So this one is a tough one to review.
I did wind up enjoying it okay... but... it definitely felt much more YA than adult (save for one racy scene) and managed to employ several well used tropes.

Poor orphan girl has special powers to save her country/friends? Check.
Poor orphan girl finds our about her family and that also gives her power? Check
Enemies to lovers? Check
Political marriage? Check

So our enemies to lovers, Alaric and Talasyn have to work together, after being on opposite sides of the Hurricane war, in order to combine their opposing powers (darkness and light) to prevent a potentially cataclysmic event. And while they so, because of course Talasyn needs Alaric to help her learn to properly use her powers, they fight, they flirt, they deny their feelings.....
In the end end I felt like I had read this book a hundred times before, and there simply wasn't anything particularly unique enough to make it stand out. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but I've been there, read that.

Thank you to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reylo but make it southeast Asian. Enemies to lovers but make them almost kill each other multiple times. Slowburn angst until literally the last chapter. Hurricane Katrina but make it *magical* ohhh and the cutest little pocket monkeys that just oof right outta existence?!

I loved this one. I wish we got a bit more world building but I'll take what I got and be happy because omg Alaric von grumpypants can lightsaber slice me to death. Jk, but not really.

The Romance, top notch. Slow, sexy, angsty, and sweet.
The plot, intriguing. Once we got to the thick of it I was so invested I didn't even care about half the stuff going on I just wanted my babies to all be happy and survive.

BTW, I have some thoughts about this homegirl khaede but I don't wanna end up spoiling any reveals or whatnot to come so I'm just reminding myself for the sequel to check my notes, ahem.

Muchos gracias to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my somewhat coherent thoughts.

“perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and R. F. Kuang”

“An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters, sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance, and richly drawn worlds..."

wellllll that was a lie lol

I will start off by saying that this wasn't bad, and my expectations were low after reading other popular Romantasy books this year. However, I do think this was marketed wrong.
As for the SJM comparison - her name has just become synonymous with the "romantasy" genre, and I have yet to read another popular Romantasy book that comes close to how much I enjoyed TOG or ACOTAR. I still went into this hopeful because it also referenced to Kuang's writing- so I expected rich layered political world building and dark morally gray characters... HOWEVER, the only thing this had in common with The Poppy Wars is that they both have asian inspired settings.

All the characters are two dimensional and this is not an "enemies to lovers" storyline, it uses the "marriage of convenience" trope. The two main characters never even knew each other before their first battle, and by their second battle we were getting lines like this:

"Alaric's voice was low and deep, with a hint of hoarseness around the edges. It shouldn't have shocked her, but it did. It made her think of rough silk and honey mead in an oaken barrel." 😐

"It was the first time he had ever said her name. He held it carefully on his tongue, as though testing the weight of it." 🫤

Likeeeee every time they talked after this they are just simping over each other, and flirting like middle schoolers, then claiming to everyone they hate each other. Which is fine, but it's not enemies to lovers. Did I mention he is built like an oak tree and that she is soooo smooooolllll? 😑 OH ANNDDDD that they are both virgins who have never been kissed.....................

It was just a lotttt lol.

As for the characters they were never fully developed and I was not invested in them, there was no found family element among the MC's comrades and the first 25% is just info dumping the MC's background and the cause of the civil war (which comes to an end around the 30% mark) The rest of the book takes place on an entirely different island nation, that the MC <spoiler>is the secret long loss princess and heir of? and no I'm not joking lol</spoiler>. The author spends a lot of time trying to explain the magic system and expand the world building, but I honestly think this time would have been better spent developing the characters.

Would I recommend this book? If you eat up romantasy books and like the formulaic banter, sure I think you will enjoy this.

If you came for epic fantasy, high stakes, and enemies to lovers I would say you will prob be disappointed.

The Hurricane Wars is primarily a romance and then a fantasy novel. The trouble is, in the beginning, it reads like Star Wars with a fantasy veneer, and then it later struggles with pacing and does not get to the romantic plot until about 25-30% of the way in (and even then at a snail’s pace). Empires of darkness. Rebellion fighters of light. A dark empire prince rises and a light magic wielder rises also to meet him. Stormships. Tactical meeting plans. Light magic training. Rebellion forces. Flying battalions. Lightning storms. If you like reading recycled stories, retellings, and/or fan fiction, then you’ll love this book.


I opened THW up knowing it was a Reylo fan fiction, so I basically asked for it. I won’t drone on and on about that aspect of the book. I’m not a fan of retellings, because it feels too much like rereading and gets monotonous. Thought it does not have as much hype as Fourth Wing, I still fell into the high expectations trap that comes with the assumption that a popular book will be interesting to me personally. Unfortunately, again, I did not enjoy a book with a lot of hype.


The plot for this one dragged so badly for me, I had to stop reading it for about a month and then pick it up again. And again. And again. When I finally got to the end, it was a relief to be finished. I avoided reading because it was a chore to get through. While I know it’s not an objectively terrible story, I just couldn’t immerse myself in the stop-and-go plot or connect with the characters. Talasyn is very headstrong and obstinate—and not in a good way. There was not a single thing I can remember she was willing to budge on. She reluctantly did everything to a degree of petulance that grated me so badly. Alaric, on the other hand, was a great character. He was mature, willing to see things from another’s perspective, and loving toward Talasyn, despite her constant rejections of him. After a while, I would have thrown her out a tower window.


In addition to characters, the political intrigue was not quite as strongly developed as it should be. There are many aspects of a world-encompassing war here that require intricate world development; however, because the book is also equally a romance, it gets in the way of the fantasy. The plot is a giant tug-of-war for dominance, and it flip-flops all over the place. Where there should be romance, it’s absent. Where there should be world development, readers get training scenarios and light shows. Dragons fly across the sky and hint at different aspects of the world building, but they’re only blips—cameos—despite the dragon adorning the cover of the UK edition. Additionally, Many events and characters briefly appear like they were shoved in as afterthoughts. Oh, and it ends on a giant cliffhanger, as one can expect.


On a positive note, I’m a big fan of cool old people in books. The Hurricane Wars has a very cool leader in it who stole the whole show for me. I can’t give details because they would spoil a major plot point, but I can say that any time the character was on page, I flew through the pages.


Overall, I give it a 3.5/5. It’s not a completely terrible book, but it’s also not a fantastically good one. The first 25% was a slog, and all the parts that weren’t romantic were also a slog. I feel like 480 pages is too long for this one. It could easily have been trimmed about 50-75 pages and got on with things. I’ll still be purchasing all the editions of the book, but I may regret that later if the next installments in the series don’t improve.


My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eArc, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

*Reviewed for Shelf Awareness*

Lifelong enemies must face each other--and their feelings--on and off the battlefield in Thea Guanzon's immersive, inventive, electric romantic fantasy debut, The Hurricane Wars. In a setting inspired by her home in the Philippines, Guanzon deftly blends fantasy and reality, creating a world shaped by colonialism, violent storms and aether magic.
Talasyn is a soldier fighting for a homeland falling under the shadow of the Night Empire. Alaric is the son and heir of the Night Emperor, destined to complete the brutal conquest began by his grandfather and continued by his abusive father. Both have been raised to know that their opponents want nothing more than to eliminate or subjugate their people. Guanzon makes clear that Talasyn is in the right, but both reader and heroine are drawn to Alaric as the author cleverly humanizes Alaric through moments of awkwardness, his surprising mercy and uneasiness with his father's orders.
Following an intense opening battle in which Talasyn faces off with Alaric and loses friends and homeland, the remnants of her army hide in an island nation while they regroup. Those islands hold the secret to Talasyn's past--including the source of her magic. When she arrives, the plot pivots to one of political intrigue and complicated family dynamics resulting in an alliance she could never have predicted.
Guanzon's compelling debut combines epic battles, intricate world building and intense chemistry. The Hurricane Wars will have fans of Hannah Whitten, Fourth Wing and Star Wars positively craving the sequel.--Suzanne Krohn, Librarian and Freelance Reviewer

Discover: This romantic fantasy debut pairs the ultimate enemies in an epic Philippines-inspired adventure that will appeal to fans of Fourth Wing and Star Wars.

I had so much FUN reading this book! It’s got intricate world building, engaging characters, a slooooooooooooooow burn enemies to lovers romance, and lots of politics and intrigues.
Is it obvious that this is a Reylo/Star Wars inspired story? Yes, but I loved it. Honestly that’s probably what made it so fun for me. That and the banter and back and forth between Alaric and Talasyn. The plot and the world were really great, but where I had the absolute best time was the relationship between these 2 idiots. The tension was completely delicious. I wanted to slap them sometimes because they were so stupid about each other, but wow was it fun!
I am 100% invested in their relationship and the story and I cannot wait to see where the next book goes.

4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. While the premise was interesting I didn’t connect with the characters or the story in a meaningful manner. Some books just aren’t for us, and that’s alright.

I'm bummed to say that I DNF at 34%. I tried to push through and I just couldn't get into it.

I was looking forward to this because the world sounded unique. And I liked that the setting was different than most fantasy romance. But I got about 20% in and realized the story was unfolding like I was already supposed to know the backstory for these characters in order to connect with them. I also didn't fully understand the magic system because I felt like it was front loaded really quickly. I looked up some reviews and found out it was originally Reylo fanfiction, which made it make more sense. I've read a bunch of books that started out at Reylo fics and really enjoyed them, but this was the first one that felt like it was actual Reylo, rather than something new. We have an orphaned girl who can use rare Light powers, against the evil empire and the general who wields shadow powers. The empire is crushing the resistance and hope is shrinking.

I also struggled with the pacing and the lack of emotional connection to the events. In the 1/3 of the book I read, A LOT happens in pretty quick succession. And the telling of it felt like I was reading a plot checklist, rather than seeing characters really reacting and processing what was happening. This goes back to the Reylo roots. If you read this and have Star Wars in your mind, there are a lot of pieces that connect.

I think the writing is solid, if a bit too purple in places for me. And ultimately, I just think this wasn't for me. I think others will enjoy it, especially if they love all of Reylo origins.

I know that people have noted that this is ReyLo fanfic, and maybe that's a hard no for some. TOTALLY FAIR! To each their own! You get to decide what you want to read (there are so many books!) and your reading experience is valid.

However, I still had a pretty good time! This is the author's debut work, so I do think there's some room for improvement as far as flowery, verbose prose. I really enjoyed the story though!

I'd read from Thea again in the future, and obviously I'm biased because I'm a huge Star Wars fan AND I am Filipino, but I thought this was enjoyable enough!

This is a highly-anticipated fantasy release and one I wanted to read due to the Asian rep, but unfortunately it was not for me. I stopped around the 25% mark, as I was already forcing myself to continue at that point.

It was pretty obvious this was based on a fanfic with how the world building was set up. All these terms and names were thrown at you and became confusing. And this was just the beginning...I struggled to be engaged with the characters and invested in the story.

I was also not a fan of the writing style, which I would consider purple prose. And this is coming from someone who loves lyrical writing from authors like Laini Taylor, V.E. Schwab, Madeline Miller.

Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader's copy. This book is magic. The world building is superbly done. This is the first steampunk fantasy that I have thoroughly enjoyed. The back and forth between the two main characters is what I lived for while reading. It's honestly one of the best books I have read this year. I truly cannot wait for the next one and am impatiently waiting. I plan on suggesting this to everyone I know who will enjoy it. Bravo and well done.

I loved this. It gave me everything I want - a new, fully realized and interesting world, some romance and a bit overreaching plot. I loved the way the world was presented. There’s lots of info but it doesn’t bog you down at all and it’s easy to remember. I liked the characters and found their relationship more believable than many other books I’ve read recently. I just wish there was a map!

"She could almost taste it, the rage of someone who believed in something. That was the most dangerous kind. It burned."

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I discovered The Hurricane Wars back in April and from the description of an Adult enemies-to-lovers fantasy by an imprint I really enjoy with a gorgeous cover, it quickly became one of my most anticipated releases for Autumn 2023.

The Hurricane Wars is a dual-POV story that follows Talasyn (a soldier for the Sardovian army, a small group of rebels fighting for freedom against an empire) and Alaric Ossinast (the emperor's son). This is already tense enough, but Alaric can wield darkness and Talasyn light, making them close to the only people who could destroy one another. What will happen when they're forced into a tumultuous alliance due to those very powers?

This is a debut novel, and yet the writing is already STELLAR!! Guanzon has such talent at describing the world and its different locations from its atmosphere down to its food in such a tantalizing way that you wish you were there despite the ongoing danger. The atmosphere was easy to get lost in as well.

What I struggled with most in this book was the pacing. In the first 10%, I was mildly intrigued, which is normal for me. Up until around 35% though, I struggled to want to pick this one up, and wasn't sure where it was going and when we'd get there. From 35%-85%, I couldn't put this book down! Then, at the very end, I had mild whiplash from the characters' interactions and needed a little break. I have no complaints about the plot, but would caution that this felt very much like a character growth/relationship development > plot for book 1. I love that personally, but others might find it a bit slow or possibly be unsatisfied at the lack of what happens before the end. I had no issues with the logic other than wondering at Talasyn's behavior on a specific plot point that seemed to really put others in danger so unnecessarily despite her reasoning.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it ended up being a 4.5 star read for me! I would pick up book 2 in October if it were coming out at the same time! 🤭 I'd really like to learn more about the side characters in the sequel as well.

I would definitely recommend this to people who love the tension of enemy kingdoms, Reylo, Southeast Asian-inspired worlds, and slow burns (both plot and romance)!

Disclaimer: I was really sick and also moved twice during the two months I read this book, so my intrigue could have been low due to that as well. After I finished The Atlas Six, this was my current favorite read most of the time I was reading it!

4 stars. The Hurricane Wars is the first book in a new fantasy romance series, and is based off Star Wars Kylo/Rey fanfiction. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, and haven't watched all of the new ones, but I can definitely see the inspiration. With respect to this being the first book in a new series, I think that the Hurricane Wars did a good job of peeking my interest for what's to come. It should be noted that the world building in the beginning is DENSE. I struggled a little bit to find my footing, and it felt like it took at least 100+ pages for me to get into the groove of this story. The Hurricane Wars has a lot of similarities with other YA/NA romantasy books with respect to character archetypes. Talasyn is an orphan who happens to be able to wield light magic. She's basically the last of her kind, which makes her supremely powerful. But because of her upbringing, her powers are grand but also unpolished. Alaric is her enemy-- in fact, their countries fight against one another in the Hurricane Wars. He, too, is supremely gifted, but instead of wielding light magic, he wields shadows. He's also described as being quite large, quite grumpy, quite powerful, while also being mysterious/ aloof. As with most YA/NA romantasy books, we do get that requisite "training" scene, where he tries to help her perfect/ strengthen her powers. While all of these things seem to be almost de rigueur for the genre at this point, where the book really excelled and captured my excitement/ attention was the dynamic between Alaric and Talasyn. Firstly, Alaric FALLS for Talasyn. He falls pretty quickly but FALLS very hard. I love that. This is a marriage of convenience trope between sworn enemies that realize they are developing strong feelings for one another. They both happen to be in unique positions that only the other can commiserate with. But they are unsure of whether they can trust these feelings, as the possibility of betrayal is so high. Consequently, it's marriage of convenience, but also a little bit of a forbidden romance as well. Because of all of this, the sexual tension between them was delicious. They bantered like pros and their passion (both hate and love) exuded from the pages. I think it's worth noting that this was VERY slow burn. And I think the slow burn combined with the heavy world building in the beginning may be tough for some people to get beyond. For my personal preference, I LOVE a slow burn. It feels more genuine, and in a way, allows the couple to show their love/ emotions/ connection, rather than have the author just tell me about all of those things. Consequently, I am very curious to see how this series progresses, mostly because I'm very curious to see how Alaric and Talasyn progress.

Thank you so much to Guanzon, Harper Voyager/ Avon, and Netgalley for supplying me with an early version of this one!

In a magical world inspired by the Philippines, Talasyn is a soldier fighting to defend her homeland from the might of the Night Empire. And she has a secret– she’s a rare Lightweaver, light magic user, which makes her even more dangerous to the Night Empire once the Night Empire’s crown prince discovers she exists.

I enjoyed the book a lot. It’s definitely heavy on the romantic tension– the relationship between Talasyn and Alaric makes up the most compelling parts of the story– but the world-building surrounding the Nenevar Dominion is beyond the scratch off lottery card thickness of most romantasy world building. It’s not faultless– while Nenevar is beautifully described in lush detail, the other relevant areas (Sardovian Allfold and the Night Empire) feel barely sketched out. That shouldn’t dissuade anyone from picking this up though.

Not to toot my own horn, I caught on pretty early. There’s a female protagonist with light powers and a male love interest with shadow powers. They fight multiple times, often wielding weapons made of their respective elements. Sabers of light, if you will. All that to say, I was already a bit suspicious before the love interest was described with a constellation of moles and an asymmetric face. That’s when I realized this is a Kylo Ren/Rey fan fic with the serial numbers filed off. The faults I found with the book, namely the puzzling lack of world-building, are resolved knowing this is a Star Wars fan fic.

Here’s the thing though– The Hurricane Wars is a pleasure to read. It’s a lot of fun if you like romantic fantasy even if you don’t like Star Wars. And if you do like Star Wars, the occasional sly reference might leave you in paroxysms of delight like me. I'm buying multiple copies of this and telling all my friends.

epic in scope and somewhere between slow burn and not at all slow burn this romantasy is was so fun! I can see this story having such a wide appeal. I feel like I've read stories similar to this so many times but in almost all instances the woman is being forced to marry and she doesn't want to but slowly falls in love with the man, but I LOVED that the MCs have made the choice to marry together. They choose to do what's best for their countries together rather than being forced in a terrible way. This story retains the same dynamic that I've seen countless times before but blows it out of the water with that subtle agency that makes a huge difference.

4/5. Releases 10/3/2023.
Vibes: enemies to lovers who actually do battle, secret princess-ness, masks (hot), and fantasy meets sci-fi

When Prince Alaric, son of the Night Emperor, discovers that orphan rebel Talasyn wields magic to counter his own, he knows there's more to her than what meets the eye. Combined, their abilities reach untold degrees of strength. The question is--now that they know this, what are they going to do about it?

Thea Guanzon has taken her original source material, infused it with a Filipino influence, and created a really interesting enemies to lovers romance that is heavy on politics and plotting. It was a step towards world-heaviness for me, but it never lost my attention and set up a compelling love story.

Quick Takes:
--Yes, this is a classic "dark prince/light girl" story, which I know some people are going to rag on, but it does that setup very well. And it's a classic for a reason, you know? Alaric and Talasyn are legitimately enemies, which is kind of hard to find in EtL right now. You begin this novel with them in the heat of battle, and I don't think they're going to overcome their issues easily, however much they may be attracted to each other. It feels like an actual challenge.

I'll add that, to me, Alaric's motivations for standing where he does make much more sense than those of many characters we could compare him to. Frankly, for me, as soon as you make someone the "Prince of the Apparently Evil Empire", you've already done a lot of the work there. We may want to see these corruption arcs, but the reality is that if you were raised on the "good side" (is the good side really good--a question in this novel, for sure) you have to like... either be dumb or naive enough to get seduced into the dark, or legitimately agree with the dark side's points on some level. Alaric doesn't really have a lot of choice here--there is family and responsibility and also simply culture to consider. I found all of that interesting, and I will say that he is undeniably the more compelling of our two leads, but like. That's not a shocker, all things considered.

Also, Alaric has like, never held the hand of a woman, and him getting very literally distracted by Sexy Girl was highly entertaining and pleasing to me and my brand.

--I really liked his mask. I have nothing to say about this except "mask is hot", mask made a big impression on me, I was a fan, 10/10 mask usage.

--You do start right in the midst of the action, but in terms of the romance it's a slow burn. Like, a slower burn than what I usually read; a "this will take a few books to cover" slow burn. However, I didn't feel frustrated by that, because it seemed natural. They could not simply jump into their desires and feelings here. The situation was too complicated, and they would have looked a bit silly if they had acted any earlier than they did.

--I've seen other reviews that call this too romance-heavy, calling out the world-building and magic system... Whereas I as a romance reader am like "this could have used a bit more romance". I would definitely call this a romance--but like I said, there's gotta be some stretch over (I believe) three books. She has to take her time. In the end, and I kind of feel like... I don't know, Thea, you don't need to explain the world much more for me. I'm good, I get it, I don't need the minutiae of magic. So while I'm not saying that fantasy-first readers are wrong in that sense, I do tend to wonder if this book is meant for fantasy-first readers. To me, it's reading as more romance-first, but I DO want to see the romance kick up a notch in the next book, and I'm reading this with the assumption that it will.

For the sake of comparison--as someone who enjoyed Fourth Wing, I would call this heavier on the worldbuilding than Fourth Wing, but still somewhat comparable in a tonal sense. The Big War Plot and the Magic and Shit is secondary to the Feelings. As they should be, in my opinion. Again, I really think that in the next installment, it should be HEAVIER on the feelings. I do worry somewhat that romance-first readers might have an equal but opposite complaint to the fantasy-first readers.

--In that sense, I do think this book is a little denser than it needed to be, and we could've used a little bit of quickening in the general pace. Like, I was engaged, I was interested, I was about it, I just think it could have mored a little faster. That said, I am someone who in general prefers a brisk pace, and I know that this is not necessarily the norm for fantasy-heavy books.

The Sex:
As I said, this is a slow burn. It's not closed door by any means (what happens is explicit and clear) but we're taking incremental steps towards a full................ commitment.

Interesting and romantic and adventurous, The Hurricane Wars is a step outside of the norm if you're not used to fantasy or fantasy romance, but I found it pretty easy to understand and fun to read. Would recommend!

Thanks to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to get into this story. It has a lot of tropes that I enjoy (enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, angsty romance). But unfortunately for me the plot just could not keep my attention. The book starts off plunging you into fights and battles, but 15-20% in the action completely stops and does not pick back up again. With a title like "The Hurricane Wars" I expected high-stakes fantasy action. Instead I got chapter upon chapter of marriage contract negotiations and mis-communications between the love interests. I was frustrated that nothing really happened at the end (there was no climax, no final fight seen, no confrontation with the real villain, not even the Night of the World Eater that is the main characters motivation. This is setting itself up for future books but I wasn't intrigued enough to want to to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing a eARC of this book.

This was another book that I requested because I loved the cover, but it turns out it might be one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I loved the magic system and the characters felt like friends of mine. I was so connected to their thoughts, feelings and felt I was right alongside them. If you’re looking for a fantasy book with a strong lead and a immersive and fascinating plot, definitely pick this up!

What you can expect to find in The Hurricane Wars
-romantasy
-enemies to lovers
-marriage of convenience
-slow burn
-angst
-she's sassy
-he falls hard and fast
-diverse characters

Talasyn a lightweaver is fighting as a soldier against the Night Empire in the Hurricane Wars. Prince Alaric is uses his Shadow magic and hasn't met his equal until he fights Talasyn in the battle field. Soon these two discover that when their magic is combined they create something powerful. With a threat looming in the near distance these two must decide if they are willing to come together to defeat a threat larger than both of their forces.

From the moment I started reading The Hurricane Wars I was intrigued. I will say that it did take me a bit to get into the book as the word building is extensive. But what kept me coming back was the chemistry between Talasyn and Alaric - gah how I love these two! Talasyn is amazing in her own right - she doesn't take crap from anyone and isn't afraid to voice her opinions. And Alaric is absolutely gone for her - it was so much fun to watch!

I have to say that the writing by Thea Guanzon is so lyrical and beautiful. I had passages after passage highlighted because of the vivid imagery. And let's be honest - nothing makes me love a book more than a marriage of convenience trope. The slow burn between Talasyn and Alaric was slooooooow, but the tension and angst was always there which I love in a romantasy.

There were so many twists and turns in this book and I am already dying to read book 2. If you're looking for a enemies to lovers, fantasy romance with diverse characters I highly highly recommend The Hurricane Wars