Laura Kaye – North of Need

The first book in the Heart of the Anemoi series, published April, 2012.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: enticing



Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves...
Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she's recreated the very thing she'll never have.
Called to life by Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.
Megan is drawn to Owen's mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration--before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow's grief and learn to trust love again, or she'll lose Owen forever.


Two years ago, on Christmas Eve, Megan Snow lost her husband in a traffic accident. She is still grieving for him, especially now, now it is Christmas. She can’t stand to be with her family, having to act cheerful and like everything is all right. It is not allright; she misses John and the life they never got to live together. Her family and friends want her to move on, but she can’t. She still feels guilty for his death, if only he had not gone out on that errand to buy her something, he would still be alive.
And so she decides to spend Christmas week alone, up in the mountain cabin they owned. They both loved all kinds of snowsports, and all their gear is still up there. When loneliness hits hard, and the snow is too high to go for a walk, Megan decides to build a snowman, and then a snowwoman, and a snow baby. She even dresses them, and then the grief comes out again. They never had time to start a family, that was for later. And now she has made a snow family. She falls down crying, at the feet of the snowman. And her tears call him forth, Owen, one of the Anemoi, the ancient gods of winter and snow.
When during a snowstorm a half naked man knocks on her door, Megan has no choice but to let him in. She cannot let even a stranger freeze to death on her porch, now can she. But how he comes to be dressed in her late husbands clothes, the ones she used for the snowman, she doesn’t know or figure out.

Her late husband has made a request to the gods, to give his widow a second chance at love, to make her happy again. And Boreas, the King of Winter, decided to send Owen. He still had to make something up to Owen, when his own daughter scorned him before they were to be joined in power. Owen knows everything there is to know about Megan, but he cannot let on that he has her husbands memories. If Megan falls in love with him, and tells him that she chooses him, he will become mortal, and they will be happy together. If not, then he will melt when spring arrives, and go back to the realm of the gods.

Owen things he will have plenty of time to make Megan fall in love with him, to court her, but when Zephyrus throws a temper, the snow and cold recede, and the western winds prevail. He only has three days now. And in that time, Megan will have to let go of her grief and guilt, and embrace life again.
Megan has been lonely those past two years, and she is only 29. Her body suddenly craves Owen. But how can she fall for a stranger? Isn’t that a betrayal of her husband John? Owen seems to understand her, and finally she believes him when he tells her the accident was not her fault. John chose to go on the errand to make her happy, as he loved making her happy. And when she can finally let go of the guilt, the grief starts to disappear as well. John would not want her to grief for him forever, he would want her to move on, and live her life again. Owen makes her laugh again, and it has been so long.

Owen soon reveals his powers to Megan, he cannot hide what he feels for her and what it does to him. Especially when he makes it snow inside the iglo they build together. And his constant craving for icecream should have been a giveaway as well. Megan is very quick in accepting it all, and she enjoys Owen and his powers. Owen sooths her while having a nightmare, and she has the first good sleep in months. She doesn’t even get scared when finding this stranger in her bedroom, holding her hand.

The third day, they decide to go skiing together. Owen can wear John’s clothes, and he can rent some skies at the resort. After some thrilling runs, Owen takes her flying with him, in incorporeal form, to show her his powers. And it is thrilling, but Owen overdoes it, and depletes his god powers severely. Seeing Owen so vulnerable really scares Megan. He is a god, but he still can be hurt. She cannot risk her heart again, she cannot survive another loss. And she knows she is falling for Owen, hard.


This story really focuses more on the romance than on the paranormal aspects of Owen the Snow God. I really would have liked some more action moments. I liked Megan, and really felt for her, and her loss. But when Owen arrives, she is so accepting and falls for him so fast, I could not really accept that. I know there is the deadline for Owen, she has to be in love with him, or he will melt away, but still. It just was too rushed for my tastes, especially the love scenes. If you can overlook the rush, the romance is there, and it is very well written. You can feel the emotions, and the attraction. And I think it very normal and healthy for Megan to be afraid of falling in love again, to take another risk with her heart.
And Owen, he was funny, with his love for icecream, and his pleasure in discovering little things. But somehow, he never was a real man to me. Too much childlike I guess for me to fall for him.

I enjoyed Boreas as a secondary figure. He really did care for Owen, and did more than his normal best to protect him and give him a second chance at love.

I really enjoyed the writing style of Laura Kaye. Her use of language, and the conversations, and of course the tales behind this romance, of the Anemoi, the ancient gods. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

7 stars

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian