A thoughtful, erotic fantasy that asks readers to see the best in one another.
In Hartlove’s fantasy adventure, a blacksmith falls for a mermaid despite the town’s disapproval.
Sten Holdsmith is a blacksmith who recently moved to coastal Saint Rochel. He’s hoping to start fresh after a troubled past and is aware that the town barely tolerates the Merrow (mer-folk) who live in nearby waters. When Sten tries to teach himself to fish, he ends up overboard and tangled in fishing nets. Luckily, Chielle Mmava has been watching him. She brings Sten ashore, mends his nets, and is more polite than his neighbors would have him believe of the supposedly savage “fins.” She also has large aqua eyes that stir the blacksmith. He teaches her how to shape a metal bracelet without fire, a great favor since there are laws against commerce with the undersea village of Celidan. Merrow men, however, have been using dangerous lava vents to create spearheads. The weapons help defend the aquatic Harper’s Meadow from encroaching Saint Rochel fishermen. As confrontations erupt, Sten petitions the High Lordship Jesery Clune to ensure fairness and peace. This endears Chielle to him. They fall in love, but will their respective cultures force them apart? Hartlove explores unconventional romance and the process of cultural erasure in his fantasy novel. As a transplant to St. Rochel, Sten observes that the brown-skinned Indru—like his 14-year-old apprentice, Jacio—have adopted the clothing of the Whites who worship the deity Atlan. Deeper culture shocks occur when Sten shares wine with Chielle’s brother, Thymon, who offers lionfish venom to the human. The Merrow way of life is fleshed out through their coral homes, which take years to grow, and their worship of Rorra (the ocean). Sten and Chielle’s sex life, and their attempts to find compatibility, is explicitly depicted. Sten’s arc shows that individuals deserve opportunities to start over even if violence or racism taint their past. An intense finale provides both communities the chance to rise above the low roads of xenophobia and revenge.
A thoughtful, erotic fantasy that asks readers to see the best in one another.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-953469-10-6
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Water Dragon Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Let’s hope for more from the next book set in this world.
Sasha Cadell has survived against all odds, holding onto her loved ones and strangers as they take their last breaths—and that’s why she’s known as Death’s Angel.
For six years Sasha has lived in Haven, the underground society built to withstand nuclear war. Since the war, since her family’s deaths, since discovering she doesn’t get sick like everyone else does, Sasha’s life has been full of death and overfull with grief. While working in the Ward, Haven’s limited hospital, she stays with patients as they die. When Tristian Hayes, a unit commander of the Force, ends up as her patient, hanging on for his life, she pleads for him to stay alive. He does—upending her bleak ritual as Death’s Angel. Hoping to forget everything she’s seen and to numb the pain, Sasha leaves the Ward in favor of a role with a pickax, expanding Haven’s tunnels. Tristian, fiercely determined and stunningly stubborn, recruits Sasha to the Force for a vital mission aboveground. The story picks up steam with Sasha’s intense training to become the medic for Tristian’s tightknit unit. Together, they bear the weight of their unit’s survival and all that’s left of humankind. While in training, Sasha struggles to discern friends and enemies, but nothing is as challenging as facing her own demons. In this prequel to her debut novel, Conform (2025), Sullivan tries to accomplish a lot with both the worldbuilding and plot machinations, resulting in a convoluted story and flattened characters. The plot doesn’t have a satisfying payoff, but the romantic tension between Sasha and Tristian will keep readers engaged.
Let’s hope for more from the next book set in this world.Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798217091027
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing romantasy melds inventive worldbuilding with a classic fairy-tale plot.
A woman sent to kill a magical beast in the forest instead meets a mythical king.
A year ago, Riela saved her village from a flood with magic she didn’t know she possessed. Now there are reports that a beast has attacked a hunter in the magical Forsaken Forest, and her neighbors insist she must fight the monster, even though she has little control over her magic. Riela realizes she’s likely to be killed, but she's saved by a powerful mage who transports her to his enchanted castle. Garrick is an Etheri, a member of a race of immortal mages who Riela thought were only a story; he's the king of the Silver Court, but a longstanding feud with Feylan, the king of the Blood Court, has trapped him on this plane of existence for 100 years, unable to reach his people in the Etheri realm of Lohka. Garrick tells Riela she's going to have to stay with him since the forest traps any magical being who enters. Riela and Garrick’s uneasy alliance is fueled by guarded suspicion and strong attraction. Garrick suspects Riela's a spy because of her powerful magic, and can’t understand why she doesn’t recognize him. Riela is afraid of Garrick's power and doesn't know if he's telling the truth about the forest. As they're trapped together, Garrick comes to realize how rare and dangerous Riela's magic is, and decides to help her learn to use it. This is Mihalik’s first romantasy after a string of well-regarded SF romances; it has rich, lush worldbuilding, especially once Garrick and Riela start to explore the secrets of her magic. Watching these guarded, wary characters learn to trust each other makes for an entertaining and compelling romance. The book is the first in a series and ends with a cliffhanger, with Garrick and Riela on the precipice of a new adventure.
An intriguing romantasy melds inventive worldbuilding with a classic fairy-tale plot.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9780063411586
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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