Tag: romantasy

ARC Book Review: Silver & Blood (Silver & Blood #1) by Jessie Mihalik

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: January 27th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

Thank you Avon Books for the gifted ARC.

FIRST HALF NONSENSE.

This was one of those books where I thought I quite possibly was going to DNF but it’s an ARC and persevere I must (I know you don’t have to but I’ve accepted this quality about myself).

ANYWAYS. Why the HECK are are we kissing at 15% and having two open door scenes before the halfway mark? Why was it literally only them and no other characters for 55% of the book? Both of these things bugged me 10x over. The addition of spice in the beginning just to call this book “spicy” was not it. And then there was nothing again until 85ish%? The big theme of my issues surround the plot organization.

The second half did get better. I liked finally seeing more of the world and the characters involved. It follows pretty typical fantasy romance lines but that’s not generally bothersome for me. There seemed to be some good bones in their that might help the second book succeed more.

I just don’t know how I feel about Silver & Blood. I went in with genuine excitement and I’m hesitant to pick up book two. I’m also now remembering that I like a different potential love interest more??? Is this a switch romance??? Honestly that actually might convince me more than anything else to pick up book two. WE SHALL SEE.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantasy
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4ish open door
  • Violence: moderate+

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Book Review: The Last Wish of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #2) by Mary E. Pearson

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 487 pages
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Flatiron
Release Date: November 13th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Everyone needs something to hold onto, even if it’s a lie.

After Bristol nearly loses Tyghan to the monsters her mother unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But, when a daring rescue attempt turns disastrous and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could ever have imagined – and more dangerous, too.

Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he re-encounters his betrayer, Kierus, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question. Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a monster just like her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most if it means keeping them safe?

Discover the stunning second book in the Bristol Keats fantasy duology, from New York Times bestselling author Mary E. Pearson.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

WELLLLLLL.

I genuinely wanted to love this. Even more so because I did actually like book one!! But this book lost me in a few different ways and I think a portion of the ending scenes will be polarizing for readers. I unfortunately fell on the meh side of it and didn’t like how it all went down. Did it have a HEA? Sure, yes, it did. The execution of how we got there though bugged me.

While the sound of this narrator was great I wish this had multiple narrators or at least one more. The changing of POV’s in a book like this can be great but a solo narrator left me befuddled because I had the hardest time figuring out who’s POV I was in, constantly.

I never got MAD about reading this (which is why it was a three star), it just left me wanting more from multiple plot lines.

I’ll still read Pearson’s next book but I’m hoping it’s YA.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2-3ish open door
  • Violence: high

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ARC Book Review: House of Shadows (Royal Houses #2) by K.A. Linde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 544 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Bloom Books
Release Date: January 6th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author K.A. Linde returns to the Royal Houses series with House of Shadows: the story of Kerrigan Argon, a half-Fae, half-human as she seeks her place in an unforgiving world filled with magic, mayhem, and romance. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and V.E. Schwab.

A half-Fae outcast. A forbidden prince. A world teetering on the edge of collapse.

Kerrigan Argon was never meant to be chosen. As a half-human, half-Fae pariah, her admission into the Dragon Society breaks every law of her world. Now she’s bound to a dragon—and to a brutal year of training that could claim her life.

But first, she must survive a journey into the infamous House of Shadows, led by the dark Fae prince Fordham Ollivier. No half-Fae has ever returned from its halls. In a place built on cruelty, secrets, and absolute power, Kerrigan must battle not just enemies—but centuries of prejudice and the slow unraveling of magic itself.

Something ancient is cracking. A long-buried spell is weakening. And Kerrigan may be the only one who can stop the collapse—or cause it.

Thank you Bloom Books for the gifted ARC.

I SHALL CONTINUE.

I feel like I can enjoy book one and be ready for book two, but book two is ultimately what helps me decide if I want to continue a series. And alas! I do want to continue this series. I am having a great time with this whole setup. It’s a bit dramatic (lean into it), there’s a lot of great characters and the romance is creating a stable slow burn that I can work with.

Not to mention, the dragons! I don’t think I’ve read a series recently where dragons are at this much of the forefront and I forgot how much I enjoy it. I know this is a reprint of an already complete series so if you’ve been missing dragons too, try these!

I like the FMC, Kerrigan plenty. She does not have it all figured out and honestly that’s what I’ve enjoyed most. The longer series vibes really lends to character arcs you can see slowly build and I am curious how that will continue for her in the third installment.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #1) by Rebecca Robinson

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Rebecca Robinson
Publisher: Saga Press
Release Date: November 19th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

SO FUN.

This is another one of those romantasy books that I don’t look too hard into and enjoy all the more. It’s chaos but it’s also marriage of convenience and that’s my favorite so of course I read it. I loved the anger and passion between Vaasa and Reid. It feels perfectly gritty for the setting and the slow burn burns well.

There’s probably a few plot intricacies that were a bit lost. I feel a fantasy romance needs a stable plot and while spice didn’t overwhelm the plot, it was too far in the background that I would get lost occasionally between all of the politicking.

But, I’m in love with the whole romance dynamic and will absolutely be needing to get my hands on book two. The audiobook was fantastic and I’m glad I took a chance on this one.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: open door
  • Violence: high

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