I Have Thoughts... /Hurricane Wars Review

Brief review on The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

[@baylamakarov8701]

I got immediate ick with the info dump. Love plot was enjoyable, but not nearly complex and meaningful enough. Got mad shadow and bone vibes

[@illuminaticomfirmed6948]

I completely agree with your critiques on the romantic subplot, I unironically felt more invested in it when they were enemies in Part 1 than when they were allies of convenience in part 2. Way WAY too much physical and not nearly enough emotional romantic relationship building. Also to add, so much of the world and so many characters with their political intrigue get too little exploration. Part 1 alone felt like it could have been an entire book on its own. Ideth Vela felt so underused it was criminal, and Sevraim and the twins had so much potential. Sevraim and the twins unironically were my favourite chars in spite of having so little to do.

[@BookSavy_ReviewsAndWrites]

Very true! There were many things left unexplored. With the characters, a lot of them deserved more attention but I think what bothered me most was in Part 1. How her friend Khaede got a lot of page time in the beginning, but when the final battle against the Empire happened she gets lost and we only hear about it AFTER the fact, and in a small paragraph no less. I felt like that moment should have definitely been on page, rather than an afterthought. Because I felt like Khaede was going to be a pivotal character with how we saw her background and now she has to keep fighting while carrying a child. It would have been a very interesting subplot, and I was fully expecting her to show up again at some point. She might still in the second book but I don't know at this point.