# Radiance by Grace Draven

### Radiance

**Grace Draven** · Wraith Kings, book 1 (ongoing) · [https://houseofareader.com/books/radiance](https://houseofareader.com/books/radiance)

Two people from species that find each other physically repellent are married to seal a trade alliance, and decide to make the best of it. A marriage of convenience built on genuine kindness rather than antagonism, which is much rarer than it should be.

- Spice: 3/5 — Hot. Several explicit scenes, warm rather than intense, and central to how they grow close.
- Romance prominence: 5/5
- Plot: 3/5
- Worldbuilding: 4/5
- Darkness: 3/5
- Writing craft: 4/5
- Burn: medium
- Tropes: fake-dating, forced-proximity, slow-burn, touch-starved, found-family
- Creatures: humans, fae
- Setting: The Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis and the human court beside it
- POV: first person, dual
- Ending: happy ever after
- Audience: adult
- Content warnings: violence, xenophobia, grief
- Best for: Readers tired of hostility who want a marriage of convenience built on decency.
- Last verified: 2026-08-28

## Sources

- https://openlibrary.org/search?q=Radiance+Grace+Draven+Wraith+Kings

## What to read next

- [A Deal with the Elf King](https://houseofareader.com/books/a-deal-with-the-elf-king) by Elise Kova — spice 3/5. Readers who want a fae marriage plot that finishes in one book.
- [The Bridge Kingdom](https://houseofareader.com/books/the-bridge-kingdom) by Danielle L. Jensen — spice 3/5. Readers who want a marriage-of-convenience spy plot and a series that is finished.
- [Uprooted](https://houseofareader.com/books/uprooted) by Naomi Novik — spice 2/5. ACOTAR readers who want the same premise handled by a much stronger prose stylist.
- [Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries](https://houseofareader.com/books/emily-wildes-encyclopaedia-of-faeries) by Heather Fawcett — spice 1/5. ACOTAR readers who want the fae bargains with wit instead of spice.

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