Synopsis: Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.
Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light. Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.
Review:
After hearing glowing praises for this book I wasn’t quite sure what to do. There are plenty of instances where I don’t like book series that others tend to rave about. But the premise sounded interesting so I decided to give this one a shot. I’m very glad I did! It was a refreshing read. I tried one book by this author before and couldn’t get into it so that probably didn’t help with my initial hesitation. But overall I would say that Radiance delivers on just about all cylinders. I respected how much world building Draven was able to pack into a relatively short book without making it feel like a complete info dump. Something like this is often twice as long and twice as confusing.
The characterization was well done. I’m not an easy sell when it comes to that kind of thing, but I immediately grew to care about both Brishen and Ildiko. They were likable and easy to root for. Draven also knows how to create characters we love to hate! Brishen’s mother is a piece of work, but you definitely can’t say that she doesn’t keep things interesting.
I probably would have given this a 5 out of 5 if not for a certain development toward the end. What happens sort of feels unnecessary to me and done mostly for shock value. Maybe if it happened in a sequel or had more build up I would feel differently.
I’m actually considering going back to read that first book from her that I didn’t finish. It might prove to be a pleasant surprise and pull me in this time around. Sometimes it’s not always that a book is bad. You just have to be in the right mood for it at the time.
Overall you can certainly count me in with the lot that thinks this is a great read and since it appears to be the start of a series, I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!