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Radiance
- Wraith Kings, Volume 1
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker
- Series: Wraith Kings, Book 1
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Romance, Fantasy
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Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Radiance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Metaltoe
- 07-05-16
disappointing
I started off very much enjoying this story and the interaction between the two main characters. While it wasn't the type of thing I usually read it was a slice of entertaining escapism. Right up until about two thirds of the way through when it suddenly turned into just endless repetition of quite graphic sex, which I felt was unnecessary in a story like this and actually spoiled the feeling of romance. Have sex, yes, but almost 30 minutes description in one chapter alone of detailed move by move explicit bedroom antics is overdoing it. I am no prude but it was just too much, specially repeatedly and at almost every opportunity after the first romp. Sometimes implication and imagination does a better job. And when it wasn't full blown sex it was nothing but a constant catalogue of kissing and nuzzling and sucking each other's tongues and earlobes. It all became repetitive, tiresome and silly for me. Also it doesn't end properly. I know there is a book 2 which I won't be interested in now.
7 people found this helpful
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- Merlin "wizard"
- 23-01-18
Loved it
Beautifully read, captivating storyline and a love story that's not all lust for a change. Just lovely.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-07-15
Arranged marriage love
Both the people, who are of different races, in the politicly arranged marriage accept their situation. No poor me, weeping etc they move forward and learn to love each other.
A strong story, a good listen and a good read.
2 people found this helpful
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- Paula
- 31-10-16
Fantasticly gripping story and brilliantly read
Loved the characters. Cared about them straight away. Loved the whole book. Fantastically read. Can't wait for the next book.
1 person found this helpful
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- Karen Brugger
- 14-05-22
Glad I got this audiobook; beautifully narrated
Read the negative reviews but decided to listen to the sample & found myself disagreeing with the less-than-stellar comments. Really chuffed I got Radiance especially when travelling or waiting. I am a fan of Draven’s books and have read them all - several times for ‘Radiance’ and enjoyed the narration which is superb. I have Georgette Heyer’s audiobooks too and have heard a variety of narrators. This one for Draven is making me a fan of her style!
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- Joga
- 08-05-22
Mesmerizing storytelling
This is one of those times, when you are happy you took a chance on a new author and one of their stories. Kind of like getting to know a new kind of poetry. The combination of this story and the narrator is surprisingly much like that. The voice of the author and the narrator, both new to me, are so mesmerizing I have been in a kind of a daze the whole time listening. Just marveling. Very happy with this experience. And be in no doubt, this story is an experience.
At first when choosing to buy this story, I was worried it would include too much dread. But no, it is perfectly balanced with the wonder of new things, good storyline, plots and soft humor of all things. Making the story light enough to be perfect for me, even with the grim bits. Really good character development and world building helps. While I hesitate on the second story in the series, seems more grim, I want the third one. Probably am too curious to skip the next though. And most probably will go there right away, am hooked on the flair of this storytelling and don´t want another voice to ruin my haze.
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- Anonymous User
- 28-04-22
Wounderful and cozy read
Well written and read by a lovely voice. Contains adventure, relaxation, mystery and very seductive sex scenes, that tear your eyes by being beautiful.
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- Sound Asleep
- 08-08-21
Glad I chose it to listen to
Read some of the reviews and was put off. However I kept coming back to it and finally took the leap of faith. Absolutely loved it. Would definitely recommend it.
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- Louise
- 17-05-19
Original characters, predictable storyline
Positives: I did really enjoy listening to this book and got through it really fast. The fact that neither of the main characters are remotely attracted to each other at first, finding each other's appearance scary and ugly, was original and interesting.
Negatives: Obviously, as it's a romance you know the two lead characters will fall in love and 'get it on'. However, it would have been nice if there were a few unexpected twists along the way that affect Ildiko & Brishen's relationship. Also, it's clear that a book 2 might be on the way but I wouldn't read it as I feel the story of Ildiko and Brishen's relationship has been concluded and there hasn't been enough outside of it in the plot of this book to entice me to read on.
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- CeNedra Red
- 06-04-17
Horrendous Narration
This may or may not have been a good story but I just couldn't stand listening to the dreadful, limping narration long enough to find out. Yet another potentially good story ruined. In fact two stories, as Gabrielle Baker ruins the second story in this series too. Looks like I'll have to read the printed format of these books myself.
2 people found this helpful
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- Rostislav Kucher
- 11-03-19
terrible narrator
the book sounded interesting except that the narrator has a really pronounced lisp. it ruins the story from the beginning really struggled to get through this one :(
18 people found this helpful
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- TinaW
- 04-09-17
Great story, odd narration
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
No. Read the printed book. It is excellent. The audio is frustrating. The narrator has a nice voice, but her reading inflections were odd. Not sure if it were the performance or the engineering. But it was distracting to wait through long pauses to get to the next sentence. What was clearly supposed to be a pause (comma) in a sentence was read as a full stop. Then you had to wait for the next word. It felt like the audio was spliced together because you didn't get a natural breath, you got what felt like dead air until the next word.. Not a lot of great narrative flow. Very frustrating to listen to. I finally gave up after an hour of listening.
17 people found this helpful
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- Sharon
- 17-06-15
An unexpected and awesome surprise!!!!
Wow. I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book. I can't wait for anything else by this author to be released in audiobook. This is a great paranormal/fantasy romance with great world building and good character development. But what I really liked was the fact that it didn't focus on how broken the main characters were and how much they needed to be fixed, there was no angst over being forced to marry. No stupid decisions by the characters or frustrating plot twists. No drama over psychological scars from their pasts, well not much. It was just a good fantasy with two mainly well adjusted characters learning how to love despite their differences. With all the other new releases in the romance genre lately, this was as refreshing as it was we'll done.
I highly recommend this one and it may actually be a multiple listen for me.
86 people found this helpful
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- Jan
- 20-06-15
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!
45 people found this helpful
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- Stephanie Alexander
- 23-09-18
Meh - Lisp
I couldn’t get past the lisp. Aside from that I just found this book difficult to get into. The writing itself was good but that’s about all I liked. I had higher hopes for this book.
13 people found this helpful
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- Kruskis10
- 12-07-17
Could not stand the readers voice!!
I may have liked the story if I wasn't so distracted but how much I disliked the readers voice. I couldn't even finish the book-going to see if I can get a refund. Listen to the sample to see if you can handle her voice...
5 people found this helpful
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- dorkinsecret51
- 15-08-15
Was pleasantly surprised....
I saw this and put it in my wishlist for later and now I'm mad that didn't read it sooner. I am a sucker for good romances but find that I get burnt out when I read too many in close succession because the stories just meld into one with the same story just different character names. Radiance stood out like a beam of individual and unique light. I adored the love story in this. No TSTL heroine and no stoic "I'm too strong to say my feelings so I will just push you away" hero. Both come together in a mutual friendship despite their forced marriage and make the story extremely delightful rather than frustrating. Honestly I think after listening to it for a day and a half from start to finish I'm ready to read it again!
26 people found this helpful
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- Kira
- 23-08-15
Loved this book! Impatiently awaiting the next!
What did you love best about Radiance?
It was a different story than I expected, if I'm being honest. I've had it in my library for awhile now, and I can't remember what first drew me towards the book, wether it was on sale or whatnot. I originally thought it would be more of a Beauty and the Beast type book, where they are disgusted by each other at first (haha which they are, but it's done in a much different way than expected), and then fall in love eventually. It was so unlike my expectations, and so much better for it! I honestly fell in love with the characters right from the first, and became enamored with the story. It was full of romance, mystery, and action. I'm actually very sad that the next book isnt out yet, and I'm guessing by the epilogue, and some setting up of 2 other charactors for a romance, that there will definately be at least one more book. I am hoping it turns into a series.
What other book might you compare Radiance to and why?
Honestly, I can't think of another I've read that was quite like it. It had elements of a lot of other books in it, like the couple being forced to marry, but I cannot think of another like this book. I found it rather unique, and quite enjoyed it because of that fact.
Which character – as performed by Gabrielle Baker – was your favorite?
It's difficult to pick. I think she did a good job at narrating because the voices were different enough to recognize who was speaking and when. I thought the accent given to the main heroine to be a little off putting at first, but I soon became accustomed to it, and it stopped bothering me. I think I liked the hero's voice the best, but that may be because I loved his charactor the most.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Oh yes, very much so. Unfortunately I was unable to do so, and that made me rather sad haha, but I listened to it as quickly as I could manage because I was enjoying it so much.
Any additional comments?
I think this book is definitely worth a credit, and I'm rather disappointed that this is the authors only book that is on audible right now. I'm extremely eager for the rest of the series, but going by the publishing date it's likely to be awhile before I am able to listen to the next one. But this series and author is getting added to my automatic purchase list! Get it, you'll enjoy it! And hey, if you don't, you can always return it!
Note: this romance does contain some adult scenes, so if you hate books with those in them, you'll likely want to pass this over. Though, I will say, you will be really missing out if you do. And it's not erotica, where every other scene is an adult scene. There are only a few in the book, and they are married after all, and they care for each other very deeply. It's not s*x just for the sake of s*x or anything like that. So I would encourage you to take a chance on it!
13 people found this helpful
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- Melburg
- 03-02-18
Can’t get past the lisp
The performer has a very noticeable lisp. It’s very distracting. I’m going to have to listen in very small doses. I can tell if it’s the lisp or the storyline, but I just can’t seem to get into this story.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jessica Mello
- 23-06-15
Loved the story, audio could have been a bit better.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. I didn't expect much from it but I was blown away by this book. The romance wasn't rushed but didn't drag. There was no cliche instant lust between Ildako and Brishen which I was very pleased with. The building of friendship to lovers between them was so real and so tangible. This is the first book to make me laugh out loud in the literal sense. Author was very skilled in incorporating humor with romance and a bit of bloody action into this. Lovely writing and lovely story telling.
The narrator was a decent performer. Wish she wasn't so monotoned throughout the piece. She does have a heavy English accent so some parts I had to relisten to to understand what she was saying. The recording wasn't spectacular either. I could hear birds and cars in the background every ones in a while along with a constant buzzing sound. Don't know how avoidable it was when recorded. Splicing of the audio could have been a bit better as well. Long gaps in some areas and the buzzing sound changed a lot with the different audio. Therefore I give 3 stars.
Otherwise I absolutely loved this story. Definitely worth a shot.
11 people found this helpful