The Hurricane Wars Book Review

 The Hurricane Wars

 by Thea Guanzon

 Release Date: October 3, 2023

Genre: Romantasy

Age Range: Adult

Series: The Hurricane Wars

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.74 stars

It's funny when I first read the description I was not interested much. Then when I read about it later I wondered if it was really the same description. Starting the book was a little confusing as it hit the ground running. I highly encourage the audiobook to know how to pronounce everything.

The world-building in this series has the possibility to be great. We do not get a super high amount in this book though. It is mentioned that part of this is that so many records have been lost through the centuries. The main characters do not even have a good understanding of the past or their own abilities. Our story takes place on Lir (world) mostly on the Northern continent or the Dominion of Nenavar. There are magical beasts in Nenavar: such as dragons, tiny monkeys, and birds. While not seen much they do play a part in the Nenavarin society being what it is.

The magic of this world is based on aether, an essence from another dimension all its own. There are various forms of this aetherspace. Such as those our main characters use, light and shadow, as well as various forms of raw aether that are transformed by sorcerers. From what the characters know and describe there have never been wielders of the other forms but the world is vaster than we see so it’s a possibility. There are places where the aether will burst from the ground. They call these severs, as the aether dimension is severing the physical world. At these spots the mancers can strengthen their abilities or sorcerers can refill the hearts (devices) that use aether to power industry. They use aether for flying ships, keeping warm, or radio transmissions. People born with the aether abilities can also see more of their memories than normal when close to a sever.

Our main characters are Talasyn and Alaric. Talasyn is an orphan who was recruited as a fighter in the Sardovian army five years ago. She is also a lightweaver, someone born with the ability to summon light aether at will. Talasyn has been alone most of her life and dreamed of finding her family; she is rather less distrustful than I would have expected though. We will see several flashbacks from her past as an orphan. Then there is Alaric, the Prince of the Night Empire, commander of the Shadow Legion. He is a powerful shadowweaver and devoted to his father's cause. There are several not-so-subtle hints that he has had a very abusive childhood. Also, his father might have become mad after his grandfather's death which started the Hurricane Wars.

The book revolves around what seems to be the end of the war itself. The Hurricane Wars have been raging for ten years as the Night Empire seeks to claim all lands and resources on the continent. Talasyn and Alaric are pitched against each other on different sides of the war knowing the other must die. But during a chance battle their magic works together an unexpected aether is revealed. After learning of an impending world-destroying event Talaysn and Alaric must work together to master this new magic before it's too late.

This book is a romantasy, but it is a very slow burn. There is the mortal enemies part; the trying to kill each other and then the odd banter during a fight. I feel like he was the one to become intrigued first because she is his exact counter, the light to his shadow. Now once they are starting to find themselves attracted we have to suffer through both of them thinking they are the only one that feels that way. So very slowly they get to be at least friendly only for emotions to run hot and one of them ruins it again. Then there is the arranged marriage. When we finally got to the wedding after all the groundwork I thought maybe they could find a way.

The pacing of this book is fast. It starts the prologue in a battle, only to rewind and show the lead-up to the battle from the other POV. There is so much action, which I suppose is realistic for an army at war. However, there are time skips to another battle later too. There is not too much time spent with several of the side characters we see at the beginning. Just a lot of names thrown at you as the story keeps moving.

This is just the first in a series or trilogy. As such we do not get a resolution. The end is setting up for a new twist in the next book. It isn't a cliffhanger so much as just a shock out of left field. Our main characters while agreeing to work together are also very solidly still on different sides of the war.

In the end, I can say I'm glad that I got this book. It took a while to understand all the names and what was happening due to the pacing. Once we got settled into the main location and characters though it was a bit better. There could have been a bit of the book cut down where we circled the same thoughts but otherwise, it worked through everything well. If you were hoping for a more romantic fantasy this first instalment will not be it. This is a slow burn where all the attraction and angst are building up but not a payoff for it. Still, I'm looking forward to how they can overcome the destruction that is sure to be in the next book.

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