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Grace Draven has mad skill when it comes to fantasy...
I remember reading Master of Crows by her and it was brilliant as well. I love to read her stuff because she resists cliches at every single turn, and isn't giving in to pressure and creating whatever kind of romance is fashionable at the minute.
Radiance was vanilla by many standards but guess what? It worked for this novel. It really did. I loved this book.
It was fast paced and action filled on one side, it was sweet and leisurely where the romance was concerned. It blossomed and grew into something truly magical. The author didn't rush, and the love between Ildiko and Brishen was so engaging because of it. It tells you of the authors confidence in her story. It's so refreshing.
A lot of fantasy, PNR and UF is simply filled with insta-lust out there. Since in these type of novels some sort of magic is a given, sometime authors tend to overuse it to cover for the lack of true plot development. It reads as a kind of nervousness, like the author can't wait to dangle a bit of exposed flesh in front of your eyes, hoping that if they use enough cleavage, genitalia, body fluids and grunts people won't notice that apart from that there isn't much of a story.
Grace Draven doesn't do any of that. She will take the time to stroll trough the mind of her characters, bringing them to life with all too understandable human emotions and dreams that everyone can relate to. She isn't afraid to reel in the arrogance. The goddamn sass that is simply too common these days, too cliche, too unbelievable and simply too boring. You know, those cheesy one-liners that should be some kind of testimonials to badassery? The unintelligent, 'mean cheerleader' kind of snappy behavior from the heroine to the hero. We've seen them all, we've read them all, we are simply unimpressed.
This novel is such a breath of fresh air. It speaks of courage of not hiding behind a facade, of friendship and love. It speaks of new worlds, new beginnings and old magic. It's a brilliant, bloody amazing read....
And that cover???? I know people say never judge a book by it's cover, but goddamn, it just works for me....
