The Paladin's Shadow

Radiance, Book 2

By: Tavia Lark

Narrated by: Kai Rubio

His secret could kill him.

Karis is the arrogant young prodigy of the Radiant Order, and his talent gets him plenty of attention but very few friends. Under the order's prying eyes, there's one secret Karis has to hide at all costs: the meddling, un-paladin-like voice in his head. Sometimes the voice is helpful. Sometimes it gets him into trouble.

This time, trouble's name is Ronan.

Ronan does the dirty work. Anything for the trickster god he serves, no matter how tired he's getting. He's so used to deception, he wouldn't recognize real love if it bit him. When he's captured by the Radiant Order, he doesn't think twice before kidnapping a cute little squire to cover his escape. His new hostage is a lot more complicated than he expected.

Between escape attempts and counterspells, Karis keeps getting under Ronan's skin, and Ronan keeps getting inside Karis's head. And the longer they stay together, Karis starts thinking less about escaping, and more about how Ronan might taste.

But the conspiracy they're tangled in is far deadlier than they know.

Contains mature themes.

©2021 Tavia Lark (P)2022 Tantor

Great!

I really enjoyed this story! Karis and Ronin are great characters! There was humour, danger, secrets, and love. This narrator improved over book one, although I would have picked a different accent for a character named Karis Cooper than a vaguely Italian one… (at least that’s what is sounded like to me)

All in all and enjoyable time listening!

Perfect book 2 that expands on the world

I was a bit hesitant to read this book because the first book made me dislike Ronan so much as a character. However, this book completely gives Ronan the redemption arc he deserves and explained so much about the world and expands the lore of the gods and magic. Great second book! Now I'm excited for the third! The narrator does a great job and the story flows pretty well. This was a fun, easy, lazy afternoon listen, perfect for when I needed a break from all the other grim dark garbage I read. 😅

Excellent story

Not just a romance, but a fun, magical tale of falling in love with the squire by the trickster’s knave.

a lovely, silly story

I would be hard pressed to put this cute work in the proper place in a Venn diagram of all types of fiction. It has better world building than a romance with the slightly one-dimensional characters of YA novel, along with a few minutes of not especially good scenes close to porn coupled with just enough angst to keep an adult interested. I like the series in spite of the formulaic writing. it's a sweet story. read it.

enjoyed it

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, intersting story.
Tavia Lark is a new author for me. I went into this series based on nothing more than the cover of Book 1 piqued my interest, I didn't read the book summary, didn't read any reviews - went in completely blind and overall i'm pleased with the chance I took.

The worldbuilding is well constructed and I enjoyed the direction the overarching story took. There is more humour than the previous book, I liked Karis' character and having Ronan serve the trickster God proved to be entertaining. The story had a nice flow and a good pace, it's what I call an "easy listen" - something that can be listened to while doing something else without losing track of what's going on.

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Kai Rubio's performance, and with more experience under his belt he'll become a narrator i'll watch out for. He has good timing and inflections, captures the essence of the characters and has done a good job bringing the story to life. I did nudge the speed up a fraction (1.05x), but that was more for my personal preference and not anything against the narration.

-------
📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough [3⭐] • 5 enjoyed it [4⭐] • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]

An unexpected richness to the story arc…

While I really liked the first book in this series, this one has thrown a spectacular curveball, giving greater understanding and unexpected depth to characters met before.

Those characters are now highlighted, their motivations are surprisingly fresh, and the previous story deepens with a new spin in what this world holds.

I actually gasped and my heart heaved in the opening of the final chapter. So, well done with that!

The narration is really good. The voices are distinct, bring personality and charm to each character, and convey a breadth of complexity as the story unfolds. There are many longer pauses that could be tightened in editing, feeling slightly over-dramatic, and nothing that interferes with the flow.

Can’t wait for what comes next as this author continues to enchant and weave their storylines.

A Good Book and Notable Improvement

To be honest I did not like the first book in this trilogy. It was a book I finished on principal and boredom alone. I didn't think I'd continue the series. When the series became available on Audible Plus, and I was between books, I decided to give the second novel a go. This one was much improved. The characters were likeable and the story was fun. The pacing was good and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This book can be read as a stand alone. Most of what you need to know about the world, this book fills in. There's a few mentions of Arthur, a character from the previous book, but he is not plot essential and only shows up in the last 12 minutes.