Powerless by Lauren Roberts is book one in the fantasy trilogy and it will grip you from the very beginning.
Lauren Roberts is an author I've followed on social media for some time. I first saw her on TikTok when she was making videos about her first novel, Powerless.
I remember watching her talk about this book that she'd written when she was 18 and had decided to self-publish it. I was hooked but I was a little late to the reading party.
Now, having signed with Simon & Schuster, Roberts has published three books (two novels and a novella). The second novel, Reckless, came out yesterday and I was quick in my quest to buy the special edition from The Works.
However, this blog post is all about book one in her fantasy trilogy. Her debut novel, Powerless, is a young adult romantasy and I'm here to convince you all why you should read it.
My review of Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Genre: YA Romantasy
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Forbidden romance (in some aspects)
'Who did this to you?'
Slow-burn
He falls first
Knife to throat
As I mentioned above, I have seen Powerless being promoted by Roberts and other Bookstagram/BookTok content creators for a while, but I was rather late when it came to actually reading it.
I read it last month for the first time, having high hopes given all the reviews I'd seen. But I was wary that with my hopes being high, I may end up being disappointed. However, that was certainly not the case.
Roberts has crafted a blend of The Hunger Games and all her favourite tropes that just so happen to be some of my favourite tropes. It does end on a cliffhanger, but luckily, the second book is out now - I have just bought my copy and can't wait to continue the story.
But first, let's review Powerless.
Powerless is the first in the Powerless trilogy and the synopsis is:
So we have a thief and a prince; one destined to be hunted and the other destined to be the hunter. This idea already had me hooked and when I started reading, I couldn't stop.
I would say overall, Powerless by Lauren Roberts is a character-driven book. Yes, the Purging Trials and the divide between the Elites and the Ordinaries are two major narratives, but without Paedyn and Kai, the story would be different.
Character thoughts
Paedyn is an Ordinary parading as a Mundane, a psychic to be exact. Her father was killed when she was younger, but when he died, he taught her how to survive in the kingdom of Ilya. Living in Loot (the slums), Paedyn survives by thieving and her ability as a psychic is one she's learnt to perfect through being able to read people.
She is very much an independent woman, who will do what it takes to survive. Her best friend, Adena, and her are as thick as thieves (literally) and you can see how much Paedyn cares for her. Our female protagonist at times did annoy me a little bit, but I liked that we saw moments of strength and vulnerability because it made her a more dimensional and complex character.
Her character arc is linear, I would say. She starts as a thief, who despises the royals and the Elite society, but is soon launched into their world after - inadvertently - saving the prince's life. From there, she goes on this trajectory of discovering what the two princes are actually like before joining the resistance and fulfilling her dream of avenging her father.
On the other hand, Kai is a charming, flirtatious, and dangerous individual. He is the prince that has been trained as the future Enforcer whilst his brother, Kitt, will become the future king. Kai has the ability to mimic other Elites' abilities and that makes him powerful.
He follows his father's orders, even when he has a war going on inside him, but sometimes, he lets his heart take control. The Purging Trials in the book are designed around him to demonstrate how powerful he is to the kingdom of Ilya and we do see that. However, there are times when he is more concerned about Paedyn, which adds to the romance aspect of the novel, than his role as the Enforcer.
The chemistry between Kai and Paedyn is definitely strong. It is a slow-burn romance in that with it being YA, there is no spice and if I remember correctly, there isn't even an actual kiss. But the push and pull between the FMC and the MMC is there.
They flirt, they fight and they dance. We have knife-to-the-throat scenes, 'who did this to you?' scenes, 'touch her and you'll die' scenes. It is clear that Kai and Paedyn didn't expect to be taken with one another, which personally adds an extra layer to the book for me, because we see them struggle with falling for the enemy.
Overall Narrative Thoughts
I did feel as though the trials and the resistance/rebellion aspects of the novel did take a back seat to the romance. And that's fine but as a lover of dystopia/fantasy, I would have loved to have a bit more of the actual trials and worldbuilding, I guess. For example, the Plague that gave some people their powers is never really explained fully in terms of how the powers came about.
Also, with the Purging Trials, it would have been good to have a mix of Mundanes and Elites, perhaps even some Ordinaries, rather than just Paedyn as the Mundane and other Elites. I feel as though that would lean more into the aim of purging the society of those who the king believes weaken it.
However, I still loved the book. There is one scene at the end of the first trial where I literally shot up out of bed in shock! And then towards the end of the book, my jaw fell to the floor and I had to hold back tears.
Lauren, you certainly know how to make me go on an emotional rollercoaster!
If you like the sound of Powerless, after having read my review, do give it a read. It is one of my top books of the year and I will 100% be rereading it in the future.
But for now, I need to get Powerful to read Adena's story and then I can start on my new copy of Reckless, which is out now.
To read Powerless, you can click the image below, which will take you to the Amazon page. And don't forget to stay tuned for my review of Reckless, which will be coming soon.
Until next time...