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A review by the_cover_contessa
A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really enjoyed The Hurricane Wars so much more than I thought I would. I wasn't expected the excellent writing, the amazing plot, the great pacing, and, most of all, characters who I became totally invested in. I enjoyed this installment even more than the first!
This book picks up soon after the ending of the last book. It's hard to give a full review without spoiling what actually happens, to be honest. The first book was very rooted in the politics of the world and building it out so we understood the unique magic system Guanzon has created. This book was much more focused on the relationship between the MMC and the FMC and their push and pull with one another. The politics are still there and Guanzon does a great job with moving the plot along with a lot of action and mystery sewn together.
Alaric and Talaysan are married and there's no going back from that political alignment. They must combine forces to save their lands from and event that can devour everything in its path. There's a ton of push and pull between them in this book. Their attraction to each other is something that confuses both of them. They don't want to have those feelings but it just cannot be helped. Of course there's a ton of "he doesn't feel that way" and "why do I feel this way about her" going on throughout the book to create a sense of tension where the romance is concerned. jAnd them giving in to what they believe are their baser needs is something they definitely struggle with; their chemistry is off the charts. These two definitely show off their poor communication skills and there are a ton of scenes where this plot point rears its head throughout the book.
Alaric definitely shows his morally gray side in this book. But you can also see how his mind is working and his thoughts are changing and his struggle to come to terms with who his father is. That relationship shows how Alaric's personality formed the way it did and why he struggles so much with his feelings for Talasyn and what must ultimately become of them both.
This book definitely delved more into character development than plot. Don't get me wrong, the plot was there, but this book focused a lot on the romance aspect of romantasy. And I was all there for it because I knew from book one we had to see these two give into their desires. The plot was slower to move for me because of this, though I wasn't bored at any time. But Guanzon inserted so much more intrigue and unexpected things that I didn't see coming. And I don't feel this book suffered from second book syndrome, which happens often with trilogies and drives me bananas.
Of course the author had to leave the ending on a huge cliffhanger (it's a good one, I promise), so now I need book three yesterday. If you loved the first book in this series, and want to see the relationship really grown and blossom, you'll enjoy this second installment immensely.
Review on The Cover Contessa can be found at this link: http://www.thecovercontessa.com/2024/12/arc-review-monsoon-rising-hurricane.html
I really enjoyed The Hurricane Wars so much more than I thought I would. I wasn't expected the excellent writing, the amazing plot, the great pacing, and, most of all, characters who I became totally invested in. I enjoyed this installment even more than the first!
This book picks up soon after the ending of the last book. It's hard to give a full review without spoiling what actually happens, to be honest. The first book was very rooted in the politics of the world and building it out so we understood the unique magic system Guanzon has created. This book was much more focused on the relationship between the MMC and the FMC and their push and pull with one another. The politics are still there and Guanzon does a great job with moving the plot along with a lot of action and mystery sewn together.
Alaric and Talaysan are married and there's no going back from that political alignment. They must combine forces to save their lands from and event that can devour everything in its path. There's a ton of push and pull between them in this book. Their attraction to each other is something that confuses both of them. They don't want to have those feelings but it just cannot be helped. Of course there's a ton of "he doesn't feel that way" and "why do I feel this way about her" going on throughout the book to create a sense of tension where the romance is concerned. jAnd them giving in to what they believe are their baser needs is something they definitely struggle with; their chemistry is off the charts. These two definitely show off their poor communication skills and there are a ton of scenes where this plot point rears its head throughout the book.
Alaric definitely shows his morally gray side in this book. But you can also see how his mind is working and his thoughts are changing and his struggle to come to terms with who his father is. That relationship shows how Alaric's personality formed the way it did and why he struggles so much with his feelings for Talasyn and what must ultimately become of them both.
This book definitely delved more into character development than plot. Don't get me wrong, the plot was there, but this book focused a lot on the romance aspect of romantasy. And I was all there for it because I knew from book one we had to see these two give into their desires. The plot was slower to move for me because of this, though I wasn't bored at any time. But Guanzon inserted so much more intrigue and unexpected things that I didn't see coming. And I don't feel this book suffered from second book syndrome, which happens often with trilogies and drives me bananas.
Of course the author had to leave the ending on a huge cliffhanger (it's a good one, I promise), so now I need book three yesterday. If you loved the first book in this series, and want to see the relationship really grown and blossom, you'll enjoy this second installment immensely.
Review on The Cover Contessa can be found at this link: http://www.thecovercontessa.com/2024/12/arc-review-monsoon-rising-hurricane.html