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adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Sexual harassment
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this book! The ending hurt me physically hurt me, and now I just want July to come as quick as possible so I can (hopefully) get some Paedyn and Kai reconciliation.
Powerless occurs in the kingdom of Ilya, where the Elites who have powers have banished people who do no have powers (Ordinary's). However some Ordinary's slipped though the cracks and have kept themselves hidden among the lesser powered Elites. Enter Paedyn, who is an Ordinary who was taught how to pretend to be a Psychic by her dad so she wouldn't be caught by the Enforcer, who kills Ordinary's found in the walls of Ilya. She is a thief who lives in the slums with her best friend. When Paedyn accidentally saves Prince Kai, who is the future Enforcer, their lives get further entwined as she gets chosen to compete in the Purging Trials (a competition meant to showcase the powers of the Elite), where he is also competing. While she is preparing and competing in the trials she is also trying to fight her feelings for Kai, getting to know his brother, Kitt, who is the future king, all while hiding her Ordinary status from the kingdom.
As with a lot of fantasy books, it starts a little slow because it is introducing the reader to an entirely new hierarchy, but it picks up quickly. I loved all of the characters and the way they interacted with each other. Each of the main characters were fleshed out and had interesting dynamics with each other. The banter was next level and had me cackling and swooning. There was a ton of yearning between Paedyn and Kai and it was understandable why Paedyn didn't want to get any closer to him than necessary. The amount of angst between Kai and Paedyn is all... They have all the angst. The respect that Paedyn and Kai have for each other really aided in me being so invested in their romance arc. Kai never thought of her as less than because she had a "lesser" ability. He knew she knew how to take care of herself and only helped her when she physically couldn't take care of herself. Also, Kai's charisma oozed out of the page. It was so easy to fall in love with him that I'm surprised Paedyn held on so long. She's stronger than me for sure! Seeing the status quo as the book ended, it is going to be very interesting to see where book 2 will take the plot and the characters!
Loose Thoughts and Fav Moments (SPOILERS!!!):
I wish we got more Adena, but I am very excited to read more of her story in Powerful!
HE KNEW HOW MANY FRECKLES WERE ON HER NOSE!!!
If the king didn't die I was ready to jump into the book and do it myself.
I just know Kitt is gonna make me so mad in the next book. I can feel it.
Kai writing "She said I could touch her when I'm sober" is when I decided he was my next book boyfriend!
Powerless occurs in the kingdom of Ilya, where the Elites who have powers have banished people who do no have powers (Ordinary's). However some Ordinary's slipped though the cracks and have kept themselves hidden among the lesser powered Elites. Enter Paedyn, who is an Ordinary who was taught how to pretend to be a Psychic by her dad so she wouldn't be caught by the Enforcer, who kills Ordinary's found in the walls of Ilya. She is a thief who lives in the slums with her best friend. When Paedyn accidentally saves Prince Kai, who is the future Enforcer, their lives get further entwined as she gets chosen to compete in the Purging Trials (a competition meant to showcase the powers of the Elite), where he is also competing. While she is preparing and competing in the trials she is also trying to fight her feelings for Kai, getting to know his brother, Kitt, who is the future king, all while hiding her Ordinary status from the kingdom.
As with a lot of fantasy books, it starts a little slow because it is introducing the reader to an entirely new hierarchy, but it picks up quickly. I loved all of the characters and the way they interacted with each other. Each of the main characters were fleshed out and had interesting dynamics with each other. The banter was next level and had me cackling and swooning. There was a ton of yearning between Paedyn and Kai and it was understandable why Paedyn didn't want to get any closer to him than necessary. The amount of angst between Kai and Paedyn is all... They have all the angst. The respect that Paedyn and Kai have for each other really aided in me being so invested in their romance arc. Kai never thought of her as less than because she had a "lesser" ability. He knew she knew how to take care of herself and only helped her when she physically couldn't take care of herself. Also, Kai's charisma oozed out of the page. It was so easy to fall in love with him that I'm surprised Paedyn held on so long. She's stronger than me for sure! Seeing the status quo as the book ended, it is going to be very interesting to see where book 2 will take the plot and the characters!
Loose Thoughts and Fav Moments (SPOILERS!!!):
I wish we got more Adena, but I am very excited to read more of her story in Powerful!
HE KNEW HOW MANY FRECKLES WERE ON HER NOSE!!!
If the king didn't die I was ready to jump into the book and do it myself.
I just know Kitt is gonna make me so mad in the next book. I can feel it.
Kai writing "She said I could touch her when I'm sober" is when I decided he was my next book boyfriend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Torture
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Major spoilers in this review will be spoiled so if you don't want to see them, you don't have to! Minor spoilers that do not effect/spoil the main plot line will not be spoilt. This review also contains minor Red Queen spoilers.
First of all, I want to start with the main positives for me.
The ending was INCREDIBLE, predictable but very well written. I espically lovedthe reference back to the blood/honey at the start of the book . It made my mouth drop and I got shivers!
I also really liked the Enemies to lovers plot line that was going on between the two main characters.
However, there were far too many negatives to give this more than 3 stars.
For one, Powerless is extememely similar to Red Queen, almost a carbon copy at certain points. For example, in Red Queen you see the main male character (Cal) teach the main female character (Mare) how to dance because she's involved with Cal's brother and he doesn't want her to mess up when dancing with him. In Powerless, Kai (main male character) teaches Pae (main female character) to dance because she's going to the ball with his brother and he doesn't want her to mess up. Very similar.
Another extreme similarity is that in Red Queen they have silencer stone. Silencer stone prevents powers from being used, aka suppresses them. In Powerless they have silencers which prevent and suppress powers.
I feel that a lot of the scenes were inspired from Red Queen (and a bit of hunger games too) and this has resulted in the book being very similar and it can get boring reading those scenes. I've already read it before in Red Queen, I don't need to read it again in Powerless.
Unfortunately, I find Pae to be a bit whiny at times. I rarely find main characters to be annoying so this was a surprise for me. From the very start of the book, all the way through to the end, she was incredibly whiny, constantly thinking or talking about her dead dead. I get that it was part of the storyline and helping us develop her character a bit, it just got very insufferable at tines. I ended up enjoying Kai's POV a lot more.
Let's talk about the nicknames. I get what the author was trying to do, but it felt VERY forced at times. Although that could be my dislike for the nickname "darling", so I may be a bit biased here.
Also,I've noticed people saying that Kai/Kitt/Pae is supposed to be a love triangle? Because it certainly isn't. Pae flirts with Kitt but leads him on. Kitt falls for her but it's very clear from the start that she loves Kai and is going to end up with him. Not sure if a love triangle was attempted there by the author, but it didn't work regardless .
Overall, I think Powerless had an opportunity to be great. It did get better the more I read and I really enjoyed the last 150ish pages the most out of all the book.
First of all, I want to start with the main positives for me.
The ending was INCREDIBLE, predictable but very well written. I espically loved
I also really liked the Enemies to lovers plot line that was going on between the two main characters.
However, there were far too many negatives to give this more than 3 stars.
For one, Powerless is extememely similar to Red Queen, almost a carbon copy at certain points. For example, in Red Queen you see the main male character (Cal) teach the main female character (Mare) how to dance because she's involved with Cal's brother and he doesn't want her to mess up when dancing with him. In Powerless, Kai (main male character) teaches Pae (main female character) to dance because she's going to the ball with his brother and he doesn't want her to mess up. Very similar.
Another extreme similarity is that in Red Queen they have silencer stone. Silencer stone prevents powers from being used, aka suppresses them. In Powerless they have silencers which prevent and suppress powers.
I feel that a lot of the scenes were inspired from Red Queen (and a bit of hunger games too) and this has resulted in the book being very similar and it can get boring reading those scenes. I've already read it before in Red Queen, I don't need to read it again in Powerless.
Unfortunately, I find Pae to be a bit whiny at times. I rarely find main characters to be annoying so this was a surprise for me. From the very start of the book, all the way through to the end, she was incredibly whiny, constantly thinking or talking about her dead dead. I get that it was part of the storyline and helping us develop her character a bit, it just got very insufferable at tines. I ended up enjoying Kai's POV a lot more.
Let's talk about the nicknames. I get what the author was trying to do, but it felt VERY forced at times. Although that could be my dislike for the nickname "darling", so I may be a bit biased here.
Also,
Overall, I think Powerless had an opportunity to be great. It did get better the more I read and I really enjoyed the last 150ish pages the most out of all the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Torture, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This has a Hunger Games meets the Bachelor kind of feel to it. I thought it was interesting how the main character has been a master of hiding her true identity of just being human and still manages to survive. Definitely worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Torture, Grief, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked the pacing of this book - there was a good balance between plot and character developments that kept me turning the page. For the most part, I felt like the peripheral characters were fairly fleshed out as individuals which was definitely a win. To me, this book was like Hunger Games and Merlin had a baby haha. While reading this book, it felt like a collection of cliches which was enjoyable to real about, but didn't really feel like anything special. BUT THEN, I got to the last 100 pages and OH MY GOSH! The tension. The plot twists. The betrayal. The grief. The trauma. The Resistance. The murder. I WAS IN A CHOKE-HOLD! The last 100 pages honestly brought this book up from a 3 to 4 star read for me.
I'm usually not the biggest fan of enemies-to-lovers as a trope but I really liked how it was done in this book. It was clear from their initial meeting that Paedyn and Kai felt some sort of attraction to each other, which just made it that much for intriguing to read about Paedyn's inner conflict about said attraction considering Kai's role as the Enforcer meaning that he would literally kill her if he knew she was an Ordinary. Also, Kai's lines to Paedyn were *chef's kiss*!!! I'M SORRY BUT "Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren't dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it" LIKE WHAT? HAND IN MARRIAGE NOW PLEASE SIR!
Overall, I found both of the main characters to incredibly complex and lovable and I honestly just wanna hug their traumatized selves. Paedyn is such a badass female lead and I'm really excited to see where her character arc goes throughout the trilogyas her role in the Resistance is explored further . Likewise, I'm looking forward to see how Kai's character grows and changes in the second book now that Paedyn is on the run and Kitt is embracing his role as King .
In terms of why this wasn't a five star read for me, I feel like there were points where things just worked out a little too welllike when Kai suddenly finds this miraculous cure as Paedyn is dying or how Jax's life is saved because Kai managed to use a healer's power . I'm obviously glad those plot lines took place but it just felt a little too perfect.
My other complaint with this book is a little bit of an odd one but at times, it felt like there were these these offhand comments within the writing itself that ruined a little bit of the experience for me. It was clear that this fantasy world was very much patriarchal and hetero-normative in subtle ways and given the premise of the book, I expected to see the characters subvert those expectations but that unfortunately didn't happen. I felt like there were points where Paedyn was almost scapegoated so that certain romance tropes could take place, which definitely frustrated me. From the first chapter, perhaps even the first sentence of the book, we're immediately exposed to the sheer strength and just badass nature of Paedyn's character - she's a survivor beyond all else. She still has her flaws and she has room to grow, but at times it just feels like her strength is just sacrificed for the sake of the romantic plot. I do wanna point out that I THOROUGHLY enjoy the dynamic between Kai and Paedyn, especially how Kai almost gives her the space to be vulnerable and understand that it is okay to ask for and need help, but it still feels like Paedyn's character is just shredded for the sake of specific tropes.
I'm usually not the biggest fan of enemies-to-lovers as a trope but I really liked how it was done in this book. It was clear from their initial meeting that Paedyn and Kai felt some sort of attraction to each other, which just made it that much for intriguing to read about Paedyn's inner conflict about said attraction considering Kai's role as the Enforcer meaning that he would literally kill her if he knew she was an Ordinary. Also, Kai's lines to Paedyn were *chef's kiss*!!! I'M SORRY BUT "Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren't dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it" LIKE WHAT? HAND IN MARRIAGE NOW PLEASE SIR!
Overall, I found both of the main characters to incredibly complex and lovable and I honestly just wanna hug their traumatized selves. Paedyn is such a badass female lead and I'm really excited to see where her character arc goes throughout the trilogy
In terms of why this wasn't a five star read for me, I feel like there were points where things just worked out a little too well
My other complaint with this book is a little bit of an odd one but at times, it felt like there were these these offhand comments within the writing itself that ruined a little bit of the experience for me. It was clear that this fantasy world was very much patriarchal and hetero-normative in subtle ways and given the premise of the book, I expected to see the characters subvert those expectations but that unfortunately didn't happen. I felt like there were points where Paedyn was almost scapegoated so that certain romance tropes could take place, which definitely frustrated me. From the first chapter, perhaps even the first sentence of the book, we're immediately exposed to the sheer strength and just badass nature of Paedyn's character - she's a survivor beyond all else. She still has her flaws and she has room to grow, but at times it just feels like her strength is just sacrificed for the sake of the romantic plot. I do wanna point out that I THOROUGHLY enjoy the dynamic between Kai and Paedyn, especially how Kai almost gives her the space to be vulnerable and understand that it is okay to ask for and need help, but it still feels like Paedyn's character is just shredded for the sake of specific tropes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Self harm, Grief
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Death, Torture, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse