I really loved this one. It starts with a bang and the action just keeps coming. The characters, the world and the magic were enough to draw me in but the fact there was only 1 horse for the first umpteem chapters locked me in! The balance between romance and fantasy was perfect. The banter was top notch. I'm thinking of leaving my own family for Rhya's found family because they are keepers! The writing transported me into the heart of it all and I ate it up! I really have no idea where the story is going which might be my favourite thing about it. This is easily my top romantasy of the year so far. Roll on book 2!

I am SCREAMING…… I am gasping and in NEED of book two already!
If I could rate this 6 stars, I would. It’s got elemental magic, fate, prophecies, a lost heir, defiant FMC, found family, HEART WRENCHING character deaths and an all consuming final battle scene which will leave your mind reeling!!!
The morally grey MMC Penn is broody, and protective and unravels for Rhya through this book and it’s beautiful to read
The SLOW BURN is eye watering but WORTH IT
And can I just have a moment for Soren?! SOREN *starts drooling*…. I need book 2 like yesterday
THANK you for this ARC

I was BLOWN AWAY (pun intended!) - every moment of The Wind Weaver was compelling and captivating, from Rhea's exhilarating escape from the clutches of a brutal death and dash to the northlands as a captive of Commander Scythe, to her discovery of her power as a Remnant and meeting others with that maegic. I devoured this book in two sittings and was devastated when it finished - I'm already pining for the characters and counting the days until the next book comes out.

With one of the most powerful openings I've read in a while, I was caught up in the action straight away. The story opens with halfling Rhea tied to a tree, braced for imminent execution by hanging and then burning simply due to her race. But it's the dehumanising way the soldiers speak about her and those like her that's so moving. They use slurs, they're deliberately hurtful and callous even though she is helpless and due to die in mere hours, and we discover one of them tried to rape her before she was tied to the tree. When their Commander Scythe arrives to oversee the execution, but instead, wrests her away, Rhea is too weak, angry, starving and terrified to fight back as they race across the continent, chased by enemies.

This is a really slow burn, and while there is only one couple in this book, I may be a teeny, tiny bit hopeful that it might be a poly series in the next book(s) - I am both team Penn and team Soren here! With just the single POV (Rhea's) it's hard to know what anyone else is thinking, but I think our girl would be interested – and I can hope!

The world-building is fantastic, the side characters are brilliant – I love the Ember Guild members, who bring wit and humour, and provide a core found family for Penn and Rhea. I wish Penn were a little bit less protective and let Rhea explore herself and her maegic, and I would've liked more female characters. Can't wait to find out more about Soren, and the Earth remnant. But erm, that beautiful cover has no relevance to the book. What's that about???

Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

Enemies to lovers
Elemental magic
Court politics

Ooooh is that a love triangle we see? 👀

Rhya is quite naive at first, but I love her character development as the book progresses

I love the world building in this one

I feel like everything did get a tad confusing about 70% in, but overall great book 😊

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

First off this book has amazing world building! We are also thrown straight into action, as Rhya ( a halfling )is awaiting her death for the crime of merely existing. What happens next is an action packed riveting adventure with brilliantly captivating mix of elemental magic, slow burn romance and awesome characters. It does give me a little bit of ACOTOR inner court vibes. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I think it will be a big hit.

Thank you NetGalley, Julie Johnson and Penguin for this eCopy to review

Stick with it! As my fiancé always says to me, "it's building to something!"

If you don't mind that not much actually happens and just go along for the ride then you'll enjoy the slowest of slow burns. 85% of the book is mainly focused on the FMC & MMC in a will they/won't they situation and the the other 15% is world building and plot foundation. The small teasers of the plot have obviously been given in anticipation of the books yet to come in the series and I'm now frustrated at how long I'm going to have to wait for the next one to come out 😩😂

Despite the lack of plot, I found myself staying up until 3am reading, unable to put it down and so for that I'm rating it 4/5⭐️

4/5 stars ✨
This book had amazing world building and we were thrown straight into action, drawing me in the story. The characters were also so fun to read about, and the magic was such a good touch to the story. The enemies to lovers was also written so well, and the whole plot and story flowed so well without being too confusing and overwhelming. I do hope we get more character development in the next book, however I would definitely recommend for those who want a fast paced romantasy!

As soon as I started The Wind Weaver I was hooked. The world Julie has created really captivated me and I was truly immersed in the story. The world building was done really well and wasn’t confusing to understand. Rhya and Penn are great main characters and I love the banter and humour in the book as well. There are so many great quotes throughout the book. The romance was spot on for me. It was a slow burn and not all the book was focused on right from the beginning like a lot of romantasy books.
Such a great first book and I will definitely be continuing the series there is no question about it. The writing was perfect and I wish I could read book two now as I can’t stop thinking of the characters and I want to know what they are up to.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this eCopy to review

I just finished reading The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson, and I’m still savouring every twist and turn. Set in the war-torn world of Anwyvn, where maegic is outlawed and halflings like Rhya Fleetwood are hunted without mercy, the novel plunged me into a realm where danger lurks behind every shadow and hope is both fragile and fierce.

The plot follows Rhya Fleetwood, a halfling destined for so much more than a life of persecution. When she faces an imminent execution, her fate is abruptly altered by the mysterious Commander Scythe—an enigmatic figure whose intervention shatters everything Rhya believed was fixed. In that heart-stopping moment, it’s revealed that the strange birthmark on her chest isn’t just a mark of difference—it signals that she is a Remnant, one of four souls fated to restore the balance of maegic in a realm teetering on the edge of collapse. As dangerous alliances form and passions ignite, Rhya’s journey becomes one of survival, self-discovery, and a forbidden desire that burns as fierce as the relentless winds of her newfound power.

I was completely immersed in the raw, vivid landscapes Julie Johnson paints with her words— the peninsula of Seahaven, the barren Northlands, and a world where every rustle of the wind carries secrets and ancient promises. I felt every pulse of adrenaline as Rhya navigated treacherous betrayals and discovered strengths within herself that I hadn’t even dared imagine. The tension between destiny and desire, the clash of the brutal and the beautiful, resonated with me on a level that few books have managed to achieve.

It’s not just a tale of epic adventure and forbidden romance; it’s a story about embracing one’s inner power against impossible odds and redefining what it means to be free in a world that fears magic. Every page challenged my perceptions and left me breathless, eager to plunge deeper into the mystery and magic of Anwyvn.

If you’re captivated by stories that blend gritty, war-torn settings with the allure of myth and magic, The Wind Weaver is a must-read. It reminded me how a well-crafted fantastical journey can stir emotions.

R E V I E W

The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson

☆☆☆☆☆

Advanced Reader Copy graciously provided by Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House via Netgalley

This book was a little bit of me. Reminiscent of the Air Awakens series with some ACOTAR vibes thrown in for good measure, The Wind Weaver had me glued to every tantalising page.

Author Julie Johnson has cleverly woven together a new world filled with Tolkien-esque creatures and intricately described lands whilst never heavy handedly offering the reader more information than they can take. Instead of chapter after chapter of worldbuilding, we are thrown straight into the action as halfling Rhya Fleetwood awaits her death for the crime of merely existing in a mortal-ruled land. What follows is a violent introduction to our dark and foreboding male lead and a treacherous journey across the country, sweeping Rhya away from the dangerous mortal-lead kingdoms to the reputedly sinister northlands.

Similar to the aforementioned Air Awakens series, The Wind Weaver is centred around elemental magic and, more uniquely, a prophecy. Said prophecy foretells the union of four elemental fae, one of Air, Fire, Earth and Water, in a bid to save their dying lands. As always when prophecies are involved, the wording is vague, and the nature of this union is ultimately unclear, but what is clear from the very first meeting between Rhya and Penn is the burning chemistry between the two. And burn it does, slowly and with much push and pull between the pair until the reader is desperate for the flame to finally ignite. However, that being said, whilst Penn is definitely portrayed as Rhya's current love interest, his need for control paired with his overprotective nature already suggest that Soren, the theoretically dark and untrustworthy King of Llŷr, might be a more suitable alternative.

I very much look forward to seeing Rhya embrace her powers in the next instalment, hopefully with the help of Penn, though more likely Soren, after the Battle of Fyremas and seeing if my predictions concerning their relationships hold any weight. This book was a fantastic gateway into a new fantasy world, and I can't wait to explore it further.

The wind weaver
Author Julie Johnston
Rating 4.5 rating 9.5 CAWPILE
Out NOW

I really enjoyed this book I saw the cover and I was like this seems to be something I would love. And then give me a strong willed FMC and a MMC who is hot headed and grumpy sign me up. I devoured this book in an afternoon and I had an absolute great time.

The will they won’t they was something that had me turning the page and of course the inevitability.

But my heart the last chapters had me in tears… a reminder of the cost of war but why??? I knew that it was going to happen and it broke me.

Penn and Rhya sizzle off the page in more ways than one and I am full team Penn. I understand why someone may think the other but hey they can be wrong. It’s okay to be wrong. I cannot wait to see how the next one turns out already and if that is not a sign of a approval from
cece I cannot give any higher.
I will not give too much away because I feel when I went in without knowing much more than the synopsis I had the best time so just trust the process it is slow burn and that is you have to trust the ride and it will get there. And now I will patiently wait for this to blow up like I know it will.

Review to go up tomorrow

THAT WAS AMAZING. Wind Weaver may have had a slow start for me but that was such a thrilling story and I absolutely cannot wait for book 2!!

Read this if you like:
-Romantasy
-Slow-burn romance
-Elemental magic
-Lush worldbuilding
-Found family

Thank you Penguin Random House for the gifted review copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5*
This is truly the romantasy book to look out for in 2025.
I was hooked from page one; this book truly doesn't give you even a second to breath. It is packed full of action, fantasy, world-building and romance and oh my god did I devour it. I fell in love with the main characters and even more the side characters (Carys you have my whole heart). I loved the magic system and cannot wait to see how it all plays out in the next two books!
When the romance did burn (though slowly) it was FLAMING and I desperately need more of it.

Julie Johnson, you're sold me and I will be buying everything you've ever written. I cannot STOP thinking about this.

Thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my ARC!

Rhya is a halfling – half human, half fae. In a world torn apart by war and afraid of magic, Rhya is sentenced to death because of who she is. When she is saved by the terrifying Commander Scythe, Rhya is forced to travel to the Northlands and discovers she is no ordinary halfling, but a Remnant – one of four individuals fated to restore the balance of maegic. Rhya must learn to control her magic or the world as she knows it is at risk, and so might be her heart…

I had a really enjoyable time reading this. I was intrigued right from the start, which opened with a contemplation of Rhya’s pending execution. I could have done with a bit more world building early on. I do like a story where we learn the world with our main character but Rhya was left in the dark for an awful lot of the story, or she’d have vague memories of her lessons where she’d learned some things but she couldn’t make the needed connections. It was a real slow burn slow burn in this sense (in both the romantic elements and the general plot line). The lack of insight was at times quite frustrating, but the payoff as I did come to understand the world and Rhya’s place in it was unbelievably rewarding.

For me, it was the characters and the connections forged that really made this book. Not necessarily between Rhya and ‘Commander Scythe’ (which was also quite frustrating at times) but between our MCs and our side characters. The banter and loyalty between Jac, Mabon, Uther, Farley and Penn was a joy to witness and I thought it was interesting watching Rhya slot into that. In terms of female relationships and interactions, there was quite a range from the motherly to the hostile, and then the forging of deep friendships as well. The development of Rhya’s relationships with those she met was handled really well, and very realistically in my mind – the contradictions of Rhya forging these relationships while still being wary made sense with her background and I think the warring between these two positions was done well.

I was very intrigued by the elemental magic, or ‘maegic’ system, and I’m looking forward to seeing this developed in future books. I think we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of this and its centrality to the overall plot means its prominence can only begin to grow. This was a solid start to a new series, leaving off in a really interesting place, and I’m excited to see what comes next.

With thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an enjoyable read with gripping action straight from the start with the way we are introduced to the FMC Rhya and continues throughout with the beautiful world building that is so vivid on description making everythings so easy to understand.

I really liked that instead of a lot of info dumping we learn things along with the FMC and I found this a much more enjoyable way to read as it makes you feel more immersed in the story. I really enjoyed the side characters a lot and the found family aspect that this book delivers on as it is always one of my favourite things.

The romance is very very slow burn and I'm looking forward to seeing this developed more in the next book, also although I don't believe it is setting up for a love triangle, there was another character that i am so interested in learning more about, I really loved the banter between him and Rhya.

I can't wait to continue with the series as this was such a good start to the trilogy and I'm looking forward to seeing how the storyline develops further.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book before publication, these are my honest thoughts and opinions.

This was just as interesting as I thought it would be! The book really starts off in the thick of things and the momentum keeps on going from there. Rhya is persecuted simply for being half fae, and finds herself in quite the bind but she's unaware of her maegic and what it means, until she finds herself in the Northlands with secrets unravelling along with everything she's ever known. Rhya's character is clever and skilled, adapting to all of the changes she faces with as much resilience as she can muster. She butts heads with the mysterious Commander, who is very much the strong silent type and a fierce warrior. I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this story, there are some really great personalities which bring an extra element to the story. The world building is also well crafted, as is the maegic and history that is woven into the book. We're gifted nuggets of information in stages rather than an info dump, which made it much easier to process and it felt much more authentic in the way we learned alongside Rhya. There's danger from lots of different angles, which kept both me and the characters on our toes throughout. The relationship between Rhya and the Commander did frustrate me a little, because he was a bit of a brick wall when it came to information and his behaviour towards her often lacked respect. Without much conversation (definitely not two way conversation, at least) it was hard to understand how any closeness could develop between these two and so I wanted that to be more developed but I guess he is meant to be this quiet, dangerous, protective warrior type that we're all hot for (it does kinda work, though, so I'll give him that). Otherwise, this was a really fantastic start to a series and I can't wait to see where the story takes us next.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I actually really enjoyed this! It was slow at points and the plot only really started to kick off towards the end but the magic system and world building was decent and set the tone for the future books that I expect will follow this one. Rhya annoyed me a little as she was written as a submissive weak character but we are told that she should be seen as strong - I’m looking forward to seeing the continuation of her character growth in further books as you could see the change in her by the end of the book. Overall a 3.5 star for me.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for approving me to read this, I’m rating it 4.5 stars.

This was so close to being 5 stars for me, but the pacing slowed a fair bit around the 300 page mark, but came back swinging after like 100 pages, that ending was insane!

I really like Ryha as a character, she’s a multi layered character. She goes through so much from start to finish and I love that we get to see her growth. We also don’t get an information dump during this book because Ryha is a little naive and sheltered so we get to learn things about the world, magic and the state of things at the pace of our FMC.

I cannot wait to see how the story continues!

Mixed feelings about this one. Started off strong, grabbing my attention. Rhya was interesting and there was enough personality and strength to her to make me want to see how her story progressed. Throw in your moody mmc and whatever mysterious reason he saves her for and you had me hooked. The journey to the Northlands was good as was the introduction of what becomes Rhya’s found family but I did find that parts of the story started to drag a little and I did not feel as emotionally invested in any of the characters as I should have been. There were some fun supporting characters and wished we got a bit more of Soren. Also so weird that despite the prophecy all the focus seemed to be on the air remnant and no one seemed fussed about looking for earth at all.

The Penn/Rhya of it all was okay but I did not find myself desperately wanting them to be together. It all started to get a bit samey with them blowing hot and cold with each other (which is hilarious given their powers). Also way too many people were telling Rhya how he felt but there needed to be more ‘show” on his part to make it believable. The ending hinting towards a 🔺 just makes me want to run in the opposite direction. *hate hate triangles and hope that this ends up being some kind of fey quad situation once they find earth.

Overall liked the writing, plot was enough to keep me interested and 🔺 hints aside I do want to see more of what happens in this world. 3⭐️

A book that swept me along from the outset!

I'm always keen to read books the feature elemental magic so was super keen to read this one. And wow, was I hooked.

I absolutely loved how this story progressed. From the outset it was packed full of danger, action and magic. And I was absolutely drawn in by Rhya and Penn. I could feel the attraction between the two characters and so wanted them to get together.

Slowburn at its best!

This story had so many fantastically written elements. The world the author created was magical and dangerous at the same time. And I absolutely the banter between Rhya and Penns men on the journey. Absolutely hilarious and just so endearing at the same time.

Following a super climatic ending I'm super excited for the next book in the series.

A brilliantly captivating mix of elemental magic, slow burn romance and awesome characters. An author to check out for sure