The Hurricane Wars was my top read last year, so I had high expectations for A Monsoon Rising, and it did not disappoint! A Monsoon Rising is one of the rare cases where the sequel is even better than the first (which is saying a lot here)!

As they adjust to their lives as newlyweds with the conflict of being heirs to two volatile nations, they must also learn how to trust each other as they train to stop an event that would devastate both of their lands. This forced proximity creates a delicious tension as both Talasyn and Alaric navigate with their conflicting feelings, political ambitions, and orders.

What makes this book so good, in my opinion, are the individual character growth journeys of both Talasyn and Alaric. Talasyn really steps into her role as a leader of her nation, learning how to build alliances, navigate politics, and look after her people. While both Talasyn and Alaric have their prior beliefs challenged, Alaric, in particular, begins to question the motives and actions of his ruler and government as his own prejudices are brought to light.

I only wish this book had included more of the supporting cast, as this would have provided a broader view of the current situation of the world. It sometimes felt that the supporting characters were afterthoughts. However, this was likely a stylistic choice by Guanzon to demonstrate how caught up in each other our two potential lovebirds were.

A Monsoon Rising is the perfect blend of romance, betrayal, political intrigue, and character growth. I would recommend this for any Romantasy fan who enjoys a slow burn, true enemies-to-lovers story with heart.

A big thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, Netgalley, and Thea Guanzon for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and this review was posted voluntarily.

It’s often said that a sophomore novel can never surpass the debut, but Thea Guanzon has utterly shattered that notion. “A Monsoon Rising,” is a fabulous continuation of the world of the Hurricane Wars. The individual character growth was very well done as Talasyn and Alaric both fully step into their roles as leaders of their respective nations, but also while also growing in their understanding of each other. The tension and tenderness of their budding relationship is so genuine and heart-aching!! Full of political machinations, tender touches, and a healthy helping of dragons, this series should be on every fantasy and romantasy reader’s radar. In true enemies-to-lovers fashion, there are always secrets and hidden motives that may unravel their newly-found truce once discovered… I thoroughly enjoyed this book and after the cliffhanger ending, I will be eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for access to this eARC for review; as always my opinion and thoughts are my own.

First I would like to thank netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me to get an e-ARC of this book! A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon is a MASTERPIECE. I couldn't put this book down. I devoured this beautifully, heartbreaking and breathtaking book. If I didn't have to work then I would've finished this book in a day. A Monsoon Rising follows Talasyn and Alaric through their marriage, trying to save their homes from destruction and throughout that time things start changing between them and their loyalties are tested. Thea Guanzon kept me on the edge of my seat with this sequel and I need the third book RIGHT NOW after that ending!! Alaric and Talasyn stole my heart in this book. I loved their character development, the BANTER between them, the fire chemistry and the tension. UGH. That cave scene.....lord. The way he calls here Tala, literally has my heart. I loved the side characters, the dragons, and the story line. Everyone needs to get this book right now. This beautiful books comes out on the 1oth of December. Go order it right now!!

Are you in the mood for yearning? Just a little bit of pining? The same equivalent of Mr. Darcy’s little hand flexes, but make them mortal enemies in an ongoing war? With a dabble of magic, a foreground of political intrigue, and a handful of secrets yet to be spilled?

If the answer is yes, then you’ll love the sequel of the Hurricane Wars, a Monsoon Rising. I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this, and happily consumed the book in a couple of days! I’ll try and leave out as many spoilers as I can-but please avoid the second half of this review if you’d like to go in completely blind. It was truly a treat, this book.

A Monsoon Rising picks up with Alaric and Talasyn as they navigate a marriage of unconventional alliance, struck in the heat of the deadly war in which they were raised. A war by which both Talasyn and Alaric were inevitably shaped as weapons, sources of power embodying their Lightweave and Shadowforge magic. The two of them must join together to defeat the Moonless Dark, a harbinger of death that is foretold to consume everything on the horizon.

I loved the Hurricane Wars, but A Monsoon Rising had me on the edge of my seat. There was a perfect balance of romance, political intrigue, and warring feelings between our MMC and FMC. FEELINGS! What a shocking, beautiful thing between two very war-forged main characters, and Thea Guanzon does such an excellent job navigating their brimming romance.

If you love:

- Enemies x Lovers (ofc)
- Only one cave
- Touch her and he might die of yearning?
- Political intrigue
- Vast, intricate world building

You’ll love a Monsoon Rising! While we see a strong thread of Talasyn and Alaric’s story, so much is revealed about the battling forces around them. I have a hunch that these characters are about to go THROUGH it in the next installment, and the cliff hanger left me…bereft.

Also, Alaric’s pining?

I might never recover.

THANK YOU Thea Guanzon for bringing this beautiful world to life.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC!

Romantasy at its finest!! A standout follow up to this Star Wars inspired series. No one will be disappointed by the continuation of this story and these characters 🥰

This book is definitely better than the first one! It helped that I slogged through the rough world building and plot of the first one, so I at least know enough for this book to make sense.

I prefer the balance of romance to plot in this book. Their back and forth makes more sense because they’re both hiding things from each other. There’s a reason for their dynamic to be so tenuous. I loved that they talked more in this book. They talked about things like triggers for their trauma. They tiptoed around their hopes for the future. I appreciated the building of their connection. They were sweet together, and I do think their chemistry is great.

The political aspects of this book did feel kind of neglected. We would go long stretches of story without it, which is caused by the fact that the main political plot is over arching all of the books, not just this one. But I think that because the main plot wasn’t looming very large, I kinda forgot about it for most of the book. It’s the driving force that is keeping Alaric and Talasyn from being entirely truthful and actually together, but it didn’t seem to be super present. I was hooked, though, so I sped through this book in less than two days.

I’m hoping that the next book will connect the big plot to this book more. I’m curious to see how Alaric and Talasyn’s dynamic changes, and I can’t wait to watch them argue more. I really really hope that the third book doesn’t do that thing where it keeps them separate for most of the book until the last chunk of the book. It’s very frustrating, and. I have hope that they won’t do that to us.

I will be very impatiently waiting for the next book to see what happens!

I enjoyed the Hurricane Wars but I wasn’t prepared for how much I LOVED A Monsoon Rising. I couldn’t put it down. The pining! The magic! The twists and turns! It is so so good. Probably one of the best things I’ve read all year.

I liked this even better than the first book! A good balance of plot/world building with the romance. I liked the characters more in this book. And the ending!!!

WOW - WOW - WOW! I am blown away by this story! I hadn't previously read The Hurricane Wars, but I read it once I was given an advanced copy of A Monsoon Rising. This story has me hooked! Also, we get MORE DRAGONS in A Monsoon Rising! 😍 I've also purchased several special editions of both because I'm now totally obsessed with this series 🤪

This is the second in the series so I cannot say too much without spoiling anything. However, there might be some light spoilers so read with caution. I absolutely love how this story is developing! I adore Talasyn and Alaric. I'm keeping my 🤞 they get a HEA because my heart is breaking for them! This forbidden love story is incredibly sweet and a little frustrating due to them being pulled in different directions. I just know if they are open and honest with each other, they can change the world!

The political intrigue is heavy in this book and series as a whole. If you like that trope you will definitely enjoy this! I love it! It's written so well. We get a deeper dive into Talasyn and Alaric as a forced couple and as individuals. I love both of these MCs and there are tons of supporting characters that I enjoy, and a few that I hate (you'll understand!).

Talasyn is such a BA FMC. She cracks me up! We would totally be best friends 🧡 I've really enjoyed watching her character development, as well as Alaric's. I'm anxious to get my hands on the next book but I have no idea when it's coming out! It ends on a MAJOR cliffhanger 😱 I've enjoyed every single minute of reading this series!

The first chapter made me cry and shattered my heart into a billion pieces (Please save it, Thea!) 😭 I don't want to say why, just know it happened lol.

I want to say a tremendous thank you to Thea, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. This is my honest review of this book given freely and I'm OBSESSED! I'll forever be an ARC reader for you!

I am still reeling from that ending!!! The sequel to the Hurricane Wars was a ride from beginning to end! I always enjoy how Talasyn and Alaric interact with each other. They're chemistry is through the roof and their banter is just everything. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book! It feels like the stakes will be even higher and I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds!

O-M-G, Thea what have you done to me? 😭 how could you keep us on the precipice with an ending like that?!

Wow, this was such a great read. I don’t know how it’s possible, but book 2, A Monsoon Rising, was dare I day, even better than Hurricane Wars - however seemingly impossible as that may seem.

The Hurricane Wars at time seemed a little YA, but A Monsoon Rising took everything that I love about adult leaning romantasies and made it so beautiful.

Thea has this way with words and weaving sentences that is so poetic without complexity. One of my favorite lines that I could not stop rereading, “Was it her fate to keep on changing, swapping one life for another like the coasts of different season here in this land of eternal summer? Was she doomed to one day no longer recognize the girl from Hornbill’s Head, the same way no snowy winter carried a trace of the scarlet autumn that came before?”

There were so many things that I loved about this. The pining, the angst, the action and plot. The banter between Alaric and Talasyn had me squealing. The scene between Alaric and Prince Elagbi while they were drunk had me cackling out loud! And the spice had me blushing!! I was so bummed that the spicy scene from book one happened 95% through to the book but here, Thea is soooo generous (without it being gratuitous), to those who were so patient the first time and we’re so grateful for it 🙏🏼

I enjoyed this book so much and I can’t wait for the many rereads ahead while I wait for the third book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

rating: 3.75 stars

I’ll refrain from commenting much on character arcs as it pertains to continuation from book 1 because I unfortunately can remember almost nothing from book 1, having read it a year and a half ago. Which is entirely my fault so I did my best to not let it affect my experience of this book.

Regarding plot, this book was fun, if a bit anticlimactic at times. I do enjoy Talasyn and Alaric’s dynamic, but 40% of the book being will they won’t they and then when they decide to they do so with like no consideration of the consequences did get slightly repetitive. Other than that, it at times didn’t feel like enough plot happened in this book to justify it being its own novel beyond giving the romance space to develop. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, which I certainly did, particularly the beginning and the ending. However, according to my ARC review for THW, I felt like plot and romance were balanced evenly, but in AMR, it definitely felt like the fantasy and action was a very much subplot, so take that as you will.

All that is to say, I still love Thea Guanzon’s writing, her line level language is superb and the level of detail and care she puts into her worlds is mind boggling. If you liked The Hurricane Wars, I’d definitely give this a read, just keep in mind that the plot does show down quite a bit.

Thanks again to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon is the second book in The Hurricane Wars. This picks up right where the first book ended and continues to follow our main characters, Talasyn and Alaric, as they prepare for the Moonless Dark.

For reference, I gave the first book 3 stars. I enjoyed it, but it had some bigger issues that impacted my overall rating. One of those big issues was the excessive use of adjectives for everything. That has improved with book 2 (or was less noticeable).

While the pacing in book 1 felt off, the pacing in book 2 had some of those moments but they were brief and quickly switched back.

The romance really amps up in A Monsoon Rising, and this is the main focus. The build up to the Moonless Dark and the Moonless Dark itself, as well as the major plot points, are all minor and definitely secondary to the relationship. Talasyn and Alaric have excellent chemistry, but they are internally struggling with their relationship, so there is a lot of pining.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed A Monsoon Rising, but I wish there was more time spent on the Moonless Dark and other lore revelations. That cliffhanger was evil, and I'm looking forward to seeing where book 3 takes these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Picking up pretty much where The Hurricane Wars left off, A Monsoon Rising finds Alaric and Talasyn still fighting their growing attraction to each other, still figuring out how to fight for what they believe in, and still keeping all sorts of secrets from each other as they promise to work together.

We spend most of this book with our duo of light and shadow training to be able to hold off the mass destruction of the moonless dark while at the same time navigating their own roles in the kingdoms they ostensibly lead. And they keep getting reminded by their advisors to not get too close to one another…

Yeah, their tension and chemistry is fire, and is only increasing from their moments in the first book. It ends up falling perfectly into the “wait, do I actually LIKE the person I married for political convenience?” trope. The duo also very much have to deal with the notion that maybe those they fight for don’t believe in their ability to make good choices. Or any choices. And they also come up against the inherent struggles of thinking that YOUR side is the right side. When in war sometimes “right” might not actually be so for everyone.

And that’s what I love about this book (and this series). It shows the political maneuvering and the puppet masters and the pawns. It also shows that if our two main characters can one day be honest with themselves and each other, they might actually be able to change the world.

This book was absolutely amazing. Once I started reading I didn’t want to stop. The characters were absolutely phenomenal.

What can I say, this book sucked me in just as much as the first book! The enemies to lovers slow burn was everything! The banter, the spice, the DRAGONS! Ugh! Give me book 3 now!!!

A Monsoon Rising is a phenomenal sequel, that, in my opinion, easily surpasses it' predecessor The Hurricane Wars. Thea Guanzon dives deeper into Talasyn and Alaric's relationship, balancing their enemies-to-lovers dynamic with layers of mistrust, political intrigue, and personal secrets. The tension between them is electric, and the banter and chemistry leap off the page.

The world building is immersive and vividly detailed, from the intricacies of war to the magic that is at the foundation of the story. Guanzon's prose is detailed and cinematic, making every scene, from the interactions between the characters to the Moonless Dark and THE ENDING, feel alive.

Speaking of the ending. I'm STILL reeling from the twists and cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see where this series goes next. Fans of fantasy romance with high stakes, unforgettable characters, and breathtaking tension will absolutely devour this book.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The second book in The Hurricane Wars series has a bit of everything…an enemies to lovers alliance, magical adventures, and royals plotting against each other! The perfect setup for a page turning, gripping read.

Unfortunately, it was not. The plot was lacking, and the author seemed to drag out the boring, character driven scenes instead of the fighting and action! The whole book is leading you up to a world ending event, but the event lasted maybe 5 pages?! Y’all know me…I need the action to keep me engaged 😂

Alaric and Talaysn’s romance is still a back and forth game. Neither one can fully commit to their feelings for each other due to their political agendas. I enjoyed the scenes where they were training their magic to save the world, but they were few and far between.

Of course the book ended on a cliffhanger, so I’ll probably read the 3rd and finale installment in the series…I’m too far in to stop now, ha! I can’t say that I’d recommend this series to fantasy friends though.

VIBIN’

I just enjoy the heck out of this series y’all. It’s incredibly romance centric and I am smitten with Alaric and Talasyn. They epitomize what I love about these types of romantasy books and I am intensely involved in what’s going to happen next. BECAUSE DID YOU READ THAT CLIFFHANGER? I love the drama.

I think it’s amazing how high the angst and tension is between these two. And yet we get a showcase of Alaric and Talasyn working together (which I adore in E2L books). There’s a lot of push and pull and some compromise filled with politicking and subtle betrayals. It really is a fantastic continuation that holds it’s own candle. There’s no sophomore slump here, I was hooked to this story from the start and I loved all of the micro-tropes throughout that had me howling.

And I immensely appreciate a dual POV romance and love getting Alaric’s viewpoint. I am having the best time reading these books and the flair of the drama and romance. And yes, I’M STILL THINKING OF THAT CLIFFHANGER.

Overall audience notes:

Romantasy
Language: mild
Romance: 3 open door
Violence: high
Content Warnings: parental abuse, death and loss of loved ones

Can't believe I made it through this one unscathed!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Harper Voyager for the eARC! I feel delightfully railroaded and spent after reading this.

Y'all, I've just been on a rollercoaster called "A Monsoon Rising" and I can unequivocally say I wasn't prepared. I'm pretty sure I liked it, but I feel a bit shell shocked. That ending...oh, that ending. This one is going to stay with me for a bit. I have read so many books lately that have left me emotionally drained and needing air. I think a few feel good Hallmark movies are in my near future. Tis the Season!

If you haven't read the first book yet, do it with no hesitation and with the knowledge that the series continues to blow my mind. There is a slow burn romance that you just can't help salivating over (enemies to partners to lovers to...), forced proximity moments with delicious one bed moments, a monsoon scene that fulfills the spice factor (2.5 peppers), and dragons. "What's life without a few dragons?" Am I right?

My only downside is that sometimes there was a lot of in between action or spice and it was a bit harder to get through.

Overall, NO REGRETS!!!!
4 outta 5 stars