I was super excited to get approved for this book on here, but honestly, I just felt a little bit underwhelmed by this one

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in advance.
I really wanted to love this book. I saw it on TikTok before it came out and it seemed like I would really enjoy it. However, I just couldn’t get into it. I had to DNF at a little over 50%. I felt like the pacing was off and the romance didn’t make sense to me. I needed the story to develop but it just felt like a disjointed action adventure. Not for me unfortunately!

If you love enemies to lovers (similar to the bridge kingdom by, Danielle Jensen) I would highly recommend the hurricane wars by Thea Guanzon. The book has an intense start with maybe too much info dumping and world building. However it's saved by the great writing of its two main characters that carries the second half of the book. Highly recommend if your craving a romantasy.

I have tried to get through this book for months. I am only 75 pages in but every time I pick it up I feel like I need to reread those 75 pages.

The book started out strong, I liked that it started in the middle of a battle and our MCs met on the field, him (Mr. evil) saving her (our heroine) for reasons that I assumed would come to light later in the book (I never made it far enough to find out).

However, after that climatic start, my journey reading this book went downhill swiftly. There was so much info dumping! Words, names, terms I still don't understand, just one after the other. It was too much for me personally and I just felt confused.

Maybe I will leave it for a bit and come back to it, but I wanted to get my intital thoughts out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I have to preface my review by saying that I desperately wanted to love this book. I truly believe that Guanzon is a masterful writer, and initially, I was captivated by her world-building. I struggled to understand why the FMC would be interested in the MMC, and what his redeeming qualities were. He murdered her friends and comrades, killed innocent bystanders, and wanted to colonize her people; I'm not sure how this character was redeemable in any way. Once I realized that the couple was based on Reylo, certain choices began to make sense. If this book is going to be based on fanfiction, it needs to be a "fix-it" fic and nothing was fixed in my opinion. Will I read other non-Reylo related work from Guanzon, yes, but I think I'm done with this series.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book and have it truly become my "next fantasy obsession."

I'd give The Hurricane Wars a solid 3.5 stars. It was exciting and fresh at first - everything felt wholly original even though I knew it was full of popular tropes and was based on a Reylo fanfic. But then I almost DNFed the book because it got confusing, then boring, and then changed into an entirely different book.

The best parts:
- The magic system and world-building, even though they both need more work
- The inspiration and source material from a Filipina writer who wrote something unlike any fantasy I've read before
- Reylo-inspired

The not great parts:
- I love a grumpy FMC, but Talasyn was so immature that it was cringey
- I also love a dark and brooding MMC, but Alaric at times felt one-dimensional even as he was the most interesting character
- The magic system and world need to be built out more
- The romance was...meh. I'm fine with a slow burn, but literally nothing happened until the last couple of chapters. I wasn't looking for mind-blowing spice, but the one steamy scene was painfully awkward.

I am very intrigued to see where these characters and this series go next. It's honestly not bad for a debut novel, but I expected so much more with how much hype this book had - along with a stunning cover.

Wasn't aware going in that this was a revamped Reylo fan fic. Might not have chosen had I known, but it seems revamped a lot from the original version. A talented writer, fantastic premise and setting, and a stunning cover. Congrats on your debut!

The Hurricane Wars was a little sluggish at the beginning. I don’t know if I set my expectations too high, or if it was the worldbuilding that threw me off. I know this was based on a Star Wars fan fiction, so I kept trying to find the similarities between the two universes. But once I got my feet firmly into Guanzon’s world (around the 40/50 percent mark), the plot really picked up and the story became its own thing.

The characters were enjoyable. I loved the banter between our two main characters and how they were still able to find common ground to come together for the greater good. The relationship that Guanzon built between them felt authentic and natural, given their situation.

I’m really looking forward to the next installment in this world!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Thea Guanzon for an advanced copy of The Hurricane Wars in exchange for an honest review.

I support the influx of reylo fanfic into the romance sphere, even though a lot of this was bar for bar Star Wars disguised as fantasy. Still a fun read, I love a Kylo Ren based hero

If you love Reylo and are looking for a fun take on the ship that pays homage to Star Wars while being steeped in a new fantasy world to explore: then I highly recommend this book!

I loved and had a great time reading it. The characters were very well flushed out and felt like real people. I understood their trust issues but also their inability to leave one another alone. I also thought the politics and countries in this world were really interesting. My favorite part was the magic system, though. And their ships! The ships reminded me of Treasure Planet. I thought the romance progressed at a reasonable pace--especially since this book is so long!

While I had a lovely time, I understand why others wouldn't. The world building is immense and I found myself lost because the arc copy didn't have a map. I switched over to the published copy 80% in because I wanted to be able to picture what was happening more fully. I also understand people disliking the pacing. For me, the pacing felt very much like a Star Wars film--long sections of exposition with little adventures or battles scattered throughout. Also--if the battles didn't further character development, they weren't on page and were talked about after. I liked this because it reminded me of SW, but for those who want more action over politics, this could have been frustrating.

I know this was a fanfiction before it was published and, because of that, it felt very episodic and the ending was abrupt. However, I loved this book and can't wait for book 2!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! This book was full of great characters, interesting world building, political intrigue and a dash of magic! There were definitely some surprising twists and moments that had me on the edge of my seat! I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters, but they gave me whiplash with their back-and-forth liking/hating each other! After that ending, I can’t wait for the sequel!

I really enjoyed this book! This book was full of great characters, interesting world building, political intrigue and a dash of magic! There were definitely some surprising twists and moments that had me on the edge of my seat! I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters, but they gave me whiplash with their back-and-forth liking/hating each other! After that ending, I can’t wait for the sequel!

4.5 stars

Holy moly this was amazing! The enemies aspect is *chefs kiss*. The passion of hate and the intrigue and the slow burn of it is all so incredible. I couldn’t put this book down! I don’t really want to give stuff away but there are tropes I had hoped for and was very happy to see happen!

Talasyn’s journey I am loving! I know she is going to keep being feisty and snarky. I loved her. Alaric has many layers and I can’t not wait to see how things play out for him.

This book had me on my seat’s edge and feeling all the feelings.

I’m very excited and anxious for what is to come in the next books!

3/5 stars

This was just an okay read for me. I did enjoy the romance as I'm always a sucker for enemies to lovers. This took me forever to get through. I kept putting it down and picking it back up. I did find out that this was a Reylo fanfic which did put in some negative feelings for me as I'm not really a Star Wars fan. The writing was okay, but I just didn't connect completely with it. Overall this was again, very middle of the road. I would completely recommend this book though as I still had a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy! I listened to the audiobook via my local library and it was a great listen!! I highly recommend the audiobook. I also recommend you pay better attention than me. I was really invested in the romance as well as learning about the world and how the story was going to unfold. But I missed key details while listening that left me confused later in the story. Totally my fault! I think this could have been five stars had I listened better but I’m already planning to get a physical copy and reread.

For me, this book was all about trusting the process. It really dives into the story right away. There are a ton of phrases and words that didn’t quite make sense at the beginning but you come to understand when you keep reading.

The story starts in war, as two sides are fighting in a 10 year long war. We meet our main characters - Tasalyn and Alaric. It then moves to the city of Nenavare where the story turns more political.

Tasalyn and Alaric are true enemies to kinda lovers. Their relationship development was a bit frustrating with one step forward and two steps back. I understood the reasoning but do wish there had been a bit more progress.

This book felt like it was a lot of set up for the next book(s) in the series. There was a lot of learning about the world and the characters and the histories.

I am looking forward to what comes next because we’re definitely left with a cliffhanger.

𝐹𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓎 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨:

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙨
Book 1 The Hurricane Wars
by Thea Guanzon
480 Pages
Published October 3, 2023

Thank you @netgalley @harpervoyagerus & the author for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.

With an average 4.2 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, I am shocked I do not see more posts about this fantasy/romantasy. If you enjoyed Fourth Wing or Divine Rivals, you will absolutely fall in love with The Hurricane Wars. I read this in late October, early November and it saved me from a reading slump - which I have lapsed into again, on and off. Please pick this book up if you enjoy romantasy.

The heart is a battlefield.

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn: a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. He tries to kill her, but in a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

This war can only end with them. But an even greater danger is coming, and the strange magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Talasyn and Alaric must decide… are they fated to join hands, or destroy each other?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 stars for me

#romantasy #fantasy #debut #netgalley #bookreview #bookstagram #currentlyreading

DNF at 30%. There was so much information dumping going on that it felt overwhelming. Too much intricacies in the world building, lore, and magic that it was too confusing to keep up with and made the story feel heavy and boring. Not to mention, the Reylo fanfic turned fantasy just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. When I initially saw reviews adding this to the list of reylo fanfic I was a bit skeptical but the enemies to lovers troupe will get me every time. I will say the obvious trope usage and the close proximity to Star Wars almost made me put the book down but I extended grace as this is a debut author, Worth the read.

I feel like this book started out fairly strong, then took a turn once it had grabbed my interest. So this rating is more like a 2.5.

I enjoyed reading about Talasyn as a warrior and later found the political machinations interesting. But I feel like she was later reduced to a shadow of who she started as.

The book also dragged in the middle for me. It took me a lot longer to read this than I anticipated.

I think another cause of this was how I felt about the romance. Not only did this strike me as more enemies-to-lust than enemies-to-lovers, but I couldn't understand why Talasyn would ever be drawn to the man who committed genocide with no remorse at any point during or after. And because he had no remorse, I could never sympathize with Alaric. It made no sense to me that she would be lusting after or feeling sympathy for the man who'd not only killed her people in general, but also people she loved. That's a huge dealbreaker, in my opinion.

I will not be continuing the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in return for an honest review.