I really wanted to enjoy The Hurricane Wars and was so excited for its release. Unfortunately, this book really wasn't for me.

I struggled through to 31% and then I decided life was too short to push through and have had to DNF.

There was so much world building just info dumped on you that it literally made my head hurt trying to process it all. The characters literally told you everything that was happening, to the point that there was no intrigue built because you could guarantee that in a page or two, you would just be told exactly what was about to happen.

Add to this one-dimensional characters and a forced enemies-to-lovers romance and I lost all interest in continuing, especially after reading reviews that agreed with me say that it doesn't get any better as you progress through it.

If you loved Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, you will love this book, as I got major Fourth Wing vibes from what I did read. But it's a big no from me.

The beginning is a little slow and could benefit from a little more editing for a smoother pace. The romance is fun but a little juvenile and the story often felt more YA than Adult. The worldbuilding was vivid and imaginative but the characters could be fleshed out more to seem like actual people rather than stereotypical romantasy characters.

💜𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐨𝐧💜
(Spoiler free review)
4 stars! (Very close door apart from one scene).

❤️Convincing you to add this to your tbr based on two quotes!

"𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴."

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

🔮An enemies to lovers in the best way possible? With the slowest of burns? Add this to your tbr! Wow what a debut.
This fantasy which has everything from secrets and betrayals. You know it going to be good 3 chapters in when the plot thickens and a plot twist is already introduced.

Firstly the first few chapters took a while to get into due to the info dump and world building but after that I was reading it so quickly. The way Thea writes is so amazing and magical and honestly whimsical.

We are chucked straight into the action and straight into the war which I personally loved. The light vs dark was a very promient theme which gave it a sci-fi element too it.🌑⚪️

Now the angst and the tension between our two main characters. I mean 😫 it so so good. I highlighted a lot and I won't stop thinking about them.

✨️Read if you want
-enemies to lovers (very much enemies)
-romantasy
-fantastic world building
-3rd person (two perspectives)
-light vs dark (magical themes)
-a war with a lot of twist
-mythical creatures
-slowwwwww burn.

Thank you to Harper Voygers and netgalley for an arc for my honest review

This book had a lot of potential and while I really wanted to like this but I was struggling so much. The first half of the book they were at war and it seemed like such a info dump. Then the next half of the book was just dedicated to the relationship between the two main characters. I couldn't even begin to tell you anything that happened, I often found myself skimming the pages and wanting to dnf this book but I pushed through in hopes that somewhere this book was going to get better.

I couldn't warm to the characters at all! When requesting this book, I hadn't realised this was originally a Reylo fanfiction. If knowing this and if you have read the fanfiction then you would have a idea of the characters already but if you don't then be prepared. We was thrown straight into the deep end, expecting to know all about these characters and their backstories from the start. More time should've been taken to flesh out the characters and give the readers something to actually like them. I would've liked to have a character development but they are exactly as they were in the beginning: flat and lacking any sort of personality.

The world building is non existent and at times felt confusing. Why did they called it the Hurricane Wars? I could not tell you for the life of me. The story didn't progress anywhere, after the focus shifted, it seemed like almost everything else was forgotten, especially the side characters. They were there and gone within a blink of eye. Trust me, you won't get attached. The book did not flow at all and the pacing was completely off. And the ending? It didn't have any sort of climax, it just... ended.

This book was marketed as enemies to lovers, and while they do try to kill each other on their first encounter, it just felt like insta lust after that. Similarly, this book feels very YA, until the last explict scene at the end which just felt out of place. The spice could've easier been left until the next book, it just felt weird.

I know that there will be people who will eat this up but sadly I'm just not one of those people. I don't think I could really think of anything that I practically enjoyed, which sounds harsh I know.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Contains some spoilers.

I'm giving this debut 3 stars for the ambitious world building alone. It's a complex world, well thought out, with a lot of depth and detail to keep the interest for readers. There's a lot of 'telling' at work however, which makes it not only hard to keep up with, but it made me feel that some of the world building was rushed and therefore made me also question whether it was necessary. For example, the dragons barely featured and the different type of magic users weren't really explored. The pace of the style is like someone running at full pelt, not giving enough time for the reader to look around or come to their own conclusions about things.

The first third to half is about the titular Hurricane Wars, whereas the second half changes to deal with a political marriage of convenience in a court scenario. It's a lot to pack in the two halves do feel very different.

The characters of Talasyn & Alaric were great characters and their love/hate relationship crackled with an energy that held my interest up to about 2/3 of the way through the book. Ultimately though, I found the enemies to lovers story arc on the disappointing side, especially as the ending is clearly leading on the a second book – it wasn't a satisfying ending for me. The hatred between them was too much and it got to the point that I felt Talasyn & Alaric would just be better off killing each other to be done with it – just to bring their toxic fighting to an end.

Guanzon is definitely a great world-builder and has some fantastic ideas and characterisation. Perhaps because she's an American writer, I did find some of the language jarred for epic fantasy (i.e. swearing) and sometimes the characters sounded too modern which I'm not sure entirely fitted with this epic world.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Thea Guanzon and the published for the advance copy to read. I've had this on preorder since August because the cover is divine so I am extremely grateful to receive an advance copy to read.

I genuinely can't make sense in my head how I feel about this book but the ending has left me wanting more so I take that as a good sign.

The first 20% was really hard to read. There was a lot of information, a lot of names, a lot of history of the ten year war and my brain struggled to comprehend it. I can imagine a lot of people would give up here.

We get to meet our FMC and MMC early on. Talasyn and Alaric. Opposite sides of the war. However both seem to be drawn to each other. I would say the enemies to loves part is very slow and also mostly occurs in their inner thoughts as they maintain their hatred outwardly throughout the book.

The world building is great in places however I would suggest this definitely falls more in to the sci-fi genre than romantasy. Having never watched star wars (which I believe this is a fanfic of) I struggled to picture a lot of it.

That being said there were some interesting characters, the dialogue at times was amusing albeit somewhat immature and the set up for future storylines in sequel books.

Overall I think I enjoyed it. It took me longer to read than most books but I think that was the sci-fi element that made it harder for me personally.

3.75 ⭐

For a first novel, this is good, but I'm not entirely sure who the target market is. It reads like a young adult but some of the content is a little older than that, and the language... That being said, it was enjoyable and the story is engaging with characters that are sympathetic.

This is the first on what promises to be a series as the whole plot is set up but certainly doesn't come near fruition by the end of this edition.

There is a criticism, and that would be, firstly, that there is far too much emphasis on the period of time Talasyn and Alaric spend in Nenavar. It unbalances the narrative arc and we spend more time on the will they / won't they of the plot than the, perhaps more interesting (certainly by the end) set up on how much they have come to blows in the lead up to their time in Nenavar. And, secondly, that will they / won't they is too laboured. I did want to say towards the end, 'Yes, we get this, so now what?'.

I would like to read the next installment, whenever that is released and I'm sure it's in the pipeline else this wouldn't have finished as it does, so, if you're reading this, Publisher, please put me down for the next one.

The Hurricane Wars is a sweeping enemies to lovers, epic South East Asian Fantasy deeply inspired by its original Reylo roots.

What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s safe to say I’m obsesssed with this book. I am obsessed with Talasyn who is our strong, independent female lead who might just have to politically marry her war time rival.

But seriously, the slow-burn and the tension in this book was so good. I fell in love with Thea’s writing, her imagination of this world rich in culture and political intrigue.

The Hurricane wars in the enemies to lovers fantasy of the year and I recommend that everyone picks this up!

3.5!

I truly enjoyed the romance aspect of the book. This is an enemies to lovers/slow burn romance in every sense. The MCs are on the opposite sides of a war and have plenty of reasons to hate each other (his country is invading her country). So, even though they have this undeniable chemistry, there's so much back and forth between the two. The FMC, Talasyn, is a hothead while the MMC, Alaric, is keeping the cool type and every time they interact, its fireworks. She gets under his skin. Amid viciously charming banter and tender moments, the romance builds to its crescendo. They keep on questioning their feelings for each other, all the while wondering about each other motivations. This romance is definitely one of the bests I have read this year pertaining to the enemies to lovers trope.

I also think the magic system is quite cool. It plays with familiar elements of light and shadow and several different elements but the application of magic at many places is a bit sci-fi leaning, which was quite interesting.

However, there are elements of world building/ writing style that nagged me a lot. For the first 30% there's quite a bit info dump. For a book with war in the title, we rarely get any good action scenes. We get a few single combat scenes in the beginning with the MCs but we are never shown a bigger picture or a large scale battle with armies clashing. We are just told again and again that the armies are fighting. As a result, this decade long war that the FMC is fighting in didn't actually feel real. Also, why is this army being led by a shadow army (invader) defector? Like where are the leaders, king/queen/heir of the FMCs country? The attacking kingdom also called the Night empire has a ruler and a heir so where did all the leaders go in the kingdom being attacked? Are they all dead? What's the governance system here? Honestly, the first 30% of the book is weirdly written and is crammed with a lot of stuff that acts as a set up for the rest of the book and the romance in particular. Incidentally, the rest of the book is also very politically inclined and focuses a lot more on the relationship between the MCs and a completely new threat. There's also one too many description of decor and dresses and after a while it felt all the same.

Overall, this story feels a lot familiar
but still manages to hold its own and despite some of the short comings, it turned out to be an entertaining read for me. Pretty sure, hard-core romantasy fans will love this one.

I would like to thank Thea and Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for gifting me an ARC for this book.
My review is my own, written by own will and faulty brain, without that filter thingy people seem to have to make the mess look clean and easy. Enter at your own risk…


I want to start this review by stating that i was unaware of its fanfic status pre publishing, when i requested the ARC. I have been an enthusiastic ff reader for many years of my life, but that was before Reylo was a thing, so i never read any of those.

That, however, only became obvious to me once we get to know Alaric better, which is when we see all the Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren come to life in the story.

But before that comes into the spot light, we get a full dive into a new world. A world with an Empire and rebels, yes, a world with lots of politic strategies and too much death, pointless death, yes, but a world that holds its own.

<blockquote><i><b>This is a story about stopping the stormships, about working together to survive Dead Season. It’s about the cost of war and the price of freedom, and what it takes to make a nation. It’s about love, love where there once was hatred, love that is stronger than any cage that seeks to contain it. It’s about my homeland and what unites us, and all that we have overcome and what lies ahead of us still.</b></i></blockquote>

Sardovia was an interesting place, though ravaged by war, but it shines when the Asian vibes get out and engross you in Nenavar. The brilliant descriptions and the mythology mix and it’s so easy to see each scene, in such perfect detail, that i wish i could draw more than stick figures and recreate all the Dragon Queens outfits and regal areas of the Palace and even the street carts and it’s food in nightscapades amongst the music and lanterns.

It’s a beautiful and savage world, one i loved visiting.

<blockquote><b>”Bring back a dragon instead. That would be more useful.”</b></blockquote>

There are some nerdy shout outs to other sci fi cult shows/movies and some made me laugh out loud (like when they set the “small cannons” to stun 🤣 )

I admit, the info dump at first was overwhelming and i took sooo many notes 😂 i loved that the published version will have a map, that will definitely be helpful! Maybe a glossary too?

I loved Tal. I loved how she was her own person and I didn’t get any obvious “Rey” to her. She’s a character on her own, a badass, a loner in a way, hurt by the world, snarky and sarcastic just like i like’em! She is tough as nails and i wish i was half as smart and adaptable as she is. I also have an issue keeping my mouth shut though😂

<blockquote><b>”I say things when I’m mad.”</b></blockquote>

I am completely inlove with the grumpy Khaede and if Thea doesn’t give us more of her I’ll riot!

Alaric was, like i said, very very Adam’s Kylo, but we get his POV which makes it easier to get to know him and, well, love him 🤷🏻‍♀️ there, i said it, Thea turned me into a Kylo fan 🤦🏻‍♀️😅
His struggles with his angsty past are different but just as traumatising as Tal’s.
I can absolutely see them bonding over them, even with a war between them.
Sevraim is the perfect humorous-break character and i hope he get’s more time too. (Can i wish for a short novella where Sevraim falls for Khaede and she whips his ass before slowly getting to like him? Or at least tolerate him? Pretty please?)

If there’s one thing this story does with perfection is the *REAL* enemies to lovers part. They hate each other, they really do! They know the other is hot but they still want them dead. Until they don’t. And then admit they don’t. (Did they get to that part yet?)

<blockquote><i><b>May the Gods help me. I’m attracted to my wife.</b></i></blockquote>

I can see a LOT of angst in their future. Probably a few more murder attempts as well. But hey, I’m an angst fan - as long as an HEA is promised! Ok Thea?!?!? Promise???

Overall, if you enjoy world building this is it! The enemies to lovers is very very very slow burn, but I’m guessing the burn will reach us about halfway through book 2 (let’s place bets? 🤣 )

If you like it nerdy, with heavy bits of information amongst a plot that promises to give it all; loveable side characters and interesting new animal life that will make you wish they were real; love heavy banter and constant death threats and opposites attract, this is for you!
Even if you never thought of yourself as a Reylo fan, because I wasn’t, before Thea converted me… (Damn you Thea!!!)

<blockquote><b>The Hurricane Wars took and took, but there was still so much left to lose.”</b></blockquote>

Incredible, amazing. Honestly I love an arranged marriage plot point!
Great storyline, I honestly struggled to put the book down!

The Hurricane Wars is a classic enemies to lovers story, written in dual POV. Our protagonists are soldiers, with contrasting light and shadow weaving magic, on opposite sides of a bloody war. Their first few encounters are on the battlefield, attempting to kill each other, so they really are genuinely enemies. After one side wins the war, however, they find themselves drawn into a forced political marriage.

It is fantasy with hints of a very intriguing world, and a complex magic system. However, the main focus is the romance between our two characters. There is a lot of tension and build up, and a few spicy scenes near the end. I would very much classify it as romantasy, which is not always for me, and the sudden lust and torturous feelings for each other made me eyeroll just a little bit. I went back and forth on what to rate this, but in the end I did enjoy it, and I do want to know what happens next.

Recommended for Romantasy fans. It has all the classic elements you might be looking for from the enemies to lovers trope, so if you like that, you'll love this.

Literally OBSESSED with all of this! The enemies to lovers, the world-building, the political intrigue! I can't wait for the next book

Another one that totally loved up to the pre release hype. Action packed, thrills and spills with an enemies to lovers romance readers will fall head over heels for. Superb!

My initial impression was that this was giving me a kinda Bridge Kingdom/Aelin vibe.

There’s clearly something we don’t know about Tabassum’s past which will quickly become relevant to the plot and there’s obviously something that Nenavarene is keeping hidden and protecting.

All of this served to suck me in completely. I can’t believe this was a debut novel because it had the feeling of a more experienced author!!

Hurricane Wars has absolutely become one of my favourite reads of the year, and definitely the best debut I’ve read in a few years now. I haven’t felt this excited about a series in such a long time so I would 10/10 recommend!

I’ve gone ahead and pre-ordered the Waterstones special edition and I think we’ve all guessed that it’s going to be the Fairyloot October book!

This is an epic of a first book! Wow! There is just so much going on in this story. A real science fiction masterpiece. I loved it. It really showed what a fine line there is between love and hate. Our two main characters certainly walked this line, periodically trying to kill each other but an obvious attraction existed as well.
It’s so well written and definitely one I wanted to get to the end of to see what happened but I didn’t want it to end.
The ending seemed to leave us wondering what comes next. I’m hoping there might be a follow up.

— 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"You have a chance to end this, Talasyn. To become the light that guides us out of the shadows, and to freedom."

📖 | 477 pages
👤 | author Thea Guanzon
🏢 | publisher Harper Voyager
📅 | release date 12 October 2023

What you can expect:
— Third-person POV
— Southeast Asian-inspired Fantasy
— Marriage of convenience
— Enemies-to-lovers
— Slow-burn romance
— Betrayal
— Yearning
— Immersive world and magical system

Trigger warnings include: violence, death, war scenes, the death off a parent (off-page, referenced), parental estrangement, sexually explicit scenes.

The Hurricane Wars is book one in an expected trilogy by author Thea Guanzon and is a high-stakes Fantasy filled with conflict, conflicted emotions and unexpected betrayals. For ten years the Hurricane Wars has raged across Sardovia against the Night Empire who seeks to rule across the entire continent. The Night Emperor will stop at nothing to succeed and win the war in the name of revenge and greed with the use of shadow magic... but what happens when a greater threat threatens to wipe it all away?

This book is my Roman Empire. At the beginning of The Hurricane Wars we are immediately hard-launched into heavy world-building amidst a gruelling battle. Tensions are high and it was a little difficult to visualise the chaos that was going on, however I very quickly settled into the environment that was being set. Talasyn is an absolute firecracker of an FMC, I love her so much. Her insight into the war was heart-breaking to read as we learn more about the impact it had to grow up within a war. Talasyn faces a lot of pressure as the last surviving Lightweaver as she is the last line of defence against the Shadowforge legion. Her commitment and despair was felt through the pages as was her devout loyalty to Sardovia and its inhabitants. Talasyn is fierce-natured and stubborn to her core. Her sense of duty largely makes us who she is as a character and is a theme we witness her regularly battle with throughout the story.

I'm so glad that this is a dual-POV book. Alaric's insight added much needed perspective from the other side of the war and the pressures that lay on his shoulders. Alaric is the ultimate soldier and a master of his craft. Alaric of House Ossinast, Master of the Shadowforged Legion and only heir to the Night Emperor is a force to be reckoned with. Known as the strongest Shadowforged and the face of the war, he is Talasyn's greatest opponent on the battlefield. I loved the dynamics between the pair. Their battle scenes were gripping and kept me glued to the page, and I really enjoyed the dry wit and humour that they would share during unexpecting times. We undergo an immense amount of growth and expression between Alaric and Talasyn, and their tension was palpable. I understand why they struggled with their obvious mutual attraction for each other based on the circumstances which they met, but the romantic in me wanted to shake them both. We really get to see a level of vulnerability and longing that has me holding out hope in the long-run. Two people with immense pressure on their shoulders whilst feeling alone in this world... it's sad. Had they met under much nicer circumstances, outside of a war, I could really see them making a genuine connection. However that is not real life within The Hurricane Wars, but nonetheless I'm rooting for these two to join forces in the next and defeat The Night Emperor. The history of the Hurricane Wars is unclear as both sides of the war recount their own events which are in conflict for one another, so I'm definitely hoping for answers on this in the next book!

This book was truly everything I had hoped for and then some. Filled with tropes that I love and a Fantasy world to submerse yourself into... what more could you ask for? The writing was excellent, the pacing was steady and I'm already eager for news on book two.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Will I read the sequel? Absolutely.

HOWEVER, the first 30% of this book is incredibly weak and the reason why I can only give it four stars.

The biggest issue is the writing feels very lazy in the beginning. The world-building is practically non-existent and what we do get is confusing. It's also so damn repetitive at times! If I have to read seven moons one more time I will scream - I had flashbacks to Lightlark's yolk foreshadowing! (IYKYK)

This book really improved around the 36% mark and I was honestly excited to read on. It would be a 5 star read for me except the first third of this book really drags it down.

Once the "romance" between Talasyn and Alaric started to progress, I was hooked. The enemies-to-lovers made so much sense and the back and forth between them was entertaining. The angst, the sexual tension was perfection. Enemies-to-lovers is such a good trope and Thea Guanzon really does is justice. These two are truly at each other's throat for the majority of the book and I can't wait to see how they progress in book 2.

I also really enjoyed Talasyn as a character - she's stubborn, fierce and impulsive. I'm excited to see how she develops in the next book because the author had laid a good foundation for her.

Tropes Included:
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Arranged marriage/political alliance
- Age-gap (7 years)
- Morally grey MMC
- Slow burn
- Dragons

I received an advanced copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really like this novel. It reminds me a lot of Reylo which i think is the point.

It is a great romantasy and i can't wait for book 2

I am so SO critical of romantasy books, as all I ever want is well done fantasy with a decent sub plot of romance…was this book that? No. Not really. But was it a FUN ride? Absolutely.

The Hurricane Wars follows our two main characters, Alaric and Talasyn, both on two opposing sides of the war where they find themselves needing to overcome their hatred of one and other and work towards a shared goal.

This book was full of some of BIG tropes…not all of them fully worked for me personally!

✅ enemies to lovers
✅political marriage of convenience
✅insta lust

My main take away from this (which I found out after finishing the book) is that it was originally a Reylo fan fiction and IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE NOW.

Overall, I had fun reading this and for a debut it is solid! There was clearly a fair bit of thought put into the world building which I appreciate - the weakest element I personally found were (all) the characters themselves who were a little flat and if I’m being perfectly honest, the 2 MCs were pretty unbearable.

Regardless of this, I will certainly be reading the next one when it comes out!

3.5⭐️

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!