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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Child death, Death
This was great! I enjoyed the progression of Wren and Boreas' relationship and how Wren's character developed throughout the story. Although a bit slow, the story kept me very engaged. I would have liked to see more world building to explain what exactly the Shade and darkwalkers are (and how they're cured), as well as other details about the roles the different deities have. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed and deserved a bit more explanation as to how everything was solved. The epilogue was adorable though.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enemies to loversđź’•
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The North Wind is certainly a book. I didn’t dislike my time with it, but I didn’t necessarily like it either. I had a couple issues with it, mainly tied to the overall writing style and the character arcs. In general, I found that the author would consistently use 10 words when she could have used three, perhaps at an attempt to appear more poetic. All it did was bloat out the narrative to an absurd degree. I also found that there were quite a few phrases or terms that didn’t belong in a fantasy book. For example, upon seeing a spit-roasted pig, Wren calls it the “pièce de résistance.” I didn’t know France existed in this world. In fact, I’d venture a guess and say it doesn’t. So why was this included?
I found Wren to be a deeply frustrating character. I recognize that some of this is likely intentional on Warwick’s part, but it was a bit more than just a subtle character arc commentary. I almost stopped reading at multiple points because of how irritated I was. Boreas was interesting enough, but was ultimately just The Big Dark Brooding Man.
By the end of the book, I felt that there were several plot points that ended up being completely dropped, and/or not addressed. If the Frost King had to take a wife every 30 years, ||why did we only talk about one||? It goes on. There were also points where Wren would claim she hadn’t said something, when she had mentioned it just chapters earlier. Honestly speaking though, I don’t know if that was supposed to be a reference to the alcoholism or not.
Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend The North Wind. I won’t deem it a complete waste of my time, but I wasn’t particularly impressed, either. I had thought a Saga Press book would perhaps have a more fleshed out world. There are better books to use your time for.
I found Wren to be a deeply frustrating character. I recognize that some of this is likely intentional on Warwick’s part, but it was a bit more than just a subtle character arc commentary. I almost stopped reading at multiple points because of how irritated I was. Boreas was interesting enough, but was ultimately just The Big Dark Brooding Man.
By the end of the book, I felt that there were several plot points that ended up being completely dropped, and/or not addressed. If the Frost King had to take a wife every 30 years, ||why did we only talk about one||? It goes on. There were also points where Wren would claim she hadn’t said something, when she had mentioned it just chapters earlier. Honestly speaking though, I don’t know if that was supposed to be a reference to the alcoholism or not.
Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend The North Wind. I won’t deem it a complete waste of my time, but I wasn’t particularly impressed, either. I had thought a Saga Press book would perhaps have a more fleshed out world. There are better books to use your time for.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I got The West Wind from @jonathanballpublishers for my February Blind Date with a Book and it gave me the perfect excuse to jump into this series! And I am obsessed. This book is described as a Beauty and The Beast meets Hades and Persephone retelling. Those two aspects shine through so clearly throughout the story and it was literal perfection. Not only that, but the story also really reminds me of Slaying The Frost King! The wintery setting, the village, the actual Frost King! I absolutely loved it.
I loved the Freaky Friday sort of sister swap we got here. That Wren is seen to be the hardier, rougher sister with the scars and Elora is the sweet, beautiful one. I loved how grumpy Boreas was too, like the entire book!! He hardly let up for even a second and it was so good! The plot was done so well. I loved how the history of their world and their gods was slowly explained, I loved the magic system and how even though the main for gods in this series are connected to the seasons, they are also connected to specific realms - like Boreas is connected to the Deadlands.
It was so cool to experience the underworld in this sort of setting. The rivers and what they can do, the staff made up of all spirits, the shade and how important it is to the entire story! I love how Wren plotted against Boreas almost until the very end, this book was a massive slowburn and it was euphoric once they both gave in. The final battle was so good and I'm quite interested to see where Zephyrus's story is going to go in book 2! The epilogue was so damn beautiful, it almost made me cry!! I 10/10 implore you to start this series if you haven't!!
I loved the Freaky Friday sort of sister swap we got here. That Wren is seen to be the hardier, rougher sister with the scars and Elora is the sweet, beautiful one. I loved how grumpy Boreas was too, like the entire book!! He hardly let up for even a second and it was so good! The plot was done so well. I loved how the history of their world and their gods was slowly explained, I loved the magic system and how even though the main for gods in this series are connected to the seasons, they are also connected to specific realms - like Boreas is connected to the Deadlands.
It was so cool to experience the underworld in this sort of setting. The rivers and what they can do, the staff made up of all spirits, the shade and how important it is to the entire story! I love how Wren plotted against Boreas almost until the very end, this book was a massive slowburn and it was euphoric once they both gave in. The final battle was so good and I'm quite interested to see where Zephyrus's story is going to go in book 2! The epilogue was so damn beautiful, it almost made me cry!! I 10/10 implore you to start this series if you haven't!!
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
tense
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:
Complicated
It was sweet. Written in such a disjointed style that I almost missed some of the absolute hilarious zingers amongst the poetical lines and the basic romantasy vibes. Still a fun read though.
medium-paced