Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in this YA fantasy which is the first of.a trilogy. Strong, romantic tension between characters and a great plot.

I absolutely loved this book and if honest was blown away by the fact that it’s a debut ! Just about everything wowed me from the writing (obviously) to the central characters not to mention how they all interacted with each other. Two brothers clearly enamoured by the same girl and yet it’s so obvious that only one is truly falling hard for her. Paedyn is apparently an Ordinary but let me state right now that she’s simply Extraordinary ! Yes I know trials have been done to death in so many other books and series but this does feel fresh but most of all engaging as although these characters are technically YA their dialogue and behaviour had such chemistry and tension that I absolutely loved this book and definitely look forward to reading more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Okay, for a first time writer is not bad. It’s like I’m reading hunger games but with different characters. I would like to see something more different and that could grip me. But in overall I enjoyed it.

I do love a good fantasy book and this one is a good story. Aimed at young adults the story has a Hunger Games vibe but with the added element of a fantasy story. It is very engaging and I loved the two societal elements, those who have all the power, those that don't and the poor, a divided society. I quickly felt I needed to know what happened next and really enjoyed my reading time with this book. Always a good sign.

The characters were great. I really liked Paedyn, Kai and Kitt, I felt for them, for their difficulties growing up, though, each was very different. I liked the humour that came through and the tension too. The other characters were well-written and engaging, there are definitely those I loved and those I hated.

I am not a young adult, far from it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. At times it was a little long-winded but despite that, I will be reading book two when it's released, especially with that teaser of the next book and the cliffhanger!

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to read.

I stumbled across this title thanks to an Instagram ad and knew it was my exact cup of tea so you can imagine my excitement at having my wish approved for an e-ARC.

This story did not disappoint. The plot was great when it started to come together and I loved the inclusion of the trials as a main setting of the narrative for the story.

I adored the characters and the slow burn tension between the two main characters was among some of my favourites in a long time. That tension was very well developed and the banter between the characters was one of my favourite things.

This book has reminded me why I love YA and will definitely have me working harder at making sure I read more of it going forwards (hopefully helping with the wait for book 2).

I got sent an arc of this incredible book by NetGalley and all I can say is wow.

The magic system of this fantasy world had me so intrigued and it reminded me of a Brandon’s Sanderson type of magic system. I found it so interesting learning about all the different abilities and magic the characters could wield.

Our main character Paedyn is so strong in her beliefs and it was incredible to watch her go through the world fists raised and I loved the fight she has inside of her.

The main love interest was also a character that was extremely intriguing to me. Kai has so much depth to him and throughout the story I loved watching the layers of him being peeled away.

The romance in this was TOP TIER. I loved the fact that there wasn’t a typical love triangle in it and I found it much more satisfying to read about because of that. Kai and Paedyn’s chemistry was genuinely electric and I was screaming while reading their scenes.

The plot twists in this book had me REELING. So so good.

The only thing that didn’t make it a 5 star read for me was the fact that it took me a little while to get through and I didn’t always find myself reaching for it. Although it’s a long fantasy book usually I’d fly through it considering I was so invested in the storyline but for some reason it took awhile for me to finish.

YA fantasy/romantasy is my favourite genre, and so of course I was intrigued by the idea of Powerless and knew I would enjoy it, especially as it has been described as a mix of two books I loved - Red Queen and The Hunger Games. The quality of Roberts’ writing and the pace are both equally good, and I became fully immersed in the Will-they-won’t-they slow burn between Paedyn and Kai. I also loved that it was spice free, which was refreshing to see.

However, I do feel like I would have enjoyed Powerless a lot more, and it may have even been five stars for me, if I hadn’t already read, and actually teach, Red Queen. Both books feature an ordinary girl who has to pretend to have powers and gets caught up in a resistance movement, a movement which later attacks the palace during a ball. Both female protagonists fall for a prince, grow close to him and his brother and are close to a girl who is a talented seamstress but gets her hand broken by a cruel system. Both books feature an evil ruler and trials/feats that are televised and used for the elites to display their power. At a certain point of Powerless the similarities just became too distracting for me to love this, which was such a shame as I thought it was a brilliant premise and that Roberts’ writing was engaging and entertaining. I will still pick up book two to see what happens after that ending, but unfortunately this wasn’t a five star read for me as even though I enjoyed it, I could still guess plot points/elements that were about to happen. I can’t do half stars, but this was 3.5 for me due to this.

In the kingdom of Ilya only the Elites are allowed - if you don’t have a power you are banished or killed. Paedyn survives being an ‘Ordinary”, being able to pass as a Psychic by using her powers of observation. When she steps in and saves the life of the Prince she suddenly finds herself part of The Trials in the palace of where her secret could cost her life..
It’s not a completely new concept but the strength here lies in the characters and world building, I found the first quarter slow going but picked up the pace after that. Interested to see where this goes in the next book

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review!

I adored this book - such a refreshing new fantasy and the world building was just perfect. I loved that it wasn’t too detailed and in depth - it was intricate but simple. The storyline was solid and the whole ‘trial’ plot was enticing and fast paced.

In this book you’ll find:

🖤 Enemies to lovers
🩶 Love triangle (don’t normally like this trope but actually loved it here)
🖤 Slow burn romance
🩶 Trials (think Hunger Games)
🖤 Strong FMC with traumatic history
🩶 Secrets and historical character links
🖤 Morally grey male characters
🩶 Royalty
🖤 Politics
🩶 Balls - love the glamour and the dresses!
🖤 Action! It’s full of action and death 💀

Overall this was a perfect fantasy romance for me - I can’t wait for the next book!

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schhuster UK publishers for the opportunity to review this book.
A fabulous gripping emotional roller coaster. What's not to love. I highly recommend this book .

3.5

Paedyn has spent her short pretending to be just like everyone else, posing as an Elite. After a plague swept through her country most survivors found themselves possessed of special powers: strength, speed, healing, mindreading, shapechanging etc. Those that didn't emerge from the plague with powers are known as ordinaries and for years they existed comfortably alongside Elites until the king accused them of spreading diseases that weakened Elite powers and they were banished, any remaining executed on discovery. Trained by her father to pass as a psychic, Paedyn has lived on the streets since his murder, surviving by pickpocketing - until she picks the wrong pocket and finds herself nominated for the purging trials, an often deadly contest to mark the purging of the ordinaries.
Powerless has many of the hallmarks of YA fantasy: first person present, a beautiful but doesn't know it yet and kickass heroine, a love triangle, a murderous governement comfortable with massacring its brightest and best, an evil tyrant etc. It's not super original but it is entertaining, the dual viewpoint stops it feeling too breathless in narration and the end suitably twisty, setting up a must read sequel. It would have been an easy four stars but felt a little overlong and under edited - on one scene every characer must have sighed at least ten times each and this should have been picked up in copy editing. But if you like super heroes, bloody contests and twists and turns you'll enjoy this,

I really enjoyed this one, dual pov, definitely a slow burn in romance and the plot was intense, the ending especially, desperately need to know what happens next in the story and the ending for Kai & Pae!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children's UK for the ARC!⠀
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Although the premise is not new, I like it; especially when reading it gave me a very strong Red Queen and Hunger Games vibe; I enjoy both books, therefore I had great hopes for this one. ⠀
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However, the plot is muddled, and some important details simply vanish. Aside from that, the characters lack personality. I struggled to finish it.⠀
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I have very mixed feelings about this one - I really struggled getting through the first 25% because I thought it was boring and kind of slow but once I hit that 25% mark things picked up quite rapidly and I became engrossed in the story.

There’s a lot of similarities with The Hunger Games throughout and at first it was a bit off putting because I felt as if I was just reading THG again, however the more I read the more invested I became and I believe the strong similarities are what kept me reading and had me eventually enjoying the book.

I know the author is quite young and it’s her debut novel, but the writing was sometimes a bit off putting and grammatical errors were littered throughout - which I believe would be rectified with a good editor!

All in all, I’d give this 3 stars because while I didn’t LOVE it, it excited me enough to continue reading and I would quite like to pick up the next book when it comes out.

I love a Romantasy book so as soon as I saw the blurb, I knew I had to read this book. The story is told from both the perspectives of Pae and Kai. It has enemy to lovers’ vibes with dash of slow burn. Basically, some of my favourite romance troupes.

Kai is the future King’s enforcer (AKA executioner) and is responsible for going on missions and taking out people the King deems a threat. Pae is an Ordinary, meaning she has no elite power is hiding among the Elites masquerading as a psychic.

Pae and Kai meet during an attempted mugging in which Pae saves Kai’s life. Which give her favour with the people who end up voting for to take part in the trials. Which I Kai is also a part of.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was such an easy read fantasy, the world building was great, and I have a thorough understanding of the way Ilya works. The trials element was fine I must admit that this type of troupe is a little done to death but, they didn’t drag on forever so that’s plus.

The relationship between in Kai and Pae is developed slowly over the whole book, there’s not much spice here but you can feel the tension between them, and their feelings about each other is easy to pick on in terms of their interactions.

The last few chapters are when the story really picks up and there is a bit of a twist that I didn’t see coming which was great. I do enjoy it when a book can surprise me.

In summary I would recommend this book, it kept me hooked to the very last page and I cannot wait to read the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ark!
A world split in 2, those who have power, and those who don’t.
Anyone that has no powers will be killed to remove risk to others.
This book is dual pov-
Paedyn has been living in the streets for 5 years trying to disguise her lack of powers.
One day she saves the Prince, whose job it is to kill those who are powerless.

Fate brings them together again, as they get closer will they fall in love or will he kill her if he discovers her secret?

This book also has a slight love triangle going on.

I very much enjoyed this book, I read it in one day.
It was fairly predictable but fun, I love the two main characters.
Not so sure on the heir as I can see where his story may go.

There was quite a bit of repetition, such as many mentions of how differently the 2 princes were treated by the king but it wasn’t enough to distract from the book.

I’m looking for ward to the next in the series.

This was an intriguing book, Has all the tropes that I love in a fantasy, the slow burn romance was done perfectly. Gave me all the hunger game vibes and the writing was beautiful and the plot was well thought out. I really enjoyed powerless and looking forward to book 2.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.

Thanks for the chance to review

So I hadn’t realised the hype that existed around this author and book. I’m a bit absent from the Booktok world and it would appear she is like a celebrity.

I have to say I’m glad I didn’t know that going into the book because sometimes all the hype can put me off. And it would have been a deep shame to have missed out on this book. I loved it.

The characters, plot and pacing are fantastic and this had me hooked from start to finish. The ending is heartbreaking

I can’t wait for the next one

I was really excited to receive a copy of this as the synopsis sounded like something I would love.

But for me, the style of writing was far too repetitive (jaws flexing, hands in pockets, masks, ocean eyes) which reminded me of other authors' work far too much. There was also a lot of repeated comparisons that became very tiresome:
"Pretty but sharp. Cool but deadly. Captivating but cutting",
"Not until I looked into a pair of ocean blue eyes and realized that perhaps drowning was a beautiful thing. Not until I looked into a pair of fiery blue eyes and realized that perhaps burning was a painless thing. Not until I looked into a pair of sky blue eyes and realized that perhaps falling was a peaceful thing."
This style is sorely over-used throughout the book, and I did feel myself thinking; just pick one already!

I also didn't believe that the enforcer was such a hated and feared person as we were introduced to him and his brother relaxed, laughing and joking around with the staff. At the end of the book I believed him to be the feared enforcer he was written to be in the beginning.

This book would be good for someone just entering the YA fantasy genre, as it cycles through the typical tropes. I really did get invested in the love interest(s) of the main character, and found that the last chapter is what actually hooked me into thinking 'Well, now I need to know what happens next!'

So, upon reflection, I enjoyed the characters, and the story. I just felt I was rolling my eyes every time a phrase was repeated for the 20th time. But it would be fantastic with some further editing!

I was really hoping to love this since the premise was intriguing however this book wasn’t for me.

I did get reminded of Aladdin and Throne Of Glass for some reason just don’t ask me why 😂

I would say that still give the book a try if it piqué’s your interest as you might end up enjoying it.