reebeee 's review for:

Radiance by Grace Draven

4.0

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Compelling and endearing romance, well-researched worldbuilding, and some nice political intrigue. My only complaint is that the main villain (

Brishe’s mother, Secmis

) is so cartoonishly evil and undeveloped that I couldn’t really take them seriously.

It also felt like a somewhat tired trope —the Horrible Murderous Bitch Sorceress Mother + Father Who’s Probably Bad Too But In Less Salacious Ways That The Book Cares Less About.

  Would have liked some queerness too, since the narrative centers around cultural differences, and standards/assumptions around gender and sexuality can be so variable. Overall an enjoyable and well-written love story.