Book Review: “The North Wind”
- Author: Alexandria Warwick
- Series: The Four Winds #1
- 448 pages, Paperback
- First published January 13, 2022
What to expect?
- Slow burn
- Characters share a bed
- From enemies to lovers
- A story in the style of Beauty and the Beast
- Forced intimacy, arranged marriage
- Interesting plot with dynamic action
- Original and somewhat dark world
- The heroine suffers from alcoholism
Wren and her twin Elora lose their parents to the North Wind. Since then, Wren has taken it upon herself to hunt and ensure their survival in the small village of Edgewood. Hunger and misery are their constant companions. The people are on the brink of survival.
In the world they live in, the four winds are all-powerful gods who rule over the seasons. Boreas, the North Wind, is known to visit the village every few decades and take an unmarried woman back to his land of Deadlands. Wren realises that this year her sister Elora is the most likely choice. Determined to protect her, she’s willing to do anything, even switch places and trick the North Wind herself.
Heroes
Elora is selfish and has decided to turn a blind eye to Wren’s sacrifices, accepting everything she offers without giving anything back. Wren, on the other hand, deludes herself into thinking that everything she does is for Elora’s benefit. A rather complicated sisterly relationship that goes through all extremes.
Wren is portrayed as a strong and independent person who does not care about the approval of others. She is ready to stand up to the North Wind. In her desire to protect her sister, Wren is willing to do anything, including killing Boreas, to return home to Edgewood. By ensuring their survival and providing a few comforts in life, the protagonist has found her purpose in life. Travelling with the North Wind has cut her off from everything familiar, and she doggedly searches for a way to break free.
All these qualities actually make her a very typical protagonist, but there’s something else lurking in Wren that I think worked very well. She is a “prickly” character that kept me entertained throughout the story. Wren suffers from alcoholism, which she sees as her salvation and uses to justify everything she’s been through.
Boreas is the immortal master of cold. He is the true embodiment of divine excellence, both physically and in behaviour. Boreas is secretive and suspicious, seeing people as unworthy of his attention or as a threat. But as is so often the case in books of this romantic fantasy genre, first impressions can be deceiving. Over time, we discover that beneath his icy surface he is not as unfeeling as he seems, and that there are deep emotional traumas behind his behaviour.
Romance
We come to the essential part of this review. The romance between Boreas and Wren is of the “slow burn” variety, evolving from hate to love. One of the funniest things about the plot was their bickering and Wren’s attempts to annoy him. For most of the plot, the characters don’t admit their attraction to each other. Wren struggles with her feelings as she tries to stay true to her original plan, and Boreas tries to keep her at a distance. Although the romance between the two flares up rather slowly, the scenes that follow are savoury enough.
Plot
I liked “The North Wind” because it’s set in what I think is a unique world. I liked the idea of the four brothers, the gods, the Lords of the Seasons, the Shade and the Deadlands, and the Darkwalkers, but there’s a lot more you could ask for. In my opinion, a lot more could have been learnt about the brothers as only two were mentioned and that was one of the mysteries I wanted to uncover. Still, this is the first book and there is a lot to look forward to.
The plot moves along at a good pace. In the end, I had no trouble finishing the book and I enjoyed the story. Until the end, but then it didn’t work out.
In my opinion, the ending was rushed and ill-considered. I felt like whole scenes were missing. I felt like I fell asleep and missed the whole battle.
Wait… what… how…
If everything had stayed the way it started, I could have easily given it a 4-star rating. Now I’m leaning more towards a 3, but I still recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice romantic read in the vein of A Court of Roses and Thorns and Blood and Ashes.
Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone, this lush and enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Scarlett St. Clair.
Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it’s Wren’s responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer.
For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade’s fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride.
When the North Wind sets his eyes on Wren’s sister, Wren will do anything to save her—even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. But mortal or not, Wren won’t go down without a fight…
The North Wind is a stand-alone, enemies-to-lovers slow-burn fantasy romance, the first in a series sprinkled with Greek mythology.
