Quick Synopsis – Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran’s parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy—the training ground for her city’s elite order of detectives—with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.

But when Saff’s deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she’s given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside. With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she’s ever loved.

Song This Reminds Me Of – I’ve Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None On My Fingers by Fall Out Boy

Publication Date – July 26, 2025

Bookshop link- Silvercloak by L. K. Steven (I do receive a small commission if you purchase the book from my link)

Content Notes – There are several depictions of self-harm in this book. Pain is one of the ways the characters can strengthen their magic, and the characters will harm themselves for a boost. This is an adult fantasy and there is several sex scenes. There is child abuse described, but not occurring on page. There is also violence, blood, gore, death of parents, and war.

Spicy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – I have complex feelings about this book. In general, I liked the story, but it felt so formulaic. I knew the whole plot of the book within like the first handful of chapters. Because the plot was laid out so early, it was hard for me to get into the story. I mean there were one or two surprises, but I just couldn’t get engaged enough to be fully drawn into the story.

The book starts with Saffron (Saff) at the Silvercloak Academy, she’s preparing for the final exam with the rest of her cohort. The first few chapters do a good job of laying the groundwork for the magic system and Saff’s relationships. It also shows what Saff’s magical ability, and her main advantage is she’s immune to magic being cast at her. So, if someone casts a curse or hex, she has to either pretend she got injured or fool the caster somehow. Of course, she gets caught and then her lies unravel. She’s then given the opportunity to be cast out so she can go deep undercover in the Bloodmoon’s gang.

She goes to jail, gets out, and then starts infiltrating the gang. Of course, she gets in and is initiated pretty much immediately. She gets a terrible brand and has to murder someone. Fun! And the gang leader’s son Levan is a hottie with a wolf dog pet. In the midst of all this there are two prophecies, one where Saff sees herself kiss then kill Levan, and another about Time Weavers. Time Weavers have been eradicated (supposedly) and have the magical ability to, you guessed it, manipulate time. Do you see where the story is going?

I liked the magic system and the push pull between the main characters. I thought their relationship was fun. I also loved Nissa and Saff’s interactions, Nissa was a fun character, and I would have liked more interactions there or some more backstory. There was so much plot in this book that it really felt like I was getting jerked around by an improv group. Every time something would get revealed or uncovered, there was another plot thread added. Obviously, this was done to set up future books, but it just felt like too much. I would have loved if it felt like any plot point had been resolved instead of the whole book feeling like a set-up.

I probably won’t continue the series, but if you like romance fantasy as a genre, you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Del Rey for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.