Radiance

Wraith Kings, Volume 1

De: Grace Draven

Narrado por: Gabrielle Baker

The prince of no value

Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

The noblewoman of no importance

Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn't just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she's known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

©2014 Denise Shaw (P)2015 Denise Shaw

Something Special...

Any additional comments?

...and it's right in so many ways.
There's no instant lust in this one, but there is instant chemistry, and a warmth that's not found in every romance. It makes the eventual love even better.
Loved Ildiko and Brishen. Loved to hate Brishen's mother.
The world building is nicely done. Just the right amount of detail to make it real, although I suspect that there are a couple of things that will be fleshed out when needed. This is a tightly written book: no filler to tune out. And the twist at the end is jaw- dropping.

When something special comes out in audio I hold my breath to see what the narration will be like. No worries there: Gabrielle Baker is perfect. I may or may not re-read this, but I will be re-listening to it many, many times.I have the tentative release of book 2 marked on the calendar. Please bring it out on audio and don't change the narrator!

Loved it!

Everything Grace Draven writes is amazing and I have read everything I can get my hands on. I was delighted to see Radiance as an audiobook. The narrator was wonderful. It took me about a chapter to get used to her voice (and hint of lisp) but she has such a beautiful voice I wouldn't want a different narrator. Now Audible needs to get Master of Crows read and Grace Draven needs to write faster!

Sweet romance between two good people

Imagine two people who have never met until the day of their arranged marriage. They are both people with good hearts who want to do their best in this situation for their respective king and country. This story takes off with that idea and runs with it. The two become friends and eventually lovers. There are details like assassination and kidnapping attempts, attempts and a mother in law that makes Maleficent look like Mother Teresa. The narrator either has or uses an accent in her basic narration that fits the story beautifully. Definitely a story I will listen to again.

Soooo refreshing!!!

It has been quite a while since I read/listened to a book that was just refreshing and so damn authentic. It was quite different than other books as the romance was a build up by two people who thought the other ugly. The emotion just felt real, they had depth. Also Ildico and Brishen had flaws, there was no perfect romance here.

More so than that, the book was funny. There were many moments that I smiled. It has been a while since I have wanted to listen to a book in one sitting but this one did the trick.

The narration was also wonderful. However, I will admit she took a little getting used to because there were a few words here and there that sounded off, like maybe she has a small lisp or it could have just been the accent..Idk. BUT it did not detract from the story and I thought she was awesome and I fell lin love with her storytelling. Also, she reads a love scene like nobody's business. I found myself looking around the house scared someone would know what I was listening to lol. She was amazing!

I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series. I encourage you to listen to this one though, because I don't think you will be disappointed.

Get past the narrator and it’s a good listen

It was really good. It took a really long time to get used to the narrator, and I almost returned the book. It was worth a read though.

Non Formulaic Rom Com

This was a surprise it was dark yet it was light it was serious yet it was funny it was sexy yet it was cheeky.

Excellent performance

It's a beautiful story. Simple and neat, it's bound to warm your heart. Gabrielle Baker's performance made it more enjoyable.

changed my mind

I first thought that I found the narrator^s renditon too odd, but have discovered iupon returning my copy that I just had to have it back. Since then I have listened many times over.

Beautifully written (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

First of all, I ended up getting the audio book as well, ready for second part! 💖 This was a most beautiful, funny romantic story full o! Emotion

Sweet and Engrossing

I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, exciting... a new approach to romance tropes.