Twisting together Sleeping Beauty and the Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, Alexandria Warwick brings about her third installment in the Four Winds Quartet. With a dash of second chance romance and an engagement of convenience, The South Wind endeavors a lot of different storylines and tropes across one romantic fantasy novel. As a fan of retellings and second chance romance the premise for The South Wind sounded perfect and there were quite a few things I enjoyed within this installment. The novel's familial relationships, exploration into grief, and the protagonist's connection with music to name just a few. Where I think this novel got a bit lost in the weeds was in the blending of two retellings and overarching plot points. There was just too much going on that what ended up falling off was the tension and foundation for Sarai and Notus’ second chance romance.

Jumping into a future where these two have had a past romance and split up is a great foundation for tension and angst, but that was decidedly missing from this third novel. For me I was missing the why —why Sarai and Notus were drawn to one another, and why they work. And I would have preferred this shown through the narrative structure from the start. Integrating flashbacks early on or starting with scenes from their initial romance would have helped to develop this further. The tropes also felt slightly out of place because of how much was going on plot wise. Sarai is facing death because of a bargain her father made for her life as a child, her father is trying to marry her off, she has lost her connection to music, the Darkwalkers have somehow found a way into the city, and she feels drawn to the mysterious labyrinth on the palace grounds. These are just a few of the plot points within this novel, and it’s not that they were not interesting, they just weren't able to be attended to in the full extent that they deserved. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and though the romance lacked the tension I crave in my second chance stories, it was really sweet overall. This series has been so enjoyable and I will be tuning into the final installment.

Dare I say this is my favorite novel by Alexandria Warwick to date, her writing and story telling only gets better, more refined, more entertaining and more creative. The South Wind grasped me into the air and I wasn't back to the earth until I finished it, which I read 85% of it in one day. It is a story of finding one's self and accepting one's shadow, of embracing all parts of one's self alongside a remarkably romantic plot. I enjoyed this book very much and I can't wait for the next one!

I was so happy when I got approved for The South Wind as I absolutely adore this series. I was expecting it to be good and it definitely was. I love these characters and the mixed mythology and fairytales.

In the note at the beginning, the author said this is the most personal book she’s written and I can see that. I really enjoy when a character in a book has a profession that I fully understand. In this Sarai, our main character played the violin. I also played the violin in middle school so it was quite nostalgic reading all the terms I remember from then.

The romance was amazing as always. Slow burn but it was such a good slow burn. The overall plot was very intriguing and kept me engaged the whole time.

The log line for this series says it’s interconnected standalones but I would recommend reading them all in order. The character appearances mean more when you already know them.

All in all I am so deeply connected to this series and I can’t wait until the last one comes out!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon and Shuster for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

this book was pretty enjoyable but i have to say i think the first one is just ingrained in my brain because i loved it so much.
The portrayal of grief in this book was perfect and felt so real and relatable. Sarai is a very relatable character and i really liked watching her work her way through her grief and also her growth throughout the book was pretty special to read about. The king has these impossible standards and expectations he puts on her and it was interesting to watch how she dealt with that and how it affected her.

This was a wonderful book and im excited to see what the author comes up with next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a wild ride! I cannot wait to see where this story ends. This was my favorite of the series so far and I hope to see the audiobook available soon so I can listen to it next!!!

I am truly thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc!

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I’m excited to read the other two published books and looking forward to the next installment. When I requested this book, I didn’t realize that The South Wind was part of an established world and could be read as a stand alone regardless.

While I personally didn’t instantly connect with Sarai, I ended up enjoying the fake engagement turned true love, the incorporation of the Labyrinth and King Midas lore, and of course, found myself enjoying the Princess/guard trope.

4.5 🌟

I absolutely loved this tale it has the feelings, the tragic story, the romance and the backstory to an epic tale. Sarai is a princess that is destined to die on her 25th birthday, to save her kingdom she must marry before that time to the prince of the enemy kingdom. But Sarai’s past with the South Wind come back along with the man himself, who was called in by the king.

It was quite touching reading about Sarai in her grief, losing her brother, losing her love and on too of that losing her dream of being a violinist. Even through that, she must live thru the high expectations the king has of her which seem to be impossible and that brings Sarai lots of suffering. She simply wishes to not be a princess but does it because it must be done. I was really hooked from the beginning since reading about the South Wind and Sarai in the past. I really liked the progression of the story and how we don’t get all the information at once and at the same time we get some mystery about the labyrinth and the monster who is captive inside it. It has action, romance, mystery, court intrigue and even second chance romance.

I think this is my favorite book in this series. And makes me want to read the East Wind when it comes

I really enjoyed The South Wind! It’s a beautifully written fantasy with a mix of romance, mythology, and adventure that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The story follows Princess Sarai, who is cursed to fall into an endless sleep on her twenty-fifth birthday. To save her kingdom, she’s forced into an arranged marriage, but things get complicated when Notus, her former love, returns. Their relationship is filled with tension and emotion, and I loved how their fake engagement added drama and depth to the story.

One of my favorite things about this book was the world-building. The mix of Sleeping Beauty and Greek mythology made the setting feel unique and magical. The mysterious labyrinth and the secrets surrounding it kept me curious the whole time.

Sarai is a strong and determined heroine, which made me connect with her even more. She doesn’t just accept her fate—she fights for her own future. And Notus? He’s the perfect mix of brooding and protective, making their romance even more compelling.

Overall, The South Wind was a fantastic read. It had a great balance of action, romance, and mystery, and I couldn’t put it down. If you love fantasy with emotional depth and strong characters, this book is definitely worth reading!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I was excited to request this ARC because I enjoyed The North Wind - unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much as I remember enjoying the 1st book. This was an okay afternoon read - the story was enjoyable enough to continue reading but it had a mix of good points/bad points rather than being average across the board.

✔ I really liked that the MMC wasn’t expected to “read her mind” - i.e., the FMC didn’t get a “pass” for being angry without explaining her reasoning and emotional reaction. I appreciate when this happens in romance novels because it is far more real to life and reads as adults coming to terms with their emotions rather than issues being swept under the rug of love.
✔ The portrayal of grief felt very poignant and real - of course the things you love can be distant or fail to bring joy following grief and that’s very normal.
✔ Similarly, the family dynamics, as messy as they were, also felt very well written and carefully considered. Love doesn’t prevent us from making bad decisions or making mistakes.
✔ Notus is lovely, I enjoyed him a lot.

✖ The FMC, Sarai, spent a lot of the book being very “will I, won’t I” - it was somewhat frustrating. It is understandable she was working through some emotions but at times it read as annoying and childish, especially given the stakes of the situation.
✖ The story pulled a lot of beats/ideas/references from other stories such as Sleeping Beauty, and the myths about the Minotaur/Daphne and Apollo - the references were recognizable but at a certain point, they weren’t adding anything to the narrative. It sometimes felt like Warwick was simply using them to use them, rather than carefully selecting myths/fairy tales that are familiar to us to reinforce the themes of the story.

3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.