I loved this book and I need the next one ASAP. I really enjoyed getting to see Talasyn and Alaric deepen their relationship. The world building continues to be so interesting and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I really enjoyed this! This book was definitely more character driven than the first. This focused more on the romance, but there was still plenty of action.

This seemed to be more about the growing relationship between Talasyn and Alaric, and I was definitely here for it. I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow. I just loved the angst and tension. I particularly enjoyed Alaric. I also was NOT expecting that ending. This hasn’t even been released yet and I’m dying for the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Everything ended, even pain, even empires. Everything but this. War was the unchanging season, the eternal state”

An amazing sequel by Thea Guanzon!!! Her world building is immaculate! Her writing really transports you into another world. There is also a lyrical quality to the way she describes places and things in her scenes. It is really easy to visualize the story as you are reading.

The first book, the Hurricane Wars, is action packed and features the fighting and waging of the Hurricane Wars. Our two main characters, Talasyn and Alaric, were on two different sides of the war. Monsoon Rising, is about what happens after the war, and how Talasyn and Alaric have to work together to overcome a cataclysmic natural disaster that could wipe out the majority of their respective empires.

Monsoon Rising is more character focused and is specifically focused on the new political marriage alliance between Talasyn and Alaric. As in the first book, the two are still very much enemies in this sequel and we see how both of them, especially Talasyn, struggle with having feelings and chemistry with their sworn enemy. The politics of war and their respective kingdoms is very much entrenched in their love story and I am interested to see where it leads in future sequels.

For those that are interested, I am happy to report that we finally got some spice in this book since the first book barely had any (and the one scene we got was very much reminiscent of Nesta and Cassians first spicy encounter … iykyk).

As much as I enjoyed this book, I have to say that The Hurricane Wars is still my favorite of the two. As I said, this book moves at a bit slower pace since it is so character focused and I just prefer a little bit more action.

If I have any complaints it is that the big cataclysmic event Alaric and Talasyn are training to prevent fell a bit short for me, it was a bit anticlimactic. Trying to prevent it didn’t feel as urgent as I feel it should have. Talsyn is very inexperienced in her powers and she is just left alone to train by herself for the majority of the book even though she is half of the duo that is supposed to stop the event equivalent to what I imagined was a nuclear-bomb-like event. I felt like the stakes were too high but were not really taken too seriously. Moreover, I felt like some scenes were a bit repetitive, especially the lunar eclipse scenes where Alaric and Talasyn practiced their powers together. We also do not get a lot of POVs or scenes with other characters, even though an entire revolution is being planned on one side, and further world-domination on the other. Hopefully, the plot will be a little more action packed in the next book!

Happy Reading!

“Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to live in a world where she was allowed to take his hand.” THIS. BOOK.😭

it’s been days and i’m still ✨unwell✨ from the cliffhanger of this book and everything else Talasyn + Alaric’s story made me feel!!

the tension, the PINING, the banter, the political intrigue! the way this couple makes my heart SQUEEZE and burst and ache and soar.

Alaric…he has officially been named Chairman of The Tortured Loverboys Department™️ bc my man is DOWN BAD for Talasyn and i’m so down bad for him bc of it. he’s so melodramatic and tortured and hilarious and protective and well-meaning to his core. my certified lonely SadBoy😭 i can’t properly express my love for him. he must be protected at all costs.
“Deadly. Magnificent. The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” please he makes me so unwell🫠

and Talasyn! the fighter that she is!!! to see her spirit continue to fight, while also realizing her feelings for a certain someone (though she’ll never admit or put name to them), and how these two things work against each other….god this story is just SO GOOD. the absolute YEARNING that Thea writes. it’s unmatched!
“Like someone stopping her fall. Like the end of a long journey home. She didn’t know how to put it into words, these emotions that were bigger than her body, that ran deeper than her magic, that soared higher than the Sky Above the Sky.”

i absolutely need (NEED!) book 3 immediately! i can’t think about how long we have to wait or else i will go into a deep depression. 🙂‍↔️🧎🏼‍♀️

if you are a fantasy reader, YOU NEED THIS SERIES IN YOUR LIFE (screaming affectionately)🥲

read if you love:
+ TTPD (it’s ✨their✨ album)
+ tension and piningggg
+ a man that’s down bad
+ political scheming and machinations
+ light x shadow magic
+ “who did this to you” (she said it!!!)
+ nickname only he calls her😭
+ YEARNING
+ “what is this feeling”
+ spicy romantasy🔥

this book was a solid improvement from the last one. I think it benefits from having a foundation of worldbuilding, so we can focus on the characters and plot this time around. now we have this rich world to play around in (even though sometimes I am like… did you need to invent a new word for that?). the pacing could also be a bit improved, because it took quite a while for the arc to really show. however, I did overall enjoy reading this and am pretty darn excited for the conclusion.

alaric and talaysn are as angsty and untrusting as ever, as I love, and they’re still flashing hot and cold as they remember that they can’t trust each other and are going to eventually betray the other. they’re quite cute in this book, and it’s very fun to watch all the other characters see them as well.

talasyn is struggling here (so is alaric, but I’m way less sympathetic to him, as the heir to the fascist empire) to reconcile her empathy and love for alaric with what needs to be done. to be fair to her, her grandmother and the rebellion both are acting really shady and not giving her a safe place to rely on. and her dad’s sweet but clearly doesn’t have that much going on up top. so she’s just alone with no one to trust, poor baby. alaric, like many people, excels in the “raising problems” side of things but sucks at the “solving them” part- he is still convinced imperialism is the answer. we can but hope he improves soon (I mean, he’s gotta, right?)

the politics are building in this book, but we don’t get a resolution of most of the plot threads, so I can’t judge whether they’ll end out satisfying or not. I will say that I’m very intrigued to see how everything pulls together.

I will say, I was surprised by how this ended. I was sure it would end in a particular way, and then it swung a completely different plot point, so I’m very interested to see how everything will wrap up in the final book… I think there’s a lot to be done in a single novel.

Title: A Monsoon Rising
Author: Thea Guanzon
Rating: 4 ⭐️

A Monsoon Rising is the highly anticipated second book in the Hurricane Wars series. Picking up right where we left off in book #1, we follow Alaric and Talasyn though political schemes and high tension romance. As a huge Star Wars fan, I have really enjoyed seeing the similarities between Rey/Kylo and our main characters. This book was heavier on the romance than book 1, and let me tell you, the tension is REAL! At some points, I found myself dragging through a bit, but overall I enjoyed this one more much than the first one. I hate cliffhangers, but always in the best way!

I am looking forward to seeing what happens in Book 3!

Read this book if you enjoy:
- Arranged marriage
- Reylo fan ficition
- High tension
- Forced proximity
- Political schemes
- Romantasy

A huge thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, NetGalley, and Thea Guanzon for the eARC for an honest review.

For anyone anxiously waiting to return to Talasyn and Alaric and their relationship, A Monsoon Rising delivers. This book gives readers the tension and romance they hope for in this sequel to The Hurricane Wars. However, the plot itself is lacking and thus feels way too slow. Outside of the romance a lot of the book felt like filler, and I am left to assume that most of that will be resolved and take place in the next installment. Romantasy lovers will enjoy this! Overall, readers will be satisfied to return to this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. This is a continuation from the first book The Hurricane Wars. This review is spoiler free. This book continues on with the forced strained relationship of Alaric and Talasyn. The trope of light and dark coming together. The war continues and so does their forced tension of a relationship. The banter in this book is phenomenal. Talasyn has a secret and so does Alaric. How far will they both go for what is important to them and what they want? Will one betray the other.....Can enemies turn to true lovers or is it for their own selfish reasons? If these two met in a different time or different life I believe their relationship would be a lot different. There is some spice in this book, romance (is it real) or is it lust.? There is a cliff hanger at the book which will continue in book three which is to be determined.

The romance between Alaric and Talasyn is slow-burn and fraught with tension, making it all the more rewarding as their feelings evolve from animosity and mistrust to something deeper. Guanzon excels at building chemistry between them, and their dynamic—pushing and pulling against one another, balancing personal desires with the greater good—forms the heart of the novel.

The central conflict of the book, the Moonless Dark, adds a layer of urgency and high stakes, with the threat of this magical catastrophe looming over the characters. However, it is the personal stakes—their loyalty to each other, their nations, and their own sense of self—that makes A Monsoon Rising stand out. The world may hang in the balance, but the characters' emotional and moral choices are what truly drive the narrative.

This. was, a POWERHOUSE read!!!! In the sequel to the Hurricane Wars, Thea Guanzon delivers on the political intrigue and budding romance we saw in book 1. This one fully developed and gave us what we'd been yearning for in book 1, but it was set up perfectly. I loved the witty banter between the main characters, and if enemies to lovers is what you seek, look no further!!! It was such a beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking read. The chemistry was insane... and it left me feeling like it was real - it's so hard to capture that realistic chemistry and I found myself flipping furiously to the next page with goosebumps waiting to find out what happened. And... that ENDING! I can't wait to read book 3!!!

Such a great read. The tension that was established in Hurricane Wars continues to build and Thea Guanzon delivers on the spice in Monsoon Rising. More world building and lots of political intrigue. I felt like the pacing in book two was better for me and I actually liked this more than Hurricane Wars. And the ending!! Waiting with bated breath for book three.

Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ 🌶 🌶 🌶

This is how you write a love story!! Oh my gosh, I am absolutely swooning over Alaric and Talasyn. They stay enemies and remain on opposite sides of a looming war but have to allie together during the moonless void, which sets us up for so much banter, tension, and delicious spice. I love how vibrant and full this world is. We learned more about Alaric, and I am raging for this man! He deserves so much more. Gaheris is the actual worst! On the other end of the spectrum, we have Talasyn and Elagbi's relationship, and it's so beautiful and pure. I really loved seeing them make up for lost time.

The banter between the main characters and even the side characters had me laughing. I love Sevraim and Jie.

Honestly, I don't see how they are going to make this work, and as a reader, I am so invested. The cliffhanger is brutal! I had to re read the last few pages because I couldn't believe it ended like that.

-forced proximity
-dragons
-light/shadow magic
-marriage of convenience
-banter/tension

I didn't give it the full 5 stars because there were parts that seemed to drag on too long. There's politics and strategizing, but nothing really happens because everything is centered on the moonless night. I am eagerly awaiting book 3, even though this book isn't out for another 2 weeks 😭

I had high hopes for A Monsoon Rising, as I really enjoyed the first of the series. While the battle scenes were action packed and exciting, and the romance scenes were spicy and fun, I felt this book lacked something. I was a little bored at times reading it and I couldn't quite put my finger on why that was. Overall it was a good read, but not quite as fun as the first.

I absolutely adored this second installment in the series. I started the book before I went to bed one night and then woke up at 3 am and finished it. I don't know what Thea puts in this book, but I was addicted! I definitely did not see the ending coming, and I really just enjoyed going along for the ride in this book.. I thought we got to see some character development and depth. I also enjoyed the romantic progress of the characters. I will be waiting on pins and needles for the next book.

ARC Review: A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon

POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR THE HURRICANE WARS

Read this book if you like:
🖤 Dragons
❤️ Political Intrigue
🖤 Open Door Spice
❤️ Possessive MMC
🖤 Banter
❤️ Tension
🖤 Inexperienced MCs
❤️ Hurt/Comfort

“So many things were up in the air. So many possible paths the future could take— most of them disastrous.” -Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

My reaction upon finishing this book was WTF?!?!?! Thea Guanzon has a way with words and an ability to pull on your heart strings and then tie them up in knots (but in a good way). This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and lived up to the hype. I’m so grateful to @theagwrites @harpervoyagerus @avonbooks and @netgalley for the digital ARC of this amazing book!

A Monsoon Rising picks up right where The Hurricane Wars left off. Talasyn and Alaric continue to learn how to navigate one another in their new political arrangement. Talasyn continuously battles her inner self with her budding feelings for Alaric and her sense of duty, because The Hurricane Wars are far from over. Reading about these two had me kicking my feet and giggling like no other. The banter was superior and Thea Guanzon has a way with emanating her characters feelings that was so tangible while reading. The spice was really kicked up in this book and it was 🥵! Additionally, I loved watching the relationship between Talasyn and Prince Elagbi grow and blossom. The political intrigue of this book adds so many layers to the plot. This story was very action packed but set at the perfect pace, and has a massive cliff hanger ending. This book is joining my top reads for the year!

I don’t want to give too much away as this is the second book in the series but I URGE you to read The Hurricane Wars so that you’re prepared for this book to drop on December 10th, 2024!

Wow wow wow. My eyes are getting a little teary thinking about how much I love this series and how much I adore Thea & this world she’s created!

First, thank you for the advanced copy of this. It made my year!

My initial thoughts:

I was a littler nervous that we were pulling a “second child syndrome/sequel falling short” for a minute there. I loved that we started off right where we left off in the first novel. But there was so much build up to the end of book one, that it took awhile for the buildup to manifest in book two. BUT ONCE IT DID, I was alllll in. The writing started to flow more naturally as the book went on. The characters naturally fell into their spaces that I missed so much in book one. I thought there was a bit missing until the actual Moonless night. But then I looked back and loved the character development and all that happened between our two main characters. That’s what we literally begged Thea for after book one! And I think she delivered with so much tension and angst between Tala & Alaric that it was perfection.

I was not anticipating the ending of the book?! I had a little bit of a hard time keeping track of the royals from book one. I think there could’ve been a better “reintroduction” for the small side characters in book two. Because I had no idea who and where the girl who (kidnapped?!) took out Tala was!

Besides that, FIVE STARS!!!!!!!

Will return closer to pub date to link my review on my pages! THANK YOU AGAIN.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for the ARC of Monsoon Rising.

If you love a true enemies to lovers fantasy then get ready to feast. These two are enemies in every sense of the word and the angst and journey they take feels so realistic- even if they both have the emotional intelligence of children. This is a slow slow burn, y'all.

And poor baby Alaric and his creepy, Sith Lord father just deserves all the love so if that is taken from him I will riot.

The magic system in this book is still super neat but the political maneuvering in this one was a lot less as the relationship took center stage. Book 3 is set up to be a banger and I wager that the plot is really going to take off.

Also, physically these books are gorgeous so I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC! 🤍

I really liked this one. It had way more romance, where the first was a lot of world building and fantasy plot. It had a very different feel than the first, in a good way. I love romantasy, but I'm mostly in it for the romance, so this book was itttt. Very worth getting through THW for.

There was a lot of build up to stopping the moonless dark, and while that scene was pretty intense and unexpected, it felt over quickly. Hence the stronger romance than plot in this book.

I was slightly disappointed that while this book had much more romance, Alaric and Talasyn were still "enemies" at the end, obviously still in denial. But Alaric has started showing his protective and posessive side with Talasyn (more of that please 🥵). I cannot wait to see what he does in the next book after the way this one ended. BIG cliffhanger. 😭 and I'm dying to see how they work out not betraying each other when their sides both have that planned.

I maybe enjoyed this one so much because it was so different and so much better than the first, but does it matter?! It was still a great book!

Oh, and I freaking loooove Sevraim and the humor he brings to every moment of tension. Hoping for more of him in the last book!

I was extremely excited to read this book, and it definitely did not disappoint! Alaric has become one of my favorite main male characters. There's so much to appreciate about his personality that I could talk about it for a long time. Talasyn is also fantastic; she truly embodies a strong and compassionate main female character. Throughout the story, you can see their struggles with trust in each other, while also trying to reconcile that with their love and honor for others. The ending was unexpected but also intriguing. Overall, I would give this a 5-star rating!

I was really excited about this book after loving The Hurricane Wars, but it really felt like it dragged. I was impatient for the FMC and MMC to get together finally and was surprised by how much time they spent apart. I thought the writing was well done and it picked up near the end.