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.
Release Date: Jan 27, 2026
Series: Silver & Blood
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Price: $11.99
Beauty and the Beast, but with Fae, magic, and two worlds that hold a host of danger.
This is my first Mihalik… for reasons. But just know I didn’t plan to start off my year with a romantasy. Except the genre is everywhere, and you can’t throw a rock without a familiar author launching one, so I decided, why not? As per the usual, I entered this world knowing nothing but the name of the book, the author, and a glimpse of the cover. I didn’t read the blurb at all. You would say “crazy”; I say, “half the fun is the journey.”
Let’s get to the loved parts. There is magic. So. Much. Magic. I loved how the magic evolves, how this world is filled with the possibilities of magical creatures, objects, enchantments, curses, and a whole host of dangers. There’s a castle that has a moat and a grumpy, taciturn man who turns out to be a banished King. Bonus for the giant wolf that is this King’s friend? Protector? There’s a lot to learn here. We’ve established the setting, the worldbuilding all lush.
What keeps this from five stars? The heroine. I’m sorry I wanted to like her but it just felt time and time again this twenty-something female mage, Riela, went out of her way to be deliberately difficult, and chose to put herself in danger versus having a conversation. There were many moments I wanted to throw the book away. Garrick isn’t completely innocent, though his reasons had more justification. Riela’s reasons for her actions are not as convincing, and for me, this became an ongoing issue.
In the end, I stuck with it because I loved the bones of the story, and there is great chemistry between the main characters, even if I didn’t particularly like one of them. I encourage readers who enjoy books with the Fae to give this one a shot. Fair warning, it ends on a cliff-hanger, and I will be anxiously awaiting the second story to wrap this one up.
~ Landra
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play