Talasyn is the only Lightweaver in the Sardovian army, but she has to keep her gifts hidden, so the Night Emperor and his Shadowforged troops.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative was split between our two main characters.
Talasyn, an orphan who grew up in Sardovia. At the beginning of the book, Sardovia is under attack by the Night Emperor, and Talasyn will do everything she can to protect them.

Alaric is the son and heir of the Night Emperor. He's been taught to fight from a young age, and it's all he knows. He's skilled with shadow magic, and thought he'd seen everything, until he crosses paths with Talasyn.

OK, spoilers ahead, because I can't work out how to write this review without them.
<spoiler>
The first 40% of the book was awful. It was pure chaos - and not the good kind.
The story jumped around so much, it gave me whiplash.
To start, we're in a war, but at a wedding, but fighting breaks out, but then we get a flashback to Talasyn as a kid, which doesn't add anything to the story, except to make me wonder what the hell was happening and when.
Then, her best friend's brand new husband dies, but because we've been jumping all over with the plot, this moment lacks any emotional impact.

Then Talasyn is instructed by her commanding officers to travel to another country to learn more about her mysterious lightweaver powers, and to see if they can help turn the tide of war.
Talasyn spends months travelling, finds somewhere to tap into her magic, and also finds her long-lost father, discovers she's royalty (and fights with Alaric again). Talasyn then does bugger all about anything, and travels all the way back to her comrades, empty-handed.

Then the Sardovians lose the war, and suffer massive losses - which may or may not include Talasyn's heavily pregnant best friend.
This is only 25% through, and already all of this has happened.
Due to the chaotic nature of the plot, we still haven't gotten to know any of the characters beyond the basics of who they view as an enemy. So, again, we feel no emotional impact at the potential death of Talasyn's closest friend.

Then they go to Nenavar, for sanctuary, and Talasyn is accepted into the royal family.

I don't normally go into the plot in such detail in reviews, but... I just had to share how much and how little substance was jammed into the first part of the story. It felt like the author rushed over all the bits they knew they had to include, and really wanted to hurry onto the fun part of the plot where Talasyn and Alaric are forced to spend time together through a political betrothal.

The last 60%, I actually enjoyed the rest of the book. It wasn't without its flaws, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to, after the first bit.

I finally got to know Talasyn and I really liked her. She's got a bit of sass about her, and although she's trying to mould herself into a respectable heir, it's with some reluctance, and I did find it quite amusing.
It wasn't just Talasyn, we got to know her family and coutiers, too. Her father and grandmother give off completely different vibes, but you can tell they're both proud of Talasyn, in their own way.

Alaric is the least-explored character. This definitely feels more like Talasyn's story, and he's just the supporting character and love interest. Although you do get the sense that he had a hard upbringing, and has a complex relationship with his parents. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Overall, I like the world that's been created - although we only really see the Nenavar court in detail, it'll be interesting to see more.
Despite the awkward beginning, once the book found its rhythm I enjoyed it, and I would be interested in seeing what happens in the rest of the series.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as the cover is stunning and the premise sounded really interesting but I really struggled to get into the story. I didn't feel like I connected to any of the characters which I think made it harder for me to want to pick it up in between reads.

- DNF at 25% -

Talasyn fights in the Hurricane Wars, trying to save her homeland from being taken over by the ruthless Night Emperor.
But, Talasyn is hiding secrets - a magic runs through her veins that hasn't been seen in years, and she feels a strange connection to a foreign land that refuses to aid in the war.
Alaric is the son of the Night Emperor and carries out his father's orders, killing and taking land as he wages war.
When Talasyn and Alaric's paths cross on the battlefield, a chain of events unfolds that will change their lives forever.

Having heard good things about this book, I was intrigued to give it a try, but I ended up being disappointed.
Talasyn was a mixed protagonist for me - while I felt sorry for her having been left at an orphanage and not knowing her parents or where she came from, the author tried too hard to make Talasyn witty and funny, which I didn't find her to be particularly. This was especially the case when Talasyn and Alaric bantered/exchanged verbal barbs when fighting. I rolled my eyes at those scenes.
I couldn't help but think of the Grishaverse books when reading this, and comparing Talasyn to Alina, and Alaric to the Darkling. However, this book did have the interesting concept of aether ships and the aether coming from different dimensions.
The plot was enjoyable to begin with, but I soon began to lose interest due to a mix of info dumps, the pacing, the previously mentioned thoughts on Talasyn, and the writing style overall (which I found hard to connect with, and there were some scenes that felt a little like they had come from a fanfiction).
Whilst this had potential, I couldn't bring myself to keep reading and stopped at 25%.

Overall, this was a disappointed read.

I enjoyed the poetic descriptions and the world-building.
It will be a three-star read for me.
I would re-read it again.

I am almost about to rate this book 3 ⭐️ but I asked myself.. do I even like this book the answer is ✨nope✨

2 stars it is

. As a Southeast Asian person myself, I feel excited when this book was announced. I know this book is based on a fanfiction but I have no grudge against it since some fanfic are okay and some even better than the source material. Also, I’m not familiar with Star Wars so that didn’t really affect my reading journey.
I divided my review into pros and cons, here’s what I thought about this book.

Pros :
- the plot is there. It might be good for some people especially when they’re into romance
- I can see some of the cultural and geographical references in the book
- The main couples are okay. I get why people might like them. Nothing too problematic on them (which is a bare minimum for these days romance). The MMC once gave the character a pet name early in the book and thankfully he only use it once
Cons:
- too many book tropes that are too on the nose
- The chosen one energy is so strong here
- I don’t think this book should be marketed as a Southeast Asia-inspired book. I can recognize the Philippines reference in this book but… just that. I would really appreciate it if the book is marketed as a philipines inspired book since we mostly don’t go to a lot of places here. I think we only spent the majority of the plot in like 3 places. SEA is such a big region with a lot of different cultures (and the philipines itself has a lot of different tribes all across the archipelagos). I think by throwing cultural references whenever it feels necessary is like… the whole Raya thing all over again. I might consider this point when I see reviews from other SEA reviewers because there might be some references that I missed
- Since I’m not familiar with some names in this book, I tried to search for them. It ended up that some names are of Western origin. I would appreciate it more if the writer decide to name the character or place-based of SEA origin especially since the book is SEA inspired
- Mmc is just another typical male love interest. Sad backstory, handsome, TALL, and dark. I get that he’s based on a character but please I don’t feel anything special for him
- The romance it’s okay but I’m not a fan of the age gap (19f and 26m) yes they’re both legal but it’s just not for me. They both actually address it at some point which makes things weirder
- And the last point made me have an internal conflict with the romance that made me think… okay, will it work if the mmc is ugly… which it won’t…
- the whole plot is based of an enemies to lovers but then they have to be together because of an arranged marriage. From the beginning of the book, the main reason why they like each other is because of lust… which is not my personal favorite. While mmc is mostly respectful to fmc (except for the fact that he tried to murder her in several occasions. It was mutual) I keep thinking like… what if she just ran away from him? Because the whole circumstance feels like a nightmare and combining power with your enemy? Do you trust your enemy that much

I don’t dislike this book. I’m not sure if I’m going to read the next one but I might pick it up eventually. I will be waiting for more SEA book reviewers especially from Philippines to know what they think about this book

This was fantastically good. The politics was beautifully woven in and I was simply HOOKED. So much so that I instantly went out and bought the Waterstones exclusive edition of this title and the next one. It’s everything and I can’t wait to see where the author take this book next!

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon is an exciting and immersive fantasy novel that blends adventure, complex world-building, and rich character development. Set in a world torn apart by storms and the magic that controls them, the story follows its protagonist as they navigate political intrigue, personal struggles, and a powerful, unpredictable force of nature.

Guanzon’s world-building is one of the standout features of the book. The magic system, the landscapes, and the history of the world are well thought out and fascinating. The storms and the characters' connection to them create a vivid backdrop for the action, and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into crafting this universe. The writing is descriptive without being overwhelming, making it easy to get lost in the story.

The characters are another highlight. The protagonist is relatable, with their own flaws, growth, and moments of vulnerability, and the secondary characters provide a great balance, offering both companionship and conflict. The relationships feel genuine, and the emotional depth in the character arcs really drives the story forward.

While the pacing is generally solid, there were a few moments in the middle where things slowed down a bit, but the high-stakes moments and dramatic twists kept me engaged. The stakes are high, and the plot takes some unpredictable turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Overall, The Hurricane Wars is a compelling fantasy novel that mixes action, emotion, and an intriguing magic system. It’s a great start to what promises to be an engaging series, and I’m excited to see where Guanzon takes the story next. If you enjoy epic fantasy with strong world-building and memorable characters, this is definitely worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. For more reviews, check out my bookstagram @blondesbooknook

The book's setting may have caught me off guard, so it didn't manage to grab my attention from the get-go. It was a bit hard to get through the beginning of this story, and I lost interest. Unfortunately DNF-ed it.

I really wanted to love this one as the premise sound amazing but I ended up dnf-ing.

I love that fanfiction and fanfiction writers are getting the opportunity to turn their work into something published but I don't know if I would have requested this if I knew from the beginning that it was a reylo fanfic. I adore Star Wars and whilst I don't mind the ship I just struggled.

It felt like we were thrown into this world with these expectation of the reaer already knowing about the world and the it's characters. With fanfiction this world is already built up so I feel like it needed more explanation,l and more introductions. It needed to be fleshed out more in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From a Star Wars fanfic to a full-blown book, Hurricane Wars is a South Asian-inspired fantasy debut that’s packed with war, political intrigue, and world-building. At the heart of the story is a gripping (and real) enemies-to-lovers romance between Talasyn and Alaric. Their witty banter and snark add a delightful tension and a slow burn to the romance.

I did feel the pacing slow down at times, but overall, it was a fun and enjoyable read with dynamic characters and a compelling story

This book is very big on the world building in the beginning and I felt like I had no clue what was going on during the first 50% of the book. The world seems very interesting but I spent most of the time trying to remember names of things.
I spend the whole book counting down the pages until it finished and I don't think I enjoyed it at all. I understand it was a star wars fanfic and it very much reads like one.
Overall I don't think there was one thing I enjoyed about it and I won't be picking up the second book. In fact it's a book I would have DNF'd in the first 10% normally.

I absolutely loved this book but it took me an age to get into it and I’m genuinely not sure of the reason but the first 200 pages was world building and meeting the characters which I enjoyed but I wasn’t gripped.. I’d pick it up to read, get through a chapter and then put it down again (possibly due to the fact we were undergoing a big building project at home). But from page 200 onwards I immersed myself in the story and could appreciate the characters and the story. Maybe it was having read reviews likening it to Star Wars, I just couldn’t envisage what I was reading. But I loved the concept of a shadow forget and a light weaver. I’ve got the sequel ready to read next as well! It’s certainly an ‘it’s me, not you’ type review as the writing was impeccable and the slow burn and growing relationship was perfection. It took me a while but I’m glad I came to the conclusion that I love it!!

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

A generous 3 stars.

This book got better by the end, but was pretty dire to begin with. I do not get the hype around it at all. It was a lot of the same oh I like her but no, oh I like him but no, ugh.

“Fire of my blood, sun of my soul."

My thoughts and feelings about this story are a bit mixed, but because I finished the story ready to read the next book in the series I am rating this a 3.5, rounding up to 4 stars!

I think my initial reservations about the story came from the very strong and heavy introduction and jump into the world-building. Whilst I absolutely love when a fantasy can give the reader a really vast and rich world with characters, I felt a bit lost in the beginning of this one. I don't know if it was the combination of meeting all the characters, learning the world and its politics and following along with the action that made the flow of the story become quite slow (but that could completely just a personal thing to me as a reader).

Once I got through this initial stage, I was able to become immersed into the character's story and the developing politics and plots. I really liked the characters, I think the majority of them had distinctive personalities and voices that added to the story. I also enjoyed that as the story progressed the focus on the characters began to zone into to a smaller selection of the cast that I think reflected the story development really well.

Overall, whilst it did take a moment for me to become immersed into the story, I did enjoy the story and the characters. I am curious to see how the story develops, especially our main characters, in the next book.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you for my earc of this book. Unfortunately I DNF, I just couldn’t get into it, the pace felt a little off for me and I just didn’t want to pick it up

This was a very 50/50 book for me. I was absolutely obsessed with the first half, the second half was just a whole bunch of nothing.

The first few chapters had me in a chokehold. The action, the setup of the world and plot, the characters and the potential romance. Everything had me gripped. That enthusiasm carried me through the first half easily.

The second half was totally bizarre. It felt like the entire story came to a grinding halt at the 50% mark. All the action, suspense and intrigue was sucked out of the writing and it never found its way back in.

I also found the two main characters lacked depth, and while the romance had some nice moments, on the whole it felt pretty contrived and cliche.

I will be reading the next book in the series, but I do hope it has more of the magic I found in the first half of book one.

3.5 ⭐️

A little disclaimer that while I am aware, this story started as a fanfic, but I myself have never seen the source material and thus have no idea how much of this book stems from it.

It's nice to read an enemies to lovers book where they actually are enemies to the point of life and death. I loved the forced proximity that we get later on, and their passionate moments were worked into the plot well.

I liked both talasyn and alaric. You can tell how much each of them believes their side of the war is the right one. The dual POV was an excellent choice to show us this, as well as seeing how each of them struggled growing up. I did forget that this is an adult book until the end, though. They both read quite young.

I did struggle a little with the world building. We just get thrown in, and despite promises of our FMC being trained, we don't get to read all that much of it. It would seem weapons just appear, and there's very limited explanation of how that works. What are the limits? We have mentions of other powers and imbued aethers but no explanation of how these work.

I do wonder if this is the effect of it being a fanfic first and having to now build its own world to fit into. I will say the world building is better in the second half with nenavar and the negotiations.

I am intrigued to see where the next book goes, i'm hoping for the return of a certain female side character. I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I was terrified to read this because I have read the fanfiction this has been created from. The fanfiction was one of my favourite things I've read and I wasn't sure how something very much set in the Star Wars world with the characters, history and lore from that sci-fi universe was going to be able to be translated into a brand new fantasy story, but I think it was done so incredibly well. The only fault I have with this book is that it could have been a bit bigger to account for the fact we need a little more of the history and worldbuilding of this world, but this could also be something we end up getting in book two.

The Hurricane Wars was absolutely incredible! Guanzon's debut leaves a huge impression on the fantasy genre which isn't easy to do with the saturation in the genre. I'd recommend this to absolutely everyone.

This was an amazing read, I loved the magic system and world building. I got swept away in the plot and the characters and could not stop reading. I was sad when I finished the book.