Laura Steven knocked it out of the park with her adult debut! Silvercloak starts off extremely strong and hooked me in immediately after reading the prologue. I found the story to be extremely bingeable, though it did drag a bit for me in the middle. I expected a bit more cunning behavior from Saffron and higher stakes considering that she had to go undercover with the Bloodmoons. The pleasure/pain magic system is so unique and I adored the time weaving aspect - will be recommending to anyone looking for a unique fantasy story!

OK, so this book is a LOT! The prologue had me audibly gasping at what was happening, it was straight into the action and brutality and really gave a good foundation for our main character Saffron's motives. Cut to 20 years later and Saff has nearly finished at Silvercloak school - basically training to be the magic police in the city of Atherin, the good guys. But Saffron has always had, how shall we say, issues around magic. It doesn't affect her how it does other people (so how in a world full of mages nobody has noticed this in her entire life I'm unsure) and she is forever masking this with illusions and enchantments. Anyway, for some reason that also doesn't really make sense she ends up going undercover with the BAD Bloodmoon gang. They're BAD did we mention that?! Her first run-in with the shockingly gorgous son of the kingpin of this BAD gang has him repeatedly removing somebodys hand and reattaching it - standard Saturday night for somebody so BAD am I right?! Anyway, the story and character's motives/intentions/decisions are constantly flipping backwards and forwards and there is a hefty bit of overlooking glaring contradictions and nonsensical plot devices needed BUT, if you can do that the book is a rollercoaster that starts off as good vs evil, takes a detour via enemies to lovers and ends up at WTF just happened - but it is worth a read and judging by the end of the book, the sequel will be equally bonkers and I can't wait!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ / 🌶️ (4.5 stars rounded up)

- dark high adult fantasy
- organised crime
- magic academy (minor subplot)
- forbidden love
- queer
- intricate world-building
- gorgeous prose
- soft magic system

For everyone who didn't hear me screaming on my Instagram story and Goodreads update feed about this -- I could not physically stop reading this book. I think Laura put a Compelling Charm on this one because oh my, just typing this review and thinking about the book has me physically kicking my feet and grinning, this made me SO happy and sad and SO MANY EMOTIONS I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS ONE I AM SO DISTRAUGHT????? THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF I WOULD READ FANFICTION ABOUT BUT (I should probably turn capslock off BUT LISTEN I CANT THATS UM I'M DEFINITELY COMPELLED) BUT THIS BOOK ISN'T EVEN OUT YET SO THERE'S NO FANFICTION, NO SEQUELS, NO SPIN-OFFS NO *ELICITS DEAFENING SCREAM* How am I going to survive the months (probably years) of wait till the sequel comes out :((

OKAY SO *DEEP BREATHS*

This is a beautifully written high fantasy which will have you on the edge of your seat throughout, be careful lest you fall of that edge. Few books manage to hold you captive throughout, there was SO much going on, so much that could (and did) go wrong, that you just couldn't stop reading? The magic system is intricate -- although it is a soft magic system, there's loads going on, time-manipulation, charms, necromancy??? potential dragons?? (There are bits where the magic-system feels too powerful/there's points where it feels like a last minute solution/twist to things but this is the first of a series so I am hoping there's bits that get explained in the future books, regardless, this has turned Laura into an auto-buy author for me)

Levan and Saffron -- I shouldn't like them together. I REALLY SHOULD(N'T????? )THEY'RE SO WRONG (RIGHT) FOR EACH OTHER. And for the most part, I really didn't (or so I like to tell myself?) BUT THEY ARE SO?????? Like I was screaming because the BETRAYAL the DECEPTION the EVERYTHING MEANT TO GO WRONG the FORBIDDEN-NESS OF IT ALL I WILL BE SUING IF THEY BREAK MY HEART. Also, we love non-heteronormative worlds, such a WIN!


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I CAN'T I CAN'T I CAN'T I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOWWWWWWWWWW IM IM IM WHATTTTT WHAT ON EARTH

RTC

4.5 STARS

I CAN'T GET THIS OUT OF MY HEAD I'VE SPENT MOST OF MY DAY READING THIS IM IM IM UNDONEEEEEE WHAT

Silvercloak completely blew me away! Fans of Harry Potter will see a lot of similarities - unlike most other fantasy books, those with magic (mages) use wands and verbal incantations to cast spells, which I haven't seen in many other books except Harry Potter. The plot is fast-paced and the romance and characters are incredibly complex - I was hooked the whole way through.

Saffron is a student at the Silvercloak academy, on track for her lifelong goal of becoming a Silvercloak (the equivalent of a more glamorous detective). However during her final trial, a tightly kept secret comes to light, and Saffron makes a deal to go undercover on a deadly mission to infiltrate the Bloodmoons and take them down. She has a specific ability that is fascinating and makes her an ideal candidate.

When she is officially branded as a Bloodmoon, she begins to work and (against her best efforts) grow closer with Levan, the son of the head of the Bloodmoons. The attraction between them sizzles and the stakes become higher as Saffron's inevitable betrayal becomes imminent, and I was so devastated because of how tragic Levan's previous love story was - I really didn't want there to be a repeat of how his past lover betrayed him and it was so painful. But both Saffron and Levan were keeping so many secrets from each other and the full reveals at the ending were shocking-- the sequel cannot come fast enough.

My one complaint is that the world building was a bit lacking in depth. Though it can be assumed that almost everyone has magical abilities (except a select few who are called Ludders) there isn't much explanation as to how they learn and are taught magic. The same goes for mage classifications and the hierarchy of the ruling classes, system of governance, and other territories that are mentioned. The book could have used more context especially when it comes to the magic, but other than that I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for this ARC!!

After riding the high of Our Infinite Fated, I was really excited to see Stevens tackle a different kind of fantasy. High fantasy is really difficult to execute and hard to get right, but I absolutely adored everything about this book.

Silvercloak follows the story of Saffron, a mage who witnessed the death of her parents at a very young age. She hides many secrets — and secrets are hidden from her — as she navigates her last year before receiving her cloak of silver, marking her as the light in a world ruled by pain and pleasure. Addiction and gambling run rampant in the streets, and with this includes the vast reign of the Bloodmoons, a gang focused on suffering, pain, and extortion. After receiving an ominous prophecy that she is fated to kiss — and kill — a Bloodmoon, Saffron is tasked to go undercover and bare the Bloodmoon brand in order to convincingly learn and sell out the secrets that they’re hiding. Saffron must struggle between her duty as an undercover Silvercloak and her growing attraction to Levsn, the kingpin’s son.

This book was stunning; it was so easy to fall into this world and be swept away by the interesting and intriguing aspects of the magic system implemented. Seeing the power balance between Levan and Saffron was very interesting too. While they end up at very different sides at the end, we see both of them turn into villains, with their own goals and aspirations in mind to set their worlds right. The last 50 or so pages were action upon action upon action, and it was so crazy and satisfying to read despite the huge cliffhanger at the end.

I thought the magic system was well thought out and planned to not have much holes in it, and the world we were placed in was fantastic. I loved the side characters as well, especially Nissa and Tiernan. The stakes were incredibly high and Steven’s executed it very well.

This was like if Harry Potter and the mafia intrigue had a baby — it was so much fun to read and so well written! I absolutely recommend it and I can’t wait for the second book to come out.

Hodge podge of mediocre books all mashed together.

Not sure what the plot twists were supposed to be? I guessed the MMC goal at 20% and considering they were both so over powered, nothing else was a surprise - thank you human time turner and someone to represent literally everything else.

If you said this was YA I'd not be surprised, it didn't have the depth I love in adult fantasy. The only partially adult element seemed to be the explicit scenes that are bleeding into younger literature.

I did like the romance, the inner conflict etc was very fun. The banter was again fun but didn't really make that much sense considering their situation.

The magic system was fun but if anyone can basically do everything it gets confused quickly and you run into breaking magic rules. To be honest if it's all explained in the next book that's great but I don't care enough about this to continue with this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

I wasn't sure about the story initially, but it took hold of me straight away and I found myself deeply involved in the characters and their stories. I love the magic system, which Laura did say was inspired by Harry Potter, and I just love that! The story was a rollercoaster of twists and turns and I just devoured it. I cannot wait to see more of her writing!

Adult Harry Potter x Mafia vibes!!! Screaming this was SO SO good and SO refreshing to read.
I think this is going to be one of the hottest titles of the summer.

It took me a second to get into the world building but once everything clicked I was hooked. Saffron and Levan are so messy and complicated yet everything I could ever ask for.

I love how all of the pieces of the puzzle come together and truly cannot wait for the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Del Rey and L.K. Steven for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for sending me this ARC!

At first I was not enjoying this book. The worldbuilding felt disjointed to me before it clicked into place. The fact that she was constantly being caught out and having her secrets revealed by different characters despite having trained for a decade to be a detective annoyed me. Additionally, some of the dialogue made me cringe and the magic system occasionally contradicted itself, but it also had a lot to offer.

I personally love explorations of the concept of time, so I really enjoyed this aspect, as well as the character's discussions about morality. Without overusing time travel it created an interesting non-linear story that I am excited to read the continuation of. When I was first introduced to the love interest I was prepared for the same tropes as always, but the complicated relationship they have cultivated by literally the last page has so much potential.

I am not a huge fantasy book fan. It was different than what I normally enjoy. Overall, it was pretty good, I liked the way the story ties together at the end. I think the book was pretty good!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Wow. Just—wow! Where do I even start? Silvercloak is my first L. K. Steven book, but if her other works are anything like this, she’s about to become an automatic buy for me. This has, hands down, been my favorite read of 2025 so far.

Silvercloak gives Millennials a nostalgic nod to our younger days of reading Harry Potter, but with a fresh, adult twist—queer characters, a pain-and-pleasure-based magic system (that gets pretty steamy at times), and a gripping, high-stakes plot.

Saffron—aka Saff—is on the verge of completing her final exam to join the Silvercloaks (think magical detectives). But during the test, her unique powers are revealed, and instead of officially joining the force, she’s thrown into an undercover mission to infiltrate the city’s mafia, the Bloodmoons. The kicker? The Bloodmoons are the very reason she became a Silvercloak in the first place—they murdered her parents when she was a child. Just when things couldn't get more complicated, she has a prophetic vision: she will fall in love with the kingpin’s son… and then kill him.

The magic system is incredibly unique, blending time weaving, teleportation, necromancy, and even hints of possible dragons. Every moment of this book had me completely immersed—I wanted to race through it, yet I never wanted it to end.

I still can’t believe this book doesn’t release until July. How am I supposed to wait for who knows how long until book two?!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Inklore for the advanced copy. I absolutely loved it!

I dont think i can sum up how this book makes me feel in one video! At its core its a story of the lengths you will go for family, love and what you believe it right. Its a story of good people doing the darkest things for the chace of something good at the end of the tunnel. There so much more to this world then the little we see in the series debut and i cant wait to see how Laura expants this dark gritty world of magic, deception, and an all cusuming love that can change the fabric or reality and time.

This book is full of twists and turns! It follows our FMC Saffron, a mage who joins the Bloodmoons, only to take them down and avenge the deaths of her parents. This was a high fantasy story with intricate worldbuilding and complex magic systems, but I loved every minute of it!

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

Silvercloak follows Saffron, a mage who joins the Bloodmoons in order to take them down and avenge the deaths of her parents when she was a child.

It took a bit for me to figure out the world of Silvercloak and how magic worked but once I did I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns were fascinating and I didn’t see any of them coming. I especially liked Saffron’s dynamic with Levan, as well as her friends from the first section in the book. I want to read so much more set in this world!

The only issue I had was that it was an extremely intricate world with a very complex magic system and while the first section helped me ground myself in the story, I would’ve loved some sort of guide or glossary of the terms of magic and a few of the workings of this world. But it wasn’t a big issue as I was able to follow the plot very well without one and enjoy the story very much.

Thank you Del Rey and NetGalley again for the chance to read this early.

oh fantasy is SO back!!! i loved steven’s YA book “our infinite fates” and this was the most pleasant surprise to receive!!! from the first page, it threw you headfirst into the story and as we followed saff through her adventures of subterfuge i was EATING IT UP. also can we talk about the romance because???? the warring sides?? this is delectable i’m obsessed to be frank. i need to read her grocery list asap

I really enjoyed learning about this world and it’s magic system, it was so unique and complex that there were always more layers to uncover. I loved the morally grey characters and the romance. It was written so perfectly that the plot twists really took me by surprise, especially that ending! I’m going to be thinking about Saffron and Levan for a LONG time!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Silvercloak is an adult debut fantasy by author L.K Steven/Laura Steven about a wand-wielding mage named Saffron Killoran who infiltrates a gang of Bloodmoons to get revenge for the murder of her parents. One of my most anticipated reads of the year, I finished the book in two days. The strength of this fantasy novel lies in its world. Rich, luxorious, dark, and alluring, the world of Ascenfall is incredibly well-written and seductive. The way the author describes every little detail is what makes the world unique and unlike any other fantasy world I have seen. The writing is palatable and the lore is also rich and fascinating. I felt myself drawn towards the pleasure and pain aspect, and how that translated to cultures and religions.

In the hopes that publishers are really looking at arc reviews so that they may edit the final copy before its release: I urge the publishers to consider changing the last name of Nissa Naszi to literally anything else. It's jarring to have a name that resembles and pronounces so similar to Nazi. Especially, because the book explores in depth genocide, torture, and branding. I'm surprised no one has pointed this out during the editing stage because it was disturbing every time I stumbled upon it and I believe the lack of attention to such a glaring detail is a disservice to readers.

i need you all to listen to me: those of you craving the wonder and nostalgia and thrill of wands-and-cloaks magic need look no further.

silvercloak is queer, diverse, morally chaotic, and has a pain-and-pleasure based magic system that is one of the most fascinating i've read in years, both in the way it shapes the world and the way it shapes the characters. laura steven's adult debut is achingly romantic, devastatingly vicious, endlessly fascinating, and pure magical adrenaline from start to finish. i promise you: none of you are ready for this.

silvercloak is the reckoning we've been waiting for.

I love this book. This author never misses. There’s so much I love about this, undercover agent?? the costumes for the event made me cry. The writing of this is fantastic. I cannot wait for book two please 😭

Harry Potter meets the Mafia.
Saffron has one goal: bring down the killers who murdered her parents. This is enabled when she is set a secretive mission after being falsely thrown out of the Silvercloak elite force academy so she can infiltrate the Bloodcloaks, branded but protected from their compulsion due to her immunity to magic.

Saf is not shy about getting her hands dirty and bloody. This is dark and gory with torture and brothels and drugs.

The romance is not rushed or forced or the centre of the plot. The magic system is interesting and there are limitations and costs.

<b>Oh, she thought, horrified and fascinated in equal measure. This is how villains are born.
</b>
What I didn’t like:
This had such a promising set up and start, yet I felt Saf’s time with the Bloodcloacks were lacklustre and her experience there felt too easy compared to everything we had previously heard about them and the cruelty they dished out.
I lacked emotional connections with the characters which didn’t help.

What really brought my rating down was the last 25%.
This incorporated a troupe I hate that I view as a cop out which greatly brought my rating down. This is a personal preference and I cannot state it without spoiling major parts of the book, but it is to do with magic and powers.

Physical Arc gifted by Random House Cornerstone.