My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Powerless
Author: Lauren Roberts
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 593
Publication Date: 11/7/23
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This sparkling edition will include a special case stamping, bonus content, and a teaser to book two in this heart-pounding series!
Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom’s grueling laws pitting them against each other.
She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole live pretending to be.
Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites. The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.
Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be keenly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can to stay alive and out of trouble…easier said than done.
When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya’s princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is…completely Ordinary.
Content Warning: violence, death
It looks like this book was published in January 2023 but is getting another publication date in November, so I was intrigued by it because of the cover. I never heard of Lauren Roberts even though I’m on BookTok but after looking at some Goodreads reviews, it seems this book got popular because of BookTok so I was curious about it.
This book definitely takes inspiration from The Hunger Games and Red Queen. Paedyn lives in the slums but she gets recruited into the Purging Trials, where she has to fend off the competitors. Everyone in the kingdom either has a power or are Ordinary, a person without power and Ordinaries are killed right away. It’s a brutal kingdom and Paedyn is trying to survive. She’s also trying to avenge her father’s memory and does that by finding the resistance and helping them.
Of course it’s not a romantasy without some romance and Paedyn and Prince Kai are opponents in the Trials but wildly attracted to one another. There is lots of tension but this is a SLOW burn. Like super slow. There is a lot of flirtation and Kai likes to call her darling which I thought was cheesy but their banter was fun. Thing is Kai’s older brother Kitt, and future heir of the kingdom is falling for Paedyn too and oh no do I hate the brothers love triangle trope. Kai is crazy about her, but doesn’t think he deserves her because he is the future Enforcer – basically the King’s henchmen. He is a killer. Anyway the thing with Kitt reminds me a lot about Maven in the Red Queen.
I wasn’t loving the book but it was one of those situations where you know its starting to get messy and you can’t look away! I’d love to have more world-building. The trials were alright, and I don’t know how people didn’t keep testing Paedyn for her “Psychic” powers which is such a weak power. Somebody could have exposed her right away, but they just forgot about it as everyone using every power they had in the trials. I didn’t care for how Kitt was falling for her when clearly Kai was so interested in her and he knew that but I did like the twist and crazy events that happened in the end. Goodreads says this book clocks in at 593 pages but me eARC ended at 468? I think it took me two days to read but I did find it a quick read.
Tropes: slow burn, rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, girl with no powers
Why you should read it:
- you like Hunger Games type of stories
- lots of angst and romance drama, slow burn, tension
Why you might not want to read it:
- definitely Hunger Games “lite”
- wasn’t a big fan of the writing
My Thoughts:
I did find this book entertaining because of the similarities to The Hunger Games and I liked the ending but I had some issues with it too like I wasn’t connecting with the writing sometimes and ok Kai’s very charming (he’s sexy and he knows it kinda guy) but something about him always saying darling got on my nerves. But I think I’ll be reading book two because of that ending. I’d say this was an okay read with lots of potential.
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