Absolutely adored this book!! Think Harry Potter duels but actually bloody. Giving this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

To start, this is one of the most interesting magic systems I had read about in a while. Magic is a limited resource that must be replenished, through pain or pleasure, but our protagonist Saff is suspiciously immune to the effects of magic. There is a great world building foundation and we clearly still have a lot of uncover in future books.

The pace of the story is fast and violent. I honestly found it refreshing to see a story about a crime syndicate that was so ruthless and bloodthirsty. The Bloodcloaks take blood is thicker than water to a morally grey extreme that I adored.

The relationship between Saff and Levan took a bit of time to grow on my, but as the story progressed I began to really see how they connected. Magic wand vibrators also helped.

Can't wait for the next installment.

I was so excited read this after reading some of the authors, YA novels; I especially loved Our Infinite Fates. This start to a series and step into adult fiction did not disappoint! The magic systems based on pain and pleasure were interesting and gave the story such a unique edge that I enjoyed; whilst other aspects remained familiar like the presence of a magic school, magical disciplines and the nature of time wielding. I found the world building intriguing and the outlining of the lore intertwined with history meant this was distributed throughout the book, keeping me wanting more. I love the characters in the book, in particular, Saffron and Levan and really can not wait to find out what happens to them next. I also loved the diversity of characters with presented a well rounded world. The book twists and turns so when you think that you know something, it changes, leaving so many questions for book 2. Without giving too much away this book had everything I want in a fantasy - suspense, intrigue, politics, friendships, mythical creatures, magic, romance, world-building and enemy-lover storylines.; with a good pace that keeps the plot moving. I will be recommending this book to others :) as a good romantasy read. Thank you to L.K. Steven, Del Rey Publishers and Net Gallery for this ARC, I loved every moment of it!

Silvercloak is like an awesome mix of Harry Potter and The Departed.

What I loved about this book:
- The world and magic system was well thought out and interesting.
- the love story was more star-crossed lovers than the rather tired enemies to lovers. They can’t be together because they are on different sides of a conflict.
- There is a loveable wolf side-kick (which automatically gets an extra half star)

As a rule I do not put spoilers in my reviews, but I will say that the end of this book was jaw dropping! I haven’t read such a great action packed ending in a long time, I immediately tried to find the release date for the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Fast-paced and gritty with a morally grey heroine I found myself rooting for, even when she made some very questionable choices. The worldbuilding was solid and immersive. Think political intrigue + sword fights + a touch of dark academia. Would read the sequel in a heartbeat.

I had such a blast reading this book — it’s basically magical chaos in the best possible way!

If you’re into characters blasting each other with wands like it’s a full-time job, then you need to dive into this. Think betrayals, secrets around every corner, and plot twists that had me literally blinking at the page like, “Wait, what just happened?”

The main character? Yeah… trusting her might be a mistake — but that’s half the fun! Everyone’s got an agenda, grudges run deep, and the decisions made? Let’s just say nobody's walking out of this emotionally intact.

So, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, mystery-loaded fantasy where loyalty is a gamble and danger is always one page away, this one’s gonna be your next obsession.

**3.5 STARS**

Content Warning: violence, death, drug use, torture

+ Silvercloak introduces us to a world of magic, and to fill this magic well in each person is pleasure and pain. The world-building is amazing – it is lush, detailed and violent. There are mages who uses wands and spells for their magic. There are Silvercloaks who are in essence the good guys, and then the Bloodmoons who are the bad guys – run by Lyrian who acts like a cold-hearted mob boss. Saff is training to be Silvercloak but gets assigned to be deep undercover as a Bloodmoon to gather intel so that their organization can be finally taken down.

+ Saff is an undercover Silvercloak and caught in a mess. Lyrian runs a tight ship and Levan, his son is ruthless and keeping an eye on Saff. She does her best with what skills she has but this being her first real undercover mission – she is not that savvy and makes so many mistakes. I found her to be a fascinating character with her immunity to magic. Levan is even more fascinating with his hard exterior, violent tendencies and yet love for fantasy books. The attraction between them is automatic because in this world, pleasure and pain seem to be there for the taking with anyone they choose. There are a few spicy scenes and it gets creative when using wands and magic! I thought that was fun plus because it’s a world of pleasure – this is a queer community, both Saff and Levan are bisexual.

+ The side characters were great too – I felt like Saff’s friends gave us a lot of insight into her life and world before becoming a Bloodmoon. And the Bloodmoons are interesting too especially when Saff starts to dig into why they do what they do.

+ There is a lot of violence in this book because that is what Bloodmoons are. I liked the twist at the end and it makes me eager to know what will happen in book two. Also I usually don’t enjoy time jumping but this one was easy to follow.

~ I wasn’t 100% on Saff’s reasons for joining the Bloodmoon (the made up reason), clearly someone like Lyrian who has his “eyes” everywhere knows she is a rat – he knows, he just doesn’t have proof but I just kept wondering, why not just kill her? She really doesn’t bring anything to the table here and they were suspicious of her the whole time, but that’s what made the twist more interesting.

~ Clearly this is an enemies to lovers romance but I am still not sure about Levan and how he feels about Saff. Also because they can refill their magic wells with pleasure – I didn’t feel like they had a budding romantic connection at all, more like okay I can help you replenish with this. Do I hope they have a romance? I’m not sure yet.

~ As I mentioned, Saff isn’t the most experienced undercover Silvercloak so there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Also, this is adult fantasy but feels young adult or maybe new adult.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one, especially the world-building which was detailed. I love the magic and wand wielding. There were some pretty violent and bloody scenes in this one but I thought it was fitting since the Bloodmoons are an organized crime unit. They lived up to their reputation. This was entertaining and I’m looking forward to see what happens in book two!

ok so I liked this one, and just the magic system alone has me invested in the series, so I will surely continue to read on and see where things go.

the beginning and end were pretty great but the middle I really struggled with staying engaged with, the pacing was just a little too slow. Overall glad I read on, the story over well is written well .

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, and Inklore for an e-ARC copy of Silvercloak by L.K. Steven in exchange for an honest review.

The Bloodmoons murdered Saffron's parents and she's been plotting her revenge ever since. She manipulates her way into Silvercloak Academy, an elite detective training unit, with a mission to eradicate the people who killed her parents. When her cover is blown and everything she worked for falls apart, she goes undercover to ruin the Bloodmoons from within. Navigating a dangerous crime system, Saffron balances the hatred of rivaling gangs, a prophecy she does not understand, and developing feelings for a leader of the Bloodmoons. As the deceptions on both sides pile up, one wrong move could cost her more than just her place with the Silvercloaks.

4.5 stars! This book had a little bit of everything that I love. The world-building was a lot for me to get my mind around initially, but I had a lot of interest in the characters and their stories. I liked the introduction of the prophecy plot point in the beginning because the reader is learning/figuring it out alongside the main character. Saffron gave me some Aelin vibes, and Levan gave me all the twisty and psychotic questionable feelings. I enjoyed the magic system in this. It felt familiar to the books that I grew up reading while also incorporating something new at the same time.

I am excited to continue reading about this story and look forward to the next book!

I really enjoyed this one! Creative, well-done magic system with beautiful character development. Looking forward to more from this author!

This book was such a unique gem of a read!!! It took me completely by surprise with how much I liked it, it was gritty and dark, while also feeling whimsical with the world building. The magic system and history of the world was very well done, it never felt like an info-dump of long paragraphs I had to force myself to read, it was interwoven through Saff's POV very well and I found myself wanting to know so much more about how this world came to be. The mix of pleasure and pain fueling magic and how different the in-world cultures respond and deal with that was super intriguing and interesting! I found Saff and Levans story to be soooooo interesting, their relationship felt natural and I love how it evolved over the pages to how it ended the book, and I am so confused and intrigued to see what happens to them next and how their story could possibly go. I think the spice was well done throughout the book, it never felt like it was happening for no reason and it always had a point. Levan and Saff foiled and complemented each other extremely well and it was an absolute pleasure to read about them.

This was super action-packed, unpredictable, and an absolutely stunning book that I devoured, I couldn't look away once I started it. I saw someone compare this to A Darker Shade of Magic series, and I agree so heavily, if you loved that world and story, you'll love this one too!

I can't wait for the sequel to this, L. K. Steven has set up such a compelling world, and with extremely compelling characters. The ending gave me literal chills lol and I can't wait to see what these characters do next!

Thank you to Netgalley and DelRey for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the book even though I can already tell the next one’s gonna hit even harder. The beginning had me hooked right away, it was super easy to get into the world but I couldn’t help noticing the huge (like seriously huge) inspiration from that veryyyy famous magical school series, to the point where it almost felt like too much sometimes. My relationship with the characters was super bittersweet, none of them are perfect or instantly lovable, which made me sympathize and lowkey hate each of them at least once. The romance didn’t win me over at first but by the end I was suffering from the betrayal that was obvious from the start. Some plot points were predictable but others genuinely caught me off guard so that part felt pretty well-balanced to me. The final chapter though???? I thought things were FINE and they absolutely WEREN’T 😭😭 I need book two like, yesterday!!!

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**

Harry Potter, but with a mafia twist? Hell yeah! This fantasy was a breath of fresh air that kept me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait for the rest of the series to come out!

This was a ride from start to finish. Imagine an undercover detective story featuring the mob set in the world with magic and something akin to aurors.

The opening chapters sucked me in and I couldn’t put this down. I found myself captivated by the story, needing to know what each day held for Saf, her mission, and her growing feelings for Levan. The pacing is well done as we're thrown right into the action, and who doesn’t love a little wolf companion? Laura Steven also has a great talent for weaving in flashbacks that make them seem cozy and important and not like something to be glossed over. I felt the same way about Our Infinite Fates, and it's nice to see that skill continued here.

While I had a great time with this, as I approached the last 20%, this book didn’t exactly twist in the way I wanted it to. Had I known where we were heading, I’m not sure I would’ve been too thrilled about it, but I’m in it now, and I have to see how it plays out. By the end, this book definitely prioritizes adventure storytelling over a romance, which is fine, but perhaps a little unexpected because Saf spends so much of her mission feeling conflicted about Levan. Who's to say where the rest of the series will take us, though?

This is Laura's first foray into an adult novel, and while the darker scenes definitely push it into that territory, the bones of this book still feel a little YA. I question why some decisions are made and why some things are just a little too convenient. I think we could’ve learned more about Levan’s backstory (specifically why his powers are the way they are) a little earlier because it’s A Lot at the end. Overall, this made it difficult to rate, but since it captivated me in a day, I’m sticking with 4 stars.

All said and done, this is a fun read, and the ending leaves all sorts of doors open for character exploration that I’m really interested to see. If it’s done correctly, it could be really great, and I’ll be picking up the next one.

This book was awesome! 4.5 star read. I was gripped from the start and could not put it down. There was a unique yet familiar magic system, gore, humor, fated and forbidden romance, lil bit of spice, mature MC's - what else could you need in a book?

The writing really stood out to me in this story. Nearly every necessary setting was described well and details were never forgotten, leaving me super immersed while reading. Our main characters were very layered and developed. I felt like I got a good sense of who they were and enjoyed watching their relationships and story-lines grow. The dialog was great and there was a good balance of mature conversations mixed with tongue-in-cheek chatter.

I loved the use of wands! For such a staple magical device, they have been lacking in the book community. The aspect of using either pleasure or pain to fill your magical well was entertaining and not something I have personally seen before. Plus it's nice to see a magic system that includes well-defined limits.

This book held so much suspense and tension the entire time, while still leaving me feeling comfortable and not too stressed out. Some twists were easier to guess since the plot and world were described and foreshadowed so well. A few things still shocked me at the end though! The miscommunication devastated me (like always) but it made sense for our characters and I'm hopeful for a resolve in the next book. After that ending I need the second book ASAP!

ARC provided for an honest review.

The story follows Saffron, a mage in the Silvercloak academy in a world where magic is fueled by pain and pleasure. For years, she’s had one goal: revenge against the Bloodmoons for the murder of her parents.

Due to her unique ability, an opportunity for an undercover mission that might lead her to achieving her goals presents itself. Saffron takes it, but with it, she must leave her former life behind. As she begins her mission, she finds out she’s woefully unprepared for it.

Saffron is first introduced as cleaver and analytical, with a strong moral compass, and just the right balance between thinking and acting. Despite that, she makes a series of small mistakes that leave her at a disadvantage, and she quickly learns that the lines between right and wrong are easy to blur when your hand is forced. Her inner monologue and actions make her into a character that’s easy to relate to.

Levan starts off as mysterious, and proves to be an incredibly layered and complex character over time as we learn more about him, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The dynamic between Saffron and Levan is especially interesting. Tension is high as Saffron struggles to reconcile what she knows and what she feels when it comes to him.

The magic system is unique and refreshing, and the story itself is so compelling that it constantly had me on the edge of my seat.

The climax was so action packed, and as the story unravels, both main characters spiral into desperation, delivering the ultimate punch to the gut and highlighting the overarching theme about how fast it is for that moral compass to shatter under the right (or wrong) circumstances.

Overall this was an incredible story, and I so look forward to the continuation of the series!

Thank you to Del Rey for providing a free eARC via NetGalley. The review above is completely honest and wholly my own.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and DelRey for giving me the opportunity to read this fantastic first installment!

Fast-paced, thrilling, sexy, and completely unpredictable, I absolutely loved Silvercloak. Following the murder of her parents as a child, Saffron enters the esteemed ranks of the Silvecloaks in the hopes that one day she can take down the brutal gang responsible. But when her mysterious quirk of being immune to magic emerges, she is tasked with infiltrating the Bloodmoons with only her commander aware of her task. Now deep undercover, reviled by her once-found-family for her supposed betrayal, and confused by the humanity she sees in some of the Bloodmoons, Saff's loyalty and conviction is tested.

Alongside her undercover work, Saff and Levan, the son of the kingpin, do grow closer, but don't be fooled into thinking their quick connection is insta-love (it's a trope I also could do without), rather Saff questions her own feelings every step of the way and it frustrates her that there is more to Levan than she knows. I did love how their relationship evolved--one that grew from suspicion to wariness to tremulous trust to whatever it is by the final pages--it felt fresh and unpredictable, and I honestly have no idea where it is headed. The worldbuilding and long history was complex and interwoven into the story without much infodumping, but the rifts between the religious beliefs and the timeweavers I felt could have used a bit more development to really cement the divisions in the society. (But I also can see how this will be expanded on in the following books as this history has become more relevant). The magic system in this world was also incredibly unique and the rules of it were clearly established, which is something that can be overlooked in other books but if it is, always contributes to feelings of an unrealistic world. That was not the case here.

Perfect for fans of A Darker Shade of Magic, this is a true enemies-to-lovers, villain-origin, high-stakes fantasy that surprised me at every turn, and it will be one that I recommend constantly. I already can't wait for the next book in the series!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had everything in it that I was looking for. I loved the relationships between the characters. Saff is the FMC I was hoping for. I am highly anticipating the second book in the series and desperately need a trophy copy for my shelf!!

I really enjoyed this one! A nicely crafted magic system with different ranks and roles, complex characters with contradictory intentions, and some poetic moments littered in.

I’ve been looking for this kind of wand-wielding magic system for a while, and Steven has definitely pulled it off well. I loved the way each magic class interacts, and the possibility of having multiple specialities. It feels much more realistic than being bound to only one or having that as a ‘chosen one’ outlier, and I found Saffron more enjoyable as a protagonist with her exemption being more unique.

I was throughly hooked by Saffron’s plotting and Levan’s mysterious nature, despite initially being worried about the ‘dark and brooding’ cliche. His reasoning and glimpses of the rest of his personality are soft enough (and, have their own motivations beyond being awakened by love, which usually irritates me) that it works. I can always feel sympathy for a character who gets emotionally attached to books.

For me, the only thing missing was the connection to the rest of the characters and the outer world—I didn’t feel much emotion at all during the deaths, because I just didn’t feel like I knew them enough, and Saffron was too ‘in the middle’ for them to be hard hitting to me. I think it may have been more effective had she either been reaching out to them more mentally or physically, or putting up more of a solid stone wall from reacting. Something about it wasn’t extreme enough, and the same can be said for the worldbuilding. A little glossed-over in parts.

But as I said, these are details that merely would’ve taken it to 5 stars—I did enjoy this to a 4 star level regardless! I would recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 Stars 🌶️ 🌶️ 2.5 Spice

Silvercloak is one of those books that lures you in with whimsical magic and then punches you in the gut emotionally when you least expect it.
The magic system, rooted in pleasure and pain, is genuinely unique. It creates space for some really thoughtful cultural contrasts, with different societies leaning more toward either side. That dynamic was done really well. The world-building as a whole is rich and sophisticated. At times, it does feel a little heavy with exposition, but the depth more than makes up for it.
The queer representation is beautifully broad, touching on every aspect of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. It’s seamlessly woven into the story and never feels performative. Every character, from the main ones to the side cast, is fully fleshed out and morally complex. That said, with such a large cast, I did occasionally mix people up—but that’s also a sign of how much ground the story covers.
The pacing starts off on the slower side, which made it hard to stay fully engaged at first. But once I hit around the 75% mark, I was hooked. The tension ramps up quickly, and suddenly I couldn’t put it down. The constant sense of looming tragedy keeps the emotional stakes high. I also appreciated the romantic tension and longing throughout. The graphic scenes are rare but well-placed and fit the story perfectly.
This gave me strong magic mafia meets adult Harry Potter vibes. Early scenes felt almost nostalgic, before veering into darker, sharper territory. I will absolutely be picking up the sequel—if only because of that last devastating diary entry.
One thing that gave me pause was the brief mention of “Ludders,” the non-magical population. They’re clearly marginalized, but there’s no real reflection or commentary on that by any character. It felt like a missed opportunity and left me a little uncomfortable. Also, the tavern scene at 32 percent… I have questions. Logistical ones.
If you love dark, character-driven fantasy with political intrigue, queer magic, and emotional chaos, this one’s worth your time.

Thank you to Netgalley and DelRey for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Silvercloak is the first book in a new fantasy series. This book has romance, spice, an interesting magic system and eyeballs that arent in the places they should be.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 3⭐️.
I liked both the FMC and MMC in this book, especially the fact that they bonded over a nerdy fantasy series of books that they both loved as children.
Unfortunately the relationship between the two characters and the magic system being interesting just wasn’t strong enough to overcome the fact that this is basically your average “cop who infiltrates the mob undercover, falls in love with someone on the inside and gets in way over their head” storyline. Because this is book 1 and we need a cliffhanger to continue with book 2 we end up with a completely predictable ending that left me wanting more.