Powerless Book Review
By: Hazel Nava
11/20/25
Powerless is a book written by Lauren Roberts, published in 2023. It is the perfect combination of adventure, fiction, and fantasy that had me turning page after page just to see what would happen next. When I think about the components that make this book so incomparable, two words come to mind; action and romance. In this story, the reader gets to experience the plot through both main characters, Kai and Paedyn, and their perspectives, which contributes to the development of their relationship and other key components of the book that may not have been clear otherwise.
This book introduces an entirely new world to the reader that they can continue learning about, even after this book, for it’s the beginning of a series that is filled with adventure, action, and incredible character development.
In the beginning of Powerless, you start to understand the sheer amount of class struggle and inequality that these characters have to deal with, which can be compared to the real world and the problems we deal with as well. This is shown in problems like having homeless and starving people in certain parts of the kingdom. Due to this, it is easy to understand what motivates Paedyn specifically when making decisions throughout the book. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the central goal of the main characters is to not only fight against inequality and injustice, but bring people and communities together.
Every twist and turn of this book is filled with romance and action, but one moment I particularly enjoyed was on page 283. “'It’s beautiful, breathtaking. Living in the slums, surrounded by dreary alleys and dull colors, I’d nearly forgotten how bright the world can be,' said Paedyn" (Roberts 283). This quote truly depicts the difference in lifestyle between the poor and the rich, and how that difference is made clear to someone who comes from nothing at all when they are shown how beautiful life is for the rich and wealthy.
Powerless is set in a post-apocalyptic world that contains genres like medieval fantasy along with other more modern components that include technology and advanced medicine (this is implied). Throughout the story, the setting is described with gorgeously captivating vocabulary. Also each setting is described with equally engrossing language, even though the places in which the main characters go through are entirely different, making the book even more engaging to learn about.
This is a great read, well written, and anyone who enjoys fantasy and dystopian fiction would love this book.
