Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I will say I was happy to continue right where we left off
in The Hurricane Wars. Talasyn and Alaric are finally starting to understand their feeling about one another and how to live with that in their agendas. The spice level in this book raises significantly after the first half of the book, so if explicit spice isn’t your thing then I would maybe suggest you don’t pick up this book.

The main characters still feel very juvenile to me, their dialogue felt cliché for the majority of the book. I do appreciate how much they have grown from the first book yet I’m really holding out for the next book to have both of our leads be mature. With all that has happened to them in their lives and the events in this book, I would’ve liked to seen a bit more growth from our characters.

Overall, I almost didn’t finish this book but I’m glad I stuck it out. It was a mostly me problem due to the pacing of the book. The world building was more in this book than the first which I appreciated! The plot was pretty mundane for the majority of this book. I would read the next book and I am curious to see where the plot goes!

I feel like this might be one of the rare cases where book two was even better than book one. More action. More romance. More plot twists. An ending that left me with more questions than answers. I was enthralled, and I cannot wait for the next one.

Bear with me because as a strictly romance girly who doesn’t dabble TOO MUCH into fantasy, Hurricane Wars was a challenge at first, however, I remember liking it enough to be excited about the sequel. So apologizes in advance for sucking at remembering the names of people and places LOL but OH! Was I grateful to receive an ARC for Monsoon Rising because I ate this shit up!!! 😂 I think because a lot of the world building was done in the first book, diving into this book was easier than expected. One thing I absolutely loved about this book was the perfect balance of detailed dialogue and action-packed scenes. Whenever I thought, “ok, that’s enough reading for tonight,” the next chapter would be more or just as equally exciting as the last. I literally couldn’t put it down.
Alaric and Talasyn are actually perfect. Their hatred for each other finally hitting a breaking point and I KNOW!! The whole plot between them puts them at odds because they’re still keeping secrets from each other but ultimately, that’s going to flood out too and it’ll make for good storytelling I’m sure. UGH but their tension!!! The fighting against their feelings, and the angst and the little hidden moments of joy between them is so fun to watch!🤍🤍
When it comes to the plot as a whole, I feel bad that Talasyn is just being used left and right and I don’t think anyone has her best interests at heart. The same with Alaric, and I think that’s what bonds them together even more. BUT THAT CLIFFHANGER??? I’m actually dead and worried about how that’s going to play out lol I just hope I don’t have to wait TOO long to find out. 😭😭

This books comes out tomorrow!!! December 10!!! I can’t wait to get my physical copy🥰🥰
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. My first romantasy ARC, I’m so honored

A Monsoon Rising will rock you like a hurricane (hehe see what I did there)

This is the perfect example of enemies to lovers. So many times when you read a book that is marketed enemies to lovers, it’s really just “people who don’t particularly like each other to lovers”. But not with this! Talasyn and Alaric are on opposite sides of a war, lives have been lost, and the propaganda is strong with the Night Empire, but circumstances have thrown them together. A Monsoon Rising continues their journey from The Hurricane Wars, and I loved this second installment just as much as the first. While book one focused more on world building and the war, book two focuses on character and relationship development. Talasyn and Alaric really struggle with their growing feelings in this book. The slow burn continues from book one, but in a different way. Book one is more will they/won’t they, and book two is more like anytime you think they’ve taken a step forward in their relationship, they remember their enemies with their own agendas.

If you have not picked up the first book, The Hurricane Wars, do it now if you want a series with
- A unique magical system
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow burn romance
- Political and wartime action
- And a lush, fantastical world to imagine and dive into

There is a cliffhanger ending that is very, very evil! Thea why?!

But I will forgive you because you love cats, and one of your fur babies is named Darth Pancakes 😌

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for an arc of this book! It was fantastic.

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I am reeling from that last sentence. What a cliffhanger! How am I supposed to wait for book three?

This is the second installment in Guanzon’s The Hurricane Wars series, and it absolutely delivers. If you haven’t read the first book yet—what are you even waiting for? This series is enemies-to-lovers romantasy with a touch of sci-fi flair. (Think Star Wars… but with dragons. Yes, Adam Driver vibes included.)

What sets this series apart is that the main characters are truly enemies. So many books in this trope make it feel one-sided (usually from the FMC’s perspective), but here, both characters are genuinely grappling with their intense, conflicting feelings. It’s messy, raw, and so satisfying to watch unfold.

The writing is vivid and stunning, and the world Guanzon has created is so richly imagined that leaving it feels like a loss. This second book avoids the “middle book slump” entirely—there’s constant tension, action, and stakes to keep you hooked. And that ending? Absolutely explosive.

I need the next book immediately. This series is a must-read!

If there's one thing I love, it's when a sequel takes a series to the next level. After feeling somewhat lukewarm about the first book, it was okay but felt a bit slow, But this is a rare instance where the sequel is a major step up and improvement from the first book.
The sequel continues right where the first book ended. I like that the plot is definitely starting to pick up, the side characters got more page time and development which was great.
And let’s talk about Talasyn and Alaric, the growth in their relationship was one of my favourite aspects of the book. Their banter? Perfection. The tension? Off the charts. And the slow burn with added spice? Absolutely *chef’s kiss*. Alaric’s devotion to Talasyn, his wife had me swooning. There’s just something about a MMC who is unapologetically head over heels for his wife that gets me every time.
With that ending, I’m officially counting down the days until the third book.

Thank you so much @HarperVoyager for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

🤍Thank you so much @harpervoyagerus for the gifted arc of A Monsoon Rising🤍

If you are a Reylo fan, than The Hurricane War series is for you!

These books have been such a great blend of fantasy and the sci-fi feeling of Star Wars.

It’s fast-paced with epic battles, political drama, and a romance that is just too good!

I will be eagerly awaiting book three to see what happens next with Talasyn and Alaric.

For the reader who loves:
• enemies to lovers
• Kylo Ren and Rey vibes
• opposite sides of a war
• light and dark magic

5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


"Ever since we met, I have lived in a dream of what could be."

A Monsoon Rising is the second novel in the adult fantasy romance series, The Hurricane Wars. The story follows Talasyn and Alaric after they are thrust into a marriage to ally the two nations that secretly plan the others' undoing. Yet a more immediate threat looms, the Moonless Dark, a cataclysmic event only Talasyn and Alaric can stop (hopefully) with their abilities. As they work together to prepare for the big fight their connections grow and the struggle to deny the feelings between them becomes harder. A plot to overthrow an emperor and a father's sinister ploy makes these two have to decide where their loyalties lie...and if they can trust the other…

Holy crap, this book upped the tension between Talasyn and Alaric up in ways I absolutely adored!

Talasyn is definitely trying to grapple with her new status in life. Her family and country see her marriage as a tool to take down Alaric. At the same time she sees parts of Alaric that show him to be much more and her empathy sticks with her. I enjoyed the strength she shows in being involved with the running of her people. She supports and loves them with all she has and I can see how much struggles with that while also caring for Alaric. She doesn't let him walk all over her and stands as her own separate power which I felt helped even things about between them.

Now Alaric continues to be our brooding male protagonist. I don't feel he has fully been swayed away from the dark side yet but it is definitely crumbling. He cares for Talasyn and he initially struggles with this before becoming resigned. We also see he does care for his people and is against his father's view of them. I loved seeing him fall harder for Talasyn and the ways it changed him bit by bit, even when he refused to fully acknowledge what his feelings mean.

In terms of spice I would place this around 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. Alaric and Talasyn have a very angsty relationship and it takes time for them to find their groove. There are these delightful almost moments and step forwards with then immediate step backs that tease readers and the characters as they try to unravel what they are. Full spice is seen in the second half of the book and it was incredibly worth it. It is detailed and, boy, does Alaric get into it. I loved the push and pull between them that led to this very passionate spice as they work through the feelings. By the end I would say they have a quasi relationship but trust is still not fully there.

"There was never anyone before you - and much to my dismay you have provoked me so much that you've worked your way into my dreams. You are the only one who plagues them..."

The overall story I felt was primarily focused on Talasyn and Alaric figuring out what they mean to each other. We do get some plot elements around Alaric's father's plan (hints and nudges) as well as the expectations of Talasyn's family but there are lulls in the story as they prepare for the big battle. I enjoyed these lulls and honestly didn't really notice them until the end because we spent so much time with Talasyn and Alaric and their relationship that I was having a blast reading about these two trying to figure the other out. Their banter was amazing and we got some slices of life with them in a way we did not before. Then, we hit with an excellent climatic scene that punctuates the story and introduces cool lore. I felt the bid up for this moment paid off very well. That said I was not prepared for that cliffhanger and I demand an extra chapter to make up for it.

Overall, this book exceeded my expectations and I need book 3 ASAP!

Thank you Harper Voyager for this arc!

Wow, what an absolute smash of a sophomore novel! I was nervous that the main characters left off in book 1 in different places, but it was so well handled in this book. When they were apart, I felt the angst and it made sense. When they were together, I was always on the edge of my seat and so looking forward to their interactions. What a pitiful angsty tormented little duo. Obsessed. The cliffhanger though? Straight to jail!!!!

The world building within these books are incredible! The politics, relationship, and environment entwine so seamlessly you feel like you stepped into a whole new realm! A Monsoon Rising picks up exactly where The Hurricane Wars left off. Talasyn and Alaric try to figure out how to maintain their allegiance to their causes as their feelings for eachother grow into something more than a political alliance. The banter between the two of them is incredible, and it is amazing to watch their relationship grow. The growth of the characters in this book is also amazing to see. Tensions rise and keep you on the edge of you seat, and the ending leaves you yearning for more in the best way!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- I was beyond thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book as I absolutely loved the first book in the series. I’m noticing that I like almost any book with a connection to Kyle Ren (looking at you The Love Hypothesis). A Monsoon Rising really built on the action from the first and felt more cohesive than the first book. I can’t say I remembered all of the side characters but almost everything else snapped right back into place for me. This book has great banter and I loved having more of Alaric’s POV. The world building and spice were done in perfect proportions for me. I also like that both characters have their secrets and are fighting against what that means for the future (hopefully it will be easier for them not to hate each other if they were both doing the same thing behind the other’s back?!) I wholeheartedly record this series!!

3.5/5 ⭐️

I’m absolutely obsessed with a slow burn. Give me one that takes several books to get juicy and I will eat it up. But… there was just way too much miscommunication here for me. I was ready to punch a hole in the wall, begging Alaric and Talasyn to just have a semi-real conversation with each other 😭

I do like the direction the story is moving in (nothing I was too shocked by because I’ve read what these books are based on already). However, this book also felt very anticlimactic as well. The first half revolves so much around the Voidfell, the big eclipse, stopping certain death, etc. then it happens and it’s over and you’re left wondering what the rest of the book is going to be about. We get a big political intrigue moment at the end, but I don’t know.. the story just isn’t feeling very well rounded and evenly paced as I would like it to be 🤷‍♀️

With all of that being said, I loved the banter between our two main characters, all the funny bits involving Elagbi or Sevraim, and the numerous training/action sequences!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WE NEED MORE STARS FOR THIS ONE!!!

I am UNWELL.
I loved book every bit as much as Hurricane Wars, and it had me falling even harder for Talasyn & Alaric (which I didn't think was possible.) Every single interaction, every look, every quip, every heated exchange… It was all perfection. I want to live in this world with these two. 😭

This installment definitely focuses more on character development, and the relationship between Alaric and Talasyn. Which I LOVED. Their dynamic is the heart and soul of the story, so having it front and center was a balm to my soul. There’s still plenty of the action, political intrigue, and Sci-fi goodness that we loved from book 1, so don’t you worry. But there’s definitely a deeper dive into the characters, so the pacing was a bit slower.

That. Freaking. Ending. No you did not, Thea! How I can I possibly wait for the next book??!! 😭 Damn- if you haven’t picked up the series yet, I highly advise that you do. The enemies to lovers arc is executed PERFECTLY, and the the beautiful prose and effortless dialogue will have you in your feels. Cannot recommend this enough.

Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for my review copy. 🙏🏼

3.5 ⭐️
A Monsoon Rising is the second book in the Hurricane Wars Trilogy and this story mainly centers around Talasyn and Alaric as they balance the tension in their new marriage of convenience. Just as the first book, there were so many cute moments and HOT moments between these two! The banter and tension between them is truly unmatched! While I loved the romance I hated the constant “will they won’t they” because we got enough of it in the first book. This second book definitely leaned more romance heavy than the first book did, which I didn’t mind, but the plot, magic system, etc I loved in the first one did suffer a bit because of it. Certain points felt to drag on, there was unnecessary filler, and nothing truly happened until the end. The training sessions were cool but also felt like they were just thrown in there. Overall, this was still a fun read but it did feel like the “middle book syndrome” we all dread at certain times. I will be picking up the last book in the series to see who this all wraps up because I truly do like these characters!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review♥️

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

I greatly enjoyed jumping back into Talasyn and Alarics love story. It was also enjoyable that they were finally willing to be more lovers than enemies.

The politics and inner conflict was really well done. You could feel the tension and stress between both of them!

I do think the plot took a back seat in this book. This was heavy on the romance. I am excited to see where book 3 goes and how the author wraps everything up!

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's definitely a romantasy, so while there are fantasy elements the plot centers mostly around the romance, but I found the romance very enjoyable. It was a very quick read, I found that I was flying through this book both because I wanted to know what would happen next and because I found the writing style very easy to understand and digest.
There is a large miscommunication trope in this book, a lot could be resolved if the two main characters just spoke to each other, but in this case that makes sense. They cannot speak openly because they are on opposite sides of a war and if they did one could easily kill the other with the information they shared and lose the war for that side.
This book also ends on a major cliff hanger and I need the next book right now!

4.14!

"Whatever better world you think you’ll build, it will always be built on blood."

I had so much fun with this book and honestly I do think if I wasn't reading high fantasies with minimal romance consecutively I would have liked it less because one thing that I despise in romantasies is when there's barely any fantasy but I do find it enjoyable if the romance hits and that's what happened here, The romance in this book was so damn good! I honestly think that reading high fantasies made me just crave for romance that when I picked it up, I was fully immersed with it because to be honest the fantasy/plot was only like 10% and it was heavily based on their romantic relationship. I also think that this was very important for the story because I didn't enjoy the first book that much, my main problem was how it felt disorganized and how the romance lacked chemistry. I do think if it wasn't for the reading situation that I was in it would have been 3 stars objectively but this made me realize how much I missed reading romance.

The sequel while didn't really work on the organization between I didn't really mind since it was mostly focused on the romantic aspect and oh my god it was so well done that it actually felt so fulfilling?? I didn't feel the need for there to be more plot, I feel the way it was written improved so much? because I liked it a lot! It felt like such an improvement from book 1 that I just loved reading and honestly I wasn't free this week but whenever I picked it up I flew through it. Also this was more focused on the characters development as well and the plot was sacrificed for it and since it is a series, I dont mind it.

Talasyn, I was really annoyed with her in the first book but she really improved, she didnt do a lot of annoying things, they were there but with a decreased amount that really shaped her character towards improvement and I honestly enjoyed reading about her character more and I would like to learn more about the rebellion that she joined and the things revolving around it more, we got robbed off that in this book :( but her emotions regarding Alaric and how she felt and the gradual change in it was so fun to read. Alaric, we needed so much from him in the first book where the character failed to deliver but in this one he ate! I loved his development, how we discovered glimpses of his past and how his emotions changed regarding Talasyn, I also just loved the constant back and forth between them, the bickering, everything was just so fun when it came to him. He was broody yes but he match her broodiness lol and it just made such a good dynamic.

The romance was easily the best part of this book also the saving grace of this book, in any other circumstance the book is usually not more than 3 stars if it's barely has a visible plot point but this one's romance and the chemistry was off the charts, it was amazing, It was hot and it was explosive so I obviously had more fun, I liked the constant denial of feelings, the mutual pining, the forced proximity, the marriage of convenience and the one bed trope. It made everything bump up a notch and took things to another level, I feel like the banter between the characters and the way they would feel around each other and the slowww burnn was agonizing. The pay off for the slow burn was so well done. The spice was well written as well and it ventures off into the adult category rather than YA which what I think was the first book. I also liked the worldbuilding, it improved while not that significantly the subtle touches were nice to read, I also liked the tropical setting of this book. The fight scenes were done well as well!

Overall, it definitely isn't for everyone but I really enjoyed this one, much more than the first one!

3.5 🌟
2.5 🌶️

Monsoon Rising is the second book in The Hurricane Wars series. We pick up where we left off at the end of the Hurricane Wars. Alaric and Talasyn continue to fight their growing attraction, the building sympathy between them that clashes with their ingrained places on opposite sides of the war. Add in the political machinations by the Regent (Alaric's father), Talasyn's grandmother (She Who Hung the Moon), and the rebel forces hiding in the islands and plotting on the mainland. There is a lot of excitement, making the pace quick and the action moving from scene to scene. All the while, we learn just how difficult Alaric's life is and how he feels regarding everything, including the loss of life. It very much continues in the vein of Reylo fanfic, and I'm not sad about it, but it does color my perception of the characters and what is happening in the book. Some may have no issue with this, but I could not keep my mind from dropping Star Wars characters onto the characters in this book. I don't know if I will continue the series, but I may. It's a solid read, and many people have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Voyager, for the eArc. These opinions are mine.

Review posted to StoryGraph and Goodreads on 12/9/2024. Review will be posted to Amazon on release date.

Someone please tell me how I am supposed to wait for book 3?!?!? Holy smokes. I had enjoyed The Hurricane Wars but always caution readers that it is the slowest of burns I’ve ever encountered. I didn’t know what to expect from A Monsoon Rising but this book was an absolute delight. We still have the very intense political marriage between Alaric and Talasyn as they try to navigate preventing the Voidfell from completing the darkest night eclipse that will kill almost everyone. Except this time these idiots (said with so much affection) cannot keep their hands off each other. Their verbal sparing is truly foreplay. I loved that Guanzon decided to explore if people can change and we spend all of book 2 watching our MMCs try to figure out if they can work together to make a better world even though their idea of how to achieve that goal is significantly different. I enjoyed our cast of side characters and seeing glimpses of them throughout the book. I won’t spoil it but this book ends on a cliffhanger and I would be lying if I said I didn’t scream “noooo!” as I read the last sentence. I cannot wait to return to this world and see how our characters fair.

A Monsoon Rising is book 2 in The Hurricane Wars series. This scifi book is full of politics and is an enemies to lovers trope. What started as a political alliance now has Alaric and Talasyn wondering if there could be more to their marriage. I loved the tension between Alaric and Talasyn. They bicker with the best of them.

The story itself was a bit slow at times but I still had a good time with this. I really enjoyed seeing them use their powers and exploring that while trying to save everything. The main thing I wanted was for them to just get together already. You can tell they longed to, it just took a hot minute to get there. If you're a fan of scifi with enemies to lovers you need to read this series.