Grace Draven

I almost didn't add this book to my library because of that cover (*shudders*), but ultimately, this book is too good not to review. And it's not even my typical kind of book! I enjoy romance in my fantasy, but my experience with the romance genre has not always gone well. Despite this, I've heard such great things about Ms. Draven that I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give this book a try. I'm so glad that I did.

Although Radiance is, at its heart, a romance, it's bolstered by a show more well fleshed-out and creative fantasy world. I very much enjoyed the culture clash between the Kai and the humans, which is compounded by the stark differences in the two peoples' appearances. Never have I read a romance with a beauty-and-the-beast twist that was both accurate to the "beast" description and actually worked as a believable romance. But somehow Radiance pulled it off. The romance not only worked - it shined (no pun intended). There is such a palpable chemistry and camaraderie between the two main characters from the very beginning that it felt completely natural when their relationship turned into something more. It was impressively well done.

In short, I loved Radiance even though it's a bit of a departure from what I normally read. You definitely have to like romance in order to like this book, but it appealed to the fantasy lover in me as well. The praise I've heard about Ms. Draven's writing is well deserved. I'm interested to read more of her work. show less

Novella Review:

This book was utterly fabulous. I read this one as wanting to add in a fantasy into the weekly routine of reading but didn’t want to invest in a new series quite yet. And I have been wanting to return to this series and most especially this couple. I was so quickly drawn into this book here and seeing our couple fight another battle. The world building in this story was so rich and vivid, I had forgotten how well this author crafts her worlds. We see the go through a spooky show more like adventure and finding reveals to secrets and the true identity of a villain which is much more gray than black and white. And I am curious to see how it will be resolved and I can’t wait to finish off the series now.

If you love rich world building, enthralling storytelling and an epic fantasy like world….this is a fantasy series for you to indulge in. show less

I am completely surprised by this book. I have never heard of this author before and my expectations were not high. And here a pleasant surprise, this is a really good book.

First of all, we have very well-created and well-developed characters here. Louvaen, the heroine, is definitely a strong woman with a complex personality. She is one of those really strong and intelligent characters. And this is one of the things I didn't expect at all. Ballard makes an equally interesting hero. In many show more cases, when we’ve got a hero in the book who has a difficult past and some scars, these are the only features that describe him. But not here. Ballard is fully three-dimensional, and we learn about what kind of man he is from his actions and not from what others say about him. Showing, not telling, finally! We also have a few supporting characters here who are equally interesting and relevant to the story and not just there to fill the background. Just for excellent and complex characters alone, it is worth reading this book.

But there is also a pretty good plotline here. Generally, it is a re-telling of the story of the beautiful and the beast. Although maybe not entirely. The threads from various fairy tales mix here. And the whole story is pretty unique. The plot is extensive and very interesting, several threads appear and mix with each other. The removal of the curse from Ballard and his son is only one of them. What I really like is that neither Ballard nor his son are thinking about removing the curse as the purpose of their relationship with the sisters. They are aware of how it can end, but they still give the sisters a choice. That makes the whole story more enjoyable. Surprisingly, there is also no destinated lovers motive here. Or insta-love.

I am definitely pleasantly surprised by this book. This is a very well written and interesting story with fascinating characters. I recommend it not only to those who like re-tellings. show less

4.5 stars
This book hit all my book loving boxes. Life struggle, check. Hard earned, slowly developed romance, check. Difficultly with abilities (not a star right off page one), check. A fight for the greater good, check. Well developed characters with realistic backgrounds, check. I didn't want it to end, check.
Even the pacing was spot on. I stayed up way too late several nights, I just couldn't put it down. Seriously, why haven't I ever read this author's work before ?
The story is about a show more man who was sold into slavery by a despicable, greedy toad of a man. He was a slave/gladiator for 10 years. There he was tortured in all the hideous ways possible. His life changes when he uncovers a woman who has magical abilities and blackmails her into helping him escape. She too is suffering, she sacrifices herself every year to save her people. Blackmail is not the best way to start a relationship and it gets worse. There is a great deal of mistrust, anger and hate, yeh realistic. Respect was hard earned and slow developing, so well done, when a closeness started it felt amazing. They are both on missions, both have much to learn, much to lose and so much more to give. What an adventure. I can't wait to see where book 2 goes. show less