Introduction
TikTok made me read it!!
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What is Powerless about? Is it truly worth the hype, or is it just another “book-trap” with clever marketing and zero content?
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If you’re curious and eager to know if the TikTok community got it right, keep on reading!
Table of Contents
Powerless by Lauren Roberts Review
Author: Lauren Roberts
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Published: 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No
Pages: 528
Spice level: Clean with lots of tension and banter
Synopsis
Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya . . . The exceptional.Ā The Elites. The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by theĀ Plague, while those bornĀ OrdinaryĀ are just that, banished from the kingdom and shunned from society.
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No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as an Elite. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyaās princes, Kai Azer, sheās thrown into theĀ Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase her āEliteāĀ powers.
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If the Trials and the opponents donāt kill her, the prince sheās fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn really is . . .Ā completely Ordinary.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts: what is about
"Mark my words, prince, I will be your undoingā
Powerless by Lauren Roberts is as if The Hunger Games and Red Queen had a child. To be more specific, it’s a mix between The Serpent and the Wings of Night and Red Queen, with a strong resemblance to Defy the Night, the newest trilogy from Brigid Kemmerer.
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Let’s begin by pointing out the similarities with these books.
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The Hunger Games and The Serpent and the Wings of Night:
Both books are well-known for their gaming trials.
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In both of them, there is a girl dealing with life-threatening challenges to survive or reach her goal.
In Powerless, we meet Paedyn Gray, a girl from the slums who gets pulled into a deadly game known as the Purgin Trials (more on this later).
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Similarities with Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:
In Red Queen, society is divided into Reds and Silvers. Reds are commoners, people without power, and Silvers are the elite with god-like abilities.
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Powerless follows the same structure but with different names. Paedyn Gray, our heroine, is an Ordinary. Ordinaries are people who don’t possess any ability and are hunted and killed by the Elites.
“The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just thatāordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime.”
In this society, being “powerless” is enough motive to be killed.
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Similarities with Defy the Night from Brigid kemmerer
Prince Kai, one of the love interests in Powerless, acts as a ‘Reinforcer’ for the future king, his brother…
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He has been trained since he was a child in fighting, strategy, and torture to be the perfect weapon for the King.
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In ‘Defy the Night,’ Prince Corrcik,Ā fulfils the same role for his brother. He is ‘The King’s Justice’ and does all his dirty work for him.
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In both books, Prince Kai and Prince Corrik are haunted by their actions, and they question themselves often to the point of seeing themselves as monsters, not worthy of anyone’s love or care
The Plot:
Having established the similarities, let’s delve a little deeper into the overall plot.
Our girl Paedyn is a little thief, living in the streets with her friend. One day, she steals from a young nobleman who was in the Loot Alley (the slums). This young man is no other than one of the princes, and after she steals from him, Prince Kai gets into a fight with some people who noticed him and wanted to rob him.
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The encounter doesn’t go well for the Prince; he is badly injured on the floor, and Paedyn watches anxiously as the crowd gathers without doing anything. She decides to interfere and saves the prince’s life.
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This honorable action earns Paedyn recognition from the people of the Loot and wicked grins from the cocky Prince, who seems to have taken a special interest in this little thief with fighting abilities (you can see where this is going, right? hehe).
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After this event, people from the Kingdom are chosen to represent them in the Purgin Trials, and Paedyn is one of the chosen ones.
The Purgin Trials
Basically, these trials consist of fighting encounters between Elites to showcase their powers.
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So now Paedyn is in big trouble. She will have to “fake” having a power to not be discovered and try to stay alive against the powerful Elites.
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Add to all this that both Princes seem to have taken a liking to the “Silver Savior” (the nickname the town has given Paedyn after saving Prince Kai), and we have the perfect fantasy romance formula.
Powerless reading order
Powerless is the first book in the “Powerless Trilogy.”
The second book, Reckless, will be released on July 4, 2024. The third and last book doesn’t have a title or release date yet.
There is a short novella, Powerful, with Adena (Paedyn’s best friend) as the protagonist, which will be released on April 11.
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So, the reading order goes like this:
- Powerless
- Powerful (short novella)
- Reckless
- Book 3
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The Powerless trilogy
“Powerless” is a TRILOGY.
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You can order the 2nd book here.
A novella is in the works will be released before “Reckless” (the second book in the series) comes out.
Powerless spice level
There are no sex scenes in Powerless.Ā
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Powerless by Lauren Roberts falls under the category of a “clean romance” (at least for now), with no explicit sex scenes in the book.
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However, the series is brimming with addictive and delightful banter between Kai and Paedyn, and there might even be another love interest added later on.
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I found myself highlighting like crazy during their interactions because they are absolutely priceless (you can check out some examples and my favorite quote from the book here).
Kudos to the author! Hehe.
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Now, about the tensionāit’s an enemies-to-not-quite-lovers, to enemies? You can imagine the palpable tension between Kai and Pae.
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It’s like a reverse grumpy sunshine dynamic where he is cocky and playful, and the heroine is grumpy, always ready to throw weapons at the face of her love interest (and, well, she hits his face quite a few times, I dare say xdd).
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So, even though the book doesn’t contain any spicy scenes, you can be sure there are plenty of romantic moments with “I hate to love you” vibes and enemies-to-lovers tension. š
Is Powerless worth your time?
Powerless is a fusion of various books. It combines the banter and “hate-to-love” dynamic reminiscent of Violet Made of Thorns, the intricate world-building found in “Red Queen” and “Hunger Games,” and the enemies-to-lovers tension characteristic of “The Cruel Prince.“
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To be honest, Lauren Roberts didn’t reinvent the wheel with “Powerless,” so if you’re seeking a fantasy romance with a unique and original magic system, this might not be the book for you.
On the contrary, if you crave a romantasy with delightful banter, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, and an exaggerated “hate-to-love” relationship, then “Powerless” is the perfect read for you.
She loves the sight of the prince pinned against a wall. And not just any prince: the future Enforcer
What I loved about Powerless
As I mentioned earlier, the banter and flirting are absolutely exquisite in “Powerless.”
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Hate-to-love is one, if not my favorite, trope (even more so than enemies-to-lovers). With “Powerless,” I fulfilled my hate-to-love quota to a T.
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I know that many people didn’t find Paedyn likable, and there were concerns about her personality and how she was portrayed as “too perfect.”
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However, I didn’t perceive this throughout the book.
Paedyn is a girl without any powers. Her father, aware of this, taught her the arts of the sword and dagger since she was a child, instructing her on how to fight properly.
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Living on the streets, she learned to be a thief and how not to be deceived.
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The contrast with the other Elites, who have powers and come from wealthy families, is well portrayed.
She doesn’t “power up.” Instead, she wins fights through cunning.
What improvements could be made for the second book?
Despite having a good world-building and a nice tension between the characters, there is room for improvement as well.
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I’m not a fan of long books, especially for the first one in a trilogy. With 512 pages, “Powerless” could have been more concise, perhaps with 150 pages less.
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An additional plot twist introduced in the middle of the book didn’t quite convince me, but I’m intrigued to see where it leads in the second book.
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I will definitely read Reckless, the second book in the series. “Powerless” ends on a cliffhanger, and Kai and Pae truly won my heart in this book.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts tropes
Powerless Ending explained
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Well, well what and ending!!
After the Trials conclude, Paedyn becomes a part of the Resistance.
The Resistance opposes the Elites, consisting mainly of Ordinaries, but there’s also a mix of Elites among them.
Paedyn uncovers that it was Kai, not the King, who killed her father.
“He was made this way. Made to mirror the monster his father is – was.
But that doesn’t make him any less a murderer.”
However, it’s too late for both of them. Paedyn also kills the King.
Kai is aware of Paedyn’s actions. Her dagger rests in his father’s throat.
Yet, Kai can’t bring himself to kill her. He tosses a knife her way, intentionally missing.
” My pretty Pae, what have you done to me”
Kai can’t bring himself to end Pae’s life and chooses to let her escape instead of burying a dagger into her chest.
Run, Paedyn. because when I catch you, I will not miss. I will not falter. I will not make the mistake of feeling for you.
The book’s epilogue provides a glimpse of what lies ahead. We get a new POV, Kitt’s and we see how he is devastated Ā over the loss of his father.
For Kitt, his father served as a role model, offering advice and teaching him how to become a good king one day.
Kitt, now the King, engages in a conversation with Kai, who officially takes on the role of Enforcer.
The King is aware that Paedyn killed his father and instructs Kai to bring Paedyn to him
Powerless Favorite quotes
“Powerless” is FULL of quotable passages.Ā The banter is just top-notch.
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How Kai and Paedyn move from flirting to fighting, the undeniable tension, and attraction… If you’re looking for a tropey book with “The Cruel Prince” and “Violet Made of Thorns” vibes, this trilogy is an absolute must-read! (Fans of Evangeline and Jacks from the “Once Upon a Broken Heart” series will be delighted with this book as well. Kai shares some common traits with Jacks.)
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Here, I left you with some examples of their banter and flirting, along some memorable quotes
āAre you going to make me spoon-feed you too, or can you handle feeding yourself?ā
"Mark my words, prince, I will be your undoingā
" Looks like I messed up your pretty face after all.." "Oh darling, as long as you still think Iām pretty. I donāt give a damn what I look likeā
"She is the embodiment of a bad decision. The twin of danger and desire. The fine line between deadly and divineā
About the author
Lauren Roberts gained a lot of popularity when she began her writing journey on TikTok. She recorded her entire first book writing process and uploaded it to social media. The result was ‘Powerless.’
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Lauren has lived her entire life in Michigan and loves to knit, do word searches, and coloring.
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You can find Lauren on her TikTok account, where she regularly uploads bookish content.
Books similar to Powerless
Frequently asked Questions:
Powerless is a clean fantasy romance. It doesn’t have any sex scene and is suitable for ages 13+
Throughout the entire book, there are hints of a love triangle involving Prince Kai, his brother Kitt ( the Heir ), and Paedyn.
Powerless is as an enemies-to-lovers story featuring a badass heroine from the slums and a cocky, handsome prince.
Despite their efforts to avoid falling in love, both inevitably find themselves failing in the process.
Perfect for fans of “The Cruel Prince” and “Once Upon a Broken Heart.”
Reckless is the second book in the Powerless series, and it is scheduled to be released on July 2, 2024.
Final thoughts : My opinion
Powerless was such a pleasant surprise.Ā
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Lauren Roberts shows real potential as a writer and successfully crafted a compelling first book.
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Powerless delivers our favorite tropes and a charming enemies-to-lovers romance that hints at going into darker territory in the second book of the series.
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Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince, Once Upon a Broken Heart and anyone who loves fairytales !!
