Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > The West Wind

I was a fan of the first book in Alexandria Warwick’s Four Winds series, The North Wind, but this book is better than that installment for sure. Even though I gave them both four star ratings, they came by those ratings for very different reasons.

I continue to be a fan of Warwick’s narrative prose, which has grown in maturity and tone since the last book. She’s managed to hold onto that rather minimalist way of describing sets, scenery, and wardrobe compared to most of her contemporaries, which I adore for the simple change of pace and because I like to let my own mind fill in some of the blanks. That’s what an imagination is for. Warwick gives us just enough to work with that we can fill in the blanks, and I like it.

At the same time, her inner narratives for our main characters show just how much time, dedication, and love she has suffused each of them with as she has developed them and written them. She knows who these characters are–each and every one of them–and you can feel her affection and care in the way she writes them and how defined they are. Their voices are as unique as their appearances and backstories, which makes for great stories and some fantastic dialogue that can verge toward melodrama at times but usually course-corrects on its own.

I like this plot much more than the plotline in The North Wind. For one, this book doesn’t really stop. It keeps moving. Whether the cause is fleeing, fighting, or chasing, the book is one long quest that keeps our main characters moving to and fro, over and under. The North Wind lacked that movement but had charms in other places. I also loved the questions the book posed surrounding faith, blind faith, the nature of higher powers, sacrifice, what lengths people will go to for protection out of fear, and what lengths people will go to in order to face their fears to save the ones they love.

It’s a hefty read at almost 650 pages, but it’s a good one if you’ve got the time.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Fantasy Series/Book Series/Fairy Tale/Fantasy/Fantasy Romance/Folklore Retelling/Kindle Unlimited/KU/Mythological Fiction/Spice Level 2