Radiance: Volume 1 (Wraith Kings)

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All told “Radiance” was a nice change to all the serious books I usually tend to read. XD The books approach was something refreshing and new and I found myself enjoying the slow-burn love story between our two protagonists Ildiko and Brishen. The concept of insta-friendship is the kind of trope I’d love to see more in books and now that their relationship is solid I’m ready to go for the plot! Let’s see what “Eidolon” will throw our way. ;-P I mentioned Beauty and the Beast earlier, but in this version, Idilko and Brishen both consider each other to be monstrous. Idilko is human and Brishen is Kai—a gray-skinned humanoid with claws and teeth and iridescent eyes. Their meet-cute takes place in the palace garden right before the wedding, where they’ve each gone to be alone, though since they haven’t met, neither knows who the other is. They strike up a pleasant conversation, which includes this gem of dialogue between them: 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. He might glimpse her at the wedding, but there would be no chance for a second conversation. Brishen called after her. What is your name? But first, how in the hell do you pronounce her name? I never settled on one way and it was pretty annoying.

Beside her, Brishen choked into his goblet. He wiped his mouth with his sanap. “What a waste of good scarpatine,” he muttered under his breath. Had she asked him what he thought of Sangur’s armory, he might have waxed more eloquent. He shrugged. There are plants and flowers and trees. He paused and offered her a pained smile she surely couldn’t see within the depths of his hood. And a lot of sunshine. Their marriage is one that will secure an alliance between their kingdoms, and while both were pushed into it, neither one resents it. Thank you for not lying about what you thought of my appearance. You might have a face to turn my hair white, but your honesty is handsome” Radiance has been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, in the category of Best Fantasy Romance of 2015!

Publication Order of Master of Crows Books

You don’t feel the entire scope of the book and thematic arc when you read it in installments. I mean, it’s great and you are hooked and can’t wait for the next installment. But just like binge watching Breaking Bad from the first episode to the last, the picture becomes so clear and you can marvel at each piece of the puzzle, pull it out and examine it and you’re like, my god, it’s bloody brilliant! How the hell did they do that?

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 (Wraith Kings, #1) by Grace Draven – eBook Details Her serious features relaxed into a wide smile. She possessed the teeth of a tiny horse--white and square except for two pairs of pathetic canines. He’d seen Kai toddlers with milk teeth sharper than those. He tried to focus on her words. Grace Draven is an American author of science fiction, romance, short stories, and fantasy books. she has a good number of fantasy novels under her name. She’s enjoyed storytelling since she was a young girl, and this is evident throughout her writing. Grace has lived in Spain, Scotland and hiked the Teton Mountains. She enjoys exploring Texas outdoors together with her husband and her dogs.

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

As the book goes on, these two ugly creatures fall in love, and it's a romantic tale of finding the inner beauty of your one true love. They’re both spare heirs and refreshingly (see how perfect they are) they aren’t embittered by their roles and how they must marry outside of their choices. Now, in fairness, I really did like that about them both. It really was refreshing if not for everything else illustrating how bubble gum happy things were.

He snapped his teeth together in a feral grin. She didn’t draw away from him. At least I have all my teeth, which is more than I can say for a lot of the Gauri men—and women. Besides, I’d rather look like I can bay instead of whinny. At first, I thought, "Hey, who's mother in law isn't a soulless creature with a thirst for murder?" But, this lady made the rest of the other mother in law's have to hang their heads in shame. They need to up their game if they want to live up to the precedent she is setting. Active users who are also authors who want to promote their books may post their promo in the specific author thread only. We aim for our refuge to be a drama-free zone, so please respect the group rules and play well with others. With that off my chest, let me talk about how much I loved this book. It follows a predictable structure—this is a romance, after all, and no slight is intended because I’m 100% here for it—in which members of two warring kingdoms are forced to marry as a way to ensure peace. They develop feelings for each other over time and survive multiple dangerous situations to live happily ever after. I’ve read several books with this exact pattern, but this one stands out because both the romance and the fantasy are fully developed and deeply intertwined, then wrapped in a layer of lush prose that is as swoon-worthy as the budding love between Idilko and Brishen. Her maids refused to meet her gaze while they laced her into her gown and twitched the train into perfect folds, but she’d caught their looks of pity mixed with horror from the corner of her eye. Ildiko told herself to ignore them. Arranged marriages were the fate of nearly all aristocratic Gauri women, each one made for power, for trade, for good of country. His Majesty, Sangur the Lame, had married off both his daughters to princes of foreign lands as part of the negotiations for access to ports and allies in war. The Gauri king’s niece was no exception to the protocol, and Ildiko had always expected a similar fate. The only question was when—not if—it happened.

The Silhara of Neith, otherwise known as the Master of Crows, is one distressed man. The Corruption god has invaded his mind and promised limitless power if only Silhara will help it dominate the world. Silhara is not happy about the situation, and the sorcerer is in search of ways to finish the Corruption god once and for all. When Martise comes to his house as an apprentice, Silhara already knows that she is a spy. He now has to worry about another enemy. There is the Corruption god who is keen to possess him and an apprentice who is sure to betray him.

Ildiko is a niece to the Gauri king. Ever since Ildiko understood that her worth in the family is in the marriage with the Kai kingdom, she had resigned to her fate. Understandably, she is horrified when she finds out that her groom is not just foreign but a prince from an unfamiliar and non-human kingdom. When the time for marriage is ripe, Ildiko will leave her family and all she knows and embrace a spouse who looks like something from a horror movie. Whatever the situation, Ildiko knows that she has to maintain her marriage for the sake of her kingdom.

Publication Order of Bonekeeper Chronicles Books

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