The two main characters are perfect, they are well built, very vivid, real and full of feelings! The double POV allows us to enter the mind of each of them and allows us to understand and appreciate them even more. so i was like “those are her memories of that random ass country she is the long lost heir to, i take it??” Thao Le comments: ‘Thea Guanzon is a master at creating delectable tension and chemistry between her characters and I can’t wait for readers to swoon over this enemies-to-lovers starcrossed romance set against a fantastical Southeast Asian inspired world. I’m so excited to be working with her and the Harper team whose enthusiasm radiates for Thea’s imaginative and cinematic storytelling.’ I have to say that the writing by Thea Guanzon is so lyrical and beautiful. I had passages after passage highlighted because of the vivid imagery. And let's be honest - nothing makes me love a book more than a marriage of convenience trope. The slow burn between Talasyn and Alaric was slooooooow, but the tension and angst was always there which I love in a romantasy.

So let's just get this out of the way first- this is a Reylo fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off. Fanfiction getting published is starting to be quite a trend, and it's fantastic news for fanfic folks. I am beginning to realize that these books do not work for me. I can't believe this is only the first book in a trrilogy, because it feels like so much happened already in Book 1! I can't wait to see where the story goes in the next two sequels, and I hope we get even more angst and badass-ery from Talasyn and Alaric. There were so many twists and turns in this book and I am already dying to read book 2. If you're looking for an enemies to lovers, fantasy romance with diverse characters I highly highly recommend The Hurricane Wars I had a couple of bookish friends DNF this novel in the first 25-30%, so ymmv. But I actually loved that section of the novel. Sure, the prose has sprinklings of purple in it, but I didn't find it too distracting from what the author was trying to convey. Talasyn is your typical stubborn, author self-insert, ~Strong Female Character~ suffering from lots of trauma. Alaric is also your typical broody, shadow daddy suffering from mommy and daddy issues. So, really, there's nothing new here.Anyway, if you'd like to give BIPOC-authored romantasies a try, The Hurricane Wars is a good place to start. The MCs, Talasyn and Alaric, were two dimensional and boring. I really don't know what else to say besides I never felt connected to either of them nor did I truly feel like I understood them. Not sure what they want or what drives them. Perhaps I didn't get far along in the story but by 25% I should have wanted to keep following their journey, but I didn't. This book converted me somewhere around the marriage of convenience trope. I am trash for that. I would've given an extra star for more smut. That glorified handjob is not it. Another very important element of this book is the Worldbuilding: The Hurricane Wars is a Filipino-inspired fantasy and the world created by the author is perfect! Nature, technology and magic coexist creating an extraordinary environment and Thea's writing makes everything magical and extremely smooth! I also want to give the author props for making Talasyn and Alaric their own characters. I did not read the original fanfic so she may have already made those changes, but they do not resemble Rey or Ben too much, there was clear effort in separating the two despite them both having some elements of the original characters ingrained in them.

Why should I care about them when I know nothing about them (other than roughly who they're supposed to be)? Someone dies early on, a friend of the mc and I was just like huh okay, moving on... An incredible debut full of rich atmosphere, clever world building, opposing magic, and sizzling romance, The Hurricane Wars is my newest obsession."— KERRI MANISCALCO, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Throne of the FallenPosso considerarmi veramente privilegiato per aver letto questo capolavoro 6 mesi prima della sua data di uscita! Ringrazio subito Netgalley, HarperVoyager Uk e Thea Guanzon per avermi permesso di leggere questo ARC! While the early chapters attempt to expand outward for a brief moment, the book only begins to shrink inward. Side characters that seemed like they had the potential to become interesting turn into pawns to move the main characters (Alaric and Talasyn) where they need to go to fall in love, or sounding boards for the main characters to outwardly express how they feel. Plot points start to feel contrived and hard to believe. Conflict becomes muddied and rushed in service of seeing our protagonists fall in love. Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn: a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. He tries to kill her, but in a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen. I would also like to mention that had I known this was a converted Reylo fanfic, I would not have requested it. When I read The Love Hypothesis and realized how familiar it felt, I remembered that the fanfic was better. I wonder if that is also the case here. P. S. Because this is my 1000th review, I'm feeling nice and I'll round my rating up to 3 stars, but it's somewhere around a 2.5 on the enjoyment scale.

I probably would not be so hard on the romance if this book was not advertised heavily as THE enemies to lovers book. I think this will please romantasy fans who are used to a certain pace and plot structure (SJM books, A Broken Blade, From Blood and Ash, etc) but is not really suitable for anyone looking for a quality fantasy story OR a well-paced 'Zutara' 'Delena' style E2l romance. I think I went in with the expectation that this book was going to match my interests, but ultimately this is a trope heavy romantasy that is marketed a little awkwardly (I feel like the publishers are trying to push it to a She Who Became The Sun, The FoxGlove King, One Dark Window fanbase VS a From Blood and Ash fanbase). I am not that audience. I found myself going from overjoyed and ready to give THW 5 stars to feeling like it was a genuine chore to read. The majority of them happened during the last third of the book, but the rest of it was just crumbs, really.This war can only end with them. But an even greater danger is coming, and the strange magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Talasyn and Alaric must decide… are they fated to join hands, or destroy each other? I struggled with how to rate this book, because while I absolutely loved it, I really did struggle with the first 40-50% of the story. However, I t CAN WE PLEASE PETITION AUTHORS FOR MAKING A GODDAMN MAP. please. this is getting too much for my head — and i’ve read so many fantasy/fantasy romance books and yet i find myself saying this so many times. The fates of two bitter enemies with opposing magical abilities are swept together in The Hurricane Wars, the spellbinding debut in a fantasy romance trilogy set in a Southeast Asia–inspired world ravaged by storms, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses The beginning was slow. I was ready to two-star this like I did with every other YA romantasy I read this year. Side note, please stop calling romantasy fantasy. It is, at best, fantasy lite.

The Hurricane Wars è uno dei fantasy che contiene uno dei migliori e meglio scritti romance enemies to lovers di tutti i tempi... in più è anche uno slow burn perfetto, pieno di tensione e con l'aggiunta di un’altra trope che amo: l'arranged marriage!The world building and magic system were so engrossing and they were both deeply intertwined in such a comprehensive manner. As a fantasy lover, I absolutely loved this! It was so cool to see how certain characters (Alaric and Gaheris with the Shadowgate, Talasyn with the Lightweave) lived with their magic and how they used it. I also loved how magical technology was a huge part of this world, with the aether hearts powering the ships and the stormships with their storm powers. So, so cool! Talasyn and Alaric have phenomenal chemistry! Both come from difficult childhoods and both fight in the Hurrican Wars for different reasons and when their worlds collide everything starts to fall into place! The world building was confusing and convoluting. It's an entirely new, fantasy world in the middle of a decade-long war; so along with brand new terms/names, we are thrown into a complicated situation. There was a lot of info dumping and the history of the war/world building wasn't fleshed out in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow along. Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion--one that could save their world...or destroy it.