Notes from the Shelf

This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. Your support helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog going.

The South Wind by Alexandria Warwick – Powerful & Mythic
Genre: Romantasy
Pages: 432
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Buy: Bookshop.org

This post contains spoilers.

Book Blurb

Princess Sarai of Ammara has less than three months to live before death claims her. Cursed as a child to die on her twenty-fifth nameday, she will do whatever it takes to secure her realm’s future, including an arranged marriage to Prince Balior, a handsome young noble from a neighboring kingdom. But another man vies for her attention as well: Notus, the South Wind, god of the desert breeze, and Sarai’s ex-lover.

Sarai is determined to stay away from the god who betrayed her and honor her father’s plan. But Prince Balior has an agenda of his own, and as Sarai learns more about her betrothed, she realizes he might be a dangerous threat to her people. So despite her hatred for Notus, she fakes their engagement to escape the arranged marriage and unearth Prince Balior’s true motives surrounding his obsession with the menacing labyrinth that sits in the palace’s grounds.

But darker forces are at work, and time is running out. Together with Notus, Sarai must face the horrors dwelling inside the labyrinth to save herself and her realm—but in order to succeed, she must confront her pain and the monsters she carries within herself…

My Thoughts

When I first picked up The South Wind, I’ll admit I had a flicker of concern. It’s noticeably shorter than the first two books in the series, about a hundred and fifty pages less. But as it turns out, that’s mostly because this one doesn’t include the bonus stories at the end like the earlier books did. Once I realized that, my concern faded a bit. The main story itself still hits all the right plot points and feels complete.

The one area that did feel a bit underdeveloped was the romance. Given that Princess Sarai and the South Wind (Notus) are ex-lovers, I was expecting a lot more emotional tension — and maybe even some of the heat that defined the earlier books. Instead, we get more of a looking back wistfully kind of dynamic. There’s plenty of pining and reminiscing about what once was, but not much in the way of rekindled connection. Because the two spend most of the book pretending to be engaged while insisting they don’t want to get back together, the story ends up without much spice. It’s definitely a tonal shift from the series’ previous entries, and I found that a bit disappointing.

On the mythology side, The South Wind mixes in some intriguing elements, though not all of them blend as seamlessly as before. The labyrinth and its minotaur take center stage in this installment — and I loved the way this thread culminated. The revelation that the monster Sarai faces is actually fear itself was powerful and thematically satisfying.

However, some of the other mythological influences felt a little less cohesive. There’s a Sleeping Beauty–style curse, where a specific flower could kill Sarai on contact. Her father bans the flower from the city, only for Notus to accidentally bring it back, unaware of the curse. It’s an interesting idea, but it felt slightly at odds with the labyrinth plotline.

Then there’s Prince Balior, whose alliance with the labyrinth’s monster left me scratching my head. His motivations and connection to the main conflict weren’t as clear or convincing as they could’ve been.

Overall, The South Wind still delivers a complete and engaging story, but it lacks some of the romantic tension and mythological polish that made the first two books shine. It’s a solid continuation, just not the strongest breeze in the series.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think I liked The South Wind more than The West Wind, but the best in the series to me is still the first book, The North Wind. I am curious to see how the last book goes since it’s about the brother that has not been talked about as much. I’m also curious to see if it feels rushed at all because it’s scheduled to come out January 2026, which is a quicker turnaround than the others were.

If you’re interested in checking out ‘The South Wind’ by Alexandria Warwick, consider purchasing it through Bookshop.org. Supporting this link helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog thriving.

Read Other Alexandria Warwick Reviews:
The North Wind
The West Wind

Love what you’re reading here? Support the blog and fuel my next cozy reading session by buying me a coffee.