Trust no one… except me when I say: YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.

I flew through this book in under 24 hours - I couldn’t put it down. It’s addictive, twisty, and gave me a full blown book hangover. I’m already counting down the days until the next one drops l

If early 2010s dystopia had a lovechild with 2025 New Adult romantasy - you would get Silver Elite. It’s perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent who now love the intense, character-driven pace of Fourth Wing. The plot is rich with emotion and tension, and I was hooked from page one.

The world building is rich but super easy to sink into, with a brutal military academy setting that’s equal parts dangerous and delicious. The stakes are life-or-death on every page, and the cutthroat trials to join the elite team had me gasping and flipping pages like my life depended on it. The FMC is exactly my kind of girl - stabby, fierce, and absolutely ready to burn it all down if she has to.

Read if you like:

🩶 YA dystopia with NA spice
🩶 Stabby, fierce FMC
🩶 Military setting with brutal trials to join an elite team
🩶 A broody MMC with major Four/Xaden vibes
🩶 Top-tier banter

A new staple of the genre, this was an action packed, romantic, energetic adventure that will leave you thinking about it for days on end once it is finished.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me an arc of this!

I had such a fun time with this book, I loved the world, the divergent vibes were very strong and I really liked the Characters: Wren was such a strong character and I rooted for her all the way through the book. I really liked the world and whole training academy vibe I really enjoyed and it would be cool to be part of silver block. The magic system who are the Mods with psychic abilities I really liked that gave me the bone season by Samantha Shannon. The romance I really enjoyed Cross was a great Male MC and I feel there is more to hm, I really liked the enemies lovers which is my fav trope and the slow burn was great as well.

I had a fun time with this book and I will be rereading it again before book 2 comes out.
4.5 stars but upon reread might go up to a five!

Silver Elite by Dani Francis ✨

This book had me hooked from page one. Silver Elite is a thrilling blend of military danger, forbidden power, and slow-burn tension that keeps you turning pages late into the night. Dani Francis crafts a world where secrets are currency, trust is rare, and survival means playing a dangerous game.

The main character is fierce, flawed, and unforgettable—exactly the kind of heroine you want leading the charge. The story balances action, emotion, and just the right amount of romantic tension with twists and turns.

If you love stories with high stakes, hidden powers, and characters who refuse to back down, this one’s for you.

This one’s for fans of high-stakes rebellion, morally gray choices, and characters who refuse to be tamed.

📚 Would you survive the Silver Block?

I am obsessed! I couldn't stop reading - Silver Elite was absolutely brilliant. I'll be recommending it to everyone.

Fast paced, packed with action and brilliant world building, this is a must-read for Fourth Wing fans. I feel like it took lots of the things I love most about books like Fourth Wing, Divergent and the Hunger Games and combined them into something explosive and fresh.

This tale is set in a dystopian world where anyone with psychic powers is rounded up and put in a labour camp. Or imprisoned. Or shot for treason. The very best they can expect is to be tattooed and forced to work for the authorities who are busy expunging their kind. In times past – within living memory – it used to be the other way around. Those with psychic powers held sway and treated those who were unmodified as second-class citizens, so there’s a lot of hatred for those who are Modified within the general population.

Wren was raised under the radar, brought up and trained by a former top uncover agent for the rebels, as her parents were killed for being Mod agents. Not that she can remember. She’s tough, an amazing shot and skilled in armed and unarmed combat and living on a ranch with her guardian. Until it all goes sideways – due in no small part to her reckless behaviour. This mad streak of wildness is one of Wren’s defining traits and while I frequently found it annoying – at least this time around, I believed in the character.

What I found harder to believe in is the romance that ends up powering the second half of the book – which is a bit of a problem. Yes… I know it’s possible – but the whole circumstance of Wren ending up in the training programme simply didn’t ring true. Yes – by all means make her enlist – but not in a high status, elite unit which everyone else is desperate to join. And in a highly militarised organisation, Captain Redden would have had to answer to his chain of command as to Wren’s presence. Yep. I’m being picky – but I never quite got over that stumbling block which defined the enemies-to-lovers dynamic.

I also found some of the plot twists a bit predictable. I’d already guessed one reveal two-thirds through and I also had my suspicions about the revelation surrounding Wren’s parents at the end of the book. It’s reasonably well-written and while I found Wren a tad aggravating, I was mostly on her side. But the book did follow a very well-trodden path. The sex scenes were a bit too explicit for my taste and there were rather a lot of them. It’s not that I think it’s a bad book – it isn’t. It’s just that I was expecting something less driven by the romance. But if you like your dystopian sci fi setting peopled with gutsy adrenaline junkies who fall heedlessly in love despite all odds – then this one is for you. While I obtained an arc of Silver Elite from the author via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10

Silver Elite, all in all, was a good dystopian. I liked the over-arching plot, although it was a bit predictable, the military aspect of the novel, and some other little things that were reminiscent of the Divergent series. However, I found the protagonist, Wren, and the romance, quite insufferable. I don’t understand why romantasy lately has become formulaic and sexual from the get-go. Can we not have a conversation, the first one maybe, without sex coming up? The relationship between Wren and Cross had no personality, no emotion, It was based only on physical attraction. It was unfortunately a miss for me.

I’ll admit, the controversy around this book put me off a bit. It’s a shame because I thought it wasn’t a bad book. I don’t honestly think it’s right wing, personally, though I might be wrong. But a lot of the things people were pointing out, I feel read completely different it context. It was honestly just a normal dystopia.

The other thing that put me off was the romance, which is just not to my taste. It was kind of dub con, though I will say that any time Wren put her foot down and explicitly said no, Cross backed off. Still if this is something that puts you off, maybe give this one a miss.

Most of the twists, I guessed ahead of time. There were only a couple at the end that I didn’t see coming to be honest. Still it was fun to read.

Honestly I think without all the drama around it, this would just be a kind of mid read that I didn’t think that much beyond the end of the story but it wasn’t a bad read by any count.

If you liked Fourth Wing, Divergent, or Throne of Glass, I think you're very likely to enjoy this book. The world building in this was really intriguing and rather captivating for what I expected. There’s so much hidden information and little secrets that leave you hanging on to every word and every breadcrumb.

Not sure about my thoughts. A good story and good characters but felt all too familiar. Given the amount of stories in this genre, I’d like something new

After a long reading slump and break, I finally finished Silver Elite, and honestly, I’m a bit torn. It’s one of those heavily flawed-but-interesting, fast-paced reads that I got through without totally hating it!

Although it’s marketed as dystopian, it felt more like a steamy military romance filled with heavy tropes and a few too many plot holes. I liked the characters and the initial premise, but as a BIPOC reader, I couldn’t overlook how the conflict was brushed aside too easily—and the way race was handled (or mostly ignored). Descriptions like “dark-skinned” and “tanned” and references to the “darklands” at this stage are all red flags for me. And then there’s the falling-for-your-oppressor trope—it just doesn’t work for me in our current climate.

The world-building also didn’t quite hit the mark. It felt a bit choppy and lacked the depth and nuance of a strong dystopian setting. There wasn’t much political or social commentary, and when it was there, it was problematic! Also, a lot of it seemed to borrow heavily from The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the Shatter Me series. Some scenes felt almost copy-pasted!
And as much as the book advertises Wren as a badass FMC, she’s nothing like Katniss, Tris, or Juliette. Instead of leading a fight against an oppressive regime, she was mostly distracted by Cross’s chiseled jawline and abs.

That said, I still binged it and kind of enjoyed it! The was some element of the story that was addictive in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. Even when I was frustrated, I kept reading, mostly because I clearly switched off my brain for much of the book (it’s exam season and I listened to it on audio).

I do think it’s perfect for the typical steamy romantasy fans but not for those looking for quality or depth. (Think Fourth Wing without the dragons rather than The Hunger Games.)

I can see this becoming very popular but I’m dubious - something’s not right.

3.5 stars to 3.8 stars??
———

Update: I’ve recently heard so much discourse about the author using a pen name, and while I usually have no issue with pseudonyms, something about the expensive/polished PR push and lack of transparency feels a little off. Fingers crossed this isn’t a problematic author or celeb from my boycott list or AI.

Also, I started it as an ARC but took a break. I came back excited to continue, but I just couldn’t climb on the bandwagon. I believe reading is very subjective (and do see why some may have loved this book), but I do think the misleading and VERY questionable PR/ Booktok hype comparing it to HG, ruined it for me. I went in with high hopes as a dystopian fan looking for something to fill the void after Sunrise on the Reaping.

This book was really badly constructed with tons of loopholes & uncertainties in the world building. The book also had subliminal right-wing messaging throughout, including anti-intellectual messaging, anti-education messaging, pro-gun agendas & a strange inclusion of the male main character supporting the death penalty. Not for me thank you!

2.75 Stars

Fast-paced fun, but lacking originality and depth.

Silver Elite delivers classic dystopian vibes with a romantasy edge—secret factions, mind powers, a rebellion, and a brooding commander–recruit dynamic that checks every box for fans of the genre. Once the plot gets going (well past the halfway mark), the story becomes engaging, especially with the high-stakes action and morally gray worldbuilding.

But the book struggles with pacing, especially early on, and many of the plot twists are predictable. The romance, while marketed as slow burn, felt more like insta-lust with forced tension. Cross’s dialogue occasionally veers into cringey territory, and Wren’s development is underwhelming. Still, the premise is strong, and there’s enough here to keep readers turning the pages—especially those craving a nostalgic dystopian fix.

Not groundbreaking, but fun if you're in the mood for something tropey and dramatic.

Did Silver Elite feel like the Hunger Games, Divergent and Fourth Wing (minus the dragons) had all been mixed in a blender? Yes.

Did I eat it up anyway? 100%.

I enjoyed the world building, the banter between the friends and the development of the side characters (Kaine in particular), and while I saw some of the twists coming (Cross being Wolf), I didn’t pick up on others (Kaine being alive/in the resistance)

I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel.

Oooo this was fun! Think Divergent meets Hunger Games meets Fourth Wing. Its got everything you need to shape up to becoming a hit. The last few chapters left me with questions on the quite sudden high levels of trust/motivations of some of the characters but this is one i would've gone straight into book 2 immediately if i could've.

It's a bit more ya than adult fiction. A fascinating mix of dystopia and romantasy, an engrossing plot and a fascinating world building.
I'm on the edge but it's a good book
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Well isn’t this a fun one?

Silver Elite has been taking the world by storm, and it’s easy to see why. Its dystopian plot harkens back to the thrill of a genre many of us revelled in years ago, while expanding it beyond the basic “overthrow the government” recipe. I adore any story that plays with mind games/powers/manipulation, the theme adding an immediate sense of distrust that pairs perfectly with dystopia.

As for its romantasy selling points, it’s an easy storyline to fall into - though admittedly the weaker side to the novel for me. Don’t get me wrong, I fell for it. But it’s almost been fulfilled too quickly, and in a story taglined “trust no one” with constant betrayals and mind manipulation, it would’ve been fun to play with that uncertainty more and have a slower burn than seen. I’m intrigued to see how invested I remain through the series considering we already reaped the reward.

Still, it was easy for me to read this book in just over a day, the story proving no effort at all to sink into with its constant shift of focus to keep engaged. Bit by bit, we started to see this is just a small part of a much bigger world, and I’m excited to see its expansion in future books!

Silver Elite

I have enjoyed reading this book. It has made me laugh and grimace at times, I have felt for Wren, especially with the ordeal with her uncle and having to hide her powers, a significant fantasy trope we are all used to.

I found it interesting how she already had a connection to the scout leader in the past and already had a preconceived notion of him. Their sideways glance made me laugh, the knowing coming into the story.

The worldbuilding is EXCELLENT. It isn't necessarily that unique, but so many brilliant features give it so much depth. The storyline is addictive, and I was so HOOKED I read it in a day! There were so many twists and turns; although I guessed a few of them, I didn't care, as I loved it SO much. The ending I did NOT see coming!
For me, the characters steal the show. Wren is just badass—clever, tough, and reckless, but she's always entertaining. Her humour was spot on, and I smiled and laughed. Watching her handle everything that comes her way was such a ride.

Then there's Cross, who feels like a mix between Four from Divergent and Xaden from Fourth Wing. He's determined and ruthless, but has a soft side for the people he cares about. The romance between them was electric; the chemistry and banter were on fire, and wow, the steamy scenes were seriously hot!

"Silver Elite" blends humour and emotional depth while exploring familiar fantasy tropes. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story with strong character development and a bit of magical intrigue.

#SilverElite #BookReview #FantasyReads #Wren #CharacterDevelopment #Worldbuilding #MagicalIntrigue #BookRecommendation #AddictiveStoryline #HumorAndEmotion #YoungAdultFantasy #StrongFemaleProtagonist #RomanticTension #BookCommunity #ReadersOfInstagram #FantasyBookLovers #BookRecommendations #PageTurner #ReadingAddict

I hadn’t heard of this book when Del Rey sent it to me before YALC. The buzz began to pick up after YALC though.

I’m not going to address the speculation around this book in this review, instead I’m going to focus on the actual book.

As far as the plot itself goes it harkens back to the late naughties, early teens golden era of YA Dystopia and is clearly aimed at the readers who gobbled up those books but are now adults.

Wren is a likeable protagonist, raised by a rebel on the run having to hide her true mutant psychic powers and identity until an incident the sleepy little town she’s hiding in brings her and her Uncle Jim to the attention of the authorities.

Forced into becoming an elite special forces soldier for the government that would see all “abberant” mutants dead we follow her through training and her recruitment by the rebellion as an undercover operative within the special forces.

It’s fun to see Wren try to balance her loyalties as she inevitably becomes friends with members of her squad and battles her attraction to Cross, who just happens to be her command, who she just happens to fall over in Chapter one as she crashes through his bedroom and immediately banters with.

The story is pacy and has enough plot twists and reveals to keep the reader engaged and I definitely see many being emotionally gutted by certain deaths and gagged by later reveals.

Ultimately this is a fun, trope, that will hook those nostalgic for the Dystopia craze, whilst being spicy enough to attract new readers to the genre.

Tell a friend to tell a friend, the dystopian era is BAAAACCCCKKKK 😝

I know there’s some mixed reviews about this book, but I loved every second of it. This book transported me back to 2015 with all its dystopian nostalgia - oh the feels!

This book was a lot like divergent to me, though dare I say it, even better 🤭 There wasn’t tons of world building, but the crumbs that we did get - phenomenal. Normal people finding and killing people with supernatural abilities and an elite task force in charge of protecting the city by going on covert missions to find said modified people - I ate this up.

The side characters were all great in their own way, but our fmc and mc stole the show. Yes, Wren was impulsive at times but I loved her bravery and growing conflict with being friendly but having to hide her natural self. Cross was just so swoony, I mean this tough, badass captain who’s so soft and vulnerable towards Wren, I melted every time he came on the page 😮‍💨

This addictive book has me in an absolute chokehold so thank you so, so much delreyuk and netgalley for approving me for this e-arc 🖤 Silver Elite is available to read now.