Review of Silver Elite by Dani Francis

While I probably should stop reading "romantasy" because I prefer my fantasy and romance to remain separate, I was taken with the double-edged quest, elite training, magical abilities, and complex conflicts between classes in the first in this dystopian series.

In Dani Francis's dystopian novel, Wren Darlington is a Mod who has lived under the radar for her twentysomething years. A select few fellow members of the rebel Uprising are aware that she is psychic, but no one but her adoptive uncle is aware that she can, dangerously and inconsistently, incite--forcing others to do her bidding.

But one careless, heroic move by Wren draws the attention of the enemy, and the military forces her to enlist in a training program for Silver Block.

Wren attempts to sabotage her own success, but in order to aid the resistance she must excel and earn her way into Silver Elite, a small unit sure to access more sensitive information that could assist the rebels.

The leader of Silver Elite is the gorgeous, curt archetype of a masculine man, Cross Redden. He is intrigued by Wren's rejection of his Elite unit's (puns!) desirability and by her poorly disguised exceptional talent. Will these two, who are definitely not allowed to be together, end up together? They will! The slow burn of attraction lasts far longer than their togetherness, and their intimacy didn't induce cringing on my part in its odd specificity or skewed power dynamic (as some other "romantasy" books do).

I probably need to stop reading "romantasy" or "romantasy"-adjacent books, because I love fantasy stories and I love romantic comedies, but for me, the intersection of romance and fantasy is often unsatisfying. However, the forbidden attraction in Silver Elite lasts a tantalizingly long time, and while the "romantasy"' aspect is front and center for the final portion of the book, most importantly for me, the adventure, elite training, secret powers, double-edged quest, unrevealed personal history, and spy/counterspy elements kept me completely hooked for the vast majority of the novel.

Francis explores issues of class and race through her characters' strongly held assumptions and prejudices surrounding Mods and Primes, and Wren's fierce loyalty to her kind is complicated by the secrets she's keeping about abilities that would make her even more feared, a deeper outcast, and a terrifyingly unknown quantity to both types of person in her world.

This is the first in a series and I'm really looking forward to reading the next installment.

The Mystery of Dani Francis

This is the first book by Dani Francis, and her anonymity on social media invites speculation that this is a famous author using a pen name.