Powerless

Okay it was great. Fantastic. Wonderful romantasy.

Just fully a rip off of Red Queen

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIIIIFE

I wanted to love this, but it was trying to do too many things at once, without a lot of execution. It wants to be part Throne of Glass meets Hunger Games meets [insert other YA/NA romantasy here]. Maybe I missed it, but I never really understood why the trials were taking place, and then the choosing of the participants?

There were parts that conveyed real emotion that I liked, but it just didn't live up to the hype, in my opinion.

This book literally copied other major YA books but did so in a less successful manner (Hunger Games, Red Queen, Grishaverse). I'm all for a "bickering like an old married couple" relationship, but this was just too much and got annoying after awhile. This wasn't a horrible read, but I can't say I enjoyed it.

You can tell that this is a debut novel. The characters and the world were so wholly underdeveloped. The trials were absolutely unnecessary. We don't even get to know why it's happening. Why are these people ruthless? You need to show how it's a product of deep conditioning. The only redeeming quality was the banter and that also barely qualified because of the nicknames like Darling and princess

If I were to give this an accurate rating, it would be 4.1 stars in my opinion. HOWEVER, the concept, characters, and ending did make me a little more biased. I will acknowledge the flaws and still shamelessly give this book 5 stars because I love it none-the-less.

THE CHARACTERS: ❤️ (4.1/5)

I genuinely enjoyed the personality of all of the main characters. Seeing them slowly unravel more of themselves was so cute and nice.

Warning- If you don’t like female leads who are bad at accepting help, you will find the MC annoying. This did not bother me, but I know that the “strong independent woman” thing can be taken too far for some. I don’t think it got in the way of the story, and it made A LOT of sense for who she is and how she was raised. Please keep that in mind if you have a hard time with stubborn characters.

I loved the dynamic of Kai and Kitt. One raised to rule and the other to kill. I liked that they were close despite these things, but that there was also some tension because of it. I may be awful for saying this, but I love some good family drama to potentially ruin relationships (IN BOOKS ONLY).

Side characters were OK. I kind of wish the author would have made us more attached to Adena and the other contestants. But they were all pretty disposable.

THE ROMANCE:

5/5⭐️

OH MY GOODNESS EVERYONE READ THIS RIGHT NOW. I was smiling giggling kicking my feet screaming crying throwing up this was basically perfection

One of my absolute favorites of all time. Very fast paced and loved every bit. Could not put it down

I’m having a hard time rating this because the banter is charming (if not a bit insufferable and unrealistic) but the pacing and writing, however, is not. This is a YA book, but a lot of the world building is a bit on the nose and there’s a strong resemblance to the hunger games. Also, I just knew the ending was going to piss me off, and it did (not even in a cliffhanger way- just actual irritation).

These stars are dedicated to Kai and a little for Paedyn.

Initially optimistic about this book, hoping to love it, I soon realised it wasn't for me. Despite hearing about its similarities to The Hunger Games, I gave it a chance, but as I delved deeper, my interest disappeared. I considered DNF’ng around 60%, and even trying the audiobook didn't change my opinion of the storyline. However I continued…

The story felt too familiar and it fell flat for me, too much resembling The Hunger Games. Whilst the ending was intriguing, it didn't spark my interest in continuing the series.

The abundance of tropes also made it less appealing.

✨