An epic fantasy in a huge universe. This is the story of Tala and Alaris. Lots of fantasy action, gray morality. Great read with a cliffhanger ending.

4.5 stars

This book rises above its predecessor in the best way!

“A Monsoon Rising” follows Alaric and Talasyn as they play the part of husband and wife while secretly plotting to overthrow the other. But the longer the couple are forced together in an attempt to save their world from the Moonless Dark—a cataclysmic magical even that could devour everything—the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them.

I was not prepared for how much this book would consume my every waking thought, but I am more than okay with that!

The sequel to “The Hurricane Wars” takes readers on a wild ride with more betrayal, more politics, and, of course, more romance. Watching Alaric and Talasyn’s marriage become more than a political alliance made me feral! The pull that exists between them truly shook me to my core with how palpable it is. Because any kind of entanglement involving the two is forbidden, the tension born from their yearning in combination with the slow development of their romantic relationship is torture (I say this as a glutton for torture)! I loved the way Alaric and Talasyn got under each other’s skin. It reached a fever pitch when their feelings began to outweigh their loyalty. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest when they finally gave in to their attraction!

The fantasy elements play a less prominent role in this one, but it is all worth it for the “who did this to you,” wound tending, and “only one bedroll” moments! When it comes to the cliffhanger at the end, however, I fear that I will never recover. I NEED to know what comes next!

Absolutely loved this book! The world you’ve created is absolutely captivating—I was immediately drawn into the magic, the landscapes, and the way everything felt so real. It’s the kind of world I wanted to keep exploring long after I finished the book.

The main character’s journey was such a standout for me. Watching her navigate her strength and vulnerabilities felt so authentic. I really loved how she grew through the story, and the relationship dynamics were spot on. The romance had me hooked from the start. It was that perfect mix of slow-burn and tension, but it never felt forced, which I appreciated.

The balance between action and emotion was also brilliant. There were moments that had me at the edge of my seat, but then the quieter, more intimate scenes made me feel everything.

Overall, I just loved this book. It’s rich in world-building, with strong characters and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. I can’t wait to see where the story takes me next!

In the second book of the Hurricane Wars, Alaric and Talasyn have married to bring their nations peace. Talasyn was an orphan, hiding away her Lightweaver magic that was once believed to be extinct, but now she's an empress in a nation she's been taught to hate. Her allies are working behind the scenes to help her overthrow the Night Empire. However, the more time Talasyn spends with Alaric, the harder it is to resist him. Talasyn will have to decide if she can trust her new husband to finally put a stop to the Night Empire's reign.

After enjoying the first book in this series, I was excited to jump into this world again. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finished the book before the release date. My library has purchased a copy and I will be recommending this series for people who like romantasy. It is clear that the first book had a LOT of worldbuilding and introductions to do, so it leaned more fantasy than romance, but in this one, Alaric and Talasyn are married and clearly attracted to each other, so the romance plays out more.

Happy Release Day

In a Monsoon Rising we get to know more about Talasyn and Alaric and how they come to see eachother war is still brewing and although these two are getting closer they’re still on opposite sides of the war…..

I devoured this book, the banter and tension between Alaric and Talasyn is so delicious. They’re hot as hell the chemistry between the two is sizzling! Hot. I enjoyed being back in this world and the ending had me gagged and the part with the dragons is my favorite part I felt like that scene played out like a movie in my head. I can’t wait for book 2

Thank you harpervoyagerus for this arc I feel so honored to have read this.

Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
One bed
Arranged marriage
Forced proximity
Dragons
Reylo

How is this book even BETTER than book 1? This book had me screaming, kicking my feet, giggling; all of the above. Seeing a whole new side to Alaric, had me swooning. The both of them, Alaric and Talasyn, are so aloof when it comes to their relationship it was endearing and frustrating. The way they always come back to each other, but as a reader I know there’s only more betrayal to come. I LOVE Talasyn’s personality and how she’s such a spit fire and seeing Alaric’s jealousy ?? Cherry on top. The CLIFFHANGER!! Let’s not talk about it, because that was EVIL! I need more. I need to know what will happen next. Overall 10/10, please go read book one and read this one!
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Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy!

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

This is truly a ROMANtasy and I’m here for it. The romance was most definitely top tier but I wish we wouldn’t have had as many scenes cut off.

Overall I give this book 3.5 but I still want to see where the love story goes from here so I’m rounding it up to 4!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Thea Guanzon for this ARC.

I read Hurricane Wars earlier this year, and it was an okay book. Feel free to check out my review of that book if you want to know more. To say I was hesitant to dive into this second installment is a bit of an understatement. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

🌀 What did you love the most?
I loved the pacing on this one. There was a lot more romance in the plot, which makes sense because our MCs are married, elevating the tension and angst. I loved it. The world-building and magic were still there, but it didn’t feel like an overwhelming amount of information to digest in this installment.

🌀Do I need to read the series in order?
Yes. You will need to read the Hurricane Wars first before this second book.

🌀 How was the pace?
Steady. A big improvement from Book 1.

🔥Steam level: open-door

🌀 How was the romance?
I love the dynamic between Alaric and Tamsyn in this book. We have them both doubting their feelings due to past trauma, and I loved their personal development in their respective plot lines. We also finally got some sexual tension and intimacy that I truly enjoyed.

🌀 Do you recommend this book?
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first book. It is definitely more character-driven, but I never felt bored like I did in book 1. The magic made sense, the politics and scheming were tense, and the romance wasn’t forced. Plus, the ending was so fast-paced that I am now clamoring for the conclusion of this series.
4/5

"𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆."

WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?! I'm stressed!

How am I supposed to wait for the next book with that cliffhanger?!

The hot and cold slow-burn vibes that Talasyn and Alaric have for each other was giving me whiplash for a lot of the book. I was glad when they finally decided to make a decision (but even after that, it was still a bit frustrating). I really do love enemies to lovers though, and of course, just when it was getting real interesting on that front, the book ends! I loved their little moments of trusting each other and I love Elagbi! The one specific moment in the library 😉 and what followed afterward was hilarious.

ARC REVIEW: A Monsoon Rising (Book 2 in The Hurricane Wars Trilogy) by @theagwrites

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel like it’s very common for me to be disappointed by the second book in a series. That is absolutely NOT the case here.

I’ve been a fan of Thea’s for a looong time, and I’m here to tell you that A Monsoon Rising is incredible - full stop. I don’t know what’s more impressive - the world-building or the tension-building. Thea is a master in both. I would absolutely devour a book on the history, culture and lore of the Nenavarene people alone.

But the angst - 🙄😮‍💨🫣

I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to let you know that the stress I felt leading up to the challenge they had to face together had my heart sitting in my throat. I cried THRICE during that scene alone. And through all this world-saving drama, we have the mounting betrayals, the secrets, the plotting against one another, and the LONGING underneath it all - it almost took me out, I swear.

I don’t know how we’re going to make it out of this after that cliffhanger, I really don’t. But, my goodness, I am so excited to see what happens next.

Read this book (and THW) if you like:
🖤 this song
🖤 enemies to lovers - but like for real though lol
🖤 emo dragons
🖤 birds named after fruit
🖤 masquerade balls
🖤 “monsooned”-in
🖤 soul destroying plot twisting cliffhangers

Congratulations on the release, Thea - it’s an absolute triumph!!! Can’t wait for the launch event tonight 🖤

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

For as much as I liked THE HURRICANE WARS... I LOVED this one!!!

But that ending... Oh my gosh!! I need this book to get into people's hands like yesterday so I have someone to talk to about it haha.

I enjoyed book 1 a lot. But the thing that plagues most fantasy books plagued it as well. That being the extensive world building that has to be done in a world as creative and beautiful at Lir. And sadly that slows any good story down a bit.
But that was one of the absolute best thing about this book. Now that all of that world building is done and out of the way, all of that slow burn romance and intricate plot really shown through. And created a great pacing overall.

I flew through this one as quickly as my crazy work schedule would let me. And I truly enjoyed every page. There was humor and sarcasm, there was betrayal, there was romance and even some suspense. It ticked all the boxes for me.

And if I didn't like Talysan and Alaric to begin with I would absolutely adore them now. They maxe he giggle and squeal and want to throttle them both so many times. But I couldn't get enough of them when they were together. And would practically speed through the Pages when they weren't.

We learned a lot in this book too. There were some very cool world lore moments in this book that blew my mind. And the set up for so many more to come too.

I absolutely loved this read. And the biggest downside to getting an ARC of this book, is that means now I have to wait even longer betwern to read book 3 haha.

A MONSOON RISING is one of my favorite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 STAR ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads of the back side of this year.

4.5 Stars

What in the infuriating ending did I just read? I am angy and sad and what am I gonna do now that all my emotions are unresolved for the foreseeable future? Seriously that was brutal. And slightly too abrupt, like it ended in the middle of a scene, but mostly brutal. Okay now that I’ve whined to my heart’s content (not even close), coming back to the review. This second installment of the Hurricane wars series is more romance less war than the first one, but there’s also more magic and more magical beasts and all that fun stuff.

Talasyn is coming into the role of the queen that she is, ferocious and bossy in the best way, flourishing in terms of her magic and also reluctantly, her marriage? Alaric may be the biggest and baddest and deadliest Night Emperor in the land, but what he truly is is an utter and complete SIMP for his Tala. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud. Except when he accidentally shows it. Constantly. They might bicker and pretend to “tolerate” each other, but these two are completely gone for each other. Alaric is literally down bad crying in the cave for her and we love that in a man. And he’s also discovering the magic of banging it out (and so is she), what fun!

However there is the teensy little problem of both of them keeping secrets from each other which may or may not end in mortal betrayal of the other at some point in the vague future. As you can imagine, this makes for a lot of angst. I’m gonna ruin your life but I would destroy anyone else who’d consider the same thing. But also I’m duty bound and will betray you but I’ll hate it the whole time I’m doing it. Meanwhile I’m extremely horny for you and obsessed with you but also wanna fight with you a lot while we save the world from this giant magical death situation. Yes, it’s complicated.

Other than the aforementioned matter of the abruptly shocking ending, the book was tightly paced and action packed, while also giving us some softer moments post war, and any potential future unrest. I can’t wait to see the shit that’s about to go down in the next one.

Yes, yes, yes! This blew me away and I will be recommending on all my platforms and also buying multiple special editions! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read the arc!

Thank you @harpervoyagerus for the gifted copy/ARC!

♦️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 ♦️
This was a great sequel in the Hurricane Wars series!! And I’m so sad to have to wait until the final book comes out!!!

After I got used to the world building and background of the Hurricane Wars in book one, book two was just dynamic and had me holding onto every page! Talasyn and Alaric are my new dynamic power couple that I am rooting for! There is a nice balance of the enemies to lovers trope, with mutual pining, politics and warring nations, and untapped magical powers that just sucks you in!

I was on edge for these two and their pining for each other, while they are both leading their respective nations and trying to do best for a brighter future. They have similar hearts that bring them together, where no one else knows what it’s like to be put in their position to help save their continent and basically their world.

The very end of this had me scratching my head and needing more story now! There’s a cliff hanger of course and I’m dying to find out what led certain people to do certain things!! Ah I can’t wait!

If you want a new fantasy series to jump into, pick this one!!

♦️ 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🐉 Romantic Fantasy
♦️ Political Marriage
♦️ Enemies to Lovers
🐉 Secrets
♦️ Warring Nations

The highly-anticipated return to the world of Lir is filled with Guanzon’s trademark vibrant imagery, snarky dialogue, and stunning prose - not to mention PLENTY of angst. "A Monsoon Rising" is everything you could possibly want in a sequel, though the ending will have you yearning for the next installment like Alaric Ossinast does for his wife…

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for this amazing e-ARC.

First I wanted to preface by saying I re-read the first book and ended up liking it 10x more than I did before. Previously I had some difficulty understanding the world building, but I felt like I understood it better the second time around. The angst and love that I have for the characters transitioned so effortlessly into the second book.
The way the characters grew and changed throughout the novel was done very smoothly. Alaric had started to question his mission and is still having a hard time trusting Talasyn despite the love (that he won’t admit to) that he feels towards her. I wished I saw more interaction between him and his father in that in between shadow realm. I hope to see more of that in the final book. The romance was more of a highlight of the whole book and some of the politics and war aspects was muted a bit. But I can understand that to build the strain on the relationship between Tala and Alaric to push the betrayal. I did like that we had more interaction between her and her father.
As for Talasyn, I could see her internal struggle with her own mission as well versus the betrayal of her people during the first massacre and versus what she wants for her people in the future with building a better world. I did hope to see her more interacting with the hidden rebels, but I believe we will see much more in the third novel.
Now, the relationship between the two was such a roller coaster. Between their obvious love, the way they were dancing around it in the beginning and how it transitioned to them finally giving in to their feelings and discussing that out-loud versus internally. I was blushing during the intimidate scenes in the book. Seeing as it was their first time between them, and all of their sexual experiences was exciting. Seeing Alaric’s wall being broken down every time they were together was so bittersweet because he wanted to feel that way always and not in conflict of their relationship. Being able to see that struggle made his character come to life and see his character development.
I hope in the next book it is more politics, betrayal, and hopeful resolution that does not scar their relationship forever. Sometimes second book syndrome is so prevalent these days, but I felt that this was a handful of books that I have read that was so far away from that. This was a GREAT second book and I felt that the pacing was perfect. I read this slowly because I wanted to savor every moment. I am so incredibly excited for the last book.

This sequel focuses mostly on the character and relationship development between Alaric and Talasyn, which I was not mad about. A lot of the driving plot happens off screen and we jump between points of deception and meetings between our two MC’s as they wrestle between what is best for themselves, their people and their countries as they mesh worlds with their marriage.

It was so agonizing (in the best way) to see Alaric and Talasyn deny, hide and flounder over their feelings for one another. The Squee is squealed and giggled as they started embracing one another and giving in. I was totally here for it!

There is a clear plot, as we are brought forward by the characters deceptions and meetings, conversations and finally their experiences as they face the outcome of their past decisions. If you like romance in a fantasy setting, this book will be for you. Dashes of smut mingled with some closed door scenes. The book will leave you with a gasp on your lips and feral to see what happens next! I can’t wait to see What happens in book 3!

I loved this just as much as the first book, if not more. Sophomore slump was nowhere to be seen. Absolutely looking forward to the next in the series!

A Monsoon Rising is the continuation of The Hurricane Wars, where we get to explore more of Talasyn and Alaric's star-crossed fate and what lies ahead for Nenavar, Sardovia Allfold, and Kesath, as Voidfell continues to spread.

After The Hurricane Wars, I was craving more stories about Nenavar, Sardovia Allfold, Kesath, and Dawn Isle. I genuinely think the narrative could have been stretched further, I would have happily devoured it! However, as I delved deeper into this sequel, I noticed a shift: the focus on the story seemed to wane, replaced instead by more passionate and steamy scenes between Talasyn and Alaric. While I don’t mind such scenes as long as they serve the plot, I found myself still yearning for more substance in the storyline.

I craved deeper character development, stronger emotional connections between Talasyn and her found family, more leads about Khaede, and a richer exploration of Alaric's relationships with his family, friends, and the Kesathese people. Unfortunately, this installment felt lacking in world-building, emotional depth, character growth, and overall narrative complexity.

On the bright side, that plot twist and the climax had my jaw on the floor—they were unexpected and genuinely gripping. However, the revelations felt somewhat lacking in depth, power, and detail, and the ending left me wanting more energy and resolution. I found myself thinking, "Wait, that was it? Talasyn connected with it and just obeyed? Like, what?" Am I simply confused by what happened, or does the story itself lack the emotional and narrative detail needed to tie everything together?

Despite these critiques, I still highly recommend this fantastic series. It remains an amazing story that captivated me. I’d love for you to experience Talasyn and Alaric’s journey for yourselves. I’m still proud of Thea Guanzon for bringing this series to life—go girl!

A huge thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this early and experience more of Talasyn and Alaric’s love story.


✨WHAT I LIKED:
📌 Talasyn came to save Alaric
📌 Alaric got jealous of Surakwel
📌 DRAGOOOONS!
📌 Alaric's friendship with Sevraim
📌 Talasyn's change of perspective

✨TROPES:
📌 ENEMIES TO LOVERS
📌 STAR-CROSSED LOVERS
📌 FORCED PROXIMITY
📌 FOUND FAMILY
📌 POLITICAL INTRIGUE
📌 WAR
📌 DRAGONS
📌 INCREDIBLY PASSIONATE & STEAMY SCENES


🖥️ GOODREADS REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7068182099

💻 BLOG REVIEW: https://kimthebookdragon.com/2024/12/10/arc-review-a-monsoon-rising/

Overall, I enjoyed this book in comparison to its predecessor. There were parts of the book that dragged a little, but the back half of the book picks up the pace. The ending in particular took me by surprise. I knew that it was going to end on a cliffhanger (it's a trilogy, after all), but it was definitely not what I was expecting (in a good way).

While The Hurricane Wars felt like it was more on the fantasy side of romantasy, A Monsoon Rising leans more into the romance side. I found that THW felt more like YA Fantasy, but this book is solidly in the Adult Fantasy realm.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an early review copy! All thoughts are my own.