Silvercloak is a darkly mesmerizing tale that redefines magic in a way that’s both captivating and haunting. Anchored by a fierce, resilient FMC and a brooding, deeply scarred MMC, the story weaves together themes of power, pain, and desire with breathtaking emotional depth. The world-building is immersive. The magic system is as unique as it is provocative, offering a fresh, mature twist that will appeal to fans of morally complex fantasy. The prose is lyrical yet sharp, perfectly matching the story’s blend of beauty and brutality. Relationships, whether romantic or platonic, are intricately layered, making every interaction meaningful and charged with tension. The unraveling of secrets feels deliberate and thrilling, and the last act is an adrenaline-fueled climax that leaves you desperate for more. For those who crave dark fantasy with heart and edge, this book is a must-read and an unforgettable start to what promises to be an addictive series.

Laura Steven’s Silvercloak is an exhilarating fantasy adventure brimming with heart, humor, and high-stakes action. The story follows a ragtag group of misfits on a perilous journey to uncover a powerful artifact hidden within a realm of dangerous magic and political upheaval.

Steven’s worldbuilding is immersive and detailed, and her characters leap off the page with their vibrant personalities and layered backstories. The narrative strikes a perfect balance between laugh-out-loud moments, heartfelt emotional beats, and pulse-pounding battles, creating a story that feels both epic and intimate.

With its compelling blend of wit, warmth, and thrilling escapades, Silvercloak is a standout fantasy that will delight fans of ensemble-driven adventures and richly imagined worlds.

This was sexy and dangerous and the perfect edge of fantasy. I felt parts were slightly stilted but overall it was fun and I loved the main character's POV and the authenticity to her motivations.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this book and felt hooked pretty much from the start. The world building is incredible and the explanations behind each part of the magic makes it feel so much more real.

The main character is easy to relate to and to root for, and the depth to every other character is evident and really justifies their choices. Despite how many characters there are, the author has done a fantastic job of making sure you know who each is without bombarding you with information.

The motivations of the main character are clear and, for the most part, justified, making it very easy to understand her actions. The very slow burning romance plot is very well written and definitely makes you crave more throughout.

The only area where the book lost a star for me is the ending. Though a lot of it was reasonable and somewhat expected (without being predictable), I feel that the end of this book was sacrificed in order to leave space for a sequel. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like there to be a sequel, it just felt that the ending was dissatisfying and I don’t feel as much like I support the characters anymore.

Overall I would definitely recommend reading this and despite my qualms about the ending, I would still read a sequel!

**Review: 4 Stars**

*SilverCloak* by L.K. Steven is an enchanting tale that swept me into a world of intrigue, danger, and unexpected alliances. From the very first page, Steven's rich prose and vivid world-building had me hooked. The story balances action and mystery seamlessly, with twists that kept me guessing until the very end.

The characters are where *SilverCloak* truly shines. Each one felt layered and relatable, with motivations that added depth to the narrative. I found myself rooting for them, even when their choices weren’t always easy to understand. Steven has a knack for weaving emotional stakes into every scene, making even the quiet moments impactful.

The pacing was steady and engaging, though there were a few sections where the story slowed slightly. However, these moments were quickly balanced by thrilling action sequences and revelations that left me eagerly turning the pages.

*SilverCloak* is a compelling fantasy adventure that fans of the genre won’t want to miss. It’s a story of courage, resilience, and the power of trust in unexpected places.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and L.K. Steven for granting me the opportunity to read this eARC. It was a joy to immerse myself in this beautifully crafted world, and I can’t wait to see what Steven writes next!

This was my last read of 2024 and wow I absolutely loved this book, one of the best fantasy's I've read for a while. Definitely think this will be very popular when it is released.
Silvercloak follows our FMC Saffron as she works to get revenge on the Bloodcloaks, a magical mafia style group, who killed her parents when she was 6 years old. This leads her on a series of events that result in her building close relationship with the Bloodcloaks heir Levan. Saffron is determined and whilst you do see the love she has for certain characters her determination and backstory create a morally grey character that makes difficult and sometimes questionable decisions yet also believable for the situations.
The magical system in the book is done brilliantly and so cleverly thought out. It has excellent levels of detail and is unique.
There is so much character and plot development throughout this book that I honestly couldn't put it down but I was absolutely gripped by the ending. I really enjoyed how it felt like a conclusion to the first book but also set up the story for the second book perfectly. The only bad thing about having read an early copy is the long wait I will have until I can read the second book! Will be eagerly awaiting release so I can discuss this book with everyone and even more eagerly awaiting the second book

I was desperate to read this book after seeing the opening paragraph posted on Laura's social media pages. I have read one other book by this other which was a solid read, and I'm eagerly anticipating her other release this year, Our Infinite Fates.
Silvercloak was a ride! The first paragraph promised a charming, whimsical tale, and I will say, this definitely wasn't that. Think magical peaky blinders with a forbidden romance plotline and plenty of darkness and death. Our heroine Saffron is not afraid to make difficult choices, and she has had enough heartache in her backstory to make her a slightly jaded and pessimistic protagonist. I liked that she wasn't our typical super powered extra special extra clever and charming heroine who everyone can't help but love. She enters most situations as the underdog and gets through by the skin of her teeth and her own quick thinking.
The plot slows a little in the middle, however I did read this over Christmas so it could just be that life became too distracting, however the last third or so was gripping and I flew through it, desperate to see how it ended. The ending was brilliant, I won't say too much but I am VERY interested to hear if there is a sequel planned!
4.0 stars from me

Silvercloak – by L.K Steven 🌙🪄🩸

5/5 ⭐️
 
This book was gripping and dark, featuring a headstrong, determined FMC (Female Main Character) and a brooding, tortured MMC (Male Main Character). The story’s seamless inclusion of queer representation not only adds richness to the world but also delivers an authentic and deeply moving portrayal of these relationships, further enhancing the narrative’s emotional weight.
 
If you’ve ever wished for a story with the magical charm of Harry Potter but with a mature, modern undertone, this is the book for you. Even if you didn’t grow up with Harry Potter, this fresh take on magic, where pain and pleasure fuel its power, was so unique and utterly fascinating to explore.
 
The story is exceptionally well-written, with poetic prose that flows seamlessly, mirroring the enchanting magic woven throughout the narrative. The way the author explores key relationships and friendships is simply masterful, emotional, nuanced, and utterly addictive to read. Speaking of the magic, it felt truly unique and immersive without ever becoming overwhelming. The author does an excellent job of grounding the reader in the various types of magic, ensuring clarity without breaking the narrative flow. I genuinely appreciated this thoughtful touch.
 
At its heart, this book explores how far will someone go to do what they believe is right. It’s an exhilarating mix of enemies-to-lovers romance, slow-burn tension, deception, and the classic struggle of good versus evil, all wrapped in a layer of mystery. I loved how the secrets unravelled gradually, keeping me guessing rather than handing over answers too early. There were twists I didn’t see coming, which made the reading experience even more thrilling.
 
The ending deserves a special mention; the last 30% of the book was absolutely gripping and left me breathless. This is a story that I am confident will generate significant hype and for all the right reasons. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Mark your calendars for July 24th, 2025 💌! You don’t want to miss this one!
 
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Saffron has one goal: bring down the killers of who murdered her parents. This is enabled when she is set a secretive mission after being falsely thrown out of the Silvercloak elite force academy so she can infiltrate the Bloodcloaks, branded but protected from their compulsion due to her immunity to magic.

Saf is not shy about getting her hands dirty and bloody. This is dark and gory with torture and brothels and drugs.

The romance is not rushed or forced or the centre of the plot. The magic system is interesting and there are limitations and costs.

<b>Oh, she thought, horrified and fascinated in equal measure. This is how villains are born.
</b>
What I didn’t like:
This had such a promising set up and start, yet I felt Saf’s time with the Bloodcloakcs felt lacklustre and her experience there felt too easy compared to everything we had previously heard about them and the cruelty they dished out.
I lacked emotional connections with the characters which didn’t help.

What really brought my rating down was the last 25%.
This incorporated a troupe I hate that I view as a cop out which greatly brought my rating down. This is a personal preference and I cannot state it without spoiling major parts of the book, but it is to do with magic and powers.

Physical Arc gifted by Rabdom House Cornerstone.

This might’ve been the best book I could’ve hoped to end 2024 with. I had an incredible time.

This magic system is so wonderfully unique and complex with consequences and limits that continuously reek havoc on the characters in this story. Our FMC is honestly brilliant, witty, brash and strategic, but she isn’t without her faults. She is a liar and a driven one at that, her lies land her on a path that leads her to her to the Bloodmoons, and we get to see her deal with a new reality that pushes her moral compass in horrible directions.

Levan is a everything, he’s a morally grey MMC who is complex and has unlimited secrets. This is a true enemies to lovers scenario, but I adore how plot driven this story is while building into a potential romance.

There is heartbreak, political elements, dark and tragic events mixed with some romantic interests - a perfect recipe for a good fantasy story if I do say so myself.

I am so grateful I got to read this and I’m obviously rating it 5 stars. Looking forward to book 2!!

This is a wonderful story of a persons hunger for revenge and their realisation that getting revenge is not so easy. Saffron, the main character, has great character development and you root for her throughout the story. She desperately wants to get revenge for her parents against the Bloodmoons who kill her parents in front her. This scars her for life and defines her life choices. She decides to become a silver cloak with the intention getting revenge on the bloodmoons. The silver cloak’s are something like a magical police force. After a failed assessment, where her superior realises that she has a unique ability to stall time and is not affected by magic, she is invited to go undercover as bloodmoons to bring down the organisation. She’s arrogant, naive and hungry to achieve her goals and jumps at the opportunity, but realises too late that revenge and people are complicated. The romance between her and Levan blossoms beautifully and I like the dynamic of their relationship. Levan is the bloodmoons kingpins son and the writer has a great way of making you like him even though he does terrible things. His magical powers are awesome and terrifying. At the same time he is boyish and geeky too, which is adorable. The world building is good and the magic systems are interesting. There is something nostalgic of Harry Potter with the way the spells are given with wands. This is a book for adults and so the spells are darker in there intentions. Great story! Looking forward to part 2!

What a great book to finish 2024 with!

Enemies to lovers in a magic system that makes sense! A world of wizardry, but the MMC and FMC are late 20s, early 30s.

How far would you go to avenge the past?!

“Cera belrère - it is written.”

Silvercloak is story about revenge, retribution, and connecting through grief with the most unlikely of forces. In a world where magic is fuelled by opposing forces of pleasure and pain, Saffron Killoran is determined to seek justice for her parents’ murder at the hands of the mysterious underworld gang, the Bloodmoons.

As Saffron pushes herself deeper undercover, the stakes get higher: no clearer than the realistic portrayal of her struggles to reconcile her actions to her internal moral compass - and at each turn questions her motives, her friends, and her captors.

The book is emotionally complex, and while my heart cheers on Saff at every turn, the dark, gritty and often violent choices she chooses shows us how cruel and complex life can be. It’s broody, painful and everything I’d expected from a underworld heist, filled with magic in an intricately described world… how bloodthirsty everyone gets when magic is used as a veil as a means to decouple violence.

And of course we can’t forget Saff and Levan, whose ties were forged long before they knew it. I’m excited to see how the timeweaving element expands in the next book, and the final chapters left me wanting more. Seeing the change in emotions in Saff and Levan, like passing ships in the night, never knowing whether it’s the right choice stayed with me for a long time. A masterful character set up for the next book, keeping us on edge to whatever happens next...

Laura Steven makes her adult debut with Silvercloak, the first in a compelling new wand wielding series.

I enjoyed this a lot, the plot was wonderfully twisty, with well built and developed characters inside of a
unique, lore-filled world with a complete and complex, culture based magic system. Add in some espionage, betrayal, interwoven destiny and the mob, and the reader is taken on a morally dubious ride where we all end up unsure what is right, or how we are hoping for a resolution.

Reading the eARC, there were several points around 25-50% where things became repetitive and the pacing stumbled, after a strong start and immersion into the story - I’m hoping that by the time I have a physical, final copy in hand that editing fixes these niggles though (and I certainly will be grabbing this series to own!) At around the halfway mark things picked up again and stayed strong, keeping me engaged right up until the climax of the plot - and that ending(!!?) torturously good.

For an adult read, there were moments where we were reminded a little heavy-handedly of plot points, previous information, or connections made for us which we should perhaps have been trusted to make for ourselves, which led to the weaving of the prose feeling clunky, and would’ve been more suited to YA. Again, I’ll wait to see what happens in final edits.

Overall the story, the world, the characters are 5 star, if the series continues with this energy and twisty turns it’ll become a firm fixture for me.

Thankyou to Del Rey / (team L.K!) for early access to Silvercloak!

This book had me mesmerised! An absolute work of art. I loved it so much

The magic system - chefs kiss! I love the idea of pain and pleasure being necessary to increase the quantity and quality of your magic “well”.

The characters - TO DIE FOR.

The ending…. well …. all I can say is I am READY for more and this book isn’t even out yet.

This is going to be one of THE books of 2025, I’m calling it now.

Silvercloak is an absolutely addictive read that follows Saffron, a silvercloak who is immune to magic, who goes undercover with the bloodmoons, whilst also knowing of a potential prophecy. It is also an enemies to lovers with a lot of betrayal and secrets, and pain - it was honestly really tense and well paced along with the rest of the book. Saffron is also set on revenge after the bloodmoons killed her parents twenty years ago., which ups the danger factor even more. Silvercloaks and Bloodmoons are a bit of a good vs evil, bit it works so well in this world.


In Silvercloak, the magic system is linked to pleasure and pain, and wands. There are also many ancient texts and spells and a hint of necromancy.

When I say this book was addictive, it was addictive! I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen next and I was so invested with all the characters, there were quite a few but it was easy to distinguish beteeen them and whether they were a silvercloak or a bloodmoon. There were also new words for the spells for example, which gave an extra layer of magic to the book, and they were used frequently enough that I remembered what spell did what.

The time weaving aspect was also written brilliantly, and I’m intrigued to see how it goes in the next book.

One moment for the epilogue because THAT EPILOGUE!!!! How am I supposed to wait that long for the next one?!

Overall, I am sad that I have to wait until 2026 for the sequel as I wish I could just pick it up straight away after finishing Silvercloak, but I’m sure it will be worth the wait as this book was a solid 5 star read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

What if I told you they were enemies AND lovers. I don't know how I'm going to be expected to wait until like 2026 for the next book!!

Also MMC is morally grey and down right psychotic in a walking the line but it worksssss kinda way. And if that doesn't sell it to you he's a massive nerd in the best way (it's all dragon novels and ancient texts).

Read the book. Order it. Beg for a netgalley arc. Just get yourself a copy

Great read with some brilliant world-building and a plot that keeps you engaged. The magic system was well portrayed and the characters and romance well executed. Would recommend! Looking forward to more

Oh my goodness. THIS BOOK. I quite literally could not put it down. Every spare minute of my day, I was reading this book. The story is so beautifully written, the characters are well rounded, and the twists kept me on the edge of my seat! The world building was also exceptional. I will be (im)patiently awaiting the sequel!