Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Silver Elite

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

96 reviews

taryn_g's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

thealixknox's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I have been waiting to write my review because I wanted to let the experience sink in. I am still toying with how I truly feel about this dystopian romance. As someone who loved the Divergent series and it was the series along with Hunger games that really got me into reading; it is hard to rate this as a 30 year old adult who hasn't read the other series' since I was a teenager. So with that context let's proceed.

I did not know about the hype of this book on TikTok. I saw it on Book of the Month thought it looked good and went from there. RIP not being on the #booktok side of TikTok yet :(.

This is the longest read of the year for me so far, and honestly, in quite some time, coming in at 528 pages, and I finished it in 5 days. Which, for me, getting back into reading for the first time in a LONG time this year is actually insane. So, from that perspective alone, I would say it was fantastic.

My biggest gripe is that there isn't a lot of room for world-building, and you would think with 528 pages, Francis would have plenty of time to give us more background on why there are Mods and Primes. Why are people even modified to begin with, or why did the first war happen anyway? And there are half answers to those questions, but for 528 pages, I expected more.

But I could not stop thinking about this book. I had to keep going, so for me, that alone gives it 4 stars. It is easy to read, and the pace is quick. There are slower chapters, but it always leaves you wanting just a little bit more. A lot of people are saying it is "adult" dystopian and if by having several SPICY sex scenes that's about it. The characters, while relatable in ways, are in their early 20s and very much going through early 20s emotions/actions/etc. The sex scenes are fine, and as someone who hasn't taken the leap (and probably never will) into SMUT, it was delightfully spicy and wasn't too over the top.

That being said, I really did love this book. The imagination and visuals I was able to create in my mind through Dani Fracis' words was magical. It scratched the dystopian itch I have had for a long time, and for that I am grateful.

Content Warnings

elenikin's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a fun and fast read! I really enjoyed the world building and the whole concept of the Mods. I also loved the spice with Wren

and Cross, although that probably wasn't a spoiler.

. I enjoyed the vibes and story, but it definitely felt predictable. Very predictable, to the point that there was really only 1 surprise I truly was shocked about. I also thought that Wren was so reckless and impulsive that it almost became annoying at times. I also felt like her character didn't really mature that much, but perhaps we'll see some of that in the coming book(s). Overall, it was a fun read that didn't really have much truly unique substance to it (it felt like many of the dystopian books I've read), but I still enjoyed it and loved the spice. I would still continue the series after reading this, I just don't think it's a masterpiece work of art.

Content Warnings

jacland's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book had me in all my feelings - I was laughing out loud, softly sobbing, kicking my feet, angry at some characters & falling in love with others.

I didn’t want to put it down! Just when I thought I knew something, a new revelation came & flipped my guesses on their head. And even though it was over 500 pages, it left me wanting more & needing to find out what happens next!!

If you love books like the hunger games & divergent you’ll love Silver Elite!!!

Content Warnings

ralphgmw's review against another edition

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Definitely the first part of a series.
The first part of the book is a bit generic (in the sense that it could be a standard dystopian sci-fi with a hint of The Hunger Games) but it goes into more interesting territory as the book progresses, and, overall, it was a solid first book - I will get the next one

Content Warnings

fedoratheexplora's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

krystallion's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

There were many times in the first half that I was cringing at the writing and considered if I could handle my disdain for the main character. But I wanted to know what would happen next. I’m SO glad I pushed through, I finished the second half in one go, I was hooked. Worth the read, even if it was a bit cringe early on. I need to know what happens next.

Also it gives me very strong divergent & uglies vibes, so it’s not surprising I was hooked.

Content Warnings

xalrynne's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Take Divergent and make it R-rated and remove all the worldbuilding, and you have Silver Elite. Or take Fourth Wing and remove the dragons and add a half-baked dystopian setting, and you have Silver Elite.

This book feels like it was written for what’s selling in the market right now: take all the most popular tropes and combine them into a book reminiscent of other fantasy bestsellers, and make it spicy. But don’t give it any depth.

This book is the epitome of “I didn’t say it was good, I said that I liked it.” But did I actually like it? It’s definitely not good. But I flew through it. My biggest compliment about Silver Elite is that it’s compulsively readable. It’s very easy to keep turning the pages when the chapters end because each chapter ended on a cliffhanger and I was interested just enough to want to keep reading.

I have to emphasize that the worldbuilding in this story is nonexistent. We are given lots of words that sound important, but no explanations, no descriptions, no painted pictures. The author capitalized a bunch of terms to make it seem like she built a world: Primes, Mods, the Program, Command, Silver Block, Faithful, Aberrant, Continent etc. But none of it is ever explained in any sort of context. It’s basically like, “Primes join the Command and attend the Program so they can defeat the Aberrant Mods and locate the Faithful.” What does any of that mean? I still don’t even know who the Faithful are or why they need to be found. Then you have a sentence like,“seven continents were devastated, four of them razed or underwater,” and in the same paragraph, “dwindling resources,” “overpopulation,” “radiation,” and the “Last War” are mentioned, but nothing is explained or mentioned ever again in any sort of clarifying context. There is no history, no backstory. There’s Silver Block, but there’s also Tin Block and Copper Block, etc. What do the metals have to do with anything? We never find out. The author really did a disservice to the readers on the worldbuilding front because it’s all as flimsy as a sheet of paper.

This book tries to be both post-apocalyptic and dystopian, yet it’s pitifully neither. It really feels like it’s set in the present day and they’re just at a normal strict military academy. There’s a supposed post-apocalyptic setting since a toxin wiped out the majority of earth’s population—which would absolutely affect societal infrastructure as there are way fewer people to produce goods and teach skills, etc., but we don’t hear about any of the ramifications of this—and apparently all the continents are devastated and half underwater. But there’s ZERO information or worldbuilding to support this setting or indicate how it got this way. The setting is not clear from the context, and I would have no idea the setting wasn’t the current day if it wasn’t explicitly stated. Silver Elite is also supposed to take place under a dystopian government, but it really doesn’t read that way. There are strict rules in society, and Mods are generally looked down upon, but it doesn’t have that oppressive feel that most dystopian books do. I don’t know what the government’s motivations are. There is no discussion or critique of the system, which is also a common thread among dystopian novels. Everything here is half-baked . . . it’s actually not even half-baked, it’s just plain raw.

I didn’t care for Cross at all. He is toxic and possessive. I don’t like how he talks to Wren. What happened to relatable and likable love interests? Also he is only 22 and as a military commander who is described as so “broad” and “muscular,” he definitely needs to be in his late twenties at least. Early twenties is just not believable. I didn’t like Kaine in the beginning either, but he grew on me throughout the book. I wish he had been Wren’s love interest, at least in this first book, because they had more chemistry together and made more sense together than Wren and Cross did.

I was most interested in the character Wolf because he’s a total mystery. Who is he? Where is he? What’s so important about him? I’m glad we got answers to those questions in this book and didn’t have to wait until the next book, even though those answers felt cheap. And I liked Tana because she was kind and level-headed. My favorite character though was Lyddie. I loved her and I loved how happy and positive she was while still being mentally strong. She was so much more interesting to me than Wren.

Wren was fine overall, but man did she make a ton of stupid decisions. Chapter 48 had me fuming because it was one idiotic move after another. If you’ve read it, you know. The whole bloodmark situation made me so angry. I also hate that the book started with Wren having a one-night stand. Gross. What a scene to start a book with. Almost made me DNF. But I guess it’s the kind of thing the target audience for this book would be into.

I haven’t decided yet if I will read the sequel. The ending definitely has me interested but will my interest remain until the second book comes out? We’ll see. Was Silver Elite entertaining? Yes. It’s a quick read that’s easy to get through despite being over 500 pages. But was it good? Not really. And if you look more than surface deep, the entire story falls apart. I really wish this book had more worldbuilding as I prefer depth to my stories and it would have made the story so much stronger. I think the premise here was great, but it could have been written to be so much better than it was. It seems like the publisher knew this would sell so they didn’t bother to put forth the effort to turn it into something great, which is disappointing.

I’m so glad I was able to buddy-read this with my friend because that made the experience so much more fun. We texted each other updates and theories, and it was great. I need to do more buddy reads.

Content Warnings

ink_lyn's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The story was fun for what it was. I expected a few more twists and a bit more more of the dystopian world building. I'm definitely going to pick up the next one to see where the story goes!

Content Warnings

ivycake's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for an enjoyable read!
A solid romantasy with military elements. The writing is okay, nothing fancy (similar to ACOTAR 1 in writing quality). I loved the plot twists, even though I had predicted one of them by chapter 13 - I was along for the ride to see if I was right and boy was the reveal exciting. You will love this if you like slow burn sexual tension in a fantasy setting.

Content Warnings

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