Silver & Blood

A Novel

By: Jessie Mihalik

Narrated by: Stefanie Kay, Fajer Al-Kaisi

On a deadly mission to kill the mythical beast that has been haunting her woods, a desperate mage finds her fate intertwined with the handsome, powerful man who saves her in this dark and sexy romantasy—perfect for readers of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Callie Hart, and Holly Black.

There’s something in the woods…

When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster as she’s the only mage available—or so she thought.

Untrained and barely armed, Riela is quickly overwhelmed when one beast turns into two. She fears her death is at hand until the unexpected arrival of a scarred, strikingly handsome man with gleaming moonlit magic changes her fate—and provides a rare opportunity to learn more about her own fickle power.

After being rescued and healed from the beast’s poison, Riela awakens in a magical castle complete with a gorgeous library, a strange wolf, and the surly man who saved her life. She soon learns Garrick is both more powerful and far deadlier than a mere mortal mage—but thanks to a century-long curse, his powers are weakening.

Trapped in his castle and surrounded by the treacherous woods, the spark of attraction between Riela and Garrick slowly ignites into fiery desire. But the more they discover about Riela’s magic, the more suspicious Garrick grows of her identity. As they unravel the secrets and lies connecting Riela’s past to Garrick’s, the tenuous threads of trust between them start to fray.

Because Riela’s life—or her death—might be the key to regaining everything Garrick has lost.

Fantastic fantasy!

Wow. I don’t often find a new to me author whose writing I truly enjoy as much as I did this book! This book was recommended by one of my favorite authors. I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy (ARC).

The book pulled me in from the beginning. The world building is fantastic. The characters are interesting and I wanted to know more about them. I really like the dual POV. I like knowing the characters’ thoughts and motivations.

Riela is a human, living in a small village. She was orphaned in her early teens and supported herself doing odd jobs. She discovered she had magic when she saved her village from a natural disaster.

Garrick is a magical being. He saves Riela’s life and takes her home with him to his castle.

As the story progresses, Riela discovers more about who she is. She also develops unrequited feelings for Garrick. As more is revealed about both characters, I became more attached to both and invested in what happened to them.

The book is long, but I didn’t want it to end. I also realized at about 90% that there was too much to resolve in this book. Watch out for the cliffhanger at the end.

I am eager to read the book as an audiobook when it is released. I am also eager for the next book, which will hopefully be written and published soon!

The audiobook released today and I started it immediately. The narrators really bring the characters and story to life!

Could Not Finish

I wanted to like this book because the premise sounded promising, but the execution fell flat for me. The characters felt immature and underdeveloped, making it read more like a young adult novel than adult fiction. I pushed through to chapter 14, but it became a struggle rather than an enjoyment, so I ultimately gave up. I was hoping for more depth and substance than this book delivered.