Radiance Paperback – 11 January 2015

I don't know about you but I am sick of fantasy romances where the male lead is a possessive control freak who can't go two pages without ruining the female lead's confidence or independence. Thankfully, this book was nothing like that. :)Brishen and Ildiko's lovestory is unique, heartwarming, and draws you in right from the start. And the best part is the story has more to it than just a romance. It has a distinct plotline.I am not much of a book reviewer, so I will ask you to trust the blurb. It's an accurate description of the story.In conclusion, this is like Beauty and the Beast where both the MCs think the other is hideous but fall in love with the person on the inside...until they both realize that the other was always beautiful. Their hearts saw it before their eyes did.

A beautiful friends to lovers inter - race fantasy story. I loved the fact that initially since both the protagonists were from different races - found each other ugly. They were loyal friends first and then lovers. And the entire journey has been crafted beautifully by Grace Draven.A must read. Please give this gem a try. And do read the other books by Grace Draven as well. Master of Crows is another masterpiece. :)

Hello Ms. Grace . This is an amazing book. I really loved it. The plot was quit intriguing. Please it's a request from me, kindly put your books on kindle unlimited. I really wish to read all of your novels, but their prices are very high for me. Please do consider.

Beautiful tale of mature love.Ildiko looks as hideous as a hag to Brishan's eyes while he looks like a nightmare to her. Yet they are wed to secure an alliance for their respective kingdom. One of the best slow burn romance that I have read, Radiance is poignant and lovely.

Friends at first sight, interspecies arranged marriage, in-laws drama, royalty politics, hot side characters, slow burn romance.Not top of the charts intensity for a slow burn. But else was a great read.

Human Gauri woman, Ildiko, is her king’s orphaned niece. The king chooses her husband. Brishen is prince of the Kai, a race of people with grey skin, penetrating eyes, knife-sharp fang teeth and razor sharp claws for fingernails. Kai are people of the night, blinded by the sun. They are not quite human.When they meet, Brishen is repulsed by Ildiko’s appearance, despite that she is a great beauty to humans. Her eyes in particular make his hairs stand on end. To him she is ugly.She considers him ugly right back.They are the spares in their respective kingdoms. She is a royal noble woman, he is 8th in line to be king. His royal parents therefore feel they can sacrifice him to a marriage with a human - made for political alliance and mutual benefits of both their kingdoms.Ildiko and Brishen both accept what is chosen for them, dreading their marriage. However, when they meet they become friends. They are funny, mature, protective, willing to learn all about the other, respectful, caring, and from friendship their love grows.The story is told in a beautiful, light writing style. I connected with both characters. Their love had a slow build and as they grew closer and loving, their sexual awareness grew too. I felt their first kiss and love scenes to be heart-warming and heart-thumpingly good.There is action, adventure, danger, gruesome battles, brutal torture and killings of people, awful villains and the mother of all nightmarish mothers-in-law. Some of this is not easy reading if you avoid violence in your reading preferences. Oh, and there’s magic in this fantasy world but used sparingly and to excellent effect.The book is a complete novel and ends with a satisfying HEA for this couple. If you want, you can leave this couple there. However, outside events arise that impact directly on their future. This is the impetus for a continuing novel featuring this couple.Ordinarily, I would groan and complain about being drawn into a story that continues into a second book. But here, I am delighted. I want more of this couple. I want to see them battle through and succeed in the next chapter of their lives. I loved everything about their dynamics, banter, loving, humour, and determination to accept their differences and get along. What a great book to draw parallels with racial, gender, religious, and socioeconomic differences in our modern world.I could not put this book down. It is so well written, the pacing is just right, the world building is easy to follow. The characters are so likeable that you want them to succeed and overcome evil and prejudice.This was my first novel by Grace Draven and I am wowed. I can’t wait for the next instalment. In the meantime, I’m exploring her back-catalogue.*Includes sex scenes

I was surprised by this book in a good way. Its characters are original and well written - and their affection for each other grows slowly and in a way that feels very real. No smouldering looks at each other, but instead a gentler, sweeter kind of love. Well worth a read.

Perfect! Find it by hazard….and not even my type, I’m not really a fantasy lover, not even the romances lover…but this one…it’s magnificent. Loved the writing, loved the characters and really loved the story. Can’t wait for more.Livre trouvé au pif…. Vraiment pas de tout mon type, j’aime pas les romances et encore moins les histoires fantastiques avec des elfes et cie. Mais…quelle belle surprise. Super bien écrit, fluide, une super construction des personnages et j’ai bien aimé l’histoire même si en bref elle reste assez banale. J’ai hâte pour la suite.

Francamente pensavo di trovarmi a leggere un buon romanzo fantasy.Invece mi sono trovata a leggere un delizioso romanzo d'amore.In una terra di stampo medievale, in reami confinanti convivono, bene o male, la razza umana e quella dei Kai (creature da incubo notturno, dai denti vampireschi, pelle grigia, occhi gialli senza pupilla e artigli al posto delle unghie).Gli equilibri sono tenui ma le esigenze commerciali portano gli umani Gauri a stabilire un accordo con i Kai sancito dal matrimonio tra una fanciulla imparentata con la casa regnante di Pricid e il figlio minore del re dei Kai, improbabile erede (vista l'esistenza di un fratello maggiore con molti figli).Ed è così che un principe di nessun valore si ritrova a sposare una ragazza di scarsa importanza. Fin qui parrebbe la solita trama dei due costretti ad un matrimonio di convenienza e che si odiano fin dall'inizio, salvo poi cambiare idea. Invece l'autrice ci presenta due figure di spessore che al posto di inveire contro il destino, si comportano con la grazia e la dignità di due autentici membri dell'aristocrazia; sono consapevoli dei loro doveri, prendono con serietà i piccoli e grandi problemi della convivenza, e soprattutto si parlano con una onestà incantevole e si trovano, poco a poco a diventare alleati, amici e poi amanti in una progressione del tutto naturale.Devo dire che la parte migliore è quando l'autrice spostando il punto di vista tra i due protagonisti, rivela quanto la diversità fisica e culturale tra le due razze provochi l'iniziale, inevitabile disgusto.Tuttavia, e qui sta il capolavoro, mentre i motivi per provare orrore verso i Kai ci sembrano chiari, i motivi per cui i Kai trovano disgustosi gli umani hanno una insolita ma realistica giustezza: per persone con orbite uniformemente gialle, gli occhi umani biancastri e mobili, sembrano molluschi in movimento, per non parlare dei denti che sono più simili a quelli dei cavalli.Il lettore viene invitato a mettersi letteralmente nei panni di tutti i personaggi e a comprendere le loro difficoltà. Solo così si riesce ad apprezzare fino in fondo lo sforzo reale alla base della riuscita. Nessuna magia, infatti. Solo un lavoro continuo di compromesso e di affetto, basato sull'onore e su saldi principi.Questa diversa prospettiva rende godibili le scene iniziali e rende anche più interessanti gli approcci dei due protagonisti alla ricerca di un terreno comune su cui basare i futuro.Poi ovviamente, nella vicenda la trama si arricchisce. Non tutti sono contenti dell'accordo fra Gauri e Kai e i nemici non tardano a comparire.Non dico di più, se non che Grace Draven è un'autrice di tutto rispetto e forse meriterebbe che i suoi libri venissero tradotti in italiano.

What such a little treasure.Love ‘Radiance’ and ‘Eidolon’ to no end. This series is one of the best love stories I ever read. The author made an awesome job describing Brishen and Ildiko relationship and how they’re evolving and changing through the story. They grow as individuals and together. And their love story is one of the best I’ve ever read.I’m in love with both main characters and personality. They’re both supportive, respect and help each other and always are trying to see the positive side of things and of their life together. I also enjoyed a lot how they tease each other and the good humor they have most of the time. They’re not complaining but trying to get the best of themselves and their situation.They suffer a lot at the end of every book but are able to keep going with each other’s help and love. Every scene between Brishen and Ildiko is beautifully and artistically written. I’ve already read ‘Radiance’ like five times and I think I’m going to read ‘Eidolon’ more than once too.Thank you for writing this incredible books. I wish they were translated into Spanish in the near future so my sister and friends could read them too. I’m recommending them to everyone, hahaha!I’m really looking forward to reading book 3 of the series, although I know it won’t be focused on Brishen and Ildiko, I hope they can show up from time to time in the story.

I thought I'll love this book when I reached the part where human appearance was described from the 'outside' eyes in all its ugliness. I liked the touch.In the end, I did love some things about this concept, but I can't say I 100% believe that it was executed to its full potential. I feel like there was a big stress on differences between races regarding concepts of beauty, and such things as food, but then we hardly got to see any substantial cultural differences. I feel like there are human cultures that have more behavioral differences than humans and Kai have, and in that respect I feel like the concept was underdeveloped.Also, in our day and age(of watching all kinds of aliens and fantasy races on tv), I do find this idea difficult to actually believe... Should we have been imagining Kai to look like Uruk-hai so it would be easier to get behind the idea of humans being repulsed by their appearance? Otherwise, I didn't really find much reasons in the descriptions to understand why were they considered ugly by humans.And minus points for the bloody ending. I find it's very unfortunate where the ending makes you not look forward to the sequels.