A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon by Thea Guanzon

Book Review

Mikaela Silk

In less than a year Talasyn has gone from an orphaned soldier of the hurricane wars with a tenuous grasp on her own magic, to heir of Nenavar and wife of the Night Emperor with thousands counting on her magic to save them. Being married to her greatest enemy is turning out even more complicated than expected. In comparison, fine-tuning her magic to contain the Voidfell seems almost easy. At least until unexpected consequences of over-using her magic begin to appear. Torn between love and hate, war and peace, which of the many twisting paths will Talasyn eventually choose to follow? And, in the end, will the choice even be up to her?

The growing romance between Talasyn and Alaric is central to this book. As their love grows, it also becomes more tangled, caught in the thorns of their secrets and conflicting loyalties. I love how Thea Guanzon shows her reader both sides of this romance, leaving us frustrated at the lack of communication and the constant push and pull between the two characters. In particular, we see more of Alaric’s vulnerabilities and internal conflict in this book. His father is a shadow that hangs over him even as Talaysn’s light begins to show him a different way. As much as the reader hopes that love can conquer all, it is difficult to see how either of them will come out of this unscathed.

Throughout this book, clear contrasts are drawn between the different cultures of Nenavar and Kesath: darkness and shadows vs light and colour, austerity vs prosperity, freedom vs restriction, hope vs fear, war vs celebration. However, what I find interesting is the lack of information we get about Sardovian culture. Despite the eventual revival of the Sardovian revenant forming a large part of the narrative, it seems as though the very bones of the book are recognising the loss that they have already faced. Sardovia seems to exist purely as a revolution against the brutality of the Night Empire.

What I find particularly interesting are the multiple references to the shortcomings of the Sardovian’s. It is usually Alaric pointing these out in response to something Talasyn shares about her childhood. Often Talasyn points out the travesties of Alaric’s upbringing in the Empire as her only form of retort. The only thing that can be taken from this is that both kingdoms are wrong and need to be changes. It is clear that both Talasyn and Alaric see this, but their opposing loyalties and pasts mean they each see a different way forward to achieving this change. I will be interested in book three to see if it is truly possible for love to bring them onto the same path and for them to work together to fix both kingdoms.