Chapters and Cravings

Beauty and the Beast meets Hades and Persephone, set in a world so cold you can practically feel the frostbite? Of course I was going to pick this up. What I did not sign up for, apparently, was Alexandria Warwick making me wait an eternity for the romantic tension to finally snap.

Honestly, the slow burn here nearly did me in. I was internally shrieking. Keeping all that tension bottled up until past the seventy per cent mark? That’s just mean. And yet, there I was, absolutely glued to the page, desperate for something—anything—to happen. ❄️

Luckily, there was plenty happening outside the romance to keep me from losing my mind completely. I was just as invested in the twists and turns of the story as I was in waiting for Wren and Boreas to finally cave to their feelings.

Right from the start, I was getting major A Court of Thorns and Roses vibes—poverty, a heroine doing everything she can to keep her family afloat, the whole lot. But as I kept reading, it was the grief both Wren and Boreas carried (plus Wren’s complicated relationship with alcohol) that really gave the story its heart. Those parts felt thoughtfully done, and honestly, that’s what made the book stand out for me.

And Boreas? Oh, I could absolutely fall for him. The audiobook did not help my situation at all once Travis Tonn finally showed up. Saving that voice just for the epilogue? I have feelings. Many, many feelings.

The North Wind blends Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone into a wintry fantasy setting, with two central characters carrying grief and a romance I was very susceptible to.

The slow burn takes its time—over seventy per cent into the book, in my experience—and the tension had me thoroughly worked up. Plenty was happening in the wider story to keep me hooked through that wait, too. The handling of Wren and Boreas’s grief, alongside Wren’s alcoholism, added emotional substance. At the same time, the audiobook gave me a performance I admired and a casting decision I wished had been different—a very enjoyable four-star read, with two-chilli spice and plenty of longing.

Wren of Edgewood is used to hardship. Following her parents’ deaths, she has taken responsibility for keeping herself and her sister alive in a land trapped in an endless winter.

A magical barrier known as the Shade protects their home from the Deadlands, but that protection is weakening. According to the bargain that governs their survival, a mortal bride must be given to the North Wind: an immortal ruler whose reputation is as cold as his kingdom.

When he chooses Wren’s sister, Wren steps forward in her place. Taken into the world of the feared Frost King, she faces a marriage she never wanted and a husband she has every reason to resist. As she learns more about Boreas and the land he rules, their hostility becomes increasingly complicated.

🏹 Those Opening ACOTAR Feelings

The beginning immediately reminded me of A Court of Thorns and Roses.

There’s that familiar setup of a heroine living in poverty, doing what she can to survive and carrying responsibility for her family. Wren’s circumstances brought those early ACOTAR feelings straight back, especially with the harsh conditions and the sense that getting through the next day is already a significant task.

That was my first point of comparison. As I spent more time with Wren, her grief and relationship with alcohol gave her story a particular emotional focus. Those were the parts that helped me engage with her beyond the familiarity of the opening.

⏳ Over Seventy Per Cent. SEVENTY.

I need to spend a moment on this, because the romantic tension had me in a state.

I knew this was a slow burn. I knew we’d have to wait, but carrying that build-up to over seventy per cent into the book? Alexandria Warwick, that felt personal. 🤭

The attraction between Wren and Boreas kept me waiting for something to give finally. That’s what made the delay so effective for me: I was invested enough to be impatient. I wanted the tension, then the relief, and the book was happy to let me sit there wanting.

It was agonising in that very particular romance-reader way. I was internally screaming because I cared what happened between them. If you enjoy spending a large part of a book waiting for the characters to cross that line finally, there is plenty here to keep you occupied.

🧭 Plenty of Story While the Slow Burn Was Burning

Plenty of plot kept me hooked while the slow burn did its thing. I was caught up in the wider story as well as Wren and Boreas’s relationship, with plenty to hold my attention while that tension simmered.

That balance really worked for me. The romantic build-up could stretch out because the story was giving me other things to follow and care about along the way. I wanted to know what would happen next, even as I desperately waited for these two to give in finally.

The slow burn had me screaming inside; the plot kept me reading and listening. A very effective combination, apparently. 🤭

🕯️ The Grief Belongs to Both of Them

I appreciated how the story handled grief, and it applies to both Wren and Boreas.

Wren carries the loss of her parents and the responsibility that followed. Boreas is grieving his wife and son. They’ve experienced different losses, and I thought the story handled both with care and sensitivity.

Giving that grief space added emotional depth to their characters and their relationship. Alongside the attraction and all that tension, two people carry painful histories, and I appreciated being given room to understand that side of each of them.

For me, the tenderness with which they handled those subjects was as worthy of attention as the romance. Wren’s grief matters, and so does Boreas’s.

🥃 Alcoholism Handled with Care

I also thought the portrayal of alcoholism was well done.

It’s a significant part of Wren’s story, and I appreciated the care taken with a subject that can be difficult to write about. Her relationship with alcohol belongs to the emotional experience of the book, alongside the grief and pressure she’s living with.

What stayed with me was how sensitively it was handled. I felt the book took those struggles seriously, and that helped give Wren more depth as a character. There was room to consider what she was experiencing while still following the larger story.

It added a more grounded emotional element to a world of immortals, magical barriers and endless winter. Those recognisable human struggles mattered to my experience of the book.

🏹 Wren of Edgewood — Survival Comes with Baggage

Wren begins from a place of hardship. Her first responsibilities are practical: keeping herself and her sister alive, making difficult choices, and getting through a life that has already asked a great deal of her.

What gave her character weight for me was the emotional material alongside that familiar survival setup. Her grief and alcoholism are part of the story I was following, and the way those subjects were handled helped me take her struggles seriously.

That mattered because I wanted to engage with the person at the centre of the romance. The attraction to Boreas may have made me impatient, but Wren’s experiences gave the book something else I could appreciate in the quieter moments.

❄️ Boreas — The Frost King Had My Attention

Boreas has a reputation that suits his title: feared, powerful, and apparently as cold as the world around him. That creates plenty of room for tension when Wren arrives with her own resistance and reasons to be wary.

For me, his appeal was closely tied to the gradual development of their relationship. I wanted to see what would happen between them, and waiting so long only made that curiosity stronger.

His grief also matters to understanding him. The family he has lost is part of the emotional weight he carries, and I appreciated the care given to that aspect of his story. It added depth to his character and to the connection developing between him and Wren.

He was very much the character I could see myself falling for. Add the brief taste of Travis Tonn’s voice at the end, and I was left wishing the audiobook had given Boreas that voice from the beginning.

🌶️ The Spice

My spice rating is two chillies out of five.

Most of the heat in my reaction came from the build-up. The story spends a long time making you wait, and by the time the intimacy arrives, the anticipation has already been working on you for a substantial part of the book.

There is on-page sexual content, but I wouldn’t describe this as a read driven by frequent spice. The romance and longing were much more prominent for me.

Two chillies on the rating scale. A considerably less restrained reaction from me to the waiting.

Narrators: Carlotta Brentan & Travis Tonn
Narration Style: Carlotta Brentan narrates the main story, including all character voices; Travis Tonn narrates the epilogue.

🎙️ Carlotta Brentan — Carrying the Whole Story

Carlotta was a champ.

She carries the main book herself, including the male characters’ dialogue, and I want to credit her for the amount of work it involves. Wren’s story includes romantic tension, grief, alcoholism, and the wider fantasy plot, and Carlotta’s voice guides us through it all.

My frustration with the audiobook’s setup doesn’t take away from that. She did the work of bringing the main story and its different characters to the listener, and I appreciated her performance.

❄️ Travis Tonn — Only the Epilogue?!

This is where I need a word with whoever decided how to divide the narration.

Travis Tonn appears for the epilogue, and as soon as I heard him, I wanted more. That voice? Yes, please. He could so easily have been Boreas’s voice throughout the book, and I would have loved hearing him opposite Carlotta.

After spending so much of the story caught up in the tension, getting that voice right at the end felt like being shown a version of the audiobook I now desperately wanted to exist.

One epilogue. That was our allocation. I have objections. 🤭

🎧 The Version I Wish We’d Had

My ideal version would have been duet narration: Carlotta carrying Wren’s perspective and Travis performing Boreas’s dialogue throughout the main story.

That would have let each keep their character’s voice across scenes, including all that painfully prolonged romantic tension. I enjoy the format, and hearing Travis at the end made the missed possibility especially noticeable to me.

So my audiobook verdict is appreciative but frustrated. Carlotta deserves credit for carrying the story, and I wanted Travis to have a much bigger role.

You may enjoy The North Wind if you love:

• Fantasy romance inspired by Beauty and the Beast, Hades, and Persephone.
• A mortal heroine drawn into a dangerous immortal’s world.
• Wintry settings and a darker fairy-tale atmosphere.
• Romantic tension that builds for much of the book.
• A fantasy plot that keeps you hooked as the romantic tension builds.
• Stories that give both leads’ grief emotional space, alongside a thoughtful portrayal of alcoholism.
• A lower spice rating with plenty of anticipation.
• A powerful, cold-reputed hero who might become a fictional crush.