The heart is a battlefield.

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.

Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn: a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. He tries to kill her, but in a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

This war can only end with them. But an even greater danger is coming, and the strange magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Talasyn and Alaric must decide… are they fated to join hands, or destroy each other?

Dabney: I enjoyed this a lot. Did you?

Kayne: Yes! This fantasy romance takes place in Southeast Asia and I loved the unique setting. The typhoons and volcanoes are part of the magic and the details of the world building are incredible. I especially loved the way Guanzon’s leads combine ancient magic with technology to build powerful magical airships, structures, and weapons.

Dabney: I too thought the world building was great. I know very little about the Philippines and I loved how vividly Guanzon portrayed that culture and geography. The world building is very dense–I am still somewhat confused what aether is—but, overall, I understood it and found it new and different. What did you think about the plot?

Kayne: It’s gripping although I struggled with the large number of character’s names and countries to remember, and I wished there was a map and a list of characters to refer to. There was a war going on between their countries and complex political intrigue and schemes at court and I found these tedious in places. (Readers that like fanfiction will be happy to hear this is a Kylo Ren and Rey fanfiction inspired story.)

Dabney: As the title promises, it is a story about war and those are not my favorite UNLESS the battle/political machinations are paired with an equally important emotional, character driven backstory. The Hurricane Wars offers that, but not as much as I wished it had. There were times when I wanted less text about how to blow up your neighbors and more about why our leads are who they are.

Kayne: Talasyn and Alaric are my favorite part of the story. Talasyn is a warrior fighting for her country that is under siege by Prince Alaric, the son of the ruthless Night Emperor. They are a great couple. I liked how fascinated Alaric was with Talasyn from the moment he first saw her light up on the battlefield with her Lightweaver magic. Talasyn was drawn to Alaric, who was tall and dark with Night Shadow magic. Talasyn’s grandmother, Urduja, offers Talasyn to Alaric as a bride to form an alliance between their warring countries and I liked that they both had a strong sense of duty to their families and countries.

Dabney: They were great, weren’t they? I liked them best when they weren’t scheming to destroy each other’s countries—in some ways, this is a grim book. The two had incredible chemistry, both physical and intellectual.

Kayne: Yes! Their romance is a slow burn, enemies to lovers (they literally try to kill each other more than once) and I love a marriage of convenience. They both had unhappy childhoods and yearn for someone to love and I want that for them. My favorite scene is when they combine their powers and create a force stronger than either of them has ever seen before – they literally have great chemistry.

Dabney: I did struggle with how hard Talasyn fought her feelings for him. At the beginning, sure, I got it. But by the end, it is so clear to the reader that, really, the two want the same thing for the world their families are trying to destroy.

Kayne: I agree. Their love story is pretty angsty. They pledged their love to each other at their wedding and it was sweet when Alaric kissed Talasyn and she felt ‘the winter of her soul burst into spring time flowers’. But it seemed like she was fighting an inner battle to keep from falling in love with him so I wasn’t convinced they loved each other at the end of this book, but I’m hopeful that will come in the next book in the series.

Dabney: What did you think about the other characters?

Kayne: One of the characters that stood out for me was Talasyn’s grandmother, Urduja, who’s name in Philippine legend means warrior woman, and I thought she was pretty ruthless, like when she offers Talasyn as a bride to Alaric to form an alliance between their countries. One character I would like to see more of is Talasyn’s friend Khaede who she fought alongside, and I admired her strength.

Dabney: Urduja is one of those characters that you wonder what she’s really up to—in a good way. I liked her far better than her counterpart in Alaric’s dad—he is almost too evil to be believed. I am super interested to learn more about the moms of our leads—they are important characters, but we’ve just gotten hints about them.

What did you think about the ending?

Kayne: I thought it was wonderful to see Alaric start to think and act for himself. His father, The Night Emperor, seemed quite bloodthirsty and I think he still wanted to control Alaric so I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the next book. I’m also interested to see Talasyn and Alaric come together and combine their magic to survive new threats headed their way. I get impatient for closure but it’s a three book series so it that will take a while.

Dabney: I found the ending a bit unsatisfying but I suspect it’s because I too am impatient and, by the end of almost 500 pages, I was ready for more resolution.

What’s your final take on the book?

Kayne: I think readers that enjoy stories about the importance of family, both found family and family by blood and those who enjoy Kylo Ren and Rey fanfiction (from Star Wars) as well as fantasy readers, especially those interested in battles, angsty romance and magic would like The Hurricane Wars. Wasn’t the purple cover beautiful? My grade for the book is a B.

Dabney: Despite my criticisms, it’s still a DIK for me. The world building and the wonderful exploration of the Philippines and its mythology are so strong and so unusual. The leads are sexy together and have fabulous banter. I’m eagerly awaiting book two. My grade is an A-.