Dystopian books are so back!!!
This book had me giggling, blushing, you name it.
I loved the world setting and thought the magic system was perfect. The idea of Primes and Mods really drew me in and had me wanting to know more. I stayed up to read this and it had me hooked from the dedication. If you loved Tobias from Divergent when you were 13, you’ll LOVE Cross. This book was fast paced , easy to follow along , and had little plot twists that kept my attention. Every chapter ending with a mini cliffhanger is my weakness because after a few hours i’m finished with the book. If you enjoy a Captain and a girl who stumbles her way to being a recruit, SPRINT to put this on your tbr. This will be the book of the summer.
Thank you Netgalley & Del Rey for the eARC ✨

Rating: 3.75

This book started off really promising, and I loveddd the beginning to about 70% I thought it was so gripping and I couldn’t put the book down. I thought the story was good and the vibes were sosososo good.

Only some have magic or are “modified” and I really liked the magic system which was the telepathy. Though our FMC has more than just one gift and it’s super cool, especially controlling others and their actions, I hope this develops in the next book because she will be one powerful badass!!

70-100% of the story, I just wasn’t sold on the romance and I just wasn’t captivated as much. Overall I did like the characters but I didn’t enjoy the romance as much, I didn’t think the chemistry was there. I felt it more between the FMC and another character actually lol also I love spice but dang these two were going at it (imo) I skimmed through some of that part. Also the MMC called her “dove” wayyyy too many times (imo, respectfully).

One of the twists is really obvious which I didn’t mind at all. I didn’t see the second twist at the end though, that one surprised me and I wanna punch that character 👊🏻

I will be reading the next book whenever it comes out because I am genuinely curious how the story will progress.

*thank you to NetGalley and Penguin House Publishing Group for the arc
**blurb taken from Penguin’s website

What this book is about:

In the first book of a sizzling dystopian romance series, psychic gifts are a death sentence and there are rules to survival:

Trust no one. Lie to everyone. Hide in plain sight.

And whatever you do, don’t fall for your greatest enemy.

Twenty-year-old Wren Darlington is not your ordinary Mod. She’s one of the most powerful in existence.
But her world is divided. On the Continent, being a known Modified means certain death, as the Primes—those immune to the biotoxin that nearly wiped out the population 150 years ago—want nothing more than to eliminate those who were enhanced by the toxin and developed psychic powers.

Wren has survived all these years by concealing her abilities and keeping a low profile while doing what she can to aid the rebel Uprising in fighting against the Primes’ oppressive rule. But one careless mistake places her in the crosshairs of the Continent’s military, and she is forced to join their most elite program: Silver Block. Unwittingly, her enemy has given her—and the Uprising—the perfect opportunity to strike a devastating blow from inside their ranks.

That is, if she can keep her powers hidden, survive training, and prove herself to Cross Redden, her cocky, maddeningly attractive commanding officer.

Despite the explosive chemistry between them, Wren cannot let Cross get in the way of her mission. But as war rages between Mods like her and those who aim to destroy them, emotions run high and secrets are revealed, forcing Wren to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect herself . . . and how much of the Continent is worth saving.

I did not think I would enjoy this book as much as I did.

It has been sitting on my TBR since November.

This will absolutely be one of my top reads for the year.

I loved the FMC, she was strong, willing to do what was needed, but also empathic.

I loved the tension between Wren and Cross. It was so well done.

The book had a few twists and heart-stopping moments, you will need tissues for at least 2 chapters.

It has its moments of predictability but not enough to take away from the book.

The ending has left me on edge. Do we trust the uprising??

5⭐️
(ARC review) — Thank you to author Dani Francis and their publisher Del Ray. I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the May 2025 release of 𝘚𝑖𝘭𝑣𝘦𝑟 𝐸𝘭𝑖𝘵𝑒 in exchange for my honest review. Oh man. WOW. Dani I see you. What a debut novel! If you loved Hunger Games or Divergent. This dystopian series is gonna be for you! Dare I say, I felt some Fourth Wing vibes??!! I just love a book that makes me even remotely feel the way I did while reading Fourth Wing for the first time. I have a feeling this book may be the next big craze. This book checks the boxes for Romance, Spice, World building, Action, Uprising and Survival. I was completely glued to the pages and couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to see where the series goes; waiting for book two is gonna be torture! My fantasy peeps… mad dash {yup, sprint} to add this one to your TBR!!!!!!! You’ll thank me later! 👏🏻

Holy moly this book just became my new current obsession. If you were a Divergent/Hunger Games girlie in your teens, Silver Elite is about to be your new adult Roman Empire. This fast-paced dystopian thriller had me hooked from page one. I absolutely loved Wren—her spunky, reckless, and impulsive nature made her an instant favorite. The love story? Absolute fire. Chef’s kiss. Everything about this book was perfection, and now I’m sad because I have to wait for the sequel. Please, let the rest of the series be just as good! I’ll be recommending this to all my friends. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really wanted to like this one based on the premise but I just found myself bored and it fell flat. The pacing was just too slow and it read very YA but with spice. It was frustrating that the MC was immature and didn't think through her actions.

A spicy Divergent set in a dystopian world with forbidden love! The way I absolutely ate this book up!

🖤Commanding Officer x Recruit
🖤Enemies to lovers
🖤Slow burn
🖤Secret identity/hidden powers
🖤Rebellion
🖤Telepathic/Psychic abilities

This follows Wren Darlington and she is a modified (basically someone with psychic/telepathic gifts) and they are being hunted and executed. Wren is extremely powerful and has rare abilities. She is a strong and smart mouthed FMC, but intelligent and I just absolutely adored her!

When Wren makes a mistake her and the only person she’s ever cared for are compromised. This puts all enemies eyes on her and she’s recruited into the military’s most elite unit Silver Block. Just because you are recruited doesn’t mean you’ll survive the trials to actually join. Wren is approached by the uprising and she’s found herself as a double agent..but who can she really trust.

Her commanding officer Cross is making Wrens task all the more difficult, not only is Cross her commanding officer he’s also the generals son. The man responsible for the slaughter of her kind…or is he? The tension and angst between these two is mouth watering! Cross may know her better than she can ever begin to imagine though.

The political intrigue, the unique power, the lies and betrayals in this book had me continuing to turn pages because I could not put this down!! It was fast paced, you didn’t know who you could trust, when the slow burn started burning it had me screaming out loud! I did guess some of the plot twists but the author kept me second guessing myself just enough to where I wasn’t entirely sure.

I could not believe this was Dani Francis’s debut novel, I truly never would have guessed. The writing was phenomenal and the storyline was everything I could have asked for! Just read this, it’s an absolute must for all dystopian lovers

Thank you so much to Random House and Dani Francis for allowing me to read this pre-release in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an eArc of silver elite. The cover and book description is what drawled me in the beginning.

The Tropes
•Forbidden Romance
•Corrupt Government
•Enemies to Lovers
•Slow Burn

Fans of fourth wing (if there was no dragons) and Divergent are going to enjoy this book! I didn’t enjoy the slow pace of the book personally. But looking past that I loved the strong FMC who is has to hid her powers and is forced to join the government’s elite training program. The kind of power she conceals is the exact power the government is hunting for which is why she plots to dismantle the government from within.

Holy crapola this book is a 6 star read for sure!!!! It was so freaking good!!!!!! I just loved the banter between wren and cross. This gave me all the feels of the books that came out in my younger years. The world building in this was so unique and I can’t wait to dive further into the world in further books. Gotta say the ending caught me off guard for sure! Something I kinda figured did happen, but it didn’t take away from the story at all. I just can’t believe I’m going to wait so long to read the next book. Dani did an amazing job getting you to connect with the characters and just enjoy the ride for sure. I loved the slower build up because I know it is going to be a crazy next book! Gosh thanks to NetGalley, Dani Francis, and del Rey for the honor of getting to read this book early! Man I have been getting some really good fantasy books in!!!!!

Fantastic debut! If you loved Divergent and Fourth Wing (without the dragons), this is for you! Listen to this: a dystopian romance in which the fmc is forced to join the government’s elite training program, all while trying to conceal the powers her kind is hunted for, and plotting to dismantle the government from within.

It is SO GOOD! This first book set up nicely the start of this series. While it was slow-ish, so much kept happening during training that kept me itching to keep reading. I mean, I BINGED 500 pages today! I couldn’t stop reading!

Silver Elite is exhilarating! This is THE dystopian romance to watch out for this year! Add it to your tbr!

- enemies to lovers
- hidden identity
- telepathy powers (and more)

4’5/5✨ First of all, i want to say thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. Omg, I absolutely loved Silver Elite!! The premise reminds me a lot of a mix between Divergent and Fourth Wing (two of my favorite fantasy worlds) but with it’s own twist. I devoured this book from start to finish. The only thing I would say is that for me it was a 5 star read up until the last 10% of the book. I found that the last couple of chapters were a little bit rushed and i feel Wren’s actions were a bit out of character. That’s the only reason i gave it 4’5 and not 5 stars, but the entire book it’s absolutely amazing.
I think this book will be one of the main releases of this year and I cannot wait to continue this story in book 2!! Again thank you so much for the ARC 🖤✨

Silver Elite is a dystopian novel that follows a predictable storyline with all the usual tropes. The insta-lust between the main characters feels rushed, making their connection feel more superficial than deeply developed. The plot is highly predictable, following a formulaic structure with few surprises along the way. Despite this, it remains an entertaining and fast-paced read, with enough action and intrigue to keep readers engaged. While it doesn’t bring anything particularly new or groundbreaking to the dystopian genre, it’s a decent choice for those looking for a quick, effortless escape into a futuristic world.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for this eARC.

I’m still wondering how I feel about this book. On the one hand I’m desperate to read a sequel, having loved the last 60% of it, on the other, the first 40% was pretty slow going with lots of plodding info dumps I could have done without. Wren at first was also a tough character to like, making some poor decisions but I was ultimately won over by her later development. I’d recommend this to fans of “Powerless” and anyone who likes a strong female lead, the action is well written and the romance spicy. I decided to give it a 4⭐️, because despite its flaws, it still enjoyed my time reading.

This was such a fun read! It was kind of nostalgic in that it was very reminiscent of the dystopian books popular in 2010’s. It has similar vibes as Divergent, but more adult. I found the overall concept/world interesting. It was nothing revolutionary or crazy unique, but it was still intriguing and easy to understand. I think the world building could have been expanded on, just to give a broader understanding of how everything has gotten to this point, but maybe that will happen as the books go on. There were a few twists that were fairly predictable, but exciting nonetheless. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions and am excited to see their relationships further develop. I think this series has a lot of potential and this book was a really good stepping stone. I can see this book gaining a lot of traction and popularity (similarly to FW). I am definitely excited to continue this series and see where the story goes.

I really enjoyed this book. It was like Divergent but with sex!! A brilliant dystopian story, that explores the history and tension between Mods and Primes. Yes some of it was predictable, but that didn’t make me enjoy it any less? There’s a little bit of spice, but it was done well. The story didn’t revolve around it, and the slow burn was 👌🏼 I was purely here for the vibes and the vibes delivered. Excited to see what Wren gets up to in the next book!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Silver Elite by Dani Francis hooked me from page one. This dystopian novel is about a rich ruling class that is in opposition with the Modified, people who have psychic powers. Wren has lived her whole life hiding these powers from everyone except her Uncle Jim, the man who raised her. When Wren saves a boys life, her Uncle Jim gets arrested for treason and desertion. Wren gets thrust into the enemies hands as she gets sent to Silver Block to train as a soldier. She begins to struggle with her identity and her purpose, while not knowing who to trust if anyone.
Dani Francis has made this new world come to life. The characters are varied, some you root for and some you despise. Silver Elite is a great addition to the romantasy genre.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Worlds, and Del Rey for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Silver Elite is a solid entry into the dystopian romance canon. I had a good time reading it and it was fun to be in a dystopian world, even if it treads on some pretty familiar ground.

It's a dystopian world we've seen before -- an oppressive ruling class, or Primes, that seeks to eradicated the Modified, a subjugated class of people who have powers ranging from telepathy to healing as the result of toxic mutations. from toxic fallout from a long ago war. Naturally there is a revolution called the Uprising that is working to free the Mods from the tyrannical reign of General Redden, an anti-Mod fanatic.

Our MC, Wren, is an incredibly powerful Mod who has lived in hiding her entire life but ends up accidentally forced to join the elite military academy. She spends much of the first quarter of the book trying to get kicked out and this is where the book really struggles. It doesn't make much sense why she can't get kicked out other than the hottie Captain says no (also her plan to get kicked out makes little sense when its very obvious they'd never let her go home, they'd just stick her in a labor camp). It makes MUCH more sense when Wren is recruited by the Uprising to try and make Silver Elite, the coveted top squadron, to be their eyes and ears on the inside.

My other main issue with this book is that there are basically no emotional stakes because there is no time spent building out any of the secondary characters (even though they are pivotal for some of the back half plot twists). There is one major death and one betrayal that have little emotional impact bc I'm just not invested in these characters.

Bracketing all of this, I had a good time reading it and will absolutely read the next one.

This was such an unexpected 4.5 ✨ read! I loved it! It was so refreshing to read a dystopian fantasy that wasn’t the same as anything else I’ve read. This book has so many good tropes too: Slow burn, forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, corrupt government…i could go on. If you’re a fan of dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy you definitely need to read this book! What a fantastic journey. I cannot wait to see where the next book takes us!

I loved the growth of the FMC. Her development from the beginning of this book to the end was insane. It really shed light on questioning everything you’ve been taught to think, and to appreciate that things may not always be as they seem. I really appreciated that.

And the MMC- Omg. This grumpy, cold-hearted man. I don’t wanna divulge too much. But holy smokes.

They both grow and become such lovable characters. I really loved this story so much. What a great book!!

OH my GOSH.

So… I’m trying to rein in all my feelings and thoughts about this book. This is 100% a Fourth Wing vibes book. It will appeal to the masses in the way that FW did. And if you liked one and not the other, I have no idea what to say because they definitely come from the same place 😂 Even though FW is romantasy and this is dystopian romance, the vibes… they are the same.

What I really truly adored in this book was the concept of no one being completely right. In many dystopian books, we get this “resistance” that is perfect. They are right; the government is wrong. End of story. But here… the reader finds themselves confused by who to support. The Mods aren’t always the good guys just like the Primes aren’t always the bad guys. There are good and bad people on both sides. There will always be good and bad people on both sides.

I adored Wren. She is such a powerful and resourceful woman, not always in physical strength but in heart. Yes, she made a few stupid decisions…. But I can’t blame her for some. And there were times that she surprised me by making a very difficult but important decision… no spoilers but I LOVED the relationship between her and Cross. It developed perfectly and was solid from beginning to end in a way that some books don’t do. Pleasantly surprised by this!

I know that some readers will hate this book on principle because it’s “too similar to other dystopian” or “it’s too much like FW and is just capitalizing on its success” but I just sat back and ENJOYED the story. I smiled, I teared up, I screamed and laughed. I enjoyed reading it and I hope others can too!

Silver elite had me hooked from the chapter 1. It got me out of my reading slump because of how captivating it was. I read it in two days which is huge considering I couldn't read the a single word the last two weeks because of my reading slump

Wren Darlington, our protagonist is a powerful MOD (ones who have psychic abilities) who's in hiding and aiding the Uprising Rebel group.
One mistake from her leads her into the arms of the enemy, where she's forced into joining their Elite Training Program i.e Silver Block that trains soldiers to hunt and kill MODS
Thus concealing her true nature, Wren faces many deadly challenges in the Silver Block . Here our MMC enters, Cross Redden, the ruthless yet captivating commanding officer who seems determined to uncover Wren's secrets. As tensions rise, Wren must navigate those secrets, her enemies, and an undeniable attraction to Cross—all while determining how far she’s willing to go to protect herself and those she loves.

my review : I absolutely loved Silver Elite! While some parts of the plot were predictable, the unexpected twists kept me on edge and made for an exciting, tension-filled read. Wren’s recklessness frustrated me at times, but I still liked her a lot. And Cross, omg I Loved him !!!! he completely stole the show! I only wish we had his POV because I would have loved to see more of his thoughts. Let's hope we get his POV in the next book
Guys this book hasn't even been published and I'm talking about reading the next one 😭😭 ohhhh I cannot wait !!!!