Maybe officially 3.5!

I really enjoyed this once I got into it, but it did take me a while to get into!

I thought the first 100 pages were too dense with paragraphs of world building to where I was pretty confused and never fully got a grasp on the world throughout the book.

I did LOVE the slow burn, enemies to lovers, the dragons, and the magic.

Darkness and light are eternal opposites but also forces that only truly exist thanks to the presence of the other. After all, what is darkness, without light to put it in? What is light without the dark to illuminate? These questions of balance and power run throughout Thea Guanzon’s deliciously entertaining fantasy debut, The Hurricane Wars, one of the buzziest genre titles of the year—and one that is sure to delight “romantasy” fans everywhere.

Set in a lush, Southeast Asian-inspired world, the story mixes complex high fantasy elements with familiar romance tropes and displays the sort of muscular emotional dexterity that can only come from an author who’s spent some significant time writing in transformative fandom spaces. With plenty of political intrigue, a vivid magical system largely inspired by weather and themes that touch on everything from imperialism and conquest to sacrifice and duty. (It’s also a banger of a love story, particularly if opposites attract, enemies to lovers, or marriages of convenience are your specific weaknesses when it comes to tropes. Or if you were a Reylo shipper, as the novel’s lead characters clearly owe more than a bit to the popular Star Wars duo.)

I was really looking forward to this title, but sadly, it wasn't for me. I had a hard time engaging with it-- the first 20% is dense in terms of worldbuilding, with paragraphs heavily laden with fantasy place names, people's names, technology and magic terminology... things that had meaning to the characters, but no meaning to me, the reader. It didn't grab me. I would most certainly recommend this to any fan of high fantasy, however. I think the stylistic choices that lost me are exactly what high fantasy readers gravitate towards. It could be an epic read for the right reader!

3 stars

This book is slow paced and slow burn romantasy and one major aspect to this book that I definitely enjoyed was the diversity and the setting being in Southeast Asia and also the him falling first trope! I did think that the world building was a bit confusing and I wished I could have sensed the chemistry between Talasyn and Alaric more (I didn't feel that connection as much as I would have liked). I will say that it is an easy read but takes time to get into the book. I wished I enjoyed this book more because it was part of my 2023 Romantasy Anticipated Read.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper and Voyager for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved loved loved this one! As an avid romantasy reader, The Hurricane Wars was exactly my cup of tea. I also love a good marriage of convenience trope. Thea Guanzon did an excellent job building an immersive world while keeping it romantic and spicy and filled with adventure. I can't wait for the follow up to The Hurricane Wars!

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me hooked at about the 15% mark! The world building was vivid, I could really picture the different scenes and locations. The characters initially had me interested in how their stories would twist together, but unfortunately I feel like the author dropped the ball. After the first 1/4 of the book, there’s not much character development or plot progression. Often in epic fantasy, the first book in a series sets up the long game but The Hurricane Wars didn’t have enough depth for that to be the case. I found myself skimming pages because of the internal monologue repetition. Also, the “sizzling romance” that was promised doesn’t exist. It’s slow burn to the point of being aggravating. The book still got three stars from me because the beginning was enjoyable and I was invested in the relationship for the majority of the book.

Considering this was a highly anticipated read for me, it didn't necessarily disappoint. It is marketed as a high fantasy and that is something I like. It is a mix of romance and politics just like most high fantasy books tend to be before all the plot points come to a boil - Think of the first season of GOT which just establishes politics and romances before everything begins to really boil over in following seasons. That's what this book felt like and I didn't mind that.

This was a real disappointment…

I will preface this with I am neither a Reylo stan or hater. I never got into those Star Wars movies. I wouldn’t say that this fact plays a role in my opinion on the book, but who knows! Anything is possible. So I guess take it all with a grain of salt.

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Talasyn and Alaric. Personally, I didn’t care for either character. I honestly didn’t care for any of the characters in the story. The problem I had with the characters is that they all felt very cookie cutter. If I was listening to the audiobook for this I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. The minor characters were devices to move the story along and didn’t really have a big impact. This is why a lot of the plot twists didn’t hit me with feelings. How can I have feelings for characters I just met or know nothing about? It was very much lost on me.

When it came to Talasyn and Alaric I never connected with either. They were kind of dull even though they had a lot of banter going on. I’ll agree with the other reviews that the surprise of their relationship is not as impactful because if you know anything about fanfiction they always end up together. Sure, there were some interesting ways to keep their budding relationship going, but there really wasn’t any chemistry. It was all thrown together in hopes you were a fan of Reylo.

The world-building started off strong since there is a lot of info-dumping in the beginning. I understood the basis behind the war and that there were two sides with pretty cool magical ships and abilities. Unfortunately, a lot of the world-building suffered as the book went on and I still had many questions that were left unanswered. It also just became a slog to get through and I had to push myself to finish while also skimming a few chapters.

Overall, this just wasn’t for me and it’s disappointing because it was a “most anticipated read”. I still really enjoy the cover and I am sure it will find its people, I am just not one of them.

This book was so much fun! Guanzon did a good job of bringing this story to life. I loved the new world they created in this book as I was hooked on it. I do have to say that it did take me a while to get into the story, but once you do it will be worth it. The book’s pacing is a bit slow but is action-packed with some great conflicts that the characters have the face. I enjoyed the world-building and the setting in which this book took place in. I really enjoyed the characters and the development that each of them had. I loved following Zane’s story and her story was a great mystery. The romance is enemies to lovers and let me say that it was just amazing. Guanzon did such an amazing job with the romance. I totally recommend checking this book out because let me tell you it’s worth the read.

Thank you netgalley and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy of this book!

I had very high hopes for this read... but I won't lie about my disappointment in this one. I was expecting a sweeping fantasy with tons of world building and robust main characters. But I didn't really get that here. I found the main characters to be boring and the world building to be lacking. I'm not saying that it wasn't worth the read, I would definitely recommend it with reservations.

I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. The concept was unique and inspired, and I was fascinated by everything the author discussed in the author’s note. But the sweeping wartime romance she set up in said author’s note was not the one we got, which was contrived and lacking in nuance. The world-building was confusing; the first chapters (including what should have been an epic battle scene) were peppered throughout with info dumps aplenty; and the pacing was extremely inconsistent. It almost felt like one author wrote the author’s note and another wrote the bulk of the novel.

I also recently discovered this is basically Star Wars fanfiction repackaged with an alternate-fantasy-universe skin, and this explains SO MUCH. I’m not well versed in Star Wars lore, so I can’t help but wonder if having a better understanding of it would have helped my understanding of the analogous elements in this novel. Having said that, as an original work, it shouldn’t require prior knowledge of an unrelated universe just to grasp what’s going on.

Cool concept, underwhelming execution. It was one of my most highly anticipated reads for this year, but I was disappointed. There will be many people who love this book; I’m just not one of them.

Also, this book desperately needs a map included in the front material.

Amazing, incredible story building, fantastically magical world, great technology (reminded me of stuff from Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

I learned after the fact that this was at one point in time a Rey/Kylo fanfic and while a lot of resemblances I’m sure have been taken out. There were a few scenes that after learning I went “huh I see it”.

Loved the story, definitely went somewhere I wasn’t expecting towards the end. I loved the direction and the twists each character went through. Right when you think they developed and changed it’s like they may have taken a step back. But we don’t really know.

I really love where adult fantasy is going and I can’t wait to read the next book.

“Given our respective objectives, it would probably save a lot of time if we died together.”

The Hurricane Wars is a brilliant debut fantasy novel following Talasyn, an orphan fighting the conquering rule of the Night Emperor and especially the heir - Prince Alaric. She is the last of the Lightweavers and hiding her powers from the Night empire and their Darkweavers after their genocide. These two have nothing in common besides their mutual desire to kill the other. But when their magics met - a stronger shield magic was made.

With the basis of war and colonialism between them, it makes sense for Alaric to be painted as this huge villain. Especially from Talasyn POV - and while his morals aren't clear, the more we learn about his role as his father's puppet, the less he's cast in pure darkness. Talasyn is no martyr either - even with the full force of the night emperor against her people, she still wants to fight and plans to til her very end.

Two people forever set as enemies as the backdrop to a huge war forced together isn't the most original of settings but the writing here truly sets it apart. They are enemies through and through, even when their motivations are aligned. I love when a good enemies to lovers is really ENEMIES. That level of hatred shouldn't be overcome in a few chapters. Alaric even says some 70% of the way through the book that even with their okay moments, they'll always have the hurricane wars between them. Can't wait for book 2.

cw// parental abandonment, violence, war themes

This book is a masterclass in how to write character chemistry and I'm obsessed. Thea Guanzon is going to take the world by storm.

This was quite a slog to get through. The first 100 pages or so was so info dump-y that it was hard to push through. I finally did, and while it did get better, it wasn't great. The best part by far is the interactions between Talasyn and Alaric. While this book lacked in the technical aspects of writing a book, I can't deny that Guanzon can write a great enemies to lovers story. The banter and tension was great. Overall, I think it was fine but needed a little more polishing. Another round of edits could have really helped. Still, it was kind of fun and I see why people will love it.

This novel hooked me from the start. Not only were the vibes impeccable and the story very much reminiscent of Star Wars, but the characters were delightful! Alaric and Talasyn have an incredible dynamic-they hate each other. This novel is written keep readers entertained especially during Alaric and Talasyn's scenes those two were either fighting or snarling childish insults at each other. Additionally, the world built in this novel was fantastical and I loved the juxtaposition between the romance and political plots.

Readers who are fans of arranged marriages, enemies to lovers, and magic will eat up the Hurricane Wars.

This book had me at the prologue…THE prologue! I fell immediately for the descriptive first look scene between the lead characters. Ugh! So good. I loved the strong-willed the female main character, Talasyn. She wasn’t going to let her strong attraction to the main male character, Prince Alaric, deter her from her loyalty and main objective to help her country. This was a definitely slow burn and enemies-to-lovers trope, but I was all here for it. The middle part of the book had a lot of political maneuverings between the fighting countries, and it felt slower-paced compared to the beginning because of it. If you stick to it, the ending is well worth the wait. The world-building was strong with the concept of opposing magic and leaves the reader wondering what other powers are possible in this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to people who love orphan and royalty tropes, slow burn romance, and magical powers.

I was so excited for this book because it sounded like a lot of fun. I’m not a huge fantasy reader, I dabble. But when I find a fantasy that I like, I love it. When I originally got this one as an e-arc I struggled with it. I will admit that the reason I struggle with fantasy is because I have a hard time with world building, and that was my downfall here. My brain struggles to comprehend the concepts. However, when this one showed up on my door and it was so gorgeous, I decided to give it another chance. I picked up where I left off on my electronic copy, and was immediately sucked in. I loved it and was really annoyed when I had to put it down with 50 pages left. All the romance cumulates in the last 50 pages, so I had to put it down at the absolute best part of the book. When I was able to pick it back up all the tension, all the angst that had been building, just WOW, worth the wait. The writing is well done and captivating.

If you are looking for an amazing fantasy with a slow burn romance, then you need to pick this one up. Plus it’s also gorgeous, the picture doesn’t do it justice.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harper Voyager for sending me not only the e-arc but also a finished copy. Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc.

Rating: Solid Book, 3 stars

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon is a book inspired by many of the wars in the Philippines. We follow Talasyn and Alaric, two different magic wielders on opposite sides of a decades-long conflict as they are brought together in a contentious alliance to face an even greater threat.

I think that this book started off really strong. I was intrigued by the world that was introduced, and the magic system felt like a creative take on elemental powers. There may have been a bit more info-dumping in the early bit of the book for my taste, but it's a debut, so I wasn't too concerned about it. I was excited for an enemies to lovers story in which they have genuine reason to hate each other.

I think that this story is definitely a romance book with fantasy elements. The focus is on the relationship between the two main characters and the game of cat and mouse that makes up the slow burn portion of their relationship. I have seen this called Reylo Fanfic, and I can't speak to that because I don't know what that really consists of, but it is a smol girl and large boi. There is an uneasy alliance, arranged marriage, and one bed tropes. I definitely see this being a popular book.

However, what I saw as one of the main drawbacks is that the fantasy elements are not nearly as strong as the romantic elements are. I think that the world and magic system have a lot of potential, but it wasn't really fleshed out well beyond the info dumps. Then as we got further into the book past the info-dumping, it was a lot of telling rather than showing for both the world building and the character development. There were times that we were told that the court was highly political and that there was a lot of political maneuvering, but we never really got to see it or hear about it. It all seemed to happen off the screen unless there was something that was important to the romance plot line. So with those pieces being weaker, it felt like the book was waaaaay too long.

I'd say that the romance was believable. The enemies to lovers didn't happen quickly by any means, and there was a lot of back and forth as it progressed throughout the story. I liked both the characters, but Alaric didn't seem to have a lot of personality beyond how he related to Talasyn whether as an enemy or an ally. The time we spent in his head felt very repetitve, and he showed the most personality when we were viewing him through Talasyn's POV. I almost think this would have been stronger if it was predominantly Talasyn's POV with just a chapter here and there from Alaric. I think this would have helped with the length.

Really, overall this would have been a 4 star book if it hadn't been nearly 500 pages. I definitely think there is an audience out there that will absolutely love it, but for me sadly, there was just some pieces that were missing that would have improved my experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVoyager for an advanced copy of The Hurricane Wars. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc of this book now onto my review

This was a strong debut for this series, I thoroughly enjoyed the story telling and how the characters interacted with one another. I would have liked the story to continue more with the political intrigue and a bit let of the romance, but over all it was very well done and I plan to read the next installment in this series.

3-1/2 stars rounded to 4