BOOK REVIEW: The Hurricane Wars, Thea Guanzon

Hi everyone! Today, I’m going to be reviewing The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon – an exciting Fantasy Romance that was released last year!

Goodreads Description:

On opposite sides of a vicious war, a soldier who can channel light magic and a prince who summons shadows find themselves locked in a deadly dance that neither can seem to truly win. As the Continent falls to howling winds and violent lightning brought on by a ruthless emperor’s fleet of stormships, the only way for Talasyn to save countless lives is to reclaim her birthright in a mysterious archipelago over the Eversea—and to enter into a fraught political marriage with Prince Alaric, the very man she had sworn to destroy.

Like Talasyn, Alaric makes no secret of his displeasure with such an arrangement. But, when a new threat emerges to shatter a fragile peace, necessity forces the reluctant couple to work together while wrestling with the inconvenient but undeniable bloom of desire amidst a backdrop of secrets and cutthroat political intrigue.

What would you do to win a war? What would you do to save all that you hold dear? And what do you do when the person you hate finds their way into your heart, beneath the rising tempests?

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What I Enjoyed:

Now, I know a lot of people have said that this is just “published Reylo fic” and you know what, I can totally see their point. Alaric definitely has some similarities in appearance to Adam Driver, lets be real. But let me ask you this – does that make this a bad book? I think not! If anything, I am genuinely so impressed that she managed to make it feel original and fresh in a fantasy space that is very overwhelmed with some of these tropes right now!
Speaking of tropes, we have a true slow-burn, enemies to lovers situation going on here. But Gosh, did I love the romance in this book! Alaric and Talasyn very much hate each other, with many attempts to kill each other sprinkled throughout the story. Now tell me why this makes the tension so good? The mutual pining that is built up through their forced interactions, combined with splashes of self-loathing and disgust for simply thinking about each other, just makes for all the angst and I ate. It. Up.

I also just loved how we got to interact with the characters separately and got to know them. It made it really clear that both of these characters have completely opposite mentalities and ideologies concerning the war and how it came about, but both think that they are completely in the right.
By having this layered account, it just highlights how our characters are very different in ideology, but so similar in their personal lives and feelings, making their relationship believable, despite the circumstances.
Speaking of the war, lets talk about the politics in this book for a sec. It was done fantastically.
- At the beginning of the book, we are thrown right into the action. We see the devastation the war has caused, the ferocious nature of the Night empire and the total control that they have over the continent. This really sets up such a tense political atmosphere from the beginning.
- Then we see a “calmer” time, after the war. We see our MCs dragged into court politics in a way that they have never had to experience before; this twisty, game-filled mentality clashes with their past experiences, so they have to adjust and adapt to their new environment. This tone-shift creates such an interesting dynamic and raises a lot of questions about the impact of war; it really emphasises how their lives were shaped by the war, and what the continent could have been without it.
I also quickly wanted to mention the magic system used – it is such a cool twist on elemental magic! They have severs that let in a certain type of magic, and only wielders can commune with that sever and get stronger. They also have enchanters that can harness this magic in “aetherhearts”, which are used as a general power-source across continents. For example, aetherhearts containing wind magic are used to power their FLYING PIRATE SHIPS.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

First, the pacing in this book was a bit off for me. As much as I loved being thrown straight into the action, some of the aspects of the world and magic system were a bit info-dumpy, which made it a bit difficult to get into. So, a bit of a slow start honestly!
Second, I wish that we had had more time with some of the side-characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love our MCS but I think there is so much potential for side characters like Sevraim and Khaede (the MCs respective best friends). I’m hoping in the next books, these characters can get some more airtime as I think it will flesh the story out a bit more!

Overall, I think you can probably tell that I just loved this book; it was engaging, the romance was so angsty, and it was honestly just what I needed. I highly recommend if you are looking for a slow-burn, enemies to lovers romantasy, that has an intense, political story to boot!