Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule, Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, tries to kill Talasyn, a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that ignited the Hurricane Wars, but instead, in a clash of light and dark, creates a force the likes of which has never been seen. - (Baker & Taylor)

"The heart is a battlefield. War has raged for a decade in Lir, and orphaned soldier Talasyn has learned to keep her powers hidden to survive. As the last known Lightweaver on the continent, she can create radiant weapons that cut through the invading Shadowforged warriors' dark magic. But all that changes when she is forced to reveal her abilities on the battlefield to defend herself from the Shadowforged prince himself, Alaric Ossinast. In a clash of light and dark, their magic combines to create a newforce the likes of which has never been seen. This rare power could be the key to saving many lives-if Talasyn and Alaric don't destroy each other first. Pushed together into a fraught political engagement, the two adversaries find themselves pawns in a much bigger game between conflicting nations. Neither is pleased by the arrangement, but when a new threat emerges, necessity forces the pair to confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion-one that could save their world, or end it. An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and richly drawn worlds, The Hurricane Wars marks the breathtaking debut of an extraordinary new writer"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

"An incredible debut full of rich atmosphere, clever world building, opposing magic, and sizzling romance, The Hurricane Wars is my newest obsession."— KERRI MANISCALCO, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Throne of the Fallen

"I physically could not stop reading! Mark my words: lives will be changed by The Hurricane Wars.”  — ALI HAZELWOOD, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

The 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 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?

An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters and sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance set in a richly drawn world, The Hurricane Wars marks the breathtaking debut of an extraordinary new writer.

 “The Hurricane Wars is everything I love—intricate world-building, unique magic, and a gleeful, smoldering romance. I’m obsessed.”— HANNAH WHITTEN, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

“This book made me giddy! Such a gleeful collection of my favorite tropes, all written in a fresh and engaging world, with a deep emotional center. One of my favorite books of this year!” — KATEE ROBERT, New York Times bestselling author of the Dark Olympus series

Booklist Reviews

Over the past decade, the Sardovian Allfold countries have resisted hostile annexation by the Kesathese Night Empire in the bloody Hurricane Wars. Talasyn, a scrappy, street-smart orphan, has spent the past five of her 19 years fighting as a Sardovian. As the last Lightweaver, a race of aethermancers wielding powerful light magic, her path inevitably intersects with Alaric's. Alaric, the twenty-six-year-old heir to the Kesathese throne and powerful Shadowforged aethermancer, knows he must kill Talasyn to secure victory for his people. Yet he is conflicted, especially after witnessing their respective light and dark magics fuse into an unparalleled power on the battlefield. When faced with an unprecedented world-ending threat that can only be neutralized by their combined magic, Talasyn and Alaric are forced to choose between joining forces and destroying the other. A trope-heavy, formulaic high fantasy bearing the marks of its fan-fiction origins, this romance stands out, with its lush Southeast Asian-inspired setting. Fans of slow-burn enemies-to-lovers storylines are sure to relish this new adult fiction. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

Born and raised in the midst of the Hurricane Wars, her country besieged by the Night Emperor, orphaned Talasyn shimmers with light magic. That magic dangerously threatens the enemy, which is why the emperor's son, Prince Alaric, targets her on the battlefield. But their clash of powers leads to something unexpected. A debut novel with a 100,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Library Journal Reviews

DEBUT Talasyn has spent most of her life fighting the Night Empire in the Hurricane Wars and hiding her light magic that the emperor wants to eradicate. While on the battlefield, she fights Prince Alaric, the emperor's only child, and he finds that he cannot kill her with his shadow magic. On a secret mission that she hopes will save her nation, Talasyn finds Alaric there too, and something unexpected happens—their magic merges into one. Talasyn and her compatriots must flee after the Night Empire's latest attacks, which sets events in motion that will change everything. Talasyn and Alaric soon discover that the Hurricane Wars are not the only threat they face, and they have to learn to put their differences aside to save both their nations. They still have competing goals, but they each feel an undeniable pull towards the other that they cannot ignore. VERDICT Guanzon brings a fresh voice and vivid world into the fantasy landscape, and this story will be incredibly popular. Readers will look forward to the next book in this new trilogy.—Ashli Wells

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Two powerful royals are entangled in a war in Guanzon's trope-heavy, Southeast Asian–inflected romantasy debut. Orphaned Talasyn of Sardovia harbors a deadly secret: she's one of the last remaining Lightweavers, capable of wielding magic that can combat the brutal Night Empire's own shadow magic. When the Night Empire attacks and its alluring Prince Alaric Ossinast corners Talasyn, she must expose her powers to escape. Sardovia's leadership sends her to the Nenavar Dominion to amplify her powers, and, upon arrival, she discovers that she's the lost heir to Nenavar's Dragon Throne, making her an unwilling but vital player in diplomatic relations—especially after her grandmother, the matriarch, strikes a treaty with the Night Empire betrothing her to Alaric. After the expansive worldbuilding of the opening, the back half of the novel is devoted to Talasyn and Alaric's dynamic, which draws clear inspiration from Star Wars' Rey and Kylo Ren. Guanzon relies on flowery descriptions to convey the characters' chemistry ("Orange blossoms and the creamy floral note of promise jasmines wafted from her hair, tempered by cool green attar of lotus and the barest hint of cinnamon bark. Alaric's mouth watered"), occasionally leaning into cliché. The result doesn't bring anything new to the tropes it deploys, but it will scratch the itch for fantasy readers seeking slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers romance. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Oct.)