Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik
Silver & Blood #1
Fantasy Romance
Published January 27, 2026 by Avon
ARC

Review by Angela

I’ve long been a fan of this author, her previous three series are Science Fiction Romance, and I gobbled them up. If you enjoy this genre and need more books to add to your TBR, jump over to this author’s website and check out her backlist. But Romantasy is all the craze right now, and Jessie Mihalik’s newest book sits firmly in that genre.

Riela is a 28-year-old woman and member of a small community on the outskirts of a magical forest. Her magic manifested only a year before when the town was in danger of being flooded and she diverts the waters and saves the town. Despite her bravery, the townspeople view her with suspicion and fear. Yet, when they come to her door in the middle of the night, after a hunter is attacked by a monster in the woods, she agrees to go the next morning to kill the beast and protect her village again. Only armed with her untrained magic, and a small dagger, she enters the forest and into danger. She is saved by a mythical Etheri sovereign, and his strange wolf, waking up in a dusty castle, not realizing that her life and identity are about to change forever.

I really enjoyed this first book in a series. Romantasy, lately, has been kind of hit or miss for me–and I’m not sure if that’s because I just read so much of it that it all gets muddled together or if I’m just bored of the genre. Yes, Silver & Blood does lag a bit in the opening several chapters as the leads, Riela and Garrick, are getting to know each other, and Riela is coming to grips with her new circumstances. Yet, once I got further in, I found myself flipping pages as fast as I could to get to the end.

Riela is magically uneducated, but has a strong personality, and won’t take no for an answer, she just really wants to learn and help, is even willing to endanger herself repeatedly in order to do the right thing. Garrick is a powerful magical being, a sovereign in his land, so he’s used to being obeyed and is grumpy about having to rescue her, not very happy about having her in his space, and also suspicious of her motivations *FOR REASONS*. I enjoyed the dynamic between them, despite the extreme power imbalance, Riela is written in such a way that she fights tooth and nail repeatedly for agency, independence, and respect and Garrick does learn from his mistakes and tries his best to protect her, even if it’s from himself. There is spice, but also quite a bit of jealousy and longing, so prepare yourselves.

The world building isn’t necessarily unique, especially if you are a reader who has immersed yourself in books about the fae, but it is compelling. There is a cliff-hanger, not surprising since this is the first book in a series, but rest assured that cliffhanger has more to do with the series plot arc, the relationship itself has a HFN. I’m excited for the next book, as it promises to bring more angst and danger for our couple. I’m looking forward to its release.

Grade- B