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bmceleney's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Somehow knowing the ending just made the book cruel but also beautiful to read the other perspective.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
karydiazc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was sad, but we all knew that before we started reading it, and altough it was supposed to be that way, it felt very bland to me.
We were given an instalove once more, where the characters go from "I don't like you" to "you are now the love of my life" in such a short time, and even if it wasn't such a short time in the timeline of the book, it was quite fast for us readers.
Shure, we saw them warm up to each other, but the jump from warming up to love was so fast I didn't even felt conected to Mak as a character.
Anyway, I think Mak's power is an interesting twist for the future of the books and, if done properly, it can make the story a lot better. Unfortunately I won't find out since I won't keep reading this series. I don't think I'm the target audience for this books.
We were given an instalove once more, where the characters go from "I don't like you" to "you are now the love of my life" in such a short time, and even if it wasn't such a short time in the timeline of the book, it was quite fast for us readers.
Shure, we saw them warm up to each other, but the jump from warming up to love was so fast I didn't even felt conected to Mak as a character.
Anyway, I think Mak's power is an interesting twist for the future of the books and, if done properly, it can make the story a lot better. Unfortunately I won't find out since I won't keep reading this series. I don't think I'm the target audience for this books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Kidnapping and Injury/Injury detail
sweetteaandfiction's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Powerful by @laurenrobertslibrary had me screaming and crying and almost throwing my phone across the room.
This novella manages to be darker and much more intense than Powerless.
PROS:
šŖ”The people who love the people in the arena
š©øA different form of hiding in plain sight
šŖ”Under appreciated talent
š©øPower doesnāt save you from poverty
šŖ”Enemies to Friends to Lovers
CONS:
š©øThe King, but make my rage about 200X worse
šŖ”Never getting to say goodbye
š©øLove cut short
šŖ”The fact I became so invested when I already knew what was coming.
š„®š„®š„®š„®š„® out of 5 sticky honey cakes
This novella manages to be darker and much more intense than Powerless.
PROS:
šŖ”The people who love the people in the arena
š©øA different form of hiding in plain sight
šŖ”Under appreciated talent
š©øPower doesnāt save you from poverty
šŖ”Enemies to Friends to Lovers
CONS:
š©øThe King, but make my rage about 200X worse
šŖ”Never getting to say goodbye
š©øLove cut short
šŖ”The fact I became so invested when I already knew what was coming.
š„®š„®š„®š„®š„® out of 5 sticky honey cakes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror
paperbacksandsnacks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is literally emotional damage in physical form. I realise itās unhinged to say this book made me sob and then award it 5āļø but look, Iām just a girl.
I thought this was such a beautiful love story. The way that Adena and Mak come together by helping one another literally healed me. She brought sunshine to his little life and the way this man complemented her for it made me cry and scream whilst kicking my feet like a little girl who has just been given ice cream.
I mean donāt get me wrong, my heart is now broken. But it was worth it for the journey there. This book is simultaneously healing and destroying. Just a really simple and beautiful short love story, that did a great job of filling that gap in between Kai and Paedyns books. But just a warning, have tissues for the whole thing because I didnāt just cry at the end!
I thought this was such a beautiful love story. The way that Adena and Mak come together by helping one another literally healed me. She brought sunshine to his little life and the way this man complemented her for it made me cry and scream whilst kicking my feet like a little girl who has just been given ice cream.
I mean donāt get me wrong, my heart is now broken. But it was worth it for the journey there. This book is simultaneously healing and destroying. Just a really simple and beautiful short love story, that did a great job of filling that gap in between Kai and Paedyns books. But just a warning, have tissues for the whole thing because I didnāt just cry at the end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
dkgreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
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? No
4.5
Lauren Roberts must be one of those authors who drinks her coffee from a mug that says THE TEARS OF MY READERS on it, because this was positively heartbreaking. Actually, if Iām being honest, it was just plain mean š©. Adena is so GOOD and so KIND and so DELIGHTFUL, why did she have to put us through this? Whyyyyyyy????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Sexual harassment
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Wow! I'm so glad I read this! While I did enjoy "Powerless", I wasn't obsessed with it like a lot of other people were and was honestly not going to continue the series. However, I was really in the mood for a quick read and I saw this book rolling around a few months ago plus the 2nd book came out this month so I figured I'd give the novella a go considering it was only 200-ish pages.
And boy am I happy I read this! Adena is probably one of my favorite FMCs that I've read about. She's literally me (but much more optimistic)! She's bubbly! Sweet! Fragile! Curly hair. And she talks a lot. Her dynamic with Makoto reminds me a lot of my dynamic with a few of my male friends so it was so endearing to read about them (Adena and Makoto). Although, I will say their feeling for each other came very quickly to me, I wasn't too convinced of their romance until the later half of the book, and even now I still feel like their romance happened extremely quickly which negated a lot of the emotional impact for me, but it's a novella so I guess I can't fault it too much on that front. I'm not too big on tropes but this is most definitely a grump x sunshine if I've ever seen one (he could be a little too grumpy at times for me).
I think this book was extremely needed cuz although we all know what happens to Adena, I think this book gives what happened to her more emotional impact than it did in Powerless. In "Powerless", Adena is rarely in the novel which in my opinion hinders the emotional impact of her death because we don't really get to see much of her or her friendship with Paedyn. In this book, at least we get more insight into Adena and her personality so in my opinion makes her death more impactful for the reader. I actually shed a tear when reading about her death (something I didn't do when I read it in "Powerless").
My main qualm with the book is that some major questions that I wanted answered still weren't answered. We still don't know the exact reason why the king targeted Adena in the first place. Also, a pressing question I have is how the elites' powers are determined?Like in this book, Makoto is born with two Mundane parents and yet he possesses the power of a wielder. How? I'm very curious to see what Makoto's role will be in the next book considering what we know about him. Poor Makoto! Both the women he cared about the most died within a few weeks of one another. Overall, I really enjoyed this one (and the writing in here; there were some cute little quotes), and will most definitely be continuing the series now!
And boy am I happy I read this! Adena is probably one of my favorite FMCs that I've read about. She's literally me (but much more optimistic)! She's bubbly! Sweet! Fragile! Curly hair. And she talks a lot. Her dynamic with Makoto reminds me a lot of my dynamic with a few of my male friends so it was so endearing to read about them (Adena and Makoto). Although, I will say their feeling for each other came very quickly to me, I wasn't too convinced of their romance until the later half of the book, and even now I still feel like their romance happened extremely quickly which negated a lot of the emotional impact for me, but it's a novella so I guess I can't fault it too much on that front. I'm not too big on tropes but this is most definitely a grump x sunshine if I've ever seen one (he could be a little too grumpy at times for me).
I think this book was extremely needed cuz although we all know what happens to Adena, I think this book gives what happened to her more emotional impact than it did in Powerless. In "Powerless", Adena is rarely in the novel which in my opinion hinders the emotional impact of her death because we don't really get to see much of her or her friendship with Paedyn. In this book, at least we get more insight into Adena and her personality so in my opinion makes her death more impactful for the reader. I actually shed a tear when reading about her death (something I didn't do when I read it in "Powerless").
My main qualm with the book is that some major questions that I wanted answered still weren't answered. We still don't know the exact reason why the king targeted Adena in the first place. Also, a pressing question I have is how the elites' powers are determined?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Cursing, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
marissagero's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This entire review contains spoilers. Then again, you shouldnāt be reading this if you havenāt read Powerless.
Ugh! I obviously went into this book knowing what would happen to Adena, and the ending still shattered my heart.
Adena and Makās love story felt insta-lovey, especially compared to Paedyn and Kaiās in the first book, but they are side characters and this is a .5 novella, so itās understandable. I wish we couldāve gotten more vulnerable moments with them! They deserved to live their love story, even if it wasnāt for long.
Ugh! I obviously went into this book knowing what would happen to Adena, and the ending still shattered my heart.
Adena and Makās love story felt insta-lovey, especially compared to Paedyn and Kaiās in the first book, but they are side characters and this is a .5 novella, so itās understandable. I wish we couldāve gotten more vulnerable moments with them! They deserved to live their love story, even if it wasnāt for long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Spice Rating: š« / 5 š¶ļø
Powerful added so much context to Powerless, and I absolutely loved it. Even though I knew how this novella was going to end, it still devastated me.
This novella follows Adena--the best friend of the female main character from Powerless, Paedyn. We get a small peek into Adena's life before she meets Paedyn and then follow her journey as Paedyn is going through the trials. When Adena is left alone, she meets a mysterious man named Mak who is also desperate to see someone before the trials. Together they team up to try to sneak into the palace and save their loved ones. In the meantime, Adena and Mak find out that they have more in common than they originally thought.
I knew that Adena was going to die, but her death hit SO much harder when you see it through Mak's eyes and realize that he had to watch it while he was powerless to stop it. My heart!
This is a great companion novel to Powerless. I'm dying to see what happens next in Reckless.
Powerful added so much context to Powerless, and I absolutely loved it. Even though I knew how this novella was going to end, it still devastated me.
This novella follows Adena--the best friend of the female main character from Powerless, Paedyn. We get a small peek into Adena's life before she meets Paedyn and then follow her journey as Paedyn is going through the trials. When Adena is left alone, she meets a mysterious man named Mak who is also desperate to see someone before the trials. Together they team up to try to sneak into the palace and save their loved ones. In the meantime, Adena and Mak find out that they have more in common than they originally thought.
This is a great companion novel to Powerless. I'm dying to see what happens next in Reckless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Violence, and Death of parent
proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Here we get to follow Adena, Paedyn's best friend, during the events of "Powerless". When Paedyn is forced to participate in the Purging Trials, Adena is left on her own. When she's about to get caught after stealing a sticky bun she's rescued by a mysterious man who says he needs her help.
While waiting for "Reckless" I took the opportunity to visit the kingdom of Ilya again, and it was lovely to be back! We get to know Adena a bit better and her enthusiasm over clothes, fabric and sowing is contagious. Mak, the mysterious man she meets, is her opposite in so many ways; they are really a grumpy/sunshine couple! It's fun to see how they get to know each other, and how Adena influences Mak to change.
[Spoilers ahead if you haven't read "Powerless"]
After "Powerless" we know that Adena doesn't get a happy ending, but yikes, it still hurts to read about it. I certainly hope we get to see a lot more of Mak in "Reckless"!
While waiting for "Reckless" I took the opportunity to visit the kingdom of Ilya again, and it was lovely to be back! We get to know Adena a bit better and her enthusiasm over clothes, fabric and sowing is contagious. Mak, the mysterious man she meets, is her opposite in so many ways; they are really a grumpy/sunshine couple! It's fun to see how they get to know each other, and how Adena influences Mak to change.
[Spoilers ahead if you haven't read "Powerless"]
After "Powerless" we know that Adena doesn't get a happy ending, but yikes, it still hurts to read about it. I certainly hope we get to see a lot more of Mak in "Reckless"!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail