Broken Dove by Dani Francis: New Moon Era, Psychic War, and One Very Suspicious Pen Name
- genredpodcast
- 1 day ago
- 16 min read
For our one-year anniversary episode, we had to bring back the original crew.
Bryanna is back for one whole episode, and honestly, there was no better book for the occasion. This week, we’re talking about Broken Dove by Dani Francis, the sequel to Silver Elite, which just so happened to be the very first book we ever covered on Genre’d.
Full circle. Emotional. Slightly suspicious. Deeply on brand.
And because this is a sequel, we need to say this upfront: this episode is not fully spoiler-free. We try not to spoil every single thing in Broken Dove right away, but by the nature of talking about book two, we are absolutely spoiling Silver Elite. So if you haven’t read the first book yet, go listen to our Silver Elite episode, read the book, develop your own theory about who Dani Francis really is, and then come back.
Because we have things to say.
First, we need to discuss the Knicks
Before we got into the psychic war, the secret mountain base, and the love triangle that had us all spiraling, Bryanna had something important to say: Knicks in five.
As a Boston girl and Celtics fan, Bryanna still had to admit that New York City has never felt more alive than it did during the Knicks chaos. We talked Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind,” Manhattan being absolutely unwell, people basically stage-dooring Madison Square Garden, and the evolution of Fat Joe to Thin Joe to, simply, Just Joe.
A normal start to a book podcast.
Also, where is the Sarah J. Maas title?
Elyse came in with a very important question: are we getting the title of the next Sarah J. Maas book before it releases?
Usually, big book marketing gives us stages. Announcement. Title reveal. Cover reveal. Preorder push. General fan hysteria. But this time, the book is supposedly coming in October, and things have felt weirdly quiet.
We know SJM is operating at a level where she may not need traditional marketing, but still. Publishing giving up an opportunity for fanfare? Suspicious. We want a title. We want a cover. We want a synopsis. We want to be fed.
If anything happens, emergency episode. Obviously.
What is Broken Dove about?
Broken Dove picks up right after Wren blows her cover inside Silver Elite and escapes the Prime-controlled Capitol.
Now behind Allied lines at the hidden mod base, Wren is supposed to be safe. But the uprising comes with its own secrets, suspicion, and power games. As the war between mods and primes gets more brutal, Wren is caught between two fights: the battle for the continent and the battle over who and what she is willing to lose.
When the book opens, Wren has escaped Sanctum Point. Her cover as a double agent is blown. She is separated from Cross, and she is entering the Dagger, the hidden mountain fortress where the modified uprising has been operating in secret.
Cross, meanwhile, is still back inside the Prime-controlled world, trapped with the Redden family and trying to work from the inside.
So we are starting the book with Wren and Cross physically separated, politically divided, but still emotionally and psychically connected.
Healthy? No. Compelling? Unfortunately, yes.
The Dani Francis conspiracy corner
Before we got too deep into Broken Dove, we had to return to one of our favorite theories: who is Dani Francis?
Dani Francis is clearly a pen name. There is no face attached to the author. The marketing around Silver Elite had a big push, but no real author identity. And the going theory is that Dani Francis is a relatively well-known author writing under a different name, maybe to try a new genre, maybe to escape expectations, maybe to avoid the baggage of an existing brand.
Elyse remains committed to the theory that Dani Francis is Stephenie Meyer.
Yes, Twilight Stephenie Meyer.
The logic? Stephenie Meyer has not really been able to fully escape the gravitational pull of Twilight. The Host had its moment, but nothing post-Twilight has had the same cultural traction besides Midnight Sun, which is still, of course, in the Twilight universe. So maybe, just maybe, Dani Francis is Stephenie Meyer trying to get back into adult dystopian fantasy without carrying all the baggage of sparkle vampires, Team Edward, and “where you been, loca?”
Other theories floating around include Danielle Jensen and Elle Kennedy, but we remain unconvinced. Danielle Jensen is very active publicly and has spoken openly about how hard publishing and marketing can be, which makes the anonymous, no-face, heavily pushed Dani Francis theory feel like a very complicated long game. Elle Kennedy also does not feel quite right to us.
So for now, our official stance is: Dani Francis, show yourself.
Preferably as Stephenie Meyer, because we would love to be right.
Genre check: dystopian romance, dystopian fantasy, and one very intense love triangle
We landed on dystopian romance, with a strong case for dystopian fantasy.
This is still very much a post-apocalyptic world with psychic powers, environmental collapse, class divisions, military control, and a rebellion that is maybe not as morally clean as Wren wants it to be.
As we said: dystopian novels do love psychic powers. Environmental collapse, and the next day, psychics. It tracks.
The biggest new trope in this book is the love triangle. And while love triangles were absolutely overdone in the golden era of YA dystopian books, we did not hate it here.
Actually, the love triangle was one of the most interesting parts of the book.
Welcome to the Dagger
One of the biggest expansions in Broken Dove is the Dagger, the hidden mountain fortress where the uprising operates.
The Dagger almost feels like a character itself. It is a secret rebel base inside a mountain that people can fly into and out of. It has training, jobs, politics, hierarchy, and that very specific “magic school but make it war” feeling.
We liked learning how it worked. We liked seeing the valley. We liked getting a better sense of the mod uprising beyond Wren’s original contact points from Silver Elite. The Dagger made the world feel bigger, more complicated, and less like a simple “bad government versus good rebels” setup.
Because the more time we spend there, the clearer it becomes: the uprising has problems too.
New favorite characters: Xavier and Jasper, obviously
Xavier was a huge standout in this book.
We knew him from Silver Elite as Cross’s best friend, but here he gets much more room to be funny, chaotic, flirty, useful, and deeply entertaining. Every time he said something, we were laughing.
He is also in an interesting position because he is at the Dagger surrounded by mods, but he does not have a power. He has to figure out where he fits when he is no longer the hotshot guy from Silver Elite, and that journey made him even more endearing.
Then we meet Jasper Reed.
Jasper is a smuggler, a hustler, and another man who simply lives out loud. He does what he wants, when he wants, and he does not fully belong to any side. He chooses himself, which, in this world, honestly feels kind of reasonable.
The dynamic between Jasper and Xavier? Delicious. Kinship, romance, chaos partnership, whatever that was, we support it.
The Hollow: party time USA
We also need to talk about the Hollow, the Faithful camp.
The Faithful are basically people who opted out of the Prime versus Mod war. They do not care for the entire system. They are living off the grid, hiding from everyone, and creating their own world where primes and mods live together.
And when we get to Faithful Town, everyone is having a great time.
No rule sexuality. No purity politics. No “which side are you on?” energy. Just people living, hiding, smuggling, surviving, and apparently hooking up with whoever they want.
Is it morally complicated? Sure. They are outside society, which means they have to steal or smuggle what they cannot grow or make. But compared to the Dagger and the Prime-controlled world? We understood the appeal.
Team stay alive has entered the chat.
The Authority and why nobody should be trusted
Inside the Dagger, we meet the Authority, the group running the uprising. There are five leaders, including Kallister, Adrienne, Grayson, Fiona, and Tarek, and they operate by voting.
Kallister is especially important because when Wren first sees him, she thinks he is her dead uncle. He is not. He is her uncle’s twin brother.
At first, Kallister seems like he might be Wren’s connection to family, history, and answers. He opens up to her about her parents and seems like someone she might be able to trust.
Naturally, this is a book, so that gets complicated.
Adrienne also becomes a much more important figure. She was Wren’s uprising contact in Silver Elite, and in this book, we learn more about her power, her backstory, and what it means to be a corrupter. She is part of the Authority, but she is also carrying the weight of a power she hates and a system that has used her.
And then there is Grayson.
Or, as we knew him before: Kane.
Kane being alive at the end of Silver Elite already had us suspicious. Elyse called it last year: he was going to become another love interest. And she was right.
Grayson Blake is an ace pilot, a major figure in the uprising, and very much one of those shirtless guys from Top Gun. Lock us in.
It’s giving... Twilight
When we got to “what’s it giving,” we all had the same answer.
Twilight.
Specifically, New Moon.
Yes, it still has shades of Divergent and The Darkest Minds. It is still a post-apocalyptic dystopian psychic war. But emotionally? Structurally? Romantically?
This book is New Moon.
Wren and Cross are separated. Wren is grieving the relationship while trying to move forward. A very likable second love interest enters the picture. That second love interest is present, warm, capable, and good for her in ways Cross cannot be in that moment.
And yet, the original love interest is still looming over the entire thing.
It is not vampires and werewolves, but it is absolutely the same emotional machinery. A grown-up New Moon, if you will.
Stephenie Meyer, you have been caught. Allegedly.
Did we like it?
This is where we split.
Elyse liked it less than Silver Elite. She did not dislike it, but her main takeaway was that it was too long.
Bryanna liked it too, though not as much as the first book. She thought the last 20 percent really took off, but the book could have been tighter.
Katy loved it. Loved it more than Silver Elite. Five stars. Nearly six stars. This book touched her. She was moved. She cried. She had a single tear moment while Wren and Cross were breaking up, because again, grown-up New Moon.
Spoiler time: the last 20 percent went feral
Once we entered the spoiler section, we had to talk about the sheer number of plot twists in the final stretch.
Bryanna came prepared with chapter numbers, because she is a professional.
Some of the biggest twists:
Cross’s brother Travis, now the new general, worked with the Dagger to take down his father.
Evelyn betrays the Dagger because Travis is her baby daddy.
Poppy is an inflictor.
Hawkins and Kallister are plotting to corrupt the minds of children.
Hawkins is also a corrupter and an insider.
The Ridge Howler takes Hawkins out.
The Authority is disbanded.
Adrienne is sentenced to death.
Adrienne kills herself with heartroot.
Wren is captured.
Kallister is revealed to be a precog and an all around bad guy.
Cross shows up to save Wren.
And then Cross crashes a helicopter into the ocean.
As one does.
The book ends on that cliffhanger, with Wren injured, Cross back in the picture, and a lot of unanswered questions.
The Wren and Cross connection is getting weirder
One of the biggest questions we had after the ending is how Cross knew where Wren was.
Throughout the book, after Wren and Cross break up, Wren tries to link with him telepathically and cannot. She assumes Cross does not want to talk to her, which helps create the emotional distance that allows her feelings for Gray to grow.
But then she starts getting these one-way flashes of Cross. Not full conversations, exactly.
More like she is spying on moments from his perspective. She gets bits and pieces of what he is doing, who he is talking to, and what is happening around him.
So what is that?
Is it Wren’s power? Cross’s power? Some deeper bond between them? Something tied to the fact that Cross thought Wren was dead when her energy signature disappeared?
We do not know yet, but we assume this is going to be a major book three thing.
It better be explained, because Cross cannot simply keep appearing out of nowhere like a hot pilot-shaped deus ex machina.
Too many powers or exactly the point?
One of our biggest debates was about the number of powers introduced in the back half of the book.
At a certain point, it felt like Oprah was handing them out.
You get a power. You get a power. Everyone gets a power.
Precogs. Corrupters. Inflictors. Persuaders. Secret powers. Hidden powers. Child powers. Mind-killing powers. We needed a spreadsheet.
Elyse brought up deus ex machina, or “god in the machine,” where a story uses a sudden outside force or explanation to solve a problem quickly. In this case, the worry is that new powers can start to feel like shortcuts if they appear every time the plot needs a push.
Katy was less bothered by it because the book also explains why people would hide their powers. If people know what you can do, they will use you. Evelyn’s betrayal comes from that exact fear. Her son is extremely powerful, and she does not trust the Authority, even though they are supposed to be fighting for the mods.
That suggests something very important: there is no clean good side here.
The real theme: control, corruption, and genetic purity
The more we talked about it, the more it felt like Broken Dove is really about control.
The Primes want control. The Mods want freedom, but the uprising also wants control.
Everyone is justifying their own hypocrisy depending on what serves them in the moment.
There is also a major theme around genetic purity. Who is considered powerful, dangerous, pure, corrupted, useful, disposable? It reminded us of Divergent, where being a mix of traits makes someone a threat to the government.
In this world, powers do not just make people special. They make them valuable, dangerous, and vulnerable to exploitation.
And that is where Wren’s idealism starts to crack.
She wants to believe there is something worth fighting for. She wants to believe the uprising is better. But by the end of the book, she has to face the fact that both sides are deeply compromised.
Wren’s arc: from impulsive to naive
In Silver Elite, Wren’s big flaw was impulsivity. The book hit us over the head with the fact that she does not think before she acts.
In Broken Dove, she is less impulsive, but more naive.
She enters the Dagger wanting to believe in the uprising. Cross is more cynical and keeps warning her that both sides might be bad, but Wren wants there to be a good side. She wants the rebellion to be better than the Prime-controlled world. She wants society to be fixable.
And honestly, that is what we want from a heroine.
Would we have gotten on the plane with Cross and disappeared to the beach? Yes.
Absolutely. Check y’all later. But Wren would never do that. She believes there is something to fight for, even if she does not fully know what that looks like anymore.
The love triangle actually worked
We are not always love triangle people. In fact, some of us are actively love triangle haters.
But this one worked better than expected.
The Wren and Gray slow burn felt believable. Gray is present when Cross is not. He understands the Dagger. He is kind, capable, patient, and aware that Wren is still carrying feelings for Cross. He knows a piece of her is still in love with someone else, and he does not pretend otherwise.
That felt realistic.
At the same time, we are still Cross girlies (well some of us, looking at you Bryanna).
The thing about love triangles is that you can usually tell who is endgame. The endgame person is the one who lets the heroine go, explore, make decisions, and be her own person. Cross may be emotionally messy, but he does not try to hold Wren back. He supports her even when it hurts.
Gray is wonderful. We like Gray. We want good things for Gray. But Cross feels like endgame.
Sorry to this hot pilot.
Favorite moments
Some of our favorite parts of the book:
The Hollow. Katy loved every scene there. It felt like going under a tree root into fairyland, but make it a morally complicated smuggler commune.
Xavier and Jasper. Whatever is happening there, we want more of it.
Poppy and Wren. Fiona’s death was devastating, and we are very interested in Wren stepping into more of a guardian or mother-figure role for Poppy. Poppy is powerful, impressionable, and in desperate need of someone truly in her corner.
The Wren and Cross breakup. Painful. Emotional. Very New Moon. Katy cried.
The Ridge Howler. Obviously. We love a fantasy girl with a terrifying animal companion. That is her baby.
Saint. We do not fully know what is going on with him, but we are watching. Persuader powers? Mysterious energy? Possible future complications? We are intrigued.
Team Cross, Team Gray, or Team Saint?
Officially, Team Cross.
But Gray is a very good second-book love interest. He is likable enough that we understand why Wren is drawn to him, and we would be very happy if this series eventually expanded into a bigger Silver Elite universe where Gray gets his own real love story.
Saint also has potential. We do not know enough yet, but the vibes are vibing.
Just please do not make Gray fall in love with Wren’s future vampire baby. We have lived through that once. We do not need to do it again.
Ratings
Bryanna gave Broken Dove four stars. She did not love it as much as Silver Elite, and she thought it was too long, but she really enjoyed it. The final 20 to 25 percent was full throttle, Taylor Swift bridge moment energy.
Elyse gave it three and a half stars. Her main issue was the length. If this is going to be a three or four book series, she does not think we needed to take the war quite this slowly or spend quite so much time in the Dagger.
Katy gave it five stars, nearly six. She loved it more than the first book. It spoke to her. It hit the exact emotional buttons. She could have used a little more Cross, but overall, she was fully in.
A rare spread, honestly.
Final thoughts
Broken Dove is bigger, slower, messier, more emotional, and more complicated than Silver Elite.
It expands the world, deepens the politics, introduces a genuinely effective love triangle, and makes it very clear that this series is not going to be a simple “rebels good, government bad” story. The Primes are bad. The uprising is suspicious. The Faithful are appealing but complicated. The powers are escalating. The morality is gray. Everyone is lying.
And at the center of it all is Wren, trying to figure out what is worth fighting for when every side of the war seems willing to use people as weapons.
Also, it is New Moon.
And we mean that as a compliment.
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Fast Facts
Book: Broken Dove
Author: Dani Francis
Series: Book 2 in the Silver Elite series
Previous book: Silver Elite
Genre: Dystopian romance / dystopian fantasy
POV: Single POV, Ren
Vibe: Psychic war, secret rebel base, morally questionable rebellion, hot pilot love triangle, hidden powers, found family-ish chaos, and very loud New Moon energy
Tropes and themes: Love triangle, rebellion politics, secret identity, psychic bond, hidden powers, morally gray leadership, second-book love interest, dystopian class divide, chosen family, betrayal, corrupt systems, genetic purity, and heroine caught between two sides of a war
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Romantic tension is very present, but this is more emotionally dramatic than super spicy.
Genre’d rating: Katy gave it 5 stars, nearly 6. Bryanna gave it 4 stars. Elyse gave it 3.5 stars.
Best for readers who like: Dystopian romance, psychic powers, messy rebellions, emotionally complicated love triangles, Divergent / The Darkest Minds energy, and anyone who has ever said, “Wait… is this just New Moon?”
Mini FAQs
Do you need to read Silver Elite before Broken Dove?
Yes. Broken Dove picks up right after the ending of Silver Elite, so this is not a jump-in-wherever kind of series. Wren’s cover is blown, Cross is still trapped in the Prime-controlled world, and everyone is already emotionally compromised. Read Silver Elite first.
Is this episode spoiler-free?
Not really. Because Broken Dove is book two, we naturally spoil major parts of Silver Elite. We try not to spoil every single thing from Broken Dove immediately, but once the spoiler alarm goes off, we are fully in it.
What is Broken Dove about?
Broken Dove follows Wren after she escapes Sanctum Point and enters the Dagger, the hidden mountain base of the modified uprising. She thinks she is finally behind Allied lines, but quickly learns that the rebellion has its own secrets, power games, and morally questionable leadership. Meanwhile, Cross is still inside the Prime-controlled world, leaving Wren caught between war, loyalty, love, and one very inconvenient hot pilot.
Is Broken Dove more romance or dystopian fantasy?
It is both, but the romance is doing a lot of the emotional heavy lifting. The world gets bigger with the Dagger, the Hollow, the Authority, and more mod powers, but the Wren/Cross/Gray situation is the thing that made us clutch our metaphorical pearls.
Is there a love triangle in Broken Dove?
Yes, and somehow we did not hate it. Gray becomes a major romantic presence while Cross and Wren are separated, and the whole thing is giving classic second-book love interest. Gray is charming, capable, and very hot pilot coded, but Cross still feels like endgame.
Who is Gray in Broken Dove?
Gray is Grayson Blake, formerly known as Kane from Silver Elite. He is an ace pilot, a key figure in the uprising, and the new love interest who enters with major Top Gun energy. We respect him. We enjoy him. We are still Team Cross.
Is Broken Dove giving Twilight?
Yes. Specifically, it is giving New Moon. Wren and Cross are separated, Ren is trying to move on, a very likable second love interest shows up, and everyone is pretending this is emotionally normal when it absolutely is not. There are no vampires or werewolves, but spiritually? We know what this is.
Who is Dani Francis?
Dani Francis appears to be a pen name, and we remain extremely invested in the mystery. Our favorite theory is that Dani Francis could be Stephenie Meyer, mostly because the Twilight energy is too loud to ignore. Is that confirmed? Absolutely not. Are we committed to the theory? Obviously.
What is the Dagger?
The Dagger is the hidden mountain fortress where the modified uprising operates. It is part rebel base, part military compound, part secret society, and part magic school if everyone had jobs and trauma. It also proves pretty quickly that the uprising may not be as clean and trustworthy as Wren wants it to be.
What is the Hollow?
The Hollow is the Faithful camp, where people have basically opted out of the Prime versus Mod war. Mods and Primes live together, everyone seems less uptight, and the general vibe is “please keep your government nonsense away from us.” It is morally complicated, but also kind of a great time.
Does Broken Dove end on a cliffhanger?
Yes. The final stretch goes fully feral: betrayals, secret powers, deaths, Wren captured, Cross showing up, and then a helicopter crash into the ocean because apparently we could not leave calmly.
Is Broken Dove better than Silver Elite?
Depends who you ask. Katy loved Broken Dove more and gave it 5 stars, nearly 6. Bryanna liked it, but not as much as Silver Elite. Elyse liked it too, but thought it was too long and preferred the first book. So we are divided, but absolutely still reading book three.
Why did Broken Dove feel long?
Because it is doing a lot. The book spends a lot of time building out the Dagger, the Hollow, the Authority, the love triangle, and the bigger politics of the war. Katy liked the extra time because it made the relationships and world feel richer. Elyse and Bryanna thought it could have lost about 100 pages and still worked.
What’s next on Genre’d
Next on Genre’d, we’re reading It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell, which looks like a psychological thriller and feels like it may have My Husband’s Wife vibes. We are excited. We are chuffed. We are ready for a genre pivot.
Catch that episode next, and in the meantime, remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And as always: no genre shaming unless it’s funny.
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