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 🩶

Adding another auto-buy author to my lists this year in L.K. Steven, I guess!

I was so excited to read Silvercloak after reading Steven's YA Fantasy "Our Infinite Fates" earlier this year—I'd never read anything by her before but was immediately swept up in her character building and storytelling prowess that I was ready to consume everything she put out. Silvercloak's premise on its own is incredibly appealing—in a world where magic is powered by both pain and pleasure in equal but different measures, Saffron, our protagonist, is training to become a Silvercloak. They protect people, and she lost her parents very young to a murder in their home by members of a gang known as the Blood Moons—and Saffron wants revenge. After a few of her secrets come to light, she ends up entering in a dangerous mission to go undercover in the Blood Moons. Tied up in all of this is the fact that she's seen a prophecy where she kills a man—the Kingpin's son, Levan—shortly after kissing him.

Steven builds out a rich, interesting universe with unique magic classes and abilities in a way that is easy to pick up as a reader but is still complex and has depth—I'm not always a fan of an overly complicated universe, because in lesser writers' hands, it's very easy to get lost. I don't read to constantly be frustrated with the fact that I can't remember what a spell does, or have to look at a glossary for in-universe terms. With Steven's incredible writing, I always felt grounded in the work and the world and knew who everyone on the page was despite the large cast of characters, and followed along with her original universe so well because she set me up for success without dumbing anything down. It takes a really great writer to do so, and I found myself often craving to learn more about the universe which is not always something that happens for me as a character-driven reader.

There's also a lot in this book that, on paper, shouldn't have been for me. I shouldn't have liked this book—mainly because I'm not usually an enemies to lovers girl. I'm a friends to lovers girl! What can I say—I need mutual interests and quiet bonding. Somehow, Steven wrote a spectacular romance between Saffron and Levan that I believed every step of the way. Levan is a character with quiet depths, an onion that kept getting layers pulled back one at a time as I learned more about him—I was constantly shocked with what I learned about him, and yet felt it all made sense in one cohesive character. Saffron—also known as Saff—is just as complex. She's a female character wrought on revenge who prides herself on always having a plan. She's got an interesting moral code that is challenged multiple times throughout the book, and I spent a good portion of the book wondering where she'd go next...likely because she often didn't know herself.

I loved so many smaller details about this book too—the queer normative world, the cast of side characters, the language used for spells, the limitations of magicians, the religious lore around prophets—and I am so incredibly eager for the next installment already.

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!

5⭐

Thank you Laura Steven, Del Rey UK and NetGalley for the ARC!

Silvercloak is an addictive romantic fantasy, set in a world where magic is fuelled by pleasure and pain, an obsessive detective infiltrates a brutal gang of dark mages —knowing that one wrong move will get her killed . . .

This book blew my mind in the best way possible. I was immersed into the world, and was hooked to the point I could not see the ending coming. It was a stunning read, so easy to fall into the world and be swept away by the interesting and intriguing aspects of the magic system implemented.

The plot had me on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the book. The high-stakes dangerous missions, combined with emotional depth and ruthless characters who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, made this book impossible to put down. There were so many unexpected plot twists that made the story even more compelling. I also really enjoyed the political intrigue and the corruption that was uncovered.

The magic system is so wonderfully unique and complex with consequences and limits that continuously challenge the characters throughout the book.

Seeing the power balance between Levan and Saffron was very interesting too. Their chemistry was sizzling the entire time and the way it all played out at the end had my jaw-dropped.

I don't think my review does justice to this amazing book! The ending had me still thinking about the book and I can't wait for the next installment!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ / 🌶️ (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!


-----------


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.