(Cover picture courtesy of Delighted Reader.)

Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .

She’s clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he’s taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid’s response.

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

[Full disclosure: I won this book in a giveaway by Michelle Diener and there was no expectation of review so as always this review is my honest opinion.]

I’d previously read a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon in the form of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George.  It wasn’t really that memorable but I did enjoy learning about the original myth.  Mistress of the Wind is a huge improvement on the original myth.  Astrid is, of course, still as feisty as the girl in the original myth but Michelle Diener has given her world far much more depth.

Astrid is a very special girl with some pretty awesome abilities.  Bjorn is powerful but Astrid is powerful in her own right and they’re both incredibly stubborn.  It makes for an interesting dynamic in their relationship, that’s for sure!  They both have their flaws and strengths but the thing that I liked the most was that unlike in the myth, they didn’t fall in Insta-Love.  No, they slowly come to respect and eventually love each other and it’s only when things go wrong that Astrid truly realizes just how much she really loves Bjorn.

Michelle Diener has also taken creatures from Scandinavian myths to populate her world.  There are both good and evil creatures and in the end both types of creatures contribute to the balance and therefore survival of the world.  However, the balance has been thrown off and it’s up to Bjorn and Astrid to restore it together.  So not only is there the main plot but there are plenty of these interesting little subplots that tie into the main conflict of Astrid and Bjorn’s relationship.

The plot isn’t break-neck but it was exciting enough for me not to want to put the book down.  Like with all of Michelle Diener’s books, I quickly became invested not only in the plot but in the three dimensional characters.  If you’re interested in fairytale retellings you can’t go wrong with Mistress of the Wind.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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