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A review by zaiphon
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Note: While I understand why it is so divided between love and dislike for this series, I have enjoyed the Powerless Trilogy for what it offers, so this review derives from that opinion.
To start, I have a suspicion that my thoughts will change after I sit on this one for a while. I enjoyed "Fearless" and I savored in the things it did right. The passion and emotional connection that embeds itself between Kai and Paedyn continues to take the glory here. We get all the longing, pining, and passion that emits strongly from the pages. About halfway in, I perceived the narrative to be structured fully around this romance more than anything. Despite this, there were a few things that missed that mark for me and felt was very much missing:
1. The plot holes that felt purposefully done to make me think and connect the dots, however, the impact was less than desired. I felt with more focus toward some solid world building prior to these revelations, these then would have elicited deeper feelings from me.
2. A couple of characters felt discarded. I really think the focused world building as mentioned above coupled with a bit more depth around some side characters would have benefited the overall flow.
3. Did I think the ending was cute? Yes. Did I also think it was clich3? Also yes. Again, looking for more focus on how we got there versus the fast paced telling of this short and sweet HEA.
The complexities of Kitt and Kai's struggle within this was intriguing. I actually wish we could have had more of a taste of this dynamic in Reckless to set the scene. There were twists you definitely saw coming, but focusing on the trio was a great move. Their love and relationships are the backbone and heart of the story - so it does seem fitting. All that to say, a few dots didn't feel connected and left a feeling of unfullfilled.
Overall - I enjoyed the journey and recommend reading this if you devoured the other books in the series.
To start, I have a suspicion that my thoughts will change after I sit on this one for a while. I enjoyed "Fearless" and I savored in the things it did right. The passion and emotional connection that embeds itself between Kai and Paedyn continues to take the glory here. We get all the longing, pining, and passion that emits strongly from the pages. About halfway in, I perceived the narrative to be structured fully around this romance more than anything. Despite this, there were a few things that missed that mark for me and felt was very much missing:
1. The plot holes that felt purposefully done to make me think and connect the dots, however, the impact was less than desired. I felt with more focus toward some solid world building prior to these revelations, these then would have elicited deeper feelings from me.
2. A couple of characters felt discarded. I really think the focused world building as mentioned above coupled with a bit more depth around some side characters would have benefited the overall flow.
3. Did I think the ending was cute? Yes. Did I also think it was clich3? Also yes. Again, looking for more focus on how we got there versus the fast paced telling of this short and sweet HEA.
The complexities of Kitt and Kai's struggle within this was intriguing. I actually wish we could have had more of a taste of this dynamic in Reckless to set the scene. There were twists you definitely saw coming, but focusing on the trio was a great move. Their love and relationships are the backbone and heart of the story - so it does seem fitting. All that to say, a few dots didn't feel connected and left a feeling of unfullfilled.
Overall - I enjoyed the journey and recommend reading this if you devoured the other books in the series.