Silver Elite

Francis’s debut launches a romantasy trilogy with this tense and steamy foray into a dystopian future. More than a century after a devastating war, the remnants of the U.S. are lorded over by General Redden, whose government persecutes Modified humans, people whose psychic abilities are the lingering result of a bioweapon. Among them is headstrong 20-year-old Wren Darlington, but she’s unique in that her powers do not cause her veins to glow, allowing her to easily hide her abilities. After her adoptive father is captured and executed, Wren, who is known to be a sharp shooter, is conscripted into the program that trains the elite Silver Block soldiers, led by General Redden’s son Cross, whom Wren both despises and is drawn to. When members of the Modified rebel Uprising reach out telepathically to Wren and insist she make it into the top tier special force as an operative for them, Wren is caught between her terror at being found out and her conviction that she’s the best, all while unsuccessfully trying to stamp out her attraction to Cross. Francis expertly builds this high-stakes surveillance state and crafts beautifully flawed, emotionally complex characters. Readers will eagerly await the next installment. Agent: Kimberley Brower, Brower Literary. (May)