Powerless

Introduction

Powerless was written by Lauren Roberts and published on January 23rd, 2023, by Simon and Schuster publishing company. This was supposed to be another birthday release for the one who recommended it to me, but unfortunately, I am still several months behind. Regardless, this friend was correct again in her assumption that I would enjoy this book. It was a great slow burn fantasy romance that had no spice in it for those who enjoy more young adult fiction to adult fiction. For those of you who haven’t read this book yet, the Spoiler Free Thoughts section will give a brief overview of how I felt. For those who have read it and are looking for more specific opinions, the Thoughts section is ready for discussion. Please leave your own ideas and viewpoints in the comments of these posts or in my DMs, I would love to discuss this book more.

To keep up with Lauren Roberts and her work, visit her website https://www.laurenrobertslibrary.com or follow her on social media @laurenrobertslibrary.

Plot

Paedyn was born Ordinary in a land where the Elites have banned her existence. She survived in the shadows, but one good deed forced her into the heart of their world and in close quarters with the king’s deadly Enforcer.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

I felt that this book took inspiration from several other series, and maybe the parallels weren’t meant to be as obvious as they felt to me - maybe others didn’t notice it as much as I did - but it was something I thought of early on. It felt like a mix between The Hunger Games, Red Queen, and Shatter Me series with changes such as the competitors getting to interact with one another without killing each other. That particular adjustment was interesting when it came to building alliances and defining enemies.

I made a lot of predictions throughout the book, and while some turned out to be correct - typically the bigger ones that impacted the ending - others were not. Or rather, not in the way I had suspected, which made for an interesting read. I appreciated that Paedyn was shown to be observant, instead of Roberts just reminding us over and over again that she was. Her observations weren’t baseless, even if some of them were luckier guesses. It also made her relatively self aware, allowing her to conjure convincing manipulations and believable lies, such as what her gift is. She fooled the entire kingdom with only her mind. There were several tropes - some would call them cliches - employed in this book, the primary one being the forbidden love storyline, but that did not bother me in the slightest. It was relatively predictable, but I was genuinely taken by surprise at several points throughout the book. Regardless, I felt that the ending hit hard.

Because I don’t want to spoil an entirely different series to those who may not have read it, I’ll just say that Kai reminds me of a certain blonde, green-eyed man from a different dystopian fantasy romance series. Kai makes himself appear arrogant and deadly to others, but like all of the best fictional men, he is much more morally gray than that. Some may call it cliche and unoriginal, but I am a sucker for those character tropes, and we were shown an entirely new side of him from his perspective, allowing me to take an immediate liking to him. It was hard not to compare Kai to his brother - especially when Pae was doing it too - and while I liked Kitt, Kai was more his own person. Kitt wanted approval so badly, which I understand, but it made him into a kinder copy of their father, especially in their beliefs. Kai has an entirely different relationship with their father, so while his beliefs aren’t necessarily different, his conviction in them is.

I enjoyed this book more than some other fantasy books I’ve read, but I didn’t feel like it was the most original one I’ve picked up either. That’s not necessarily a bad thing or even an uncommon one, but the more books I read the more I recognize the similarities between them. Regardless, I had a great time with this one, so I’ll give it an 8.5/10.

Thoughts

Pae and Kai’s first meeting was amazing, and it set up the rest of their interactions well. It also made me certain that his father was the one to kill hers, which would ultimately cause problems between them later. I was only half right with that, but I’ll get there. Of course, everything was made more complicated by the obvious pull between Paedyn and Kai in a forbidden love fashion. They clearly cared about one another, but they were about as opposite as could be expected, like Romeo and Juliet with better banter. There was also a love triangle between Kitt, Kai, and Pae, though she was obviously into Kai and using Kitt for the Resistance. I did like Kitt, but he was entirely too inclined to seek his father’s approval for my taste. He also didn’t appear as smart as Kai, especially when he showed Pae the exact tunnel the Resistance would need to get into the Bowl. It felt stupid on his part and too easy on hers. The ending felt like blow after blow. When Jaxon’s death ended up being a fake-out, I should have expected someone else important to meet some horrific end, but I did not think it would be Adena until she was brought into the Bowl. She was the last person who truly felt like family to Pae, and then to be not only tortured and scarred by the king, she was presented with the knowledge that the king ordered Kai to kill her father. Of course she killed the king, but with that she decimated what she and Kai had. In just a few hours, she lost everything and was truly powerless to do anything about it.

The obvious concern Kai and Pae felt for one another was a hopeless romantic’s dream, and Roberts continuously won me over with my favorite tropes. Them only wanting one another when in pain or seeking comfort confirmed what Pae continued to deny. The “who did this to you” and nightmare scenes were some of my favorites, but they’re also ones seen in several other romance books. While that doesn’t bother me, I could see how it would come off as unoriginal to others.

I loved seeing Paedyn and Kai’s first meeting from both perspectives, and the fact that he let her go because he didn’t quite have anything to charge her with - though he was suspicious - and because he was so intrigued that he had to see what she would do next was almost funny to me. I found their banter to jump between silly and sexy, though this book had no actual spice to it, and I really enjoyed seeing the tension grow between them as the story went on, especially because Pae is as stubborn as Kai is shameless. Much as I want to say that Roberts employed the “he fell first, she fell harder” trope, I think both of them were very invested in where their relationship was going, but Kai was far more willing to admit it than Pae was, even to herself. Jax’s almost death was gut-wrenching, even though I suspected it would happen, but it was perfectly cruel for Kai. His delight in his attempt to kill Ace juxtaposed against the horror of realizing it was Jax all along had me holding my breath waiting to see if Jax would make it.