This was a story like none I’ve ever read. The plot line, the characters (the Bloodmoons do give off Vampire vibes) and the setting were just absolutely incredible. The writing style was fantastic and I cannot wait for book 2 as that ending was the cliffiest of cliffhangers!! Saff and Levan are the perfect enemies to lovers to enemies and their story is one which is going to stay with me for a long time and one I am so excited to see develop in book 2.

2 weeks and a chest infection late, I finally finished this e-arc and oh boy was this story a wild ride. Those last 100-ish pages? insane!
The last line from Saff? I am gagging and ready for book 2.

I went into this book completely blind, I hadn’t even read the blurb, I just knew I wanted to read it based on the magic system, enemies to lovers plot and LK Steven writing it, but it did not disappoint!

The pain/pleasure magic system was so unique, I absolutely loved the idea, how it worked and the differences between pain or pleasure reserves. The use of wands felt so nostalgic and it just made sense for this world, bringing something physical in to balance the invisible replenishment system.

For me, the plot was pretty slow paced and the middle dragged a little. Once Saffron was inside the Bloodmoons, the stakes felt lower, like you knew she was obviously going to survive? I don’t know, it was good but I wanted it to be great, if that makes sense.

But the slow burn was perfection! This is a proper enemies to lovers slow burn, there’s no suddenly falling in love after a week or any of that. They hate each other’s guts and they fight the attraction between them, it’s so so good! If you’re looking for a traditional enemies to lovers book where they end up no longer hating each other by half way through, this book is definitely not for you, but if you love a slow burn that looks like it’s going to last into book 2, then pick this up!

The ending was a real mixed bag for me, there was a trope I don’t love included and the twist was very obvious to me, but the last chapter/epilogue was one of the best endings I could have wanted! Absolutely cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you to Del Rey for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Thank you so much to Del Rey & Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for honest feedback.

OH. MY. DAYS. I actually don't know where to start?! Silvercloak is like an adult version of Harry Potter that features pleasure, pain & lots of tension & deceit! Sound intriguing? Absolutely! ✨️

You can expect a perfectly paced forbidden romance, a delicious slow burn (ooft), amazing world building that's built up beautifully & slowly throughout the story (no huge info dumps which is ideal for me!), lots of stunning spells (literally & figuratively!), some heartbreak, wand fights and a lil bit of spice to soften the blow... Oh, and some morally grey characters to round it all off! 🫶🏻🖤

There were twists & turns throughout and it kept me on my toes, never fully knowing what was coming next, which was really refreshing & made it stand out. I couldn't put my Kindle down & ended up staying up late on a work night to finish it! I couldn't sleep for aaaages after because I couldn't STOP thinking about Saffron & Levan!

Laura's writing is absolutely stunning, I'd describe it as poetic, & Silvercloak was a pleasure to read.

Also, the Epilogue?!?! I'm gonna NEED book 2 now, please?!?!

You're 100% gonna want to grab this on 24th July when it's released!! Trust me, or you'll be in a world of pain from the regret, not pleasure 🤭 (it'll make sense once you've read the book 👀)

This gifted copy of Silvercloak by @laurasteven was such a wild ride and I’m sure it’ll be in the top ten favorite reads of my 2025 year.

Silvercloak follows Saffron who is looking to avenge the brutal murder of her parents in a world where pain and pleasure fuel magic. It’s so action-packed, the plot hits the ground running and does not let up. I was absolutely addicted and couldn’t stop reading. The world is incredibly immersive, with a unique magic system, it was so easy to get pulled in. I appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation. The slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance was integrated into the plot really well. But the last few chapters of the book absolutely blew my mind - OH MY GOD.

Silvercloak will be out later this year and I can’t wait for you all to get your hands on it. Huge thanks to @delreyuk for allowing me to review and hype this book early!

#silvercloak

I adored the author's YA works & was so excited for her Adult debut - it did not let me know.

Silvercloak is what would happen if the Mafia trope mixed with Harry Potter, creating a dark, sexy book with high stakes & lots of unique ideas & a really well built magic system.

I liked but didn’t love this book. It started with a bang and hooked me immediately, but I felt that the world-building was shallow in places and too many of the relationships were under-developed.

Saffron’s uncles, for instance, never properly appeared on the page - and yet they are supposedly the most important people in the protagonist’s life. Likewise her friends supposedly mean a lot to her - but I was never entirely sure why. The bond that exists between them has been built on a lie, which left that whole sub-plot feeling a little flimsy for me.

Saffron is a cool main character but my investment in her didn’t deepen as the story unfolded. That said, I was nevertheless rooting for the enemies to become lovers! Levan was a great character: mysterious, attractive and complex. I could have lived with much more of him and less of some of the other figures in this novel.

All told, I felt almost as if too much happened in this story. There was an awful lot of plot that didn’t have time to breathe for me, and the folklore Stevens has invented here was almost a bit smothered by events. This was frustrating as some of the central ideas are fantastic - the pain/pleasure foundation for the magic and the time weaving, for example.

I’m sure my reservations will reflect a minority view and romantasy fans will eat this novel up! Thanks as always for the ARC.

thank you to Laura Steven, random house uk, and netgalley for this arc!

Silver cloak is a romantic fantasy set in a world where magic is fuelled by pain and pleasure, and follows an obsessive detective who infiltrates a gang of dark mages with the risk of her life being on the line.

I absolutely adored the plot, had me hooked with THAT ENDING??? the magic system was so unique and the consequences were definitely a challenge to the characters. AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE HELLOO

i also loved reading about fantasy characters that are older!

4.25 stars

Ever wanted to read a book where the main character goes undercover in an enemy organisation? Then this is the book for you!

Saffron is on the cusp of joining the Silvercloaks (they are kinda like elite magical detectives), when she is offered an opportunity: go undercover in the Bloodmoons to help bring them down. Destroying the Bloodmoons is everything Saffron has ever wanted ever since they killed her parents, it’s the whole reason she has tirelessly worked to join the Silvercloaks.

However, when Saffron receives a vision of her kissing, and then killing a Bloodmoon, she wonders what she’s got herself involved in. As the infiltrates the group, she learns that her task won’t be as easy as she assumed.

This was a really refreshing read! I’m so used to reading books where they try to subvert who the good guys are - there’s usually that revelation where the main character realises they’ve been wrong the whole time - so it was really nice for the bad guys to be bad. I’m so used to this being wrong that I was honestly surprised.

I liked the world building and the magic system was really interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book where wands were needed for magic, adding rules and an extra layer of complexity, that I haven’t seen in a book for a while. The pain and pleasure aspect to the magic system was such a great twist - and provided further depth to the system.

Saffron was a great main character, a little naive (but that’s to be expected), and I enjoyed following her on this journey seeing her grow and change as a character. I’m really intrigued to how she develops over the next books, especially with that ending.

I honestly had a great time reading this book. There were many twists and turns that I did not see coming! It’s also set in quite a brutal world and the author doesn’t hold back.

If you like magic schools, subterfuge, and an interesting magic system I’d definitely give this book a try!

3.75 ☆

Thank you so much for approving me for this ARC :) I'd heard great things and was looking forward to jumping into a new fantasy and getting lost in a new world which was unique in having a magic system fueled by pleasure and pain.
There was quite a bit of 'info dumping' near the beginning and littered throughout the book, which I don't usually mind as you obviously need to have the world set up for you. However at times it didn't feel organic in it's explanation.

The mid section of the story did drag along a little bit for me too, I wish there were a few more action scenes or tender moments between the two main characters dotted throughout the story. However I felt like the book really started and ended on a strong note and the story really picked up towards the latter end of the book.

I enjoyed the character build up too and was interested to understand the backstory and motivations for the MMC. The FMC started out strong for me, however a small criticism was that she often'thinks before acting' and yet would make silly or frustrating decisions which I found quite frustrating.

Overall I did enjoy this book and i'm sure others will love it but the pacing/decisions and info dumping was a little frustrating at times.

🚨 I HAVE BEEN RUINED. 🚨
Silvercloak by Laura Steven just sent me into a spiral, and I will never emotionally recover. This book has officially entered my “will shove into everyone’s hands” tier of fantasy romance. If you love morally grey characters, enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, and a heroine on the razor’s edge of villainy, then buckle up, because this book will consume you.

🩸✨ The vibes?
Think The Dagger and the Flame meets an adult Harry Potter with magic fuelled by pleasure and pain. YES, you heard me right. Magic in this world doesn’t just come from spells or artifacts—it’s fed by raw sensation, from euphoria to agony, and honestly?? That entire concept had me hooked from the first page.

But let’s talk about the reason I actually sold my soul to this book:

🖤 Saffron Killoran: The Unmaking of a Hero
This girl?? OBSESSED. A walking contradiction—hardened but vulnerable, righteous but reckless, silver-tongued and sharp as a blade. Two decades ago, she watched the Bloodmoons murder her parents, and from that moment on, revenge became her only reason for breathing. She joins the elite Silvercloak Academy under a literal false identity just so she can find a way to burn the Bloodmoons to the ground.

But when her secret gets exposed?? Instead of expelling her, they give her a choice—go undercover and take the Bloodmoons down from the inside… or lose everything.

I love a heroine who has to fight for every inch she gains, and Saffron?? Fought dirty. I felt her internal struggle with every morally questionable choice. The constant tension of “am I becoming the monster I swore to destroy?” was giving Nesta energy, and I lived for it.

"She'd always possessed a kind of nihilistic fearlessness, a bravery born not from heroism or gallantry but from the fact the worst had already happened."


She walks into the lion’s den with her head held high and a knife behind her back, fully prepared to destroy the Bloodmoons. What she wasn’t prepared for?

💀 Levan Celadon.

🔥 Levan Celadon: The Kingpin’s Son & Ultimate Heartbreaker
Oh. My. GOD. This man. This deadly, brilliant, tortured heir to the Bloodmoons who sees everything and trusts no one. The moment he stepped on the page, I knew he was going to ruin my life.

"There is a villain inside us all, and my greatest gift is coaxing that villain out."


EXCUSE ME, SIR?? I had no choice but to simp. He sees through Saffron’s lies from the start, but instead of killing her, he keeps her close—because he knows she’s dangerous. Because he likes that she’s dangerous.

He calls her Silver (because of her hair, and I love when the enemy/love interest gives a term of endearment 😭). And the moment he tells her: "You're not alone, Silver."
I ascended. Someone revive me.

🔥The Romance: Slow Burn to Mutual Ruin
The push and pull between them had me screaming at the pages. The slow-burn tension was unreal. This was not insta-love. It was will destroy you before you destroy me, but god help me, I can’t stop looking at you.

And Levan?? He’s not just dark and broody—he’s the kind of morally grey that makes you question everything. He’s ruthless. He’s cunning. But he’s also so much more than the role he’s been forced into.

"The power is all yours, Silver. Do with it what you please."


BRB, sobbing.

But the part that fully broke me? The way they bond over their shared love of a childhood book. The book that got them both through grief. When the author visits their town, Levan makes matching golden costumes for them, because Saffron doesn’t want to wear her red Bloodmoon cloak.

THIS IS A MAN WHO LISTENS.
THIS IS A MAN WHO CARES.
THIS IS A MAN WHO WOULD TEAR THE WORLD APART IF YOU ASKED HIM TO.

And yet, they’re both so painfully aware that their story can only end in tragedy.

"You're going to be the unmaking of me, Silver. And I swore myself I'd never be unmade again."


I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE.

💀 Morality? I Don’t Know Her.
This book masterfully plays with the line between good and evil. Saffron is forced to do truly heinous things to keep her cover, and you feel her soul breaking every time. She hates what she’s becoming, but she also understands it.

"He had re-enchanted her necklace and shown...mercy and spent hours making her a homemade costume... Yet hadn't she seen him cause world-ending pain? Hadn't she dodged his killing curses herself?"


That is PEAK moral conflict. This book doesn’t let you look away. It forces you to ask, what would you be willing to do if vengeance was all you had left?

🔥The Best Lines That Took Me Out:
✨"Hurt me, then." (Absolutely lethal.)
✨"If I somehow make it out of this situation alive, I'll enchant another. It won't be the same, I know. But it'll be something. A place for your hand to go when you're feeling too much." (This man saw her soul and said "mine.")
✨"This is how villains are born." (THE MIC DROP OF AN ENDING.)

🩸That Ending?? I Will Never Recover.
I can’t say too much, but HOLY PLOT TWIST. My jaw is still on the floor. The last few chapters?? Chaos. Betrayal. The kind of emotional devastation that makes you stare at the wall for hours after finishing.

Laura Steven, why would you do this to me?? Where is book two?? I need it in my hands immediately.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Final Verdict:
Utterly phenomenal. A masterclass in dark fantasy romance. If you love morally grey characters, found family, and enemies-to-lovers so intense it physically hurts, this book will consume you.

Sign me up for the ARC of book two. Until then, I’ll be lying on the floor, questioning all my life choices. 😭

The best fantasy has a side plot of romance it's a tear jerker. I would recommend it to anyone who loves heavy fantasy with just a smidge of romance and a bit of enemies to lovers this is up your street. Can't wait for the next one I need it now.

“𝙞 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚”

in a world where magic is fuelled by pleasure and pain, an obsessive detective infiltrates a ruthless gang of dark mages, knowing that one wrong move could cost her life. dark schemes, dangerous magic, and high stakes make silvercloak an intense ride from start to finish

first off, the world-building was incredible. the atmosphere, the magic system, and the political intrigue gave me major harry potter (𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵) vibes, and i was completely immersed from the start. i also really appreciated the inclusion of queer characters - it felt natural

the dynamic between the characters was a standout for me, especially how their loyalties and motivations weren’t always clear. it kept me guessing and made the stakes feel so much higher. the romance subplot was a nice touch too a it wasn’t too overpowering but still added an extra layer of tension and made me root for the characters even more

however, the pacing was a bit uneven. some parts felt a little dragged out, especially in the middle, and i found myself wishing for a bit more action at times. also, while i loved the main characters, i think some of the side characters could’ve used a bit more development - they had so much potential that wasn’t fully explored

overall, silvercloak was a really enjoyable read with a rich world, high stakes, and a diverse cast. it just needed a bit more balance in pacing and character depth to be perfect

Wands, cloaks, gambling houses, criminal gangs, forbidden romance and a fantastic magic system? Silver cloak has it all, and absolutely did not disappoint!

The magic system worked so well and felt very fresh. Being fuelled by pain and pleasure meant that the magic wasn’t limitless and the characters had to resort to other measures to fill their cups.

The world was very queer normative, which I love to see! (We need more queer normative books please) And was also filled with morally grey characters (MCs included) everyone is battling their own demons, and as a reader, you’ve no idea where the next fork in the road was going to to be.

This book gripped me from the get go, and I didn’t want to get off the wild ride! The stakes were sky high, storytelling fast paced and I loved every minute of reading this book.

This is one of the most refreshing books I’ve read in so long! It manages to take much loved classical fantasy tropes and give them a new and exciting spin. There’s been a lot of comparisons to Harry Potter and as someone that grew up loving that series I really do feel like this is the book I’ve been searching for my adult life. It’s dark, violent, sexy and the pacing is immaculate. I’m convinced Steven is going to be one of the biggest authors of the next decade.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for this Arc!

I went into this completely blind and am so glad I did. I had a great time and would recommend this to anyone who likes unique magic systems and morally grey, complex characters.

As a big fan of enemies to lovers, I personally would classify this as enemies AND lovers and I am here for it. You can also expect rival mage societies, prophecies, heartbreak, and just an all around sense of feeling so sad for characters.

I am not looking forward to waiting for the sequel but, I will happily read the author’s other book release, Our Infinite Fates, in the meantime.

Nicely nastolgic for magic and wizardry with a hint of strong friendship especially at the beginning. The sides of friendship we have all either seen or experienced before. And on top of this the main characters is trying to be a detective? This is amazing for Adults now that we're growing up with HP!

There are small grammatical mistakes of course and some words being reacted within the same sentence kind of take the reader out of it but honestly for a an early arc it is really well kept.

I have read earlier books by this author and I must admit I prefer the more adult version of her writing not only the sexual content is more out there but the horror of the world she has created is also more vivid and therefore more available to dive head first to.

Honestly a fantastic blend of nostalgia, new ideas, and just a constant desperate need to turn the page. This will definitely be one of my favourite books of the year. I couldn’t put this book down. Still reeling from this book. An absolute ride.

Phenomenal. What a book! Have you ever read something so well written that it’s cinematic? Where the world leaps off the page and is so vivid that you watch it play out in your mind as you read? It is just the BEST experience when you’re lucky enough to find a book which has this secret and special ingredient. I absolutely adored it. A superb 10/10 5 ⭐️ read from Laura. This is book one in a trilogy and I am so excited to see where the story will go and to return to the world.

The magic system is unique and so wickedly brilliant. To have a world where magic is fuelled by pleasure and pain? How addictive, how intense 😍.

The characters are incredibly interesting and offer so much depth to the story. I was invested from the very first page and find myself wanting a prequel for some characters that don’t feature much in this novel! Please @laurasteven - can we have a prequel for the parents?!(No names given to avoid spoilers!)

Please don’t hesitate to read this when it’s released on the 24th July. Thank you so much to @delreyuk and @netgalley for the e-ARC 🙏🏻

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for this advance copy of Silvercloak.

When I saw I got approved for an eARC of Silvercloak, I screamed. Then, when I finished my ARC of Silvercloak, I screamed again. Bereft to have finished this masterpiece when book 2 is so far away. Steven’s writing is pure mastery, and this book gripped me more than any other fantasy has in a long time. Add it to your TBR!!!!