Review: Radiant Desire

Title: Radiant Desire
Author: Inara Scott
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Erotic, Paranormal Romance


The object of every man’s fantasy just lost her wings…

Kaia Verde is one of the four Faerie Handmaids of Zafira, Queen of the Fey. To redress an ancient wrong done to Zafira by a human king, the Handmaids make sport of mortal men, seducing and humiliating them. When Kaia sets out to seduce Garrett Jameson, but ends up being the one surrendering to pleasure, Zafira is furious. Kaia’s punishment is simple: make Garrett fall in love with her by the summer solstice, then break his heart, or face eternity without her wings—or her soul. To make the task harder, Zafira tells Kaia she cannot use her faerie magic or charm to lure Garrett into her bed.

…and now she’s losing her heart…

Kaia thinks her task will be relatively easy—as a faerie, she understands lust, and can love be much different? But once she is living among the humans, Kaia discovers the race she once disparaged is far more complex and beautiful than she imagined. She learns before she can break Garrett’s heart, she must find a way to heal it. And eventually, discovers that losing her wings may be a far easier price to pay than losing her heart. --Goodreads


Radiant Desire was a sexy, unique fairy story.


Let me start by clarifying that there are occasions I don’t always read YA, and I’ll review adult reads too if the premise intrigues me enough. I was immediately interested in Radiant Desire for the simple fact that it was about Fae-- I always seem to have a soft spot for this species. This is an adult read with erotic themes-- not usually a genre (erotic) I pick up very often nowadays.


While it was entertaining and an enjoyable enough read, I struggled at times to get through it. The writing was solid and the romance beautifully done, but I fall more for the traditional type of Fae. You won’t exactly find that in Radiant Desire. No allergens to iron. No courts. Not that this is a problem-- as a writer myself, I always love seeing new twists on old legends and such. I just didn’t quite connect with it fully here as a devoted fairy lover.


I liked the emotion. Often I felt a deep sympathy for Kaia, especially when she had her intense struggles. Sometimes I felt the author had an underlying message about the country’s problem with homelessness. It certainly is a problem that usually goes ignored very sadly. I’m a strong advocate for donating to shelters when possible.


By the end, the reader gets a sense there will be more books revolving around this world but perhaps as another story with one of the other Handmaids since Kaia’s story seemed complete. I might be interested to read more too if that’s true.


I was entertained nonetheless and liked this story even though it wasn’t quite what I had expected.




3 stars!