4.5⭐️

If you love series like Divergent, Shatter Me and Fourth Wing, then you need to read Silver Elite. As someone who loved the dystopian genre as a teenager, I had the best time reading this book. The tension and yearning were stop tier and the meet cute was so good (iykyk). I absolutely loved the commander/recruit dynamic and you’ll love Cross if you are a fan of MMCs like Four (Divergent) and Xaden (Fourth Wing). The story was exciting from start to finish and that ending was so intense! I cannot wait to get the next book!

What to expect:
🩶 Adult Dystopian
🩶 Hidden Powers
🩶 Forbidden Romance
🩶 Commander x Recruit
🩶 Military College

Thank you to Dani Francis, Del Rey and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not gonna lie, the first few chapters of Silver Elite had me a little worried. The beginning felt clunky, with a lot of world info thrown at me all at once, and I wasn’t quite sure I was going to settle into it. But somewhere around the 10% mark, things clicked—and from there, I was hooked.

Wren, our main girl, is hiding a dangerously illegal psychic power in a world where being “Modified” is basically a death sentence. She ends up forced into the military training program of her enemies, and instead of keeping her head down, she decides to play the long game and sabotage them from the inside. Bold move. I respect it. Her commanding officer, Cross, is the perfect storm of grumpy, lethal, and reluctantly intrigued—which, of course, makes for delicious tension. The banter? Elite. The slow burn? Painfully good.

The worldbuilding leans “just enough” rather than deeply immersive, and I would’ve loved a little more detail about how the society got to this point. But even with that, Dani Francis nails the pacing and character dynamics. Wren’s internal struggle between her past, her mission, and the very real connections she’s forming is what makes the story shine. She’s not just surviving—she’s choosing who she wants to be, and I ate that up.

This one’s for fans of psychic powers, military secrets, and forbidden attraction. It’s got that gritty, high-stakes vibe with a soft, beating heart underneath. I’ll 100% be reading the sequel.

4.75 ⭐️

I actually really liked this!!

So the cover was giving me Red Queen, Shatter Me, Hunger Games vibes - but I thought this dystopian stood on its own really well and honestly didn’t have too much in common with those series, so it felt very refreshing!

It was fast-paced and sometimes a little predictable, but other parts were quite shocking. I’m really looking forward to what comes next for all of these characters!

The romance was pretty insta list from the get go, HOWEVER that aspect didn’t overwhelm the plot imo and the romance itself went at such a lovely pace and felt so realistic.

The end of the book really gave me Mockingjay vibes (iykyk) so I really don’t know what to expect for the next book and where this series will go!

—

Thank you to NetGalley, Delray, & Random House for the ARC!

—

**** I wish the author had put a bit more thought/meaning behind writing a dystopian book specifically. I feel like novels in this genre should be, and usually are, written to comment on the world/society and its problems/injustices. So it’s disappointing that the author’s only apparent inspiration for her book was that she was craving a spicy, dystopian story 🙃 https://www.instagram.com/p/DJUTCGxKWhY/?img_index=1&igsh=MWhyZXRlM2JwcXl2YQ==

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♥️

Are you looking for your next book obsession?! You’ll want to check this one out!

OMG, YOU GUYS!!! The way this book is about to become my entire personality lol. 😍 I ateeeee this book up. I’m calling it now, it’s going to be the next big thing. It is my new favorite book of the year!

Okay, so this one is an adult dystopian romance full of secret identities, hidden & forbidden psychic abilities, an enemies-to-lovers forbidden romance with sizzling chemistry, banter, action, twists, an elite military training program, secrets, scheming, squad dynamics, rebellion, and more. I feel like I talk a lot about MMCs typically and I did love Cross (he’s cocky, smug, jealous, protective, and has secrets), but for this book, I have to talk about the FMC. Wren is bold, fierce, resilient, smart, and powerful. I thought she was a great FMC! I enjoyed reading about her wrestling with her morality when it came to her powers as well her stance on things when it came to the Command versus the Uprising. I love when a book explores that there are good and bad people on both sides of a war and how the lines between right and wrong can easily become blurred. This is something this book did really well! 

This book was fast-paced and high-stakes. The world building was well-done and smoothly incorporated (no info dumping). The psychic abilities are so interesting! (I’ve always been fascinated with that type of thing ever since watching Xmen when I was a kid). The writing and the storytelling were so engaging. It had me eagerly flipping the pages to find out what came next.

If you liked Divergent (but wanted it more adult) and/or Fourth Wing (and are okay with it not having dragons lol) and/or you enjoyed the forbidden magic and cat-and-mouse dynamics in The Crimson Moth, I really think you’ll love this book! Given that Fourth Wing and The Crimson Moth Duology are two of my personal favorites and this one had similar vibes to those in some ways, I absolutely devoured this book! It’s a new favorite for sure!

Thank you so much to Dani Francis, Hambright PR, Del Ray, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review! 🫶

"We spent our whole lives loving each other from a distance. We can do it for a little while longer."

This book literally had me hooked from the first chapter, I could not put it down. Wren was such an interesting character; she was very flawed and made some bad decisions, but she usually had good intentions or a justified reason for her actions. I mean she basically had no one she could trust, which had to feel so isolating.

Wren and Cross had some insane chemistry. Like they hated each other, but they mostly hated how badly they wanted each other.

There were a few betrayals that I was not expecting, but they did make sense, even though they made me sad.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the way the modifieds were able to communicate with each other. It just added a layer of fantasy elements and gave more insights into the other characters. And the fact that she had to go through and remain undetected really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

books with similar vibes: shatter me, trial of the sun queen, red queen

you should read if you like/tropes: enemies to lovers, dystopian, secret powers, betrayal

full ratings:

plot: 5/5⭐
fmc: 5/5⭐
mmc: 5/5⭐
side characters: 4/5⭐
pace: 4/5⭐
writing style: 5/5⭐
relationship progression: 5/5⭐
couple’s chemistry: 5/5⭐
worldbuilding: 5/5⭐

spice level: 3/5🌶️
rating average: 5⭐

Infinity freaking stars! This book is my new Roman Empire—I cannot stop thinking about it. Silver Elite reignited my love for dystopian romantasy in the best possible way. The slow burn? Chef’s kiss. The tension had me kicking my feet, and the emotional stakes kept rising with every page. Without spoiling too much, there’s a whisper of found family on the horizon, and the ending? I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor. I devoured this masterpiece and didn’t want it to end. A solid 10/10—highly, highly recommend.

This was like X-men meets Divergent with spice. Well freaking done!

Of course, thank you first and foremost to the publisher and author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. 
Silver Elite is a story about a girl named Wren who possess psychic powers that she has to hide from the government that is actively working to get rid of "modified" people as they are called. She leads a pretty ordinary life until the day she shots an improbable shot that saves the life of a village kid. From that moment on Wren is thrust into the very military that she has been hiding from her entire life, under the watchful eye of the gorgeous general's son. See where I'm going with this? 
In any case, the story overall was pretty entertaining. It gave a lot of the YA academia love vibes. Definitely gave off Divergent vibes. I'm not really sure if this is a YA book or just straight up Romance/ Sci-Fi and Fantasy. There were definitely steam scenes that make me think definitely romance but at certain points the FMC felt very immature to me which gave off the YA vibes. Certain points in the book were also a bit predictable. But hey, if the formula works, why fuck with it right? 
Overall, I'm not mad at it. I'm definitely excited for book 2 and yes, I think it's worth the read.

Being someone obsessed with Divergent in my teen years this is something adult me was absolutely feral over. A dystopian romance with a forbidden romance in a war on the brink of war. And I loved every minute of it. The beginning and middle of this book were so strong and I found myself unable to put it down. I love the banter between Wren and Cross and how he pushes her and she pushes right back. I love the dynamic of the other recruits and how there’s so much going on with them and the plot in the side of the romance.

Wren was a really strongly written character, I love an FMC who can save herself but when she meets the MMC he gets to be the only one who sees the softer side. And Cross was a mystery for most of the book to me. I so badly wanted to get inside his head and know what he was thinking but every moment he was there I found myself searching for him. I love how when they’re together the chemistry and tension jump off the page.

The ending did feel a bit abrupt for me and watching Wren make moves that are completely out of character from the first 80% of the book. So I am hoping it’s explained more in the second book and I can really see why she made the choices she did. The ending was fast paced and intense leaving us with a lot of questions but all over I really enjoyed this story and I’m excited to see where the story goes next.

Pretty much the moment I started this I started to get that feeling I had while reading Fourth Wing where I thought to myself...yeah, this is going to be big. Dystopia we are so back! This was such a fun book that was hard to put down...each chapter ends in a way where you just have to read one more chapter.

The main character is Wren who is a "Mod" meaning she is modified with special telepathic abilities. But she's not an ordinary mod, she has many different abilities, including that of incitement where she can make others do what she wants. She is hiding in plain site with her uncle Jim on a ranch when Jim gets arrested for aiding the Uprising and Wren is brought in to work with Command. And who is Wren's commanding officer? The devastatingly handsome Cross of course.

This is Divergent meets Fourth Wing in a lot of the most fun and harrowing ways. Wren has to hide who she is among the Command while also not losing who she is and what she stands for. The most interesting part of the story for me was Wren befriending all these people who at the end of the day want her dead and the conflict there was so interesting. She has to endure various trainings and trials in order to become a member of the Silver Elite and her inability to stay away from Cross also kept the pages turning.

While not the most inventive of stories, it is extremely entertaining and my rating is about how much I enjoyed it and how difficult it was to put down. I very much need the next book immediately.

Thank you so much to DelRey publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.25/5 stars

I enjoyed this dystopian romantasy and found it well-written, well-plotted and entertaining.

As the lead, Wren is a heroine to cheer for...determined, loyal and tough as nails. And as a spy, she's tenacious, sharp and able to quickly pivot when needed. I found myself both being admiring of her constancy to the rebel cause and being frustrated at her for what seemed to be blindly following in adherence to a cause that seemed a bit murky at times.

I thought the male lead Cross and the set of secondary characters well-fleshed out and a good cast to aid in Wren's journey. There's good banter, good growth and a real sense of Wren's growing disillusionment and questioning of where she belongs in her world. At times, the pace seemed to slow a little, especially apparent when so much seemed to happen all at once at the end, but it wasn't enough to stall the flow of the story or hamper my enjoyment overall.

A good, solid first in series that grabbed my attention and whets my appetite to see how things will end up.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House Worlds / Del Rey for providing the free early arc of Silver Elite for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Divergent x Minority Report plus SPICE?!? This was SO good guys. Be prepared it is thicccc, but fast paced and worth every page.
The mains and the tension were perfect. The side pieces added so much depth to the story. The world building was just enough. Absolutely NEED BOOK 2. HIGHLY recommend!

It’s my first time reading a dystopian book, and I was surprised by how much I loved the genre. There are so many things I could relate to—so many things that reflect what’s happening in the world. The mind-washing, the ideological wars, humanity hiding behind the mask of totalitarianism—it all really made me think.

Silver Elite is a dystopian novel—and a good one! It’s the first in a trilogy, and I desperately need the next book because it ended on a cliffhanger. The world is divided into two groups: the Modified and the Prime. The two groups differ in their ideologies, and that difference has led to a war-zone era. Due to some biotoxin, the Modified gained powers, and now the Prime are hell-bent on wiping them out.

The book had me hooked the entire time—the story, the characters, and that ending! I genuinely need the second book. If you’re in the mood for a dystopian romance with a bit of spice, you should definitely check this one out. It’s a new adult read, and I highly recommend it!

Silver Elite crackles with tension, romance, and rebellion in the best dystopian tradition, blending high-stakes espionage with slow-burn enemies-to-lovers chemistry. Wren Darlington is a fierce, complex heroine, haunted by secrets and driven by a quiet, relentless defiance. Her psychic abilities add a thrilling edge to the story, while the oppressive, high-tech world of the Continent sets the perfect stage for betrayal and revolution. The push-pull dynamic between Wren and Cross Redden is electric, even if occasionally predictable, and the elite training program is packed with just enough danger to keep the pages turning. Though some of the worldbuilding could be fleshed out more deeply, the fast pace and emotional heat make this a solid start to a series with addictive potential. A must-read for fans of dystopian romance with bite.

BadAss FMC, dystopian world, forced into the enemy’s grasp.
Loving the set up of the world.
Very good book, I was invested in the story right away.
Great for any fans of dystopian books!

“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠, 𝘿𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢...”

Silver Elite by Dani Francis
4.5⭐️ | 3🌶️

-dystopian
-telepathic & psychic powers
-enemies to lovers
-rebellion
-military academy
-commanding officer x recruit
-forbidden romance
-secret identity
-high stakes

This was the first dystopian/military book I’ve read since Divergent came out so I was hesitant whether or not I would enjoy it, but I was sucked in within the first chapter.

With Wren’s hidden abilities, the secrets being alluded to, and the constant danger she finds herself in, you can’t help but devour this. Not to mention she’s a little impulsive and reckless which only adds to the stress and entertainment of it all.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙤𝙨.”

And then there’s Cross Redden.. Wren’s commanding officer… Of the enemy elite training program she was forced to join. Who has it down bad for her. He challenges her and she hates it, but they’re continually drawn towards each other. The banter between them is 👌🏻🫠

“𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚..”

The world building in this was really intriguing and rather captivating for what I expected. There’s so much hidden information and little secrets that leave you hanging on to every word and every breadcrumb. And when you think you’ve reached the plot twist— well.. just check your blind spot. 👀 That last 20% was a rollercoaster of every emotion. I’m VERY eager and scared for what’s to come in book 2.

Thank you @authordanifrancis , @netgalley and @delreybooks for the advanced copy!

Wren Darlington has survived by hiding her powerful Mod abilities. But one mistake lands her in the enemy’s elite training program, where discovery means death. Silver Block is brutal, and everyone wants her gone, especially her sharp-eyed commander, Cross Redden. But it might be the perfect place to strike from within, if she can keep her secrets and her heart in check.

This book kept me entertained from start to finish. The world-building was easy to follow, making it a great intro to fantasy for readers who might feel intimidated by the genre.

Wren is a total badass with a backstory that tugged at my heart. I was rooting for her the whole way. The slow-burn romance added just the right tension without taking over the plot, and the pacing kept things moving without ever feeling rushed.

I’d definitely recommend this one, especially if you’re looking for a strong female lead and a gripping story that’s easy to get lost in.

This was okay. I have been in a massive slump though, so if I read this at another point I would have enjoyed it more. I enjoyed the plot and I really liked the writing style.

I think I will revisit this and change my reviews when my slump is gone :)

In the first book of a searing new dystopian trilogy, a young woman must conceal her psychic powers—and her attraction to her handsome, infuriating commanding officer—as she works undercover to take down a brutal government from within.

The FMC was your typical reckless, overly stubborn, and sometimes frustrating heroine - the kind that’s been a staple of fantasy/sci-fi romance in recent years.

The MMC was one of the many tall, dark, and handsome brooding types with a ruthless streak

I would have liked a bit more action, particularly a closer look to the internal dynamics within the two enemy camps.

The writing style was simply amazing, it was honestly easy to follow, I kind of predicted some of the plot twist but there were one or two that caught me off guard, the way it's written is so easy to grab your attention.

OH MY GOD! This book is UNBELIEVABLY good!! It’s everything teenaged me wanted from Divergent and Hunger Games. It’s the perfect mix between the two but targeted for adults.

The storyline was absolutely flawless. The twists and turns were constant and the last 50 pages had my heart racing. The only thing I’m sad about is that I read this as an ARC and now I’ve got such a long wait before book 2 and that ending was SO GOOD! Silver Elite will 100% be up there for my top read of the year and will stay in my mind for a long, long time.

Wow 5 stars 🌟
This was amazing! One of the best dystopian books I have read in a long time. For fans of divergent, shatter me, the hunger games. The writing was spectacular and I loved the romance in this book it was hot 🔥 I can't wait for the 2nd book !