If you've been anywhere near BookTok or Bookstagram in the last few months, you've probably seen Powerless being screamed about. People throwing quotes around, edits of Paedyn and Kai, readers saying it gave them "the romantasy rush they were waiting for". Naturally, curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up. Honestly? I get what all the talks and hype is about now. Because the book is actually all they say it is. I can say that it was an Enemy to Lover done right.
The Plot
Powerless tells us about the kingdom of Ilya. A place where society is divided between the Elites, people with powerful abilities and the Ordinaries, those that are powerless. The system is cruel, the Ordinaries are seen as weak, disposable and basically not allowed to exist.
Paedyn Gray, our main character, is one of those Ordinaries. She's powerless but she's been surviving in the slums of Loot for years by using her wits. She's a skilled thief and has perfected the art of faking abilities when she needs to. It's dangerous but it keeps her alive. Things get messy when Paedyn saves an Elite's life, without meaning to draw attention to herself. That single act sets of a chain of events that lands her in the middle of the Purging Trials. The Purging Trials is a competition meant to show the strength of the Elites. The problem here now is, Paedyn has no powers. She's walking into a death trap.
Then there's Kai Azer, the prince of Ilya and one of the strongest Elites. He's cold, powerful and sworn to his kingdom. He also happens to notice Paedyn. At first, it's suspicious because he could not sense her Elite power. Later on, the line between suspicion and attraction starts to fade. Enemies. Rivals. A spark neither of them can completely ignore.
So the story follows Paedyn trying to survive the trials without powers, hiding her truth and navigating this dangerous pull towards Kai, all while the kingdom itself has eyes everywhere, ready to crush an Ordinary if they are discovered.
This book had all the ingredients of a typical romantasy - enemies to lovers, deadly games, banter, secret identities - but it didn't feel stale to me. Lauren Roberts managed to make it addictive.
Paedyn as a heroine really worked for me. She lacked strength but her intelligence and her cunning ways were her strength. I admired her ability to think and adapt. She did sometimes get things wrong, but I feel like that added to her relatability. Kai, meanwhile, is pretty much the ideal prince character in this kind of story - he's intimidating, powerful but slowly unraveling once emotions get involved.
The tension between Kai and Paedyn wasn't just sparks for the sake of it, it build up gradually and that's what made it satisfying to me. I enjoyed reading them banter, it was natural and fun to read, and the slow burn made the eventual chemistry worth it.
The trials were also one of my favorite parts. Each one was tense because I knew Paedyn had no powers to rely on. Watching her bluff her way through, strategize and sometimes scrape by on sheer luck had me flipping pages quickly. There were actually some moments where I thought she would make it out, and I liked that Lauren Roberts didn't make it too easy for her
Emotionally, the story pulled me in. I was anxious for Paedyn during the Trials, frustrated when she had to lie and absolutely grinning during some of her interactions with Kai. That's actually what I look for in a romantasy, danger + heart + swoony moments. The Book was also easy to follow, which makes it accessible even if you don't usually read fantasy.
Powerless was a 4.5/5 read for me. It is a book that I'd eagerly recommend to anyone, and yes, I will certainly be reading the sequel when I can, because that conclusion left me wanting more.
Image is a screenshot from my e-library