Absolutely fan-freaking-tastic! Thea Guanzon may be a debut author but this book shows that she knows her craft well. The Hurricane Wars is the perfect blend of tension, scorching hot chemistry, masterfully crafted fantasy, and prose that keeps you turning the pages wanting MORE! The first in a new adult fantasy trilogy, I will be shouting THW’s praises from the rooftops for the rest of my life. Talasyn and Alaric have my whole heart.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon is a fantasy romance about the combined power of light and dark found between enemies, Talasyn, an orphaned, Sardovian warrior, and the son of the Night Emperor, Prince Alaric Ossinast. And the possibility for it to save the world.

This story is based on a popular Star Wars fic that I've read and enjoyed, so I had an idea of some of the twists and possible turns going into it, but I was excited to see the new world that Guanzon built for this love story.

I try to point out the things I enjoyed versus things that held me back when I review, but I had really complicated feelings about this one. I can confidently say if I didn't know where Talasyn and Alaric's story was headed, I would have really struggled to complete this one. I had multiple "Do Not Finish" considerations pretty early on, and that continued far longer than I would have normally bothered.

The first third of the book is very difficult to get through, especially after starting with an exciting prologue from Alaric's POV. The momentum seemed to dive from there with heavy-handed prose that was beautiful, but often lost its way in creating an immersive experience to the world. It makes sense in introducing a world that we want to feel different and far apart from our own that a writer would describe things that we know well in a way that seems foreign, but in this case, it really hampered the action and sense of urgency at the beginning to the point where I didn't feel the threat of the Night Empire as I should.

Even when we're introduced to Talasyn's friend, who suffers the immediate loss of her husband whom she's just married, we have so little connection to them from Talasyn herself, it's a stretch to imagine her mourning this loss in a way that ends up affecting her for the remainder of the novel. We're often told how to feel about the characters and never have a sense of what it actually does to them to suffer. When she meets with Alaric in Frostbane for the first time, it seems as if it's supposed to be an "epic" interaction, but doesn't have the same energy of Alaric's prologue. Against feels as if we're constantly being told he's a threat, and that it's different, but there's nothing really that really feels in contrast to what we've seen before...and generally, I blame the purple prose.

Talasyn is presented as hardened by her circumstances and training, with no connections, but it makes it really difficult to understand her relationships with others around her, beyond noticing how they are simply using her for her devotion and talents. As she and Alaric become closer, he does comment on this, noting how she continues to be compelled to defend them despite having found her real family. I'm hoping this will be expanded on in future installments.

Once we get past the introduction, Talasyn is tasked with heading to the dominion of Nenavar to attempt to commune with something called a Light Sever, which could help her expand her abilities. There she meets with Alaric again, having followed her there on information from a spy. They clash, their magic contained by Nenavar forces, and when they are detained, Talasyn is recognized as the long-lost granddaughter of the current Queen of Nenavar. This is where the story really picked up and begin to take off a little better, and I wish that the book would have started a bit closer to this point, because once things began to move, I resented the time we spent in the set-up, especially when it gives us little explanation of some of the magical aspects. It's understandable to not have this knowledge through Talasyn who has little understanding of it herself, but we have Alaric's POV as well, and while the author makes it obvious how much has likely been hidden from him by his father, he's not completely without a grasp of some of these things. By the time we start to get more information, he's sharing it with Talasyn past the midpoint, and it seems a waste of his POV.

The major driving force of the novel comes a little before the midpoint when after having returned to Nenavar and agreeing to be the heir in an effort to conceal and aid the Sardovian forces, Talasyn's grandmother, Queen Urduja forces Talasyn into a marital alliance with the Night Emperor, now Alaric after his father has chosen to be regent. We also discover that not only will they be compelled to unite in marriage, but for the greater good, helping to diffuse and hopefully block, with the combination of their powers, the World-Eater, a time when crops and life essentially die. The Nenavarene have survived this before, but since this event is predicted to be a bit larger, they expect it to take over and potentially destroy much of the Night Empire as well.

Once we reach this point, the novel and the main romance really begins to take off a bit more, pulling the momentum of the novel forward a great deal.

In general, I did like the progression of their connection, the reveals of shared loneliness, plus other bits of information that can be expanded on to illuminate their characters, but I was left wanting more from them beyond the immediate attraction and heat that I was informed was there rather than actually feeling or witnessing. It's possible that my lack of interest in their enemy status made this part fall flat for me, but it took longer for me to warm to them.

I've also seen this touted as spicy, and while I imagine the second book will dive into this aspect more as they become closer, the minor bit of spice is as close to the end to the book as possible. It felt like something included for the sake of being included and not because it was actually building there to begin with. Also, this is a pet peeve, but it is heavily implied throughout that these two have gone without the touch of other people (which I loved that aspect to their discovery), but then in the rush of heat they seem to have too much finesse in the intimacy department for two people completely inexperienced. It really took me out of the moment.

I agree with the comps of Kuang and Maas, although I believe the world building this is fuller than what I have read of Maas.

It's possible that the final moment may have given me enough interest to read the second, but if I do, I will be hoping for far more from the second book.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me.. The story initially sounded intriguing, but it read like fanfiction. The plot was weak, the pace was off and the characterization was lacking.

I was so excited to read this book. It has all the elements I love - interesting magic, enemies to lovers on different sides of an all-encompassing war, the enemies having to come together to save the world. Unfortunately, those elements didn’t come together for me.

The plot and world building felt like it took a backseat to getting Talasyn and Alaric, the two main characters, in the same place. Periods of time when Talasyn was learning to use her magic or about the political situation she was thrust into were explained away in time jumps. So despite there being a seemingly very vast system of magic that can do seemingly infinite things, we don’t learn about it.

The characters themselves acted rashly without any thought for repercussions, which made all the political negotiations and intrigue - which was a significant portion of the second two thirds of the book - fall flat. This, in addition to the tone of the writing made the book feel juvenile. Talasyn is 19. Alaric is 26. But both of them seem to act much younger. The romance between them is a cycle of attraction and verbalized hatred, but without any kind of nuance or growth internally or together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this e-arc

DNF @ 25%
I knew this was a Reylo fanfic. I was excited for the Reylo fanfic. But I should just go read the actual fanfic instead.

It’s too obvious that this originally started in the middle of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, because this book doesn’t feel like it has a proper beginning. We’re dropped in at an awkward time and expected to feel things for side characters we’ve spent a paragraph with. The world-building is too convoluted and I spent the whole time trying to figure out who was who and what was derived from what (but not in a fun way). There are plot points that are way too rushed, with MAJOR stuff happening in the first quarter of the book.

Overall this story just feels so shallow because it was originally written for people who already knew pre-established characters in a pre-established universe, and the author failed to create a story that totally stands on its own.

Thank you for the chance to review The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon.

I read about 30% of the book and will probably not be able to finish the rest of it. Guanzon is a promising author, has intriguing worldbuilding and an exciting fantasy setting in an imaginary version of the Phillipines. I wrote a long review because I'm puzzling out why I had such a hard time getting into this book when it seems to have so many elements that make it an immediate sale for me.

This book has a lot of hooks that drew me in. Enemies to lovers, the unique magic system, a setting in the Philippines, a new young author, good cover, great blurb. However, I think that there is a fundamental mismatch with what the story is at its core and the marketing that is done for the reader. I came in with certain expectations and was confused when the story seemed different than what I had expected.

The Hurricane Wars is marketed as an adult fantasy romance, but I do think the heart of the story is more of a YA sci-fi. I read in some of the other reviews that the story was originally a Kylo Ren and Rey fanfiction story from the Star Wars world, and that honestly made the world building made a lot more sense. I would say that the story reads more YA than adult.

The political, landscape, complex magic system, internal politics, and history between the countries is very complex. More and more detail is given before the reader has a chance to settle into the story. The story may have started as a Kylo Ren and Rey fanfic, but the magic system is genuinely complex and original. There is light and shadow magic, yes, but there are unique twists.

The complex nature of war and love stand in contrast to the one end, dimensional side characters such as Alaric’s minions. They felt more like stand-ins from a Star Wars movie set in the classic good versus evil morality scheme. This is in contrast to the marketing for the book. I think the introduction to the novel by the author also sets the tone for a much more serious love story and a reckoning with a complex history of love and war in the fantastical Phillipines. I know it's not actually set in the Phillipines, but it is based on it.

The book opens with a couple marrying, then the groom dying and leaving his pregnant wife to fight a war alone. A town is burned to the ground. Many of her friends die. She is almost killed on the lake, but she escapes. It's a serious beginning.

Then there is a much lighter tonal shift when Alaric and Talyson are bantering back and forth, and not-killing each other in sexy swordfights. I love sexy swordfights and pinning your enemy to a mattress. Genuinely, I am a big fan of those moments. But it’s hard to get behind that when this guy was responsible for leading the attack that killed your best friend's husband. Then the best friend seems resilient and a solider, which is cool, but then she seems remarkably emotionally unaffected by what she has just been through.

So, the tone goes from very serious to a lighter hearted tone and I think it undercut the values of the characters in the book.

Then there are more fun, chase scenes, fight scenes, and bantering interspersed with the main character, having intense processing of her childhood trauma. Talyson reads as very young in the dialogue and some of the choices she makes. When a major plot point is revealed, she takes decisive action, but then the emotional beats of the other characters read as much more expository. She has magic chosen one powers, but she's also relied on by the general for strategy. She’s also a linchpin in this war over continental genocide, but she's also remembering her past as a sad, lonely orphan.

I think the memories of running down alleyways and surviving by eating certain foods are enough to establish her suffering as a child and develop sympathy for her as a reader. When she goes back and forth between war, sexy eye contact with Alaric, and then dealing with her mysterious parents...I lose the emotional beat that I'm supposed to be following with her. It feels like they are all competing with each other rather than a young woman with a lot going on.

Guanzon makes some bold, plot, strokes, which I found refreshing. Her writing is detailed and vivid. It’s hard to balance, the very specific, technical descriptions of armor and buildings with a general audience, probably not knowing what those words are going to mean.

I think she has a good sense of what tropes audiences enjoy. She's got good instincts for a compelling story. It seems just like a matter of finding the right amount of detail, world-building, and tonal consistency would deliver a more cohesive storyline.

I think the jump from large scale conflict to personal long story, then, back out to the bigger conflict made it a little harder to follow, along with the romance.

I would definitely read a book that Guanzon publishes in the future. I'm not posting to other review platforms because I only tend to want to review books that I really like rather than providing mixed/negative reviews for authors.

The writing is great. The actual romance is good. The slow burn tension is fantastic. But the story is not for me. I kept wondering why it was so hard for me to settle into. I felt like half the book was set up and world building. But other fantasy books work, why didn't this one? I think it was just too complex of a world. I could never fully wrap my brain around a picture of what things looked like or even at times make a good comparison. The words were tricky. The names for everything were complex. This is absolutely Star Wars fan fic. Which is great if you love SW. But I am just not it.

I received a free e-arc through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion about the book.

Unique world with a side of slow burn, enemies to lovers romance. If you want an actual enemies to lovers this is for you. There is a complex inner turmoil and with the dual pov it is a great tension romance. the beginning with the world building and understanding what is going on has a very slow moving plot. Sometimes the banter between the FMC and MMC is a little flat and if you are one that doesn't like modern talk in fantasy this book isn't for you. Despite the beginning the story progresses and thet Talasyn and Alaric inner thoughts about everything is a treat to read. I love dual pov romances and the inner thoughts of everything that is happening. I can't wait for book 2.

I'm so sorry but I'm not going to be able to finish this. The writing style is just too immature for me to enjoy. I will refrain from posting any reviews since I didn't finish.

I need a time machine for one reason only - and that is to jump forward in time to October 3rd so I can get my hands on a physical copy of this book and pray to the heavens the next book in this series is available because WOW was this book an adventure! The plot 5/5 - The characters 5/5 - The vibes 10/5

The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind! Is adding Thea Guanzon to my auto-buy list too preemptive? I suppose not considering I finished this book and had to withhold myself from starting at page one again. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that Fairyloot or Illumicrate does a special edition copy of The Hurricane Wars! There is so much stunning imagery depicted that is BEGS to be on a endpaper.

There are so many spectacularly wonderful and equally anxiety inducing things about this book and I can't talk about the most amazing parts of this story without spoilers - so - is absence of such I'll leave you with this - PLEASE PICK UP A COPY OF THIS BOOK ON OCTOBER 3RD 2023 PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN.

DNF @ 35% I'm so sorry, I really really tried!! I did!! I was fully expecting to love this book and I was SO excited but unfortunately this fell flat for me in every possible way. I considered powering through but the issues I have aren't a "I'm bored with the plot right now" they're more of a "there are serious structural and tonal issues here" and I can't see that being changed moving forward. So let's get into it.

The first few chapters were good! I wasn't hooked but I was interested enough to keep going and I was excited to see where it was going to go. However, once the MMC got introduced everything went downhill and immediately crashed and burned.

The first big issue that I noticed is that everything is being spoon fed to us. It seems that the author was trying to drop hints for a big reveal, however, it was not subtle at all and then before we get to chapter 10 the big reveal happens?? It’s revealed that our FMC is a long lost heir of this other country, Nenavare, who is not involved in the war and this reveal felt very out of place. If it had been built up and introduced at a more pivotal point in the book it could have had a huge impact. Instead, this happening less than 10 chapters in gave no pay off because I wasn't invested in anything yet and it seemed like such a random time and place to do this. Especially when you add in that after receiving this information our FMC freaks out and runs away and then nothing really happens with this until she has to return to Nenavare in part 2.

My next issue is that this is marketed as an enemies to lovers book but in my opinion this is NOT enemies to lover. Yes, they’re on opposite sides of a war and they’ve had “fights” but the book description tells us that the FMC and MMC are “bitter enemies.” Meanwhile they’re having banter and joking around during their fight despite not knowing each other and having never met prior to their introduction in the early chapters. This makes no sense to me. This is supposed to be a brutal war, a decade long war, and we see the MMC literally giving up opportunities to take out a major threat to his side of the war because he…what? Thinks she’s cute? Immediately after meeting they're both having thoughts about the other and feel this "pull" to each other. This instant pull and connection and lack of seriousness given the situation they're in just doesn't have the set up for a believable romance to me and their interactions didn't make sense. These two characters should genuinely hate each other and their actions and dialogue do not match the gravity of the situation that we're told they're in.

This leads me into my next issue, which is the writing style. The writing style and actions of the characters are very juvenile and read as YA to me rather than adult which would be fine but this is supposed to be an adult novel. We're told there's this serious, brutal, very long and draining war going on but the tone and language did not match that at all. Additionally, a lot of the dialogue felt very cliche and juvenile. Overall, I think there was just a large disconnect between the tone the author wanted to set and what the tone actually conveyed and given that this is supposed to be a war novel I don't think the tone worked here.

My next issue is the the plot overall. At the beginning of this review I mentioned that everything crashed and burned once the MMC got introduced and here's why. The plot just bends to whatever needs to happen in order to get the MMC and the FMC in the same room. I expected that this would be a balanced war and romance story but instead, what we got is a forced romance with a war backdrop. I say this because the author skipped around in time quite a bit and we missed out on reading KEY battles and events and would instead get a Cliffnotes summary of things that happened. The plot formula goes as follows: FMC and MMC meet and fight, we get a cliffnotes version of some stuff that happened, FMC and MMC meet and fight, and repeat. We completely skipped over the FMC's two weeks of training which I believe is important and we should have at least gotten one or two scenes of her being trained. We're supposed to believe that the FMC is on par in skill level as the MMC with her magic but that just isn't believable considering she had NO training in her magic prior to the start of the book and he's the crown prince who has been training his whole life. If we had seen her two weeks of training then maybe I could've seen her progress and gotten on board but we just completely skipped right over it. Then, we're skipping battles and finding out afterward everything that happened and who died and who the FMC killed. Then, we're skipping ahead 4 months in time where the war is now essentially over because the Sardovian troops have essentially been decimated and only a small amount remain and they're and hiding out in Nenavare until they can regroup. Regroup to do what exactly? Who knows! Because in the mean time our FMC is now learning how to be the heir to the Nenavarene throne. So essentially it seems that the war in The Hurricane Wars is essentially over 35% in. Is it possible that our FMC rally's the Nenavarene troops to fight back? I suppose. Will I be reading to find out? No!

Another issue with the way the plot is set up is that because we're skipping around in time so much there is no tension, there is no build up, and so the stakes don't feel real. I don't feel a sense of urgency or danger. There's also just plot point after plot point being dropped in but they don't hold any impact or emotional weight.

Perhaps my issues with the plot could have been overlooked if we had a very strong romance to fall back on. However, as I mentioned earlier, I don't find the romance between the FMC and the MMC to be believable or compelling.

Overall, I really wanted to enjoy this but I have far too many issues to continue on.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with this eARC!

The book took a minute to get into, but once we hit 30/35% I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. I went into this book totally blind, this was recommended to me by a friend and I am really glad that I listened. This is a great war and love story.
I love the worlds - it is richly developed and I hope that we get to see even more about it as the trilogy continues. I also like that Guanzon delves into this idea of no one side in this story is right, there are always more than one version of the story, and here they are all coming against one another and the seeds are being planted in the minds of our main characters for them to have to examine this further. Which I am hoping this examination of what their firm beliefs are and what the reality is happens in book 2.
I think it's complicated to call this enemies to lovers, they do have an inexplicable pull to one another but I don't think that this necessarily softens them to one another but I do think it gives more avenue for them to continue their fight with one another. I also love the line "Hate is a kind of passion, is it not?" as our characters very much have to navigate that thought a few times.
I cannot wait to see what happens in book 2, I am excited about what is coming for Talasyn and Alaric. I am excited to see them both come into their own and figure out how to rule and how to get along in this relationship.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, NetGalley, and Thea Guanzon for the ARC of this book. All opinions above are my own!

This had all the makings to be an all time favorite book! Enemies to lovers, rich fantasy world, descriptive writing AND its Kylo Ren/Rey fanfic?!? I fully expected to love this!
However, I was sadly underwhelmed. I continually had to force myself to keep reading this and never connected with any of the characters. Maybe I just read it at the wrong time?!?
I do think that if this appeals to you, even a little bit, then you should definitely give it a try because so many other people are loving it!

When a creator is in-tune with their heritage and passionate about their culture, it is palpable in their craft, and that is definitely the case with The Hurricane Wars. From the author’s note at the very beginning and all throughout, this book is brimming with vibrant culture, and the immense care and love with which Thea wove the story and struggles of her people into this story is incredibly moving, and the reason this book resonated with me so much. I carry it deep in my heart.

The Hurricane Wars is so much more than your usual enemies-to-lovers story. There is depth and nuance to the main characters as individuals, as well as their roles in the war, so when circumstance brings them together and the question of “what does one do when one feels for an enemy” is posed, it’s entirely believable, not only because of the hate they harbor for one another when the story begins but because of what it would mean for them to stop hating each other. Masterfully portraying the difficulty of feeling for someone responsible for so much death and devastation, Thea Guanzon presents us with two people who, for the very first time, feel understood and not alone in the midst of a years long war, but aren’t able to find solace in each other due to their roles in said war and its casualties. It is the struggle of wanting to deny the humanity in the enemy, even when it is so starkly present. It is having to ask oneself, “do my feelings mean that I’m forsaking my people and my values? And if so, does acting on them mean betrayal?” The way I see it, there are two wars happening simultaneously in this book: the Hurricane Wars and the main characters’ war against the self, which I wholeheartedly believe is a groundbreaking approach to this trope.

Thea’s approach to an “elemental” magic system and the way it was incorporated into the story was phenomenal. From the world-building, to the writing and the pacing; all-around, it was PERFECT!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Though this book will probably sell very well because of the army of SJM fans who will give anything 5 stars as long as there’s an enemies to lovers romance featuring a “misunderstood” guy and Mary Sue, I really didn’t care for it. The exposition and worldbuilding were very clumsy and poorly thought out. I have absolutely no idea who Talasyn is as a character, what makes her tick or what her motivations are, other than she’s apparently supposed to be snarky and judgmental. Based on the powers and character descriptions it also feels like a pretty shameless ripoff of Shadow and Bone, and so many of the names of places and people and institutions feel like they’ve been stolen from other works and changed slightly. In short, everything in this book has absolutely been done so many times before and it doesn’t really have anything new to offer.

DNF @ 75%

This put me into a MEGA reading slump and I am very angry 😭

This book really did have so much potential. A way where two enemies have to team up together??? I mean sign me up. But this was entirely unreadable. I can’t even believe I got 75% through. I guess I was hoping that the worldbuilding would eventually make sense and the author would stop adding more and more new terms to the story. At 75%, I would hope that you have done a good enough job to where I don’t have to flip back to remind myself of what something is. Unfortunately this did not hit the mark for me.

The author really needs to work on introducing a new world. Throwing a reading right into a new universe and throwing in SEVERAL unfamiliar terms throughout the book will just turn your audience off. Not going to be recommending this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an early copy!

I am obsessed with this! This Fantasy has amazing world building and unique magic that I absolutely loved!!!! I could not stop reading this! 6 stars if I could! Can't wait for the next book!
I just reviewed The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon. #TheHurricaneWars #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

“Perhaps this, too, was how a war began. In the space between heartbeats. In the room of night.”

Right off the bat, the history behind the book detailed right before the prologue in “Behind The Hurricane Wars” made my heart stop for a second. This is BY FAR the best intro I have ever read and will gladly reread it multiple times in a row. The way Thea relates this book to her history, her background, and her passion sets you up for a WHIRLWIND of a time.

To start with the pros, the premise of this book is incredibly well thought out and planned. Thea’s writing style is impeccable and I love how every sentence is stitched together perfectly. I’ll admit, I’m super picky about writing. I read a lot of books and enjoy them, but some part of me is hyper critical about writing style. This book however? No complaints! Not a single one! The writing is perfect the word choice is perfect the execution is, you can guess, perfect!

I really liked Talasyn’s character. I think she’s clearly established as a strong female lead but she isn’t whiny. She’s incredibly independent and selfless in the most trying of times. I won’t say any spoilers, but her character growth shown especially in the last couple of chapters is really good.

The culture that is so clearly reflected in this book is tied in flawlessly. I loved the way the author pulled from her own history and implemented it shamelessly. The romance was great and THE TENSIONNNNN. I WANTED TO THROW THIS BOOK SOMETIMES (in a good way). Love love love the slow burn when it’s done right!

To be blunt about it, you could tell this was heavily inspired by Star Wars, but that isn’t a bad thing! I’m not even a Star Wars fan and I had no issues with it. I think she spun the classic Reylo ship into a life of its own. It’s incredibly hard to take a story you’ve written about two established characters in a known universe and create your own universe with complex characters who have depth out of it. She does a fantastic job at this. I also found it cute how she thanked her AO3 readers in the acknowledgments.

“Come on darling, some darkly wicked impulsive part of him thought, one last fight before I leave you.”

Now for the cons. The pacing was really off for me. The beginning went by ridiculously fast with multiple monumental turning points happening within pages of each other. Comparatively, the last 50% of the book was all set in basically one location going over one thing. It made the first part feel very rushed while the later part felt like it dragged in places.

I also didn’t like the relationship with Elagbi. To avoid spoilers, I won’t say much more but it felt very quick. One second she was a stranger and the next they were besties? Like no one questioned the authenticity of.. her?

I think the actual Hurricane Wars, considering it is the name of the book, should have lasted longer. I completely understand the underlying theme of political and social warfare not ending and they could at any point be back to tearing each other up but…. they conquered an entire continent in a handful of chapters? A handful? That’s it?

The romance became the primary focus for the entire second half of the book. I didn’t mind this, but it did make me a little confused because of how heavy the first part was on the world building. Instead of constantly expanding the history of the world, the Dominion itself, and the world building the author kind of left them out to dry for the sake of romance.

I hope to see more dragons in the upcoming series, especially because they are featured on the cover. Ultimately I would highly highly recommend this book.

This is a fantastic read as Thea Guanzon’s debut book. If this is her debut I can only imagine how much she will grow as an author. She will be an auto-buy for any new releases coming out and I’m excited to see her future!

This seemed like it was going to be an epic read and it was to some extent but also a big nope. The world building was great, the author did a good job there, But for me, that was about it. I was looking forward to that epic romance which the blurb eluded to, but that fell flat. I didn’t really like the main characters, wishy washy, whiny, immature. I might read the next book just to see where it goes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyage for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

This is book 1 of a trilogy but I am not as excited as I thought I would be for more of this story.

THERE ARE SLIGHT SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

In Part 1 of this story, we are in the 10th year of a battle between the Sardovian Allfold and the Night Empire with more and more land being ceded to the Empire. The Sardovians are losing more and more of their fighters to the magic of the powerful Shadowforged. (Their magic is black and shadowy.) They have one last ace up their sleeves, one last surviving Lightweaver (bright light magic) to fight the growing darkness but growing up an orphan, Talasyn knows nothing of how to wield her magic.

It has been reported that there is still a lightweaver sever (temple) that hasn’t been destroyed by the Empire on the Island of the Nenavar Domonion. But the Nenavar aren’t interested in choosing sides in a battle against the Night Empire. Talasyn needs to sneak over to their island in hopes of communing with the sever and boosting her power. But a traitor among their legions provides these plans to Alaric Ossinast, Master of the Shadowforged legion and son of Emperor Gaheris. He intercepts Talasyn before she can do more than walk into the decaying temple. Their very loud clash of dark and light magic brings them to the attention of the guards and during an interrogation, the Dominion Prince come to realize that Talasyn is his missing daughter and heir to their throne. But Talasyn doesn’t have time to worry about finding the long last family she always dreamed she would find. Her friends need her especially when the alarms sound that Alaric has escaped. While fierce enemies, something happens when the Dominion’s guards turned their weapons on both Talasyn and Alaric, they throw out their magic which surprisingly combines, protecting them both from the attack.

In Part II of this story, the Night Empire has won the war and control the continent and Talasyn takes the remaining Sardovian forces to Nenavar. She makes a deal to step up as heir if they hide her friends until they can figure out how they can fight back against the Night Empire. Talasyn finds life in court is fraught with more battles and while bloodless, they are still dangerous. It is not the life she expected but she will do whatever her grandmother expects to keep her friends safe.

Of course, the Empire is not satisfied with just the continent and they eventually come knocking on the door of Nenavar in order to get their hands on the greater technology that the Dominion has been able to create since they haven’t spent the last decade waging war. Talasyn is horrified when her grandmother offers Talasyn to the newly crowned Emperor Alaric Ossinast in a bid to stave off their own war with the Night Empire and to keep their own government in tact. Alaric might now wear the crown of Emperor but his father is still pulling the strings and forces him to accept this offer of a bride. Alaric is shocked but not entirely unhappy to find his new bride will be Talasyn as long as the can keep her from pulling a knife on him.

The rest of the story involves negotiations and wedding preparations and a revelation of why the grandmother was so quick to offer Talasyn to her greatest enemy.

THOUGHTS:
I requested a copy of this story after I heard a glowing recommendation from one of the authors that I follow. I was happy to get approved for an ARC of this story which comes out in October. The description of the story left me thinking that these former enemies would find a great love in each other and join together to battle a greater evil. After almost 500 pages, I give is a solid Meh.

Just some things to point out…by the end of this story, Talasyn and Alaric had a few possible moments (confessions, near kisses) and theymight have found a connection until Alaric’s father pointed out that he noticed Alaric’s infatuation with Talasyn, indicated that she would never return any feeling and shamed him that she would lead him about like a dog. After that conversation, Alaric shut down any further tender moments between them.

Talasyn had her own similar conversations within her own head when she found herself softening to her greatest enemy, a man whose armies killed many of her friends. I would have like Talasyn to have been frank with Alaric, that he and his Dad were the monsters under her bed for more than a decade so coming to terms with being his bride will take a long time to get used to, or something to that effect. In short, we didn’t get this great romance that was indicated. I can see the possibility of it but after 450 pages, it wasn’t working for me.

We also have these two constantly bashing heads over which side is in the right; first over why the war began originally and again about whose side should be in charge. While anytime we saw Alaric’s father, all I can see in my head is Star War’s Emperor Palpatine in his hooded cloak on his spinny chair. We see him berate and demean Alaric but this is all Alaric knows and he can’t see his father as anything but a great leader. Talasyn is an orphan and a foot soldier, she isn’t trained to battle wits with a woman who has held the power of the Dominion for decades. While Alaric and Talasyn constantly scream that their side is right, what we don’t know is really who is right? Except for my feelings of Emperor Gaheris/Palpatine and how he treats Alaric, we don’t know if the Night Empire it taking care of all their new citizens or putting them all in bondage. Alaric is angry that under Talasyn’s beloved Allfold, she ran away from the orphanage to live on the dangerous streets stealing food since the streets were a better option to the constant abuse at the orphanage. How can that be a better way of life, but again, we aren’t seeing how the Night Empire is now treating their people. Alaric has spent all his time fighting on the front line, he doesn’t handled the clean up and while he has been crowned Emperor, he was still being sent out to see who to dominate next. He really has no knowledge of what his happening in the world after he conquered the last village.

Talasyn also never takes a moment to step back from her anger to say “Once we are married, what can we do to make the Empire great for all the people.” Someone pointed out to her that after the wedding she would then be Empress of the Night Empire but she never seems to think “hey, we lost the war but what can I do to make the Empire a good government for the people.” Alaric and Talasyn have very fragile but growing feelings for each other and what will solidify them is the fact that both sides are clearly plotting and acting in bad faith for the destruction of the other side.

I also kept feeling like this was a Star Wars knock-off: The Emperor; Night Empire vs The Empire; magically created weapons vs lightsabers; stormships vs. battle cruisers; magic-driven Wasps vs x-wing fighters…This might not be entirely untrue since a search of the author’s webpage shows she is also writing Star Wars literature.

As I was running out of pages, I could see where I should have been left panting for the next book.
I can see where a bond would forge between Talasyn and Alaric if they stood together as a unit since neither had anyone firmly in their corner. How long before this bond forms? Will they walk through the Night Empire lands and Alaric find his father’s leadership failing? How long will that take? Book 2? Book 3? By the time we finish, this might be a great story but after 450 pages, all I can say is ‘meh.’