press !!

3 - ⭐⭐⭐


The South Wind is the third novel in the adult romantasy series, The Four Winds. These interconnected novels follow four brothers, the four winds, and draw inspiration from Greek mythology and folklore - in this case Sleeping Beauty and the Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo. Written in third person POV, the story follows Princess Sarai of Ammara, a woman cursed to die on her twenty-fifth birthday. Desperate to help secure her barren kingdom's survival, she is arranged to marry a handsome young noble from a neighboring kingdom...and then Sarai's ex lover, Notus, the South Wind, god of the desert breeze, returns after abandoning her years ago. It becomes clear something is off with the young noble Sarai is to be bound to and Sarai is forced to work alongside her ex to save her land. Yet dark forces are at work and seeking to unravel the labyrinth far below the kingdom. Sarai must confront the truth and embrace the monster within...or else succumb to horrors dwelling within.

This book held a lot of promise for me but ultimately it did not resonate with me the same way as the previous books.

The things I liked:

- the lore of the labyrinth and Sarai's survival drew me in and made the world feel engaging
- the cameo of previous characters is a fun nod without requiring people to reread
- the twists and turns surrounding Prince Balior's motivations added tension and mystery that you want to follow along with
- the ending was satisfying and really brought this story together

The things I didn't like

- Sarai and Notus' dynamic just didn't draw me in. I didn't feel their chemistry and the way their second change relationship was built didn't give me the context I needed to feel for them
- The slow start meant it was hard to figure out what the goal of the story was
- Getting to the end of the story was a STRUGGLE

Now while I have more things I liked than I didn't, these two dislikes meant I struggled to follow along and at times skimmed scenes. I didn't even feel motivated enough to read any spicy scenes until the end where I started to feel the characters and their relationship.

I feel like if your focus is more story and lore this book will resonate with you but if you rely more on character relationships this book will be a struggle.

Thank you so much Saga Press for this arc!

Thank you Saga Press for the gifted digital and physical copies and Simon Audio for the gifted audio!

The South Wind
Alexandria Warwick
Publishing Date: May 27, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Narrator: Carlotta Brentan & Travis Tonn🎧

This is the third installment in The Four Winds series. Each can be read as a standalone, but if you fully immerse yourself and read in order you will have a better background of the world and will notice some familiar characters pop up. I also think this one sets things up nicely for book four, The East Wind.

Each of these books takes on a different retelling. This one takes inspiration from Sleeping Beauty and the Minotaur and labyrinth.

Through Princess Sarai and Notus, we see some classic romance tropes in this one: fake engagement, second chance romance, and miscommunication.

There were some deeper themes of familial pressure and expectations, guilt, and loss that played out, especially with our FMC, Princess Sarai as she navigated some complicated family dynamics. We see her grow and work toward self love, being her authentic self, and healing. Lessons of not letting others dictate your life and happiness are apparent. There was one particular scene where she gets to interact with her child self, which I found really impactful.

The miscommunication/lack of communication lingered on for a really long time in this one, although surprisingly it didn’t really bother me. I did also find the pacing to be a bit off, with some things lingering for a long time and then others resolving almost too easily. But regardless of all this, this book was an enjoyable and easy read/listen! I love that the author included an epilogue in each book that kind of poke fun at the MMC’s 🤣

🎧 The narrator for this series isn’t my favorite, BUT clearly I like her enough to keep coming back! I read this one mostly with my ears with the occasional tandem read with this gorgeous physical copy.

I’ll be here waiting for The East Wind to see how this all wraps up!

From the moment you’re told the princess only has three months to live, you know this story won’t play it safe.

In a kingdom on the brink, Princess Sarai must choose between duty and desire…an arranged marriage to a prince with secrets or rekindling an uneasy alliance with the god who once broke her heart.

This was such a great second chance romance!

I had so much fun trying to piece together why Notus left because you know there’s more to the story.

The Sleeping Beauty inspiration was such a sweet touch for me!!

This was perfect for fans of romantic tension, mythology vibes, and heroines racing against fate.

Thank you Saga Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the writing in this one it felt very descriptive and was easy to get immersed in the setting. I liked the romance in thisone I felt like the charcaters fit together well but I don’t usually love miscomunication in my books and it had me going back and forth on how much I was enoying this one. I also felt like I needed a bit more from the story in plot with maybe just a bit less riding on the character. Overall an enjoyable read that I definitely recommend checking out!

3.75 out of 5 stars!

Wow. I really, really enjoyed The South Wind! While it’s technically the third book in a series, it’s a series of standalones, so I didn’t feel lost at any point despite not having read the first two books yet. I will absolutely be bumping them up my TBR after reading The South Wind though.

The South Wind is a twist on both Sleeping Beauty and the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. I really loved the elements Alexandria Warwick pulled from both of those stories while managing to keep The South Wind unique. I thought the Labyrinth was done really well, and the Minotaur seemed to have an interesting back story. I would’ve loved to see more of that, but I’m curious to see if maybe that will tie in at all to the final book in this series.

Sarai as a main character had her frustrating moments, but it’s easy to understand why that is as you learn more about what she’s endured in her life. She hasn’t had it easy, despite being the princess of Ammara. I loved seeing her development throughout the book. It was truly a journey of healing for her.

Notus is absolutely delicious. I loved him from our very first encounter with him on page. He’s gentle with Sarai, even when she tries pushing him away. He’s patient and sweet even. I absolutely adored their relationship. They had a great dynamic with one another and their relationship is one of respect.

Another aspect of this book that I really liked was the clear love and respect Alexandria Warwick has for music. You can really feel how much it means to her through the pages, and that translates to Sarai and her somewhat complicated relationship with music. The importance of it was obvious throughout the book.

Overall, this was a fantastic read for me! I’ll absolutely be going back to read the other two books and looking forward to the next.

Thank you so much to Saga Press for the early copy of The South Wind! All opinions are my own.

My favorite from the series so far.

I loved reading about Sarai and Notus’s relationship. Sarai is my favorite of the female leads in this series and I enjoyed the way the importance of music in her life was shown throughout this book. She is a stubborn and passionate character, who closely guards her emotions after being hurt so many times before. I could not get enough of her story.

There is a lot of family trauma in this book. This was emotional for me, which I was not expecting at all.

I like that this was a second chance romance and learning about Sarai and Notus’s previous relationship during the book, while also watching them fall for each other again. Though, I do wish they didn’t keep such important secrets from each other for so much of the plot, it is understandable why they did. Notus is a character I enjoyed just as much as Sarai. He is my second favorite of the Anemoi brothers. I like that they each are so well fleshed out in their books and I look forward to learning more about Eurus in his own. His introduction in this book was perfect.

This is a tale inspired by “Sleeping Beauty,” the Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, and also the myth of the Minotaur, three stories I love. Alexandria played with the curse of “Sleeping Beauty” in interesting ways throughout this book. I particularly liked that Sarai actually knows about the curse and how fatal it is going to be. Fairy tales and Greek Mythology are some of my favorites stories and I’m always interested in a story that retells them in new ways.

I like that each of the books is a standalone and how Alexandria brings the other brothers into the plot in fitting ways. The South Wind was a great addition to this series. It was definitely worth the wait between books. I’m highly looking forward to reading The East Wind when that comes out, hopefully next year.

As with the first 2 books, this is also standalone, but does have many moments that are related to the events of the other books. I really enjoyed the easy, light world-building and the focus on the relationship between Notus and Princess Sarai. Warwick does an excellent job, once again, on developing her characters throughout the story and showing how they grow from slightly dislikable characters to really enjoyable and multi-faceted characters.

There is also a fun focus on music as a way to tell stories and to heal, especially when facing your own inner darkness.

4 stars

hank you to @sagapressbooks and @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.