The characters which were many main characters and side characters did not feel overwhelming to me. They were believable, likable, and well-developed as was the pacing and plotting. I think there was just a disconnect for this storyline for me. he pacing was easy to read and relatable. The plot kept thickening as was the magic system. I did feel like everything came full circle in the end!

Perfect if you like:
Magic and Mystery
Magical realism
Criminal syndicate infiltration operation
Queer
Sex positivity!
Romantasy baby!

I know there will be more from this author, and I am intrigued to what she writes next! Thank you so much to the author, the publisher Del Rey, and NetGalley for this arc!

Silvercloak by Steven was a "did not finish" for me. It is the story of a woman who attends an elite (and magical) training program to be a specialized cop, but she has a secret and ends up involved in an undercover operation. I read about half of it and just did not care enough about what was going on to pick it back up. It felt YA, but had too much sex to probably qualify as YA. I kind of feel like it would have worked better as YA, honestly. I am sure there are people who really got into the story, but I'm not one of them.

I loved this. Following Saffron as she infiltrates the Bloodmoon syndicate was such a ride, with a slew of morally grey characters keeping me hooked. The worldbuilding and magic system were super intriguing, and I'm excited to see where we go from here, because "Oh, this is how villains are born". Consider me left hanging by my fingertips.

This was a highly anticipated book for me. It was a very bingeable read and I found myself finishing the book sooner than I expected. It was fast paced, violent, and gory, with moments of tenderness. The violence was a departure from the author's previous YA books as they were more descriptive in this. I thought the magical system was interesting as experiencing pain and pleasure can increase/refill a person's power.

I did feel it was very similar to Silver Elite and some parts of the book were a bit formulaic. The FMC's decision making were at times questionable.

Read this if you're into: 

- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Grey Characters
- Spy/Mission Plot
- Unique Magical System
- Shared love over a book

I enjoyed the audio and thought @smcoomber did a great job. There were various characters at times, but she did well delivering each individual personality. I'll keep an eye out for future audiobooks she narrates!

I was actually pretty worried going into this one since I DNF'ed another extremely popular book by this author -- I'm actually lucky the pen name fooled me as I didn't recognize it when I first requested the book. And thank god for that because I freaking LOVED this book. It's actually a little stunning to me that its the same author because the style of writing is VERY different.

SILVERCLOAK follows Saffron Killoran or Saff, a recent graduate from the Silvercloak Academy who is driven by a single purpose -- to avenge her parents and bring down the Bloodmoons, the criminal family that runs the city and killed her family. Saff accepts an undercover mission to infiltrate the Bloodmoons and bring them down from the inside -- and accidentally gets a little bit too close to Levan, the kingpin's son.

This book is DARK in a way I truly did not expect. We're talking full on torture scenes, characters compromising their morals for the sake of their ultimate goals, I suppose it makes sense that a world where the magic system is fueled by pleasure and pain that the narrative would take some serious turns toward the dark. Saff's journey to figure out her own magic is simultaneously fairly predictable and deeply enjoyable.

You should read this book if you like:
- Unique magical systems
- Six of Crows and specifically Kaz Brekker
- Flawed but fierce main characters who brook no shit
- Adorable animal side kicks

This book is so good, it's my first fantasy in a very long time, I couldn't put it down
Thank you again for allowing me to read this

Ok uhm WOW!!!! This was exceptional! I have never read a book where morally gray was so true to the meaning of the concept. I feel like it’s a term thrown around a bit loosely, but this book truly takes morally gray and DELIVERS. I felt so many conflicting emotions, not knowing what’s right or wrong, and feeling just as lost as the characters themselves when it came to the decisions that had to be made. It takes a lot of skill to make your readers feel like that. On top of that, the writing was phenomenal, the world building was like nothing I’ve ever read, there were so many layers and complexity but I was never confused. It was truly astounding. The details and the nuances and the big glaring concepts, I’m blown away. AND THE ENDING?? Oh my god I’m unwell. HIGHLY recommend.

I was rather pleased with the premise of this book, and the world system was enjoyable. I really liked the good vs evil outlook of the Blood Moons versus the Silvercloaks, and all in all it was a very in depth, fantasy induced read.

The issue I had with this was that I got bored, and got bored fast. It was a fine read, but I found myself wishing things would move at a faster pace. I understand that the main character was undercover on a special mission, and things could only move so quickly, I found myself wishing for a little bit more spice, and a little more "rabbit paced" movement instead of turtle.

On my nd this was more a 3.5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While this ended up not being my favorite book, I cannot help but be so intrigued by the fact that every character is so truly morally grey and awful. Each character is a set of walking contradictions, loving nerdy books or making costumes for a book signing, and then turning around and justifying the killing of people because they can control time or severing people’s hands.

Saffron and Levan, our two leads are both severely traumatized by the world they live in and they continually somehow make the worst choices possible. But they both have their little quirks that make them human and charming and make you understand what choices they’re making.

The world-building, magic system and politics of this book were well thought out and executed. I also enjoyed the noir feel of the plot with the deceptions and mysteries.

Ultimately, the characters were my biggest problem with this book, because while I understand them and am intrigued by them, I just couldn’t bring myself to feel for them. This book should’ve had me STRESSED and I just felt disengaged during the intense moments.

I’m definitely going to sit with this one and think about it for a while, because like I said, this one was complex. Maybe my feelings will change with time, but for now I am sticking with 3 stars.

If you like reading about characters that all are super questionable and make bad decisions on the regular and how these characters deal with it, this one might be for you!

Silvercloak was an absolute treat! Rich in world-building, cleverly constructed magic, and a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance that hit me right in the heart. Saffron’s story pulled me in from the first chapter and did not let go. The writing is sharp, the emotional stakes are high, and the prophecy thread? Chef’s kiss.

Huge thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC. I’m already impatient for the next book… and emotionally not over that ending.

OVERALL RATING 4.5⭐️
____________
Setting: 5⭐️
Characters: 4⭐️
Plot: 5⭐️
Themes: 4.5⭐️
Emotional Impact: 4.5⭐️
Personal Enjoyment: 4.5⭐️

Well, this was fantastic! Silvercloak is an atmospheric, dark world where magic and crime crossover.

The world building is very, very well done. It's well thought out, well plotted and felt complete. Plenty of time is spent explaining how the magic works and how the world is set up. The concepts of pleasure and pain fuelling magic is intriuging and different.

I enjoyed both the FMC and MMC, who are both likeable, interesting and equally flawed. What I really liked is that they are BOTH morally grey - there's a fine line between being the hero and the villain, and our FMC especially found herself toeing this line often. The themes of grief and self-worth play a large part for both protagonists, and I feel like this was done very well. The side characters or the 'found family' were the only part that I didn't quite gel with, I wasn't emotionally invested enough in them.

The plot itself was fast-paced, gripping and exciting. I generally don't do too well with anything involving time jumps or time travel, however I actually really enjoyed this element of the story. I didn't know which way the plot was going to go at the end - which is a compliment to the author, as I usually spot the pattern from the outset, but this really kept me guessing.

Overall - I had a great time reading Silvercloak, I would definitely recommend it.

This book was so bad ass! I loved it! It is like a mix of Dark Harry Potter and throw in Mafia and sex…. It’s was sooo good that I love telling everyone about it. The relations parts are like WOW!!! This is the story I wanted told. I can’t wait till the next one.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Fantasy and I have an uneasy relationship. Some of my favorite books in the world are fantasies, or at least have fantastical elements. But I’ve also found many fantasy novels impenetrable due to world-building. When everything – people and place names, foods, societal structure and history – is made-up and foreign to me, I get overwhelmed and cannot get into the story.

I told a friend that I preferred fantasy that was rooted in the real world, because there is less of a learning curve. But she pointed out that there is more leeway for beauty and creativity in books set in different worlds. She’s not wrong. So I decided that it’s more a matter of: some fantasy works for me, and some doesn’t, for various reasons. (One of which is being stressed and confused by world-building.)

Anyway, I picked up Silvercloak because it was touted as similar to Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, which I adore. I will not leave anyone in suspense: Silvercloak is nothing like the Scholomance books. I really don’t see any similarities besides there being a female protagonist with magical abilities.

Saffron Killoran is in her mid-20s and about to graduate from the Silvercloak Academy, which is sort of a magical police academy. Her parents are killed in the (very intense) prologue, when Saffron is six, and twenty years later she has a secret plan for revenge on the murderers. The killers were part of a group called the Bloodmoons, who are more or less the magical mafia.

I’m also generally not big on revenge plots, though there are always exceptions. I find protagonists bent on revenge rather single-minded and difficult for me to relate to. So this book started off with a couple of strikes against it, and I did find it difficult to get into.

Saffron has one final magical test that she needs to complete with her cohort in order to graduate from the Silvercloak Academy. The members of the cohort all have different approaches to the test – a mission in which they are supposed to extract fake hostages using magic – and things go south almost immediately. Saff ends up inadvertently exposing her big secret: she is immune to magic.

You’d think that would be a good thing, and very useful in a Silvercloak, but apparently it’s a rare (maybe even unheard of?) condition and kind of a big deal. The powers that be seem to try to regulate the way magic is used in their world (which makes a certain amount of sense), and Saff’s ability gives her an advantage that could be misused. But there are also disadvantages to this trait: for instance, if injured in a non-magical way, she can’t be healed by magic as any other magicians can. I understand Saff keeping the trait a secret but I don’t quite understand why it would automatically disqualify her being a Silvercloak.

Saff also faked a certification in order to get into the Silvercloak Academy, which is another reason her graduation is in serious jeopardy. She has a meeting with Captain Aspar, her superior in the academy, and is offered an opportunity: go undercover with the Bloodmoons and help take them down. Since this dovetails with her plans neatly, Saff is more than happy to accept. The downside is that she has to do a stint in jail first and present herself to the world as a disgrace that was kicked out of the Silvercloaks.

One plot point that I wanted to mention – it’s sometimes treated as important but also it came up sporadically enough that I would kind of forget about it while reading: in this world, magic is replenished through pain and/or pleasure. My first thought on reading this was that the book was going to have an BDSM bent, and I was not happy, since I really do not care for that in a story. But again, it didn’t feel like it came up super-frequently, and when it did, it was much more about the people in that world being apparently perpetually horny, for magical reasons. (That said, it’s not like there’s a ton of explicit sex in the book; it’s just that Saff and pretty much everyone in the story is very fluid and DTF at any given time. For, again, magical reasons.)

Saff successfully infiltrates the Bloodmoons – her immunity to magic means that she is able to fake her way through an initiation meant to weed out double agents. She becomes sort of the pet/sidekick of Levan, who is the son of the kingpin of the Bloodmoons. Saff had previously had a vision of Levan, before she met him or knew who he was. In this vision she kisses and then kills Levan. Saffron, not given to visions, is confused about whether this is true prescience or something else.

The plot that follows is pretty busy. Levan is trying to find a necromancer for mysterious reasons, and Saff is pulled into that quest against her will. Meanwhile, she’s trying to get dirt on the Bloodmoons, all while avoiding detection. Then there is the growing kinship she feels, against her will, with Levan.

I never clicked with Saffron as a heroine. It wasn’t just the revenge storyline that I found offputting; I didn’t find her to be very interesting as a character. I don’t require super-competence in this type of heroine, but I often felt that Saff acted first and thought later. It got tiresome after a while.

There was an unexpected twist late in the book that really did take me by surprise, but it wasn’t enough to make me interested in continuing with the series. My grade for this was a C+.

This is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy, following Saffron, a mage and member of the Silvercloaks, an elite class of "government" agents. In a moment of desperation, she's forced to go undercover as a member of the Bloodmoons (the magical mafia), who are also responsible for killing her parents. Her job is to gather intel to help bring them down, while avoiding getting herself killed. She is out for revenge, and willing to sacrifice herself if that means justice for her parents. During her last assessment as a Silvercloak, she stumbles upon a prophecy that will haunt her throughout the story as she struggles to make sense of it.

I think many people would enjoy the creative magical elements, interesting characters, unique world and storyline, particularly if you're looking for a fantasy story that offers something very different.

For me, this book had so many components that I love, but so many of them didn't land for me and I found myself struggling to stay engaged until around the 65% mark when details started being revealed and the plot points were more directly tied to the primary plot and aspects that were at stake for Saffron. The writing was beautiful, I absolutely loved it. It is definitely a fantasy (vs romantasy) although there is the suggestion of a romantic plot as one of the key conflicts, this does not play a large part in this book, it unfolds in the last third and has more influence at that point.

Where I struggled most was with inconsistencies between what we're told about characters (particularly Saffron, Levan - the son of the kingpin, and Lyrian - the kingpin) and how they acted. On multiple occasions we're told of Saffron's strengths and her ability to assess, use intuition, to think through situations, making her a great candidate for this task. Yet through the entire book she makes stupid mistakes that put her in situations where she should get caught, but doesn't, which made the evolution of the plot feel convenient. Similarly, Lyrian appears to be onto Saffron from day one, which makes a ton of sense given her history, but continues to look past it which doesn't align with the character who is presented to us. Overall, these contradictions made it difficult to feel the weight of the stakes. I struggled to feel emotionally connected, and that isn't a huge problem for me, but when I'm also not feeling the excitement and suspense in a book like this, it feels like something is missing.

I'm hopeful that this was a necessary setup for book two, and that there is more to the story and room for a highly impactful and exciting next two books. 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House - Del Rey publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story that involves a game of deceit, sadism, and masochism. The later two are fuels to the magic system in this world. The why that magic was wielded between characters thankfully never felt like carbon copies of each other. The uniqueness of each side character made the magic system feel mature and believable. I never felt too bogged down with information. The imagery the author was able to create in my mind with their words was vast.

There was a nice balance of romance here it was honestly believable towards the end. In the beginning I was wondering why things were happening the way they were but enjoyed peeling the onion with our main character Safforn. She was a head strong 26 year old with brown eyes and a tragic backstory. She doesn't let her dark past stop her from getting things done and I loved that. The choices she made throughout the story were consistent and believable considering her circumstances and surroundings. This world is gritty and dark, but can also be pleasurable and bright... sometimes there's even a mixture of the set. The story and the character motivations were complicated and I'm looking forward to seeing how this world continues to develop, evolve, and transcend time in the next installment.

This was a fantastic fantasy first story with romance and scenes that are not suitable for minors. It's not explicit but they were detailed in a hazy fog sort of way.

4.25 ⭐️ | I really loved this book! It was a fun adventure into a rich setting full of great world-building and a unique magic system. I was able to connect with the characters and wholeheartedly invest in their development. I really enjoyed how our FMC, Saffron, integrated herself into an enemy faction to get the ultimate revenge, making the forced proximity and enemies to lovers romance even better. I’ll be highly recommending this book to my audience and can’t wait for the next in the series!

DNF.

After not liking both Our Infinite Fates and now this book (which was much worse in my opinion), I can confidently say that L.K. Steven is not for me. It felt stale and I had no interest in the characters or plot whatsoever.

There is not a single doubt in my mind, that this story will haunt me in the best way possible for a very, very long time.

In a world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain, we follow our main character Saffron who is tasked by her captain to go undercover and flip the world of the ruthless order of the Bloodmoons upside down. This premise alone made me froth at the mouth to get to the bottom of this story and MY GOD, was I unprepared for what's to come.

Not only was the magic system innovative and fresh, it also felt nostalgic at the same time. We're talking wands in all different manners, mages wearing fancy cloaks, charms and curses at every corner. This world was filled to the brim with all sorts of magic, without it ever being confusing or overwhelming. I was fully submerged in it the moment I laid eyes on the first few pages of this book.

Speaking of the world, how in the seven hells did Laura manage to build such a complex world that is filled with history and lore and ancient prophecies without it being boring or repetitive for even a second?? It was the perfect backdrop for Saffron's story and so engaging, I felt like an old, wrinkly historian who is crouched over her million dusty history books that are scattered all around her trying to absorb as much of it in my little brain as possible and loved every minute of it.

But now, the part of this book that touched me so deeply I had to reconnect with nature, because I felt myself getting WAY too emotional over fictional characters that do not exist: The relationship between Saffron and Levan.
I am guilty of having a soft spot for the tortured, misunderstood characters that hide behind a careful constructed facade of being seemingly unaffected by everything and it was almost like the author knew that about me and gave me exactly that. It was perfect. It was a clashing of morals, of good vs bad, of breaking and bending your own moral code in pursuit of "the greater good" and of watching two people develop feelings for each other against their better judgement whilst opening up about their tortured past and the shared grief that haunts them. The character development of both of them was so unique and exciting, paired with the fast-paced action and twists at every corner, I had the time of my life.

No notes, Miss Steven. I truly believe that with this book, you created something as close to magic as you can get in our boring non-magical world and I thank you for sharing it with us.

Rating- 5 stars
(E-ARC)
(Disability rep- Prosthetic hand)
Many thanks to Dey Ray, NetGalley and the author for letting me have an E-ARC of this book. All opinions down below are my own honest thoughts.
I honestly think Silvercloak is my new obsession. This book was amazing. From the very beginning, I was hooked from the exquisite world building to the lore and the magic system. I was getting huge Dragon Age vibes from this book and made me wonder if it was slightly inspired. The chapters were short, but they did keep you going and itching to find out more. I did fall for what happened (no spoilers here) but I really wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was quite annoying to constantly hear the prophecy repeated throughout but as I got through the book, it made a lot of sense as I had no idea it would play out that way. I honestly had to go outside and take a moment to collect my thoughts because the ending blew me away.. I am honestly itching for the next book in the series. It left me reeling for days and to this day I still think about this book constantly. I think this is my top five star read of the year so far.

I frantically paced for the last several chapters of this book and I mean that as the best kind of compliment. I absolutely loved this story and world and I’m already frantic for more! Everything was so well developed from the dichotomy between bloodcloaks and silvercloaks to the smallest implications of a piece of magic and the characters themselves. I LOVED seeing the threads of both Saffron and Levan’s hidden (and undiscovered) magical abilities come together in beautiful crashing “aahhh I knew it” moments.
AND ANOTHER THING.
Both Saffron’s last line AND Levan’s epilogue had me hollering so much I startled my toddler. This was a stunning story!