What I liked: I absolutely loved the magic system/world building in this. The concept of harnessing the elements of storms and using them for battle was so unique, and I loved learning about all of the different aethermancy disciplines. I also appreciated that this was a Filipino inspired fantasy world.

What I didn’t like: I found the romance to be a bit unbelievable, especially given that Alaric played a huge part in the colonization of Talasyn’s people, including the deaths of many of her friends. Despite this, they were almost instantly drawn to one another. While later their romance developed past finding the other person inexplicably magnetic, I personally couldn’t reconcile the “kindness” of Alaric toward Talasyn with his previous actions. I also think that this book could have been so, so much shorter. There were long stretches where it didn’t really feel like anything happened, especially after lots of action at the beginning of the story. Finally, I often found that while the dialogue was very mature, it really contrasted in tone to a lot of the main characters’ behavior. I agree with many other reviewers that they read a lot more like YA in their actions than adult, and this book probably could have been aged down if the adult content were removed.

Overall: While I enjoyed the world building, the romance and pacing made this book difficult for me to finish.

Content warnings: genocide, murder, death of a parent, abusive parent

Intended audience: adult

The love interest of this book is the prince of the opposing army that colonizes the main character's people who will "spend the rest of their lives bound by the chains of shadow and empire". And that's supposed to be enemies to lovers romance fantasy? No thanks, it's hard to think of a less attractive man than someone supporting the murder of defenseless people.

This book had a little bit of a slow start but once it got going I loved it! I love, love the romance and enjoyed the magic in this world. Highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys light fantasy. But also I would be remiss if I did not mention how very much the town name of Plumfrost BOTHERED me. Every time I read it I cringed and it took me out of the book. This was not a fun Christmas story this was a fantasy.

This book had a lot of hype but unfortunately it did not live up to that hype. I really liked the premise but I felt like nothing happened all book. I was looking for enemies to lovers but we never got to the lovers part. It was a lot of words for minimal action. I think we had more questions created with no real answers provided. Definitely disappointed.

this book was enthralling and amazing!! i love the reylo vibes that came out of this. it was all i could want out of a fantasy book. This book gives off extremely high fantasy vibes and I am here for it! The dual POV was really well done in this book, it gave me all of the pinning and angst a person could ask for. i really love world building, lore heavy books and this was one of them, from the battle scenes, to the magic systems, to the romance i was hooked and couldn't put it down. I think Thea is an incredibly talented author and i am looking forward to reading book 2!

The book was beautiful. Loved the world building and unique premise. Although I thought the enemies to lovers trope progressed a little too fast without enough drama and angst, I was rooting for them. Will be reading book 2!

I wanted to like this more but I had a hard time separating the story from the Star Wars inspiration. I liked the characters and dialogue, but some scenes seemed straight from the movie it’s characters are based off of and I struggled with the lack of originality. The setting and twists were good, so I’m eager to see how book two goes.

I’m going to give this book at 3.5 stars. It read kind of like a fanfic, I do understand it was a Reylo fanfic. It is YA I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with the story just not my cup of tea.

I knew going into reading this book that it was going to be Reylo fanfiction. I knew that and I almost didn't read it because of that. But I decided to give it a shot, and I hoped the similarities wouldn't be too heavy-handed.

They really are though.

The Hurricane Wars really is just Reylo fanfic dressed up in other clothing. For some people, that might be great! But I'm not a fan of the ship, and the constant reminders and total lack of subtlety (there's even airship combat, come on) were just... a lot.

It's kind of a shame, because this book is well written and frequently engaging, at least when I could forget that I was reading fanfiction. There's a lot lovely descriptions and a deft use of real-life cultural touchstones. I struggled a little bit with the romance, though, even for non-Reylo reasons. It's tough to get behind a romance between a literal war criminal (even if he's being manipulated by his father) when the war crimes are perpetrated against the heroine's people. Maybe the heart doesn't know logic, but girl... come on.

In the end, I found myself wanting to get to the end of this book so that I could see what happened, yes, but mostly so I could be done with it. The pacing was strange - huge blocks of time skipped, no real climactic moment - which just added to the feeling of it being a bit of a slog. I walked away feeling like there was a nugget of potential in this book, but that it ultimately never lived up to what it could have been.

3.25/5

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to review this one before the publication date because it was a banger! Adapted from a popular Reylo epic but goes far beyond filing off the serial numbers with exuberantly detailed worldbuilding (never mind Guy Gavriel Kay's two moons, or, and I am probably the only person under 45 who would use this comparison, Marion Zimmer Bradley's four--this world has SEVEN) and a trope-y enemies-to-lovers romance, not to mention that stunning cover. The only flaw is that the pacing feels a bit drawn out, although again so much better than the fanfiction version. I'm excited for the next book in the series now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Oh my goodness I loved this one! I figured I would end up liking it because it was originally a Reylo fanfic and it didn’t end up disappointing me!

I was so excited about this book and truly felt it had potential. That said, I ended up DNFing it. 😢 I just wasn't drawn into the story or the characters. I've heard the last 40% or so is really good, so I may be it back up, but for now I've had to move on.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC. I really do appreciate it! ❤️

I really can't bring myself to read my Kylo/Rey fanfiction pretending to be something else. I DNF'd it but wish all my Kylo/Rey friends the best.

I am giving this book 2 stars because I do think it has potential, unfortunately I just struggled SO much with it. I got to maybe 30% and found myself still so confused on who was who and what was going on. I think the world building could have even done much more clear.

The Hurricane Wars had great characterisation fans of enemies to lovers are sure to love!

The idea of Hurricane Wars sounded fantastic and drew me in, unfortunately I found the magic system was underexplained which left it feeling a bit sparse at times.

I’m personally not a fan of the miscommunication trope, especially in combination with enemies to lovers, and that was very central to the plot of the book so I found myself being annoyed that the characters didn’t just talk to each other.

I did enjoy the characterisation and the fantasy plot side of the book, so if you’re a big fan of those tropes I’m sure this would be a great book for you!

I received this book as an ARC, for several months I started it and would DNF it a few pages in. I had a feeling I would love it if I just got a little farther into the book. Upon it being published I decided to purchase the audio book and it was a game changer.

This story is incredible and Thea Guanzon had me captivated from the second I started it until I finished this book a few moments ago. It’s rare to find a book that keeps me up through the night and is on my mind as I complete my work day but this was definitely one of them. The plot was original and entertaining, the characters were swoon worthy, and the slow burn romance had me racing to the end of the book. I am SO glad I ended up giving this book another shot as I would have missed out on one of my top books of 2023.

I would encourage fans of Avatar the last Airbender, ACOTAR, and Fourth Wing to try this book as I feel you will be as captivated as I was.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for this incredible ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been looking forward to this book all year and it did not disappoint! I am very new to reading fantasy so the world building was definitely difficult for me to understand (whether that is because of the writing itself or my newness to the genre, I can't say) but I still had a blast while reading this. I knew going in that this was previously a reylo fanfiction (hence me dying to read it) which helped me understand the general plot line better than if I hadn't known the star wars background - war, boy and girl on different sides, both powerful but more powerful together, they try to kill each other many times, but wait there's so much sexual tension, plus an arranged marriage. As a big reylo fan, it was so so much fun to read and be able to imagine characters I love so much and have them fit so well into the story while also making them so nuanced and multi-faceted that they feel one of a kind to this particular story in addition to having qualities of these other well-known characters. I think any reylo fan would be able to recognize and enjoy the familiarity of these characters while also appreciating their uniqueness and distinct identities. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this and am excited to see the story continue!

I was honestly amazed that this is a debut book. Thea Guanzon is now on my auto-buy list, and I can't wait to see what her career brings.

This story was beautifully written, well paced, and packed with tension. I love the two main characters and their respective relationships. The story dives right into the action, literally starting with a battle scene. There was a bit of info dumping at the beginning, but I enjoyed that Thea made the choice to chuck the reader into it in the midst of action rather than having it being spoon-fed to me through boring chapters of dialog.

I was very impressed with the character development and the world building in this book. Many first installments lean really heavily into one or the other, but the balance in this story was perfect. I have a great idea of what the world looks like and how it functions, while also having a good sense of who my characters are, what truly drives them, and where they are going.

Overall 10/10. There isn't anything I would change about this story. Perfect for anyone who loves cool magic systems, unlikely couples you can't wait to get together, and of course, a dark broody MMC. I would classify this story as new adult based on the complexity, spice level, and overall themes.

I really liked the plot!! It went in directions I was not expecting, so it kept me guessing!

The beginning was a bit confusing because there were so many characters mentioned (with names that were hard to pronounce), that I couldn’t keep them straight. It starts making more sense the more you read it though!

The story moved at a pretty quick pace, and I did enjoy our two main MCs, Talaysn and Alaric. They are definitely enemies 😂…throw in some forced proximity and quick retorts, and you’ve got some excellent tension going!

However; their romance is a VERY slow burn. They were also having some inner battles with their morals that started giving me whiplash. Their back and forth was a little much, so by the end it annoyed me.

I enjoyed this enough to want to keep reading the series.

The Hurricane Wars:⁣
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Thank you so much @harpervoyagerus [partner] for my gifted copy! ⁣
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“May your soul find shelter in the willows”. ⁣
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The Hurricane Wars is a stunning debut that has (rightfully so) been everywhere with great reviews! This was such an interesting premise, but I felt was too wordy. Regardless, I loved this book and cannot wait to see what happens next. ⁣
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I loved Tala and Alaric. They were both so different and they were heavily enemies to lovers. Lots of enemy angst, I loved their banter and well, hatred. There is a one bed moment and yup. It was what you expect. Tala is doing so much after finding out major news, and for her to not crumble of fall apart just shows how amazing and strong she really is. I cannot wait to their relationship change (for the better hopefully) in book 2 ⁣
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The down part is this book is entirely too long. Lots of it drug on and I would space out. It would be ok because I would not miss anything. I’m all for details for book one to really set the scene and world, but this was not really adding to the plot or world building for me. ⁣
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The actual magic was wonderful. The world building, exquisite. This book was steamier than I was expecting. There’s a big “will they/won’t they” and I figured more closed door, but it’s not!⁣
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Overall, I really enjoyed it. The book is gorgeous, the characters are wonderful, so I’m ready now for book 2 😂. Out now!