I read about 80% of this book before i realised i didn’t care about anything that was happening. It felt like it was a mix of Ai and an author who didn’t care writing it

New TOP read of 2025 read for me!!

I picked this on up and it wasn’t in my usual comfort zones, I was looking for a different kind of story and this was IT! Honestly, I saw military and was unsure but I started reading and there was a pull, I couldn’t take it! I NEEDED to read this book. Absolutely NEEDED to know Wrens story!

This book kept me dancing on the edge of what will happen next, teasing me with bits and pieces to pull me further down - I still don’t know where I stand - uprising or company but I do know I need more!! More of these characters, and this whole world that exists! The shocks and surprises, the heart warms and wretches!

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one. I struggled to connect with the story and found myself getting bored while reading it. I ended up buying the audiobook to help me get through it, and I honestly think I would have ended up dnfing if I hadn’t used one of my audible credits on it.

The last 20% was honestly the best part of the book, I actually found myself getting invested. Not sure if I’ll continue the series though.

Like many readers, it’s hard not to draw parallels between Silver Elite and The Hunger Games — and honestly, I don’t mind one bit. The Games had President Snow; Silver Elite gives us General Redden. The Capitol and Peacekeepers become the Continent and The Company. Numbered Districts? Here, we have lettered Wards. And then there's Wren — our fierce, impulsive, sassy, and strong FMC who channels all the fire of a Katniss while still standing firmly in her own right.

So yes I will say that a certain dystopian formula is evident — but guess what? It works. And I am SO here for it.

I’d also seen Silver Elite compared to Fourth Wing, so when I opened to a map and prepared myself for a maze of impossible-to-pronounce names and overly elaborate worldbuilding, I was so relieved to find regular-sounding character and place names. It made diving into the story the perfect blend of easy and epic!

I loved the rich worldbuilding and fast pacing — I never feel lost or bogged down. I has great “found family” vibes (as confusing as these are for Wren as she wrestles with which side she should be feeling for), and the enemies-to-lovers dynamic brings that delicious slow burn (yes, it gets spicy), and the ongoing theme? Trust no one. Lie to everyone, was delicious.

Even though I guessed the big twist ahead of time, it didn’t lessen the thrill for me, the strength of the characters and the world kept me hooked right to the end.

If you enjoy your dystopian reads with a side of sass, a dash of danger, and a slow burn romance that simmers — Silver Elite delivers. Bring on the next book! I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

A 19 hour audiobook, but I read it in 8. I know this JUST came out, but I already need the next one. I heard so many people talking about this book when it was released then saw it on NetGalley. Had to shoot my shot for an ARC, so thank you to Random House!

This book was a knockout. A good balance of things I expected but some twists I did NOT. The end? Leaves you satisfied but on the edge of your seat. If you were obsessed with the Hunger Games or Divergent in middle school and you now love romance books, this is DEFINITELY the book for you.

Mild spoilers ahead?
•
•
•

- Hunger Games dystopian style setting & dictator with the main city then surrounding areas under military control
- Divergent vibe, hunting the “mods”, military training sections and the main romance giving Tris/Four vibes
- World building was easy to follow, love the telepathic powers from radiation? Cool
- Liked the element of mystery with Wolf , even though I was pretty sure where it was going, I was excited about it

Hello New Fourth Wing Book.

I disagree...but that's what I've been hearing.

This was...good? Okay? It was nothing spectacular and nothing I haven't read before but it was well paced, I read it quite quickly, and I would say that I enjoyed myself for the most part.

I am not sure why people are saying this is an adult Hunger Games. Let me be clear when I say it is NOTHING like the Hunger Games. This is more like an adult Divergent. But, I think a lot of marketing for this went to saying it was "bringing back dystopian" and honestly I wouldn't really call this dystopian either. It had some of the elements, but the real things like politics and stakes and government issues that make a dystopian real, were lacking here. This was definitely more focused on Wren as a character, her choices, and her romance. Which is fine, but it is not dystopian.

The biggest thing that made me mad at this book is that what I assume to be the "biggest plot twist" was so glaringly obvious I knew it from the very first page it was introduced, (chapter 1), and when it was revealed (in chapter 45-ish) I was rolling my eyes so hard. No, it wasn't obvious to Wren, but to the readers, if they have ever read a fantasy before, my god was it obvious.

The romance in here was pretty good, I do love a slow burn. But I do think it fell to the sex vs. substance issue that a lot of current romances have. The first time they really have a true REAL moment as a potential couple and are not lying to each other is immediately ruined by smut. I just wanted ONE conversation. ONE. But of course, the smut takes control as it does in all fantasy and romantasy now days. Also a lot of the smut here had really cringy dialogue and references to body parts.

Overall, I was not kicking my feet and giggling, this wasn't anything revolutionary, but I will be continuing the series and I did enjoy myself for the most part.

This was so amazing and interesting. It has all the tropes I absolutely love ❤️ enemies to lovers in dystopian fantasy romance with military vibe! So perfect and wonderful combination to read from starting to the ending.

3.5 stars. I went into Silver Elite thinking it was just another dystopian read. I was still reeling after reading the newest Hunger Games book and wanted more dystopian.

I had absolutely no idea at the time that this was a spicy dystopian. I read this one before its release date and before I saw all the hype and hate which kind of blew my mind to be honest.

While reading (and skipping over the spice) it was just a typical dystopian setting to me. It had X-Men vibes, maybe a little bit of Divergent thrown in.

Wren, a “Modified” (has psychic powers), is forced to attend the “Primes” (no psychic abilities) most elite school (shades of Fourth Wing), where she falls hard for her ruthless commanding officer, Cross. No surprise - classic enemies to lustful lovers trope. No one is aware that Wren is a Mod.

Was it a book that I read in one sitting? No. To be honest, I wasn’t enamored with Wren at all and didn’t even like her.

But… If you like dystopian, and the X-Men, and spicy scenes, with a little bit of Divergent and Fourth Wing for flavor, then read this book.

I will probably pick up book 2, because it was interesting enough to me to continue the series.

*Thanks to partner Del Rey and to NetGalley for the gifted eARC!*

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I went into this with minimal expectations and mostly just high curiosity over how heavy it was trending on my fyp. I don’t read much dystopian fantasy so keep that in mind. I can’t even lie i LOVED this. This is on the longer side of a book for me, but i read most of it within two days. I loved the characters and this book makes me want to read more dystopian type romantasy books.

The only thing that really annoyed me was how often they mention how tiny and petite Wren is compared to big macho man Cross but i feel like that’s true for lots of books at this point. I will be needing the second book IMMEDIATELY btw. Personally, yeah the hype was real.

This was a good book. I will admit it was a bit predictable and overly tropey but it was fun and a great binge read. This had very consumable world building and setting up the magic system was easy to grasp. I did love the relationship between wren and cross. The tension that built between them was delicious. Overall I had a good time with this

Romantasy at its best. This gave me serious Yarros vibes. I loved every tragic minute and devoured it in two days. Cannot wait for the next two books.

This book starts really strong with a kick-ass female protagonist. She lists her top two weaknesses as impulsiveness and impatience, and these characteristics really do guide her actions. She both makes me laugh and root for her even when you shake your head and think, no, don't do that. The enemies to lovers romance moves much too quickly for me and the reveal is hardly a reveal. The world building is a bit disjointed providing clues but not a clear path as to how the world ended up the way it did. This book is only the first in the series, and I hope we get more of that in future books. The side characters are fascinating and plenty of surprises await us in relation to them. I definitely enjoyed the story, and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance ecopy. My opinion is my own.

this book was such a fun time! it definitely had me not wanting to put it down and was a real page turner! some things i definitely predicted, but that’s ok!

our fmc, wren, was such a strong & resilient character. she has gone through so much, and she never let it get her down.

i’m a SUCKER for side characters, and i just loved kaine! he was such a fun and likeable character!

not gonna lie, i did not like cross (the mmc) for a good chunk of the book, until they started booking up but even some of the things he said had me cringing. it wasn’t cheesy, but i just didn’t like how he talked to wren during their intimate interactions. HOWEVER, he did make up for it for the last chunk of the book!

the one thing i didn’t like was that there was a lack of world building, no explanation as to why their world is in the situation it’s in. it would have been so nice to have some background info on it.

thank you to netgalley, del rey, and dani for sending me an e-arc for an honest review!

what to expect:
- dystopian romance
- military setting
- secrets & lies
- forbidden love
- enemies to lovers

Very fun ride! I think people who enjoyed books like fourth wing and the hunger games would really like reading this.
A little predictable, but I didn’t mind because the story was so much fun.

a strong start but then we really started regurgitating every single plot line that a fantasy or dystopian book has ever adopted. turned very meh. also wren has no personality whatsoever that makes any sense. truly. she goes back on her word 800 times. whoevers pen name this is, you flopped

I really liked Wren she has to keep her powers hidden psychic powers can get you killed, but luckily they don't show the way other people's do.
She is an ace shot which she needs to be careful of showing too much as there is constant surveillance and fear of detection.
She meets Cross who is definitely in the vein of Rhysand from ACOTAR.
It is dystopian with a Divergent feel to it.
I really liked the vibe between Wren and Cross he misses nothing when it comes to her, Wren is strong and smart can stand up for herself she doesn't back down.
You'll probably lose sleep reading this as you will want to read just one more page.
Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.

This debut came out swinging with psychic powers, military chaos, and a main character who had me hooked from page one.

Wren’s internal voice? Sharp, funny, and full of bite. The story throws you into high-stakes drama with zero hand-holding, and somehow I was both emotionally wrecked and giggling at her sass.

By 15%, I was fully invested in the world, the politics, and that one particular character who will 100% dominate your BookTok feed soon. You’ll know who I mean. 👀

Was it perfect? Nope. A little predictable and some cringe here and there, but honestly? I didn’t care. I tore through it like my life depended on it. That’s a win in my book.

4 stars. Purely on vibes. Would I recommend? Absolutely. Especially if you’re in the mood for a binge-read that punches hard and leaves you wanting the sequel ASAP.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I personally thought there were a lot of inconsistencies and even the world building was pretty vague. Quite a few things happened in the book that I couldn’t find reasoning for and I kept waiting for an explanation that never came. I don’t believe it was done with the intention of being purposefully vague to add intrigue for the next book or anything like that. I had so many questions and they just didn’t explain why or how those things came to be and I was like “okaaaay, I guess we roll with it. Next” hahah.
But I had a good time reading it tho!! A few things happened that had me at the edge of my seat throughout the book that I can say were probably what kept me going and enough to keep me interested in what’s gonna happen next.
ALSO, I just need to say how much I love KAINE. YUP. that man stole my heart!

This was a rollercoaster of a ride! I ate up the first 60% of the book. Unputdownable! But then there was some super annoying parts 😂 that was a bit hard to get through. But it was worth it in the end. Daaaaaaamn! I need the love of that man🥰
I’m definitely reading book 2 when it drops.
Highly recommend!

REVIEW: Silver Elite by Dani Francis

Silver Elite gave me vibes from The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Fourth Wing mixed. I love a dystopian futuristic plot, and it is shown through in this book. Silver Elite was the kind of book that grabbed me early and kept me engaged until the end. Its premise is very us vs them, where some people are primes (no special abilities) and some people are modified (with special abilities). Even though it isn't wholly unique, I still enjoyed the story's journey.

Dani Francis did a great job on world-building in Silver Elite. It had enough depth and believability without being too complicated. The world was almost a character in the story because it was significantly involved in everything. I liked the characters in Silver Elite. There were many powerful characters, but they were still different enough from one another. Even the side characters added so much to the story. There was a large cast of characters, but they were easy enough to follow. I especially liked Wren and Cross's characters and chemistry. There was so much playful banter and sparks between them, even through a slower burn. A big theme of the story is about trust and who you can trust. It is interesting to see how this evolves and changes throughout the book.

A few elements of Silver Elite were a bit predictable, but this didn't affect my overall reading experience.

Overall, I really loved Silver and Elite. I'm only disappointed that I must wait until the second one is released!

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Worlds | Del Rey, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!