Joined in 2023 
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I can consider myself truly privileged to have read this masterpiece 6 months before its release date! I immediately thank Netgalley, HarperVoyager Uk and Thea Guanzon for allowing me to read this ARC! 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.
Then he sees Talasyn, his sworn enemy burning bright across the battlefield. The moment they clash their lives are changed forever. 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. For a wartime fantasy story, it felt way too lighthearted. From the dialogue to the overall tone, I didn't feel the gritty, dark wartime vibes I expected. The most impactful thing that happened was Talasyn's friend's death at the beginning but after that, I never felt a single emotion.There's a lot of instances where the author panders to the reader. Talasyn has big 'Chosen One' energy, so whenever she starts to get closer to discovering more about her past, she has moments where she's like "something inside me was being pulled....but no matter" to signify it's obviously very important but instead of listening to her gut she ignores it. The same thing happens whenever she's around Alaric. I was constantly rolling my eyes whenever this happened, and it occurred quite a lot. Basically, you can expect no plot twists here because the author gives you so many clues ahead of time. I will say though, I absolutely hated how the author used italics so liberally to emphasize certain words. (See what I did there? lolll) It feels very amateur fanfic and I seriously hope she stops doing it in the rest of the series. Like, okay, readers understand what you're trying to say/emphasize because of context clues, duh!! 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. Posso 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!
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. 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. 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. Since the arc didn't have a map, it was really hard to understand the geopolitics (which was a really huge deal in this story), so it was hard to make out who the players were. But at the end of the day, it turned out to be Everyone vs. Kesath, the Ultra Mega Colonizer Shadow Empire. Bardon added: “I’m so thrilled that I get to work with Thea, Thao and Julia. Thea has built an incredible new world for fans to get lost in and The Hurricane Wars is everything I love about fantasy. I’m excited to watch this fresh, bold and exciting new talent make waves in a genre where HarperVoyager continues to break incredible debut voices.”read: still ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, I wish I could read it for the first time all over again but a 2nd read through was just as good in different ways!
TW: child abandonment (past), death of parent (past), parental abuse, violence, there may be more but since I didn't read the whole thing I'm not sure. The slow burn between Talasyn and Alaric is heart wrenching, infuriating, and everything I wanted from this book. I can’t wait to see how their story unfolds. But I'll admit, it was slightly confusing at first because the author threw everything at the reader all at once, and there was a huge action scene in the beginning that made it hard to acclimate to the world, the characters, and the magic system. Talasyn e Alaric hanno una chimica pazzesca! Entrambi vengono da un infanzia difficile e piena di traumi e entrambi combattono nelle Hurrican Wars per ragioni differenti e quando i loro mondi entrano in contrasto tutto inizia a trovare il proprio posto!
Guanzon said: “As a lifelong devotee of speculative fiction, I never dreamed that I’d one day have the opportunity to share an epic fantasy of my own with the world—and combine it with my other great love, romance, to boot. When I began envisioning this trilogy, I knew that I wanted to write a story about magic, about two people finding their way to each other against all odds—and I also wanted to write a story about my homeland, about our culture and all that we have overcome and what lies ahead of us still. That said, I will talk about what didn't work for me, and then go into why I think it's going to be some folk's favorite book of 2023. the author doesn’t even TRY to lay out the clues for you in a nuanced manner. a slap across the face would have been more subtle, to be honest. The Hurricane Wars è un libro che mi incuriosiva da parecchio tempo, e quando ho visto il cover reveal delle cover US e UK (entrambe capolavori) volevo leggere questo libro il prima possibile, e così quando ho ricevuto l'ARC l'ho iniziato senza esitazioni ed è stata una lettura fantastica! 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.
Un altro elemento importantissimo di questo libro è il Worldbuilding: The Hurricane Wars è un fantasy di ispirazione filippina e il mondo creato dall'autrice è perfetto! Natura, tecnologia e magia convivono creando un ambiente straordinario e la scrittura di Thea rende tutto magico ed estremamente scorrevole! Prince Alaric, the emperor's only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire's rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen. Talasyn a lightweaver is fighting as a soldier against the Night Empire in the Hurricane Wars. Prince Alaric is uses his Shadow magic and hasn't met his equal until he fights Talasyn in the battle field. Soon these two discover that when their magic is combined they create something powerful. With a threat looming in the near distance these two must decide if they are willing to come together to defeat a threat larger than both of their forces. The Hurricane Wars is a book that has had my attention for quite some time, and when I saw the cover reveal of the US and UK covers (both masterpieces) I wanted to read this book as soon as possible, and so when I received the ARC I started it without hesitation and it was a fantastic read! Natasha Bardon, publishing director, acquired world English rights to three books in The Hurricane Wars series from Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. The Hurricane Wars will be publishing in autumn 2023.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. I physically could not stop reading! Mark my words: lives will be changed by The Hurricane Wars trilogy’ 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 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.’ But somehow, it all worked for me. I honestly don't know why. And I'm speaking as someone who dislikes the romance genre in general.
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