Reviews with content warning for Rape - The North Wind

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The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick

10 reviews

hnels0nlu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

honestly, this was everything ACOTAR wished it could be. aside from some glaring plot holes and an ending that felt pretty rushed for something we spent 430 pages working toward--both of which can probably be attributed to the fact this was the author's debut novel(!!)--i had a lot of fun reading this. i LOVED wren (not to keep drawing ACOTAR comparisons, but because I keep having to hear about it on BookTok, i just want to say--feyre wishes she could be as genuinely brave and funny and selfless as wren. and I love the choice to have her deal with issues like alcoholism and low self-esteem, because the fact that she had actual, real-world problems and insecurities made her just THAT much more real and lovable), her banter with boreas (I loved the first "there's only one bed" scene; the "I have back pain" line had me giggling and kicking my feet), the abundance of fanfic tropes (hurt/comfort girles wya??), and the smatterings of Greek mythology throughout the novel, which I felt were really creatively incorporated (though sometimes a little inconsistent). it's really a testament to warwick's ability that she was able to take the whole "beauty and the beast/hades and persephone" storyline, which has been done so many times, and create her own, unique characters and a brand-new world that were compelling enough to stick with for so long. so, overall, 4/5, great stuff:) not sure i am super interested in reading zephyrus's book, but I am definitely looking forward to her future works

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kdiddlys_bookishadventures's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this book. Very easy to read, couldn't put it down - the pages just kept turning. The world building was just enough to keep you interested but give you enough of a picture of the world to be able to imagine it in your head.
Wren's character was heartbreaking, difficult to like but grew on me as she progressed.

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elclark15's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book is an excellent representation of accepting the love we think we deserve. Wren loves her sister more than anything, enough to go in her place when her twin is chosen as the bride for the North Wind/Frost King, a cold and unforgiving God responsible for the death of the realm and a 300+ year long winter that threatens everything Wren holds dear. While Wren’s sister is kind and beautiful, Wren has a facial scar, suffers from alcoholism, and is “too brash, too headstrong.” She tricks the god into marrying her instead, and seeks to reverse his hold on winter. While she is moved to the land of the dead, with the Frost King’s power weakening and an increase of Darkwalkers, shadow-demon like creatures, Wren has no idea who she can trust. If she wants to protect her sister and her village, she may just have to figure out how to kill a god

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teaand_tomes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Saga Press #SagaSaysCrew and NetGalley for the gifted review copy!

A compelling blend of fairytale and Greek mythology, drawing inspiration from "The Beauty and the Beast" and the myth of Hades and Persephone. The lead character, Wren, is a relatable figure struggling with alcoholism and loneliness, while the antagonist, Boreas, is a redeemable villain with depth. The selfless sacrifices made by both characters add a powerful layer to the narrative. The book is a masterful mix of romance, adventure, and heartache, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

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missindyrose's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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saliwali's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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koistyfishy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5 Stars ⭐️

This is a hard review to write as I need to find a way to articulate that on some levels I ABSOLUTELY loved it and on other levels it frustrated and annoyed me. This book had a tonne of potential to be an absolutely excellent story but in the end it just fell short and ends up at fine. I think what was missing is that final bit of polish or few rounds of editing to just clean it up a bit.

The book starts almost identically to ACOTAR - I mean girl in the woods with a bow and fighting for her and her sister survival. Due to this initial seed of similarity being planted I battled to distinguish the story as something original or bordering on Fan Fiction. There are parts in the plot that read like Alexandria Warwick had a tropic scene she wanted to write and then just dropped it into the plot. Examples of this are:

Wren Robin Hooded Boreas's arrow and they share a meal where they have to "feed" each other

. We also get a lot of lets go to this place, then this place, then this place.... and it does not have the full cohesion it needs to have to explain why and so ends up seeming like an idea just needed to be on page because she wanted to write it vs the scene has a full purpose.

Overall the story starts off enticing and I wanted to keep reading, but then the story loses the plot. Quite literally. I had no idea what direction the story was going. It became a slow drag with no clear motive or pointed direction.

It does contain tropes that tick all of my boxes
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Marraige
- One Bed/Horse
- Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone

I also really liked the influences of the Greek Mythology surrounding the Four Winds, it was a unique take on an old legend and then twisted to the "Hades" vibes was also something new seen in a typical Hades/Persephone type book.

One thing that was a strange juxtaposition for me is how excellent and then confusing the transition from enemies to lovers occurs. My pet peeve in some enemies to lovers books is that sometimes the characters go too quickly from "I hate you" to "I absolute love you with all my heart". This book had aspects of that but then also had one of the best transitions to lovers I have ever read.

There are weird moments where Wren basically a couple of days before wanted to kill him and now she loves him, but there is also a really gradual understanding that develops between Wren and Boreas whilst they move from Enemies to friends to lovers. They started seeking the companionship of each other as friends and then the attractions started slowly bubbling up to slight flirtation to out write flirtation.

This transition to me is not often something you see done so well and I really appreciated the time it took for this gradual change to occur.

Wren herself is a weird contradiction. She starts of being explained as this selfless character but makes selfish, stupid and utterly dumb decisions in the book that make her unlikable.

In the end I was left with a tonne of unanswered questions that just confuse me and just things in the plot...that I am like what????

Questions and What Moments:

1) YOU ARE UPSET that he is leaving you unsatisfied because he has to go fight in a war to save his people??
2) Boreas - YOU gave up immortality for a woman I am sure you only love because she reminds you of your dead wife???
3) Who is going to do the whole judgement of souls now????
4) How did Zeph get the darkwalkers to obey him?
3) Why does he need a new wife every 30 years? What happened to the last one - why does he only talk about the one that died 300 years ago
</spoilers>

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lunahale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

feral, murderous, brash women will always have my heart 🫶🏼

powerful, immortal men giving up their immortality for their women hits so much harder than women gaining immortality to be with their men *chef’s kiss* (also, the only reason this doesn’t get five stars is bc of how silly wren was at the end. like get a grip girl, he so obviously loves you.)

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jackie_recommends's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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asmaltz3's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Gives me Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones meets Olympus vibes. If you liked Rhapsodic by Laura Thalissa, you'll probably like this. I'm also reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, and the books appear to start similarly.

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