On January 30th 2023, Lauren Roberts released her debut novel “Powerless,” a young adult fantasy romance trilogy, with the second book, “Reckless,” soon to be released on July 4th, 2024. The book “Powerless” quickly gained popularity on different social media platforms and was nominated for the “Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction” Goodreads award.
The book seemed very long and intimidating at first, but once I started reading, it felt really short. The book was very captivating. I expected this to be some boring and typical fantasy, and fortunately, I was proved wrong. I ended up really enjoying the plotline and the writing style of it. It was recommended to me as an altered version of the “Hunger Games” and while I did notice the similarities between the two books, “Powerless” still had its own plot and story to tell, which I found to be more interesting and riveting to read.
The book is set in a fantasy world, where people who have magical powers are called the Elites and if they don’t have any powers they are either thrown out of the kingdom or killed. We follow a girl, Paedyn, who doesn’t have powers. But with her professional skill at reading people, she leads people to believe that she is an Elite to avoid being banished. When Paedyn saves prince Kai from an unexpected happening, she is forced into the “Purging Trials,” a series of brutal competitions that showcases the powers of all Elites participating, except Paedyn isn’t an Elite. The story goes from there, with Paedyn attempting to survive the competition and maintain her image as an Elite in order to not get murdered or banished from her hometown.
As I’ve mentioned previously, the story felt short, in all good ways. It was almost 500 pages, but it was just so fast paced and gripping that you don’t realize that you’ve reached the ending. The chemistry between the two main characters was really sizzling and just watching their relationship evolve was absolutely adorable. The ending left me with my jaw open, hoping for more and awaiting for the sequel. I also enjoyed how the two main characters were written. They seemed to both be very cunning, ambitious, and striving to win, yet at the same time, they had unique personalities.
The self published novel has sold over 12 thousand copies since January 2023 and the numbers are still growing. The book received an average of 4.29 stars on Goodreads, with over 140 thousand ratings. Among those ratings, over 50% were 5 star ratings.
A reviewer on Goodreads, ‘anum!’ claims that “The whole trials plot was good, but everything was a bit descriptive, and the story was falling into repetition (flirting, banter, and fluff only), and the trials were interesting, but the pace of each of them was different.”
Many people also posted their opinions and reviews on the book on Instagram, specifically Bookstagram. One reviewer who also enjoyed the book said “I’ve seen a lot of people compare it to the Hunger Games, and it definitely has a similar feel in parts (what with there being a violent competition) and I also got some Throne of Glass vibes, but this story was all its own.”
Overall, the book is perfect for any romance fantasy reader, that is in hopes of finding a book impossible to put down and at the same time giggle at the banter between characters.
