RADIANCE
(Wraith Kings, #1)
Grace Draven
~THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE~
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.
~THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE~
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.
★★★★★
RADIANCE was an unexpected hit for me! I’m not a reader of fantasy / pnr romances so when I heard this book was not to be overlooked I thought why not.
The reason I don’t read a lot in the fantasy/pnr genre is: a lot of times, I get lost in all the world-building and strange names. This book didn’t have a bunch of that which was nice because I didn’t have to spend my time trying to remember a lot of extra details.
Brishen and Ildiko are pawns between two didn’t races making a treaty. Brishen is a prince but his older brother is next in line to be king. And Ildiko’s parents have died so her uncle who is a king is marrying her off to benefit his kingdom.
These two different kingdoms find the other kingdoms’ kind ugly and grotesque. So, Brishen & Ildiko’s meet-cute was fun because when they first meet they aren’t aware the other one is the other half of their arranged marriage. So, prior to marriage, these two strangers have a very honest and frank conversation about how they don’t find each other attractive at all.
Once married both Brishen and Ildiko show the utmost respect for each other. Even in the most challenging situations when their peers are grossed out about this arranged match, these two hold strong together.
Friends to lovers with a slow burn will have readers flipping pages to get more of these two.
Audio book source: Audible
Narrator: Gabrielle Baker
Length: 8H 53M
