A lot more relationship building in this one and I am HERE for it!! I am very very excited for the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this eARC.

December is always a slow month for new books. That being the case, I was relying on this sequel as one of my few newly released books to cover (I often devote my other review days during December to catching up on various sequels that I couldn’t fit in during the months in which they came out). I very much enjoyed “The Hurricane Wars” when I read it last year and thought that it did a great job setting up the world and the characters, leaving an intriguing pathway forward for the story to take! But, while I still enjoyed a lot of what this book had to offer, this is one of those titles that I can hold up in the future as an example of “middle book syndrome.”

Let’s start with the good however! Much of what I enjoyed from the first book is still strong here. For one thing, the writing is compulsively readable. While I could step back and have critiques of the pacing, plotting, and some of the character beats, while I was reading it I felt fully immersed. I read it over a few days and largely enjoyed the entire experience. Not a lot really happens in this book (one of my main criticisms) so it speaks to the author’s talent with readability that I never felt bored as I was making my way through the book.

I also still very much enjoyed our main characters and their love story (mostly). One thing that I appreciated the most was the fact that Talasyn and Alaric are following a more traditional “enemies to lovers” path. In that, this book doesn’t easily do away with the fact that these two have been on opposing sides of the war for years, have fully realized histories before they began falling for one another, including loyalties, friendships, and ideologies. None of these could or should be easily set aside just because they meet someone they begin to have feelings for (honestly, I can’t count the number of romantasy titles that really struggle with this aspect of the entire “enemies to lovers” trope. If your characters can get over being “enemies” within the first book, let alone the first half of the book, then they were either A.) never enemies to begin with or B.) are simply poorly written with no actual characterization to them outside of this burgeoning love story). The love story does make progress throughout, but the book also takes place over a few months time, adding another layer of believability to this relationship. But even still, by the end, they are by no means clearly on the same side, even still.

And now, the counter argument to everything I said above: while I appreciate the slow-burn nature of this book, I’m not convinced this needed to be a trilogy. For all that the slower nature of the plot works for the romance, it also doesn’t work for the trilogy as a whole. There were numerous scenes in this book that felt wholly unnecessary or as if they were simply inserted into the story because an editor had pointed out that no actual action had taken place for chapters and chapters, with the focus only being on the characters’ inner thoughts and building love story.

Part of this has to do with how the book has tried to balance two different points of conflict: one is the upcoming apocalyptical event that only Talasyn’s and Alaric’s combined magic can save everyone from and the other is the actual war that they both have been fighting. By essentially saving the entire war conflict for the next book, it made this book’s handling of this huge threat, the Moonless Dark, feel almost like a strange side quest that didn’t really matter.

And then there were even some fairly major reveals and twists in this area that are revealed towards the end, but, again, by the nature of the structure of the trilogy as a whole, I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do with this revelation. It was this big moment, and then it just felt like it landed with a thud and was quickly kicked into the corner to set up the final events for the third book. Was this plotline really necessary? Instead, it felt like this entire set-up only existed as an excuse to make Talasyn and Alaric work together over the course of the first and now this book; I felt like I could see behind the curtain and spied the author wrangling the plot into place only in service of getting the romance from point A to B, not something you ever want to see.

But, as I said, I read this book very quickly and still enjoyed the actual reading experience. If I came away wondering a bit why this had to be an entire book, instead of re-structured into a more tightly plotted duology…well, that’s unfortunately often the case in fantasy fiction these days. That said, the set up for the third book is very good and I’m excited to see where it all goes!

One last note on the romance: while I appreciate the true slow-burn nature of the love story, I truly hope that the betrayals/secrets/lies aspect gets dealt with early in the next book. I’d love to see a significant portion of the plot devoted to these two finally working together. Two books as “enemies” and one book as “lovers/allies” is, for me, the correct balance.

Rating 7: Fans of the first book will likely enjoy this one, and, at its peak it highlights a true commitment to telling an “enemies to lovers” romance. But, on the other hand, there’s very little true plot to be found here.

Link will go live on The Library Ladies on Dec. 11

First off, I want to thank Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I truly enjoyed the continuation of Talasyn and Alaric’s story. The promise of battle, possible betrayal, and possible budding romance was enchanting. One drawback, however, was that parts of the book seemed to drag. The ending certainly paid off and has me excited for the next book.

This one is for the romantasy girlies. Far less political intrigue and heavy on the slow burn romance. I was here for it. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop more into mutual understanding and admiration. I am also a big fan of him falling first.

The Alaric character development and backstory felt much more flushed out. He got to be a whole person in this story in a way his (ahem) inspiration never got to be.

That cliffhanger is about to ruin my life though…

This book, what a ride it was! The character development of the two leads, Talasyn and Alaric, was great to see and see their love blossom and grow, and be tested again and again. The further world building gave such a vivid mental picture of this world the author created, I felt like I was there alongside the whole cast of characters.
One issue that did arise was that the second half of the book felt a bit rushed. So much happened and it became a bit of a blur in some spots, such as the masquerade ballroom scene, I do understand it was an action heavy scene, the rush it gave felt too much for me. Maybe it wouldn't feel that way for other readers, but it is something to consider.

A Monsoon Rising @theagwrites

After reading The Hurricane Wars last year and getting to meet the incredible Thea at a signing, I could not WAIT to sink my teeth into A Monsoon Rising.
I was so so happy when I got approved for the book on netgalley but had so many things going on, I just hadn't gotten around to opening it yet.
When I saw @harpervoyager_uk release the cover and saw the proofs it spurred me into opening my kindle and diving straight into the book.
All I can say is.... That ending is SO DAMN CRUEL THEA!!!!! This was the cliffhanger of ALL cliffhangers and as I slammed my kindle shut on the final page I felt both frustration and utter disbelief. I NEED book 3 like I need AIR. I need to know what happens so badly it's unreal. The whole book tore me apart and I haven't stopped reading it for THREE DAMN DAYS where I've had so many feelings at once, it just isn't fair! Jokes and how cruel the ending was aside... This book is phenomenal. I think it's even a step up from book 1 which is saying something. The tension, push and pull and the hatred mixed with passion between our two MCs is unreal. I've never known ANYONE to write this way and it's SO gripping. I feel immense relief that I've been able to read a monsoon rising so early as the wait for it was killing me. But now, to wait again for book 3... I don't know if my heart can take it.
Seriously, a MUST READ SERIES. I've loved so many books this year already but... This has to be up there in my top 3. Incredible and an obvious 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Dare I say this book was even better than the first of the series! A compelling story with action and sizzling heat- perfect new adult read. Well balanced political turmoil with breaks of action and truly heartfelt. I can’t wait for the next one to come out!

The second chapter of ‘The Hurricane Wars’ throws you right back in the action without a breath to brace yourself. I could have used a little more reminder of exactly where we’d left off. Guanzon continues to deliver a heavy fantasy world, rich in descriptions of a brand new world, machines, and magic. Around 44-55% the romance lagged enough in the “will they, won’t they” to make me want to DNF, but I’m glad I didn’t. The romance and plot paid off in the end with a few twists that I didn’t see coming.

I had to go back and reread The Hurricane Wars before I read this is so it was fresh in my mind! I will say that I feel this was faster paced. While I liked the first one a lot I felt like Guanzon definitely improved even more in this one. I had a hard time here and there with the first one. I remember at the time my ADHD was running rampant. This time I will say I liked it more and would rate it higher which made me hyped going into Monsoon Rising. The relationship between our two main characters is Alaric is such bookboy friends material. This one definitely has more romance aspects to it as we still have the politics as in book one we know the marriage talks in the beginning of the book were all centered around a wedding for political reasons! The cliffhanger ending will have you reeling and wanting the third book immediately!

Even better than the first book- the pacing in this is impeccable and the characters are very well-written. This is clever and engaging and wonderful!

Oh my goodness, I cannot explain how excited I was when I saw that I got access to an ARC for Monsoon Rising! I put in the request and was like “no way but whatever I’ll try” and HERE WE ARE!

I read book one of this trilogy earlier this year, but there is a fair amount of world-building that really required me to dig into my memory to remember what’s what. One of my critiques of the first book was that it moved a bit too slowly, something that I said was perhaps a byproduct of it being a three-part series from the get-go. This book focuses mainly on the “B Plot” I would say, which is not a negative and the author does a good job of keeping the overall plot not too far from mind, but the fact that the whole book is dedicated to expanding this secondary plot I think speaks to how drawn out it is and that it tells a complete story.

The plot was a lot more engaging this time around, and I was actively making time to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Also, I know when the book comes out the fan art is going to go absolutely because the author was really indulgent in describing the world-building and the characters. I mean just look at the amazing cover.

The ending did have me a little thrown, just because it left so out of left field. While I didn’t necessarily hate it, I think it might have been just a tad too much out there that I was sort of like “what?” as opposed to “oh my god!!” I think it sets up the final book nicely, but I wish it was integrated into the story a bit more.

So so happy I got to read this, and I’m really excited for the final book of this series + beyond from Thea Guanzon.

Oh my goodness this was sooooo good. The longing! I died. In all seriousness, this was wonderful. As leadup to the main political reason for their marriage, Talasyn and Alaric juggle their relationship with each other and their duties to their families. It's so torturous as they work through inconvenient feelings and that ever-present duty. Highly recommend.

3.75 stars.

Huge thanks to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for an e-Arc copy of A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon.

Short Summary:
Two rats in love who are going to stab each other in the back but neither can let go of the other. In addition, they suck at communicating and I wanted to bang their heads together and make them talk!
—————————————————————————————
We have a slow burn, enemies to lovers with lots of angst. Talasyn & Alaric are two very lonely souls, even when surrounded by people they are alone. I enjoyed how different they are from each other. Where Talasyn acts without thinking most of time, Alaric is more calculated and slow to act. I did want to smack Talasyn in the face because she really didn’t use her brain. Alaric grew on me here, I didn’t care much for him in the first book but I really enjoyed his POV on this one and how much he’s changes (still has a long way to go).

As a rat myself, this was super enjoyable. I have to say that this was more focused on Talasyn & Alaric’s relationship than anything else, the plot took a backseat and it made the book predictable at times, but the end was still twisty with things I did not see coming.

I love the side characters, especially Sevraim & Jie 🤍

This does end on a massive cliffhanger and I’m going to need book 3 asap.

I love a good plot-driven story and while this one was a little slower than the last book, I enjoyed diving into the complicated relationship between Talasyn and Alaric. It makes my Reylo heart very happy and I can't wait to go buy the book when it comes out.

A Monsoon Rising
4.25 ⭐️

If you’ve read Hurricane Wars, this second books has just as much action packed into it as the first!

Told from both Talasyn’s and Alaric’s perspectives, they must work together to stop the devastation scheduled to hit Talasyn’s land after a thousand year wait. And of course— more dragons! 🐉

The back and forth is still here from the first book, but relieved a lot in this one! It had been a while since I read the first and I kind of wished I had read a recap. It took me a bit of slogging through the first part of the story to remember where everything was at 😅. Of course the cliffhanger ending means I’m eager to pick the next one up — when it eventually comes out!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

A Monsoon Rising
by Thea Guanzon
3.5 ⭐️

I went into this with mixed feelings because The Hurricane Wars did not live up to my expectations. With that being said, this was a bit more of the same. The magic system is still something that I don’t fully understand, most of the time with fantasy books you just need to keep reading and eventually everything clicks but 2 books later and no click. The first chunk was a little slow for me and it didn’t really pick up until the 80% mark. All the action that happened towards the end had me hooked! I kept checking how much was left in the book bc there was just so much happening.

The main highlight for me was the relationship between Tala and Alaric! The slow burn was excruciatingly slow and felt a little dragged out but all was forgiven when it finally happened 🫶🏼 the spice was pretty well done too! I am obsessed with jealous and down bad Alaric!! Also I feel like it needs to be said that a good romantasy or fantasy book can have more romance without losing the actual plot. In this case tho I feel like the romance saves it bc the plot was pushed off until the next book.

I’m still interested in reading book 3 bc I have many theories and I am really want to know what will happen plot-wise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for this gifted arc!


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6956142590
*will post on IG in 2 weeks*

Thank you so much to Thea Guanzon and Harper Voyager for letting me read and review this as an ARC! I was SO stoked when my request got accepted, as I loved the Hurricane Wars from start to finish.

The second entry into this series is beautiful. We follow Talasyn and Alaric through their mission to stop the Voidfell from destroying the continent, and effectively all the magic severs that come with it. Their arranged marriage begins to toe the line of something more serious, especially due to the ending of THW. My actual rating is more like a 4.5, because I did have some thoughts about it, but I'm rounding up on this one.

Spoilers from here on:

[ I think A Monsoon Rising suffers just a bit from "middle child" syndrome, in that often I find that the second book in a trilogy ends up having a pacing issue. The book is split between the politics and the growing romance, and there were times where I thought I could use a little more politicking and a little less romance.

However, it needs to be said that the scene of Talasyn and Alaric inside the monsoon is one of the most romantic, exceptional pieces of fiction that I've read in months.

I reread, "Just him and me in the monsoon." Multiple times. I'm still reeling. That was very good.

The underlying current of the book is that Everything has it's consequences, specifically regarding Talasyn and Alaric consummating their marriage and accidentally falling for one another, despite knowing that both of their masters want the opposing side dead. I was really hoping to see those consequences, after seeing both Tala and Alaric worry about it for about 300 pages. The ending of the book, which I'll keep vague, was very good in hindsight, but I admit I was disappointed when I saw where it ended. I just wanted more! Which isn't a bad thing, but I felt it worth mentioning.

Oh boy was this book intense and everything I hoped it would be. It is different from the first one in terms of being more character driven and progressing slower, but it was so enjoyable.

The poor communication was KILLING me but these two have so much chemistry and it was hard not to be on the edge of my seat and eating it up. I am shattered😭 Why would you do this to me????? Literally cried my eyes out. And it's not even out yet, I have to wait so long for the next book. Literal tears.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager US for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC! I was so excited when I got this, and I still cannot believe I got approved for this title!

Upon starting it, I realized I must've forgotten everything about The Hurricane Wars - it was a bit of a slog for me to get through with an exciting ending, an intriguing world, and an addictive character dynamic, but I stuck with it because my best friend absolutely LOVED it. I felt like it dragged with a lot of unnecessary info-dumping, over-the-top descriptions, and too much detail just to lengthen the story and appeal to readers of wordy, vocab-heavy prose. I did enjoy Alaric and Talasyn, so I was looking forward to the sequel.

I was hoping A Monsoon Rising would leave some of that behind, but I felt the same exact way about the beginning of this book, and I'm very intimidated to force myself through this one right now. I DNF'd early on, and I think I'll let this sit on my bookshelf to give it another go when I'm in the mood for it!

If you loved the world, writing, and characters in The Hurricane Wars, then you're sure to enjoy this book!

Let me start off by saying that this book is better than the first. I really loved how Guanzon brought in even more aspects of Filipino culture into this world. I thought that there was great movement of the characters across the map, and beautifully diverse scenery. And the last 20% of the book definitely helped to increase its rating. It had epic action and plot moved!

But… I hate to say this, Guanzon’s excessively elaborate writing style, though not as often seen here as with the first book, just kills my reading mood. I was at a steady 3-3.5 star for most of the book… her writing style still feels awkward, while also not adding value/better imagery for the reader.

She developed the characters more, but there are too many for me to care about. The vocabulary of the ships and magic is large-scale, and Guanzon is 75% of the way there to helping me actually imagine this world better.

I also don’t like our FMC, Talasyn, and like Alaric, our MMC, a little better. Talasyn has extreme thoughts and emotions, which is supposed to be her appeal, but doesn’t appeal to me much at all. We end up seeing a very real vulnerability from Alaric, that just imprints him onto your heart.

The dialogue between characters is not too believable. But I did enjoy that there is effortless recap of book one in this story! Overall, it’s a good book to continue the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️ 3.5 🌶️