This series is SO GOOD. The world building gets richer, the tension gets hotter, and the action remains high through out.

Hoping to host a midnight release party for this one!!! Can’t wait for everyone else to read it.

Talasyn and Alaric's arranged marriage may have ensured peace for their two nations, but not all power players have been satisfied after the Hurricane Wars. Rebels are consolidating resources and allies. Empires are plotting betrayals. And the very land that gives them the ability to bend light and shadow threatens to errupt with death magic that would destroy the world.

A MONSOON RISING is as thrilling as it is intimate. Yes, there is magical training and assassination attempts and save the world action! But there is also the embers of love desperate to keep burning against a raging storm. Talasyn and Alaric navigate this contemptuous passion for eachother while grappling with the consqences of falling for their enemy.

The magic of this world is something I want to shake until it tells me all of it's secrets. Its both ancient and scifi all at once. I believe its testament to Thea's love for her home, the Philippines, and it's people. There is community and resourcefulness in the story's Nenavarene people. The seas are homes to dragons. The land and weather is often feared, but wholly respected. There is reality in every moment of this fantastical world.

If you loved The Hurricane Wars, you will not be disappointed with it's sequel. It delivers on all accounts to make this one of the best romantasy series ever. I can't wait to see what Thea has in store for the finale.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager / Avon Books for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my review!! To be honest, after reading the first Hurricane Wars, I wasn't sure I was going to continue reading the series but I'm SO glad I did. There are very few series I've read where the second book is so much better than the first, and this is definitely one of them. The author did a fantastic job of keeping the plot interesting with plenty of things happening but not so much that it gets confusing. I especially love the tension between Talasyn and Alaric, the progression of their relationship in this book with the new dynamic between them as they have to work together and how conflicted they are with their emotions the whole time. This book has tension, romance, political intrigue, and a major cliff hanger (that makes me a little sad I read this so in advance I have to wait even longer for book 3). If you're like me and didn't love the first book, just give book a chance and keep going. I'll definitely be waiting patiently for the next one.

3.5 Stars

Ugh, I really wanted to like this one. The first book was intriguing and I couldn't wait to see how the world expanded and the plot develops. But for some reason, the sequel kind of fell a bit flat for me? It was slower than I wanted it to be, and towards the end, I ended up skimming to get to the end. Talasyn and Alaric's relationship stayed mostly the same, and the resolution to the climax of the book felt a bit too easy. I didn't really feel like anything much happened in this book...

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Have you ever read a book that, despite its flaws, leaves you with such powerful emotions that you can forgive its imperfections? This is precisely that book for me. I loved it so much that I'm willing to overlook its issues.

I flew through this book and the only reason I didn’t finish it faster was because I made myself space it out to savor the experience. Despite how fast I read it, the pacing is slower compared to the first book, which actually benefits the story in several ways:

- It allows for better world-building, making alliances and politics clearer
- It provides space for deeper character development and exploration of relationships

The character work truly shines in this installment. The interpersonal dynamics, especially the longing between characters, was just, chef’s kiss, glorious.

However, there are still some issues:

- World-building was still confusing at times, particularly with character names and locations
- The ending left me somewhat confused, though I have theories about what occurred

Despite this, I still loved this story to bits. I'll definitely be purchasing it, and I'm already eyeing special editions. I’m excited for the last book to come out (I have a long wait, lol), and think I may just reread the series once the trilogy is complete.

5 Stars

What you can expect to find in A Monsoon Rising:
-lots of Alaric acting a fool for Talasyn 😏
-banter & tension
-🌶🌶🌶
-let's keep pretending
-angst
-she takes care of him

A Monsoon Rising picks up right where The Hurricane Wars left us. Alaric and Talasyn are married, but have got to their respective kingdoms. They need to figure out a way to fight the oncoming war together. But the more time they spend together the more their marriage of convenience starts to feel too real. Will these two be able to let each other go if and when they defeat the very real threat to their world?

I loved loved loved The Hurricane Wars. The story and the slow burn between Alaric and Talasyn kept me hooked. That same banter and tension is definitely back in A Monsoon Rising. I always loved whenever Talasyn and Alaric were on the page together. They were both a bit frustrating at times, but I think that was the whole point. And if you were thinking where's the spice in The Hurricane Wars - trust me it's definitely there in A Monsoon Rising

While I loved the romance aspects of A Monsoon Rising the actual fantasy storyline left me a bit confused. I felt like it wasn't as cohesive as it was in the first book. I thouroughly enjoyed the fantasy elements and storyline in the first book, but felt it was lacking in A Monsoon Rising.

Still an enjoyable read that I couldn't put down! Looking forward to the next book in the series!

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon is the second book in the fantasy series The Hurricane Wars. It is scheduled for publication on December 10, 2024. The writing is intensely luxuriant and illustrative. If you think purple prose is a bad thing, well, then that’s on you. I've been swept away by the tempest of Guanzon's words. I did have to refresh my memory on who a bunch of the little side characters are, and I honestly didn’t realize until like a third of the way through the book that sometimes a person is referred to by their title, and sometimes by their name. I ended up confusing several characters, thinking they were actually two. I think a little glossary/political hierarchy chart/character bios refresher in the book, or even on Thea’s website, would be so helpful. The pacing was much faster and easier to follow than the first book because the romance was very much at the forefront of the book. The Enemies-to-Lovers vibe remains intense in this book, and the slow burn has started to heavily consume Talasyn and Alaric! Our idiots are absolutely still denying they’re in love, and very much grappling with the fact they are planning to betray each other. With the romance at the forefront, the political intrigue is more subtle this time around. Kesath and Nenavar are solely keeping the peace until our idiots in love deal with the Moonless Dark. And whew, that cliffhanger! I am so eager to read the third installment, I can’t wait to add the hardcover to my shelf when it comes out. Thank you to NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with this Advanced Reader Copy.

This was an exciting follow up to the Hurricane Wars. The same things I loved about the first book are present here: enemies to lovers where the relationship had rational further development and the reader could really feel the heat and the emotions, the excitement of the light and dark magic with the unique world building, and the Star Wars vibes. I did love the actual war action that was present in this one but missing from the first book. The cons are the same as well: I wanted more fighting, intrigue, excitement. This book still had too many slow parts where that excitement dimmed somewhat. I will still highly recommend it!

OKay I didn't think that I would love this book as much as the first one, because let's be real, books can let us down after such a great high, but this book did not dissapoint! love the tension between the FMC and the MMC and it was seriously perfect.

A Monsson Rising is the sequel to The Hurricane Wars- and while this is a review of the second book, I have to start by touching on the first. TLDR: I liked A Monsson Rising better than the first book. The Hurricane Wars was kind of a straight-forward opposites-attract story, where the main characters, possessed of opposing powers of light and dark, are inexorably drawn together. There isn’t much more as the basis of the relationship than that, and it makes the story a little thin, even though the backdrop of elemental powers, airships and warring nations has promise.

A Monsoon Rising does more to fill out both the world and the character relationships, and for that reason, I think it is a better novel. However, this is still a romantacy series (did I mention there is a secret princess? Sorry, Lachis’ka). Some of the supporting characters are more caricature than character (the politically sly grandmother, the evil grandfather, the stalwart flirt of a friend…). Talasyn has the most development, both in terms of personality and power, and the reader actually gets to see her actively working on learning new skills instead of spontaneously developing them, which is nice.

I also appreciate the times she gets to spend with Alaric without anyone else around, and we get more of each person’s personality showing through, rather than place-holder-style enemies-to-lovers interactions. There are just enough steamy moments to keep romantacy stalwarts, including myself, hooked, but otherwise nothing super special to recommend it. I will be reading the third book, much in the same way that I will be finishing the Fourth Wing series. A mediocre entry to the romantacy genre, I would wait until a paperback is printed, unless you like the cover art enough to splurge. 2.5/5 stars.

First I should state I've already grown attached to Alaric and Tala.

This book brought more angst, more passion, more confusion and more empathy.
Their relationship grows but there is always that "what if".

Didn't think I could hate Alaric's dad more but yeap...I do.

and the cliff hanger....my heart!!!! So I have to sit on the edge of my seat for another year?!?!?!

So much hope, I truly cannot wait to see how Thea brings this Trilogy to a end.
5 STARS!! LOVED IT!

The slowest enemies to lovers slow burn that I've ever read! My goodness! The amount of times I yelled, "Just do it already!!!" at my book was ridiculous, but in a good way. I really enjoyed that this story strayed from the typical expectations of these tropes. I think that the evolution of Talasyn and Alaric's story is beautifully awkward. The world-building is also beautiful, but a little too much for me. I think that it would have been helpful to make some of the names, places and imaginary words a little bit easier. I found myself making up names for many of the characters and even after The Hurricane Wars, had a hard time with some of the terminology. The cliffhanger definitely has my spiraling! Great story! Can't wait for the next!

A monsoon Rising.. So, I'm terrible and didn't know that this was a series when I picked it up (that's what I get for looking only at a pretty cover). And BOY, is this a pretty cover!? This book was initially hard for me to understand, obviously, I didn't read the first book. However, it does an amazing job of recapping slowly throughout the book so you get caught up. I was hooked! The entire story is intriguing. The slow burn is SOO SLOW, but I know it's going to be worth it! Talasyn and Alaric are perfect for each other and she's such a bad a$$! 10/10 recommend!

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


“One word from you and I let my guard down. I couldn’t kill you, either, all those times before . . . What am I, if I’m not a weapon? What have you done to me?”


I was hoping the sequel would blow me away, but I really need to remind myself that this is a romantasy series first and foremost.

So, if you’re looking for romance, then this is it.

Since I’m an idiot who wanted more politics in her romantasy, this ain’t it.

This installment was a lot more romance-focused than the first book. There’s still a hint of enemies in this enemies-to-lovers romantasy, but it’s more lovers than enemies at this point. Our two favorite idiots are in love, but there’s tons of denial and a helluva lot of colonizing politics cockblocking them from actually fully giving themselves into each other.

I’m not usually one for love stories, but I definitely want to see how this will all pan out. Will there be an ultimate sacrifice on someone’s part??? Tell me, Thea Guanzon!!! I’m begging you!!!

Other than the love story going hardcore (the sex scenes weren’t too bad but there were too many fade to black scenes for my liking. And somehow Alaric, who's a virgin, knows how to finger her AND make her cum?? BFFR lmfao), the actual bigger plot points were just okay.

No spoilers but the action scenes were on point! I loved the fight scenes and any scene where Talasyn and Alaric combine their light and shadow magic. (Okay, I’m a huge sucker for shadow daddies. Whatever. Judge me.) The author is really descriptive when it comes to the magic and the worldbuilding. I could feel myself being there, either on the Continent or Nenavar.

But sad to say though, since the focus was heavy on the romance, it felt like there was less politicking this time around. I wanted more backstabby political schemes and behind the scenes plotting. In the next novel, maybe?

And while the whole sevenfold eclipse, and the major preparations for it (including Talasyn and Alaric combining their powers) was super cool, the conclusion to that huge plotline felt like a letdown. Like the author wasn’t sure what to do with that huge piece of info, so she just said peace out and left that plot point for the next book. (I’m trying really hard not to mention any spoilers here lol)

It was great to get back into this world, but I wanted more backstabbing and less lovey dovey true love pining. With the enemies part dialed down, it felt like I was reading a fanfic of a fanfic.

But then again, that’s my bad for going into a romantasy series wanting more out of it.

Here are some of my favorite corny ass lines that are supposed to be romantic lol:

"He yearned to talk to her, but what could he say to his wife of political convenience, a wife he had already inconveniently orgasmed with?"

"The woman he had reluctantly married was in possession of the loveliest breasts on Lir."

"Let the Nenavarene see their Lachis’ka ride the Night Emperor’s face."

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this arc.

*An advanced digital copy was received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*

Preface:
I devoured the first book in this series, so needless to say I did freak out after being approved for this ARC. I was so excited to get back into this wonderful world of light and dark that Guanzon created.

Quick Synopsis:
After being in a lifetime of war, Alaric and Talasyn are thrust into an alliance with one another in order to stop the Moonless dark, where their combined powers of light and dark would stop the devouring of everything. However, the Hurricane Wars aren't quite over, and it's time to choose what - and who - to fight for.

As with the Hurricane Wars I was completely enthralled with the world building of this book. Since it was the second book in the series, a lot of the world building was already developed from the first book, so we as readers really had a chance to delve more into the plot and politics this time around. The book picks up right where we left off and really takes us deeper into the characters and their relationships with one another.

Characters:
I really enjoyed being able to diver deeper into these characters. This book really showed us what their tensions and motivations are (and of course what they think about each other). We got to see more of Alaric's past, and his home at the Shadowforged Legion, in general it shines a new light on Alaric's character. With Talasyn, I liked reading her chapters and seeing her grow more into herself and her powers over the course of this book. The dual POV chapters really helped add to this element of not knowing which side to pick, and showed our characters internal struggles to figure that out.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
What I think this book did really well is keep me on my toes. There were a lot of twists that I didn't see coming, and the tension between the characters was very entertaining. The enemies to lovers was really well written, and makes me very very excited for the 3rd book.

What I do wish was that the pace of the book was a bit slower in regards to the Moonless Dark. That part did feel a tiny bit rushed to me. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Fans of Hurricane Wars are going to love what Monsoon Rising has in store for them.

Thank you again NetGalley for the ARC!

thank you to netgalley for this arc.

This book was insane in the best possible ways. I finished the book and immediately found myself cursing that I needed book 3 right away. Alaric was even more tortured and sad in this book than in book 1 and Guanzon took his angst and truly ran with it. Having read book 1 a while ago, I do not entirely remember what the war is about, however Guanzon writes about war and the challenges the people across all the nations so beautifully and with such dedication that myself as a reader got so wrapped up in the description of the events i found myself remembering what it was about and why the character were so incredibly complicated (in a good way!). Tala was so lonely for so long, and even though she had her friends prior to being Alaric's wife, she still finds herself struggling with that loneliness as well as the loneliness of being in a marriage where she is unsure if her husband loves her at all (spoiler alert he totally does).
When I see authors describe their romances in their books as characters from other shows, I always end up feeling let down because usually theres never any comparison worthy, but i truly feel like Alaric and Tala are alternate universe Zuko and Katara. Readers who crave a romance like that will find absolute joy in this series (and that includes the horrible cliffhanger!!!!)

I was a big fan of The Hurricane Wars so I was absolutely thrilled to get to read A Monsoon Rising early. Enemies to lovers romance (ahem... kylo ren and ray, anyone?) with political intrigue in a southeast asian-inspired war-torn fantasy world. Yes yes yes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was worried this book would suffer from sequel slump, but I am so happy to have been proven wrong! This was a very solid follow up to The Hurricane Wars. I read through it so quickly, probably the fastest I've gone through a book all year. It kept me interested all the way through (hello, one bed trope), and that ending hit me out of nowhere! I am very eager for the third installment, and don't want to have to wait at least a year for it!

Started off strong but the FMC was a bit too immature for my tastes. Her decision making and over all demeanor grated at times. Also, needed more plot! Felt like there was too much focus on their obsession with each other.

My two little idiots were so hot and dumb in this second book too. I love them so much!
The plot: amazing
The romance: amazing (I’m screaming)
The cliffhanger: amazing (I’m dying inside)
The tension: amazing (I’m kicking my feet)
The worldbuilding: amazing

TEN TEN TEN ACROSS THE BOARD.

Thanks to HarperVoyager US, Netgalley and the author for providing me with this ARC!
Full review to come.