Radiance Review

Radiance by Grace Draven is the first book in her fantasy Wraith King Series. This book is about human Ildiko, niece to the king of Gaur, who is arranged to marry 2^nd prince Brishen of the Kai people (non-human race). It follows them as they meet, get married and try to adjust to what that means as well as deal with the tenuous relationship between their two kingdoms and a neighboring kingdom’s response to their marriage.



I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. This was a really fantastic read. I happen to love the arranged marriage trope and Draven took a unique turn with it that I found so much fun. These characters are interesting and witty, and I greatly enjoyed watching them maneuver through their circumstances and grow closer together.

The plot flowed smoothly with a focus on their growing relationship, but with subtle plot building weaved throughout. Their relationship was excellently developed. I really liked where she was taking the story; the building up towards the second book. However, the epilogue destroyed all that build up. I was disappointed with that ending and the new direction the second book looks like it will be taking. And yet I have hope that Draven can still make this series great. 

There was more sexual content than I normally like in books, but I can appreciate that Draven was as descriptive as necessary to accomplish the relational and plot development. The graphic level varied through the story and I could tell when it played a role in furthering the story. It clearly wasn’t just in there to be there.  

There was also a bit of graphic violence in the book. I don’t mind if there is general violence in a story especially if it is important to the plot (as it was here), but I don’t like when it is incredibly detailed (as I have a very active imagination). As with the sexual content, the level of detail varied based on circumstance and necessity to further the plot, but was just a bit more than I was comfortable with.

Overall, I really did love this book and feel it could have been a 5-star read. I don’t regret reading it and I do plan on continuing with the next book in the series.