Reviews tagging 'War'

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

29 reviews

asipofcozy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

I don't dole out 5 stars easily. In fact the last 5 stars I gave was well over a year ago. Is this a book that deserves a 5 stars because it's a masterpiece? A work of art? A book to be enjoyed by the masses and studied piece by piece? Not particularly. Many times I guessed where the plot was going. I have read plot lines similar in other books. I would even (sad to say) compare this exactly to the hunger games (I am not a fan of comparing books to past pieces of literature that formed large pop cultures and other books). 

However, this book is a 5 star for other reasons - reasons that may not make sense but make sense to me. It's a 5 star because the moment I picked Powerless up I was enraptured from start to finish. A 5 star because the action gripped me to where I was turning pages so fast I could barely read just as quickly. A 5 star for just the pure and utter enjoyment I got out of reading it. 

It's not a masterpiece, it's not like the classical literature I would read or the intricate fantasies I dive into. However, it doesn't need to be a masterpiece to bring me joy, to make me feel, to keep me wanting for more even after the last page has finished. A book that had me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading. A 5 star just because of the feelings it gave me. Sometimes a 5 star is as simple as that.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mrsalexisrjones's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The hunger games meets throne of glass meets sky high? There are the elites and the ordinary. The king has banned the ordinary from the kingdom, leaving only those with powers. Our leading girl however, is powerless and forced to find her strength in other ways.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism

maxine_t96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Death, Torture, and Death of parent

lomesia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

maureen2506's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

4.0

It was a good book. At times it was a bit slow for me and I dreaded reading it further.

Also the slow burn between Kai and Paedyn is really well made, for me it was too slow and the tension wasn’t relieved which was really frustrating

the ending was really good and tense - you find yourself longing for part 2

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War

cnannery19's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

alinagpfrt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Mix between Hunger Games and Divergent. And I am here for it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and War

catlover_booklover2010's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense 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

5.0

I loved reading this book it is so good and it is an enemies to lovers book. Which I love!

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

aralalala's review

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What an amazing debut from Lauren Roberts! Powerless was such a fun, exhilarating ride. I’m typing this as soon as I finished and my heart is still pounding like crazy.

First, I’m so grateful that though Pae and Kai share similar spunk and vibes, they had unique voices so switching POVs wasn’t so hard considering that it wasn’t exactly alternating between chapters.

Second, I’m definitely here for all their banter. Having come from a previous book I DNF’d because of bad banter (and I thought I just grew out of that), Powerless does it so, so well. I was squealing through chapters of endless undeniable chemistry and witty comebacks. I didn’t even care much for the fact that I was being dragged into their romance more than the actual plot—which was still moving, by the way, but come on, Kai Azer??? Swoon.

Oh, but the book doesn’t just do the romantic tension well. The plot is thick and heavy and I’m surprised it actually goes deeper than initially offered. It’s a mix of quite a few things but done so well so far, and I just hope the end of the trilogy delivers a satisfying closure to all of it. It’s ambitious to say the least but exciting all the same. 

I totally get the hype around it. It’s definitely worth picking up, and I fear picking up the sequel so soon knowing it’s gonna take a while before the last book gets released!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing

notfastreader_14's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

I love this book. I don't like Kitt not even gonna lie. It had me sweating and everything. Kai is just...wonderful. The way he speaks about her and to her, you can just tell her is head over heels.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Suicide, Torture, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment