Powerless by Lauren Roberts is a fantasy romance set against a dystopian backdrop. If you’re looking for a slow burn that focuses heavily on relationship building then this is the story for you. This book will easily scratch your romantasy itch without investing in a complicated world or magic system.
Citizens with Elite and Mundane powers are the only ones who survived the Purging. At least that’s what the kingdom of Ilya wants you to believe. The Ordinaries still exist, but only in secret because if you’re powerless, you’re as good as dead. While Kai, the kingdom’s future enforcer, eliminates surviving Ordinaries, there is one that has slipped his notice. Paedyn is living on the streets and poses as a Mundane with a Psychic ability. She may have been caught stealing on several occasions, but no one knows that she is actually powerless. But when Paedyn gets involved in a street fight and saves a prince, the citizens are awed by her violent intervention and nominate her for the Purging Trials. Paedyn has no choice but to enter a deadly set of games alongside the Elites where she will try to survive and seek her revenge.
Powerless feels heavily inspired by The Hunger Games with Ilya’s haves and have-nots being forced to compete in Purging Trials. Many of the characters have vibrant, colorful hair which immediately brings District One vibes to mind, and there is of course a rebellion forming at the edges of the competition. But where Hunger Games heavily featured, well, the games, Powerless uses the Trials more like a stage. The events were a way to get all the characters interacting in one space, whether it was the supporting activities in the castle or the competitions themselves. The actual Trials were not very memorable or particularly exciting, and it appears the events were stripped down to give Roberts space to develop the main characters. Bare minimum effort is given to the dystopian world and its very loose magic system because Roberts wants to keep the focus on the relationship between Paedyn and the princes. My evidence is that Paedyn’s entry into the trials was flimsy, she rarely has to fake or use her Psychic ability, and despite not knowing the parameters of the magic system, the perfect power just so happens to exist to serve the plot when needed.
The story follows a familiar cadence known to YA readers and has many of the beloved tropes that the genre thrives on. One main character has no powers, the other can use ALL the powers. There’s plenty of flirty banter and “if you lay a hand on her” energy. There is not a “one-bed” scene, but can I interest you in huddling together for warmth instead? Powerless was written well despite some repetitive ticks like the obsessive descriptions of Paedyn’s silver hair, Kai using “darling” an exhaustive amount, and the many references to Paedyn’s thin tank top. A lot of the book is a dedicated playground for the main characters to verbally and physically (like fighting ya filthy animal) spar. It’s a slow burn with characters who dish it out constantly. Paedyn and Kai have a good dynamic that can be both cheesy and mature at times. It wasn’t a romance that made me swoon, but it was entertaining and didn’t make me cringe so I take that as a win.
The one part of Powerless that I won’t forgive is how poorly the friendship between Paedyn and Adena was handled. This is supposed to be a foundational relationship that supports the young protagonist, but it all but disappears when Paedyn enters the Purging Trials. This is only an issue because Roberts alludes to Adena’s importance and gives weight to her friendship without doing anything to show it. She really is an afterthought, proven time and time again by how often even Paedyn forgets about her. By the time Adena’s “important” role begins to influence the plot, it’s too late. Adena’s absence affects the reader’s ability to form a meaningful attachment to her and the supposedly influential part she plays in Paedyn’s life.
Powerless can be a fun adventure if you’re looking for romance and not a lot of fantasy. The story played it pretty safe, but there’s potential for the next book in the series to shake some stuff up. For me, I like more plot than romance, but I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up the next book as an audiobook just to see what happens.
Rating: Powerless – 6.0/10
Brandee
