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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
_meganrose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
mayareads4fun's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
3.75
I knew where this was heading considering the end of Powerless but I still held onto hope nonetheless until those last pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood
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 shouldn’t be reading this if you haven’t read Powerless.
Ugh! I obviously went into this book knowing what would happen to Adena, and the ending still shattered my heart.
Adena and Mak’s love story felt insta-lovey, especially compared to Paedyn and Kai’s in the first book, but they are side characters and this is a .5 novella, so it’s understandable. I wish we could’ve gotten more vulnerable moments with them! They deserved to live their love story, even if it wasn’t for long.
Ugh! I obviously went into this book knowing what would happen to Adena, and the ending still shattered my heart.
Adena and Mak’s love story felt insta-lovey, especially compared to Paedyn and Kai’s in the first book, but they are side characters and this is a .5 novella, so it’s understandable. I wish we could’ve gotten more vulnerable moments with them! They deserved to live their love story, even if it wasn’t for long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
annikenr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping
laurenn56's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
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: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
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
screaming's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
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
dumb_b_whoreads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
2.5
Lauren Robert’s sticks to her guns with her Powerless novella, by creating another story that is driven by a romance trope.
The short story takes place at the same time as Paedyn’s journey in Powerless. We follow Paedyn’s perky best friend, Adena, and the brooding blacksmith Makoto as they keep each other company in Loot while the Trials occur. Depending on the order a reader may choose to start this series, it can be fuelled with heavy emotions for those that finished the Powerless novel.
The writing quality has vastly improved in numerous ways since the debut novel. However, the story leads with the central focus being on establishing and maintaining the Grumpy/Sunshine trope. While some romance readers may find this trope-driven story to be their exact cup of tea, the limitation of plot, world or character building may affect a reader who has no care for this romance trope, myself included.
One key take away from this novella, is that while the story doesn’t do much to help broaden the world building or introduce a new background conflict, it may have introduced us to a new (potentially powerful) character that could feature in future books in this series, that if so, may make this novella worth reading to get a head start on getting to know this character.
For lovers of the novel Powerless, this offers a quick, sweet, but deeply emotional read to keep you fed until the sequel, Reckless is released in July 2024.
The short story takes place at the same time as Paedyn’s journey in Powerless. We follow Paedyn’s perky best friend, Adena, and the brooding blacksmith Makoto as they keep each other company in Loot while the Trials occur. Depending on the order a reader may choose to start this series, it can be fuelled with heavy emotions for those that finished the Powerless novel.
The writing quality has vastly improved in numerous ways since the debut novel. However, the story leads with the central focus being on establishing and maintaining the Grumpy/Sunshine trope. While some romance readers may find this trope-driven story to be their exact cup of tea, the limitation of plot, world or character building may affect a reader who has no care for this romance trope, myself included.
One key take away from this novella, is that while the story doesn’t do much to help broaden the world building or introduce a new background conflict, it may have introduced us to a new (potentially powerful) character that could feature in future books in this series, that if so, may make this novella worth reading to get a head start on getting to know this character.
For lovers of the novel Powerless, this offers a quick, sweet, but deeply emotional read to keep you fed until the sequel, Reckless is released in July 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood