The Hurricane Wars: The epic new enemies to lovers romantasy, packed with passion, adventure and magic: Book 1

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Natasha Bardon, Publishing Director says: ‘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.’ Then he sees Talasyn, his sworn enemy burning bright across the battlefield. The moment they clash their lives are changed forever. 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.

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. 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. The Hurricane Wars will be published in October 12th and it should definitely be among Romantasy lovers most anticipated releases. 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. 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 tThe 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 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. 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 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. 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! 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.

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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. The trilogy will follow an orphan rebel as she finds out she can summon light and create weapons and then must defeat or align with a prince who can summon shadows. This is by no means a masterpiece, and it has a lot of said tropes, but it also feels original. If this is what we get with Reylo fanfic, please give me more of it. 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 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.

I would like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 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. 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. 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.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.