Review: Turncloak by L.K. Steven

Turncloak

L.K. Steven

(Silvercloak Saga #2)

Publication Date: September 15, 2026

Hardcover, 544 pages, Del Rey

Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ/Queer

Goodreads

Three rival mages race for power, vengeance, and the fate of Atherin in the epic second installment of the Silvercloak Saga, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates.

 

Revenge drove Saffron Killoran to go undercover in the Bloodmoon gang. But now, with any chance of retribution gone, she sees only one path forward: harnessing a long-dormant power to fix her ruinous mistakes.

 

Meanwhile, the new kingpin of the Bloodmoons has discovered Saffron’s true identity as a Silvercloak—and her ultimate goal of bringing his empire down. As old wounds resurface and fresh enemies close in, he finds himself torn between the cause to which he has devoted his life and the fate of the traitorous mage he loves.

 

Hot on their heels is an ambitious rookie detective sent to stake out the Bloodmoons’ growing rivals. She will stop at nothing to destroy both gangs—and anything or anyone who dares to stand in her way.

 

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of trust and betrayal spanning continents, Saffron must choose where her loyalties lie—and determine if her quest to unmake time itself is worth becoming a villain to the whole world.

My Review

I said book one, Silvercloak, was for adults who are missing the magic of the Wizarding World but also want a darker fantasy story reminiscent of Six of Crows and A Darker Shade of Magic, and I stand by that description for the second book in the Silvercloak Saga. The series has a wand-based magic system that the wizards fuel with pain and pleasure, but there's also time travel, mafia, detectives, queer-normative relationships, and a good-boy wolf to contribute to the worldbuilding. And in the sequel, you also get plot twists, betrayals, and secrets.

Now, I have to confess, this book took me a long time to get through. I think I read it over the course of an entire month. The same thing happened with the first book, especially for the first 75% of the book. It was just very slow-paced. Seemingly intentionally, so, with the criminal enterprise happening and laying out all the threads for the ending. It takes time and energy to pull off the setup for where L.K. Steven decided to take the story. Unlike book one, however, when my issue was the narration style, this time, it was the addition of a few new POVs. It seemed like every time I was getting into the groove of this story, there'd be a POV change that slowed the pacing down. So, I'd put the book to the side. This kept happening until the very end of Turncloak, when those elements finally paid off. However, I'm still not sure Auria's POV was necessary. Auria is a fellow detective from Saffron's cohort. I think Saffron's, Levan's, and the one mystery character's POV would have been sufficient to smooth the pacing and maintain the events of the story.

Saffron Killoran, the main character, is still undercover in the Bloodmoon organization, though no one from the Silvercloaks really knows that's the case. She's also still in a complicated romantic relationship with Levan Celadon, the new Bloodmoon kingpin. Saffron and Levan's relationship was the strongest part of Silvercloak, so I was glad they were still working together in this book, whether they truly wanted to or not. I am a little confused about how two grown adults are still obsessed with their parents' deaths, though. Like yes, it's extremely traumatic and awful, but they spent more time alive without their parents than with them. Plus, two adults should realize the repercussions of the paths they're on. So, I guess I just find that plotline a little head-scratching. I mean, humans do stupid things, but I had to suspend disbelief a bit to really follow their motivations.

As for the plot, like I said, it was slow going. The first half of the book is primarily about the characters' responses to the end of book one, but then the latter half of Turncloak starts to focus on the new plotline. I guess, technically, it isn't new, but it felt different from book one. This time, the characters' traveled outside the city, and other countries suddenly became relevant to the story. As someone who only remembered the major plot points from book one and not the minor details, it was a bit confusing to have these countries name dropped on me without much backstory. I think having a physical copy with the full map will definitely help readers keep those things straight. But, like I mentioned, L.K. Steven did manage to bring the world expansion and the POV elements together to craft a decent cliffhanger ending that has me intrigued for book three. I just know now that I'll have to dedicate a month to reading the final book in the series. I might also have to do a re-read or find a summary of the prior books as well, as I doubt I can remember all of the craziness from prior installments.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about this one due to how long it took to get through. I think the Silvercloak Saga is for readers who love the payoff of intricate detective shows and hardcore fantasy worlds, and it's not for the easy-breezy fantasy reader, which, depending on the day, I could put myself into either category. At the point in time I read Turncloak, I was more of an easy-breezy reader that found it difficult to keep going. It's just not a book you pick up if you don't have the headspace for heavy worldbuilding and a plot-centric story. I do think there are a lot of readers who will love how unique the story is, though, especially when it seems like dragons, fae, and vampires are taking over bookstores. Not that there's anything wrong with dragons, fae, and vampires. This is just something different to entertain the masses.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.