Reviews

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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louisa_pre's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Another book I read because of booktok:) What I liked about this book is the chemistry that Paedyn and Kai have (although it’s slow burn, there’s no spice in this book). I honestly don’t consider them enemies to lovers since they already had a crush on each other since the day they met. There’s a lot of bickering though because they don’t want to admit their feelings. This book didn’t really surprise me much as I saw so many elements from other books in this. There’s a cruel king, there’s a flirty, murderous prince, there’s a fmc who hates the king and everything he stands for, there are trials (not exactly like hungergames, a bit like goblet of fire with the maze but without dragons), there are mean girls who think they deserve to be with the prince, there’s a rebellion…. And the idea of ordinaries and people with powers is also not very original. I think paedyn as a character is very likeable, the plot could’ve been more interesting. Also, this book ended almost exactly the way the veiled kingdom did, that was kind of weird. I do understand the hype for this book with people who haven’t read many Romantasy books. But since there are so many parallels to other great books, I can’t not compare them. I think it’s a bit inferior to those but still a good read.

caytie_j's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

ablittlehales's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

marycorrigan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ladywestfall's review against another edition

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I would think it's crazy to dnf a book at 63% but I would. I just can't torture myself anymore. Another booktok hyped book that didn't live up to my expectations. This book is mediocre at best. I didn't love the writing. It seems so fanfic-ish. It has potential, but the writing itself felt so off. I just couldn't enjoy it. THIS BOOK NEEDS A GOOD EDITOR! I am not an expert on grammar nor the english language but there is something so off with the way the sentences/lines are sometimes structured. Mostly it feels like I am merely just reading a group of words... there's just no emotion in it for me or atleast the author has failed to convey that to me. I don't wanna say it was a bad book, but it needs more work. It's like they mistakenly published the first draft without editing. I genuinely wonder how it got out of the publishing room! It just wasn't ready. Also, I don't usually have a problem with unoriginal plots or overused tropes as long as I enjoy it but even the "banters" on this one couldn't save it. I kept trying not to cringe! It also didn't help that both the main characters seems so one dimensional. I don't get the hype over Kai. Also the constant calling of "darling" was starting to give me an ick. Also Paedyn wasn't much better. They just fell flat to me overall. So add that to me not liking the writing style... I just didn't have much reason to go on. Also didn't help that the chapters are long. It's just exhausting. And again, it's not the worst book out there, but I just felt so bored halfway of it. I don't even care about what happens to any of them at this point. Couldn't connect to any of them.

cadet_sorrengail's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

It was my first book after acotar and I was innn ittt!! I liked the book a lot and the ending left me completely destroyed and desperate for more! I did however wish for more context from time to time as well as a few fewer or more subtle uses of classic tropes. I can’t wait for book 2 tho so especially for a debut novel, this is a ligit masterpiece!