Rating: 2/5

"Powerless" by Lauren Roberts is a young adult novel set in the captivating Kingdom of Ilya, a realm ruled by elites who wield extraordinary powers granted by a mysterious plague. The story centers around Paedyn, a young woman living amidst a society divided between the gifted elites and the ordinary people who must hide their lack of powers under the constant threat of banishment or worse.

The premise of a society divided by powers and the struggle of ordinary individuals living in disguise holds promise, offering a fresh take on familiar themes. Paedyn's audacious decision to pretend to be an elite and her unwanted involvement in the treacherous world of the elite games presents an intriguing premise that captivates the reader's attention.

However, as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that "Powerless" falls into certain pitfalls commonly found in young adult literature. The narrative tends to be repetitive, and the writing style leans toward a simplistic tone that may be more suitable for a younger audience. The characters, including Paedyn herself, feel somewhat two-dimensional, lacking the depth and complexity that could have enriched their relationships and vulnerabilities. Additionally, the book's resemblance to the "Hunger Games" series is hard to ignore, and this familiarity might leave readers longing for a more distinctive and original storyline.

While the book does have its strengths, such as Paedyn's resourcefulness and her ability to manipulate situations through her clever deceptions, it would have greatly benefited from more immersive world-building. A deeper exploration of the Kingdom of Ilya, its history, and its social dynamics could have compensated for the underdeveloped characters and brought a greater sense of depth to the narrative.

In conclusion, "Powerless" by Lauren Roberts offers a unique concept within the realm of a divided society and an ordinary protagonist thrust into the world of elites. Despite its promising premise, the book struggles with repetitive writing, underdeveloped characters, and a narrative that often lacks the depth and complexity required to truly engage readers. While Paedyn's cleverness shines, a dearth of world-building and deeper character exploration ultimately hinder the novel's potential. As a result unfortunately, I can give “Powerless" only a rating of 2 out of 5 stars.

This book was truly fantastic, a fantasy novel based around a set of trials, reminiscent of the Hunger Games but not too similar. The use of dual POV was a great choice, being able to see inside the heads of both our main characters was great! I'm not usually one for this kind of romance, but the chemistry between the protagonists was incredible.
The story never felt like it was dragging at all even when it was focusing on life outside the trials, it was fast moving enough to keep you interested without being confusing.
Overall a stunning debut from Lauren Roberts, I can't wait for the next one, especially after that last minute twist!

This is a classic ya fantasy, i enjoyed it. Reminiscent of red queen by Victoria aveyard.
I liked the plot and the characters. There was great tension!

I'm giving this a neutral 3 stars because I don't think it's bad, it just reads like it needs a developmental editor to go over it and tweak the story. I think it's something I might have enjoyed more about 20yrs ago too so part of it is me falling outside the target audience. Basically if you enjoyed Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (which I hated because it was so badly written and structured) and you thought the Hunger Games was about a love triangle while the political nuance swooped over your head, then you'll probably really enjoy this. It didn't work fod me. The characters weren't differentiated enough and too many plot points were contrived. Everyone has to have a special ability? How does that even work? And why are the trials even happening? It doesn't make sense. Over all a really cool concept but it just didn't land for me. But check out that gorgeous cover!

Powerless by Lauren Roberts had me hooked right from the start! Such a great story,, I couldn't put it down - but that ending!!! I need more!

This book is everything I want in a YA Fantasy Romance.

The intriguing plot, the magic system, the tension! I ate it all up and left no crumbs.

Paedyn Gray is a thief, and a good one at that. But she’s Ordinary. In a world hostile to Ordinaries, people with no powers, she lives in the slums as she tries to hide her true identity or risk being caught and killed. When she happens upon a certain handsome target, steals from him and then ends up saving him, her life suddenly changes. Pae accidently saves an arrogant and annoyingly charming Prince of Ilya, Kai, and is subsequently thrust into competing in the Purging Trials. Named for the Purging of Ordinaries, it is a series of trials for the Elites to showcase their power. Pae must compete and survive not only the trials, but she must also keep her deadly secret.

Kai is decidedly handsome and extremely cocky. As the Trials go on, the pair get closer, closer than some people (including Pae) would like. An attachment to the Prince that would kill her if he knew her secret is dangerous, so why can’t Pae seem to stay away from him?

First of all, I want to congratulate the author for writing some of the best tension I have EVER read. This had me giggling and kicking my feet like a schoolgirl. Kai and Pae’s relationship was so rich, so well written – I was so immersed in their back and forth. Some of Pae’s other relationships were also brilliantly written, chiefly the one with Adena. I won’t give any details away, but this made me FEEL. Pae’s relationship with the other Prince, Kitt, was another doozy – another one I won’t spoil but is worth mentioning.

Pae was likeable, even when she made questionable decisions, and that’s a hard thing to do (from my experience anyway). Even when you’re screaming at her to not do it, you find yourself rooting for her anyway. She had a well written background and you could understand why she did certain things. Similarly, Kai’s character had such depth. Watching him shed his masks and learning about his past; it was heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed the magic system in this book. There are different ‘factions’ consisting of desirable, undesirable, and outlawed magics. These bleed into the class and power system of the world; with desirables at the top. This is one of the plotlines in the book, Elites purging the Ordinaries and the outlawed magics for power and control.

This was an action packed, slow burn romance story with high stakes and many deceptions. I do not think I can wait patiently for the next book to come out as I desperately need to know what happens next!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's UK, Netgalley, and Lauren for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant! I went straight out on publication day and got myself a physical copy!! I loved this book and I would read another 5! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eArc of this book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the arc of Powerless by Lauren Roberts in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s taken me a long time to read this book and that’s not because of the book but, I’ve had an immense family load that has prevented me from finding time to read. I would grab a couple of pages here and there, on the very rare occasion I had a moment to myself and I can truly say that the plot totally captured me, and not once did I have a ‘huh’ moment.

Paedyn is such a strong female character, orphaned and alone in a world where lacking magical powers is against the law, and punishable by death. Kai, the key love interest is a young man who has been physically and mentally abused to mould him into the role he’s been forced into.

Plus, there’s are a multitude of tropes including enemies to lovers, a sort of love triangle, a slow burn, doomed romance, a morally grey character, and a really interesting magic system.

In addition, the world building is interesting and the whole hunger games vibe adds a layer of intensity beyond the romance that is front and foremost in the story.

There is no question at all that there are multiple layers and plot twists that will take you by surprise, they did me. And that ending, it totally grabbed me by the throat, I can’t wait for book 2.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's for this eCopy to review

I love fantasy books and this did not disappoint full of great easy to understand magic and a classic hunger games type plot. The characters are great with the alternating points of view bringing the story alive. I love the descriptions the difference between the poor Loot and the rich castle are expertly done.

I am definitely hooked and cannot wait for the next book to find out what happens next with Paedyn, Kai and Kit!

My only criticism is that it was a little slow in places

This is a YA fantasy romance and it does seem to be very YA. The romance is of the enemies to lovers type which seems to be popular for some reason. The male love interest treats the main female character appallingly and yet he really fancies her in secret. I dread to think what sort of message that is sending to young people. The romance aspect is very frustrating, it's mainly lots of tension and longing looks, and that's it.

It's written from both Paedyn and Kai's point of view, and there's several instances where a particular event is covered by each of them which gets monotonous. The book also has lots of little niggly points that annoy me. The competitors for the Trials are all housed in one wing of the palace and yet they all eat in the throne room! Firstly, I doubt that using the throne room for something like that would really happen. Secondly, this palace has an entire wing full of bedrooms but no dining room? The king and queen arrive for the first meal wearing their crowns. If Charles' recent coronation has taught me anything, it's that crowns are bloody heavy! The king, queen, and two princes are constantly referred to as Your Majesty, rather than sir which is irritating to read. Paedyn spends two days trapped in her room before she thinks of having a bath, changing her clothes or looking in the wardrobe. They also managed to have both a funeral and coronation in three days!

I could not get to grips with the world in which it was set. It seemed to be sort of modern because there was hot running water, indoor flushing toilets and electricity, and clothing included suits and high heels. Yet weapons were either swords, daggers, or bows and arrows, there were no sewing machines, and transportation was only on foot. It also seemed to be quite Americanised with the phrasing and terminology, and mention of blueberries.

Overall, it felt like a very slow read and spent ages not going anywhere. Most of the characters were annoying, and there were several brutal murders described in the most casual tones, but no kissing. I just found it all to be more frustrating than enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy to review.

This book was amazing! I loved all of the characters (except the ones I was obviously meant to hate), they were pretty much ALL grey characters which was just awesome to see.
I did see some parts of the book coming a mile off but I really didn't mind that. The ending was the only thing that really let it down for me as it is clearly setting it up for the next book and it emotionally damaged me to end like that after all the build up, I just hope the author doesn't try to drag it out to three books as this seems like the perfect duology story

3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this and liked the slight twist on the chosen one vibe - not a girl with unusual powers, but a girl without them in a world full of powerful people. The trials were interesting and I enjoyed how Paedyn wasn’t consistently in flight or fight mode, giving us a bit of time to get to know her and to see her interact with the other characters. I’m so certain she’ll end up with Kai, but I loved her sweet relationship with Kitt as well. I think the end probably wrapped up a little bit too quickly but over all I really enjoyed reading this and I’m looking forward to the sequel- especially after reading the sneak preview at the end.

It’s a great YA fantasy romance, perfectly combining the best bits of the hunger games & the summer I turned pretty, in an intriguing new world.

At times the writing fell a tiny bit flat for me, and the pacing sometimes felt off, but over all a great read and a brilliant debut!

3.5 ⭐️

Powerless by Lauren Roberts it's a YA fantasy romance book. And that couldn't be more accurately described.

It's definitely character driven, with easy world-building, not too many politics, and the magic system is not complex.
It's a great book for younger readers who are beginning their journey in fantasy.

It's well written, you do get easily engaged and immersed, mainly because the romance is worth it. It's pure angst and the will they, will they not...you can feel the tension as it's so nicely written.
The two main characters and their developing relationship is at the centre of the story, even during the trials, and all the action. It's the complete focus, which, makes you forget all about the rest of the plot. I would have liked if the author went more in-depth. There is a bit more about it in the last quarter of the book, and that's what picked my interest for the next book, especially with the cliffhanger that the author leaves us with.

Quotes for the romance fans:

"Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren’t dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it."

"I don’t know that I ever lived before lying eyes on the likes of you."

Overall is an enjoyable and easy read if you like:

📚 Strong Female Character
📚 Enemies to lovers
📚 Trials
📚 Balls
📚 Dual POV
📚 Morally Grey Male Character
📚 Royalty
📚 Slow burn
📚 Angst

Thank you netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was gripping, the world-building was great, the characters were fantastic and I loved the characters. Would definitely recommend!

This book was perfectly fine. Some passage were excellent, some fell a little flat. I found some scenes clunky to read, and hard to follow. I think for YA readers this is appropriate, personally I struggled to get through it, and didn't connect to the characters. Maybe a bit too heavy on the telling, rather than the showing.

This Young adult fantasy set in a world changed by a plague was an enjoyable Hunger Games type of read. Here is my review of Powerless by Lauren Roberts.
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
In this world, a plague has changed most of the survivors who now have superpowers- some powers better than others. But for the people who remain unchanged or born with power- the ordinaries, their lives are fraught with danger. Paeydn is ordinary but pretends to be a Psychic and somehow ends up participating in the very public elite trial. The other point of view character Kai is the second son of the King who has been trained to hunt and kill ordinaries but is attracted to the enigmatic Paedyn.
Powerless was a quick read but it only really became truly amazing in the last eighth of the book. The world-building was interesting with an easy-to-understand system of people’s abilities- some of them were weird. The way the King was able to turn most of the population against the ordinaries was believable given the rhetoric we hear in the news today. I’m not sure why Paedyn's pretend psychic ability didn’t qualify as a power as it does appear to be much more useful than some of the other powers.
I’m not a big fan of doomed romances and the one between Kai and Paeydn took up a lot of space in the book and felt a bit out of place next to the brutality of the trials.
The plot generally moves along quickly (except for the romantic bits) and the book becomes much more interesting when the resistance sub-plot kicks in.
Now, I wasn’t sure if I was going to read the next book until I got to the last few chapters which completely took me by surprise. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the story is resolved.

A high stakes sci-fi/fantasy adventure with a wonderful cast of characters with different abilities and some romance added in too. A brilliant read!

This was a fantastic SciFi/Fantasy that has taken over my life for the last three days. An exciting, unexpected storyline with a great cast of players with various abilities. Several threads running together that made reading very compelling. I hope I get to read the next in the series,

Full of everything you want from a fantasy- world building, danger, trials, romance and twisted morals. This has a hint of the Hunger Games with the Trials and they provide an interesting backdrop for the trilogy arc. Lauren Roberts is a writing to watch out for!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

Was excited to read this book due to booktok however I’m disappointed.

It just feels and reads like a rip off version of hunger games with as many tropes crammed in as possible (and not in any sort of cohesive or organic way.)

I wish the author well and hoping the sequel will be better but overall not for me.