Radiance

This rates a 3.5 for me.
I like that fact that the romance was built on the emotional rather than the physical (so I can actually picture it lasting more than 10 days). I also really enjoyed how they avoided the purity and sex issues.
What made me rank this 3.5 instead of 4 was it felt to much like a build up. The plot felt as though the entire book was just setting the scene for a larger series. As a book by itself it was very unsatisfying.
I will probably read the next Wraith King book in the series.

I enjoyed this book. I'm definitely one for more flowery scene-building, but even though the descriptions were relatively sparse, I had a picture in my mind of how everything should look.

First, Ildiko. She was awesome. Patient, kind, smart, and sassy. She kept me going.

Brishen was sweet and strong. I really enjoyed watching them fall in love. There was no angst between them. Honesty, friendship, then love. It was a nice change from typical drama-filled romance.

There were several copy-editing issues with the Kindle edition, but I was able to look past them.

The book probably should have have a glossary because how on Earth are we supposed to pronounce “hercegesé?” In my mind, I just replaced it with the word “duchess” because muddling though it every time (and it is in there a gratuitous amount) was too annoying.

Overall, this was a good, fun, short read. I'd recommend it if you like fantasy romance.

Klassiek geval van misleiding door recensies, waarbij ik een boek kreeg dat totaal niet was wat ik er van had verwacht.

Eén van de grootste verkoopargumenten van dit boek en waar ik het in recensies mee de hemel zag worden in geprezen, was het feit dat er geen insta-love was tussen de twee uitgehuwelijkte hoofdpersonages. Ze zijn van een verschillend ras, waarbij elk de andere afschuwelijk onaantrekkelijk vindt.

“You find me ugly, don't you?”“Hideous. A hag of a woman. And you? You don't think me a handsome man?”“Had you crawled out from under my bed when I was a child, I would have bludgeoned you to death with my father's mace.”

Maar van de minuut dat de twee elkaar ontmoeten is er een connectie en gaan ze bijzonder aanhankelijk met elkaar om. Ze kunnen elkaar niet missen en kunnen ook niet nalaten elkaar constant aan te raken. Maar toch wordt om de drie/vier zinnen gealludeerd naar hoe lelijk de ene de ander wel niet vindt, zodat we toch maar niet zouden vergeten dat ze elkaar ABSOLUUT NIET aantrekkelijk vinden. zucht

Beide personages zijn te perfect, alles ging te gemakkelijk en er was geen spanningsboog.
Uiteindelijk is dit geen slecht boek. Het is vlot geschreven en kan dienen als een fluffy intermezzo, maar een combinatie van niet te krijgen wat ik had gehoopt en me niet geïnvesteerd te voelen in de personages of het verhaal, resulteren in mijn lauwwarm gevoel en ik ben dus niet meteen van plan het vervolg te lezen.

I found it boring.  Though the different species should have given some tension between the main characters, it didn't.  Perfect characters, no drama, just a slow build from friends to lovers and just waiting for that to happen.  Unrealistic and won't be continuing the series.  I need more tension, heat and passion in my romance.  Not watching 2 perfect characters who accept each other differences slowly build their relationship to lovers and admire besides looks, how perfect the other character is.

This book was refreshing. Someone needs to confiscate Draven's thesaurus every once in a while, but it read smoothly enough. Learning new words while reading is one of my favorite things, but doing so on every other page was exhausting. And it's not about not being smart, these words have fallen out of the vernacular of all English-speaking cultures (let alone in Louisiana). That being said, I love love love Brishen and IIldiko. I love their teasing and gentle way with each other. The slow build to burn was great. I was wondering why nothing had really happened yet while on page 200, but then I remembered it's a series. I feel like the missing POV from Brishen after he was captured left it feeling rushed and unfinished. I also really wish he could have kept his eye... I will be reading Eidolon as soon as possible.

13-Oct-2023
4.5⭐️
Still love this book!

Now, listen, as far as pure fantasy goes, this book is lacking a bit in some aspects - the world could've definitely been developed more. BUT, this is a fantasy-romance and as such, this book shines (wink wink)! This is one of the sweetest love stories and if romance is what you're looking for, romance you'll get. You'll also get an interesting setting, some decent battle action and main characters that are smart and likeable beyond measure. (Seriously, as a person who habitually dislikes the female protagonists in romance books, I was beyond impressed!)

Highly recommend!

14-Oct-2019
I loved it. I liked the main characters - smart, good sense of humour, good values.
I liked the world - though the story focused heavily on the romance and not as much on revealing the world, it somehow ended up very vivid in my mind. I am curious to find more of the races, the magic. Everything.
I loved the story. Every step of it. Now to be honest, people who like devastating drama and misunderstanding between people will probably find it boring. But I just loved how people talked to each other and didn't leave any room for pointless drama.
All in all, great fantasy and great romance between intelligent people who respected each other.
I am so happy I read it!

Update upon reread: Ya'll this book ATE and left absolutely NO crumbs. It is so freaking good. I was worried that I was hyping it up so much that on reread I'd be disappointed but I had absolutely no reason to be worried because it is phenomenal!

I wanted to sit in my feelings for a few hours after finishing this book to be able to articulate exactly how I feel. This book.... Guys, This. Book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I laughed out loud so many times, I squee'd, I almost cried– like this book is so good. Ildiko and Brishen and their relationship is everything. There's a quote towards the end of the book where Ildiko says "This should have never happened, Brishen. We were unimportant, you and I. We weren't supposed to mean anything to anyone." To which Brishen responds, "Woman of day,"..."You mean everything to me." and I just have to say I. AGREE. These two mean everything to me.

The way they go from finding each other repulsive and accepting that of each other regardless. Plus, forming a deep friendship with banter. THE BANTER GUYS. This is a true slowburn of showing how affection and love can develop over time. I just..... UGH GUYS YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. PLEASE. And then come to me so we can gush about it because YOU WILL LOVE IT.

Beautiful story, beautiful writting and great characters!

We follow Brishen a kai prince. The kai are an ancient race of warriors, very different in appearance and culture to humans. And Ildiko, a gaury woman, human, niece of the gaury king.

Even though both races find the other unappealing, and they can't produce heirs, the kingdoms of the kai and gaury arrange for them to marry. And so begins a beautiful friends-to-lovers story.

Not a lot happens in the book, other than the characters getting to know each other and their cultures, but their friendship is precious. I really loved this book and would highly recommend!

3.5 stars.

This book was so different from other fantasy books I have read. Yes, I knew this was also a romance, but there was so much more. The plot of this book wasn't just based around Brishen and Ildako getting together, it was about their lives together. How they made their political marriage work for them. These two were so great together! I am looking forward to the next installment. There was some action as well, and glimpses into the mysterious Kai. The only part of the book that made me feel weird was that Brishen had sharp teeth. Wouldn't he cut his own mouth?