ebookreview | [ 709 ]

Silver & Blood (Silver & Blood #1) by Jessie Mihalik

Genre:
Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance, NetGalley, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Magic, Fae, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Royalty, Close Proximity, High Fantasy

Publication Date:
January 27, 2026

Page Numbers:
448

Read/Finished Date:
December 31st, 2025 - January 1st, 2026

Rating:
DNF'ed @ 50%

Premise:

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.

Review:

I don't even know where to begin this review because, in all honesty, I DNF'ed this novel, and while I normally don't give any sort of rating, I will be giving this a one. The premise is promising, especially because of the whole theme of Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, that is where it ends for me. The leads are anything but likable. The female lead, an untrained mage (we are told this numerous times), finds herself living in a castle, cleaning room from room and eating sticky buns. To me, she comes across as a brat sometimes. Maybe it's just me. And the male lead is just as unlikeable.

Second, I love the beginning of the novel, where we are tossed into the action. There is no story told as to why Riela isn't liked in her community. There are brief mentions, but nothing solid to grasp onto and understand. Maybe it has to do with her father? I don't know.

Third, repetition. There is a ton of this within the novel. Case in point, the whole "untrained mage." We learned a lot about Riela being one until it had been drilled into our heads. I get it. She's untrained. She's looking for someone. You can tell us this every once in a while. Not all the time.

Fourth, I struggled with the romance. It lacked the chemistry a lot of romances have. I found it frustrating.

I'm sad this was my first DNF'ed book of the New Year because I had high expectations for this novel and it didn't deliver.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, Harper Voyager, and author Jessie Mihalik for the ARC. This review is my own opinion, and I am not being paid for it.