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A review by doughtah
Radiance by Grace Draven
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This was such a sweet romance - like pleasantly surprising in how sweet it was. If you're ever nervous about romance moving too quickly between the two leads, I highly recommend that you check out this book as it gives you the gradual growth of their romance together.
Brishen and Ildiko come from two different kingdoms. Ildiko is your standard human woman and Brishen is more of your dark elf and the two of them find the other super ugly. It's true! Our two leads do not find the other attractive and this leads to some very funny moments in the beginning. They're meant to be wed to one another as part of a treaty and they were able to find humor in their situation.
In the midst of their wedding and their marriage, Draven does a good job of world building in a way that keeps you interested, but doesn't overwhelm you. The physical attributes of each character were the focuses at points, but there was also the different standard clothes, the different foods, and other cultural differences between the two. Both kingdoms operate on a kingdom-based system, so there are enough similarities between the two of them to find commonalities.
Also, again, despite being an arranged marriage, it's not a rushed romance! The book builds the friendship between Brishen and Ildiko before romance really comes up and I really loved that.
This is the first in a series, which I don't know if I knew before I picked this book up, and Draven builds the tension well. There were touches of a larger conflict beyond the two leads that came into the conversation every once in a while and that's resulted in me putting the rest of the series on my TBR pile!
If you're into friendship to love, arranged marriage, different species relationships, and politics, I highly recommend this book and (potentially) this series!
Brishen and Ildiko come from two different kingdoms. Ildiko is your standard human woman and Brishen is more of your dark elf and the two of them find the other super ugly. It's true! Our two leads do not find the other attractive and this leads to some very funny moments in the beginning. They're meant to be wed to one another as part of a treaty and they were able to find humor in their situation.
In the midst of their wedding and their marriage, Draven does a good job of world building in a way that keeps you interested, but doesn't overwhelm you. The physical attributes of each character were the focuses at points, but there was also the different standard clothes, the different foods, and other cultural differences between the two. Both kingdoms operate on a kingdom-based system, so there are enough similarities between the two of them to find commonalities.
Also, again, despite being an arranged marriage, it's not a rushed romance! The book builds the friendship between Brishen and Ildiko before romance really comes up and I really loved that.
This is the first in a series, which I don't know if I knew before I picked this book up, and Draven builds the tension well. There were touches of a larger conflict beyond the two leads that came into the conversation every once in a while and that's resulted in me putting the rest of the series on my TBR pile!
If you're into friendship to love, arranged marriage, different species relationships, and politics, I highly recommend this book and (potentially) this series!