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A review by amanda_reads13
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Paedyn is an Ordinary (no powers) living in a city of Elites (has powers). The king has convinced the Elites that the Ordinaries are diseased and ordered them to be purged. After saving the prince, she now has to compete in the Purging Trials.
This is basically the Hunger Games, the Red Queen, and Throne of Glass mixed together. The plot was not original and therefore was incredibly predictable.There is a secret resistance, she has to lie and use the prince to help the resistance, the kind prince turns brutal at her betrayal, her friend is killed to punish her, etc... It was a very YA romantasy. I found some things to be very redundant and repetitive (ie. her ocean blue eyes, daggers to the neck). I found her writing to be lacking, she falls victim to the telling instead of showing throughout the entire book. (Ie. We are told that Kai is a monster, but we don't actually see that in the book OR how Kai thinks of Jax as a brother but we never really see it).
I enjoyed the banter and tension between the MCs. I liked that it was dual POV and I enjoyed the switch to Kitts POV at the end.
Due to her writing style, the characters felt flat. I would have liked more of a backstory for these characters, that would help the readers connect more. I wish that there had been more world building and more focus on the trials. The trials almost felt like an afterthought when they were supposed to be the highlight of the book. Also, what was the point of the trails? They make no sense. Why would you want to kill off your strongest Elites?
The implied love triangle was completely unnecessary and very unoriginal. This is marketed as an enemies to lovers, but reads more as an instalove. The enemies to lovers would have made sense if Kitt were the MMC instead of Kai.
Tropes: instalove, trials, fantasy, forbidden, slow burn
This is basically the Hunger Games, the Red Queen, and Throne of Glass mixed together. The plot was not original and therefore was incredibly predictable.
I enjoyed the banter and tension between the MCs. I liked that it was dual POV and I enjoyed the switch to Kitts POV at the end.
Due to her writing style, the characters felt flat. I would have liked more of a backstory for these characters, that would help the readers connect more. I wish that there had been more world building and more focus on the trials. The trials almost felt like an afterthought when they were supposed to be the highlight of the book. Also, what was the point of the trails? They make no sense. Why would you want to kill off your strongest Elites?
The implied love triangle was completely unnecessary and very unoriginal. This is marketed as an enemies to lovers, but reads more as an instalove. The enemies to lovers would have made sense if Kitt were the MMC instead of Kai.
Tropes: instalove, trials, fantasy, forbidden, slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism