Black Sand and Blood
Author: Anne Renwick
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B
What I’m Talking About:
Ready for a short cryptid adventure? Black Sand and Blood shares the HEA for two important supporting characters from Renwick’s Icy Betrayals. While you don’t need to read Icy Betrayals to enjoy Black Sand and Blood, it does provide a detailed and exciting introduction to the characters and frozen setting.
Picking up about a month after Icy Betrayals, Black Sand and Blood finds Dýri and Sóllilja working on a black sand beach, trying to harvest parts of a giant shell monster and hide the carcass so it doesn’t fall into the hands of an evil cryptid hunter. The pair has unresolved feelings and unspoken words, which finally have the opportunity to be expressed after Sóllilja tells Dýri that she’s to be married off to a politically important man.
I loved the adventure aspect of the story. The pair is up to their ears in monster gore and blood, yet having these important conversations. There is tension and suspense due to the time crunch and need to hide from the hunter. The science nerd in me enjoyed the detailed “technology” talk about the armor made from the monster’s scales.
Romantically, the pair has amazing chemistry. They are both worried about getting hurt, and they haven’t been honest in the past, so I was frustrated with Sóllilja’s attitude when Dýri basically lays his heart bare; she seems callous and shallow. I know she is trying to protect her heart, but she should have said something BEFORE the sex, or at least when he confesses his feelings.
Overall, Black Sand and Blood is a fun story that gives an HEA for two well deserving supporting characters from the previous book. If you are looking for some wonderful genre-crossing romantic adventures, I highly recommend picking up Renwick’s Elemental Web stories.
My Rating: B
Jen
About the Book:
A secret love. A winter storm. A race against time and tide.
On the black sands of Iceland’s coast, Dýri and Sóllilja brave a winter storm to harvest an elusive cryptid’s scales—raw material for armor like no other. For him, it’s a chance to finally force their long-hidden love into the open. But when an enemy tracks them down, survival—and their hope for their future—will depend on courage, cunning, and a stroke of luck.
Release Date: January 6, 2026 (author direct); February 3, 2026
Publisher: self-published
Series: Elemental Web Stories #4; Elemental Web Chronicles #5.5
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Historical
Format(s): paperback (82 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author
Reviews in the Series:
Elemental Web books