{"id":32093,"date":"2026-03-24T09:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=32093"},"modified":"2026-03-24T09:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:07:24","slug":"review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-32093\" data-postid=\"32093\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-32093 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_bjlu608 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_87tc608 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_vqct608 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"964\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=640%2C964&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-32094\" title=\"silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik\" alt=\"silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?w=996&amp;ssl=1 996w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=199%2C300&amp;ssl=1 199w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=680%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 680w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=768%2C1157&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=400%2C602&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_xwk4609 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><em><strong>There\u2019s something in the woods\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster as she\u2019s the only mage available\u2014or so she thought.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">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\u2014and provides a rare opportunity to learn more about her own fickle power.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">After being rescued and healed from the beast\u2019s 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\u2014but thanks to a century-long curse, his powers are weakening.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">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\u2019s magic, the more suspicious Garrick grows of her identity. As they unravel the secrets and lies connecting Riela\u2019s past to Garrick\u2019s, the tenuous threads of trust between them start to fray.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Because Riela\u2019s life\u2014or her death\u2014might be the key to regaining everything Garrick has lost.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_fyup609 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_noer609  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25881 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png?resize=296%2C72\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jan 27, 2026<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Silver &amp; Blood<br \/><\/em><strong>Book: <\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> HarperCollins<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Avon<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p><hr \/><p><em><strong>Beauty and the Beast, but with Fae, magic, and two worlds that hold a host of danger.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>This is my first <strong>Mihalik<\/strong>&#8230; for reasons. But just know I didn\u2019t plan to start off my year with a romantasy. Except the genre is everywhere, and you can\u2019t 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\u2019t read the blurb at all. You would say \u201ccrazy\u201d; I say, \u201chalf the fun is the journey.\u201d<\/p><p>Let\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s friend? Protector? There\u2019s a lot to learn here. We\u2019ve established the setting, the worldbuilding all lush.<\/p><p>What keeps this from five stars? The heroine. I\u2019m sorry I wanted to like her but it just felt time and time again this twenty-something female mage, <strong>Riela<\/strong>, 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. <strong>Garrick<\/strong> isn\u2019t completely innocent, though his reasons had more justification. Riela\u2019s reasons for her actions are not as convincing, and for me, this became an ongoing issue.<\/p><p>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\u2019t 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.<\/p><p><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_0s6f609 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Pl6GeD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3PvcfXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/roses-stone-jessie-mihalik\/1149589164?ean=9780063411630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/silver-blood-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jessie_Mihalik_Silver_Blood?id=__ZFEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s something in the woods\u2026When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,106,112,48],"tags":[152,158,404,405,571],"class_list":["post-32093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avon-books","category-harpercollins","category-landra","category-reviews","tag-4-stars","tag-actionadventure","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads","tag-romantasy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s something in the woods\u2026When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"996\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"beverley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\"},\"headline\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":7,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"4 Stars\",\"action\\\/adventure\",\"recommend\",\"Recommended Reads\",\"romantasy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Avon Books\",\"HarperCollins\",\"Landra\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"width\":996,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"description\":\"Where HEAs are guaranteed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"width\":281,\"height\":265,\"caption\":\"Smitten by Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\",\"name\":\"beverley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"beverley\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/beverley\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books","og_description":"There\u2019s something in the woods\u2026When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/","og_site_name":"Smitten by Books","article_published_time":"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":996,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"beverley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"beverley","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/"},"author":{"name":"beverley","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d"},"headline":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik","datePublished":"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/"},"wordCount":7,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1","keywords":["4 Stars","action\/adventure","recommend","Recommended Reads","romantasy"],"articleSection":["Avon Books","HarperCollins","Landra","Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/","name":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik - Smitten by Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-03-24T13:07:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T13:07:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1","width":996,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/24\/review-silver-and-blood-by-jesse-mihalik\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Silver and Blood by Jesse Mihalik"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","name":"Smitten by Books","description":"Where HEAs are guaranteed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Smitten by Books","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","width":281,"height":265,"caption":"Smitten by Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?fit=996%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<img src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg\" title=\"silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik\" alt=\"silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?w=996&amp;ssl=1 996w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=199%2C300&amp;ssl=1 199w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=680%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 680w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=768%2C1157&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silver-and-blood-jesse-mahalik.jpg?resize=400%2C602&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>There\u2019s something in the woods\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When a vicious beast begins attacking her fellow villagers, Riela reluctantly agrees to enter the forbidden forest and kill the monster as she\u2019s the only mage available\u2014or so she thought.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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\u2014and provides a rare opportunity to learn more about her own fickle power.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After being rescued and healed from the beast\u2019s 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\u2014but thanks to a century-long curse, his powers are weakening.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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\u2019s magic, the more suspicious Garrick grows of her identity. As they unravel the secrets and lies connecting Riela\u2019s past to Garrick\u2019s, the tenuous threads of trust between them start to fray.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because Riela\u2019s life\u2014or her death\u2014might be the key to regaining everything Garrick has lost.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jan 27, 2026<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Silver &amp; Blood<br \/><\/em><strong>Book: <\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> HarperCollins<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Avon<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p><hr \/><p><em><strong>Beauty and the Beast, but with Fae, magic, and two worlds that hold a host of danger.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>This is my first <strong>Mihalik<\/strong>... for reasons. But just know I didn\u2019t plan to start off my year with a romantasy. Except the genre is everywhere, and you can\u2019t 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\u2019t read the blurb at all. You would say \u201ccrazy\u201d; I say, \u201chalf the fun is the journey.\u201d<\/p><p>Let\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s friend? Protector? There\u2019s a lot to learn here. We\u2019ve established the setting, the worldbuilding all lush.<\/p><p>What keeps this from five stars? The heroine. I\u2019m sorry I wanted to like her but it just felt time and time again this twenty-something female mage, <strong>Riela<\/strong>, 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. <strong>Garrick<\/strong> isn\u2019t completely innocent, though his reasons had more justification. Riela\u2019s reasons for her actions are not as convincing, and for me, this became an ongoing issue.<\/p><p>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\u2019t 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.<\/p><p><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Pl6GeD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3PvcfXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/roses-stone-jessie-mihalik\/1149589164?ean=9780063411630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/silver-blood-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jessie_Mihalik_Silver_Blood?id=__ZFEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32093"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32098,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32093\/revisions\/32098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}