The North Wind – Review

Hi everyone! It’s time for what will most likely be my last review of 2021! The North Wind is an adult fantasy romance that had a lot of similar tropes to books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, and For the Wolf and it releases in mid-January!

The North Wind
by Alexandria Warwick
Series: The Four Winds #1
Release date: January 13th 2021

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

Lush. Dark. Romantic. Introducing a newly reimagined tale written in the vein of Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone.

Long before civilization, there were the gods. And before the gods, there was the earth, the celestial bodies, and air given flesh. They are the Anemoi—the Four Winds—and they have been banished to the four corners of the world.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. Her parents are gone. Survival is all she knows. For three hundred years, the land known as the Gray has been encased in ice, surrounded by a great barrier called the Shade, which protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond.

But day by day, the Shade weakens.

Only one thing can stop the Shade’s fall: a mortal woman taken captive across the barrier, bound in wedlock to the dark god who reigns over the Deadlands. He is the North Wind, the Frost King, an immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules.

And the time has come for the Frost King to choose his bride.

I really enjoyed this book, although there were definitely parts of it that just didn’t work for me. Starting with what did work for me though, I really enjoyed Wren and Boreas! I liked how Wren was unapologetically herself, and didn’t care about being proper and doing what others expected of her. She also struggled with no longer being the one taking care of her sister and keeping them both alive, in addition to her addiction to alcohol that she struggles to overcome. Boreas was very much your typical love interest, but I think his backstory made him more likeable for me.

I loved the slow burn romance, and there were some pretty spicy scenes that I wasn’t expecting so this is definitely an adult novel. This has a ton of tropes that I love, including enemies to lovers, only one bed, and forced proximity!

I also thought the world was really interesting, but this is where it kind of went downhill a bit for me. I had so many unanswered questions and there were things about the world and the magic that felt incomplete, such as who/what the darkwalkers are, the difference between the Gray and the Deadlands, and Boreas’ magic (especially at the end). There is also a lot of elements of Greek mythology and different gods, but a lot of the fantasy elements aren’t really explained well, but it definitely all intrigues me and I think everything could easily be explained more in the rest of the series, even though it follows other characters in each book.

I also thought some of the pacing was a little off, specifically at the end because things happened so quickly and the plot felt like it took a backseat to the romance, but I’m definitely curious about the sequel, which will follow Zephyrus! I’m curious as to how Alexandria Warwick will make him more likeable, and if she can pull it off she may quickly become a new favorite author!

This definitely gave me the same vibes as A Court of Thorns and Roses, For the Wolf, and From Blood and Ash, so if you like any of those I definitely recommend trying this one out.