“For a boiled mollusk, you wear black quite well, my wife.” “You make a very handsome dead eel, my husband,” Unlike most romances, these two quite literally called one another hag or wolf, and constantly flinched away from the strange customs of their respective origins. Ildiko is captivating and witty, highly amusing to read, while Brishen is loyal and kind, dubbing him the swoon-worthy prince I had an inkling I’d find. I’m a sucker for platonic friendships, and that is exactly what Draven presented in the first half of the book. Not only did each have wonderful character developments, but paired together they worked as an incredible team. The thing I adored most about Radiance was the metamorphoses between the two main protagonists.
But how can they be at peace, seemingly irrelevant to their nations with the status’ they hold, when foreign territories begin to see them as a declaration of war? Blood, banter, and betrayal later ensue to dredge up a blooming romance in a breathtaking, tear-jerking kind of way. When the truth of their identities is revealed, both feel an overwhelming sense of relief and comfort. They playfully tease one another by commenting on her mollusk-like appearance and his eel-like skin, deeming the other ugly in a light-hearted truce. Hours before she is due to be wed, Ildiko finds comfort from a peculiar Kai warrior in a vacant garden behind the castle. While Ildiko tries to be optimistic about her planned union, the rest of the Gauri court fears her nightmarish husband and what awful future they will presumably share (if she even survives him long enough). However, the humans don’t find them so ethereal. Kai are ethereal creatures, with lengthy claws, grey skin, and milky yellow eyes free of pupils. In short, this book kicked ass.īrishen is a Kai warrior prince, second to the throne and therefore used only as a political gambit to create peace between the inhuman Kai and the human Gauri by wedding Ildiko, the fiery-spirited niece of the Gauri King.
I never would’ve thought I’d love this book as much as I do, which just goes to show how tragically underrated certain stories are! If the cover art made me giddy, nothing compares to Draven’s masterful writing. Grace Draven won me over from the first page to the last, capturing all aspects of fantasy and romance that I so desperately yearned for. “See past the surface to the tides below. Radiance (Wraith Kings #1) by Grace Draven
0 kommentar(er)
