I will give extra points for even attempting to convert everything into a book, it does take skill to not only change character names (and have them make sense in the context of the world) but to also come up with new lore without making it too similar to the original. I can't wait to read the next book to return to the fantastic world created by Thea Guanzon and find my two beloved idiots! I also wasn't really sure where Thea's Filipinx heritage was going to come into play, because the story felt very white, as so much fantasy is. And what would I have preferred, a "normal" romance, or colonization? 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 typically struggle with the first half of the first book of a new fantasy series, so I’d say that’s more a me thing than a fault of the book.

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! disclaimer: it’s been almost three months since i read this so take this review and the little details with a grain of salt, because i’m writing this purely based on memory alone (and the few notes i took while reading this). I'm sure thousands and thousands of other people will love this book with their whole heart, but sadly I'm not one of them. 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! I am so sad about DNFing because this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I gave it my best shot but unfortunately, I couldn't force myself to continue the story. And look, I LOVE romantasy, wartime stories, and enemies to lovers. This should have been my cup of tea. But sadly, it fell short in every way possible.The characters change their opinion of each other as soon as it becomes convenient, but those feelings are far from earned. The majority of them happened during the last third of the book, but the rest of it was just crumbs, really.

I will start this review by saying that I wasn't aware that this was a Reylo fanfic until the 70% mark (thanks Mai), and while I try to put aside any prejudice I may have about published fanfiction, this may explain for the numerous problems (and calamities) this book has. The world building is impressive, especially for her first published book. It was a little overwhelming at first so I ended up getting the Kindle ebook to follow along with while listening to the audiobook. I have a hard time envisioning characters and the setting unless I know how names of characters and places are spelled, otherwise I get distracted thinking of the different possible spellings when I should be paying attention to the story hahaAnyway, if you'd like to give BIPOC-authored romantasies a try, The Hurricane Wars is a good place to start. All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows. The plot is never boring or obvious and all this is combined perfectly with the romance which is one of the best I've ever read in a fantasy novel! These two little idiots will make you fall in love and... wait until you read chapter 38 *sneaky eyes 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.