5⭐️/3🌶️
An incredible continuation of the first book with equally as strong of writing from start to finish. Spicier than book 1 but still with tension and conflict and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now DESPERATE for book 3. I only wish I would have read this book later so the wait for book 3 didn’t feel so long! Thea Guanzon is a now must-buy author for me.

A Monsoon Rising did a great job continuing where we left off in the first book, The tension between both characters was still there but there was also a newfound appreciation for each other especially considering all they go through together in this book. I liked the characters and enjoyed learning more about the world and how their magic is affected or strengthened. Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for our honest review. Overall I enjoyed this book and can't wait to see where it continues from here.

This novel keeps the sexual tension going between the protagonists even when they finally cave into their desires. The consistent overhanging threat that keeps bringing the two closer and closer allows for an emotional connection to the characters despite the underlying enmity that still exists between them. In this continuation of the series, there is still the feeling of action even though the characters are waiting for the majority of the book to face the great threat. The conclusion of this novel keeps the reader engaged and ready for the next book!

First of. Despite your feelings about the first book, y'all need to read this book!

So we have definitely moved on from the Reylo fanfiction realm of the first book. Talasyn and Alaric actually develop a personality and have feelings! The pacing also improves from the first book and I find myself staying up into the wee hours of the night reading.

In true enemies-to-lovers fashion, the two are still plotting against each other as the two countries they represent continue to connive against one another. But don't worry, we know the attraction between them is growing and the sexual tension keeps going.

The scene when Talasyn finally screams her frustrations at Alaric and the two come together in the rain is very reminiscent of the rain scene in The Notebook. It is so beautiful, that I end up rolling around squealing with glee. To make up for the lack of smut in the first book, it's like the floodgate opens after this rain scene. Don't worry, the story still continues as we near that apocalyptic world event. The two continue to plot against each other and you wonder how it will all turn out in the end especially as the romantic feelings between the two grow.

Well, since this is an ARC, you'll have to wait for this book to officially come out AND THEN wait for the next book. GAH *Throws Kindle down in frustration*

Review posted on Goodreads and Amazon

I’m…so sorry? I’m sorry?! THEA, WHAT?!

How is it possible this is better than Hurricane Wars?! The angst!? The longing?! The YEARNING?! MA’AM, please point me to the nearest AED!

And Thea, I’d like to talk about the ending?? Just for a second??

Listen I’m taking this book for what it is - a Reylo fan fic with a Na twist that is the authors debut series. It’s not the end all be all of political rivals turned marriage of convenience but it’s doing its damnedest to make its way into the list that you should read if that’s your thing!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️{5}
🌶️🌶️🌶️{3}

Thea, you’re officially responsible for my next therapy bill after that ending cuz MY GOODNESS, that was a doozy 😰🥲

Okay okay, let’s talk about the book itself though! ‘Twas a masterpiece in my humble opinion. We get more trueeee enemies to lovers (and a lot more loverrrs this time around if ya know what I mean *wjnk wink*). Not as much world building in this one as we had in The Hurricane Wars, but I was okay with that because I feel like it was set up so well that it didn’t need much more. Of course we did get someee new info, cuz the plot had to move forward! But this one was a lot more character and relationship development which I adored! The banter, the pining.. were just 🤌🏻🤌🏻 And we got more dragons!! 🐉 The one thing I wish is that we got more time with the side characters (but that’s probs also just me selfishly wanting a found family trope to be thrown in cuz it’s my fave hahah). Overall, utter perfection and I need the next book like.. yesterday 😅🤣

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮:
♥️ enemies to lovers
🖤 forbidden romance
♥️ reylo inspired
🖤 dragonssss
♥️ arranged marriage
🖤 light and shadow magic
♥️ dual pov

𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓺𝓾𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼:

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘴’𝘬𝘢, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴… 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦,’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺.”

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.”

“𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 @𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚐𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜, @𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 @𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚐𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝙰𝚁𝙲. 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗.

The second book in a romantacy series A Monsoon Rising offers a lot more of a focus on the romance between the two MCs and less on world building and the dualing kingdoms aspect that was offered in book one. I was eager to start book 2 as the first book left on a satisfying note but still a cliffhanger.

I am going to be honest about two things.
1. Was the book work reading? Yes, it was a fun read and worth it but...I found that this was not a binge worthy book. Instead it was a storyline that I enjoyed enough to finish, but it dragged and was missing the action, narration and development needed to make this a lasting read.
2. The spicy scenes-Were they necessary? No, it felt like there were added in because it is the vogue thing to do but didnt really add or make sense to the story.

In the end, I would recommend this book to a reader wanting a romantic romp in a fantasty world. But it fell a little flat of the previous offering in this series. It has left me doubting I will pick up book 3.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an excellent second installment of the series. The first book was a little lackluster, but this one stole the show. It was faster-paced, I was more intrigued and into the plot way more, and the romance was incredible.

I enjoyed this more than the first!! The world, the romance and the action, I can’t get enough. Often second books don’t live up to the first but this was an exception to that!

I enjoyed A Monsoon Rising a lot more than the first book! There’s finally some payoff for this angsty couple that was pretty steamy. While the characters still aren’t my favorite, I found them more likable in book two. I’m more invested in them after spending more time together. I typically read adult romance these days, and this YA romance with hidden feelings, yearnings, and secrets felt young. Loving the dragons and even the setting. The backdrops and scenes are a beautiful vibe. Even their clothing is interesting. After reading The Hurricane Wars, I wasn’t planning to pick up A Monsoon Rising. I’m glad I got approved for an ARC on Netgalley and continued the series! I’m invested and looking forward to continuing when the next book comes out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Hurricane Wars walked so A Monsoon Rising could RUN! This book felt much faster paced, had so much more tension and spice, and even more political conflicts. The ending was amazing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher (Avon and Harper Voyager) in exchange for an honest review:

A quote to convince you to read this masterpiece: "Just him and me and the monsoon."

This book was absolutely incredible, and I could not put it down once I finished the first book, The Hurricane Wars. In this continuation, we follow Talasyn and Alaric further into their political negotiations, struggling to heal from The Hurricane Wars, and witness a not-so-wise romance unfold.

Thea Guanzon is an extremely talented writer, and her writing improved even from The Hurricane Wars to A Monsoon Rising. What captured me the most: the way Guanzon wove the chemistry, love, and affection between Alaric and Talasyn. It felt like watching two ice cubes thaw. My heart melted along with theirs, and there's really nothing better than a morally gray FMC, right? Her resistance and constant reminder of the mission was just enough to have me yearning for this romance more than anything else. Guanzon gives her characters and moments just the right amount of time and space to let them thrive. The banter had me giggling, the interactions between side characters in conjunction with Talasyn and Alaric were hysterical, and the political undertones were woven so intricately underneath it all. Especially when it concerns Gaheris's plotting.... Needless to say, I'm very excited for the next installment!

A Monsoon Rising is the follow-up to The Hurricane Wars and picks up right were HW left the readers. It follows the relationship of Talasyn and Alaric who are forced into an alliance to facilitate peace. They are opposites as shadow and light but they do grow to see each other as equals. While their feelings develop, politics and another future war get in the way and cause disruptions to their opposing plans.

I enjoyed this book more than the first one. I did not get into it as much until the second half but I was fully invested at that point. I plan to read the next book since this one left us in a big cliffhanger!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyage for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A Monsoon Rising

My American edition is lost in the mail. This one crossed an ocean to find me and I’m so glad that it did because ✨Stunning✨

After a lifetime of war, Alaric and Talasyn were thrust into an alliance between their homelands that was supposed to end the fighting; however, being married to their sworn foe feels far from peaceful. Now Talasyn must play the part of Alaric’s willing empress while her allies secretly plot to overthrow his reign. But the longer the couple are forced together, the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them.

This book! Talasyn and Alaric are so funny and down bad but also in denial. They’re both working their own agenda while preparing for The Moonless Dark and being very clear there are no feelings, but maybe it would be fun to kiss. Their banter is fantastic. The stakes feel higher but more intimate. I’m still laughing every time I think of the library and it’s been WEEKS.

The final pages of this book had me stressed and I was glad I was home alone when I finished it because I shouted no out loud before I could help it. It’s gonna be a wait until the next one 😭

This book was wonderful and delightful but the ending gutted me!

“I will always remember this. Just him and me and the monsoon”

I giggled along to their humor and loved the budding relationship between the two. I believe this book will have generally higher ratings than the first because it was fast paced and easy to keep up with, obviously less world building than the first. Those who stuck out the tedious world building and details in the first half of book 1 and went on to fully enjoy the book will love this sequel.

“Was it her fate to keep on changing, swapping one life for another like the coats of different seasons here in this land of eternal summer?”

What in the world was the ending I’m so confused when will the next book come out & why did I think this was a duology 😭

Enjoyed this one more than the first book. The chemistry between Alaric and Talasyn really is fantastic in this book.

That said the overall plot didn’t move forward all that much? Lots of scheming and basically setting things up for book 3. So safe to say this one was more about the romance, and in a-okay with that 😅

HOWEVER. THEA. What was that ending?? Book 3 better come out ASAP. I need my bebes to be okay.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book was a masterpiece! This book added onto the world building that was set up in the first book so well, but also I loved how this book dove more into Alaric and Talasyn. This book truly sees these two go through a lot together. They are working to make the tenuous alliance they have work, while also fighting their true feelings for each other. Talasyn is also learning so much more about her magic, and everything is in high tension around them as they work to save everyone. The main thing I will say that stuck out as to why I loved this so much was the true emotion you can feel radiating off of these two the entire book. Whether it’s anger or passion, or a mixture or the two, these characters and their emotions come to life on the page.

2.5 stars- this really did not work for me in the same way the first novel did not work for me. I think the best part of the writing is in the development of the romance, but there was not enough development over the course of the story to make the romance interesting. The plot in this novel was off, it felt like the same situation repeating over and over again without any real development of the story or moving the plot forward. I think this is a series that leans to heavily into tropes, and the decision on the direction of the ending really solidified this for me. There were aspects I liked, but I feel were really weakened by poor world building, slow pacing, and poor plot development.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

If you love banter, tension, dragons, cute nicknames and when the title has a cute reason as to WHY it's the title, you must read this book. It doesn't happen often that the sequel is better than the first, but it definitely lives up to the hype.

What a sequel! This book was so much more fast paced than HW. HW had so much world building that in MR, we were really able to dive right in to the story. Still have the same level of tension between the characters and more development of their relationship. At times it could be frustrating with them constantly misunderstanding each other but the times we did get them connecting it was so good and worth it. I love how the ending confirmed some of my suspicions but at the same time really left me shook. I'm going to be impatiently waiting for the next book. I usually don't enjoy the sequel as much as the first book in a series but I think I enjoyed this more that HW which was such a great surprise. I can't wait to see what happens next.