I LOVE a good dystopian romance and this one really fit the bill! This book was so hard for me to put down, mainly because of the chemistry between wren and cross. The political intrigue was also a major plus for me. Can’t wait for the next book in this trilogy!!

CWs for the book: Dubious Consent, Sexual Assault, Rape (off page), Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Violent Deaths, Forced Conscription

First, thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the E-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Second, I am so disappointed.

I was having an amazing time until about ch 15-17, and then it all went downhill from there especially chapter 46 in what was the worst reveal of a century. This review was a lot longer but I've cut it because I don't want the CWs to fall un deaf ears because I am livid due to not having any CWs mentioned before.

I found the MMC, Cross, to be irredeemable. I never recovered from what he said to Wren after she was so desperate to escape. It would have been one thing if he had showed any kind of remorse or at the very least growth, but that did not happen. Every single time he and Wren had a scene I shuddered. And no, I do not care about the reveal. If anything that made it worse. Not to yuck anyone's yum but this was not it for me and if I had known how hard this leaned into Dubious Consent I would have stayed away. Had I known what was going to happen to Tana I would not have touched this with a ten foot pole.

PLEASE ADD CONTENT WARNINGS! These elements were a very unwelcome surprise and it ruined the entire book for me. This was going to be a 4 star book for me and the undisclosed CWs made this almost impossible to get through.

0.25 Stars.

My very first ARC did not disappoint! So good! The only bad thing is waiting even longer for the next book! 😭 A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers! Dani Francis knocked it out of the park and I can see this being a huge hit once it’s released!

This was like dystopian meets romantasy and I am here for it let me tell you. I ate this up! The amount of times I was giggling, sweating, GASPING OUT LOUD… I was hooked from the very beginning and I never felt myself loosing interest at all. I think I was actually dragging it out towards the end because I didn’t want it to be over. I felt the plot was good, it was easy to read/understand, & there’s even a little spicy 🌶️

the ending tho…. 👀
I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting that

So please mark your calendars and add this one to your TBR!

Welcome to the world of dystopia America. A world where there has been biological warfare, civil warfare and now our favourite pastime Class War. Our journey takes our FMC Wren from random romps with the enemy soliders, to a not so carefree life as a government solider. With a few tricks up her sleeves, family trauma and the desire to disobey authority at everypoint.

Throw in a morally grey super tall super sexually aware hunk and it's a 2025 romance book that we all know and love. It wouldn't be complete without a few licorice twists and turns along the way. Some you'll see a mile away and simply accept, others will leave you shocked yet not horrified.

🗺️ The world building is akin to Panem, a post dysopia USA. Utilising wards to control populations. Thin

🌶️ The spice is here but it is slow burn spice and is fairly mild.

📚 This book is for you if you enjoy a FMC that throws herself head first into situations and then is shooked when things go wrong. If you enjoyed the world and vibes of Hunger Games minus the child slaughter than this book will peak your interest.

Please do ensure that you read the trigger warnings before reading as there are a few topics that could cause issues.

✈️ An easy read that's good for those train travel days. This is the first book in the series so if you're a lover of completed series maybe just wait as it does end of the emotional cliff hanger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The stakes? High. The tension? Thick. The plot twists? Relentless. My sleep schedule? Nonexistent. Silver Elite by Dani Francis had me hooked from the start, and every time I thought I had a handle on where things were going, another twist hit me out of nowhere. I remember one of the twists had me audibly gasping when I finally realized what was going on.

Wren is a fierce, compelling lead, and Cross? Exactly the kind of morally grey disaster we all love. But let’s be honest, the side characters within this novel really steal the show. It also has a complex military academy setting with deadly assessments, shocking betrayals, blurred allegiances in a rebellion and are uprising.

For a debut novel, I’m impressed. Was it predictable at times? A little. But honestly, I didn’t overly mind. The world-building is well-developed, making it easy to follow and immerse myself in. It had that nostalgic feel of the 2010s dystopian trend, but with a fresh, adult spin that I so desperately need right now. It reminded me of the Darkest Minds meets Divergent. However, the story stagnated a little about halfway through the book, I think it needed an extra bit of editing love to cut down on repetitiveness.

I see so much potential in this storyline and I hope we're starting to see more Dystopian books released. I can’t wait to see how Dani Francis continues to grow.

*Thank you to Del Rey for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SOMEBODY SEDATE ME. Silver Elite was the dystopian fantasy of my dreams. It was the perfect bingeable mixture of immersive storytelling, forbidden romance and secret powers. If you aren’t a fan of love triangles do not despair- the tension was **chef’s kiss** off the charts and the payoff was so worth it. My only complaint is that Wren gave off “not like other girls” vibes, but she made up for it in other ways so I can’t fault her. I would recommend this book to fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and Red Queen.

Silver Elite reignited my love for a genre I have struggled with recently. I will be foaming at the mouth and chewing at the bars of my enclosure until I have the next book in my hands.

What I loved

* academy setting
* enemies to lovers
* dystopian/sci-fi
* secret identities

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I'm all for books that bring nostalgia if it contains its own uniqueness. This book did not. Usually with books, you enjoy the plot, romance, or both. I didn't enjoy neither. Again, the plot was too similar to other books and didn't contain its own uniqueness. The romance was too lust-filled. I need a slow burn- build on the angst, tension, and yearning. The lust was coming right at you in the beginning of the book and throughout. The MMC and FMC relationship was built solely on lust. Despite my issues with the book, I did; however, enjoy the friendships formed. I also feel that book 2 could potentially be more interesting.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC! I enjoyed this book until the last 5 chapters. It was easy to visualize and it seemed like it would make a fun movie. While there’s a lot that will be familiar to dystopian readers, the characters were well developed and the world building was good. I wasn’t entirely sure what the main characters saw in each other, but it wasn’t an insta-love or implausible situation either. The side characters were interesting. There was too much blind trust involved in her espionage work, though.

The catalyst for the end of the book, and where everything unraveled from my perspective, was a supremely stupid move by the FMC that didn’t need to be made (could have just told him the truth), and wouldn’t have occurred had she experienced any personal growth whatsoever. The MMC seemed to share the sentiment. Lots of absurd lying ensued which nobody believed. It was chaotic and changed the trajectory of the story in a way that didn’t fit with the 50 preceding chapters. At the very end was my least favorite trope and I didn’t even care.

It was enough that I don’t plan to read on. Had I been rating only the last few chapters, it would be lower, but it was an easy and engaging read up to that point.

I’m speechless. I haven’t felt this way after a book in a very, very long time. Dani Francis, I could kiss you ❤️

I think this book is a great addition to the romantasy trend! There was more action and focus on the main character than some others which I liked. It definitely left me wanting to read the next book!

I enjoyed the plot of this book. I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it. It was, however, incredibly predictable. The one thing I didn't see coming was the identity of Gray! (who like, thank god is who he is) But Wolf's identity was pretty obvious from the start. I mostly just wanted to keep reading to figure out how she was going to figure it out.
I enjoyed the story, the writing was ok, I'd maybe read the second book.

Thank you Dani Francis, NetGalley, any everyone who made possible for us to get an Arc.

⚠️I’m not a native English speaker⚠️

Sadly I’ve messed up the deadline to end reading “Silver Elite”, but one thing I think is very important is that I really appreciated the WAY the book was written. As my first language isn’t English, reading a whole book can be tiring and it requires some effort and patience, despite that, the sentences used by the author were posed in a way that made the reading experience the same as reading in my native tongue.

I’m not a big fan of 🌶️ but in this case I even appreciated it.
When I heard about it being somehow similar to Divergent and Hunger Games I was very curious and I definitely enjoyed it!

When, at the beginning of May will be published I’ll get the book, I’m still so mad at myself for not having read the end of it!

A book that pairs everything readers loved from the 2010s Dystopian era, with everything we love about current romantasy books, Silver Elite is a new spicy Dystopian adult romance that you will instantly fall in love with! I read this book in 24 hours and could not put it down. Francis has left readers needing book two and falling back in love with Dystopian fiction!

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

I can’t tell you how many times while reading this book I was thinking the following things:

1) I wish I knew someone else who was reading this book so I could talk about it with them
2) This would make a great movie!

This is Dani Francis’ first novel and it is phenomenal! It has everything I need in a book! Action, suspense, great characters and a good amount of 🌶️! This book will be published on May 6th and I can’t wait until it hits the shelves so I can discuss it with some of my book buddies! To say that I was obsessed while reading this book would be an understatement!

Thank you to @authordanifrancis @delreybooks and @netgalley for a digital ARC copy of this book!

This has all the makings of the next big adventure romance book! It was like divergent had a baby with the hunger games, making this beautiful spicy love child. The potential for this dystopian series seems endless and it left itself on such a huge cliffhanger, OMG. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for the next one. Wren and Cross are adorable. I don't want to give much away, because it would be a disservice to the reader to know much about these characters. Wren is such a strong character and I feel like there is still so much we don't know about her at the end of the book that hopefully will be revealed in the next. That ending though!!! GASP. Cross is such a teddy bear and it was adorable to see wren wiggle her way into all of the situations that she did. You have a hit on your hands Dani Francis!

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

thank you to the author, the publisher, and netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

let me start off by saying this was an excellent debut novel that i will for sure be recommending for purchase at my library. the writing is engaging and easily understandable. the characters feel real and don’t fall into common “romantasy” tropes. wren is a complex and strong female lead. these are all things that i believe will make silver elite a booktok (and thus, a public library) slam dunk. however, my personal issue with it is simply that it feels a little overdone—and i don’t think that’s necessarily the author’s fault. it’s hard to do original dystopian work because there are so many of them out there. there were moments that caught me by complete surprise and moments that i found myself reliving scenes from dystopian heavy hitters, like divergent and the hunger games. all of that being said, despite the brief moments of predictability, this was a fun read and i’m looking forward to book two. and i may have just pre-ordered a copy for my personal library…

Rating 3.75 stars rounded up to 4
Spice 🌶️🌶️

Dani Francis' debut novel, Silver Elite, offers a compelling entry into the dystopian genre, with a gripping story that centers on Wren, a 20-year-old “modified” woman with powers in a world where such individuals are hunted down, sentenced to death, or forced into slave labor. Wren infiltrates an academy for the soldiers of the Company, the oppressive regime, in hopes of aiding the Uprising— the rebellion against the forces that oppress the Modified.

For a debut novel, Silver Elite is an impressive achievement. The author did an amazing job writing an immersive, easy to follow story that flows smoothly, pulling the reader in from the start. The world-building is well executed, and I really enjoyed the world that Francis created

One of the novel’s strongest themes is its exploration of prejudice, division, and the idea that even in times of great conflict, people on both sides of a struggle can possess both good and bad qualities. Francis successfully conveys the complexity of human nature, highlighting that the world is rarely as black and white as it seems. The novel serves as a reminder that we often choose sides not based on inherent goodness, but rather on the injustices we are forced to face. This theme is familiar within dystopian literature, but the author does a fine job of addressing it with nuance and depth.

The romance in Silver Elite is another standout feature. The chemistry between Wren and Cross is palpable, and the spicy scenes are well-written, adding a layer of intimacy to the story without overshadowing its larger themes.

However, while Silver Elite delivers a solid reading experience, it isn’t without its flaws. One of the main issues for me is its lack of originality. I see how Francis tried to put their own spin on things but, in my opinion, it felt way too reminiscent to the Shatter Me series. Although the story was easy to follow and addictive, I figured out the big reveal almost immediately and found myself really just wanting to get to the part where the reveal finally happens. Which it did.

Despite the predictability, Silver Elite is still a very enjoyable read. The character growth is strong, and the romance is engaging. The writing is immersive, and the themes of prejudice, conflict, and identity are well explored. Ultimately, while the novel could have benefited from more originality, it is still an impressive debut and an enjoyable addition to the dystopian genre.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

If you’re looking for an adult version of Divergent, this is it! I wanted to love this book more, and I can definitely see it becoming a hit on TikTok. However, I felt the characters needed more development, and the ending fell a bit flat for me.

Silver Elite is definitely a book that is reminiscent of the 2010 YA Dystopian Era, however, it falls flat compared to its predecessors in terms of messaging and world building.

This book evidently pulls from multiple tropes, storylines, and character archetypes from other books. It is not original, but also doesn’t claim to be. The main love interest, Cross, is an especially common character archetype and him and his personality is hard to distinguish from other love interests in novels of the same genre.

While the main character, Wren, has a similar archetype to other protagonists, I found her struggles and thoughts relatable. The other characters are largely one-dimensional.

Overall, this book was middling in terms of quality for me, but it excelled in entertainment.

This book felt like Divergent meeting Red Queen! Which I loved the premise of, and found the main character to be super likeable. The narrative kept me engaged throughout the majority of the book, with only slight pacing issues right at the start.
I’d rate this book 3 stars purely as I feel i’ve read a lot of these ideas before, however that’s probably because of my intense YA dystopian phase in 2014.

I think anyone who loves romantasy and grew up reading dystopian books would love this!