Powerless

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If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn is . . . completely Ordinary. Powerless is set in the kingdom of Ilya, where there are Elites and Ordinaries- the Elites possess incredible powers and seek to get rid of the Ordinaries, as they believe them to corrupt society. Paedyn Gray is an Ordinary posing as an Elite to prevent her being hunted by the Elites. When she meets Kai Azer, one of Ilya's princes, sparks fly- and then they both end up in the Purging Trials, a brutal competition where the most talented Elites display their powers. But without a power, Paedyn must fight to survive the trials- and protect her heart from Kai, who she knows she shouldn't fall for... i can’t even explain how much i’m in love with kai and paedyn. their relationship is my new favorite thing in the world. THE TENSION. literally died dead.

The Powerless Trilogy by Lauren Roberts - Goodreads

My only issue was with an element of the worldbuilding. It was simple enough to understand the history behind the Elites and the Ordinaries, but I couldn't wrap my head around the purpose of the Purging Trials. Maybe that was the point, because Paedyn didn't seem to understand it either. If they were celebrating the Plague and the magical powers it gave the Elites, why try to kill a bunch of your own powerful people in the process? In The Hunger Games, the poor fight to the death for the rich's entertainment. I had hoped for the concept of the Trials to evolve and strengthen throughout the story.

This bled into poor pacing. Every single time a major event or revelation happened, I noted how far it was into the book. It just felt very janky and bloated. It felt like the characters were static and nothing was really happening even tho people were quite literally dying. Every chapter ended with Kai being like "omfg what is this girl doing to me" and Pae being like "I fawking hate it here but I kinda wanna smash". The train was not moving. I was reading at the speed of light, breaking the sound barrier, and it still took sooooo long this book was so bloated.

Powerless Trilogy (2 book series) Kindle edition The Powerless Trilogy (2 book series) Kindle edition

Kai is basically the dude from The Good Place that’s always taking off his shirt while combined with the ‘iNtErEsTiNg’ iCarly meme. It has enemies to lover trope. It has tending to wounds trope. It has the ‘who did this to you’ trope.” Okay, but what’s the book about? What is the book trying to accomplish? What makes it different from all the other books out there with similar tropes?The worldbuilding didn't survive too much of a thinky think. I don't think it was a good idea to introduce genocide and oppression without engaging with those ideas properly. It felt very much like this book was trying to be Hunger Games but it had as much depth as the Selection. (This review is getting long but I have so many issues with the reform revolutionaries in the selection and the violent vs nonviolent thing going on there). That feels so mean to say I'm sorry but also please. PLEASE. I can suspend my disbelief about the girl getting away with being an Ordinary, but I draw the line as using revolution as an aesthetic without real political worldbuilding behind it. Subjects: General fiction (Children's / Teenage) , Romance & relationships stories (Children's / Teenage) , Personal & social issues: death & bereavement (Children's / Teenage) , Personal & social issues: sexuality & relationships (Children's / Teenage) , Fantasy romance (Teenage) , Children's / Teenage fiction: Speculative, dystopian and utopian fiction , Children's / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories , Children's / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction , Children's / Teenage personal and social topics: Self-awareness and self-esteem , Children's / Teenage personal and social topics: Death and grief , Interest age: from c 13 years , Children's / Teenage fiction: Magical realism / Magical fantasy , Children's / Teenage fiction: Fantasy romance , Young Adult Fiction / General , Young Adult Fiction / Action & Adventure / Survival Stories , Young Adult Fiction / Dystopian , Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / General , Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance , Young Adult Fiction / Girls & Women , Young Adult Fiction / Magical Realism , Young Adult Fiction / Romance / General , Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Dating & Sex , Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement Show Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya . . . Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in the most epic and sizzling fantasy romance book of the year.