*Contains spoilers for The Hurricane Wars, the first book in Thea Guanzon’s “The Hurricane Wars” series. Do not read this review or Monsoon Rising if you have not read The Hurricane Wars.*

A Monsoon Rising was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. Ever since I finished The Hurricane Wars I have wanted to get my hands on this book. Before I dive into my review, I must thank Thea Guanzon, HarperCollins Publishers, and NetGalley for gifting me with this digital Advanced Reader’s Copy.

The Spice:
2.5/5 — When it’s there, it’s THERE, but you just have to read to get to it.

The Great:
I must commend Guanzon on how she continued to build upon the world and magic system she created in her first book. As someone who was initially overwhelmed by the amount of information at the beginning of The Hurricane Wars, I worried that diving back into this would would be difficult, but I’m thrilled to say the opposite was true. Transitioning back into the story felt almost seamless as the world expands ahead of you adding more characters, political intrigue, and conflicts.

Throughout reading this book, I noticed quite a bit of character development not only internally for Talasyn and Alaric but externally to the world around them. Talasyn is torn between her duties as the Lachis’ka, as the Night Empress, and the guilt she feels from her past while Alaric harbors secrets of his own. The characters grow together in a wonderful way and I cannot wait to see how they continue to develop throughout the rest of the series.

The Meh:
This story, and the relationship between Alaric and Talasyn, reads like a “friends to lovers” or even “frenemies to lovers” at times. There is still a lot of slow-burn and tension, which some enjoy and some do not. I happen to lean more towards the latter group in this case because the first book fleshed out the “enemies to lovers” trope enough.

There are many time jumps throughout the story, which was very easy to follow and noted well within Guanzon’s writing, but I feel a though they could have been avoided if sequences of the story didn’t feel so repetitive at times.

Ultimately, the repetitive nature of the time jumps, some of the traveling, and the slow-burn bordering on still following the “friends to lovers” trope is what caused me to give A Monsoon Rising a 4/5 rating. None of the negatives ultimately took away my enjoyment of the story and I will be waiting for the third book in this series to come out so I can consume it just as I have the first two.

Hi! I’m Brooke and I read and review Fantasy, Romantasy, and Contemporary Romance, and Sports Romance books. Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading next!

Even better than the first one! The chemistry between Alaric and Talasyn is just absolutely palpable which I loved. This one is definitely more character driven than the first and the plot is much slower but I was just along for the ride with the main two characters and enjoyed this one a lot! And I absolutely cannot wait for the third one to come out

A bit slow in the beginning for me. Maybe because it’s been some time since I read Hurricane Wars but it took me a bit to get into the story. This one does pick up and I had a great time reading about Talasyn and Alaric. Loved the angst between those two and the cliffhanger? Can’t wait to read the next one.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher.

Thank you to Thea Guanzon, NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for this eARC.

This book solidifies Thea Guanzon as an auto-buy author for me. She writes so descriptively, a great balance of plot and world building, GREAT tension. Pacing was fantastic. The first book now pales in comparison and I LOVED that book. I had it in my top five favorite books. A Monsoon Rising was the reason I wanted to try NetGalley, it didn’t disappoint.

Chapter 20 though 😮‍💨
Nose scrunching, giddy, put it down just to smile type goodness.

I loved how I thought the story was going in one direction and it goes completely out the door.

The dragons 🥹
Alarics self hatred, it was just all on point.

I don’t have anything bad to say about this book, I flew through it. Give me all the Special Editions.

I just finished hurricane wars and jumped right in… wow wow wow. I’m obsessed. The way Alaric & Talasyn grow in this book was one of my favorite things. Especially how they grow together as well as apart. How they care for each other is everything. I’m deff picking up a physical copy! Alaric 😋.
Book 3 is gonna be wild with that cliff hanger of an ending 😭

Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyage for this arc 💓

Warning! Major cliff hanger 😭 great story like the first and great character growth in this. The mc had a lot of cute moments and plenty of heat! Hoping for an arc on the next book!!!!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Monsoon Rising builds wonderfully on the foundation set up in The Hurricane Wars. It’s a bit different tonally, shifting to a more character-centric narrative, so there’s less external stuff than the prior one. But there’s still quite a bit that I enjoyed, particularly the focus on the more internal family politics and how that continued to flesh out the previously existing knowledge of this world and characters.
Talasyn and Alaric’s relationship evolves this time around, with them now in an political marriage for the sake of their respective homelands, While the romance was fairly solid in the previous book, I really enjoyed seeing a more vulnerable side to both of them, even while there was still a sense of enmity at times. There is some reliance on miscommunication, but I could understand where each was coming from for the most part.
With the more internal focus, it is a little slower at times, but it was never so slow that it lacked intrigue. The political stakes also remain consequential, even when the book veers into more romantic territory. The book also culminates in a cliffhanger that had me gasping.
This was another solid installment, and I’m eager for what’s to come in the final installment. For the most part, if you enjoyed book one, I’d say you’ll also enjoy this one. And if you’re interested in a romantasy series with the enemies-to-lovers trope and a Southeast Asian inspired world, I’d recommend checking out the series so far!

I thought The Hurricane Wars would be my top read of the year-but this one was somehow BETTER?? This book picked up right were the first one left off-and threw us readers into both the middle of action and romance. Time and time again I found myself kicking my feet and giggling at Talasyn and Alaric as they dance around their feelings for each other. Often I find myself hating when characters do this, but the execution of this trope was done SO WELL that I emphasized with both parties. But I also wanted the two of them to just say screw the universe let's run off together more times than I could count.

The first book in this series is made to set up this one and all future ones in a way that I just know this and the next one will just hit harder and harder. I cannot wait to read this again and again as these characters and the world are becoming my comfort reads.

Also Thea, HOW DARE YOU. I don't know how I can wait until the next book. Seriously, I don't.

“I don’t know how to react to you. You are infuriating and self-righteous and you get under my skin. Secondly, there have never been any other women — there was never anyone before you — and much to my dismay you have provoked me so much that you’ve wormed your way into my dreams. You are the only one who plagues them.” ♥️

A Monsoon Rising was absolute perfection! I loved Talasyn and Alaric’s banter and the “will they won’t they” they had going on with their feelings. Their slow burn was slow burning but was so worth the wait!!!

Also, Alaric being a sappy drunk was hilarious! And I’m so glad he confessed that he was jealous at the masquerade ball! Despite the fact that they are supposed to be enemies, deep down you can tell they really care for each other! They were so soft with each other in the second half of the book and it was so sweet to read!

This book was action packed all the way through and the end had me screaming! I hate cliffhangers so much and I desperately need the next book RIGHT NOW! This series is definitely one of my favorites!

Thank you so much Harper Voyager/Avon and Netgalley for the advanced copy! You don’t know how grateful I am for receiving one! I can’t wait to read it again once my physical copy comes in the mail!

A Monsoon Rising releases on December 10th, and trust me you do not want to miss it! ❤️ And if you aren’t caught up, book 1, The Hurricane Wars, is available now!

This was a fantastic read! I loved it just as much as the first book and will definitely be recommending this to everyone.

I was super lucky to be given an e-ARC from @netgalley, so I will keep my comments here spoiler free since the final book hasn’t been released yet so as not to ruin the experience for anyone.

But! I will say that I absolutely devoured this book. I rated the first in the series, The Hurricane Wars, 4.5 stars as trudging through the world building was tough, but once the story got going, I really enjoyed it.

With most of the world building out of the way, the focus on this book was the relationship between Alaric and Talasyn. If you’re a Reylo, a lover of enemies to lovers, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, etc, this book is for you. I’ll be reading it again when my physical copy comes in because I loved it that much!

I have missed Talasyn and Alaric, so coming back to then was a real joy. A Monsoon Rising is just the right mix of romance and fantasy, and loved seeing their relationship develop and their magic evolve.

My only gripe was that ending ... It completely destroyed me. I can't believe I now have to wait for the next installment! Don't know how I'll cope

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy to review

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Hurricane Wars! This book was much more romance focused than the first book but everything kept getting in the way of their love including themselves. Because it was so focused on romance though some of the plots from the first book fell to the wayside and when we did focus on them they were just okay. This was no longer really enemies to lovers for me so that was kind of weird it felt more like a fan fic.

After reading the Hurricane Wars, I have not stopped thinking about the release of this book. I was so excited to be able to read it, especially since everyone was talking about the big cliffhanger (I’m now even more impatient for the third book😭)

A Monsoon Rising starts right where we left off, and we really get a deeper dive into the history and culture of the world. We get to see more of Talasyn and Alaric (obvi) and I thought their character development was great. However, Sevraim stole the show hands down. I thought his character was so funny and heartwarming and I hope we get to see more of him in the third book. He’s slowly but surely becoming my favorite character (and I love Alaric, so that’s impressive)

I think I liked THW a little more than AMR, but the enemies were still enemy-ing 😉

tysm to netgalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book!!!! I really loved the first installment, and I've been so excited to dig into this second one.

I'm giving this a 3/5, with the caveat that there were select moments in the book where my rating was higher. Spoilers present in my review.

Firstly I'll say that Thea Guanzon writes sexual tension like no other. Even though the two main characters spend the first third of the book away from each other, their yearning and desire are evident with every word. There are so many moments when I was screaming, crying, kicking my feet while waiting for them to finally kiss that it was obscene.

I think my main problem with this second book is that it revolves so much around the Voidfell issue but never creates any real urgency for it. As a reader, I'm supposed to believe that this is a once in a millennium occurrence and that the entire reason for their strategic marriage is to stop the Voidfell and therefore prevent the destruction of the world, but lead up to the actual event fell very flat for me.

It doesn't ever seem like anyone is expecting them to fail. The day before the end of the world, Talasyn is... baking pastries for a masquerade? And in the month leading up to the Voidfell, Alaric is... in political meetings about rice distribution? No one seems worried in the least that the end of the world is coming, so there's no build up. The resolution itself was written quite beautifully, paying off the lore that was set up in the first book, but it wasn't satisfying because I was never worried about whether they would actually have to face any consequences. It also didn't make sense to me that this huge issue was resolved so early on when there's so much of the political aspect of their story left.

Truthfully, it felt very much like an attempt to write new scenes into a previously written fanfic where the new scenes just didn't fit into the old narrative. And rather than rewriting the story entirely, the author tried to make it original in a very lazy way.

This is also my personal preference, but I felt that the amount of description was just very over the top. There were so many times when I skimmed through multiple paragraphs detailing foods and outfits and weather that just didn't add anything to the atmosphere or plot at all. And there were lots of lines that felt very forced.

One line, especially, that Thea posted on her instagram--
“I will never be the same.
I will always remember this.
Just him and me and the monsoon.”

These lines make very little sense to me as a reader because the majority of the book is written in third person, with very little first person. But it seems like because she wanted to have a hooky line to post on instagram, she put in these italicized thoughts that I personally felt would have been better off written in limited third person, like the rest of the book.

The one redeeming aspect of this book, and what really carried me through to the very end, is Alaric's characterization and how much affection he has for Talasyn. I liked Alaric's backstory and the parts in his POV so much that I could almost overlook the aspects that fell short for me. He is so dreamy and written perfectly for an enemies to lovers narrative, and I loved how often Talasyn tormented him.

The way that the book ended made me really excited to read Alaric's POV in the next book as well.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book, but I'm still interested enough to continue reading the last one, whenever that comes out. I'm expecting that the next book will have more apparent stakes now that their relationship is mostly set up.

Book friends!

The ending of A Monsoon Rising… How to describe my feelings. I’m still reeling from that ending. Like,

I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming.

As for the storytelling, utterly captivating. Talasyn and Alaric are my new OTP. I loved how Guanzon showed how on the surface Talasyn and Alaric despise each other. But, behind closed doors, it’s a completely different story. And there are so many sweet moments between the two of them where you’ll feel giddy and hopeful because of how lovely these two can be together. You'll want to write in the margins, or make a note on your Kindle “this! this is what you both need and deserve! Keep this. It’s worth fighting for and holding onto.“

This series is FANTASTIC.

It’s got everything romantasy readers want and need:
-court intrigue
-the chosen one/couple trope
-enemies to lovers
-spice
-political/fake marriage
-one bed/forced proximity
-slow burn tension
-banter banter banter!
-Dual POVs
and so much more!

If this series is not on your radar then get this one on your TBR STAT + pre-order or grab a copy from your local library.

Despite the cliffhanger ending, this was a great read. There was just enough for the back-and-forth emotional turmoil. I liked the discoveries they make together and the development of the relationship between the main characters. I really wanna see how that all plays out still despite the cliffhanger that I hate so much. it really feels like there’s more enemies running around in the background for sure that maybe even the queen isn’t really aware of. Main characters are feeling more and more like pawns in their own lives.

This was a stellar instant continuation of the story line from the ending of The Hurricane Wars. I was immediately pulled straight back into the action and political intrigue of the world and miss Thea was not playing around with this one!

In a shocking turn of events, this book was a lot more character driven and sweet?? Than THW. There were so many tender moments throughout the entire book between Alaric and Talasyn when I was expecting mostly bickering and anger like in The Hurricane Wars.

“I won’t breathe another word. Just–don’t leave me, Tala”

While it was a nice surprise as I was on my hands and knees BEGGING for scraps of affection between them in THW, it was laid on a little heavy in this one and I missed the rage a bit. A Monsoon Rising is largely character driven book with a deep dive and exploration into Alaric and Talasyn’s connection.

The spice level in THW was one like 3 page scene and this one had them going at it every couple of chapters. I have an inkling that all the sweet and tender moments and development of feelings for each other in this book is setting us up for PAIN in book 3 when the betrayals and secrets and everything else starts to come to the surface.

“One word from you and I let my guard down. I couldn’t kill you, either, all those times before.. What am I, If I’m not a weapon? What have you done to me?”

I do wish there was a little more plot besides just months of training for the night of the world eater but I also really think this is a great set up for an absolute banger of a third book. We really had time to sit with Alaric and Talasyn’s characters and understand their motivations and watch their loyalties change in real time to lie somewhere more in each other than in their nations.

“Sometimes I think–I think it would be better to start over. Tear it all down. And sometimes I think you and I could do that. If we make it through tonight”

The cliffhanger was insane, but I’m so confused? I desperately need a release date for book 3 so I can have something to look forward to.
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Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing me early access to A Monsoon Rising in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me a digital ARC!

Where the Hurricane Wars had a lot going on at once, A Monsoon Rising takes a different pace and I think the story is all the better for it. The world building in this book is particularly rich and dense and was hard to jump into after not having read the first book for so long but I was eventually able to jump back into the rhythm and pick up on some of the various fantasy elements I'd forgotten. If you are like me and forgot some of the plot of the Hurricane Wars, I definitely recommend doing a light re-read before jumping into this!

In this next book we get to see Talasyn grow from a warrior to a leader of a nation. She has become much more wise and politically savvy. She uses that cunning to decieve Alaric into believing she is 1000% on his side and willing to rebuild their country together. I loved how each of them, even though they clearly have feelings for one another, are still wrestling with their plans to betray one another. There is so much tension, angst and chemistry that filled the story - it was hard to put it down! While the ending was not what I had anticipated, I am excited for a third book to see where the story takes us!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this second installment in the Hurricane Wars - it was one of my most anticipated sequels this year and did not disappoint. Alaric and Talasyn’s chemistry was perfectly written. I especially enjoyed Alaric’s character in this book. My only complaint is having to wait for the third book after that cliffhanger ending. If you enjoy slow burn, enemies to lovers romantasy, then this series is definitely one to pick up.