YESSSSS yes yes yes. It was like Harry Potter but for adults. The wands, the magic, the romance, the politics….THE BETRAYAL!!!…totally here for all of it. Loved it, love love loved itttttt

Oh my gosh!!!!! This book was utter perfection! It scratched that adult Harry Potter type world and just took it and made it even better! Like I have been wanting a true enemies to lovers slow burn and this book is it!!!! First this world is so unique and just loved getting to see the in and outs of it. Then the magic in this is so freaking cool and I can’t wait to dive further into it. And this book wrecked like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I started reading it. Like I can’t believe how long I’ll have to wait til the next one because my goodness the last 20 percent of this book just blew my mind. I can’t believe I got the honor or reading it early. And now I have to wait til it is published to talk about it with friends. Seriously though I loved the fmc and mmc. And man this will be on my mind for a while for sure. Now I’m beyond excited to read her other book our infinite fates when it comes out next month. So thanks NetGalley, del Rey, and Laura Steven for giving me the opportunity to read and rate this book.

This adult epic fantasy introduces readers to a world where magic is uniquely powered by both pleasure and pain. The narrative centers on Saffron, a determined protagonist who, after witnessing her parents' murder by the Bloodcloaks at a young age, infiltrates this brutal gang of dark mages as part of a covert mission. Her immunity to magic renders her an invaluable asset, but also places her in constant peril. As Saffron delves deeper into the underworld, she confronts moral ambiguities and forms complex relationships, notably with Levan, a morally grey character whose secrets and charisma have captivated early readers.

I love the intricate world-building and innovative magic system. The concept of magic being fueled by pleasure and pain is woven seamlessly into the fabric of the society, influencing various aspects of life and governance. This unique approach has been described as "sexy, beguiling, and wholly intoxicating," creating a fantasy that "crackles with vibrant and alluring energy."

The character development, particularly of Saffron, has been highlighted for its depth and relatability. Her journey from a vengeance-driven individual to someone grappling with the complexities of morality and identity. The dynamic between Saffron and Levan offers a compelling enemies-to-lovers arc, adding emotional intensity to the plot.

The novel's ability to blend dark, gritty elements with moments of levity and romance. The portrayal of a society where magic's dual nature influences both the elite and the underworld provides a rich backdrop for political intrigue and personal vendettas. The narrative's pacing keeps readers engaged, with twists and turns leading to an unpredictable and satisfying conclusion.

Overall, "Silvercloak" is poised to be a standout in the fantasy genre, offering a fresh perspective with its unique magic system and complex character dynamics. Fans of adult fantasy seeking a blend of action, romance, and moral exploration will find this novel particularly engaging.

The grandeur and scale of this book and its world is precisely where I want to start because L.K. Steven, you have accomplished was very few and far between accomplish (in my opinion)… A world that feels like it’s continuing beyond the page. The very nature of the narrative means stories and relationship are broken, splintered, woven, unpicked, glued and more throughout the novel, but there’s a level of realism that comes from L.K. Steven allowing her world, and secondary characters, to LIVE outside of when they pop up in the protagonist’s timeline. This world is hearty, complex, multi-faceted, history-rich, and I cannot compliment it enough!

The fantasy elements of this novel really intrigued me as I’ve heard of pain as fuel for power but feel I have seen/read little of pleasure. Without going into too much detail, this fascinated me as I’ve always been one who believed power funded pleasure and had never considered the vice versa as a foundation for magic. This leads to some very exhilarating plot points throughout Silvercloak and I’m hooked to this concept! In fact, after finishing reading, when I found myself in moments of happiness, I questioned do I feel more powerful and found I did! So perhaps Steven has tapped into something in psyche’s we may have tucked away or pushed down, and I’m interested to see where this develops to.

The romance elements were, and yes, I’m going to just say it as it is, they were HOT. That being said, they were never unnecessarily trying too hard to be, which is what I think makes them so successful. So much so that I would go as far to say I disagree with this novel being classed as romantasy and would argue it’s straight up fantasy with a REAL protagonist. None of the hot and steamy scenes were overly gratuitous nor did they feel shoehorned in like some other books in the genre. They were the scenes of an adult in this world doing what adults in that world would do! The depth of these romantic relationships further engrossed me in this world and, again, I cannot see where these stories flow.

This review is relatively difficult for me to write as I want to talk about every little detail because I LOVED SILVERCLOAK THAT MUCH! However, having seen some unfortunate spoilers during my time reading/before reading Silvercloak, I would never want any future or prospective readers to stumble across that with my review. I will be posting a more spoilerific, in depth review once the novel is out and the world has had time to digest it. In the meantime, I highly recommend any adult readers get preordering as, if this book is anything like Steven’s Our Infinite Fates, they are certain to be flying off the shelves…

This was absolutely incredible. This book hands down had the most interesting magic system. It was like Harry Potter, (because they use wands and spells), but the magic is controlled in a sense by pain and pleasure. That is UNHEARD of. & then throw in rival gangs?! It had every element that I love in fantasy.

In short- our main girl Saffron’s parents are killed when she was young. She joins this group called the silver cloaks, which are supposedly the good guys (this whole book will have you blurring the line between good and evil). She goes to school for years and years hoping to be the best of the best and one day take down a ruthless group called the Bloodmoons (the ones responsible for her parents death). She finally gets the opportunity to go undercover and infiltrate when she makes her self indespinsible to them and claims she can help them track down a necromancer. Because of this she ends up working with the head of the bloodmoons Son, Levan.

Sweet sweet Levan. He seems like your classic morally grey MMC. But no. Levan is a truly tortured soul. & Saffron and him become very close. However how will he react when he discovers she’s not who she says he is?! What will she be required to do in the end?

Tropes:
-Tortured soul MMC
-rival gangs/
groups
-pain/pleasure magic
-queer representation
-adventures/quests


READ IT!

thank you Del Rey & netgalley for the arc ❤️

This was such a fun read. This story follows the main character Saff as she attempts to avenge her parents and engages with mafia-esque magic organization responsible for their deaths.

I loved the world building and vivid descriptions throughout. The adventure after the MC’s graduation had me at the edge of my seat. There was a bit of messiness in the writing and characterization, but the adventure and world sucked me in so well that I could overlook it. I found myself with the same complicated feelings toward Levan as Saff did, and I enjoyed their dynamic. Some of the twists really got me!

I did find the characterization of Saff vs what we’re told her character is like (take a shot for every time you read the word nihilist—and I also didn’t buy that she was a nihilist) didn’t totally align. The beginning few chapters up through Saff’s graduation felt rushed and could have been executed more cleanly. There were generally some of my pet peeves with prose in here (e.g. “Something tightened in her chest”) which can spoil a book for me, but there was so much I liked here that I could deal.

I will definitely read the sequel to this and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a charming Magical World with *wands*, romance, morally complicated characters, and a revenge mission.

I have some majorly mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I really enjoyed the world building and magic system. It was easy to follow but compelling and added some great layers to the story. Saffron's experience while infiltrating the magical underground had me equally as invested in the story itself and finding out how the magic worked. The plot itself was also very fun, and the pacing picked up enough speed to make this the kind of book I could easily devour.

On the other hand, I found some of the character work fairly underwhelming. The narrative often tells us how a character is perceived, while showing them behaving in the opposite way. I'm told over and over that Saffron is sharp and clever while she often makes deeply stupid choices. If I have to be *told* a character is smart, it's honestly already a red flag.

I can see the author's YA side of their writing coming out, and while I know they have a YA book debuting around the same time as this one, I was hoping the adult fantasy would feel vastly different and truthfully it didn't. If this had been a YA book perhaps some character elements would have worked better and been more believable, but when it comes to adults making these decisions I just can't buy it half the time.

4.25 stars!

Wow, this book was fascinating. I LOVED the magic system and was in awe of the way L.K. Steven built a unique world and magic system. I saw a reviewer describe this as Harry Potter meets the mafia, and was hooked to start, but I also think this book is more than that. There are layers to all of our character’s, including Saffron, our main character that kept me reading. I really enjoyed this book, and am excited to see where the story goes!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

This one was definitely wild! Lots of juicy world building and terms (which is refreshing, though hopefully there will be a glossary in the final book). I loved the high stakes and wand-based magic, and Saff is both a wild card but entirely relatable. Though I had an inkling about the prophecy, the last 10% was unpredictable in the best way, and I'm looking forward to the next installment!

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

3.75 ⭐️ thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!
I really enjoyed this story. Saffron the fmc is fueled by this huge loss she suffered. Her grief steering her through life. Her working undercover and pretending to be something shes not had me on the edge of my seat. The small details, that aren’t really that small, with her magic, and the things that got revealed later in the books were so good! I just hope that we get to see more of her being smart and clever and not just being told that she is whilst doing the complete opposite of that.
I was so intrigued by Levan and his story as well and I can‘t wait to find out what will happen in the next book! The side characters were great & really like the magic system!

Although this book had a bit of a slow start for me, once it got going I was hooked. The premise is a nod to the Harry Potter of our younger years, even referencing an eerily similar series of books in their world, and the nostalgia of a traditional magical system with wands and cloaks and enchanted items was enough to make this a worthwhile read for me. Beyond that, though, is a complex story that weaves (ahem, yes pun intended) together that magic with other more sci-fi reminiscent elements, along with a romance and the theme of fate that this author seems to love.

I found the MCs to both be complicated and flawed - as the author points out to us, people are not strictly black and white, we exist in multitudes and shades of gray. Lovers of the morally dark trope will enjoy their story, as well as the almost-but-not-quite enemies to lovers that flops back and forth throughout this book, and the ending will give us no closure on that front going into book 2.

Laura (LK) Steven has solidified her place for me as an automatic buy with this and Our Infinite Fates. Can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

2.5 stars rounded up

Sadly, for me, this didn't live up to the excitement of the premise; the start is strong, and I love the idea of training to exact your revenge, eventually infiltrating your enemy's gang. The execution fell a little flat, though. Mostly, I couldn't connect with the characters--I feel what we're told about them and how they actually act are too different. We are *told* that Saff is calm and quiet, yet she seems to incessantly be cracking jokes that didn't land with me, for example. I also struggle with characters who just seem to be able to do everything: every single kind of magic, no matter how rare and difficult. I wish they'd been a little less perfect.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours, and devoured every last little bit!
The entire premise had me so intrigued, we have a magical system where your well of power is drawn from pleasure and pain ( I mean come on how amazing does that sound?!) Despite this it wasnt overly spicy which I loved because sometimes you just need a break from overly graphic spicy scenes. (but also hellooo forked tongues, more of that in 2025 thanks!)

The world descriptions & spells used were reminiscent of childhood books about wizards so felt comforting to read and delve into and I enjoyed that the characters were unapologetically queer as hell.

We follow Saff, a Silvercloak cadet about to face her final assessment which of course goes horribly wrong, & she gets thrown into a deep (way deep) undercover operation. She must become one of the very people she loathes, and accept the brand of the Bloodmoon's, the very people who she watched murder her parents in cold blood when she was a little girl.

While I really loved this story, my rating is a bit lower because I just wanted more from it. I felt that the set up was amazing, the basis for the story had everything that I loved, but the actual time Saff spends deep undercover was lacking.
Things seemed to go too smoothly, and when they went wrong there wasn't enough drama to keep me interested at times so felt like I was pushing through some parts and not totally immersed.

In saying that am I already dying to read the second book? Yes. I will 100% follow it through because despite lacking in some areas the world, characters and plot sucked me right in and I still couldn't put it down.

I fear that I am going to be disappointed in the majority of the books I read this year after finishing this banger.

No, but seriously. This story is an insanely complex and dark narrative about the struggle to find one’s place in a world in which power is fueled by pleasure and pain. Saffron watched her parents death at the hands of the Bloodmoons, a fringe organization kept afloat by crimes that cannot be proven. Saffron becomes a Silvercloak, the “police” of this world, with the ultimate goal of bringing down the Bloodmoons. The exit exam reveals her huge secret, which allows her to go undercover in hopes of destroying the Bloodmoons from the inside.

The premise itself is promising, but the depth of this story is incredible. I want to say it’s a dark Harry Potter, but it doesn’t even compare. Magic is wielded through wands, but replenished through pleasure and pain. The resulting world is incredibly sex-positive with very, very dark edges. Saffron’s every move is compelled by her traumatic beginnings. Grief, ptsd, and overall trauma are thoughtfully explored themes. The idea of timeweaving - or turning the clock on time itself - is a fun concept that is woven throughout the story. Oh, the world building! Like I said before, it’s complex but oh so compelling. The characters are all adults (at least 26 years of age) and function as adults with layered feelings and the ability to think through their problems. It’s so refreshing. Saffron’s self-preservation through banter is hilarious. The romance is great. The ending has me yearning for the next book - and for some fresh therapy.

This book is for anyone who enjoyed a rich but twisted and dark narrative, fantasy, mafia vibes, and unique magic/world building with lush imagery.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the gifted eARC.

Silvercloak is an electrifying blend of sci-fi and fantasy, set in a world where magic is fueled by both pleasure and pain. The worldbuilding is rich and immersive, striking a perfect balance between complexity and readability. The magic system is unique, seamlessly woven into the narrative without ever feeling overwhelming. Saffron is a compelling protagonist, constantly torn between her thirst for justice and the moral cost of achieving it, while Levan’s layered character keeps the romance as unpredictable as the dangerous game they are playing. It is fast-paced, darkly seductive, and filled with intrigue. It is a thrilling start to a series that promises even more twists, betrayals, and heart-stopping moments. I am already impatient for the next book and would definitely be recommending it too.

An amazing book! I loved where it ended but it has me desperately needing the next one ASAP.
I'm living for the world and characters.

This was a 3.5 star read for me, rounded up to a 4 because I do think it has the potential to be a 4+ star series.

The beginning and end of this book were bangers. The middle lost me a bit with not enough emotion. I wasn't a huge fan of either MC, but that the ending revealed that I am supposed to be conflicted about them so that was a nice surprise. I literally said "yaaaaaaaas" at the last sentence before the epilogue. The romantic tension felt a little too YA for my taste, as did the MCs themselves. I kept forgetting Saff was supposed to be almost 30 because she came across as more of a young 20 something. The magic system is interesting, if not a little confusing. But I do feel like that is where the series has potential to shine if executed well.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next one in the series.

EArc provided courtesy of NetGalley
Eagerly awaiting sequel
Nevertheless found the writing a little clunky at times, mostly towards the end once Saff found the full extent of her magic. Speaking of the magic system it felt a little like the reader was being told about it rather than learning about it through the world.
I found the concept of plain and pleasure as a source for magic intriguing, and how it then informed the various world cultures from the Nyrøthi painful approach to the hedonistic Vallin approach.
I would like to know more about the Ludders as I felt that they mostly existed so Saff never had to reach the true bottom of her society in order to complete her mission. For me it would have been more interesting without the ludders.
Also I'm quite curious about how the magic system would work for asexual/aromantic people, as it appeared that sex was the speediest way to replenish your well, I'm hoping that'll get answered in a future book.
Other than those small gripes I found the plot to be thoroughly enjoyable with good pacing.
Pleased to see Laura Stevens writing what is definitively an adult book just as skilfully as her YA books.

✨4.75 stars ✨
🌶️1 spice🌶️

"I see you, Silver. For all that you are."

This was truly a wild ride and such an incredible story of loyalty, prophecies, and betrayal and I didn’t want to put it down!

Thank you to Del Rey for the netgalley eArc in exchange for an honest review. Here we go again!

This book was incredibly well done. It was action packed alongside romantic tension and interesting characters.
The two main characters, Levan and Saffron, were both well thought out characters. On opposing sides through their loyalties yet falling for one another despite their differences. The tension between the two was INSANE.

I found the plot super intriguing. There was never a dull moment and I felt the plot remained consistent throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the writing style and how emotions were portrayed in the book.
This book was kinda like Harry Potter but add organised crime/mafia. I know, insane right?!?

I definitely think every romantasy/fantasy romance reader should pick this up ASAP.

Check TWs and CWs
Happy reading 🩶