Um what was this book? It was so good. After waiting for this book after the massive cliffhanger we got left on and this was really good. I enjoyed it!

4 Stars!

*Reylo
*Enemies to lovers
*Shadow Daddy


This book was just as addictive as book one but it did have some slow points where I was pretty frustrated with the main characters. I can't wait until book 3 is out so I can reread this series all together!

The cliffhanger might end me....

Just him and me and the monsoon

Wow, did I 5pm the sequel could live up to the Hurricane Wars, no. But this one did! It was so complex and fast paced. I never want this series to end!

THEA, I NEED THE THIRD BOOK NOW! I devoured this book in 13 hours (and at least 4.5 hours I was doing something else). It was well paced with a few twists I was not expecting. This is definitely a series I will be re reading before the third book to see what things I missed the first time around.

I am obsessed with these two's love story. I love watching them both fall deeper and deeper in love but still thinking the other is indifferent to them. The way Guanzon builds the tension between these two is just delicios. And this is a true enemies to lovers (where as I feel most enemies to lovers are actually adversaries to lovers). ANDDDDD there's a "who did this to you?" except it's Talasyn saying it to Alaric; the scream I scrumpt when I read that. I loved that reversal from the standard MMC to FMC. And the growth these two are going through is just *chef's kiss*

Again, more people need to be talking about this series because it is so good. Definitely a must read for romantasy readers.

Review goes live December 2

Please see below for my review. I will include a Book Description and Trope list in my post on IG. This review will be posted the week of 11/18 and I will add links for Goodreads, IG and Fable to NetGalley after they go live.

I was beyond excited that I got approved for this ARC in November from NetGalley. I loved the first book and was excited to jump back into this story. I always get a little nervous for the second book in a series. I've had experiences where the second book doesn’t come close to living up to the first. I can safely say that is not the case with this book! This book was incredible and continued the story perfectly from the first.

Thea Guanzon's world building is on another level. I felt like the world, and Nenavar especially, just leaped from the page. It was so vivid and lush. The romantic buildup and tension in this book is wild. The first book was definitely more enemies-to-lovers vibes and this book beautifully continues the slow burn buildup of our main characters' relationship. Both are fighting their attraction to each other and I was eating up those interactions. I also adored their cute banter and inside moments. I seriously giggled at a few of them. I CANNOT wait for the next book in this series. I’m not sure how I’ll emotionally cope until it comes out. All the stars for this book. If you haven’t started the Hurricane Wars....what are you waiting for... you should! However, if you need more convincing here are some tropes that can be found in the second book:

Tropes:
-Dragons
-Shadow Daddy
-Political Marriage
-Slow Slow Burn
-Touch Her and Die
-Forbidden Love

Thank you Avon Books, Harper Voyager US and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free copy of this book in. exchange for a honest review.

I loved the first book in this series and couldn’t wait for this one. It had everything I loved in the first book and so much more. I love the world building and characters so much.

This sequel was great! Definitely did an excellent job of building what was established in the first book. I loved the MCs' interactions and character development.

A Monsoon Rising is in the exact same romantasy trope as Hurricane Wars, the first book in this series. That is both its advantage and challenge. The characters are still engaging, the battles are raging around them, the story continues the familiar enemies to lovers storyline as the first book, and leaves another cliffhanger. Readers who loved the first book will likely enjoy this one. Like the first book, the romantic tension gets drawn out a little long, and the storyline moves a bit slowly but overall a good follow up book. . Highly recommended for fans of this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an advanced reader copy

I’m not surprised that I loved this book because I LOVED the last one so much. This gave me everything I yearned for in book 1. This is the best example of true enemies to lovers - these 2 HATE each other and continue to hate each other (kinda 👀.)

The cliff hanger was so abrupt and criminal that I legit could not believe that the book was over.

I am and will be in agony until the next book. I am so stressed about what’s going to happen next.

A Monsoon Rising was quite the ride! I was thrilled to receive the ARC, especially after enjoying The Hurricane Wars. While I’d categorize the first book as a political fantasy that could easily fit in the YA section, A Monsoon Rising is a whole different beast—spicy, character-driven, and full of tension.

Where the first book focused heavily on the politics of war and strategic marriages, the second dives deeper into the characters, particularly Talasyn. It was fascinating to watch her grapple with her growing feelings for Alaric despite their complicated past and his morally gray nature. As they lower their literal and metaphorical shields, they begin to grow closer, but with that comes new complications. The "will they, won't they" dynamic became a bit frustrating at times—I just wanted to scream, "Just confess your love already!"

I didn’t remember the dragons being such a prominent part of the first book (maybe I need a reread?), but they were a fantastic addition to the story. The imagery was stunning; Thea Guzman has a real gift for world-building, making every scene feel vivid and immersive.

Just when I thought I knew where things were heading, Guzman hit us with that plot twist—and ended the book on a massive cliffhanger. Seriously, I need to know who did this and why—now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy of A Monsoon Rising. I’m already counting down the days for the next book in this series!

Wow. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. When I finished the Hurricane Wars I thought to myself about how much depth and passion was baked into that story and figured there’s no way anything could ever top it in terms of the immense detail, complexity and expansiveness.

Opening this story I was transported right back to where we left off and it’s like no time at all had passed. I was right back in the thick of it stricken with that same wonder and anxiety that I had before. One of the things that Thea Guanzon does really well is keep you on the edge of your seat. There’s really never a moment throughout this story where you can simply breathe a sigh of relief or anticipate what’s to come next which is what keeps it so engaging.

Also, as a reader I love the moments where you want to shake the characters or scream at them for either being naive or not knowing the info we are privy to as the reader and there are many moments within this where all I wanted to do was scream through the pages at the main characters!

Ultimately, I was highly engaged with this story and was not surprised to be utterly floored at this dramatic cliffhanger of an ending. Typical Thea! Now I am feverishly awaiting the next part of this story yet again and will be sat here contemplating until it comes out!


Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for gifting me this MASTERPIECE in exchange for my honest review!

That cliffhanger!!! How dare you, Thea!! Now I have to wait another year for the finale?!?!

Wow, what an amazing second installment to the best-selling series, "The Hurricane Wars". This book picks up right at the end of book one. The world building is endless and the angsty pining between Alaric and Talasyn is heartwrenching. I enjoyed every minute of this book. I devoured it in 1.5 days!

Absolutely, this is a recommendation to all who enjoy romantasy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyage for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️
I was really looking forward to this book as The Hurricane Wars was a great start to the series and had a lot of potential going forward. However, this book was a bit of a let down. I still enjoyed the characters, but the tension that was so prevalent (and was a big reason the first book was so good) between the main characters wasn’t quite there anymore. It was still will they won’t they, but more so in an indecisive way rather than a tension filled way, which wasn’t as fun. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was missing, but the excitement and fun I felt reading their relationship develop in the first book wasn’t quite the same this time around. The plot was also lacking. It honestly felt like not much was happening until the last 30% of the book. While I enjoyed the last bit of the book, I wish more had happened throughout. The cliffhanger definitely surprised me (and confused me in part because it included a character that I didn’t remember much about). With all that being said, I am curious enough to continue reading the series to see where things go and am hopeful the next book will be a bit better.

How does Thea do it AGAIN. After the rollercoaster of emotions from the Hurricane Wars, A Monsoon Rising hit every mark.

First let’s start with the cover. IMMACULATE. NO. NOTES.

This book primarily focuses on Alaric and Talasyn’s relationship and their journey to stop the void fell. The growth and unraveling of each character’s protective walls was beautiful and honestly, hot. The spice they both deserve is filled in this book. Minimal enemies in this enemies AND lovers romantasy but honestly I’m here for it.

The action scenes were so well done as well. Tying together the reminder that these people are at war and the drama within it is written so beautifully.

The cliffhanger at the end has me crying for another book and I can’t wait to see everything fall together or apart (hopefully not because I am a Talaric Stan now) as the story continues.

Maraming salamat Thea and NetGalley for this arc!

This book was so good! The pacing was perfectly done and I feel like it’s all coming together so well! The plot is slowly unfolding and you can see where it’s going and I am so excited to keep reading. This series has been one of my favorites of 2024 and I cannot recommend it enough! The character development was fantastic and I love the back and forth between Alaric and Talasyn that makes it impossible to stop reading.

This novel embodies everything a sequel should be! A Monsoon rising proved to be the perfect addition to its predecessor The Hurricane Wars. Guanzon crafted such complex, relateable characters. I adored the arrange marriage trope between the two main characters. No one writes angst and betrayal into poetry quite like Thea Guanzon. Alaric says “my wife” so many times but everytime made me pause and squeal. The world building was so well rounded in the first book but this edition created such a magical, whimsical, and brutal world.

i’m not sure the words exist to sing the praises that this book deserves. i am not sure i have read a book that BETTER encompasses the moral dilemmas, the internal struggles, and the absolute base NEED that two people that shouldn’t be together experience.

every page was laced with tension, pining, and the BEST banter i have read in a while. talasyn and alaric are absolutely careening into a tricky, messy, hot romance, and i am SO here for it.

i’ve seen a couple reviews complaining that this whole book was “will they? won’t they?” and i don’t understand….. isn’t that why we’re here?!? i WANT to feel the pulls they experience both for each other, and for their peoples. the first book was about the backstory, the politics, the set up for the overarching problems. This is the book where they start to have to FACE these issues head on, together, and do their best not to fall in love along the way

in book one, i tolerated alaric and LOVED talasyn. in this book, i loved talasyn, but i would have taken an arrow to the chest for alaric. Watching him come undone, and try to be a better man than his father DID THINGS TO ME. no MMC has made me feel the way that alaric did (except wilder hawthorne but that’s a different story). his internal struggles between his people and talasyn. my god man. she might have fallen first (whos to say really) but he fell HARD. i love when a stoic man cracks for her and her alone.

you’ve gotta read it. you’ve just gotta. this book was so heart-wrenchingly perfect. i can’t believe we’ve gotta wait SO LONG for the next book.

“be kind to me, wife”

thanks netgalley for the eARC of this book

Absolutely amazing!! I was so impressed and loved this next book in the series. The story picks right back up and kept me entertained throughout.

Talasyn and Alaric pick up where they left off in The Hurricane Wars training their magic to prepare for the Moonless Dark. While they gave in to their mutual attraction on their wedding night, they have now spent time apart and know they each need to focus on their own priorities; which doesn’t include lusting after their spouse. However, once they’re thrown back together to train, no amount of logic or guilt can keep them apart.

I don’t know, man. These books have my number. I was hooked right away and love Talasyn and Alaric’s love / hate relationship. They clearly want to be together, but each have their own justified reasons for knowing they shouldn’t act on their feelings. Fortunately for us though, they never last too long without caving. I’d say the world building could be a bit unclear / confusing at times, but not overly imperative to enjoying the story. Now we just have to wait for book 3 after that cliffhanger 😫

For me, this was a pretty perfect fantasy romance book. I find that frequently book twos in series like this can be a real drag; however, I think this second one was even better than the first in the series.

Its true enemies to lovers. There are really really good reasons why the two are enemies and why they can't fully give in and trust one another. So the will they wont they doesn't feel artificially dragged out and the stakes actually get higher and more exciting the more they settle into a romance.

I very much enjoy our FMC. She's smart, loyal, empathetic, and stubborn. I'm really rooting for her and I enjoy they way she propels the story forward. Now our MMC...perfection. Tall, dark, handsome, virgin, *HATES HIMSELF*, is desperate for love, and is obsessed with our FMC. Absolute chefs kiss. Thea Guanzon, the woman you are.

I love how character driven the story is, while still clearly operating within an interesting plot and beautiful settings. I also enjoy how unique the magic system is. It's complex enough to be interesting, well explained enough to make sense, but not over dwelled upon to be boring. I also thought to spice was very well done, it was fun and exciting but also gave us some really good insight into the characters, their motivations, insecurities, and desires.

Big recommend for the series.