Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy)

I found this book very hard to put down in fact I started reading it at around 3.30 in the afternoon with my usual flat white coffee treat and a piece of cake , well I was reluctant to put it down to get myself some dinner later at around 6pm !! yes I was hooked .. I got a ready meal out of the freezer so I didn't have to faff about and waste good reading time so in the microwave it went and was back on my sofa reading , come 11pm I decided to go to bed and read for an hour before going to sleep... By 5.30am I am rubbing my eyes so that I could keep reading !! , made myself go to sleep but was awake again at 8.30 eager to get some toast and get back to this book ... It turned out I did not get dressed just kept reading until later that night I was at the end of book one and diving into the next of this series, So I am 74 years old my husband of 54 years past away not so long ago and I cant remember the last time I read a love story that had such a big effect on my emotions.. The author has captured the essence of a deep relationship that comes from ones very soul yet is also graphic in the brutality of the "enforcers " life where love does not have a place to reside, love is a weakness that his father will not allow his son to feel at any level ...A book that can make me "feel" every emotion the characters experience is powerful and rare yet this book has sent me down that giddy path where I laugh and cry, feel anger and pain, my heart was pounding with hopelessness and fear ... Its true that the loss of my dear husband has made me more vulnerable to these feelings , yet also helped my faith that even at my age I can still me moved by the talents of a great writer ...

Physical/Kindle read 528 Pages Romantasy YA Love Triangle Hunger Games vibes Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine Enemies to Lovers to Enemies Obsessed MMC Ok, I'm not gonna lie, I struggled to get into this I think because I got a lot of Hunger Games style vibes. The FMC was a typical badass and the MMC was obsessed from day one. His dialogue is much better than hers and lots of swoon worthy moments. 3 trails that I got deja vu from and an epic ending that had me gripped more than most of the book. Still a very good story when I will continue the series.

WOWW , THE TENSION , THE RAGE , THE CLIFFHANGER??!! 💔 plot line: Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya . . . The exceptional. The Elites. The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by the Plague, while those born Ordinary are just that, banished from the kingdom and shunned from society. No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as an Elite. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya’s princes, Kai Azer, she’s thrown into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase her ‘Elite’ powers. If the Trials and the opponents don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn really is . . . completely Ordinary. my thoughts: I am utterly speechless… 🤯 from start to finish this book had me on a roller coaster of emotions , BELIEVE ME when I say that this book has more twists and turns than a snake. although this has no relevance to the plot i feel as though I should mention that as a reader I have struggled to read fantasy books in the past due to having so much information and terminology thrown at me (that I don’t understand) that in the end I have either lost interest or just put down the book. so I was VERY happy that it wasn’t the case when it came to this book. *if you have struggled to read fantasy books in the past (like me) please give this one a go and if it’s your style , listen to the audiobook not only because it’s more understandable but Kai’s voice is 🔥🔥🔥* the chokehold Kai had over me whilst reading this book was unbelievable speaking of the characters , they each had their own role that played a part in the whole of the plot. I especially loved Paedyn’s fierce and powerful personality as I think from a female perspective it shows courage to not give up , plus we love a bad b**ch over here 🫶🏼 whilst I LOVED the whole book and can’t fault the way it made me feel , as a reader who finds it hard to concentrate and zones out (a lot) this book was quite long and if I’m being honest I think it could’ve been shortened. I should also mention that whilst I’m not sure if Lauren was taking some inspiration from other books / authors - there were many similarities to the following movies; hunger games , maze runner & divergent. overall , I LOVED everything about this book and can’t wait to read book two later in the year 🥰

Paedyn Gray is a pickpocket living on the streets of Ilya after the murder of her father. Such a feisty character that you love her from the beginning. She is what's known as an Ordinary, with no magic, hiding in secret as the King has decreed that all Ordinaries must be purged as only Elites (those with magic skills) can live in Ilya. While out thieving she saves the life of a handsome stranger who then turns out to be the King's second son and his Enforcer. Hiding as a Psychic she is entered into The Purging Trials where she has to compete against other Elites as well as Kai, the Enforcer. This had a Hunger Games vibe to it as the trials were extremely dangerous but what shone for me was the attraction between Paedyn and Kai. He is swoon worthy with his banter which Paedyn resists and brushes away with witty retorts. He helps her and she helps him all the while resisting each other. She also forms a friendship with Kitt, the firstborn and heir to the throne. I loved this book. Each character was so well written. Paedyn hates that Ordinaries are innocent people being killed and Kai hates that he has been molded since boyhood to carry out these murders. The ending is heart breaking and makes you want to get the second book straight away. You wont be disappointed.

I hadn’t read any previous books by Lauren Roberts so I had an open mind when starting this series. The reviews I had read seemed a bit mixed but I purchased the book when I saw it drop to 99p on Kindle. The main character is Paedyn, an 18-year-old orphan, who has been left to fend for herself and works as a pickpocket on the streets of Ilya, after her father's brutal murder. Ilya is a kingdom ruled by a king who wants only the magical Elites to have a place and the powerless Ordinaries to be eradicated. Paedyn is a secret Ordinary and she manages to pass herself off as a Psychic using her powers of observation. Paedyn ends up being entered into the annual Purging Trials where she is forced to compete against a group of Elites, all with their own deadly magical abilities. She makes an unlikely alliance and we see her using her skills to fight to survive the trials and bring down the tyrannical king. This book was not very original, I got vibes from a combination of many other books but it was easy to read and kept me interested. The characters were good and the pace and storyline was interesting, maybe a bit predictable.The world building was something I wish we had more of but I really enjoyed learning about the different powers the Elites have and how they can be used and what their weaknesses are. Overall, a good introduction into a new series, it wasn’t amazing but it was interesting enough to make me read the rest of the series at some point.

Beyond the basic premise of Powerless and seeing an aesthetic video on Insta I didn’t know much about this book other than it’s a YA fantasy with a stabby FMC. Paedyn is an 18-year-old orphan, left to fend for herself and work as a pickpocket on the streets of Ilya, after her father's brutal murder. Ilya is a kingdom ruled by a king who wants only the magical Elites to have a place and the powerless Ordinaries to be eradicated. Of course, Paedyn is an Ordinary in hiding and using her abilities to read her adversaries' weaknesses and pass herself off as a Psychic. When she picks the pocket and then saves the life of a handsome stranger, Paedyn is entered into the annual Purging Trials. In these survival challenges she is forced to compete against a group of Elites, all with their own deadly magical abilities. Making an unlikely alliance with Kai, the king's second son and personal fixer/assassin, Paedyn must use her skills to fight to survive the trials and bring down the tyrannical king. I really enjoyed the story and characters but I know if I hadn’t read The Hunger Games I would have loved it so much more. There are so many elements which are a direct parallel to THG that it started to become a bit predictable. For example the contestants are made to gain the Ilyan peoples votes through a public interview (where Paedyn doesn’t say the script she’s meant to follow), royal balls (where of course Paedyn goes against tradition and dresses to stand out) and of course the trials themselves which despite knowing there can be only one winner they form alliances. For a new YA generation this book does a great job of combining a fast paced fantasy adventure with a very capable female main character, a dark haired morally grey Prince who only has eyes for her and enough slowburn tension to keep the reader wanting more. If like me, you’re an older reader that likes to dip back into YA then this might not be the best choice as it has so many elements of other books that it loses some of its charm and becomes too unoriginal in places. Overall an enjoyable book and I’ll definitely be reading the other two books in the series. Ratings Spice: 0.5🌶 Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Wow I loved this book. It reeled you in from page one into the dual point of view book. I found it a little hard at first but as I got further it just merged together. This was so much better than the hunger games that othe4 readers have compared it to

* Spoiler Alert * Hmm… This book both frustrates and enthralls me in equal measure. I find myself trying to piece together my thoughts, which have exploded into tiny fragments—because this story? It pulls you in, leaves you gasping, and yet somehow manages to keep you on edge. It’s filled with all the tropes that make you weak at the knees. But by now, you’d think I’d be used to the trajectory of these slow burn romances, right? Clearly, that reminder escapes me because here I am—again—wishing for two characters to collide, only to be left wanting more. Yepp, patience is not my strong suit when it comes to romantasies. Paedyn is fierce, sharp-witted, kick ass and completely self-sufficient—an ordinary with no magic in a world where powers define status. Her deep-seated trauma from her father’s murder has left her untrusting and stubborn, making her slow to open up to potential allies. Still, her grit and determination make her a force to be reckoned with and I love that she saved the Prince (with no powers might I add). Serious girl-power vibes—but it’s her vulnerability and humanity that makes her relatable. Paedyn is playing a dangerous game. While her quest for revenge and a better world for her fellow ordinaries is understandable, the cost is heavy, and as the story progresses, that cost will have you shedding tears. You can’t help but question her decisions. Then there’s Kai - Malakai - the Prince. Trained as a weapon but trying to do the right thing in a broken system designed by his Father, the King. He’s that dangerous type that hooks you from the start. The banter, the smouldering looks, the fleeting touches, the touch-her-and-d!e energy, the heartfelt declarations, the dimples (!!!)—Kai completely won me over. Paedyn might take a hot minute to realise it, but me? Kai had me at ‘Darling’. Kitt, Prince, Heir to the throne. An absolute sweetheart, he’s truly adorable. I was holding so much hope that Paedyns influence would stick (and I actually believed it was starting to). We saw his empathy, compassion and kindness on so many occasions. Instead, the story takes him in a direction that’s heart rendering and I can’t help but think Paedyn’s betrayal had a big hand in it. What puzzled me, though, was how quickly Paedyn integrated into the resistance. There wasn’t much build-up there—one minute she’s an outsider, and the next, she’s fully in. The resistance felt underdeveloped, especially considering its importance to the plot. I needed more substance, more interaction, to feel that part of the story come to life. It was also surprising that Kai didn’t leave more of an impression on Paedyn, considering everything he did for her—saving her life, practically offering his heart on a platter—and yet, she remains distant all the while kinda saying she likes him too. I know it’s intentional, but I couldn’t help thinking about how different things might have been if she had just trusted him enough to confide in him. I had to resist the urge to Google character fates as the story grew more intense. The twists thicken to a point where my anxiety was off the charts, and I just knew something terrible was about to happen. And then the ending—that twist. Why? My heart feels like it’s been shattered. The delicate dance between love and hate driving the characters apart now more relevant than ever, the inner turmoil, it all builds to this explosive revelation. Learning what Kai did? It sent me into a spiral. I was perfectly happy believing it was the king. Honestly, I’m torn between wanting to hurl the book across the room in frustration and being utterly mesmerised by the storytelling. And with that, you have me hooked.