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madi_oasis's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
If I wanted to enjoy a well-written and gripping novel about two star-crossed lovers trapped in a dystopian world that discriminates against a class of people, with a blood sport tournament thrown in as the main plot device…
I would have read The Hunger Games.
There were some small passages and quotes that were well-written, but those were few and far between and were buried in a sea of heteronormative expectations, dubious consent, gender stereotypes, lazy writing (take a shot every time Paedyn scoffs or Kai has a muscle feather in his jaw, I’ll wait) and Mary Sue levels of character writing. A predictable story can be a nice read if there are characters worth reading about. I’m sorry to say that this book really highlights its title of “TikTok made me buy it”… because nothing else about this book would make me ever want to part with my money over it. I’m so thankful that libraries exist.
I would have read The Hunger Games.
There were some small passages and quotes that were well-written, but those were few and far between and were buried in a sea of heteronormative expectations, dubious consent, gender stereotypes, lazy writing (take a shot every time Paedyn scoffs or Kai has a muscle feather in his jaw, I’ll wait) and Mary Sue levels of character writing. A predictable story can be a nice read if there are characters worth reading about. I’m sorry to say that this book really highlights its title of “TikTok made me buy it”… because nothing else about this book would make me ever want to part with my money over it. I’m so thankful that libraries exist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Mental illness, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Panic attacks/disorders
bookishholly's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I read this book for the London Girl's Book Club as our May 2024 Fantasy pick.
To be honest, I had not been drawn to this book so far and likely wouldn't have picked it up without the Book Club's influence.
I really did want to love this book as it has a lot of elements that I really enjoy. I like court intrigue, magical abilities, a tournament. But all of it just fell a little flat in my opinion. I genuinely believe this book would have benefited significantly if it was 150 pages shorter. The banter and flirting between the MCs became so repetitive that I was tempted to skim read, what started as fun dialogue quickly became somewhat exhausting and I just wanted it to be over with.
Usually the sort of things that happened in this book would have made me cry, and the fact that they didn't think proves my thoughts that the characters and their friendships/relationships were not as fleshed out as they could have been. I also found most of the plot twists to be predictable (other than one that did surprise me a little bit, I will admit).
Following contains spoiler
I will also note that it didn't sit well with me that two of the main character described as having dark skin were the ones used to cause the white characters pain by witnessing their deaths/near deaths.
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who may not have read much fantasy though I would be hesitant to have this be someone's first experience of the genre as it may put them off exploring further. If that has happened to you, I promise you there are other fantasy books that are likely going to impress you more!
To be honest, I had not been drawn to this book so far and likely wouldn't have picked it up without the Book Club's influence.
I really did want to love this book as it has a lot of elements that I really enjoy. I like court intrigue, magical abilities, a tournament. But all of it just fell a little flat in my opinion. I genuinely believe this book would have benefited significantly if it was 150 pages shorter. The banter and flirting between the MCs became so repetitive that I was tempted to skim read, what started as fun dialogue quickly became somewhat exhausting and I just wanted it to be over with.
Usually the sort of things that happened in this book would have made me cry, and the fact that they didn't think proves my thoughts that the characters and their friendships/relationships were not as fleshed out as they could have been. I also found most of the plot twists to be predictable (other than one that did surprise me a little bit, I will admit).
Following contains spoiler
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who may not have read much fantasy though I would be hesitant to have this be someone's first experience of the genre as it may put them off exploring further. If that has happened to you, I promise you there are other fantasy books that are likely going to impress you more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny and Death of parent
firequeen_ash23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Powerless by Lauren Roberts is a YA, dark fantasy. While I did like this book and it has a lot of potential, I was a little disappointed with certain parts of it. I loved Paedyn and I think she was a great heroine yet I felt like there was something to be desired for her character.
There's a lot of tropes through out this book. You have enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, insta attraction, dagger to throat, "who did this to you", focus on me trope, etc... honestly too many to mention which is what Lauren Roberts said she meant to do but at times was a lot.
While I really did like Paedyn, Kai, Kitt and Adena, and other characters, I felt that there wasn't a lot of character building. There was a lot left to be desired when it came to the characters and getting to know them. I also didn't like that we were told about the characters, not shown. Example: we were told that Jax was extremely close with Kai and Kitt, but there's nothing showing us throughout the story. Just like we're told over and over that Kai is a monster but yet they show him releasing a child back to its family even though it was an ordinary. Yes Kai might have been raised to be a killer and do whatever the king ordered him to do but I don't see him as a monster. He doesn't actually enjoying killing and torturing.
I love fantasy romance and YA romance. I enjoyed paedyn and this story. I think Lauren Roberts has so much potential as does this story. I do wish this book didn't feel like it was taken directly from the Hunger Games. Now I've never read the Hunger Games book but I did see the movies and even I picked up the correlation between the two. Now I know authors will take something they read or watched and then try and write a story using what they read or saw as inspiration but it literally feels like pieces of this story were just copied and pasted.
Now with that said, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book or that I won't continue on with the series and see where Roberts goes from here. I will be reading Reckless.
**I will say that I really did enjoy the preview of book 2 at the end of Powerless. I think it was a great cliffhanger.
There's a lot of tropes through out this book. You have enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, insta attraction, dagger to throat, "who did this to you", focus on me trope, etc... honestly too many to mention which is what Lauren Roberts said she meant to do but at times was a lot.
While I really did like Paedyn, Kai, Kitt and Adena, and other characters, I felt that there wasn't a lot of character building. There was a lot left to be desired when it came to the characters and getting to know them. I also didn't like that we were told about the characters, not shown. Example: we were told that Jax was extremely close with Kai and Kitt, but there's nothing showing us throughout the story. Just like we're told over and over that Kai is a monster but yet they show him releasing a child back to its family even though it was an ordinary. Yes Kai might have been raised to be a killer and do whatever the king ordered him to do but I don't see him as a monster. He doesn't actually enjoying killing and torturing.
I love fantasy romance and YA romance. I enjoyed paedyn and this story. I think Lauren Roberts has so much potential as does this story. I do wish this book didn't feel like it was taken directly from the Hunger Games. Now I've never read the Hunger Games book but I did see the movies and even I picked up the correlation between the two. Now I know authors will take something they read or watched and then try and write a story using what they read or saw as inspiration but it literally feels like pieces of this story were just copied and pasted.
Now with that said, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book or that I won't continue on with the series and see where Roberts goes from here. I will be reading Reckless.
**I will say that I really did enjoy the preview of book 2 at the end of Powerless. I think it was a great cliffhanger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
m4evzie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5/5 stars !
the author is amazing at writing fight scenes, and building up tension between the two main characters. GODDDDD its just so scrumptious i ate this book UP. i cannot wait to hear more about the elites and the lore behind kai’s father. i NEED it omg. its like im indulging myself into a universe i know im GOING to become obsessed with.
one thing that irked me tho was that, despite the writing being simultaneously gorgeous and easy to read, there were parts i noticed that were somewhat repetitive. a.k.a the repetition of certain adjectives in one chapter or two consecutive chapters. it didn’t bother me THAT much at first but at some point i did notice it.
anywho, the romance was one of a kind. listen i am not one for romance but the author single-handedly multiplied the chemistry between paedyn and kai despite there being no dialogue at all. i FELT the emotion through the narrative and that itself is a talent i must applaud.
the characters are all diverse in their own way and i hope we get to see more of them!!!! especiallyblair (given the ending) and kitt (in his villain arc) !!!!!!! i just need to see their development as the plot thickens.
overall, READ this book rn…….. it is so worth ur time i promise.
the author is amazing at writing fight scenes, and building up tension between the two main characters. GODDDDD its just so scrumptious i ate this book UP. i cannot wait to hear more about the elites and the lore behind kai’s father. i NEED it omg. its like im indulging myself into a universe i know im GOING to become obsessed with.
one thing that irked me tho was that, despite the writing being simultaneously gorgeous and easy to read, there were parts i noticed that were somewhat repetitive. a.k.a the repetition of certain adjectives in one chapter or two consecutive chapters. it didn’t bother me THAT much at first but at some point i did notice it.
anywho, the romance was one of a kind. listen i am not one for romance but the author single-handedly multiplied the chemistry between paedyn and kai despite there being no dialogue at all. i FELT the emotion through the narrative and that itself is a talent i must applaud.
the characters are all diverse in their own way and i hope we get to see more of them!!!! especially
overall, READ this book rn…….. it is so worth ur time i promise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and War
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hayleythegoose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death and Drug use
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