This is the second book in The Hurricane Wars series. Unlike some series where the second book is lackluster, this one SHINES! Talasyn and Alaric have amazing banter and the tension is next level throughout. There are still political elements with some yummy spice that just made me fly through this book with my feet swinging. The book ended on a cliffhanger that has me bursting. I keep swearing to myself that I will stop reading incomplete series but alas, Thea Guanzon is just too good to delay reading.

Spoiler Free Arc Review: 4.5 ⭐️

This is the much anticipated sequel of The Hurricane Wars and it did not disappoint at all. Our favorite light weaver and shadow daddy are back!! I enjoyed this significantly more than the first installment for a few reasons. In A Monsoon Rising we are confronted with a totally new issue that forces the two to work together to save their world from the Moonless Night. Because of this central conflict and joint mission, we finally see Alaric and Talasyn’s “relationship” develop throughout the book. *there is also spice* We watch them each grow significantly together and individually way more this second time around. I felt like the first book was almost entirely world building and setting the stage for the main themes of conflict in this one.

My favorite part of this book was definitely Alaric’s storyline. He’s begun thinking outside of his duty to his father and leaning in to a softer side that we don’t see in the first book. This book is left off on a great cliff hanger and I can’t wait to see where book three takes us!

I would absolutely recommend starting The Hurricane Wars if you haven’t if you like shadow daddy romantasy!!!

First I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Second, OH MY GOD. I have no words. I was worried this book would fall into the second book slump but I was very much mistaken. This books exceeded my expectations and more, I still don’t think I can put into words how amazing this book was. Talasyn and Alaric are two of my favorite characters and the true definition of enemies to lovers. THAT ENDING. I need the third book asap.

4.75⭐️ 3🌶️

Second book
High fantasy
Light/dark magic
War
Marriage of convenience
Enemies to lovers
Rebellion


A Monsoon Rising starts immediately after the ending of The Hurricane Wars. Basically, within the same conversation. I think that if it has been a little between reading the first and starting the second, it was a decent way to get back into the world and magic system.

I loved the development of the role of the dragons!

The character development was really well done. This is definitely a more romance focused sequel, solidifying the main couple and showing the push and pull of duty vs their confused feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed that it was paced as it was, making it easy to see how this will be a 3+ book series. Balancing of being each other’s consorts is such an interesting take on political relationships… I love it!

This was so much easier to get lost in, I think because book 1 did all the heavy lifting when it came to world-building.

I am HIGHLY anticipating the next book, if only to witness the soul wrecking devastation that is coming from that cliffhanger!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Votager for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

If Thea Guanzon has no fans, I’m dead.
The way the series has become my entire personality is not to be underestimated. Alaric and Tala are my favorite knuckleheads and I will duel for their stupid dumb honor. This world is so lush and there are moments so cinematic that I can picture them days after finishing this book. I didn’t think it could get better than The Hurricane Wars but this took everything to a whole new level and I’m so grateful to have received an advance reader copy.
Banter ✔️
Spice ✔️
DRAGONS ✔️
Battle magic ✔️
Magic as science ✔️
Political machinations ✔️
LETS GOOOO!

This book was so good!!! It was such a fast read and I couldn’t put it down. There was so much to love with this book. The characters were amazing and there is so much conflict throughout the book. This author is so talented! I’m so happy to have found this book.

Thea Guanzon has taken the her Reylo fanfic and turned it into somehting completely better. For one, I like that Talasyn and Alaric are on equal footing, and secondly, you can clearly see how Alaric is corrupted by his father. This is also a very true enemies to lovers as you never know if they will betray each other. I also appreciate Talasyn's devotion to Sardovia. There was more political intrigue in this book than in The Hurricane Wars, but Guanzon maintains a fast pace that had me tearing through the virtual pages of my e-ARC. After the ending of this book, I will definitely be waiting excitedly for the finale.

However, the colonizer x colonized romance still irks me. I think Alaric is much more morally grey than Kylo Ren, but he is still complicit in the destruction of Sardovia. The worldbuilding and story are amazing though, other than this part I dislike.

A monsoon rising was the perfect second book to this reylo fantasy romance! I loved the second book even more than the first!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book had everything I loved about the first one - the lush tropical setting, the fascinating magic system, and one determined girl trying to come to terms with her mysterious past, her stressful present, and an uncertain future.

Thea kept the tension high throughout without the shared burden between her and Alaric to keep their respective courts happy, fight their burgeoning attraction to each other (to varying degrees of success and ultimately failure as the book went on) and the doomsday clock of the Voidfell.

I will admit I find the politics, side characters etc the least interesting thing about the book and forgot most of that part of the plot and was grateful for and would have appreciated some more recaps/reminders. I am turning pages fastest when Tala and Alaric are exchanging barbs, staring longingly, and giving into their passions. When they have that annoying sense that they actually like the other person and are mad at themselves and do it anyway.

I still love Sevraim and Jie who tbh could use some more screen time and more meddling with the characters. It was nice to see Alaric start to open up to his bestie despite his fear.

It was also good to see more of Alaric's past, fears and vulnerability in addition to Talasyn's attempts to reconcile her duty with her desire to save Alaric. There was also so much delightful comedy between the two of them, and especially between Alaric and his tailor. Also, when he names the sariman Guava <3

I appreciated the tropey goodness of "there was only one rock shelf", wearing his clothes, and would love to see some fan art of that mirrored ceiling scene, just saying! Alaric's jealousy and possessiveness towards the end were an absolute treat! The smut was also chef's kiss fanfic-y goodness we've come to expect as devoted fans of her earlier works on AO3 dot com.

The descriptions of the clothing and settings are sumptuous and I love Thea's poetic writing style. There is pleasure in re-reading her prose several times to take in how beautifully she strings words together.

That final scene was a bit confusing and I was wracking my brain as to why the traitor would do that and I'm not sure if it's because I have a bad memory or if it simply is out of left field. The cliffhanger left my jaw hanging open for sure!

Excited for the third installment and for these two enemies to truly become lovers!

** thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review**

Probably a 4.5/5

I really liked the Hurricane Wars, but this was even more my speed which is rare for a follow-up. I will say, depending on why you loved the Hurricane Wars, this will either blow you away or miss the mark a bit. Where Hurricane had almost too much plot and not enough romantic tension (in my opinion, mostly because Guanzon is SO good at the tension and I wanted more), this book leans HARD into the romantasy… which is exactly what I want. The pining is superb. Banter, on point and the smut is excellent. Excellent. The build up from book 1 in that regard is fully delivered upon.

The non-romance plot remains incredibly strong. Since less setup/introing is required in this book, Guanzon leans more heavily into character development. Some of the aspects of Talasyn and Alaric that really annoyed me in book 1 are starting to evolve. They’re both growing into their final forms and becoming protagonists whose motivations are understandable if sometimes still frustrating. Guanzon does a good balance of showing over telling why they do the things they do but also why they’re starting to question their own choices. She’s put them into such a sticky situation by the end of the book that I really struggled to read the last 10%, not because it was poor in any way but because I didn’t want to see them suffer from their own choices.

Since this is not the final book in the series, it does leave things a bit open. This is not a series I would recommend starting for people who can’t have cliffhangers. (By which I mean, wait till they’re all out and then read it.) Guanzon has a really impressive way with words that comes through in every type of scene. This book isn’t short but it’s SO bingeable. I would have happily read it in one sitting if life had allowed. This is another one of those examples of me being mad at getting an ARC because now I have to wait extra long to read the third one… but in the best way.

This book was a good sequel to The Hurricane Wars. It really expanded on the world building from the first and it focused more on the romance and magic that the first needed. This book was quite a bit better than THW so I highly recommend this even if you didn't care for the first.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for allowing me to read this book as an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got an ARC of this thanks to @netgalley. I really need to sit with my feelings on this one. The two main characters have so many names, it’s a bit overwhelming. This is the sequel to Hurricane Wars, which I really liked! This one I enjoyed, but I don’t know if I loved? I’m interested in seeing how the trilogy unfolds because I’m hoping this is the weakest of the three. I don’t want to get spoiler-y because I know so many people are looking forward to this one!

I devoured this book and did not want it to end! I absolutely adored the relationship between Alaric and Sevarim and they way Sevarim always cracked a joke. It humanized Alaric in a way. The tension between Talasyn and Alaric was great and you could really feel the back and forth. Did not see the ending coming and cannot wait for the next book.

I definitely enjoyed this one more than The Hurricane Wars! Definitely continue with the series if you didn’t necessarily love the first. Normally 2nd books aren’t as good as the first, but that’s not the case here!

I have to admit I struggled with The Hurricane Wars. This probably stems from the fact that I've read this story in its original form, and seeing it transformed so heavily was a shock. Experiencing a whole new universe of backstory for the characters I already loved was a lot. Which probably explains why I couldn't say I loved THW. When I saw that A Monsoon Rising was preparing for release, I couldn't pass it up.

I enjoyed A Monsoon Rising a lot. This novel is much more focused on Talasyn and Alaric's relationship, their challenges and the secrets they keep. I think this novel benefits from the fact that most of the heavy world building was taken care of in THW. It checked all the right boxes for me, and I can't wait to read the final installment.

I do think AMR is more enjoyable than THW, so I do recommend continuing with the series, if you're on the fence.

Literally a perfect sequel. The plot and world building expanded on the first book. And the relationship of course as well.

One area that I really wanted more of from book 1 was the magic. And I definitely got that in this sequel! I enjoyed getting to dive deeper into Alaric and Tala's relationship. However, I don't feel like there was a compelling and driving plot to this book, I think I wanted more tension in the plot to balance the romantic tension. In truth, this felt more like a 1.5 than a sequel; I almost think I would have enjoyed it more if it were shorter. All that said, the ending got me! I love a cliffhanger! I can't wait for book 3!

Thea is quite possibly one of the greatest fantasy/romance authors of this generation. Her story telling is so well done and keeps you on the edge of your seat. There were points I wasn’t sure where she was going to go next, but she has surprised me at every single turn! My jaw was on the floor by the time i finished this book. 1000% recommend can’t wait till the next one!

4.5 stars

This book did NOT suffer from second book syndrome that’s for sure.

The emphasis of this book was placed on the development of the relationship between our two main characters Talasyn and Alaric. It’s been a really long time since I’ve read an enemies to lovers that’s actually enemies to lovers.

Thea Guanzon was able to write a romance plot where the characters were trying to fight their chemistry and attraction and failed. I ate it up! This did not take away from the plot and world building which I really appreciated.

I wish the voidfell plot was a little more action packed considering the culmination of the plot up to this point was about stopping it from destroying the world.

That ending was bonkers and I need book 3 NOW!

Man this was such a good continuation of The Hurricane Wars! I loved the deeper dive into Alaric’s character and background, along with the depiction of Talasyn’s family and how she’s adjusting to having them in her life. And adding to all this was the wonderful tension between these two as they continue to plot against each other while trying to ignore their attraction. I’m officially obsessed with these two if I wasn’t already in the first place. 😍

I’m still a heavy skeptic of the romantasy genre and will probably never get over feeling like a little nasty fly on the wall during “spicy” scenes, but this series will probably be the only one that 1) I didn’t read because of its explicit folklore/mythology inspired plot, and 2) don’t mind the sex scenes. There’s something about the way Guanzon writes and crafts the world and its characters that just acts like crack to my brain. 🤭

The story continues a few weeks after the ending of the first book. Talasyn and Alaric are training hard for the Moonless Night which could spell death to the world they know if they fail. I really liked how we get more scenes of them together and learning more and more about each other. I liked that Talasyn has moments of perceived weakness and Alaric does nothing but try and understand her. I also adored the idea that Alaric is a golden retriever boy locked behind the literal and figurative mask of a wolf. Honestly, I was just squealing with glee as these two bickered but came back together to be honest with each other in rather tender moments. 🥹

But really though, I just had a hoot of a time back with these characters. I loved the new inclusion of one particular figure from Filipino mythology and that ending? . . . WWHHHYYYYYY??????!!!!! 😫

HUGE thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my desperate request to read this sequel in exchange for an honest review (I’d also be forever in debt if I got a physical ARC 🙏🏼) and to Guanzon for finally making me get romantasy. ❤️

Publication date: December 10!!

Overall: 5/5 ⭐️

'A Monsoon Rising' is a strong follow up to the first book in the series. If you liked the first one, then you surely will like the second. To me, 'The Hurricane Wars' started a little slow and could be quite long-winded. This one does have moments where I wish the writing was a little tighter, but overall, I enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the third one.

In this ever growing 'romantacy' genre, 'A Monsoon Rising' hits somewhere in the middle between the two. Guanzon has built a very interesting world and magic system, and it's easy for me to go along with it without thinking too much.

This book focuses more on our two main characters and their motivations. We get mentions of the inner workings of Kesath's and Nenevar's politics and of Alaric and Talasyn navigating their courts, but we don't see it too much. That would give us a book considerably longer than what we got and undoubtably mess with its flow - which here moves along at a brisk pace. Guanzon seems to understand that the majority of the readers are here for the growing relationship between our two main characters.

We get a deeper understanding of their motivations and fears, and I feel like, on a deeper level that some other authors miss, Guanzon is telling a story of how trauma impacts relationships - not only trauma from our families and past experiences but the realities of trying to have a positive impact on a world more focused on power, consumption, and politics.

As a person who reads genres widely, I have to admit to giving romance/fantasy books a little more leeway than others. On its own, I would give this book 3 stars, but within this genre, I give it 4. Yes, we have the continued tropes of a 'shadow daddy,' a fun subversion of 'who did this to you?,' and a relationship built upon two antagonistic main characters, but Guanzon seems aware of these tropes and does her best to build upon them in a way that is (I can't find a great word for it) respectful of the reader.