It's been a very long time since I read any sort of fantasy book and I'm glad to have reentered the genre with Radiance. This book is the perfect blend of fantasy and romance. Grace Draven merges an infinitely delightful slow burn romance with a surprisingly engaging political fantasy world building and plotting.

As a romance this book did everything it was supposed to. it gave me two lovable leads and a compelling journey as they fell for each other. There's nothing sexier than mutual respect in a romance and Draven delivers that in spades. Brishen and Ildiko are two people trying their best to make an untenable situation work. and seeing them build a relationship trust and mutual admiration was so satisfying.  

Honestly as a fantasy book my expectations for Radiance was pretty low. To my surprise there were genuine efforts here to flesh out the world we were in. The Kai as a species were especially fascinating. Their nocturnal nature and relationship with magic was especially interesting. I appreciated how unique and genuinely inhuman they were as a fantasy race. Their culture felt truly alien as Ildiko entered into it and learning more about it kept e hooked. Unfortunately There was some lack of detail and specificity in the political machinations that overall drove the plot, however while I would probably penalize a straight fantasy for this what Draven explores works well enough in service of this romance. Draven's worldbuilding and plotting here was robust and I'm genuinely curious to see where the story goes in the less romance focused sequel.

Overall Radiance was simply a delight. I adored draven approach to romance and the unique world she created for this story.