Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review this book :) All opinions are my own
Enemies to Lovers? Forced Proximity? Slow Burn? Dark shadow boy? This book has it all.
This book was so good. I loved the beginning and the fact that the main character was actually on the losing side of the war for once. It is not often that we get to see the main character lose. The second half of the book had me pining for more, getting excited over so much as the two touching hands. I was rooting for this couple so hard the whole time. There is also a unique magic system involving "aetherspace." The culture in this book was done so well, I actually felt like I was in Nanaverre experiencing festivals and in the palace. Thea Guanzon does an amazing job of immersing you in the world without spending forever world building, she scatters bits and pieces of it throughout her story. Highly recommend, cannot wait to get this book when it releases!

This was exquisite. Mesmerizing and immersive are perfect descriptors. This world, magic, and romance was beautiful and endearing.

I was so excited to read this book, but it ultimately didn’t live up to my expectations. I loved the premise and the world, and thought the world-building was done well, but despite the uniqueness of the world, the plot felt predictable. Furthermore, the romance really let me down. It was built on tropes and it felt like the characters had no real meaningful connection. All I felt existed between them was lust, nothing close to budding love and true feelings for each other. However, I probably will still read book two and hope the series gets better as it goes on!

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC!


I loved everything about this book, The characters made the love story so enticing. I would read this book multiple time! Fantasy romance! Enemies to lovers!

This is literally how enemies to lovers should be done. I did think they fell for each other a LITTLE fast but the guilt they felt at falling for their sworn enemy more than made up for it. I did think the first third was a little slow especially considering it was on a battlefield but it definitely picked up and, by the end, I couldn't put my phone down no matter what was happening outside. The two leads were very well written and I am so excited to see what happens in the next novel when Alaric finds himself in close proximity with his father once again.

***4.5 stars***

This book was so good. I want to start by saying that, unlike so many books being marketed lately (and especially the ones on BookTok tbh), this one is a TRUE enemies to lovers slow burn. The romantic leads are literally mortal enemies who try to kill each other repeatedly and not always in a fun, sexy way. And the slow burn is SLOW. I know this might not be for everyone, but I personally adore slow burns and I hate being told a book is one only for it to basically be insta-love. You don't have to worry about that here.

Let me just start listing things I liked. I liked how strong Talasyn was throughout the book. How loyal. How selfless she could be. I loved that she could and did hold her own with more powerful oponents. I loved her sass and sarcasm, her insults, her relatability.

I also loved Alaric. I mean, we all know we love tall, dark, and brooding male main characters and Alaric 100% ticks all of those boxes. He's morally gray, he's complicated, he's grumpy, and he's just a little bit of a softy on the inside. He's definitely going to be the next shadow-bae (I think that's what the internet is calling them these days? I'm too old for this--basically, he wields shadows and he's hot, just like all our favorites like Rhysand, Xaden Riorson, Ruhn Danaan, etc etc etc etc).

The banter in this book is top notch. Watching Talasyn and Alaric spar with weapons and with words never ceased being an utter delight. One of my personal favorites (that I really hope stays in the final version) was "His Royal Ninnyhammer."

On top of all of that, this book adds in a perfect recipe mixed of: interesting magic, war-torn countries, action scenes, duels, dragons, rich worldbuilding, forced proximity, arranged marriage, and so much more.

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars was because, honestly, the pacing was kind of a mess. The beginning of the book repeatedly has long time jumps that felt jarring and was mostly just to rush along the whole enemies to lovers things. However, I really don't know if there was any other way to do this, and it really didn't bother me especially once I got into the thick of the book.

I can tell that the next book is going to be even more fun than this one was!

I knew the moment I read the synopsis I would love The Hurricane Wars, and it was everything I hoped for an more!

The lush descriptions immediately pull you into a world at war, exploring themes of colonialism and genocide. I loved the duality between the ancient environment and battles with new and dangerous technology. The magic system was so unique and creative, and the plot seamlessly changes from battles in the field to those between diplomats. The political intrigue in this book i top notch. If I had to try to summarize this book I’d say it’s a mash up between Star Wars and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Talasyn and Alaric (major Reylo vibes) are the perfect embodiment of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Every scene between them simmered with tension and yearning. I absolutely adored them - both struggling to meet familial expectations and do right by their people. I NEED the second book and cannot wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was an epic tale of war, found family, old grudges, magic, and enemies to lovers. I read this in one day and could not put it down! Tala is a strong, scrappy, and brave FMC who is fighting for her homeland despite having been raised in less than ideal conditions. I loved her friendship with Khaede and Khaede’s relationship with Sol. I was craving more interactions between them and ended up heartbroken. I still have hope that she will be a deeper part of the story to come.

The beginning world building was a bit intense at times but it felt necessary to lay the groundwork for the conflict through the book. The story spanned multiple regions and the unique culture, people, animals, and environment was described so well with each new setting. At times it truly felt as if I was hiking in the jungle along side them.

This story has so many intriguing layers and history that you could read it multiple times and discover things that slipped by on previous reads.

I loved the duel point of view. Once Alarics voice was included I had a hard time putting the book down. The interactions between Tala and him had me laughing, cringing, raging, and often wanting to strangle the both of them. I can not wait to watch their relationship unfold.

I want to thank NetGalley, Harper Voyager Publishing, and Thea Guanzon for early access to this masterpiece. Book 1 hasn’t even released and I’m already anxiously awaiting book 2!

I have been seeing this book pop up a lot on my updates from several of my fellow readers. Some of them have been glowing while others have been slightly not so glowing. Most of the reviews point out that this was once fanfiction with Rey and Keylo Ren being the main characters. Either way, I wanted so much to read this book. The premise and the world-building are eye-catching and reel you into a beautiful, lush world filled with war and strife with the horrors of war being felt from the pages. Homes and beautiful worlds are being torn apart by the Night Emperor's need to assimilate the rebellion and force them under his control.

Not only does this remind me of Rey and Keylo Ren, but I also see Zuko and Katara in the characters as well. Both Emperor Palpatine and Fire Lord Ozai have the same parallel as they do with the Night Emperor. All three seek to control the rebellion and force the people into their fold, into their slavery.

Going into this book, I had no idea what to expect. The characters and their world are lush and beautiful. The magical system could be considered to be Avatar: The Airbender - esque in its feel. Talasyn or Alaric are each other's yin and yang with their magic - Shadowforge and Lightweaver - setting them apart. Talasyn, an orphan, is the only Lightweaver. All of the others had been killed off by the Night Emperor. They had been trying to keep her abilities out of the hands of the Night Emperor. Unfortunately, fate would have other plans and set her on the path with Prince Alaric, one of the most powerful Shadowforges.

I don't want to give too much away especially since the rest may contain spoilers. So, I will leave it as it is and tell you to read this book the moment it comes out. It is worth it. The world-building. The characters. Talasyn and Alaric will draw you in and make your stay to the very end.

*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.

The Hurricane Wars is a heady, political, action-packed fantasy with two characters who are forced into an alliance (aka: an arranged marriage) even though they're heirs poised on opposite sides of a decades-long war, and despite having started out intent on destroying one another. Talaysn is a wily solider who can access light magic. Alaric is an inscrutable prince of the Night Empire who can summon shadows. Similar to The Bridge Kingdom, the two of them are brought together by circumstance and necessity, forcing them to band together for the peaceful survival of The Continent.

However, things are never as simple or as smooth as they seem. Not only are there secrets to unravel, political schemes to dodge, and rustling feelings to subdue, but there is a magical storm brewing in this world that Talaysn and Alaric must learn how fight. Not to mention win. And soon...or else they'll all be doomed.

I found this to be engrossing for the most part. I particularly liked the Filipino history that was infused into the setting and climate. There was also some satisfying commentary on the sacrifices of war, the degradation of colonization, the drive to protect and preserve culture. I liked the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers of it all too, of course. That's my literary catnip!

I did struggle to fully settle into the world building, though. It felt a little helter-skelter at times, with there being too much information dispensed at once sometimes and then at other times not enough. The bare bones of the magic system were there, rife with names, with functions, with potential, but it never took off or developed to the extent that I was hoping it would. That made it hard to fully immerse myself in this world.

That said, this was an enjoyable read overall and it had a lot of tropes that will resonate with folks. And that cliffhanger! Oof! You'll be clamoring to know what happens to Talaysn and Alaric next!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Typically, I give a summary of the plot. I won't this time since the author does a great job writing it herself. In fact, she does an excellent job writing this book as well (shocker!!). Like many other fantasy-war books, this one is full of politics and violence and magic and alliances and everything you would expect. I love how Guanzon integrates Filipino culture and history into Talaysn's and Alaric's story. Granted, I'm not too familiar with Filipino culture and history, but I can see threads of it woven into the book. The author takes a lot of time to describe the environment, what people are wearing, the food, etc.--personally, I don't like all the details, but that's just me. And I will admit that it does feel info-dumping (though with an uncommon magic system, of course that's what the author must do to explain a new world to readers).

The characters are very real in their feelings and perspectives. At one point, Talaysn and Alaric are arguing about how the war started. Since they're on opposing sides, of course they each think that their perspective is right. Talaysn is a particularly interesting character because she was raised as an orphan, only to find out that she's actually royalty. But she never loses that anger inside of her. Instead, she lets it consume her (sometimes in bad ways, other times in helpful ways). Alaric is interesting too because he's so used to following his father's orders, so seeing him grow outside of that is awesome. It's an enemies-to-lovers relationship, but it doesn't feel forced or fake. Their negative feelings towards each other are justifiable and real.

Overall, this book was very long, but intriguing to read. I would recommend it to people who like fantastical war books.

Wow! The world building, the food descriptions…the characters! I was a bit confused there but at the end it made sense. I loved it so much! Will definitely pick up books 2!!

I can consider myself truly privileged to have read this masterpiece 6 months before its release date! I immediately thank Netgalley, HarperVoyager and Thea Guanzon for allowing me to read this ARC!

The Hurricane Wars is a book that has had my attention for quite some time, and when I saw the cover reveal of the US and UK covers (both masterpieces) I wanted to read this book as soon as possible, and so when I received the ARC I started it without hesitation and it was a fantastic read!

The Hurricane Wars is one of the fantasy that contains one of the most beautiful and best written enemies to lovers romance of all time... plus it is also a perfect slow burn, full of tension, political intrigue and another trope that I love: the arranged marriage!

The two main characters are perfect, they are well built, very vivid, real and full of feelings! The double POV allows us to enter the mind of each of them and allows us to understand and appreciate them even more.
Talasyn and Alaric have phenomenal chemistry! Both come from difficult childhoods and both fight in the Hurrican Wars for different reasons and when their worlds collide everything starts to fall into place!

Another very important element of this book is the Worldbuilding: The Hurricane Wars is a Filipino-inspired fantasy and the world created by the author is perfect! Nature, technology and magic coexist creating an extraordinary environment and Thea's writing makes everything magical and extremely smooth!
The plot is never boring or obvious and all this is combined perfectly with the romance which is one of the best I've ever read in a fantasy novel! These two little idiots will make you fall in love and... wait until you read chapter 38 *sneaky eyes

I can't wait to read the next book to return to the fantastic world created by Thea Guanzon and find my two beloved idiots!
The Hurricane Wars is out everywhere on October 3, 2023! Don't miss it!

I NEED book 2!

The Hurricane Wars follows Talasyn as she navigates the inevitable end of the decade-long Hurrican Wars. She has a hidden magic that the Night Empire is bent on destroying, and she doesn't know how to use it yet. This becomes painfully clear when she fights with Alaric, the son of the Night Emporer, who wields shadows and poses a different sort of threat off the battlefield.

Gaunzon wove the heartbreak of war in with the need to win at all costs in such a beautiful manner. The book has airship battles, magic, sexual tension, and the emotional toll that war takes on all participants. Winners or losers. The main characters are young and inexperienced but in a way that feels genuine because they've only known war.

This book is for anyone who likes Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

I want to give a big shout-out to the publisher for hooking me up with an early copy of The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon. It was one of my most anticipated fantasy reads, and it definitely delivered!

This story takes us on a journey inspired by the history of the Philippines. We follow Talasyn and Alaric, bitter enemies with opposing magical abilities, who have been tangled up in the never-ending Hurricane Wars between their rival kingdoms. The author fearlessly explores the brutal aftermath of war and the effects of colonization, which added a powerful layer to the fantasy world. It was brimming with captivating myths and magic that kept me hooked until the very last page. The beginning was a bit rocky with a hefty information dump, but once I got past that, the story took off and didn't let go. The characters in this book really stole the show. The author skillfully explores their motivations and biases, allowing them to grow into better versions of themselves. But the real magic happened between Alaric and Talasyn—the tension between them, that enemies-to-lovers vibe, had me on the edge of my seat. I was constantly wondering when they would betray each other, and it kept me hooked. The ending left me a little disappointed as it didn't have that big climactic moment I was hoping for. However, despite that, I'm still invested in the story and dying to know what happens next.

All in all, The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon is a must-read fantasy with a richly imagined world inspired by Philippine history. Although it had a rocky start and a slightly underwhelming ending, the captivating mythology, well-developed characters, and intense enemies-to-lovers dynamic make it a story worth diving into.

Honestly I am not sure how to feel about this book. I did not like the first third of the book at all. I was very confused about what was going on. The book was wordy and the names of places and people were confusing to me as well. The author starts the book right in the middle of the Hurricane Wars, so while it was full of action from the beginning, I felt very lost. Even half way through I was convinced that I would not like the book at all, but I had changed my mind by the end. I hated the way that the two main characters argued and then opened up to each other and then argued again, over and over- sometimes within the same chapter. However I think that this series has potential. I find myself wanting to read more, to know more about the magic, history, and lore of the empires. I want to know more about other characters and see how the main characters deal with their changing relationship. I do wish that there had been more aethermancing and more character development for the side characters. Overall I don't think I would read this book again, but I will consider following the series to see what happens next. I learned after I started reading that this book was based on fanfic, which made so much sense when I found out. I think the description and the cover had me thinking that the book would be different than it turned out. There are definitely audiences that this would be appealing to, this just isn't my thing.

I LOVED this book. I haven't been this excited about a fantasy series since Throne of Glass. I've seen a lot of reviews that are giving this book one star ratings, all because it started as Reylo fanfic, but honestly, that just added to my enjoyment and appreciation of it. I've read parts of the original from AO3, and it's so cool to see how the author changed the fanfic to become a fully realized book of its own. The plot is nothing groundbreaking, but it's so interesting and well done. I like the world building and the characters are great. I love that it is set in a Southeast Asia inspired world, and as someone who is weirdly interested in natural disasters, the storm ravaged world really spoke to me. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book.

My rating leans more toward 3.8.

I love the characters and what the plot is gearing towards. The world building and the amount of characters/names are pretty dense. Sometimes books either are too light or too heavy on the world building. For me, it can be a little distraction to the plot. I just personally have a hard time with keeping up with all the regions and people in general when reading books/movies/etc. I am starting to recognize it more as I'm reading it though. I think a map at the beginning would make it easier to visualize. The writing is great and and very descriptive. I love that it is in third person. Not so much plot, but more backstory and set up for the second book. I am more excited about the second book since it seems like it will actually be focused more about the Hurricane Wars rather than the back and forth issues of marriage and joining of the two regions. The intimate scene with Talasyn and Alaric was amazing. Loved it was done. The training for Talasyn and her ability to create a shield was good but a little weak. I found myself loving it and then feeling a little bored to getting a little confused with all the names and regions and places.

Thank you so much to the publishers for this advance reading copy. This book brought me out of my reading slump, It was a breath of fresh air and very much a nonstop ride. I’m so excited for book two! I loved drawing the parallels between the base material, it was so much fun!

It's wild to think I just finished reading this novel. I was there in the trenches with the rats. I watched it form and read it from the very beginning. I saw the author get her book deal and watched her create this beautiful original work. What a roller-coaster this has been. And for it all to culminate into this wonderful piece of art. I can't wait to read the sequel!