Radiance is an extremely clever romance, and the good-natured ribbing between the two leads, whose species find each other unforgivably ugly, is hilarious. It’s also a very thoughtful and reasoned take on societal beauty standards, and how remarkably different perceptions can be between two groups who aren’t all that dissimilar, but project and amplify their differences into something grotesque. Ildiko is a regular human noblewoman who enters a diplomatic marriage with Prince Brishen of the Kai. Neither is dragged kicking and screaming into it, because […]
