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A review by athenian_frog
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.
This book has been on my TBR for ages for its raving reviews. I was super excited to read it. Unfortunately, over halfway in, I've got to throw in the towel.
This book left me absolutely devoid of feeling anything except frustration. It became a real chore to read, even when the death trials came into play. I only have so much good will and time to give, and this book used too much of both.
The world of the book is very poorly explained. The Fourth Wing world lost me a bit, but somehow Powerless feels even more uninspired. At least in FW, Yarros actually tried to sit down and explain several things. Powerless exposition is scarce at best and confusing at worst. The system of abilities feel random, we know almost nothing about the Purging Trials and their history, and the land of Ilya itself seems to have what...three cities MAYBE?
The arena being comprised of various talented Elites also makes no sense, when they could have been using the trials as a way to inflict suffering on the Ordinaries. Especially considering someone as important as the second prince was chosen...when there are only two princes of the kingdom.
But even if these were lackluster, the main draw I kept seeing in reviews was the is the romance. That would require Kai and Paedyn to be fleshed out, and to me they aren't. The subtropes the book employs (pet names, flirty-fighting, touching while training, "who hurt you?") that I might find cute all happen here, but since I don't really feel for either character, all of it is unearned. Instead of kicking my feet I was rolling my eyes. I can take a lot in the way of clunky writing but very forced chemistry is not one of those things.
Kai goes on to call Paedyn his "toy," "plaything," "darling," and "vicious little thing." He's also very handsy with her. It made me a bit uncomfortable to read since they barely know each other, and the power dynamic is so stilted. This might've been remedied if they spent more time working together on a similar level, and got some more characterization.
The poorly developed interpersonal relationships were another huge sore point in the book. Almost no effort was put into establishing relationships outside the main three (Kai, Kitt, Paedyn). I say almost, because I think the author tried to do something with Jax and Adina (albeit unsuccessfully). I can confidently say she put zero effort into making the other trials contestants relevant to the main three. There were several opportunities to show different sides to the MC's by having them form bonds, or showing off the princes' existing childhood friendships. That would have made the purging trials far more engaging, because you have to see them work through killing people they care about, whose parents they know.
I feel like this issue, combined with how often the author skips out on describing/characterizing anything, was why the book didn't hit the proper emotional notes for me. A tragic thing happens, then the scene is over. If Kai kills someone, he thinks about Paedyn, not the horrors his own government is putting him through---and then the chapter ends.
I was irritated more often than sad or charmed. If I had to pick, the most I felt was for Kai and Jax's relationship, but it even that was surface level in the book. Jax was only Kai's "little brother" when his life was at risk. Kitt and Kai's relationship felt even more sterile, even though they had more page time.
We get very few vulnerable moments between the two brothers where they show they care for one another. One of the moments we did get made Kitt sound extremely out of touch: He feels insecure that he can't participate in the trials to prove himself like his brother, even when he knows that being in the trials means A) killing their childhood friends and B) risking the future of the country by fighting as the crown prince. I'm pretty sure Kitt is supposed to be the more tutored one of the two so...this came across as pretty stupid, IMO.
Overall, I'm glad to have tried reading this book! Even if I didn't like it at all, it gave me a better sense of my taste in books.
This book left me absolutely devoid of feeling anything except frustration. It became a real chore to read, even when the death trials came into play. I only have so much good will and time to give, and this book used too much of both.
The world of the book is very poorly explained. The Fourth Wing world lost me a bit, but somehow Powerless feels even more uninspired. At least in FW, Yarros actually tried to sit down and explain several things. Powerless exposition is scarce at best and confusing at worst. The system of abilities feel random, we know almost nothing about the Purging Trials and their history, and the land of Ilya itself seems to have what...three cities MAYBE?
The arena being comprised of various talented Elites also makes no sense, when they could have been using the trials as a way to inflict suffering on the Ordinaries. Especially considering someone as important as the second prince was chosen...when there are only two princes of the kingdom.
But even if these were lackluster, the main draw I kept seeing in reviews was the is the romance. That would require Kai and Paedyn to be fleshed out, and to me they aren't. The subtropes the book employs (pet names, flirty-fighting, touching while training, "who hurt you?") that I might find cute all happen here, but since I don't really feel for either character, all of it is unearned. Instead of kicking my feet I was rolling my eyes. I can take a lot in the way of clunky writing but very forced chemistry is not one of those things.
Kai goes on to call Paedyn his "toy," "plaything," "darling," and "vicious little thing." He's also very handsy with her. It made me a bit uncomfortable to read since they barely know each other, and the power dynamic is so stilted. This might've been remedied if they spent more time working together on a similar level, and got some more characterization.
The poorly developed interpersonal relationships were another huge sore point in the book. Almost no effort was put into establishing relationships outside the main three (Kai, Kitt, Paedyn). I say almost, because I think the author tried to do something with Jax and Adina (albeit unsuccessfully). I can confidently say she put zero effort into making the other trials contestants relevant to the main three. There were several opportunities to show different sides to the MC's by having them form bonds, or showing off the princes' existing childhood friendships. That would have made the purging trials far more engaging, because you have to see them work through killing people they care about, whose parents they know.
I feel like this issue, combined with how often the author skips out on describing/characterizing anything, was why the book didn't hit the proper emotional notes for me. A tragic thing happens, then the scene is over. If Kai kills someone, he thinks about Paedyn, not the horrors his own government is putting him through---and then the chapter ends.
I was irritated more often than sad or charmed. If I had to pick, the most I felt was for Kai and Jax's relationship, but it even that was surface level in the book. Jax was only Kai's "little brother" when his life was at risk. Kitt and Kai's relationship felt even more sterile, even though they had more page time.
We get very few vulnerable moments between the two brothers where they show they care for one another. One of the moments we did get made Kitt sound extremely out of touch: He feels insecure that he can't participate in the trials to prove himself like his brother, even when he knows that being in the trials means A) killing their childhood friends and B) risking the future of the country by fighting as the crown prince. I'm pretty sure Kitt is supposed to be the more tutored one of the two so...this came across as pretty stupid, IMO.
Overall, I'm glad to have tried reading this book! Even if I didn't like it at all, it gave me a better sense of my taste in books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Torture, and Death of parent