Swoony Sunday: "A Monsoon Rising"
Thea Guanzon returns to the saga of Talasyn and Alaric in a volume that exceeds its predecessor in almost every way.
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Welcome to another edition of “Swoony Sunday,” where I’ll be reviewing romance in all of its forms: film, TV, books. As a Pisces, I love to love, and what better way to express that than through writing about romance, the genre that’s all about finding your heart’s desire?
I remember being quite blown away by Thea Guanzon’s The Hurricane Wars when I read it last year, so I was very much looking forward to its sequel, A Monsoon Rising. Having just finished it, I can say without reservation that it improves upon the first volume in almost every way. It’s a stronger book that doesn’t show quite as much indebtedness to Kylo and Rey of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and it manages to both broaden the world that we encountered in The Hurricane Wars and deepen the relationship between Talasyn and Alaric.
Talasyn and Alaric are now married, but it’s clear that theirs is not a particularly happy matrimonial bond. Each of them feels deep and troubling desire for the other, and it certainly doesn’t help matters that they are on opposite political sides, with each absolutely committed to their own purposes and agendas. I quite enjoy the way that Guanzon manages to weave together the political, magical, and personal romantic stakes of this story, so that we’re invited to care about these characters as a couple while also always being aware of how their relationship ties into broader issues facing their respective peoples.
I’ve always found Talasyn to be a truly great romantasy hero, and she’s just the right blend of endearing and infuriating. She’s certainly gone through a lot during the course of these two novels, having transitioned from being a rebel leader to a royal heir and empress. This is quite a meteoric rise for someone from such seemingly humble beginnings, and one gets the sense that she’s still trying to wrap her head around what it means to be someone of importance. Guanzon is adept at showing us how her troubled youth and childhood–in particular the abuse she suffered at the hands of those who ran the orphanage in which she was raised–continue to haunt her, shaping the way that she engages with Alaric and with the various members of her family.
Indeed, as the novel goes on the tensions only become greater, for while Talasyn’s feelings for Alaric have only grown more intense since she first met him on the field of battle, she can never entirely forget who he is and what he represents. In less capable hands than those of Guanzon this could make for tedious reading, but I found myself quite engaged by and invested in the fraught romance between these two characters. Yes, they can be immensely irritating and yes, there are times when you just want to reach into the book and shake them so that they get their heads on straight, but we do also genuinely care about them as individuals and as a couple. Even though we know that it’s going to be almost impossible for them to find their way out of the complex web of conflicted allegiances and affiliations in which they find themselves, we also can’t help but wish that it might be otherwise.
This book features a lot more chapters from Alaric’s point of view, which I found to be a welcome change. Regular readers of this newsletter know that I prefer my romances to be told from two points of view, as it helps me as a reader to really understand each side of the romantic dynamic. In this case, we get to see more about his childhood and his youth under his stern and unforgiving father Gaheris, who rules his son’s life much as he does everyone else: with little thought or feeling toward what he might want and instead toward what he thinks will best serve his interests and those of the Empire.
It’s also worth noting that A Monsoon Rising also raises the spice level considerably from The Hurricane Wars. As with the best of romantasy, however, the sex scenes in this book serve a larger purpose than mere titillation. In some ways it seems as if it’s only when the two of them can only ever truly find peace with one another when they abandon themselves to desire and simply let their bodies do the talking. At the same time, Talasyn at least recognizes that this is only going to make things much more complicated, and emotionally devastating, when she has to eventually betray him in order to fulfill her destiny and save those she loves the most. One can’t help but feel a little weepy at just how exquisitely tragic it all is.
A Monsoon Rising also expertly fleshes out the world and its magic systems. While it doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel when it comes to its magic system–which operates on a duality of light and dark–Guanzon has clearly thought it out well enough that it makes sense within the context of this universe. Likewise, the geopolitical contours of this world are fully fleshed-out and developed, so that we as readers have a strong sense of why the romance between these two characters matters so much.
I also appreciated the way that this novel subverts the “two heroes have to overcome their differences to save the day” trope that is so common in fantasy. I won’t spoil too much of it here, but suffice it to say that the cataclysm that Talasyn and Alaric have to stop isn’t quite what they, or we, thought that it was. The moment in which they manage to keep everything from falling apart is one of the most poignant in the entire book.
I’ve written elsewhere of my love of romantasy novels that manage to keep a very good balance between the romantic and fantasy elements of the story. A Monsoon Rising, even more than The Hurricane Wars, clearly holds these two in a productive sort of tension. The relationship between Talasyn and Alaric wouldn’t have nearly the same stakes if this took place in a world shorn of its fantasy trappings. Likewise, the fantasy wouldn’t have the same kind of substance and emotional stakes if someone were to cut out the romance elements. It’s not every day that I feel this invested in a hetero relationship, particularly in fantasy, but I honestly am cheering for Alaric and Talasyn. Hats off to Guanzon!
The book ends on a cliffhanger, with Talasyn incapacitated by someone within her own court, leaving us wondering just what it is that’s happened and what’s going to happen next. I love a good cliffhanger ending, and they don’t come much more cliffhangery than this one. Obviously Talasyn is still alive, and I very much doubt that her powers have been taken away permanently. Given how dangerous and deadly things have become in Nenavar, however, and given how unsettled they remain on the Continent, it seems likely that they are only going to get more tense and
Overall, I quite loved A Monsoon Rising. Thea Guanzon is clearly one of those romantasy authors who loves the genre, and I appreciate the fact that she is also a fangirl who isn’t afraid to admit that this is a key part of her identity as both a reader and a writer. There wasn’t a moment while I was reading this book that I was bored or waiting for it to be over. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that I was on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last, and I stayed up past my bedtime many times as I was reading. Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that it’s also a beautifully-designed book, with a lovely cover and sprayed edges that made reading it even more of a pleasure.
In other words, go out and get this book immediately!