Hannahlaneblogs

Enemies to lovers. A slow burn love story. Royal hierarchies. The main character flirting with both brothers. Murder. Violent games to the death.

Powerless is the first book in the Powerless trilogy by Lauren Roberts which was published on January 31st, 2023. The other two books are Reckless and Powerful which were both published in 2024. This was Roberts’ first published novel. 

Although I am not usually a fantasy reader, this book was chosen for a book club that I am a member of, Boston Book Club. As it rose in popularity, I started seeing Powerless everywhere and wanted to see if it was truly worth reading. This 523 page book took me a full month to complete reading.

This fantasy book reminds me of The Hunger Games and the Divergent series in the way that the characters possessed “powers and abilities” that regular beings (referred to as ordinaries) did not. There was also the plot of the trials which were a set of games and tests that pinned characters against each other in order to result in a single (and only one living) winner. The competitors in the trials were posted on a list, so less dramatic than the reaping in The Hunger Games. 

The main characters Paedyn, an ordinary who does not possess powers and lives in Loot (the slums of Ilya), and Kai, the King’s son who is the future enforcer (responsible for killing all ordinaries in Ilya to cleanse it of non-elites) fall in love but never fully commit to a relationship as they must compete in The Trials against each other. Their relationship is forbidden by the king and is also extremely complicated because Kai is unaware that Paedyn is an ordinary.  

Kitt, the King’s other son, who is the future heir to the throne, is also infatuated with Paedyn. Whereas Kai and Paedyn’s relationship is more seductive and playful as it is a slow burn throughout the entire book (and I am assuming the trilogy), Kitt and Paedyn’s relationship is more meaningful and slightly more romantic in a platonic way. 

It took me a while to get into this book because I didn’t love the fantasy jargon. As a reader, I’m personally not into powers, mythical creatures, or unrealistic aspects to the plot. The romance and the constant suspense was what kept me reading. There were lots of plot twists and anxiety-inducing scenes that kept me on my toes and made me keep reading “just one more chapter.”

The novel ends on an insane cliff-hanger, that despite claiming throughout the book that I wasn’t going to complete the series, has me considering buying Reckless and completing the trilogy. 

If you like fantasy books, competitive books, The Hunger Games or Divergent, enemies to lovers, and slow burn love stories you will love Powerless. I enjoyed branching out from my typical realistic fiction love stories, historical fiction, and nonfiction books. On Goodreads, I rated this book four stars. ⅘ recommend!! 

Xoxo,

Hannahlane