3.5 ⭐ Sweet and Interesting

Radiance follows two characters bound by duty to marry. One is human; the other is Kai (a different species, yet still humanoid). While both find each other extremely unattractive, they build a friendship based on honesty and love, which turns into something beautiful. While I may not have given it the highest rating, I was so pleasantly surprised by this unique story that I read it in one night.


Things I liked:


Unique fantasy world. There may not be any fae or vampires, but there's plenty of political drama and magic in this realm. The Kai are an ancient people with gray skin, razor-sharp teeth, claw-like nails, and yellow eyes. Their Kai kingdom, Bast-Haradis, neighbors a few different human kingdoms like the Gauri and the Beladine. The differences between the Kai and humans are as stark as night and day, yet Brishan and Ildiko also show how similar they may be.

Slow burn, friends-to-lovers romance. Brishen and Ildiko. These two are the sweetest couple I've read about in a long time. Since this story centers around their arranged marriage, I figured their relationship would be filled with loathing and conflict. However, I was so wrong. Both Brishen and Ildiko are mature and accepting of their duty to wed and immediately form a friendship based on honesty, trust, and understanding. I've been reading a lot of enemies-to-lovers lately, so this was really refreshing!

While they are initially revolted by one another physically, they quickly see the beauty that lies beneath, which leads to them falling deeply in love. Their romance is a very, VERY slow burn, but I'm not mad about it. It's beautiful and so pure. They make me happy.


The humor. Brishen and Ildiko are not only adorable but hilarious. Their honesty with one another had me cackling at some points! For example:

"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."

This is the conversation between Brishen and Ildiko when they first meet, and their frankness with one another continues throughout the book.

Another favorite moment between them was when Ildiko crossed her eyes in front of Brishen to freak him out.

He almost leapt out of his skin when Ildiko stared at him as both of her eyes drifted slowly down and over until they seemed to meet together, separated only by the elegant bridge of her nose.

"Lover of thorns and holy gods!" he yelped and clapped on hand across her eyes to shut out the sight. "Stop that," he ordered.

Ildiko laughed and pushed his hands away. She laughed even harder when she caught sight of his expression. "Wait," she gasped on a giggle. "I can do better. Want to see me make one eye cross and have the other stay still?"

Brishen reared back. "No!" He grimaced. "Nightmarish. I'll thank you to keep that particular talent to yourself, wife."

Let's also not forget Brishen is introduced to potatoes for the first time.