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A review by catreadsitall
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
""Mark my words, prince, I will be your undoing.”
I lean in, ignoring the knife against my throat as I murmur, “Oh, darling, I look forward to it."
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️/5
What To Expect:
✔️ Deadly Trials
✔️ Morally grey characters
✔️ Slowburn
✔️ Banter
✔️ Who did this to you?!
What It's About: Paedyn's father has been murdered, and she finds herself on the streets, stealing to survive. The streets have made her smart but resentful of the Elites - those with powers that were gifted to them following the Great Plague. Those who didn’t receive powers, also known as Ordinaries were banished or killed by order of the King. Paedyn is an Ordinary, faking Elite powers. When she saves Prince Kai, her "reward" is entry to the Purging Trials, often a death sentence for those with powers. As Paedyn struggles to survive, she finds herself drawn to the flirtatious, deadly Prince, but no good can possibly come from the web of lies she's trapped in...
General Thoughts: Look, let's just get it out there. This book is Hunger Games meets Red Queen meets every story where a sassy streetwise girl outsmarts a rich boy. It could have done with a decent edit, and I never really understood the point of the games, nor why the Elites would willingly risk death to participate in them. Having said that, it was a fast-paced and fun read, and I had a great time.
What I Enjoyed: The slowburn and the banter and the Kai versus Pae of the whole thing. Honestly, remove the trials and just give me a book of the two of them trying to outsmart each other at every turn and I would read the hell out of it.
What I Struggled With: The worldbuilding was a little lacklustre and as I've already mentioned, the whole premise of the trials confused me. If I never have to hear about anyone's eye colour again it'll be too soon - perhaps this will become incredibly significant later on, but it just felt like an editor would have made all the difference.
I had a great time with this book and am excited to see what that ending means for the characters in the second book. I can't wait for more morally grey, shamelessly flirting, "who did this to you?" Kai and "why do you care?" Pae. Give it to me.
I lean in, ignoring the knife against my throat as I murmur, “Oh, darling, I look forward to it."
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️/5
What To Expect:
✔️ Deadly Trials
✔️ Morally grey characters
✔️ Slowburn
✔️ Banter
✔️ Who did this to you?!
What It's About: Paedyn's father has been murdered, and she finds herself on the streets, stealing to survive. The streets have made her smart but resentful of the Elites - those with powers that were gifted to them following the Great Plague. Those who didn’t receive powers, also known as Ordinaries were banished or killed by order of the King. Paedyn is an Ordinary, faking Elite powers. When she saves Prince Kai, her "reward" is entry to the Purging Trials, often a death sentence for those with powers. As Paedyn struggles to survive, she finds herself drawn to the flirtatious, deadly Prince, but no good can possibly come from the web of lies she's trapped in...
General Thoughts: Look, let's just get it out there. This book is Hunger Games meets Red Queen meets every story where a sassy streetwise girl outsmarts a rich boy. It could have done with a decent edit, and I never really understood the point of the games, nor why the Elites would willingly risk death to participate in them. Having said that, it was a fast-paced and fun read, and I had a great time.
What I Enjoyed: The slowburn and the banter and the Kai versus Pae of the whole thing. Honestly, remove the trials and just give me a book of the two of them trying to outsmart each other at every turn and I would read the hell out of it.
What I Struggled With: The worldbuilding was a little lacklustre and as I've already mentioned, the whole premise of the trials confused me. If I never have to hear about anyone's eye colour again it'll be too soon - perhaps this will become incredibly significant later on, but it just felt like an editor would have made all the difference.
I had a great time with this book and am excited to see what that ending means for the characters in the second book. I can't wait for more morally grey, shamelessly flirting, "who did this to you?" Kai and "why do you care?" Pae. Give it to me.