i’m here scratching my head while trying to hold back laughter because i didn’t expect to love this book as much as i thought i would. but the worldbuilding, character relationships, conflict, and pacing kept reeling me in, to the point where i just gave up in defeat trying to criticize the reads that my heart enjoys. and oh man — how i enjoyed this one.

2024 had me in a bit of a book slump, but as 2025 is starting, this book just kicked me in the ass and said, “it’s time to get the fuck out of the slump because i’m here” and wow miss guanzon had me in a chokehold the entire way through. this is also the first time i’m reading a book where the author and i share first names! and we’re both filipina! gotta support my people by reading their works, but more than that, i genuinely had my eyes locked into this book and all its exhilarating, hilarious wonder. i had no idea what i was getting into when trying this book out, but i’m satisfied. the writing was concise yet lyrical, and at more than one point, i reread some passages that i couldn’t get enough of.

the worldbuilding is a make or break in fantasy novels and this one balanced it perfectly. at the risk of tipping over into worldbuilding overload at times but never completely going there, the hurricane wars has such a rich, complex world that i found myself completely enveloped into within the first few pages. the war time in act one launched my imagination straight into chaos, battlefields, politics — and a certain silver-eyed love interest.

i’ve gotten tired of enemies-to-lovers, to be real with you. booktok oversaturated it with false advertising when they really meant to say “miscommunication trope” or “rivals to lovers”. so when i figured out early on that this author was making it out to be enemies-to-lovers trope, i felt dread in my stomach — but then i kept reading. i was so skeptical, y’all, and i thought i had my fill of this trope, but — and i hate to say it — i found myself falling in love with this trope again because of this couple. because i really can’t envision a happy ending with what i’ve read so far. like, maybe if i was reaching, i can envision a future where they’re happily together, but it’s through great sacrifice and a bunch of self-reflection on each individual person. and even then, it’ll take a while for them to confess. but that’s exactly what i’m hoping for! i see the enemies to reluctant-allies to softening-around-each-other to fighting-again to sexual-tension to building-a-wall-against-the-other-person to giving-into-sexual-tension happening and i am loving it. give me the angst! i miss it!

i’m actually kinda irked at myself for not reading this sooner because the hurricane wars has everything my reader heart loves, including long-lost-family trope! i loved the complex family dynamics in this novel and oh my god the politics in this book? my mind was reeling from the various relationships and the delicacy of some social situations that our main character, talasyn, had to navigate coming from her life in the streets. the political intrigue and the continued mystery of some aspects of talasyn’s life were strong additions to the overarching plot of war and conquest.

there’s so much i can delve into this book, but it feels like this review would go on for so long. when i read the hurricane wars, it felt like i was reading the book for weeks when in reality, it was just 2 days, but that’s how incredible the pacing and time jumps were in this novel. it was so immersive and kept you hooked onto the characters and their many motives and, especially, their struggle for power and freedom in this war-havocked world they made and are determined to rebuild.

if you’re looking for a new year to launch yourself into this new year, add this one to your list. if you’re itching for a fantasy novel that contains battles, wartime marriage, dragons, power-hungry grandmothers, magic, politics, and romance that had me squealing in my seat (deadass like it was embarrassing how much my hand was on my mouth to cover my squeals), then just add it to your list, like just give it a try. it’s definitely not a The Poppy War read, but it is definitely a lot better than the lackluster fantasy romance novels that are out in the book market right now.

i have the second book, a monsoon rising, in my hands right now, so i have to get going because i am itching to know what happens next. happy reading! ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼