For whatever reason, I got into my head that this was a YA book. I'm going to blame the Laura Steven's previous work, Infinite Fates for that. And not me overlooking that this is most categorically NOT YA. Not even a little teeny tiny bit. 

True to Steven's style, that opening..it is an absolute heart stomper. I knew it would be, but the vivid imagery of the entire scene makes you feel like you're in the pantry with her. That pivotal moment sets our heroine in motion... it's a wonder the poor thing made it out in one piece. My heart broke for Saffron.

I absolutely love the magic system. Magic has to be replenished once the user hits the bottom of their well. Pleasure or pain can refill magic. Which I love the concept of. You can't create it from nothing, it has to be pulled from a source and the source needs to be refilled as its used. This is so clever! (Also I loved Saff's necklace, what a beautiful concept to wear your loved ones so close to your heart. I'm not crying, you're crying. Shut up.) Pleasure fills the well up, but pain is what makes it stronger. 

There's a few parts in the beginning that felt a little rough. The f-bombs (and I do love some f-bombs) felt strangely out of place and for lack of a better term, crass? (I know I'm one to talk, but bear with me.) It was like they were wedged in, and didn't quite fit into the sentence or scene. Saff's schoolmates hadn't quite become people yet, and I had a hard time telling them apart. Except for the one with the forked tongue allegedly descended from a dragon. As we get to the 20% mark, we can see Laura Steven has hit their stride and settles into the characters and their mannerisms nicely. 

Saff is on a mission that she put herself on the path for since she was 6 years old. Suffering after the brutal murder of her parents by the Bloodmoons. An opportunity comes, with a price. She has to flunk out of special training, be publicly shamed, and spend a small bit of time in a dungeon. Easy peasy. Then she'll be able to infiltrate the Bloodmoons and have them brought to justice. Oh, and she has to hide a huge secret about herself and her abilities from everyone. Easy peasy.

Nope. Not easy. Not peasy.

Saff is queen of not picking the right choice in just about everything she does. You love her for it though because you can just see, girl is TRYING SO HARD. In an impossible situation with a huge secret to hide, she has to choose whether justice for her parents or the possibility of changing the entire future is worth her life. It doesn't help that the Bloodmoon kingpin's son is distractingly hot and oh so perfectly damaged. There are definitely some spicy moments, but nothing felt gratuitous or overly drawn out for smut's sake. The way it's worked into magic system was actually perfect. Playing the double life is tough for anyone, and Saff has a heart bigger than she should with all that trauma hanging around. (There is another element in play here, and those that read Steven's previous bestseller may guess what it is, but I won't go into detail as it could fall into spoiler territory.)

Laura Steven does an incredible job of keeping up with the pace of a high-stakes, high-risk situation tempered with some truly vulnerable and tender moments from almost her entire cast of characters. 

This is a perfect slow burn enemies to lovers to...? Well, you'll just have to read it to find out. Silvercloak hits stores July 29. I highly recommend picking up this one and getting lost in this innovative and imaginative fantasy world. 

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.