Review Detail

I have been dying to find something to fill the whole in my heart after finishing Arcane, and this book perfectly does so.

A Wild Radiance by Maria Ingrande Mora is a YA fantasy novel that is feels like the perfect found family road trip. Josephine Haven is about to find out exactly where she fits into the march of Progress. Her outbursts are infamous at the House of Industry, the school for children who can wield radiance, an electricity-like magic. She’s tried to follow the rules, but her fiery nature is at odds with the core tenet of the House: Never form attachments. If she is meant to feel nothing, why are her emotions so volatile? No one is surprised when, upon graduation, Josephine is banished from the city to a remote Mission. In Frostbrook, she must work under standoffish Julian, the former golden boy of the House of Industry who seems determined to watch her fail. And then there’s Ezra, the flirtatious stranger who’s a little too curious about how the Mission operates. But there are bigger problems than Julian and Ezra’s secrets. A deadly disease is spreading across the countryside, and in Frostbrook, not everyone is eager to embrace Progress. As Josephine questions the system that raised her—and gives in to desire she’s been taught to suppress—she must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to expose not just corruption within the House, but the devastating truth about the radiance in her core.

A Wild Radiance is unapologetically queer with a fast paced plot fused with a turbulent political system and a magic system that begs to be expanded upon. What I loved most about this book, is the simple fact that Maria Ingrande Mora initially established that this book had no intention of being political in her author's note, but it is far from it. A Wild Radiance is a literary thrashing and screaming monster that rages against the machine that it houses. And Mora's characters are no less volatile in their exploration of their own wants and needs. Which in the end, is nothing less than the love they show for each other.

The only tricky part about A Wild Radiance, is the fact that the plot was hard to follow at times and the romance got a little too tangled. In the sense that both were confusing, but easily resolved within a reasonable amount of time. Which quickly cleared up any and all confusion I had.

A Wild Radiance by Maria Ingrande Mora, though YA, is not a book to be missed. As it is perfect for readers who love Queerplatonic and Poly Relationships, Anti-Capitalism, Hurt/Comfort, Sunshine/Grump/Gremlin Dynamics, Messy Exes, and Fantasy Road Trips!