Radiance: Volume 1 (Wraith Kings)

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Reread 2022. Listened to the audio and enjoyed it. My old goofy review is still down below from 2015

But, they are both good-natured, and funny, so they immediately like each other's personality. They decide to be friends and you will love them as friends. They are adorable! They tease each other: She strolled leisurely along a winding path that meandered past bubbling ponds filled with large goldfish as tame as dogs, regiments of poisonous foxglove in every color and hue, and clusters of orange butterfly vine draped over trellises and swarmed by hummingbirds. Willow trees hugged the shores of the larger ponds, creating canopies of green shade that sheltered ferns and silver-leafed lungwort. Ildiko had spent many a quiet hour as a child hidden behind a willow’s drape, reading a pilfered book in the dappled light that spilled through the branches. She returned a brief curtsey and a last smile. As have I, sir. You have lessened my worries. We’ll meet again. She turned and hurried toward the voices growing ever closer.Silhara and Martise work on rituals to overwhelm the Corruption god. As they continue spending more time together, they discover deep secrets about each other and realize that they face the same fate. Deep love is born out of this realization. Martise has to choose between her freedom and the man she loves. Silhara, on the other hand, must choose between the fate of the nations and the soul of the woman he loves dearly. Ildiko clenched her jaw so hard her temples throbbed. Her aunt had repeated this same admonishment so many times, Ildiko could recite it in her sleep. If she said it one more time, Fantine would find herself chewing on a mouthful of one of Ildiko’s beaded slippers. As is the whole book, really. Radiance is a pitch-perfect fantasy romance that weaves classic material into something new and delightful. As long as you’re okay with a bit of spice and a few really dark moments, you should shove this book to the very top of your TBR because it’s fantastic. Their guest of honor didn’t share their dislike of either food. As deft as any Kai, Serovek made short work of the scarpatine and its whipping tail, cleaved open the shell with his knife and took a generous bite of the steaming gray meat.

They realized they loved each other and the sex was awesome! Lord have mercy! Well.. they couldn't kiss proper or he would have sliced her face into little pieces but they figured some stuff out :) He blinked. He’d expected her to ask his name or offer hers. He liked that she didn’t. This brief anonymity offered a certain respite from formality. He was a prince of the blood, and the Gauri stepped lightly amongst Kai royalty. We are a people of night. We see better in the dark. The moon is the sun to us; we live by her light. I really couldn’t have said it any better. Ildiko and Brishen don’t have insta-love, they have insta-friendship and I don’t know about you, but for me this was a great approach. They respect each other and their cultures and they try their best to learn what it means to be human or Kai. Still, I’ve to admit that Ildiko has all my respect for putting up with the tradition of eating scarpatine. *shudders* I probably would have screamed and jumped on a chair. *LOL* Also I’m sure I couldn’t have eaten it ... not even if my life would have depended on it. XD 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. I just blew your mind, didn't I? Trust me, this book blew mine. It was so incredibly refreshing to actually buy into a relationship for once, an ACTUAL relationship, and not just people lusting after each other for no frigging reason aside from the OMG, ABS/OMG, BOOBS that dominates most romance novels.The worldbuilding feeds the romance as well, as Idilko has to adapt to a different sleep schedule to live with the nocturnal Kai. She must overcome huge differences in food and etiquette, along with language and dress and everything else, and this cultural adaptation was fascinating to read, with just enough detail to make it work without bogging us down in minutiae. Idilko stands on her own and makes a place in an unwelcoming Kai court, forcing her detractors to respect her through strength of will and political savvy. Kudos to Draven for getting me invested in courtly intrigue, because that rarely works for me, but I was totally into it!