Review: Radiance

• Title: Radiance

• Author: Grace Draven

• Series: Wraith Kings #1

• Genre: Fantasy Romance

• Rating: ☆☆☆☆

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔.

Whilst I've read a few human/non-human romance stories now, I think this one is the best representation of what it's like to fall in love for the attributes that make a person, and not how they look. Radiance is about two people from different species who are married for political alignment and not for romance. It starts with both Kai Prince Brishen and human Ildiko pointing out how ugly they find each other physically. One cannot stand the daylight, and the other cannot see in the dark - they seem to be as unlikely as a pairing as their physical opposites dictate. And yet they have immediate respect from their initial honesty and form an alliance with each other to do their best in such a union.

I loved watching their friendship turn into something more. The need to be around each other grows, the adjustments and compromises each make to appease the other, and then the romance once they give in to their feelings was so superior to all the books I've read where "you're hot for a *insert non-human race here* and I cannot resist you" is the common train of thought. Both Ildiko and Brishen find the other repulsive in the beginning physically but slowly become attracted to the person before them in such a believable manner. I love that about their relationship, and it made it that much more fulfilling to see desire build for who they are that was genuine and unexpected. The passion explodes when they do give in to their feelings, and it's well placed and rather steamy. But I appreciate that despite all their sudden desire for the other, this story continues to focus more on the connections they've forged and the love they feel for one another. They are a formidable couple.

The side-plot of political machinations and tensions between kingdoms was less interesting but supported the story enough that I didn't mind it. I will say the last quarter of the book turned darker than what I was anticipating and the setup for the next book in this series has me intrigued enough to add it to my TBR to consume at some point real soon.