Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Well what a start to a series. Yes, it did take me a little while to take to the main characters and understand their motivation but wow does this read like a magic infused mafia romance crime thriller. The plot was great once it got going and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where the series goes. The last line of the novel just…what an ending. Sometimes the writing got a little clunky as if it was making sure we knew it was an adult book, but it didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment.

I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW. MY MIND IS COMPLETELY BLOWN. I HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW BRILLIANT THIS BOOK IS.

4.25 stars! I had such a fun time reading this book. I like the unique magic system and the set-up of a detective infiltrating a gang. Overall, the book was really well done. It had some fun twists and turns and kept you wanting to read more. I will admit that I absolutely detest that the main character's name is Saffron. It bothered me so much throughout the book. There were times that the writing was a little cringey and I felt the author was trying to prove it was "adult", mainly in regards to random "fuck"s scattered throughout that felt a bit out of place. However, I think so many people will enjoy this. As soon as I finished this book I was dying to read book 2.

4.5 ****
The prologue hooked me, but the immediate world building bomb that followed almost made me stop reading. I’m glad I kept reading though!

If Harry Potter was set in a darker world of heists and turf wars. I really loved the FMC and the relationship she has with the MMC. It’s also interesting to think of Magic as being fueled by pain and/or pleasure since Magic cannot simple be generated out of thin air - it has to come from something. I cannot wait for this book to release because it was an excellent adult debut novel! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

In Silvercloak from L.K. Steven, you follow Saffron while she joins the Silvercloaks to find her revenge against the gang, Bloodmoons. In her final assessment that would make or break her ability to join, things go horribly wrong.....or right. I found the story fairly compelling, there was a lot more smut in here than I thought there would be, it wasn't bad per se, just unexpected. That is definitely a me problem, not necessarily a bad thing in the story. I did like the main character, and quite a few of the side characters. The ending I found to be pretty complex, and not what I found myself expecting to happen. The way it ended made me think that there will probably be at least a second book, so I'd be interested in seeing how the story resolves.

Dark, immersive, and utterly addictive, Silvercloak is a stunning fantasy debut that masterfully blends high-stakes intrigue, morally gray characters, and a unique magic system fueled by pleasure and pain. If you’re looking for an enemies-to-lovers story where the tension is razor-sharp and the stakes are life-or-death, this book delivers in every way.

Saffron Killoran has spent her life preparing to take down the Bloodmoons, the ruthless gang that murdered her parents. But when her deception at Silvercloak Academy is exposed, instead of being expelled, she’s given a dangerous mission: infiltrate the very organization she despises and destroy them from the inside. The deeper she goes, the more she realizes that nothing is black and white—not the Bloodmoons, not their leader’s son, and not her own morality.

The world-building is rich and atmospheric, with a setting that oozes danger and decadence. The magic system is one of the most original I’ve come across—power drawn from pain and pleasure adds a visceral intensity to every fight scene, every act of manipulation, and every moment of vulnerability. The novel plays with the concepts of good and evil so cleverly that you don’t realize how much your perspective has shifted until it’s too late.

And then there’s the romance. If you love the kind of enemies-to-lovers dynamic where hatred runs so deep that the eventual shift shatters you, Silvercloak will have you in a chokehold. The tension between Saffron and Levan is electric, and their dynamic only gets more complicated as prophecies, betrayals, and shifting loyalties come into play.

This book has everything: brutal heists, secret missions, a twisted found family, political corruption, and a slow-burn romance that hurts in the best way possible. The final act had my heart racing, and the ending left me absolutely desperate for book two.

If you’re a fan of dark fantasy, morally complex characters, and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very last page, Silvercloak is a must-read. Easily one of the best fantasy releases of the year.

I would just like to start off by thanking Del ray publishing and Netgalley for the ARC Silvercloak. This is a fantasy romance where both love Interests are morally gray. The main character Saffron loses both parents when she is young to a mafia group called the Bloodmoons. Saff makes it her life mission to destroy the Bloodmoons from the inside out by becoming a spy and infiltrating the organization. This task becomes more difficult and bloody than she imagined. The world building is dense and the magic system goes off of pain and pleasure. Two sides of the same coin.

This book took a little while for me to get into in the beginning, but once I did it was an easy enjoyable read. I love books that are dark and dangerous with lots of high stakes situations. This book is very Harry Potter-esque if you are into that.

Well well I love a unique addition to the fantasy world!

This book had a magic system I've never seen before, and I read a lot of fantasy! I was immediately drawn by our main character and her back story and found myself completely loyal to her like two chapters in. So often fantasy main characters are frustrating to read about it - they're stupid, reckless, poor with their powers, don't think through any decisions and generally are naive to the world around them. That as not the case with Saffron, she was truly a joy to read about and I loved watching her navigate the complexities of her assignment and her work undercover. I don't want to say toooo much because spoilers, but absolutely read this book if you're a fan of The Dagger and the Flame or if you want to read a fun magical mafia war style book with a unique world.

I am absolutely stunned. After finishing this book I just had to sit in silence for a moment. The plot twist squarely smacked me in the face and it was not expected at all and yet I am so happy with it. This book was absolutely incredible and unexpected and Saffron Killorans smarta** mouth has my heart.

Wow this magic system was the best part of reading this book. This book starts off with the action right away. The prologue, even though is tragic, it gave a great backstory for Saffron, the FMC.
Then, diving into this world was really absorbing all the inner working of their magic, how pain and pleasure gives them more magic, how they require wands and chants for their magic. Next, is their history about timeweavers. I always love a good time altering magic. This magic systems and a bit of the setting gave me a lot of darker shades of magic vibes.
I very much enjoyed Saffron’s beginnings as a candidate to become a silvercloak just for her to go undercover with the bloodmoons, the group who murdered they parents. Levan was an interesting character, a bloodmoon, incredibly powerful but impenetrable, and very mysterious. Seeing Saf getting close to Levan for her undercover mission was intriguing and in some parts I was in the edge of my seat. This one is action-packed and the magic will just take you. Highly recommend if you like some high fantasy, complex plot with quite a bit enemies to lovers romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

I loved this book, wow. I need to read more from this author stat. Just a very interesting world and magic system and great character writing.

Silvercloak is my fourth Laura Steven book so far this year and it’s only March. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. There’s just something about her writing that speaks to my soul.

This is such a great fantasy novel, it’s got everything I love, magic, animal companions, enemies to lovers and betrayal. Each chapter will leave you itching for more, making it hard to put this book down. I couldn’t stop until I knew what would happen!

This book was phenomenal and I cannot wait to see where this series goes.

That ending has been dying to see what comes next. There was so much revealed in the last few chapters and the tension between Levan and Saffron will be interesting to see what they will do!

- A romanatsy for adults
- Magic system
- Wonderful world building; and the characters move through a believable, magical backdrop including their histories and politics.
- enemies to lovers ... (then kind of back to enemies etc)

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

What's it about?

A fantasy world in which magic is fuelled by pleasure and pain.

Saffron Killoran has lied her way into the Silvercloak Academy (think law enforcement/order of detectives) with the aim of bringing down the Bloodmoons (think criminal gang) who ruthlessly killed her parents and destroyed her childhood.

At the last hurdle, the last test, Saff's deception is uncovered.
She is offered a choice. Get out of the Academy or go under cover into the enemies lair ... Right into the heart of the Bloodmoons and bring them down from the inside.

To play the part, she is branded and has to commit some heinous acts to keep her cover and get closer to the Kingpin's son. The same son that in a flash of a prophecy foretells his death at her hand.
But as she makes progress, and gets to know Levan, her feelings get entangled with her mission and it gets more difficult to keep up with her own web of lies.
Is Levan the monster he projects or a victim of a tortured past?

As the net closes in around the Bloodmoons, Saff's loyalties are put to the ultimate test.

Thoughts

As soon as I started reading I was swept up with the story and the characters. (Watch out for sassy Nissa, she's definitely a firm favourite of mine) - As I started reading I just had a feeling this was a five star read for me right off the bat.
Looking at Saff's character, it took me a while to warm to her. But her flaws and traits grew on me as we move through the story. She makes mistakes. And reflects on it. She starts off as impulsive but then she learns... and her actions become a little more reflective.
Levan was easier to like as more of his story was uncovered, but as with both characters, it was a rollercoaster of a ride as more revelations were unveiled.
I think all the characters were well written and each character had its part. There is chapter in which Saff is searching for a particular wand and she meets an owner of a wand shop. The interactions here were wonderful - and vivid.

World
The backdrop to the story is well described and the imagery rich. I felt that histories and politics of the land/ world were well placed - not overly done but enough to pique interest. I need a copy of the book as I would live to see the map for this world to support the images my imagination has conjured
Magic
A unique magic system, fuelled by both pleasure and pain, with different categories and welders. And because the magic is fuelled by both pleasure and pain this leads to the next point:
Spice
Yes, there are steamy scenes - which were well written and made sense between characters and storyline. I don't think these were over the top in any way. A little spice adding to the story but not the focus.

Overall?
A well written romanatsy/ fantasy with an adult audience in mind. Brilliantly executed and would probably satisfy readers of Sarah J. Maas.
Deserves plenty of hype.

With gratitude:
My thanks goes to the author L. K STEVEN, Del Rey Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is how villains are born…with the first installment of a painfully addictive, pleasure-filled saga.

When I first heard about this new series, it shot to the top of my TBR. When Laura made a post about how she came up with the idea while watching The Departed and it came from “what if The Departed had magic?” I knew that I would be impatiently waiting which is why I was checking daily for it to show up on NetGalley.

Silvercloak, to put it simply, was impossible to put down. Captivating characters, secret missions, and a complicated villain made me desperate to know what was going to happen next.

Saffron is a part of a world with such a unique and interesting magic system that even she doesn’t know the full breadth of. There are plenty of secrets throughout that make you question who to believe, especially when it comes to true motives. On top of all of this, it’s a queer-normative world which makes my little bi heart so happy.

I absolutely devoured this read and am so ready for the sequel.

She could unmake the world…
…and she could unmake the kingpin’s son.

Goodness, I enjoyed this book!

I started reading late at night and couldn't remember who'd written it, so at first I was reading thinking "wow, what an incredibly confident debut!" Then I stopped and checked the author and realised it was LK Steven. While she's a popular YA author, her writing has reached a brand new level with this adult debut.

My one bugbear is that the Bloodmoons didn't feel as well developed as they could be. Considering they're such a fearsome organisation with gambling houses and control of drug markets, it mostly felt like there were only five Bloodmoons. Even when Lyrian called a meeting of them all, it felt like a tiny little group of people and not the sprawling fearsome organisation you'd expect with real-life mafia or gang counterparts. It also seemed a little far-fetched that Levan, essentially the mafia prince, would be expected to mentor Saffron and be her main touchpoint for the Bloodmoons, rather than handing her over to someone of a lesser rank.

Saying that, whenever these thoughts cropped up, I shoved them away and got on with enjoying a great book!

Many heartfelt thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this fantastic Magic welding, spy work, revenge for family fantasy book. Granted, it took me a few chapters to not think of the Saffron spice when reading that the FMC’s name is Saffron, but I was easily enamored by the world, characters, secrets, and plot of this book. Highly recommended!

How am I meant to go about life after finishing this…
That ending truly had me contemplating my morals. And now I need to know what happens next!

•

Saffron’s future in the Silvercloaks (magical police force) is threatened after her deception is revealed, and she must go undercover in a secretive gang called the ‘Bloodmoons’ who are wreaking havoc across the country. (Continent? I was a bit confused without a map)

Set in an immersive world where magic comes from pleasure or pain, Saffron has to infiltrate their ranks and get close to Levan (the kingpins son) in order to get information to tear them down. - they were also responsible for her parents murder, 20 years ago. Possibly giving her the chance to enact her vengeance
•
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc
•
I think Laura does a wonderful job of tying magic systems to world building and the characters within this. Making the magic system one of the most unique I’ve read.

I loved the characters and found myself warming to Levan just as Saffron does throughout the book. Laura does a great job of humanising him but still keeping him morally grey. With the justification for his actions that gets revealed throughout, I think matches up perfectly with what we know about him.
And I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2!

•

The ending for this book, truly had me sat contemplating for like 2 minutes. Would I make the same choices? Maybe? What are my morals in this situation?… who knows.

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My only ‘critique’ of this book is that once inside the Bloodmoons I think we miss out on more development of them as a group. I didn’t quite understand how they worked in general. And I think that comes from only really spending time with a few of the characters. It would have been nice to see her interact with ‘lower level’ mages so that we could see the missions they were sent on or how scared they were of Levan and his father. As Saffron put on the face of not fearing them, it meant we in turn saw them as less of a threat than the beginning of the book.

That being said, this did not stop me from enjoying the book at all, just something I noticed during the middle section of the book :)

Now I need book 2 asap. Please and thank you.

Had high hopes for this and it felt like I was pushing myself to read this and was not enjoying it. Life is too short and if I am forcing myself to read something it’s not meant to be.

Wow, this book was addictive. The magic system was unique and fit with the world very well. The characters had so many layers that kept getting pulled back throughout the whole book. Enemies-to-lovers is also one of my favorite tropes so this one was well done; so much banter along side touching moments. So many different twists in this story as well; kept me on the end of my seat all the way to the end. Can't wait to continue this story.