If you love fourth wing you will love this book, Another world to escape and lose yourself in. Couldn’t recommend it more highly

Wow okay I can see why everybody’s saying this is the next big fantasy read!!! Holy crap

I mean this whole world that Thea’s created is just insane. I’m always so in awe of fantasy writers coming up with an entire new world and all the intricacies of it, but I feel like this one was on another level!

And while I did find some of the world building a little bit confusing with so many different names being thrown around, I think I was so keen to get through it and find out what happens that I probably sped read a little quicker than I should have, so that’s on me!

THE SLOW BURN. Omg. I was in so much pain reading and agonising trying to get Talasyn and Alaric to just get together already!!! I loved it so much. And Alaric just being called Alaric reminded me obviously of my fave from vampire diaries, so that just bettered his character massively in my eyes.

Slight SPOILER but my favourite romance trope is marriage of convenience and yeah this didn’t disappoint!

I’m so excited to see where this series goes, but super annoyed at myself for reading this so soon when we don’t even have a book 2 release date!

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion and veiws.
OMG, the hype was worthwhile this book captured, enthralled and mesmerized me all at once. I couldn't stop reading from the opening action packed chapters until the epic adventure and ending. Alaric is my new book husband 😍 and I love Talasyn; the chemistry between them was off the charts I didn't want this amazing story to end.
Full of action, magic and political warfare The Hurricane Wars is truly an epic tale that will be talked about for a long time, I can't wait for book two in this stunning trilogy.
Most definitely five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ i highly recommend this epic fantasy adventure; I've already ordered a copy for my library and will be recommending it to other readers for sure.
Great start to this fantastic journey those last few pages still has me blushing 😍 Alaric & Talasyn 💕 can't wait to read what happens next.

Plot overview: Talasyn and Alaric are mortal enemies from two very different sides of their world and opposite sides of the brutal Hurricane Wars, which have been ongoing for over a decade. However, their hatred for each other is put to the test when they find themselves in each other’s company more and more frequently and with a much bigger problem heading their way.

Thoughts: I was a little confused by some of the fantasy elements as they weren’t always explained in detail, but after a quick Google I found that this is a refined version of a Kylo Ren/Rey fanfic so it makes sense now! (I’m pretty impressed that I imagined Alaric as an Adam Driver-type though!) Aside from that, I really enjoyed this ‘romantasy’ and thought that the relationship between the characters was brilliantly written: I was more and more frustrated with Talasyn and Alaric the further I got through the novel and was desperate for them to talk to each other in more detail. The snapshots from Alaric alongside the main focus on Talasyn were really well-written and helped to enhance the frustration! I normally prefer to find a series when the majority/all of the parts have been written (I’m too impatient!), so I’m annoyed in the best way that I have to wait as I’ve found this so early. I hope it’s not too long until the next instalment!

I adored this story. Slow burn romance and magic. . I would say it is more geared for YA fantasy genre and not adult though. Looking forward to the next in the series

I need the second book, immediately! I flew through this and absolutely loved every second of it - this was exactly the book I needed to get me out of a little reading slump I was in, but now I feel heartbroken that it’s all over! The enemies to lovers in this was 10/10 frustrating (in the best way!) - I’ve never SO badly wanted two people to just be together 😭😂 the world building was beautiful, I could really visualise every place and felt connected to so many of the characters - the personality of each character was captured so perfectly in words! I also really loved the magic system in this and the possibility of combining their magic/discovering new variations and how that could develop even further in future books - along with the dragons? Hopefully we will get a lot more dragon content in the second book too 👀 I will 100% be on my way to buy a hard copy of this book for my collection and pre ordering the sequel as soon as humanly possibly ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager UK for the arc in exchange for an honest review✨

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Left on the steps of an orphanage as a baby, Talasyn fights for the people who took her in, all while dreaming of where she really came from and how she came to have her Lightweave magic.

Alaric, Night Emperor Gaheris's son and heir to House Ossinast is the Master of the Shadowforged legion. A man moulded into a weapon by his father to obliterate the Sardovian Allford alliance. Meeting on the battlefield, Alaric sees Talasyn as his mortal enemy and seeks to take her down.

A greater threat is coming, greater than the war, and the two must work together or they face losing everything.

What to expect:
⚔Political intrigue
✨Light vs dark powers
⚔War
🖤Enemies to lovers (slow-burn)
👀Dual pov

The premise of the book immediately drew me in. War? Politics? Enemies to lovers romance?? sign. me. up.

I really liked our main characters Talasyn and Alaric - they have interesting backgrounds and their dynamic was fun to read for a lot of the book. I loved the tension between them and the trainer-trainee dynamic that we got to see for a bit. I feel like I'm super invested in them and genuinely rooting for them both despite them being on opposing sides in a lot of ways.

I did really enjoy the political aspects of this story, especially as we learned more about the war and as different elements of the plot took place. Early on in the book some of the world-building felt a little info-dumpy while also not telling me a whole lot? The book felt like it made much more sense the further into the story I got. I was also a little confused about the setting for the novel, especially when it came to the 'ships' that were used (like was it a boat ship or a space ship?). I couldn't quite work out how much of a sci-fi influence there was in this but I honestly forgot about it later on.

The pacing was pretty fast at times, and there were some jumps in time that left me wishing we could go back and see what happened. I just wanted a little bit more from each scene/battle/interaction.

The magic system was something I found really easy to understand, and I love light vs dark magic. I think the way the magic system interacts with the plot is really interesting and will be for the future books.

I loved where the plot felt like it was going, so I was kind of surprised with where it left off. It just felt like a bit of an odd place to end (kind of anticlimactic I guess?) so it'll be interesting to see where it picks up in the next book! I think this series has lots of potential.

Overall, I'd recommend giving this a go! If you enjoy fantasy stories with war/political plots, romance, and enemies to lovers dynamics then I think you'll like this!

Thank you again to NetGalley and HarperVoyager UK.

I would first like to thank HarperCollins UK for providing me with this ARC. I devoured this book, I literally couldn't put it down. It's a fantasy novel with a touch of a very unconventional love story about a young orphaned girl, Talasyn, who ends up on the front line of the Hurricane Wars, a war to save her country from the grips of the shadowy Night Empire. A young girl who has a touch of magic herself and finds herself up against the heir of the Night Empire, Alaric Osinast. The two keep meeting to fight throughout the novel and the way the story is told from both of their own points of view is incredibly well done. Can they put aside their differences and stop the greater storm on the horizon?

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy romance novel.

I was a little bit underwhelmed by this one, unfortunately. I don't think it should be marketed as adult fantasy as it fits the YA fantasy genre better. The slow-slow-burn romance was engaging at times and the magic system was intriguing. I'm not sure whether I'll continue with the series though.

The idea of this story really appealed to me as a lover of epic fantasy worlds. However I found that the plot and world-building never quite reached where it needed to go. The pacing really slowed in the middle section but overall it just didn’t get going for me.

Thank you to Negalley and HarperVoyager for this e-arc!!

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Positives
- political intrigue
- themes of duty, responsibility, war and power
- fast paced
- strong female character

The Negatives
- Alaric didn’t have enough redeeming qualities
- the romance wasn’t drawing me in
- The middle act was slow

I loved Talasyn. She had a great amount of depth and personality, which included a strong sense of duty and determination. She’s battle worn, and tired but she was an incredibly strong authorial voice throughout. Maybe I’m just too bitter and angry, but I think Talasyn put up with too much with far more grace than I would. I admired her dedication to saving people, but I also wanted her to remember who the real enemy was. Overall, I enjoyed reading her growth, which was the biggest strength of this book, with my only wish that Talasyn had been more independent in the middle act.

In contrast, I didn’t really take to Alaric. In my opinion, he didn’t have enough emotional conflict over this war and it’s consequences. I understand that there’s more to him that meets the eye, but I kinda wished for more right at the beginning (that’s just a personal preference). Also, I kept forgetting that he’s in his late twenties, as his inner monologue read more juvenile than I expected.

Because of this, the romance fell short for me. I completely understand why Alaric would fall for Talasyn, but I didn’t have the same reaction for the reverse way. To me, he didn’t have many redeeming qualities, especially with him being the son of the man that’s responsible for all this fighting. As it’s a romance-heavy book, this meant that I struggled to stay invested at times, and was a little unsatisfied with it.

It has a very fast paced start - with lots of information to mentally work through, and I really wishes my e-arc came with a map because I needed it. But I enjoyed the fast paced action, as it definitely kept me guessing on what would be happening next. The middle to end was a little too slow in comparison. It was very romance heavy, and little action took place.

The world of Lir is incredibly vibrant and complex. There’s an impressive blend of nature and science, and I was drawn into the creativity of this world.

Overall, I was disappointed as I didn’t feel it lived up to the expectations that I had due to my lack of interest in the male lead, and the romance between the two. However, I did really like Talasyn, and would have read a book just about her.

I knew nothing about this book so I was starting with a completely clean slate and I LOVED EVERY SECOND! Definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

I would absolutely place this in the category of high fantasy. The world building is incredible and so vibrant I could picture every chapter in my head. There’s a bit of an info dump at the start but once you get past the history lesson, unique place names and character names it’s wonderful.

I found the magic system very easy to comprehend, and not 'overdone'.

If the main 'romantic part of the story is between two main characters then dual POV is absolutely the best way to go - whilst the relationship/situation between Talasyn and Alaric is not unique, they are very likeable and the banter and s*xual tension between them was spot on - I was living for the slow burn which built and built throughout the whole book, finally reaching its long awaited crescendo in the last 15% of the book.

I like that the pace changes throughout the book - ranging between slow and fast pace - it certainly kept me on my toes!

I like that there is some suspense left for the next book - and the cliff hanger at the end has left me very excited to find out how the characters are going to navigate their next set of challenges.

Firstly, thank you for giving me an advance copy of this book to read. Unfortunately I need to be honest, I really did not enjoy this book. It is a shame, but my first comment is that this book was marketed to me as an epic fantasy about two sides of war coming together to stop it. What this book is is a romance in a fantasy world. I found myself searching for plot and then when I thought I had found some I got to the end of the book and realised the plot point will probably happen in the next book--which is a shame.

I hated every character, especially the empire-pro 'love' interest who has no positives going for him and is flat and empty. I think I felt particularity betrayed by this book because of how it had been marketed: two people on opposite sides coming together to save the world, when actually what happened was the pro-empire man got to keep his empire whilst also getting the girl who has fallen in love with him despite his involvement in the destruction of her home and people.

I was also really sad that the dragons got like 3 mentions and then nothing.

Sadly, I cannot give you the review you wanted for this book, but I am sure readers who will love this book for the romance will find it. Thank you once again for letting me read it, my apologies that I cannot sing its praises.

This is probably one of my favourite romantasy reads of this year, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations!
Thea's writing is whimsical and full of depth, and the way she's able to create such magical worlds and characters makes so so excited to see what else she whips up

The Hurricane Wars is the epitome of slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers fantasy and this is a great depiction of it. Talasyn is a strong FMC who is trying to figure her way out in the world, and Alaric is the lovesick himbo of my dreams

The world-building is excellent but i wish there was more explanations with the magic system! it could use a bit more depth but overall i loved it

I'm so excited for this book to be out in the world and i cant wait for book 2!

DNF around 30% - take my review with a grain of salt.

I normally never DNF a book at less than 50%. I know those first few chapters are often filled with world building and introductions, so I usually like to stick it out a bit before I make any decisions.

Unfortunately, The Hurricane Wars read too much like Star Wars, except it’s a shein copy. After reading reviews on GoodReads, I discovered it was in fact a fanfiction of Star Wars. However, I wish the author had made more changes to it so it wasn’t so obvious. I’ve read plenty of fanfics before and loved them. I feel that a published book should change several things so it reads more like an original work.

I was lead to believe this was a fantasy novel, but it felt too much like science fiction for me to enjoy it. (I used to read plenty of sci-fi books back in the day, but I’ve grown away from it). I like to think this is a large reason why I didn’t vibe with this book.

And, while I think it’s unfair to mention these points as I didn’t even make it half way, I’ll mention them anyway:

The characters weren’t very likeable nor relatable. I was reading the book but had 0 connection to anyone.
The romance was very instalove-y. You could tell straight away.
The writing style really make the book drag. It took my nearly a week to read 100 pages.

Give it a go, you might enjoy it more than I did! (And based off other reviews, it seems the vast majority loved it.)

This book started off strong and then lost its way somewhere around the 30% mark… which made me lose the will to finish it and left me feeling a little detached from the rest of the story. It wasn’t until half way through that I finally went to read some reviews and discovered this book is apparently a rewritten Star Wars fanfiction. It seems this has become more and more popular and personally I have nothing against fanfiction, having read a number in my time.

The ironic thing is that, whilst I’m no Star Wars expert, the story and relationships started to make significantly more sense and from about the 50% mark (having discovered this) I actually enjoyed the book more. Not enough to give more stars though.

The descriptive prose is beautiful. At times it is a little overwhelming, but overall it is something that I really enjoyed. To manage a full novel filled with such rich and visually appealing scenes is something in and of itself. It is worth recognition as this is a stand out feature in fantasy and, in this book in particular, is a massive selling point.

I did not care for the characters. I did not care for Talasyn’s discovery of her past (in fact I could have guessed it… and did). I normally love a character like Alaric and this time round I felt entirely ambivalent towards his story. Characters make a book for me. So this book wasn’t one that I was in love with.

This is a really exciting debut. Thea Guanzon sets up a foundation for a tense romantasy series filled with political intrigue, scheming (grand)-parents, and a heavy helping of romance.

That being said, this book was very heavy on the romance and very light on the plot/fantasy. The world-building is mainly superficial, with the magic system, geography, politics, and religions being dealt with via a very light hand. You can tell this from the names of the different forms of magic, which are very to the point (e.g. a person who wields light is called a light-weaver etc.). The action itself is mainly spoken of in past tense or with such haste that the stakes of any action occurring are removed. Given the inciting action of the book is war, I found this to be a bit lacking and I was disappointed with the sheer absence of developed battle scenes or even training sequences.

This lack of development, unfortunately, extends to the characters themselves. While the romance (enemies to lovers!) is written well, the actual characters' personalities don't get developed in detail - a sad fact because Guanzon sets up so many interesting lines of thought concerning parental relationships, friendship, and loneliness. I wanted to see the characterisation go a bit harder, both for the main couple and all the side characters who get lost in the romance, only to be brought in for specific sequences.

Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be reading Guanzon's sequel. She has so much talent and that is displayed here in heaps, despite some of the book's pitfalls. This is a very exciting debut novel!

"This was Alaric [...] her enemy, her dark mirror, and the Lightweave in her veins soared in triumph, recognizing him for what he was, calling out to his shadows, and everything was golden, was eclipse, was forever, was theirs alone."


Firstly, huge enormous thanks to Netgalley, and the team at HarperVoyager for giving me a chance to read in exchange for my unbiased review.

However, trying to review this book has been giving me a headache for a couple of days now, so I am just going to write down some thoughts and hope that it makes some kind of sense.

One thing that really struck me, and that has stayed with me is that the pacing is just a bit off. So much happens in the first third of this book. It's so full of action and drama that it was almost exhausting to read. It was so dense and so rushed that I kept putting it down and procrastinating. By the time I had finished that third, I was almost concerned because I just didn't know where on earth it was even going to go from there as basically the entire plot-as-advertised was wrapping up.

From there it felt like Guanzon gets to the book that she actually wanted to write. Having wrapped up the world building we can now settle into the enemies to lovers and the lush tension of a good romantasy. And it is good. The chemistry is off the charts, the characters are so easy to root for, and I genuinely looked forward to my commute every day because I got to settle in and read some more. I wanted to eat it up with a spoon. But my gosh, it took some work to get there.

I struggled to get into this one at first. There's a lot of info dumping at the beginning I feel and the words take some getting used to as well. Then I found our that this is supposed to be based off of a Reylo fanfic and I couldn't see anything else whilst reading.
It's okay and not terrible but I have read too many fanfic books based around that theme now and am tired.

an utter joy to read - the world building and character arcs were so intricate and well fleshed out I was gripped from the very beginning. I found myself thinking about this book during my day and having to get out my app and inhale another chapter or a few pages while I had a second. The fact that I've got to wait for not only this book to come out ( 12th of October 2023!) but the other two in the trilogy is genuinely devastating

In this book we follow Talasyn as she navigates the Hurricane Wars, and finds her place in the world; how it relates to the mysterious Naverene Islands and her lightweave magic - a talent she's been forced to keep secret her entire life. She is exposed to a whole new world of politics, intrigue and magic as she moves through the novel, finds her place in the world - and how it could relate to the brooding heir to the Night Empire 👀

this book is a brilliantly written high stakes fantasy with an incredible love story woven throughout - combining the horrors and realities of war from a foot soldiers point of view, and the dispassionate approach of an uninvolved monarch. I absolutely loved it, will definitely be preordering a copy and can't wait to get my hands on the second book! (hopefully a proof, maybe even a physical!)