A couple of things I wish I'd known before going into The Hurricane Wars:
1) It is a romantasy - like very, heavily romantasy.
2) Not only is it a romantasy, it is a romantasy that started off as a Reylo fan fic

For whatever reason, possibly the title, I went into this thinking it was going to be high fantasy. Once I made the mental switch into romantasy expectations I enjoyed the book much more.

And that's not to say this is a bad book. The interactions between Alaric and Talasyn were enjoyable; I found myself smiling over random quips and what not. I applaud the author's attempt to build the character's hate/attraction to each other, but at times it was almost too much. Can it still be considered navel gazing if the focus is on how much you loathe but are maybe attracted someone else?

As with most romantasies, I get frustrated because the world seems interesting and I want more but there isn't more to have. There is so much potential in side characters, political mechanism, and magic system, but there's so much focus on getting two characters together that the world and character building falls apart. This is especially true in The Hurricane Wars. The first half of the book has a lot that happens, and at the same time it feels like almost nothing happened because we don't really get to experience the events, only as they focus on either Talasyn or Alaric. There are big decisions made that don't really make sense other than as a mechanism to getting the characters together.

I did enjoy all the Southeast Asian influenced easter eggs, though I do wish it was more prominent. I honestly feel like so much more could've been woven in to make the story to make it feel more unique. Also, and this is a spoiler.. but there was a huge missed opportunity to having the male protag get all dolled up for the wedding night vs the female - especially considering how much emphasis was placed on the matriarchal society.

Overall I did enjoy my read of The Hurricane Wars. I do wish I had gone into it with different expectations, but I liked it enough to continue on when the sequel comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maybe it’s because I read a lot of fantasy but seeing another book that’s Reylo-inspired enemies to lovers doesn’t appeal to me. At this point, it’s very overdone. And that’s been my struggle with the genre lately for new releases. Give me something new! Something shocking! Something I haven’t already read numerous times! But alas, that’s a me problem.

The Hurricane Wars has a lot of early hype and, with that cover, I’m not surprised. It’s stunning! And I’ve been hunting for more Southeast Asian fiction. I was sold once I saw I was getting a SE copy via one of my subscription boxes.

This story is true enemies to lovers with a sloooooooooow burn. Like super slow. Like, ‘Mariana Zapata that you in there girl?’ slow. Which I personally like. It’s also the beginning of a trilogy, so I knew I was going to likely navigate lots of worldbuilding and info-dumps. Also fine with me. What this story lacked in originality, it made up for with an easy reading style. Overall, an enjoyable read and I plan of reading the next book. Hoping the next book brings some unique plot points because this has so much potential! The world is fascinating and the first half when the war was going on was my favorite.

I’m a jaded reader, but I think a lot of people will like this one.

3.5 ⭐️

I had such high expectations for this book and thought it would atleast meet most of them but it fell flat. It met me halfway on my expectations on the characters and setting. The plot was very muddled and needed more fleshing out.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed The Hurricane Wars, a debut romantasy by Thea Guanzon. The world-building is layered, vivid, and unique, and the blend of magic and technology is so fascinating. The story, especially the first half delves deeply into the history and culture and how the past has affected the present, which added so much context to the story. It did feel a little info-dumpy at times, but overall it was great.

Talasyn is an amazing main character, and I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s one of my favorite tropes, and I read that this is partially ReyLo fan fiction. I can definitely see why! I’m a massive Star Wars fan, so any time a story is said to have Star Wars vibes in any way, I want to read it. And Alaric and Talasyn have a delicious slow burn going on, much like Rey and Kylo Ren, and their banter and chemistry are fantastic. Their love story is super angsty, which makes sense considering their situations, and I so rooted for them to find a way to be together. Their romance was the highlight of the novel.

The characters, the romance, the world, the political intrigue and action – I enjoyed it all! Special thanks to Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I wanted to love this with every fiber of my being. It had everything I love all wrapped up into one story but I just felt so disconnected from the story. Hurricane Wars is pitched as an epic romantasy, with sizzling enemies to lover steeled full of Filipino culture. It sounded like an amazing Star Wars fanfic fantasy story.

It took until around the 45% point for me to start to enjoy the story more but I honestly almost DNF’d this. It took me months to finish and I felt like I had to force myself. The intro Behind The Hurricane Wars and the Prologue were honestly my favorite parts of the book. I thought it was guaranteed a 5 star read from those parts alone. I felt the passion and the heart of the story but then the actual story just felt off to me. It had all of the things I know I like but the actual story just fell flat. It wasn’t that the characters were unlikable I actually loved Talasyn and Alaric. They gave me Reylo vibes 1000%. The dual POV’s are always a plus and I loved each of their perspectives. But I personally struggle sometimes with not having first person POVs I find that some stories just feel more disconnected in third person.

The writing was beautiful and had lovely prose. I thought the descriptions and world building were beautiful. The ships and the magic system were unique and the descriptions of the clothing and people were vibrant. I also often found myself getting hungry many times throughout the story at all of the wonderful sounding food descriptions.

Overall this was an okay read for me. It wasn’t my favorite read but I think it’s still worth reading. I think I overhyped this in my mind as this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It had a fun actual enemies to lovers romance and I loved the Scifi Star Wars vibes. I would still be interested in seeing where this story goes as this is just the first book in this new debut trilogy.

Thank you Harper Voyager for gifting me an ARC.

Hovering at a 3-3.5 star for this one. I'm not gonna lie, I thought I was going to DNF this one. While I'm used to being dropped into fantasy worlds and having to learn the context for terms, places, characters, etc. with little handholding, the first few chapters of this were ROUGH. To be precise, the first few 7 chapters. But I'm glad I pushed through, because once I reached about 30%, the rest flew by.

As a FilAm, I am thrilled to see some of my culture being shown in this fantasy world. Where Guanzon's writing shines is in describing the beautiful setting of Nenevar (basically a fantasy Philippines) and the tension between our two main characters. I loved getting alternating POVs between them and seeing their internal dialogue. I was laughing outloud, kicking my feet, and simultaneously wanting to strangle these emotionally constipated idiots every other page. When they say enemies-to-lovers, they mean ENEMIES to begrudgingly lovers. These two have a LOT to work through, and I'm eager to see how that's done in future books!

Overall, I'd say The Hurricane Wars is a not-so-serious fantasy book that's perfect as a palette cleanser. A little treat if you will. I've already seen SJM and Yarros fans rave about this one, so if you like those authors I'm confident you will also enjoy this. Plus, getting a non-Eurocentric fantasy world? Always a win in my opinion. While not blown away by the writing (this is definitely an addition to the New Adult genre, so there's a bit of a juvenile tone throughout), I am heavily invested in these two love interests and their character development.

Also, as a petition for future books - more dragons. PLZ. They were not as heavily used or present in this book as I'd hoped, making only the briefest of appearances.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

This story had so much potential, but I had difficulty with the prose. It felt overly wordy and made it difficult to get into, at first. I never felt a strong connection to the characters. I did enjoy pieces of the world and the dialogue, though. 3.5 stars

4.75 Stars! -- I loved the true enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, high stakes political sci-fi fantasy vibes of this book. In the simplest summary, Talasyn and Alaric are major players on opposite sides of The Hurricane Wars, but fate keeps throwing them together, much to their annoyance.

Our main disastrous duo? LOVED. Loved the pining, the angst, and the dual POV where both of them are like “I want to k*ll them but maybe I like them?”. As the novel progresses and the stakes get higher, I really appreciated that the characters kept their positions even as they reluctantly started to fall for one another. Talasyn remained so feral and Alaric really showed how gone he was for her in his POV and I was straight up giggling at some of the scenes?

You’ll enjoy this book if you like these tropes: true enemies to lovers, slow burn, forbidden romance, he falls first, himbo MMC, feral FMC, “I’ll kill you first”, political maneuvering, marriage of convenience, and WIFE GUY

Favorite quotes (from the early version): “Love can bloom like revolution” and “Hate is a kind of passion, is it not?”

I seriously cannot wait for the next installment. I need to know how their story ends and it better have lots of Talaric bickering. This book comes out THIS TUESDAY, Oct. 3! I can’t wait to have my physical copy come in!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced readers copy. This did not affect my review in any way. All quotes are from the early version.

Yes, So much yes. This is the best slowburn I've read in a minute. You could cut the tension with a knife. I loved the magical structure.

I enjoyed this immensely. I’ve been a fan of Thea Guanzon’s fan fiction for years, and I lived update to update on the fic The Hurricane Wars is adapted from. I’m an avid Reylo and Star Wars fan, I went into this knowing I would most likely love it. And I did! It’s gorgeous, Talasyn and Alaric are characters who are just desperate for so many things—and eventually each other. I love the world-building and the cast of characters.

I didn’t mark this as a 5 star because I think if you aren’t familiar with the Star Wars and Reylo of it all, it might be hard to follow. And for the first 20% it’s extremely slow, if I wasn’t mostly aware what was to come I might have given up on it. In some places it feels a bit like you have to be in on the joke so to speak, which is pretty common in fan fiction adaptations but I can see how it might be confusing. I think the author has done a great job of making this as original as possible but there are some points that are so clearly unable to be adapted.

I’m really looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Hurricane Wars
Author: Thea Guanzon
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

The heart is a battlefield.

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, Talasyn has found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire's shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor's only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire's rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion--one that could save their world...or destroy it.

I’m not going to lie: I was intrigued by the setting and culture all along, but the Reylo fanfiction aspect was almost too much for me to take. It wasn’t even disguised as anything else, frankly, and that was almost enough to make me put the book down. Thankfully, that improved. I liked both characters, although Talasyn’s unbridled anger was a bit wearying. Like, please just stop being furious for 30 seconds, okay?

The characters grew on me, and the culture of the islands was fascinating. I’d love to read more set in this world, but I hope there’s some character growth in the next book, so the hatred doesn’t grate on my nerves and destroy my enjoyment of the story.

Thea Guanzon is from the Philippines. The Hurricane Wars is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 10/10.)

Thea's writing is some of the most beautiful I have ever read. It's lush and magical and sometimes makes you feel like you're dreaming. This story captures your heart and soul. It's peak Romantic Fantasy and I loved every moment.

This book was awful... until it wasn't (around chapter six or seven, for me). I almost DNFed it, but I read it with a couple of buddies who encouraged me to keep going and I ended up really enjoying the read.

What made the read such a struggle at the beginning, you may ask? The purple prose was borderline impenetrable. In the first chapter, it basically took Talasyn (FMC) a whole chapter to walk across a room because everything was so over descriptive.

"A surfeit of vague images rushed through her head as she stepped away: from nowhere, so sudden, in the space of only a moment's breath. She could barely make sense of them before they darted out of reach. A coil of slick scales undulating in the sunlight, and maybe a crown as sharp as a diamond, as clear as ice."

That being said, once the initial world building is out of the way, the author shines in building tension while navigating an enemies-to-lovers trope... and it is SO good. Infuriatingly good. This is a slow burn, folks; if that's not your jam, I don't think this book is for you. It is so slow, that I squealed when Alaric (MMC) touched Talasyn's sleeve. Her SLEEVE!

"He reached out so that his fingers brushed against the teal sleeve that covered her upper arm."

I enjoyed the heck out of this book... if me going from almost DNFing to giving this book 4 stars doesn't convince you to read this, I don't know what will.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I just couldn’t get out of my head enough that this used to be a Reylo fanfic to enjoy it. It was still too close to its fanfic origins for me to sink in and enjoy the book as it is now in a transmuted format to take me away from Star Wars and into The Hurricane Wars.

It didn’t help that the writing is underdeveloped. This isn’t necessarily author Thea Guanzon’s fault: I believe it’s the publisher and editor’s faults for allowing this book to go to publication without endeavoring to help the writer hone her talents. This is what happens when a fanfic is transmuted for publication in a rushed matter without taking into account that the author’s writing style may not be ready for mass publication.

I know my opinion isn’t going to be a popular one. This book seems to be a blockbuster even before release. It’s going to be in all the major book boxes and will have all kinds of special editions. I just won’t be one of the people who will extoll its virtues.

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

I had a lot of high hopes for this book but I unfortunately have to DNF this. Going into this book, I knew it was going to be a ReyLo fanfiction and I was actually excited to see how it was going to be. I’ve heard fantastic things about the actual fanfiction before the publication. However, the beginning of this book was unreadable, solely info-dumping for the first 10 chapters. It was as if she wanted to establish the world first before going into the romance which is normally a good thing but to be done in 10 chapters with just telling the readers everything thats happened in the past 20 years is not enjoyable to read. Even with telling us everything that’s been going on, it’s too much information to really absorb and understand. I’d have to take notes just to get everything. I really hoped to like this and maybe someday I’ll be willing to try again but as of right now, I will be putting this down.

When I requested this book on NetGalley, I had no idea that it was based on a ReyLo fanfic. That being said, I am a shamless ReyLo shipper, so that knowledge wouldn't have stopped me, regardless. (#kylorendeservedbetter)
This book had me from the start. Gaunzon was able to pull this story out from a galaxy far, far away and seamlessly transition this story into her own lush landscape. Nenavar is a land of dragons and rainforests, light and shadow, ruins and progress, and it was so easy to imagine standing in it.
The book begins at what appears to be the end of a decade long war, but the reader quickly learns that the fight isn’t quite over when new magic is discovered. With that magic comes Talasyn and Alaric, an orphaned girl and the son and heir to the Night Emperor. After a series of clashes in battle, they find themselves bound together.
I’ve often said that I want to read an enemies-to-lovers romance where they are actual enemies. So many of them have the man being secretly in love the whole time, but it’s not the case here. They are true rivals and their shared past is hard to reconcile with their growing attraction to each other. It’s a very, very slow burn, but so delicious. I would have liked more spice, but I have no doubt that it’ll kick up a few notches as the series progresses.
There were definitely elements that I recognized as Star Wars inspired, and I think that could be off putting to some readers. For me, however, I was glad to be pulled into something with similar vibes. You can only experience Star Wars for the first time once, after all. I am so excited to see where this story goes, and how Gaunzon continues to make it her own.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot; the setting was so detailed, the characters were very interesting and compelling, and the tropes were ones that I enjoy. I haven't read a fantasy book that's this focused on world-building in a while, so it was a bit of a slog in the beginning. I'm still not sure I understand all of the names and hierarchy for everything, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. I found out it started as Reylo fanfiction after I read it, and I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand 😅

I would consider this fantasy first and then a romance, especially because calling this an enemies-to-lovers book is generous: while they do have sex, they did NOT love each other. It's obvious to us as readers that they have feelings for each other and are probably end game, but the characters are unaware of it.

I'm excited to see where this series goes, and I can't WAIT for Talasyn to meet Alaric's father; I think she's gonna kick his ass for what he does to Alaric - even though the reader never *really* sees what his father does, it's clear he's abusive.

I struggled with how to rate this book, because while I absolutely loved it, I really did struggle with the first 40-50% of the story. However, I typically struggle with the first half of the first book of a new fantasy series, so I’d say that’s more a me thing than a fault of the book.

ANYWAYS!

Talasyn is a phenomenal female MC and Alaric is the best kind of morally grey teddy bear. I absolutely loved their back and forth, and their inner monologues were particularly charming! I thought the magical system was really interesting and look forward to future books to see it developed further. Plus, DRAGONS! We love dragons! Very much need them to take a more central role in the storyline going further.

My only knock on the book is a very silly wish that Talasyn and Alaric would have communicated more, which is ridiculous because they’re enemies and don’t trust each other at all and NOT communicating is completely in line with the characters and the story, but… I wish they would have communicated more. 😆

Highly recommend this fantastic ride!!

3.5/5.0
What a lushly interesting debut for a new author! The writing is smooth and easy to read, yet rich and engaging. It is very easy to get completely lost in the reading as the story unfolds. There are some first book challenges, however. Namely, from the first page, the reader suddenly lands in a world that seems to have already been developed. There are all kinds of places, cities, technology, and people we have never heard of, yet are never explained. It is super confusing! I guess the world is run on some kind of areal magic? For instance, the “ships” fly with some kind of aether “hearts” but we have absolutely no idea what that even means or how it all works. There are “Stormships” that are devastatingly deadly…. but how, exactly? They create weather? We have no idea because there is never any actual explanation. This carries through many other small but important points, as well. After being frustrated for chapters, I decided the only way to enjoy the story at all was to just accept it all at face value. So, I did… and I was able to see other areas where the author really does shine.

The main area is in the way the author can inhabit a character intrinsically and pull out their emotions so the reader really feels each and every one. That is a gift! Especially when the story revolves around the deep and enduring hurts that both main characters struggle with.

The book begins at the end of a 10 year long war. Talasyn has fought with the country that is defending itself from the invading army. Alaric is the commanding officer (and heir apparent to the emperor) of the invading forces. The empire ruthlessly finishes the war by destroying everything and everyone in its final path while Talasyn and a very few get away with little but their lives. As the story unfolds, however, she is required to marry Alaric in order to unite the “kindgoms”. In this, the deep hurt, betrayal and outright hate she feels for Alaric is palpable - as is his returned disgust of her. The reader feels every single emotion from each in a way that few authors are able to convey.

As the story progresses, however, it is that intense hate and disgust that becomes a chain around the reader’s neck - because it never changes. In this, I think the book’s synopsis is very misleading. “An enemies-to-lovers romance” is not at ALL what this story is. Although it may become such in future books, in THIS book, the mean, cruel words and actions of both continue right until the very last page is turned. And, that is my biggest reason for not keeping the star rating higher. My expectations were that they would, at some point, soften at least a smidge towards the other. They don’t. It’s all achingly hateful actions toward each other and I hated it. Then, the ending twist drives that knife in even deeper.

SO… don’t expect ANY actual romance in this book! There is absolutely NO development in the two character’s actions or relationship at all from beginning to end. And that is the biggest disappointment of all, because with even a bit of a friendship or softening, this story would have been epic!

First thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager,

Talasyn is a light weaver and is a soldier fighting against the Night empire. Prince Alaric of the Night empire fights Talasyn and quickly discovers that when their magic comes together they can create something powerful. Talasyn also discovers she’s a princess her calculating Grandmother tells Talasyn she will help her and Sardovian soldiers if she accepts her title. But that also means she’s to marry the prince of the night empire…….

The second half of this book changed how I felt about this story!!!! I had no idea this was reylo fanfic going into this book but I ended up loving it. I love the tension between Alaric and Talasyn this is definitely a slow burn. I do wish that the magic system and world was explained a little bit better in the beginning but once the story picked up I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked Theas writing and how she described everything with vivid imagery. This has magic, dragons, complex family dynamics, dual POV, and hidden identities the perfect formula for a great romantasy book. Can’t wait for the second one!

Tropes:
Arranged marriage
One bed
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn