Love, love, loved it. I am absolutely obsessed with this one -- it was one of those books where I could tell from the first few pages I would love it. Some people might find the very beginning a little info dump-y but I didn't mind it at all. The world building is incredibly cool and Guanzon does an incredible job of explaining the history of the warring countries throughout the story, gradually adding to the mythology and the conflict in a way I found to be really compelling.

Talasyn is a wonderful MC. She is brash and bold and while her actions are frustrating at times they are grounded in who she is as a character. I LOVE that we get both POVs in this book. It really helped make Alaric into a fully three dimensional character rather than a bundle of morally grey tropes. His inner monologue is truly incredible and had me squealing with joy at times.

The tension is UNPARALLELED. The banter is AMAZING. Everyone should read this book when it comes out!!!

Talasyn is a solider in the Sardovian army fighting against the cruel Night Empire. During multiple battles, she finds herself fighting one on one against the Night Emperor’s son, Alaric. Both possess powers; hers is drawn from light and his from shadow.

I don’t want to give anymore away, but this book checks a lot of boxes including dual POV and enemies to lovers. Full transparency, the first three chapters gave me a headache with all the world building thrown at you, but once I got through that, I was obsessed. Talasyn and Alaric hate the idea of each other (and with good reason), but they also keep finding themselves drawn to one another. Most of the spice comes from sexual tension, but there are a couple great spice scenes. If you’re in Fourth Wing withdrawal, this is the book you should read next. Except now I’m in Hurricane Wars withdrawal so… do with that what you will.

A chaotic romantasy with interesting characters and electric chemistry. This Reylo fanfic felt like I should have known more about the world or like I was dropped into a story I should have already ready part of. But I still rooted for them. Sucker for their attraction!

I found the world building chaotic in the beginning and the pacing was incredibly off throughout the whole book. I personally love a marriage of convenience trope so that sucked me after about chapter 14/15.

I personally hate and don't understand Star Wars fanfiction, so I got irrationally annoyed after I found that out. I had a feeling like 5 or 6 chapters in that it reminded me of Star Wars and I got mad from the get go since I don't understand people's obsession with it. I'm rounding up to 4 stars, since I would want to give it 3.5....but I am not sure if I am dying to read the second book.

The Hurricane Wars is an adult fantasy for fans of Star Wars and Shadow and Bone.

Talasyn has grown up an orphan in a nation constantly at war from the Night Emperor. Her whole life she’s been hiding a deadly secret, light magic running through her veins that was believed to be wiped out years ago.
Prince Alaric, the Night Emperor’s son has been tasked with removing any threats to the Night Emperor’s rule, but it all comes to a head when his shadow magic meets Talasyn’s light.
A great danger is coming for the both of them, something that they might be able to overcome together, if they can get past their hatred of each other.

I truly think my expectations of this book were too high, I wanted a high fantasy with unique, fleshed out magic. This was unfortunately not what I got.

Things I liked:
There are lots of different political factions at work. We’re thrown into the middle of what’s called “The Hurricane Wars” as the author likes to remind us quite often and from that, the political forces at play are already in full swing with past invasions, current invasions, and war. I really liked how we were thrown in head first, it got the story moving quickly and escalated the plot very quickly. Our main female character is resilient throughout this. And her drive and determination is something that was promising to read about. The writing in this book flowed very nicely as well, scenes were fleshed out and there weren’t any awkward or chunky parts. I think the author creates a unique story with opposing sides.
The technology and magic usage is cool as there are different magic types and also magic technology that each side has created, it out a really cool twist within the factions.

Things I didn’t like:
The first 20% of this book was very info dumpy. We get world-building, characters, and magic explanation all during fight scenes and strategic talk and it just made the fast pace of the start slow down considerably. The world-building was quite easy to follow but it was just a lot of information all at once. The magic is something I wish we got better explanations for, how does one get their magic, how does it work, where does it come from, how does it charge or expel, we’re just told it’s very generic shadow magic and light magic with no real explanation which made what could have been a cool system pretty un-interesting. There’s elemental magic but we get almost no examples of this because what’s important is that our female main character has really rare light magic.
The two characters that we meet have no real depth to them and literally nothing in common, so reading their romance felt very forced because I saw no real connection between them besides them both physically being attracted to each other. With our Prince Alaric being described very similarly to Adam Driver, I can see how much influence this book has from Star Wars (Kylo Aren, night emperor, stormships)
The technology in this book was really cool but at times didn’t make sense. How do you have giant stormships but no know what a musket is? It just….doesn’t really make sense?
I think this book just felt very generic. Generic enemies to lovers (check), generic light versus shadow (check), generic evil dark versus light (check), generic court politics (check), generic female mc goes to court where she has no female friends but misses her one female friend from back home (check). There just wasn’t anything that stood out.

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone that likes elemental magic, Star Wars, political books and enemies to lovers. While I don’t think there was anything stand out about this book, this series has promise if we can dive a bit more into the magic and add some more strategy to the politics. I will be picking up the second one to see where the story goes, I think this series could either continue to be very generic or really evolve into something unique!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for a review.

"The Hurricane Wars" by Thea Guanzon is a tour de force in the realm of YA fantasy. Guanzon's world-building prowess is on full display, immersing readers in a meticulously crafted universe replete with intricate cultures, complex politics, and mystifying magical systems. From the sprawling continents to the richly detailed landscapes, every facet of this world feels vivid and alive, making it a true delight for lovers of immersive settings.

The heart of the narrative lies in the tumultuous relationship between the two main characters. Guanzon expertly navigates the enemies-to-lovers trope, delivering a slow-burning, emotionally charged connection that's as tempestuous as the storms that rage in this world. The characters' growth and transformation are beautifully portrayed, adding layers of depth to their journey from adversaries to allies and, ultimately, to lovers.

The dynamics between the characters as they navigate the intricate web of political alliances, power struggles, and personal desires are utterly engrossing. Guanzon skillfully delves into the complexities of compromise, trust, and mutual understanding that come with such dynamics, creating a narrative that's not only a fantastical adventure but also a profound examination of human relationships and the sacrifices made in the name of peace, setting up a lot of anticipation for the rest of the series. Overall, "The Hurricane Wars" is a delight, seamlessly blending world-building, romance, and diplomacy into a spellbinding tale that has left me eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Hurricane Wars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

“Do you make it a habit to compliment everyone who’s trying to kill you”
“Not everyone. Just you”

“He had never before felt so wounded for someone else. The girl was bewitching him.”

“Alaric Ossinast had called her beautiful. Granted, he’d also called her an idiot in the same breath, but…”

“You’re always beautiful. Even when you want to string my guts up like paper lanterns.”

* A HUGE thank you to harpervoyager/netgalley for an arc of one of my most anticipated reads of the year 🤭 I had no idea going into this that it started as a Reylo fanfiction - Would I still have read it knowing this beforehand? Yes, absolutely. Being able to picture Adam Driver as the MMC makes everything better, simply put. This is the epitome of the enemies to lovers trope - Alaric and Talasyn were fighting on different sides during a literal war, even going at it with each other on the battlefield. Their banter mixed with the slow build of tension was absolutely perfect, and I found myself laughing at their back and forth a few times. I only took a half star off because the world building and pace at the beginning threw me off a little bit - there is a lot to take in at the beginning and everything moves quickly, but then slows down throughout the rest of the book giving you a clearer understanding of the setting and ongoing conflict. I would do anything to have the second book in my hands right this very second and cannot wait for what the author comes up with next

I find that most books advertised as enemies to lovers are more like rivals or antagonists to lovers, but The Hurricane Wars is a genuine enemies to lovers romantasy. I thought the balance between romance and fantasy was great and the world-building was really well done! A very fleshed out concept, I really enjoyed this one!!!

✨ 25% DNF ✨ Well, that was disappointing


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ romantasy
✨ wartime story
✨ 'chosen one' journey
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ instant hate and attraction
✨ shadows vs light
✨ marriage of convenience
✨ slow burn
✨ he falls first
✨ 1 open door 🌶️ scene
✨ interesting magic system
✨ angst
✨ ends on cliffhanger
✨ Southeast Asian inspired world
✨ TW: child abandonment (past), death of parent (past), parental abuse, violence, there may be more but since I didn't read the whole thing I'm not sure.


My Thoughts:

I am so sad about DNFing because this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I gave it my best shot but unfortunately, I couldn't force myself to continue the story. And look, I LOVE romantasy, wartime stories, and enemies to lovers. This should have been my cup of tea. But sadly, it fell short in every way possible.

*And for those of you who may not know, this story is based on a Reylo fanfic that the author ended up turning into an original story. I want to state that I have not read this fanfic, or any other Reylo fanfics, so I did not go into this with any sort of bias.


Here are the reasons I DNF'ed:

The world building was confusing and convoluting. It's an entirely new, fantasy world in the middle of a decade-long war; so along with brand new terms/names, we are thrown into a complicated situation. There was a lot of info dumping and the history of the war/world building wasn't fleshed out in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow along.

The MCs, Talasyn and Alaric, were two dimensional and boring. I really don't know what else to say besides I never felt connected to either of them nor did I truly feel like I understood them. Not sure what they want or what drives them. Perhaps I didn't get far along in the story but by 25% I should have wanted to keep following their journey, but I didn't.

There was no chemistry between Talasyn and Alaric, so the romance fell flat and felt forced. This is supposed to be enemies to lovers because they are on opposing sides of the war and wield opposing magic, but from the moment they lock eyes, the 'connection' is instant and they don't really try to kill each other like they're supposed to - and there were multiple times they could have! The shift is instantaneous and doesn't quite make sense. The loathing I expect from the enemies to lovers trope just wasn't there.

Also, the dialogue between Talasyn and Alaric was juvenile. When they’re in the middle of a fight they banter with quips and snarky comments about how much they hate each other with some familiarity so it seems as if they've been at this for a while even though they've recently 'met' in battle. I honestly felt like I was reading about young teenagers instead of soldiers who are 19 and 26 years old.

What is the plot? ‘Chosen one’ storyline? Ending the war? The romance? After 25% I still didn't know. I even skimmed ahead and to the end to find out what happens and honestly, not much.

For a wartime fantasy story, it felt way too lighthearted. From the dialogue to the overall tone, I didn't feel the gritty, dark wartime vibes I expected. The most impactful thing that happened was Talasyn's friend's death at the beginning but after that, I never felt a single emotion.

The writing had a couple of issues.

1. There’s so much telling vs showing. For example, the amount of times there are conversations that supposedly take place but don't have dialogue is shocking. Instead of dialogue, it'll say something vague like, "she explained the situation" to signify a conversation has just taken place. And as I've stated before, there's a lot of unnecessary info dumping that doesn't dive into any complexity of this world.

2. There's a lot of instances where the author panders to the reader. Talasyn has big 'Chosen One' energy, so whenever she starts to get closer to discovering more about her past, she has moments where she's like "something inside me was being pulled....but no matter" to signify it's obviously very important but instead of listening to her gut she ignores it. The same thing happens whenever she's around Alaric. I was constantly rolling my eyes whenever this happened, and it occurred quite a lot. Basically, you can expect no plot twists here because the author gives you so many clues ahead of time.


Overall, The Hurricane Wars just didn't do it for me and if reading a book feels like a chore by 25%, I DNF for my own sanity and to make sure I keep my love of reading alive. I'm clearly in the minority since so many others seem to love this book, so who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did.

This was a truly well done enemies to lovers fantasy book. The two main characters Talasyn and Alaric are fighting on opposite sides of a war. There is a lot of intricate politics associated with the war as well.
The tension and banter was fantastic and had me laughing out loud with their conversations. Honestly, Alaric delivered the best snarkiest lines.
The detailed descriptions throughout the story was great for imagery, but I do feel like the world and magic itself could have been fleshed out better. It felt like the plot stagnated a bit mid book before picking back up again at the end. Looking forward to book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC!

Talasyn and Alaric fight on opposite sides of a war, each wielding a different powerful form of magic. While they haven’t yet killed each other, the yearning is there. Amidst one of their skirmishes in territory where they’re both trespassing, Talasyn learns that she might be the long lost heir, living as an orphan after being sent away during a civil war. She ignores this newfound connection and returns to her comrades at the height of war. After Alaric’s side wins the war and Talasyn is forced to retreat, she begs for sanctuary inside her homeland. In exchange, Talasyn must take her rightful place as heir and learning politics and diplomacy at her grandmother’s side. Months later, Alaric is trying to gain control of this territory and a political marriage to the heir is proposed. He has no idea that the heir in question is Talasyn, and he is both shocked and pleased to find her alive and his betrothed. We spend the rest of the book in marital and diplomatic negotiations in preparation for the wedding and alliance, with lots of angry banter and fighting. Both of these characters are insecure due to their respective upbringings and are completely unable to trust each other due to being on opposites sides of the battlefield. With them truly being enemies, glimmers of attraction and tenderness between them are all the more meaningful.

3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for this preview copy to review.
And review for our October bookmarked box at work and get ideas for the box!
I’ve seen quibbles from other reviewers that it takes this book a while to get going and while it does, this is the first book in a series- and almost all first books in fantasy series have a lot of world building to do.
As a Star Wars fan, it’s pretty easy to spot the Reylo fanfic but I’m not wildly perturbed by it.
One of my least favorite tropes is used here with miscommunication/not communicating and the main characters coming off whiny/emo.
And I kept waitinggggggggggggggggg for spice- even a smooch. 77% through the book and there was a chaste kiss. There is some spice later, but I left going- that it?

Hurricane Wars is everything you'd want in a true enemies to lovers book. The FMC Talasyn hates no one more than Alaric Ossinast except perhaps his father The Night Emperor, Gaharis Ossinast. Talasyn is fighting as the only living Lightweaver on the continent after all others were killed at the start of the Hurricane Wars. After Alaric discovers Talasyn she gets sucked into an even bigger problem than the Hurricane Wars where she has to fight to not be a pawn in everyone else's game including her own betrothed.

The writing in The Hurricane Wars is fantastic creating a very immersive world with characters you become extremely invested in. Talasyn is a main character everyone can root for, she's an orphan with a special gift and no one who can teach her how to use it, so she's at the mercy of everyone else until she discovers who she really is and her whole world changes.

Alaric Ossinast has been at war for most of his life. After the death of his grandfather sparked the beginning of the Hurricane Wars he watched his mother become a traitor to the kingdom and his father slowly slipped into evil. Now he's found the only remaining Lightweaver and he can't seem to end her life even though eliminating her kind has been his entire goal. We see Alaric constantly battle with himself between duty and attraction, but which one will end up winning in the end?

There is a whole host of side characters, but we don't get to know any of them well enough to really understand their goals and motives apart from The Night Emperor and The Queen of Nenavar. I expect we'll get a more in depth look at the other characters in book 2 as the plot develops beyond marriage contracts and more towards war and saving the continent.

Overall The Hurricane Wars is well written however, the magic system is very unique, but slightly confusing and a little underdeveloped. The plot started off very fast paced and then slowed way down for the rest of the book.
To me this book felt like a prequel rather than a main book in a series. The last chapter seems to set up the whole series while the rest of this book just felt like a prologue to something much bigger.

I'm looking forward to the story really starting in book 2.

Amazing, amazing, amazing! I cannot recommend this highly enough. A very cool world, well developed characters, and excellent plot with a fresh new voice.

I’m so sorry to say…I DNF’ed this book about 30% of the way through 🫣. I didn’t know this was originally a fan fiction whilst reading, but I had suspicions when every character was dropping into existence without any sort of background or development - as if the reader already knew who they were and cared about them. I was so excited to read this because of all the raving reviews, but it was just SO boring to me. I felt zero connection to the characters and the plot never grabbed my attention. I’m so disappointed and wish I loved it like so many others!

3.5 conflicted stars. This started off with the heavy worldbuilding expected for any new fantasy universe but at times felt like I was reading The Book of Genesis – dense and fact-filled, with no fine details or elaboration. It was frustrating to be served up a brand new system of magic, rich history and landscape, and an intriguing cast of characters, only to have the focus shift almost entirely to romance.

That being said, this book takes enemies-to-lovers to a new level. Every relationship we see here is muddied by the volatile and disastrous conditions of their universe, and the romantic relationship between Alaric and Talasyn is no exception.

“You’re always beautiful. Even when you want to string my guts up like paper lanterns.”

It seems impossible that they will be able to somehow find love when they are in such profound opposition to one another. Watching their animal attraction develop despite their insurmountable differences was exhilarating and I am looking forward to seeing where their story goes with the rest of this series.

This was a HUGE anticipated book for me but I think I need to accept that "based on fan fiction" just may be my kryptonite no matter how much I want the banter and enemies to lovers fantasy.

This one came down purely to the writing style and it did not work for me. I know others who adored it and rave about the romance and the plot. I think it will depend on the reader and their mood when picking up this book if the romance/plot outweighs the writing style or vice versa.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬” 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Another one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it lived up to the hype!

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵: 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

I have been counting down the days for months until I got to read this book, and I’m so excited I finally did. This was everything I hoped it would be and more; a magical sci-fi fantasy with enemies to lovers and war and politics. The world building is pretty intricate and unique and I was worried I’d get lost in all of the politics and war strategies, but the writing was so well done. The way Guanzon (@theagwrites )ties magic and technology together was just so cool and unlike anything I’ve read. And don’t even get me started on the slow burn enemies-to-lovers, it was perfect! I completely recommend this book for any fantasy lover.

Thank you so much to the publisher @harpervoyagerus for my arc, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬 is out October 3, 2023!

The characters and the world felt so real with this book and completely engulfed my focus into this story! It brought me out of a reading slump and I seriously couldn’t put it down!

As one of my most anticipated reads for 2023, I think I may have hyped this one up a bit too much in my mind prior to starting. While THE HURRICANE WARS was interesting overall, I found the author’s extensive descriptions of the world to be exhausting at times, fraught as they were with similes and metaphors. In contrast, I felt that there wasn’t enough emotion on the page, especially considering that the second half of the novel is primarily focused on Alaric and Talasyn's relationship.

I learned while reading that this was initially meant to be a Reylo fanfiction, and as someone who has never read fanfiction and is not familiar with Reylo (sorry, Star Wars girlies), this fact didn't mean a lot to me, and therefore, didn't affect my overall perception of the novel. That said, I'm a massive fan of enemies-to-lovers, and I truly appreciated that Guanzon took the word literally by placing the two protagonists on opposite sides of a decade-long war. I also found the more-scientific magic system to be fascinating, and I hope that it's expanded upon as the series progresses.

Aesthetically, the cover is absolutely stunning, and I can't wait to see what Fairyloot does with their special edition. I can see this being phenomenal on screen. I am so grateful to Harper Voyager for the early copy. There are plenty of glowing reviews, so I encourage you to pick this one up if you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy!