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adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Our gifts aren’t always a gift, little bird. Sometimes, they’re a curse.”
Wow, you will think you understand the meaning behind this quote at the beginning of the book. But, you have no idea how much more meaning it will carry once you finish. I was at 50% of the book and then had to sit for the next 3.5 hours to finish it because I could not put it down.
This dystopian novel brings the same feeling you experienced after finishing the following series:
The Hunger Games
Divergent
Red Queen
Fourth Wing
X-Men
The world-building in this book is solid. I was able to follow along easily and didn’t feel the need to flip back to determine where the characters were or what was happening. Something I would love to see (and this is likely to appear in a future book, as there’s no way another book is not coming) is a more in-depth explanation of how Mods came to be (think The Maze Runner prequel).
This book had a mix of predictable, satisfying, and shocking plot twists. I definitely was entertained as each puzzle piece moved into place. Francis ultimately created a great depiction of a morally grey society. By the end of the book, I knew that there were more complexities behind each side (e.g., Mods, Primes, Abberants, etc.). Francis’ story allows her readers to begin making inferences about who really is good vs. who is bad. I have a feeling this will fluctuate a lot in future books.
Now, for my slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers enthusiasts, look no further because this is an excellent book for that. The tension that develops between the FMC and MMC is evident from the start, and it was enjoyable for me to provide commentary while reading and trying to guess when they would finally admit to having feelings for each other. However, my one qualm with the romance was that it felt a little unbalanced. It seemed to go from slow-burn tension, to the “F” it moment (which I always enjoy), to (in my opinion) unnecessary hookup moments, to a quick “I love you”. I think it would be very significant to create a better mix for the romance to truly capture the characters’ genuine feelings for each other.
Overall, this was a fun, entertaining, heart-pounding, out-loud gasping read that most dystopian readers will find themselves drawn to. I know that I can not wait to see what happens in the next installment.
Wow, you will think you understand the meaning behind this quote at the beginning of the book. But, you have no idea how much more meaning it will carry once you finish. I was at 50% of the book and then had to sit for the next 3.5 hours to finish it because I could not put it down.
This dystopian novel brings the same feeling you experienced after finishing the following series:
The Hunger Games
Divergent
Red Queen
Fourth Wing
X-Men
The world-building in this book is solid. I was able to follow along easily and didn’t feel the need to flip back to determine where the characters were or what was happening. Something I would love to see (and this is likely to appear in a future book, as there’s no way another book is not coming) is a more in-depth explanation of how Mods came to be (think The Maze Runner prequel).
This book had a mix of predictable, satisfying, and shocking plot twists. I definitely was entertained as each puzzle piece moved into place. Francis ultimately created a great depiction of a morally grey society. By the end of the book, I knew that there were more complexities behind each side (e.g., Mods, Primes, Abberants, etc.). Francis’ story allows her readers to begin making inferences about who really is good vs. who is bad. I have a feeling this will fluctuate a lot in future books.
Now, for my slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers enthusiasts, look no further because this is an excellent book for that. The tension that develops between the FMC and MMC is evident from the start, and it was enjoyable for me to provide commentary while reading and trying to guess when they would finally admit to having feelings for each other. However, my one qualm with the romance was that it felt a little unbalanced. It seemed to go from slow-burn tension, to the “F” it moment (which I always enjoy), to (in my opinion) unnecessary hookup moments, to a quick “I love you”. I think it would be very significant to create a better mix for the romance to truly capture the characters’ genuine feelings for each other.
Overall, this was a fun, entertaining, heart-pounding, out-loud gasping read that most dystopian readers will find themselves drawn to. I know that I can not wait to see what happens in the next installment.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief
Minor: Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Silver Elite is what happens when Divergent, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Minority Report get into an anonymous telepathic group chat moderated by Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks from You’ve Got Mail, except with the spice levels turnt, and it's probably going to be one of the biggest books of the year. Hello debut author Dani Francis where have you been all our lives.
To set the scene, I had just finished Sunrise on the Reaping and was deep in that post-book mourning period, where I expected to DNF five books and fall into a spiral and had accepted that my next read would be The Great Disappointment.
Instead, Silver Elite said, “Get up, loser, we’re going reading.” And I did.
By 15%, I’d already been emotionally compromised, handed an entire sociopolitical structure, and exposed to themes of surveillance, systemic discrimination, a bit of genocide and the ethics of psychic powers.
That brings me to Wren, our FMC. Wren has got a gun 🎵, (sing it to the tune of Janie’s got a gun), a conscience, and one of the most entertaining internal monologues I’ve read in a while.
She’s a witty, sniper-trained telepath who has Professor X meets Katniss energy. Wren would for sure shoot an apple out of a pig’s mouth just to prove a point. She grapples with power, surveillance, and consent in ways that add depth beneath all the action and romantic slow-burn tension. She’s overpowered but she knows it. And she’s wrestling with what that means.
And then there’s Cross. He’s definitely going to take over BookTok by force. Tall, dark, hot and haunted. He was probably mixed in a lab where they blended Four, Xaden, and Rhysand.
Not gonna lie. Silver Elite does have some of your favourite well-used romantasy tropes. But they don’t feel tired. They feel reinvigorated and handled with narrative purpose. There is a whisper of a love triangle, but don’t worry, everything gets resolved fairly cleanly, handled like an adult (thank you) and I actually kinda liked it?
There's also an Orwellian undercurrent, but it never feels derivative.
In the spirit of full transparency, I saw the Big Reveal coming from very early on. In fact, I had it circled in red with arrows. But sometimes, seeing it coming doesn’t dull the impact. Sometimes it makes it better, because the anticipation is half the fun. And in this case, it hit exactly the way it needed to.
Nevertheless, I won’t pretend this book is flawless. It leans hard into its romantasy flair, so if you're after layered dystopian commentary or intricate worldbuilding, this probably won't scratch that itch. The dystopian elements stay pretty surface-level. So if you approach this more as romantasy with dystopian seasoning, rather than a deep dive into systemic collapse and profound dystopian themes, you might just fall for it too. For me, the romantasy lover in me was too busy blushing and kicking my feet like I was reading ACOMAF for the first time to care, hence my rating is definitely a vibes rating, rather than a critical one.
It's chaotic. It’s spicy. It’s emotionally intelligent and self-aware. There’s a quiet subtlety in the way it exposes the cracks in our world through the lens of another. This book gave me the same high I got from reading the romamtasy greats, while still feeling like something new. I devoured this as fast as I could whilst life and adulting got in the way. I will be camping outside Dani Francis's inbox until book two drops.
Thank you so much to Random House Worlds | Del Rey for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
EDIT:
CWs for the book: Dubious Consent, Sexual Assault, Rape (off page), Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Violent Deaths, Forced Conscription
First, thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the E-Arc in exchange for my honest review.
Second, I am so disappointed.
I was having an amazing time until about ch 15-17, and then it all went downhill from there especially chapter 46 in what was the worst reveal of a century. This review was a lot longer but I've cut it because I don't want the CWs to fall on deaf ears because I am livid due to not having any CWs mentioned before.
I found the MMC, Cross, to be irredeemable. I never recovered from what he said to Wren after she was so desperate to escape. It would have been one thing if he had showed any kind of remorse or at the very least growth, but that did not happen. Every single time he and Wren had a scene I shuddered. And no, I do not care about the reveal. If anything that made it worse. Not to yuck anyone's yum but this was not it for me. If I had known how hard this leaned into Dubious Consent I would have stayed away. Had I known what was going to happen to Tana and her father I would not have touched this with a ten foot pole.
PLEASE ADD CONTENT WARNINGS! These elements were a very unwelcome surprise and it ruined the entire book for me. This was going to be a 4 star book for me and the undisclosed CWs made this almost impossible to get through.
0.25 Stars.
CWs for the book: Dubious Consent, Sexual Assault, Rape (off page), Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Violent Deaths, Forced Conscription
First, thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the E-Arc in exchange for my honest review.
Second, I am so disappointed.
I was having an amazing time until about ch 15-17, and then it all went downhill from there especially chapter 46 in what was the worst reveal of a century. This review was a lot longer but I've cut it because I don't want the CWs to fall on deaf ears because I am livid due to not having any CWs mentioned before.
I found the MMC, Cross, to be irredeemable. I never recovered from what he said to Wren after she was so desperate to escape. It would have been one thing if he had showed any kind of remorse or at the very least growth, but that did not happen. Every single time he and Wren had a scene I shuddered. And no, I do not care about the reveal. If anything that made it worse. Not to yuck anyone's yum but this was not it for me. If I had known how hard this leaned into Dubious Consent I would have stayed away. Had I known what was going to happen to Tana and her father I would not have touched this with a ten foot pole.
PLEASE ADD CONTENT WARNINGS! These elements were a very unwelcome surprise and it ruined the entire book for me. This was going to be a 4 star book for me and the undisclosed CWs made this almost impossible to get through.
0.25 Stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for this eARC.
I’m still wondering how I feel about this book. On the one hand I’m desperate to read a sequel, having loved the last 60% of it, on the other, the first 40% was pretty slow going with lots of plodding info dumps I could have done without. Wren at first was also a tough character to like, making some poor decisions but I was ultimately won over by her later development. I’d recommend this to fans of “Powerless” and anyone who likes a strong female lead, the action is well written and the romance spicy. I decided to give it a 4⭐️, because despite its flaws, it still enjoyed my time reading.
I’m still wondering how I feel about this book. On the one hand I’m desperate to read a sequel, having loved the last 60% of it, on the other, the first 40% was pretty slow going with lots of plodding info dumps I could have done without. Wren at first was also a tough character to like, making some poor decisions but I was ultimately won over by her later development. I’d recommend this to fans of “Powerless” and anyone who likes a strong female lead, the action is well written and the romance spicy. I decided to give it a 4⭐️, because despite its flaws, it still enjoyed my time reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is not a return to The Hunger Games as an adult—that would require some coherent interrogation of the genre it claims. But, y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance.
Reasons for the one star:
Wren, our fmc, is a horribly unlikable person.
From the opening scene, we get a taste of Wren’s selfishness, superiority complex, and tendency to self-sabotage. While “escaping” from a one-night fling, she actively leads the guy on while telling everyone else how clingy he is. He is a Command soldier—part of the military oppressing her kind (Mods). She hates and fears Command soldiers, but also seemingly exclusively seeks them out as sexual partners?
I like a little brashness in a dystopian fmc (see: Katniss). However, Wren’s impulsivity is not due to a strong moral compass or sense of justice—she acts selfishly, and everyone around her has to deal with the fallout. She genuinely does not seem to have any forethought about the impact of her actions on others—they are all NPCs to her. We don’t learn much of anything about her supposed best friend, so their friendship isn’t believable. And of course all male characters are introduced by how hot Wren thinks they are instead of by normal physical descriptions.
I’m all for complex, varied, and even unlikable fmcs when it makes sense for the story. But there is no indication that the reader is supposed to be actively rooting against Wren as much as I was. She’s entirely unrelatable—and please, may this friendship never find me.
Cinder blocks and exposed pipes do not a dystopia make.
Silver Elite does the same thing I take issue with in many recent romantasy hits: the potentially interesting dystopian and sci-fi elements are an afterthought. They’re only developed and utilized insofar as is necessary to put the fmc and love interest into tropey scenarios (in the vein of playing Barbies as a kid and trying to make the Barbies kiss). I was truly intrigued by the promise of a dystopian world with an oppressive regime and an fmc with hidden abilities infiltrating the regime’s elite military squad. However, the author was clearly not interested in the political commentary that is inherent to the genre. For example, Wren notes that the Company is a “military machine” but its leader, the General, “has no need for politics or superfluous job titles.” This is just a bunch of handwaving to avoid the inherent politics of the world—partly because I think if the politics were explored at all, it’d be clearer that this is an unintentional villain origin story.
The romance = The Worst Couple You Know.
Wren and the main love interest are just terrible people being insufferable together and making it everyone else’s problem. It’s insta-lust, it’s toxic, it’s shallow. It’s 40 tropes in a book box special edition trench coat. The love interest has zero personality and is all inappropriate comments. (He’s also just really bad at his job?) And because the world building is generic and the stakes are not believable, the “enemies to lovers” is just giving sexual harassment in the workplace. This is copy paste the same romantasy couple we always get (right down to the tattoos and a certain special connection—iykyk).
Silver Elite is set to publish May 6, 2025, and is the first of a planned series.
eARC provided by NetGalley and Del Rey for review.
Reasons for the one star:
Wren, our fmc, is a horribly unlikable person.
From the opening scene, we get a taste of Wren’s selfishness, superiority complex, and tendency to self-sabotage. While “escaping” from a one-night fling, she actively leads the guy on while telling everyone else how clingy he is. He is a Command soldier—part of the military oppressing her kind (Mods). She hates and fears Command soldiers, but also seemingly exclusively seeks them out as sexual partners?
I like a little brashness in a dystopian fmc (see: Katniss). However, Wren’s impulsivity is not due to a strong moral compass or sense of justice—she acts selfishly, and everyone around her has to deal with the fallout. She genuinely does not seem to have any forethought about the impact of her actions on others—they are all NPCs to her. We don’t learn much of anything about her supposed best friend, so their friendship isn’t believable. And of course all male characters are introduced by how hot Wren thinks they are instead of by normal physical descriptions.
I’m all for complex, varied, and even unlikable fmcs when it makes sense for the story. But there is no indication that the reader is supposed to be actively rooting against Wren as much as I was. She’s entirely unrelatable—and please, may this friendship never find me.
Cinder blocks and exposed pipes do not a dystopia make.
Silver Elite does the same thing I take issue with in many recent romantasy hits: the potentially interesting dystopian and sci-fi elements are an afterthought. They’re only developed and utilized insofar as is necessary to put the fmc and love interest into tropey scenarios (in the vein of playing Barbies as a kid and trying to make the Barbies kiss). I was truly intrigued by the promise of a dystopian world with an oppressive regime and an fmc with hidden abilities infiltrating the regime’s elite military squad. However, the author was clearly not interested in the political commentary that is inherent to the genre. For example, Wren notes that the Company is a “military machine” but its leader, the General, “has no need for politics or superfluous job titles.” This is just a bunch of handwaving to avoid the inherent politics of the world—partly because I think if the politics were explored at all, it’d be clearer that this is an unintentional villain origin story.
The romance = The Worst Couple You Know.
Wren and the main love interest are just terrible people being insufferable together and making it everyone else’s problem. It’s insta-lust, it’s toxic, it’s shallow. It’s 40 tropes in a book box special edition trench coat. The love interest has zero personality and is all inappropriate comments. (He’s also just really bad at his job?) And because the world building is generic and the stakes are not believable, the “enemies to lovers” is just giving sexual harassment in the workplace. This is copy paste the same romantasy couple we always get (right down to the tattoos and a certain special connection—iykyk).
Silver Elite is set to publish May 6, 2025, and is the first of a planned series.
eARC provided by NetGalley and Del Rey for review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Murder, War
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail