This book follows Saffron who joins the Silvercloaks elite academy after her parents are killed by a rival gang called the Bloodmoons. Saff wants to get revenge on behalf of her parents, and the opportunity arises when she goes undercover as a Bloodmoon for a mission. Things get complicated though as Saff develops feelings for the Bloodmoon's heir Levan.

The magic system in this book is pretty cool, and revolved around casting spells using a wand where your well of magic is replenished by either pain or pleasure. I enjoyed the slow burn enemies to lovers, and thought the plot was pretty action packed, but did feel like the pacing was off slightly in the middle of the book, and that there were a few jumps between situations.

Overall I enjoyed it and am definitely eager to find out what happens in the next book.

(ARC provided in exchange for an honest review)

This was incredibly good, and my first thought upon finishing was —gods when is the next book out? Only to be reminded the first one isn’t even out yet 😂

It’s been ages since reading something so completely different, so elaborate and so new. The world building is complex yet grappling, the balance of good and evil keeps you guessing throughout the book, and the characters have believable, relatable flaws which make you like them even more for it.

I thought it’d be impossible for me to actually like the MMC and yet here we are at the end. A true, burning, addictive enemies to lovers and vice versa trope.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy, read it again, and read the next ones.

Silvercloak is a fantasy with a romantic subplot (I personally wouldn't call it romantasy) about a mage who goes undercover in the gang who killed her parents in an attempt to bring them to justice.

Ever since Saffron's parents were killed, she has wanted nothing more than revenge. She scammed her way into the elite Silvercloak academy, a police force of sorts in this magic world, but when her scams are discovered she is given the option to do this undercover mission instead. Saffron, seeing her chance to bring down the Bloodmoons, immediately says yes.

But the undercover mission means fully joining the Bloodmoons, including killing and torturing people when they want her to, and this book gets quite dark in this aspect. It really shows how much being undercover sucks, and there's a lot of tension because of this. One wrong move, and she's dead.
The high tension made the plot quite enjoyable, so much could realistically go wrong in this mission, and Saffron often has to choose how much she actually helps the Bloodmoons to make it believable, when she leaks information, and when she does you're only hoping the Bloodmoons don't realize it.

The main romance is between Saffron and Levan, the son of the kingpin. It's a bi4bi m/f enemies to lovers romance which takes its time to develop, and I like the approach to enemies to lovers here. It's slow. She isn't immediately drawn to him beyond the fact that she saw a prophecy where she kisses him and ten kills him. She is actively repulsed by the thought of kissing him beforehand. But her mission demands she wins his trust and gets close to him, and as she does she begins to see the humanity in him, even though he still very much the person who kills and tortures people for reasons that are, for most of the book, unclear to Saffron. But Saffron has little choice but to do these things too to keep her cover, and it does make her question if she's really that much better. Going undercover really leads to some ethically complex situations!

I enjoyed the world building and magic system. Unfortunately, my ARC had no map (no clue if there's one?), but a lot of other countries and regions are mentioned, though the story mainly takes place within the one country. Magic derives from both pain and pleasure, and in the main country, people mostly refill their magic wells with pleasure. Magic is divided into a couple of disciplines, and you can qualify for one or multiple specializations, or none, and you have to meet a certain standard to qualify. This is in part natural talent, in part studying. Magic is cast through spells, using wands, which is something I haven't seen used in a while. There's also an illegal class of magic, which is timeweaving, and people with an aptitude for timeweaving have been eradicated over the centuries because overuse of this power (which allows people to alter the timeline), will lead to the timeline thinning and this causes many problems. I imagine this power will feature more in the next books.

This is first in a series, and the ending definitely left me wanting to read the next book. I like where Saffron's development landed in the end, and the resolve she ends with, and I like that it's not purely about the romance for her.

Would recommend this to people who enjoy tense, high stakes fantasy in an urban/gang environment with side romance and people who like slow enemies to lovers where both characters are morally grey.

Silvercloak was such a fun and action-packed read—I’ll definitely be checking out more from L.K. Stevenson!
We follow Saffron, a Silvercloak-in-training, who’s sent undercover into the ranks of the brutal Bloodmoons. There, she meets Levan, the heir to the Bloodmoons, complete with a tortured soul and mysterious edge. The plot is high stakes, full of tension, action, and cat-and-mouse games that kept me hooked from start to finish.
Saffron is a great heroine. She faces tough decisions throughout the novel, but every choice ties back to her mission and her deep need for vengeance. Despite her intense focus, she comes across as mature and thoughtful—much more level-headed than a lot of FMCs I’ve read about recently, which was really refreshing.
I also really loved the magic system! It was unique, built around pleasure and pain, and involved the use of wands, which added an extra layer of intrigue to the world building.
The romance is definitely a slow burn—we only get crumbs in this first book—but I’m excited to see how it develops in book two!

I recently rediscovered my love for fantasy, and after reading Laura Steven’s “Our Infinite Fates” (which I LOVED) I knew that I wanted to read Silvercloak, and was thrilled to receive an ARC. Thank you Del Rey, Laura Stevens, and NetGalley! This book was a 4.5 for me. The magical world in Silvercloak was wonderfully put together, realistic, and gritty. The plot was darker than I usually go for, and squeamish readers might struggle with some of the scenes (I did), but I was so drawn in that I knew I couldn’t leave the story unfinished. The characters were complicated and layered, and the book asks tough questions about morality and ethics. It certainly leaves you wanting more. Be warned that this book won’t feel like a standalone — there is a series planned, and it definitely ends with lots of questions about what will come next. I’m really looking forward to future installments!

I liked this book overall. The world building was the series that just not be named but magic with a price?

The first half was a bit tedious with the flashback story flow interruptions. There were several per chapter for a good long while, and I didn't feel like a lot of that was worth including? It felt more like telling why I should care or why they are this way, but I would have rather been shown overtime instead of having short flashbacks, sometimes mid-conversation even, that made it difficult to get back into the main story once it switched to the present timeline.

The MMC has Draco personality traits and abilities, though he has dark hair and she has curly silver blonde hair. The kingpin is a Voldemort style character. The FMC finds herself going undercover and a slow burn enemies to lovers relationship progresses from there.

The magic system is based on inner “wells” of pleasure/pain that directly affects the possibility and potency of the magics used. There are wands, incantations, specializations, necromancers, killing curses, and banned time magic. There is a magically binding mark placed over the heart, instead of the arm.

The ending was interesting. The closing image was the story turned on its head. I will probably read the sequel.

Content: explicit s*x, s*x slavery, mafia flooding the streets with addictive s*bstance, woman exposed while being branded and tortured, forced by captor to separate an alive person's eyeball from their head, forced by captor to k*ll and maim, de*th, violence, person's hand must be sev*red magically so they don't die from a cursed object protruding from it, child witnesses m*rder of parents, etc.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

Saffron was just a child when two members of the infamous gang - the Bloodmoons - forcibly entered her home and ruthlessly killed both of her parents. Twenty years later, Saf is on the verge of becoming a Silvercloak (essentially a magical detective) when her final assessment goes terribly wrong and a lie she’s been hiding for years is finally revealed. Instead of being expelled from the academy for her deceit, Saf is instead sent undercover to infiltrate the ranks of the very enemies she has sworn to take down in revenge.

I was absolutely blown away by this story. I was engaged and locked in from the first page and only continued to become increasingly engrossed in the story as the characters and world become more thoroughly fleshed out.

A unique magic system based on pleasure and pain added to the unique feeling of the story.I really liked how the author established the importance of both consistently throughout the book, where you needed pleasure to even have the ability to perform magic, but pain could be used to amplify what the user had left in their “well” of magic. The basis of the magic system and the pleasure/pain dichotomy was intertwined with the culture as well where in this city at least indulgence was encouraged in all forms. While the prefix of spells are explained, I would have liked to have a bit more depth and lore regarding magic and spells in general, but perhaps that is something the author will delve into more in the second book.

I can absolutely recommend picking up Silvercloak if you’re searching for morally grey characters, a queer normative and diverse world, characters consumed by revenge, and sick cloaks.

I didnt fully realize until the end that this was written by the same person who wrote Our Infinite Fates. I liked Our Infinite Fated but this one just didn't hit as hard. I also until 25% of the way through thought this was Harry Potter fanfiction so maybe this is just severely inspired by that. It was overall, okay.

What drew me to this title was the magic system. What better way is there to set up a new romantasy series with a magic system that relies on pain and pleasure? It did not disappoint! Basing a story's worldbuilding around these two sensations made everything more complex than a reader would expect going in. The addition of dark academic elements twisted in a nontraditional way and a slow burn romance that delivered makes Silvercloak a must read for any romantasy fan.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Silvercloak has the following setup: Saffron Killoran, takes advantage of her secret immunity to magic to go undercover among the Bloodmoons, the magical gang who killed her parents. It's not the most original premise, but liked the setting - a world where magic is powered by pain and pleasure, and a beautiful purple domed city. Paired with a fast pace and some very whimsical uses of magic, and I was really enjoying the first half. As the book went on though, there were more and more frustrating problems which stopped me from loving it completely.

It seemed like the author made up the rules of magic as she went along, adding rules and exceptions in order to back up plot points in the story she wanted. This tradeoff kind of works, because the story of Silvercloak is really fun - full of twists, betrayals, and revelations that put earlier events in a different light. Unfortunately some of the twists are very obvious.

The plot is really the best part of the book though, because the characters and the romance fell a bit flat for me. Saffron is a decent protagonist, and her struggle with trying to do the right thing when all the choices were bad was compelling. I don't believe that she is as intelligent and strategic as the narration would have us believe, though. Saff's friends from the beginning of the book seemed fun and I would have liked to see them more. Any other side characters are non-entities and completely forgettable.

Levan, the love interest, is where my main issues are. The author spends the whole book trying to convince us he has two sides - the violent, emotionless enforcer and the sweet, lovable nerd. My problem is I don't think we are shown enough of his nice side. We know he likes the same fantasy novels as Saffron, he learns dead languages for fun, and he's good in bed. None of those make him a good person. He's sort of sweet to Saffron a few times, but I just don't think it's enough to make up for all the brutal torture, murder and drug dealing. I needed more to be convinced, and this also made the romance fall a bit flat for me.

I'm going to complain about some of the inconsistensies regarding magic now, because L.K. Steven really seems to struggle with remembering her own magic system rules. Please skip to the end if you have a low tolerance for pedantry.

1. Saffron is immune to magic. The whole premise of the book depends on this, and we know magical potions are included in the immunity. So how is she able to use an invisibility tincture?

2. Likewise, why is she worried when the casino worker warns her she might be turned into a miniature dancer if she can't pay her gambling debts? No one should be able to shrink her.

3. We are told early on that magic can neither create nor destroy matter, but then later on we learn that there is a profession that involves making food bigger, and that the king had to put a ban expanding rare materials like gold in order to keep them scarce. So which is it? Can they make matter out of nothing or not?

Despite all the logical errors and my misgivings about the romance, I am invested in the story and curious to see what happens next. I also really liked the setting, and mostly enjoyed the writing style. I do recommend Silvercloak for people who like this genre, and I'll definitely be reading the next book.

I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait for the next one! Laura is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me!

DNF at 10%. Was really wishing to love this one but I could not get behind the characters action, and that lead to me feeling really disconnected from them. Overall, the writing and story were good, but I just struggled and I knew the further I continued the worse I was gonna feel about it, so I just left it.

Oh my god, I can’t believe how good this book was. Honestly if I could I’d rate it 6 stars.
And I can’t believe how much it destroyed me.

Saff is an amazing character, strong, ambitious and the author makes it so we can absolutely feel with her. The decision she makes, how everything is going down and how she tries to make it work nevertheless- I loved her so much as fmc.

The magic system was something I hadn’t read in many years and it gave me nice flashbacks to a series I read as a teenager. But it has still new facets and the whole magic system is amazingly explained. I loved it.

And the story itself? I couldn’t put the book down and if I had to I just wanted to continue. Undercover agent magic style and huh, additionally a lot of tension 🔥

But what made my jaw DROP was the end. I mean there were turns of events throughout the whole book I didn’t see coming. But the end? It ate me up and spit me out again. Every time there was hope- next page there wasn’t anymore. And then there was again some turn of events you didn’t see coming and that changed everything. Just for my heart to break totally.

I need the next book like asap.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

Dark, twisty, and completely addictive — Silvercloak had me hooked from the first chapter and never let go.

✨ A magic system fueled by pleasure and pain — where every sensation, from running your hand through soft fur to the sharp sting of a fresh cut, feeds your power. Pleasure refills your magic's quantity, while pain sharpens its quality, making it stronger and more lethal. Utterly brilliant.
✨ Saffron Killoran is pure chaotic fury, grief, and reckless choices — and I was rooting for her through every messy, heartbreaking moment.
✨ Infiltrating the brutal Bloodmoons gang? Check. Watching Saff weave herself deeper into a web of lies, danger, and unexpected loyalties was tense, thrilling, and completely satisfying.
✨ And the forbidden, slow-burn romance with the kingpin’s tortured son? Absolutely delicious. Their chemistry crackles with betrayal, longing, and danger — the kind of tangled, aching relationship I can't get enough of.

Yes, the middle sagged a little, and the ending threw a lot of revelations at once (a few more pages to breathe would’ve been perfect), but honestly? The raw emotion, the darkly vivid world, and the sheer originality made it so worth it.

If you love morally grey characters, high-stakes lies, and dark magic that bites back, Silvercloak is a must-read.
Already counting down the days until book two!

4.5 stars

I haven’t been as immediately enchanted by a book like Silvercloak in years. It’s a dark, whirlwind of a story that is thick with secrets and dripping with magic.

The magic system in Silvercloak is what immediately drew me to this story. In which pleasure fills your magical well, and pain sharpens it is so clever and almost salacious in its application, and the way the fictional world is shaped around these two sensations makes for a rich and complex setting for this wonderful story.

Saffrons thirst for vengeance is so tangible in the first parts of this story, her single minded focus in growing up is so sharp you can feel it from within the pages, and her journey to infiltrating the Bloodmoons, giving up her life, her friends, and her reputation for her mission shows how the weight of this vengeance balances against the rest of her life.

One of my favourite parts about Silvercloak is the dynamic between Saffron and Levan. I absolutely love a sad boy, and Levan seems to be the most tortured soul of all. The way Saffron and Levan slowly get to known each other, revealing parts of themselves that mirror the other is almost gentle, almost as if we as readers are baring witness to something secret. But where this romance really comes to life for me is the struggle for Saffron to reconcile the murderous, cruel son of the Bloodmoon Kingpin with the boy whose favourite book matches her own.

The culmination of this romance, and the spicy scenes that follow, are so hot, and the plot twists revealed WITHIN these scenes had me absolutely screaming.

The storytelling of Silvercloak is remarkable, it’s a perfectly-paced, intriguing story with brilliant world building and a scorching romance to boot. My favourite read in 2025 by far.

Silvercloak is an adult epic fantasy, the first in the series.

This book has blown me away. It had me hooked from the first chapter. The last 20% I couldn’t put down and I had to stay up to finish it.

The story follows Saffron who is training to become a Silvercloak which is the magical law enforcement in this world. After the brutal murder of her parents as a child by the notorious Bloodmoon gang, Saffron’s main goal in life is to bring down the Bloodmoons.

After her final assessment during her Silvercloak training Saffron is offered an undercover posting, to join the Bloodmoons and bring them down from the inside.

After her initial excitement at this mission Saffron soon learns that there are a lot of hard choices she will need to make to keep her cover as well as dealing with her growing closeness to the Kingpins son.

The magic system in this world was interesting in that a persons power reserve is filled by experiencing pleasure or pain.

There were so many twists at the end it has left me desperate for book 2.

If you’re craving a fantasy that’s dark, twisty, and completely addictive, Silvercloak absolutely delivers. I was immediately drawn into this world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain — and needs constant replenishment. (Seriously, whether it’s savoring your favorite pastry or slicing your own palm, every sensation counts!) The way power is built here is so uniquely brilliant, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Saffron Killoran is the kind of heroine you can't help but root for — sharp, furious, and burning with grief and vengeance, willing to cross some very messy moral lines. Watching her infiltrate the brutal Bloodmoons gang kept me on edge the whole time, and the slow unraveling of her lies (and her loyalties) was so incredibly satisfying.

And then there’s Rasso the fallowwolf! He’s not just any creature — Rasso is a fiercely loyal pet, devoted to his master but just as fiercely attached to Saffron, who manages to steal both his heart and his owner’s. His bond with them adds such a deep, emotional thread to the story, and every time he appeared on the page, I couldn't help but smile.

There’s also a delicious layer of forbidden attraction between Saff and the kingpin’s tortured son (who just might be her destiny... or her downfall). Their tension was perfectly slow-burn and complicated, exactly the way I love it.

The only reason I knocked off a yarn skein is that the pacing got a little tangled in the middle — but honestly, the originality, the atmosphere, and the emotional pull more than made up for it. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book as soon as I can!

I tried my best but only made it about 60% of the way through before I finally out it down for good. The author did a lot of telling us things without showing them in the story, and the main character was not flushed out well enough for the narrative. I do think the magic system was very cool and unique, but honestly I couldn't get past the wands being used for sexual magic.

Silvercloak is a compelling fantasy novel that combines an intricate plot, rich world-building, and well-developed characters. L.K. Steven has crafted a tale that will resonate with fans of classic fantasy while offering enough twists keeping the narrative fresh. The novel is an excellent choice for readers looking for an immersive fantasy experience with emotional depth and a sense of mystery.

Obsessed. This story had me feverishly flipping pages well into the midnight hour. Intricate world building with a unique magic system fueled by pain and pleasure, magic with consequences and limits that constantly challenges the characters. Characters who are ruthless and flawed who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. So many unexpected twists and turns with dangerous high stake mission, corruption, political intrigue and sizzling chemistry! I can’t wait for book 2!!