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If you like dystopia and romance, welcome to your new bookish addiction!

In a nutshell, Silver Elite was amazing. I knew from the first page that I was going to love it. The dystopian setting, the characters, the friendships, the romance - the mix was perfect. On top of that, Wren was a particularly badass main gal, and Cross was a particularly hot main man. The slow burn was delectable, and their chemistry was electric. And as for the subterfuge and politics, it kept me guessing until the very end, then blindsided me with some fabulous twists. It's altogether one of the most addictive and exciting books I've read this year. The only downside is the book hangover it left in its wake and the wait ahead for book 2!

Omg! This was everything I needed and more! The romance, the worldbuilding, the tension - so good. A great reading experience and sure to become your new obsession!

I was so buying into the hype for this one, and was super excited to read it. First try, DNF at 10%. Tried again 2 more times, got to 50% but this is still a DNF for me.

This book is just not for me, no matter how much I want (very much) it to be.

Thank you for my e-ARC.

I have mixed feelings on this. I adored the story, the plot, the concept and the worldbuilding, however the main character continually made aggravating decisions.

I am loving the dysopian rise just now, and the concept of one half of society modified by a genetic virus and the other half not, and the half that isn't (the primes) considering themselves superior and wushing to remove the modified half (mods).

Wren is a mod, and due to some catestrophic mistakes ends up working for the primes having to hide who she is.

I loved the world building and the politics and the constant survellience and how the world got to where it is, its so well thought out and planned and written into the story i was sucked right in,

But on the subject of Wren. I love a character who has some flaws and isnt just instantly amazing at everything. Espieically if they are overpowered, they need a flaw. But Wren completely acknowledges her flaw, then never works on it. And causes all the main action at the end of the book to happen out of sheer stupidity. I do not see how she forsaw it ending any other way. It was really difficult to read through.

That being said I can see this book being incredibly popular and having a huge following as it probably won't annoy most people.

The romance will 100% be very popular, its something straight off the pages of booktok and i can see people fawning for cross immediately. I did enjoy the romance aspect and felt their relationship did grow somewhat organically so i appreciated that.

Plot wise it is mostly predictable, there is one plot line i guessed immediately but that means it at least makes sense, and i will say the ending left me on an absolute cliffhanger and I need the next book immediately. Overall a good vook and I can see the majority of people absolutely loving it

Many thanks to Cornerstone Press, Random House UK, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Silver Elite is the start of a new dystopian fantasy trilogy by Dani Francis with tropes such as:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Forbidden love
Military training
Dystopian
Magic system
Secret identity
Rebellon/uprising

The vibe of the book is that of Divergent and The Hunger Games targeted at an adult audience.

I found this enjoyable with intriguing world building that did not feel like exposition dump and hopefully we learn more about the history and expanded world in the next books.

The story kept me engaged throughout and was easy to follow although some of the plot twists were fairly predictable, especially with how predominantly or not secondary characters are featured.

The main character, Wren, is easy to relate to and likeable even though she does make a few questionable decisions in the third act that seem out of character.

My minor gripe is the romance. It felt unnecessary the number of times that the love interest was described as attractive. The romance is insta-lust when I prefer a slow burn. Wren’s reluctance to become involved with the MMC because he’s her enemy and commanding officer becomes glossed over quickly and her inner conflict about her feelings for him seems to happen off the page.

I had heard lots of hype for this book before I started so I did have high expectations going in. It was an easy read and I am interested to see where the story goes but I did not have the obsessive cannot-put-it-down experience that I have seen other readers express.

Ok, add me to the list of people gushing about Silver Elite by Dani Francis. Amidst the dumpster bonfire of a world that we are currently living in, the last thing I thought I needed was a dystopian story and so didn’t rush into reading this! Big mistake! Huge mistake! Silver Elite blew my socks off! And like pretty much everyone else who has reviewed this book - I NEED book 2 now!

Dani Francis has arrived with an explosion, Silver Elite delivers a perfect balance of Dystopia and Romantasy that I haven’t seen since Divergent and The Hunger Games! From the start this books throws you in at the deep end, introducing Wren Darlington, a ‘Mod’ - an individual who possesses one or more psychic powers. Wren has spent her whole life hiding her psychic gifts, amidst a post apocalyptic world where Primes (who do not possess psychic powers,) ruled by General Redden fear Mods and to be found possessing such gifts is punishable by incarceration or more likely death.

Wren’s parents are dead - not a surprise, orphan trope is a good touch. Wren has been brought up, trained and helped by her Uncle Jim and whilst unhappy with the regime, has a relatively good life until one mistake focuses the regime’s lens on her and she finds herself forcibly conscripted into training for the military Silver Elite force.

And this is where it gets really interesting- can Wren continue to keep her secrets hidden? Will she survive training? And what does this mean for the resistance - the Mod Uprising? And of course how is she going to deal with her damnably attractive senior commander - Cross Redden, who simultaneously repulses and attracts her?

There’s no question, I was hooked after the first few pages. As you can tell I really loved the protagonist Wren - She’s not perfect t, she makes mistakes and can be a bit cocky but, she’s got a lot going on and you can’t help but admire her backbone of steel!

I loved the world building, it wasn’t a huge info dump but, an ongoing education and development throughout the book. At no point did I ever have a huh? or ugh! moment - it was so damn seamless, and it was easy to pick up on events and past history to gain a greater depth of understanding.

I was also impressed by the attention paid to other key and side characters. The male protagonist Cross is multi-faceted, not just designed to be a love-interest for Wren. He has a back-story, q family dynamic and their interactions were truly smoking hot! And Francis doesn’t stop there, Wren’s cohort in training and beyond are all unique characters, each with their own perspectives and voice, which truly complimented the found family trope that was utilised amidst the academy setting.

I devoured this book within 24 hours and totally recommend it if you’ve ever loved anything dystopian, are looking for a story that takes no prisoners and will have you plunging through multiple twists and turns that will totally blow you away!

One book I will never pass on? A dystopian—especially with some romance!! What can I say? I was raised in the era of 'The Hunger Games', 'Shatter Me', 'Divergent' … and nothing gives me more joy than a militaristic dystopian future with a heroine destined to bring down the corrupt regime. So, it was with great enthusiasm that I threw myself into 'Silver Elite'! A blend of 'The Darkest Minds' by Alexandra Bracken and 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth, I think a lot of people will love this. Think military academy, telepathy, and a dark, brooding commanding officer… really, what more could you want?

Whilst this was an entertaining read, I did have a few hang-ups. I would have loved more world-building—perhaps a bit more grit? Some of the character development felt a little sparse at times, and personally, I found the main protagonist a touch insufferable. So while I was intrigued, this isn’t a new favourite (a tad disappointing, I must admit). That said, I do plan to continue the series, and I’m looking forward to seeing where Francis takes it. As a debut novel, I can definitely see the author’s potential, and I really do think this will be loved by many readers!

I do love a dystopian novel and this one had many things I liked about it. The storyline is strong and although she makes some doubtful decisions I did connect with the main character. I did feel however that some of the rest of the cast needed to be fleshed out a bit, perhaps in the next novel ?

This review is for Silver Elite by Dani Francis which releases in the UK on the 6th May! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Del Ray for giving me an eArc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I heard someone describe this as all of the dystopian books of our teenage years having a baby… and tbh this fits it perfectly!! This is a debut from Dani, but oh my god they hit it out of the park. I couldn’t put it down!

The story focuses on Wren, a young woman who must conceal her psychic powers-and her attraction to her handsome, infuriating commanding officer-as she works undercover to take down a brutal government from within.

The writing was incredible and the pace of the story keeps you in your toes the whole time. There’s a couple of predictable twists though the book, but there’s some that took me off guard and I didn’t expect them at all. The world building was also really good, it felt well developed and was easy to follow along and understand.

The romance and tension in this book was *chefs kiss* - I loved the banter between Wren and Cross, and of course its ’enemies to lovers’ so I was instantly in love. Wren is super stubborn and confident which I loved and it was great to see a female MC with a backbone, even if it does sometimes backfire on them. Cross was also easy to fall for, even though you don’t see them as much as I would have loved to.

Overall, I loved this book and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series. It left the story on such a great point, I was instantly hoping for more. I would say if you enjoyed the trifecta of dystopian novels as a teenager (Red Queen, Divergent and Hunger Games) then you will absolutely eat this up.

I really enjoyed all of the characters in this story, and the twists and turns that follow them. I absolutely can’t wait to see what happens next, especially considering she betrayed her best friend and sent her to a mine, her new friend betrayed her to roe, and her other best friend has been the hotshot pilot this whole time.

a fiercely addictive dystopian debut, blending sharp political intrigue, powers-based tension, and a sizzling slow-burn romance. With a bold heroine, unexpected twists, and Fourth Wing meets Divergent vibes, it's the perfect storm of action, heart, and heat!

In short, let me just say this book is not worth the hype. I don't know what made me stick with it for over 500 pages, but I should have DNFd. I found the writing to be very poorly done, and the world building wasn't fleshed out or described well at all. I guessed a major reveal very early on in the story, and it was so entirely predictable that I'm not sure why the author drew it out for so long. I appreciate dystopian as a genre when it has a strong message and offers insightful societal critique, but this one didn't achieve much in that regard.

This book is the offspring of a love affair between Divergent and Fourth Wing. I really enjoyed how it brought up the nostalgia of distortion world building and action from my teenage years, making it have a really compelling story telling pace and great balance between plot and characters. Although the plot was predictable at times, I felt like some of the plot twists completely caught me off guard which made this book even more enjoyable!

Now, the only thing that left me wanting more of was the characters themselves. Although they felt very individual and quite interesting, because Wren was infiltrating within enemy’s grounds, she couldn’t trust anyone - which made me feel very detached from all characters, including Wren herself. And because character relationships is a very big thing for me, Wren and Cross’ exclusive physical only relationship was a drag. I kid you not, its pure physical 90% of the book. I understand as she doesn’t trust anyone, he doesn’t trust anyone… I don’t know, I got bored of their relationship rather quickly. Doesn’t help that Cross is a little cliche (still better than Xander! Geez).

Either way, I can totally see the big appeal and the hype it’s receiving and I believe this debut is likely to dethrone Fourth Wing and it’ll bring an avalanche of new book lovers into the dystopian fantasy genre!

Many thanks to the publisher for the e-arc! All opinions are my own!

OMG, OMG, OMFG! I think I just found my book of the year!

Six stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I am absolutely kicking myself that I didn't pick this ARC up sooner, but I'm also relieved as it means less time to wait for the next book, which I need immediately, please and thank you.

This book has my heart, my soul, my everything, and I just know I will be thinking about it until, well, probably forever. It is that good; the hype is real and totally justified.

If you absolutely adore the following, I just know you will love this book: dystopian world, badass FMC, secret identities, tension, the perfect amount of spice, a plot that keeps on giving, betrayal, military base, the twistiest twist cliffhanger ending, the perfect romance, amazing world-building, and the most interesting and likeable secondary character—until they are not.

All I'm going to say is you will 1000% not be disappointed in this book. It's giving all the best parts of *The Hunger Games*, *Divergent*, and *Fourth Wing* (minus the dragons), but better!!!!

I just want to say thank you Dani Francis, del ray & netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early. It was incredible.

Silver Elite is an epic dystopian adventure that had me gripped from the first page.

In a world divided between Mods and Primes, a world where Mods, the one with powers, are rooted out and eliminated-Wren Darlington is used to hiding her modified ability. This is all made more difficult when she is forced to join Silver Block, an elite programme that is dedicated to finding and eliminating Mods, as well as keeping the continent thriving with Primes.

This book has truly brought dystopian back. It was packed full of action, adventure, secrets and romance. If you love dystopian books, academy settings, forbidden/enemies to lovers romance and high stakes, you will absolutely love Silver Elite.

I highly recommend everyone to pick up a copy in May and thank you to the publisher for the early copy!

Everyone was right. Dystopia is back and Silver Elite is leading the fray!!! I read this in pretty much one sitting and that ending had me gasping every five minutes! I’m desperate for the second book so we can learn more about the world, the Mod’s powers and ALSO!!! Wren’s history and her family!

You can tell that Dani Francis pulled inspiration from the 2010’s dystopian boom but she made it so unique and fun while still keeping the intensity thrumming through the plot. And that was great! This book felt nostalgic and new at the same time and I am going to be thinking about it for a really long time. The girls are gonna go feral for Wren and Cross!!

Dystopian books are so back!!

I could not put this book down! The world building, the plot, the politics, the TENSION?! Just *chef’s kiss*

The story was fast-paced and I loved how the world-building was sprinkled in throughout the book, rather than one big info-dump at the beginning. It made it easy to keep up while keeping you guessing and wanting more. The pacing continued throughout the whole book and I am so glad I had the time to read the last 20% in one go because the revelations just kept on coming! I also really enjoyed the political set-up in this book and the relevance it has to today’s state of the world. It offers an excellent backdrop for Wren’s story and the moral struggles she encounters throughout the book.

The romance aspect was insanely good, even though I would say it is more of a subplot for a majority of the book. The tension and dynamic between Wren and our MC was amazing, and a perfect execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope. I loved how their relationship developed throughout the book and how it impacted Wren’s character growth as an individual. Also the nickname - count me obsessed!

I feel like I could go on and on, but I don’t even want to give away a hint at any of the (many) twists of this story - this is the book you will stay up late reading and then immediately text your group chat to discuss. If you read a lot of YA dystopian books in your teens and are looking for something to hit the spot like that as an adult, this book is for you!

This book will be my newest obsession! I can’t believe this is still not released and I already want the sequel!

If someone asked me what book described my reading taste, it's this! This absolute masterpiece of a book!

From the very first chapter I was ready to fight for a new rating system, just for this book because 5 stars just doesn't seem like enough.

I would personally describe this one as Shatter Me meets Divergent but make it adult with a secret identity 'pen pal' twist. Epistolary is one of my favourite 'tropes' and I ate this one up so that on top of it being a dystopian novel is just chef's kiss! There wasn't a single lull or boring moment and every character had their own unique voice. I could never guess what was going to happen next and it was just so exciting, I got up early and stayed up late to read this one. Also when I tell you that both Cross (MMC) and Wren (FMC) are now my new book crushes, it's an understatement 🥵 these two were badasses and hot as hell and their romance and chemistry was off the charts.

I just know this is going to be the next viral book and I can't wait to hear more people rave about it!

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for gifting me this advanced readers copy.

A new obsession- I love that this made me feel so nostalgic for the 2010s dystopian era whilst feeling so fresh and new in this new Romantasy era.

Our FMC Wren is so wonderfully fierce and stubborn, and her connection to Cross from the beginning was everything!! The forbidden relationship, but also her own secrets and objectives mixed in was so much fun to devour.

I’m not even sure where to start in reviewing Silver Elite by Dani Francis, it absolutely blew me away, but my goodness do I NEED book 2 now! I can’t believe that this is a debut; it’s that perfect mix of romantasy and dystopia that absolutely hits the spot. If you grew up loving The Hunger Games and Divergent, then fell in love with Forth Wing as an adult, you’re going to want Silver Elite in your life, trust me!

We’re thrust straight into action upon starting Silver Elite where we follow Wren Darlington, a Mod with physic powers. Mods gained these powers following a biotoxin that nearly wiped out the entire population 150 years ago, leaving them enhanced by it. The Primes fear the Mods and under the strict rule of General Redden being found to be a Mod can mean certain death. Wren has survived by hiding her abilities, helped by her Uncle Jim. But when a mistake places her in the crosshairs of the Continent’s military she is forced to join a program for their most elite force, the Silver Block. Unwittingly, her enemy has given her - and the Mod Uprising - the perfect opportunity to strike a devastating blow from inside their ranks. That is, if she can keep her powers hidden, survive training, and prove herself to Cross Redden, her cocky, maddeningly attractive commanding officer.

This book was entirely addictive and there is so much I could say about it, but I also don’t want to give too much away so let’s try a list:
🐦‍⬛ We’ve got a brilliant FMC in Wren, she’s brave, but also reckless and impulsive. She’s pretty cocky and very funny. She knows what she’s good at but has to figure out what she can show and what she needs to hold back to protect herself. She’s also going through a lot of personal turmoil in trying to figure out her place within the training program and how she feels versus how she thinks she should feel.
🐺 a brilliant MMC in Cross; this man is tough but man does he have it bad for Wren. I loved that we got a few see increasingly different sides to him throughout the book. The slightly feral and jealous edge worked very well.
🐦‍⬛ the chemistry between Wren and Cross was excellent, their banter worked brilliantly and I loved that he had to chase her. There is a little hint of a love triangle early on but this is quickly resolved leading to a brilliant slow burn.
🐺 a brilliant set of side characters, some of whom are wonderful (here’s looking at you Kaine) whereas others are downright awful, but together they make the most compelling story. The found family element worked so well, especially given the unease Wren felt.
🐦‍⬛ I really liked the training setting, it was giving all the best parts of Divergent and Fourth Wing whilst also being entirely unique. …and that undercover op phew 🔥
🐺 there are some brilliant twists and turns in this one. There is one storyline that I did guess but I was genuinely so happy to find I guessed right, whilst others took me by total suprise.

This book is insanely good. I cannot wait to see what happens next!