Scan barcode
callistag1's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Maybe I didn't enjoy this book because I had such high hopes for it, seeing that almost every BookTuber and BookTok account I follow has raved about it. But really, there was a lot about this book I didn't like.
The plot was okay. After a plague wipes through the kingdom of Ilya, most of the surivivors are left with powers and are known as Elites. The few who didn't get powers are known as Ordinaries, and the ones who receive powers that are "too dangerous" are called Fatals. Basically, the king is a dick and decides Fatals should die because they can't be controlled, and Ordinaries should die because they apparently are diseased and make the Elites sick by weakening their powers. The fact that everyone is okay with mass genocide because they want to be able to move shit with their mind or control fire or morph into animals baffles me.
Paedyn, our main character, is an Ordinary who passes herself off as a Psychic in order to not be nerfed on sight. She's literally out here just trying not to die and I respect that. When she shows a bit of human decency and accidentally saves the 2nd born son of the king, Prince Kai, she is voted by the slums she lives in to participate in Purging Trials (a.k.a. PG13 Hunger Games basically because people die but it's not a necessity to win) and now she has to fake it til she makes it. Add in rebellion and some romance and a hint (?) of a love triangle but not really, and that's the book.
Now, the plot had potentially, but there were just a couple things about the book I couldn't get into. One being a nitpicky thing that pissed me off so badly that I removed a full star for it: the author's outrageous use of the word "laugh" or "laughing" or an iteration of the word. I've never read two characters laugh more than I've read Paedyn and Kai laugh. Once the word or an iteration of it was used four times on one page, and it was used almost every page they were together. It felt like when Roberts didn't know how to have them react, she'd just convey that they laughed in one way or another, usually with "laugh" or "huff out a laugh." Is it a small thing? Sure. Still pissed me off though.
Another problem I had was with Kitt as a character, specifically with his relationship with Kai and their father. While it is stated that the king was nicer to Kitt than he ever was to Kai, Kitt knows that Kai was strait up tortured by their father to make him enforcer, and is just... okay with it? Or tries to play peace maker but still seems to love their father as if "well he was nice to me" makes it okay to just ignore the fact that his father is an abuser. Considering how the book makes Kitt and Kai seem to be close, you would think Kitt would not have his head up his dad's ass. Also, he said some out of pocket stuff about "sacrifices of the Ordinaries are necessary" and that had me wondering how I was supposed to care about him at all because even later on he didn't really seem to care that much, so he was probably set up to become the next villain since the king is killed near the end of the book. (I will say I liked that scene. There was only two mentions of laughter instead of a dozen!)
Also, there were just a few things that felt a bit cliche and fan-fiction like, and I feel a bit upset because everyone acted like this was going to be that book when it fell kind of flat.
Overall, the plot isn't bad, but there were things like what I mentioned before that just wasn't it for me. Will I continue the series? Maybe. I have it on my to-read list, but if so, it will be on the lower end of my tbr because there are other books I am much more interested in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Torture, Death, Violence, Murder, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pandemic/Epidemic
becca_wight's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Both enthralled by the plot and characters, whilst simultaneously loving the writing style. Incredible read! I cannot wait for the sequel!
(It did also have me screaming and kicking my feet for both positive and negative reasons a fair few times, useful information I know)
(It did also have me screaming and kicking my feet for both positive and negative reasons a fair few times, useful information I know)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief and Abandonment
bethy_joy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, War, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Torture, Mental illness, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Panic attacks/disorders
izzyreads13's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are not enough good things to say about this book, so for simplicity I’ll sum it up for everyone interested in my review!
➸ MMC who’s the embodiment of a man written by a women, everything he says about halfway through the book when he comes to terms with his feelings for the FMC are heartwarming and almost poetic, “Her. I only want to be deserving of her”.
➸ Interesting world building, while it’s definitely not the most out there world, the author does a good job at throwing parts of the lore around through out the book when needed, making everything easy to understand while also not feeling like you’re constantly getting information thrown at you left and right. Information comes up when it’s needed.
➸ interesting characters. While some are definitely more loveable then others, all of the characters are written with enough depth and background to at least make you build some sort of connection with them, good or bad
➸ our FMC is strong and despite what I thought at a few points of the book, does not need to and or always rely on our MMC to save her. There are of course a few instances when he does but there are enough scenes throughout the book that reinforce the fact that she can stand her own ground without his assistance which I definitely enjoyed.
The story is a little hard to get into at first, I found myself picking the book up at least once every day for about 50 pages at a time but by the halfway mark I definitely felt more inclined to read more and more each time and by the last 100 pages not only was I devastated but satisfied. Devastated that it was over, yet satisfied as to how the book came together at the end. I’m eagerly awaiting the second book in a few months, but the rest of my review will just be some things I noted and felt while reading the book.
➸ definitely a slow burn. While the banter is continuous throughout the book from start to finish, it takes a while to get to a point where the characters verbalize those feelings to one another and by the end of it, only Kai does, our MMC (definitely a “he fell harder” situation). That doesn’t stop the tension between characters however, if anything it elevates it and I loved feeling the love through the words written on the page.
➸ I loved paedyns character as a whole, but through out a lot of the beginning of the book there’s numbers mentions of her deceased father and while it does subside a bit throughout the book, it was definitely very hard to get through for a while and almost made me eye-roll at his mention every time something bad happened. But like I did mention, this does subside mid book and does come back into play at the end.
Overall I truly did enjoy this book, I cried, squealed and everything else you could imagine while getting through this book, it was a fantastic read through and through and I know I’ll be sad when the trilogy ends, even though it has just started. I look forward to the rest of this trilogy and however many novellas Lauren decides to release alongside it in the future. I recommend this read to anyone who loves tension, banter, slow burn, and tropes such as “he fell harder” and the “who did this to you” trope! And please be aware that they are not joking when they market this book as a YA romantasy, because that’s really what it is. If you’re expecting some high end romance that’s more sophisticated, you won’t find it here, but the romance is definitely satisfying, heartfelt and beautifully written. I’d say it’s definitely one you at least have to pick up and try. Happy reading!
➸ MMC who’s the embodiment of a man written by a women, everything he says about halfway through the book when he comes to terms with his feelings for the FMC are heartwarming and almost poetic, “Her. I only want to be deserving of her”.
➸ Interesting world building, while it’s definitely not the most out there world, the author does a good job at throwing parts of the lore around through out the book when needed, making everything easy to understand while also not feeling like you’re constantly getting information thrown at you left and right. Information comes up when it’s needed.
➸ interesting characters. While some are definitely more loveable then others, all of the characters are written with enough depth and background to at least make you build some sort of connection with them, good or bad
➸ our FMC is strong and despite what I thought at a few points of the book, does not need to and or always rely on our MMC to save her. There are of course a few instances when he does but there are enough scenes throughout the book that reinforce the fact that she can stand her own ground without his assistance which I definitely enjoyed.
The story is a little hard to get into at first, I found myself picking the book up at least once every day for about 50 pages at a time but by the halfway mark I definitely felt more inclined to read more and more each time and by the last 100 pages not only was I devastated but satisfied. Devastated that it was over, yet satisfied as to how the book came together at the end. I’m eagerly awaiting the second book in a few months, but the rest of my review will just be some things I noted and felt while reading the book.
➸ definitely a slow burn. While the banter is continuous throughout the book from start to finish, it takes a while to get to a point where the characters verbalize those feelings to one another and by the end of it, only Kai does, our MMC (definitely a “he fell harder” situation). That doesn’t stop the tension between characters however, if anything it elevates it and I loved feeling the love through the words written on the page.
➸ I loved paedyns character as a whole, but through out a lot of the beginning of the book there’s numbers mentions of her deceased father and while it does subside a bit throughout the book, it was definitely very hard to get through for a while and almost made me eye-roll at his mention every time something bad happened. But like I did mention, this does subside mid book and does come back into play at the end.
Overall I truly did enjoy this book, I cried, squealed and everything else you could imagine while getting through this book, it was a fantastic read through and through and I know I’ll be sad when the trilogy ends, even though it has just started. I look forward to the rest of this trilogy and however many novellas Lauren decides to release alongside it in the future. I recommend this read to anyone who loves tension, banter, slow burn, and tropes such as “he fell harder” and the “who did this to you” trope! And please be aware that they are not joking when they market this book as a YA romantasy, because that’s really what it is. If you’re expecting some high end romance that’s more sophisticated, you won’t find it here, but the romance is definitely satisfying, heartfelt and beautifully written. I’d say it’s definitely one you at least have to pick up and try. Happy reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, Death, Blood, and Grief
proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
In the kingdom of Ilya there's only place for the Elites - those who have magical powers. If you don't have powers, if you're an Ordinary, you either get banned from Ilya or killed. Paedyn Gray is well aware of the risks, since she's an Ordinary pretending to be Elite with psychic abilities. When she, without knowing who he is, saves Kai Azer, one of Ilya's princes, she gets thrown into the Purging Trials. How will Paedyn survive this brutal competition without any powers?
Sometimes you know right away that the book you started will be a "hit"! This was the case with Powerless; I fell in love with the characters from the first chapter! Paedyn, orphaned when she was thirteen, survives by stealing. She's very skilled with both bow and knife, and can handle herself in a fight, but she doesn't have magical powers. Kai, whose half-brother Kit will be king one day, have been trained all his life to be the king's enforcer. He can wield others powers, as long as they’re within a certain distance, and he can sense what kind of power you possess. Kai is definitely a morally grey character and that makes him even more interesting!
I'm not completely satisfied with the ending and I thought about lowering my grade a tiny bit, but since it really felt like a five star book up until then I let the five stars remain. The ending was also quite expected and I'm looking forward to reading the next book when it's out!
Sometimes you know right away that the book you started will be a "hit"! This was the case with Powerless; I fell in love with the characters from the first chapter! Paedyn, orphaned when she was thirteen, survives by stealing. She's very skilled with both bow and knife, and can handle herself in a fight, but she doesn't have magical powers. Kai, whose half-brother Kit will be king one day, have been trained all his life to be the king's enforcer. He can wield others powers, as long as they’re within a certain distance, and he can sense what kind of power you possess. Kai is definitely a morally grey character and that makes him even more interesting!
I'm not completely satisfied with the ending and I thought about lowering my grade a tiny bit, but since it really felt like a five star book up until then I let the five stars remain. The ending was also quite expected and I'm looking forward to reading the next book when it's out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
firequeen_ash23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Powerless by Lauren Roberts is a YA, dark fantasy. While I did like this book and it has a lot of potential, I was a little disappointed with certain parts of it. I loved Paedyn and I think she was a great heroine yet I felt like there was something to be desired for her character.
There's a lot of tropes through out this book. You have enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, insta attraction, dagger to throat, "who did this to you", focus on me trope, etc... honestly too many to mention which is what Lauren Roberts said she meant to do but at times was a lot.
While I really did like Paedyn, Kai, Kitt and Adena, and other characters, I felt that there wasn't a lot of character building. There was a lot left to be desired when it came to the characters and getting to know them. I also didn't like that we were told about the characters, not shown. Example: we were told that Jax was extremely close with Kai and Kitt, but there's nothing showing us throughout the story. Just like we're told over and over that Kai is a monster but yet they show him releasing a child back to its family even though it was an ordinary. Yes Kai might have been raised to be a killer and do whatever the king ordered him to do but I don't see him as a monster. He doesn't actually enjoying killing and torturing.
I love fantasy romance and YA romance. I enjoyed paedyn and this story. I think Lauren Roberts has so much potential as does this story. I do wish this book didn't feel like it was taken directly from the Hunger Games. Now I've never read the Hunger Games book but I did see the movies and even I picked up the correlation between the two. Now I know authors will take something they read or watched and then try and write a story using what they read or saw as inspiration but it literally feels like pieces of this story were just copied and pasted.
Now with that said, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book or that I won't continue on with the series and see where Roberts goes from here. I will be reading Reckless.
**I will say that I really did enjoy the preview of book 2 at the end of Powerless. I think it was a great cliffhanger.
There's a lot of tropes through out this book. You have enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, insta attraction, dagger to throat, "who did this to you", focus on me trope, etc... honestly too many to mention which is what Lauren Roberts said she meant to do but at times was a lot.
While I really did like Paedyn, Kai, Kitt and Adena, and other characters, I felt that there wasn't a lot of character building. There was a lot left to be desired when it came to the characters and getting to know them. I also didn't like that we were told about the characters, not shown. Example: we were told that Jax was extremely close with Kai and Kitt, but there's nothing showing us throughout the story. Just like we're told over and over that Kai is a monster but yet they show him releasing a child back to its family even though it was an ordinary. Yes Kai might have been raised to be a killer and do whatever the king ordered him to do but I don't see him as a monster. He doesn't actually enjoying killing and torturing.
I love fantasy romance and YA romance. I enjoyed paedyn and this story. I think Lauren Roberts has so much potential as does this story. I do wish this book didn't feel like it was taken directly from the Hunger Games. Now I've never read the Hunger Games book but I did see the movies and even I picked up the correlation between the two. Now I know authors will take something they read or watched and then try and write a story using what they read or saw as inspiration but it literally feels like pieces of this story were just copied and pasted.
Now with that said, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book or that I won't continue on with the series and see where Roberts goes from here. I will be reading Reckless.
**I will say that I really did enjoy the preview of book 2 at the end of Powerless. I think it was a great cliffhanger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence and Torture
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, and Blood
norisen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Torture
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Genocide
weapon_of_your_chosen's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
michelleub's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It definitely is slow burn, has no sexual content. Which is good don’t get me wrong, it’s YA, but it could have been closed door. The slowest burn that has ever burned, I might die from these burn scars because I can’t get enough from it. If you think this book is enemies to lovers then you’re going to be disappointed. It might be rivals to lovers but if I’m going to be serious can it be considered that if they’re attracted to eachother from the start? I still enjoyed the tension between the two and the banter was exquisite. I still think about them.
It is dual POV tho.
It is dual POV tho.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, War, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Genocide, Torture, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide and Alcohol
tabea1409's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child death, Animal death, Genocide, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Gore, and Murder