Silver and Blood - BookWyrm

Paperback, 448 pages

Published by Avon.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-341158-6

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 and powerful man who saves her.

There’s something in the woods…

Untrained and barely armed, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forest and kill the deadly beast that has been attacking her fellow villagers as she’s the only mage available—or so she thought. When one beast turns into two, she fears her death is at hand, but unexpected aid from a scarred, strikingly handsome man with dangerous moonlit magic means a second chance at life—and an opportunity to learn more about her own fickle power.

After being rescued and healed from her fight in the forest, Riela awakens in a magical castle complete with a gorgeous library, a strange wolf, and the surly man who saved her life. Riela soon learns Garrick …

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 and powerful man who saves her.

There’s something in the woods…

Untrained and barely armed, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forest and kill the deadly beast that has been attacking her fellow villagers as she’s the only mage available—or so she thought. When one beast turns into two, she fears her death is at hand, but unexpected aid from a scarred, strikingly handsome man with dangerous moonlit magic means a second chance at life—and an opportunity to learn more about her own fickle power.

After being rescued and healed from her fight in the forest, Riela awakens in a magical castle complete with a gorgeous library, a strange wolf, and the surly man who saved her life. Riela soon learns Garrick is not a mortal mage at all—he’s a powerful Etheri sovereign who has been locked out of his kingdom in Lohka for nearly a century, and 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 connecting Riela’s past to Lohka, the tenuous threads of trust between them begin to fray because Riela’s life—or her death—might be the key to regaining everything Garrick has lost.

1 edition

WhiskeyintheJar reviewed Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik (Silver and Blood, #1)

Fantasy world-building, cozy gentleness between leads

4 stars

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

He was an Etheri sovereign---the very thing all the cautionary tales warned about. I couldn't lose my head just because he'd smiled at me.

Silver and Blood was a romantasy story you're going to want to snuggle in for. This first installment ends on a cliffhanger and was more about establishing the fantasy world and relationships, before the big battles. The fantasy world, where our FMC Riela comes raised from the human side and at late twenties has just shown signs of having mage power and our MMC Garrick who at around chronologically one thousand years old but biologically thirties is an Etheri sovereign from the magical world of Lohka, was created and filled out in a complete way that I want the fantasy …

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

He was an Etheri sovereign---the very thing all the cautionary tales warned about. I couldn't lose my head just because he'd smiled at me.

Silver and Blood was a romantasy story you're going to want to snuggle in for. This first installment ends on a cliffhanger and was more about establishing the fantasy world and relationships, before the big battles. The fantasy world, where our FMC Riela comes raised from the human side and at late twenties has just shown signs of having mage power and our MMC Garrick who at around chronologically one thousand years old but biologically thirties is an Etheri sovereign from the magical world of Lohka, was created and filled out in a complete way that I want the fantasy side in a romance to be. The gist of the story is that Garrick has been locked out of Lohka for decades by the Blood King, and when he finds Riela wondering around in the forest, he thinks she's a honey pot sent by the Blood King to kill him. Riela, for her part, is vastly clueless, she's grown up thinking that Etheri are fairy tale stories and has no clue why she has some magic and why she can't control it.

“I want everyone to know you're under my protection.” His eyes flashed fully silver.

A big chunk of the middle of this is Riela and Garrick stuck in his castle, on the human side of the fantasy world along with Garrick's magical wolf Grim, learning to trust each other's motives and having lusty feelings. This was told in dual pov, so you can see the internal struggles of both. I did think there was some slow moving going on in the middle because of Riela's forced obliviously to Garrick's feelings. I know I'm the reader getting both sides but there was some Riela being “completely unaware” that Garrick could ever have feelings for someone like her that got dragged out one, two, twenty-five too many times for the sake of tension, that honestly I couldn't believe/feel between them any longer. You get more of Garrick when the story moves to Lohka for a bit, which helped with his character but I could have stood for more depth from him and less dragged out obliviousness from Riela, but they did deliver on the handful of times they got physical.

There was only one way to protect Riela now, and as much as I might tell myself I didn't want to do it...I did.

As I mentioned, the fantasy side was definitely worth the price of admission with Etheri (think in the fairy family) and their different kingdoms/sovereigns divided into colorful magical houses and the different types of mages and magical beasts. I never felt overwhelmed with the world-building and information which is a testament to the storytelling skill going on here and even though the clues being given throughout about Riela, the clear reveal answers was still exciting to get to. The set-up for the next book, I think, will have more action as the villainous Blood King only discussed here will be getting screen time.

“I am going to kill the Blood King.”

Riela's background doesn't give her support from secondary characters, but Garrick's friends Grim and Bria add a lot (yes I'm clinging to that brief moment as promise for a romance). Riela and Garrick struggled with their trust issues and even though both mess up at times, this had some of those cozy vibes because you do think that they'll be gentle with each other as they work it out. The fantasy world had me enjoying this, Riela needed less repeated obliviously, Garrick maybe a little more depth to his character, but overall, it was a story that drew me in and I'm very ready to see what happens when Riela and Garrick face the Blood King.

Subjects

Romance
Fantasy