Tag: lauren roberts

Book Review: Fearful (The Powerless Trilogy #3.5) by Lauren Roberts

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 224 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set during the time of Fearless, a mysterious figure arrives in the kingdom of Ilya to witness the fight for the throne and the price it costs those sworn to defend the land in this beautiful and heart-wrenching story in the #1 New York Times bestselling Powerless trilogy.

Love too grand, it kills.

Mara never intended to set foot in Ilya again. But when the king makes a life-altering decision, her interest is piqued, and Death is determined to understand Kitt Azer’s mind if he is destined to join her in the Mors.

Spending time with the king while observing the castle’s inhabitants reminds Mara that there is more to life than just death. There is love. But even the purest of intentions spur revenge and the pursuit of power. And fate will have its way with all of them—to live, to rule, to love, and most certainly, to die…

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted copy and Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I was going to give this three stars and move on with my life. I don’t think it added to the trilogy, it’s just sad, and honestly boring.

And then the ending??? Well that just made me rage like I haven’t at a book in a long time. I hate open ended moments that could lead to spin offs of series THAT DON’T NEED IT. Oh my gosh just let the MC’s be happy and move on.

Having this from the POV of death made little sense to me. Once again, not adding anything to the story and opening up more questions rather than giving me any answers.

This came off as a money grab with another unnecessary novella and has soured my feelings to the original trilogy (of which I love).

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Novella
  • Language: low
  • Romance: flirting (?)
  • Violence: mild

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy #3) by Lauren Roberts

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 608 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: April 8th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Paedyn and Kai are reunited but face a terrible decision in this thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling romantic fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and The Red Queen.

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…

And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate—and the fate of those around her—forever.

In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

Thank you to Simon Audio for the audiobook and Simon Teen for the gifted copy.

FANTASTIC CONCLUSION.

Where do I even begin?! I devoured this audiobook in two days (I had a long excursion one day so admittedly that helped) BUT ANYWAYS. I couldn’t put this book down!!! The audio production is amazing and really brings this book to a new level for me. I love listening to these characters.

I was a little worried about some plot points and different pieces but when I finished the book and realized the necessity of the decisions behind the journey, I felt more at peace with what went down.

The romance is once again a JOURNEY. The banter between Kai and Pae is still absolutely everything to me!!! And I might have to read this physically to highlight all of the moments between them. There’s sweet, and heat, and passion, and anger, and fear, and ALL THE EMOTIONS. I love all the emotions.

And I do think it wrapped up in the ways that made the most sense. I loved having a third POV (you’ll see!!!) because that story made me theorize HARD and when my theories were correct I was pleasantly shocked because I don’t think I’ve read that before and I love new to me things.

This book had a little bit of everything and is truly one of the most solid YA trilogies I’ve read in a hot minute. The conclusion I’ve been hoping for delivered.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: one closed door
  • Violence: moderate – high
  • Content warnings: loss of loved ones

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: July 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil…

After surviving the Purging Trials, Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King, and kickstarted a Resistance throughout the land. Now she’s running from the one person she had wanted to run to.

Kai Azer is now Ilya’s Enforcer, loyal to his brother Kitt, the new King. He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice.

Across the deadly Scorches, and deep into the hostile city of Dor, Kai pursues the one person he wishes he didn’t have to. But in a city without Elites, the balance between the hunter and hunted shifts – and the battle between duty and desire is deadly.

Be swept away by this kiss-or-kill romantasy trilogy taking the world by storm.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook!

AHHHHHHH.

I am here for the vibes on this book y’all. The vibes are VIBING AND I LOVE IT. This is how enemies to lovers romances are supposed to feel. This banter and tension and the gosh dang it we’re supposed to hate each other BUT WE CAN’T. I will be brought to my knees by this romance and will go gladly.

The specific plot for this book wasn’t as strong as the first (like I said, five stars for vibes). It was mostly Paedyn and Kai playing cat and mouse. There were some delectable romantic moments though and I am all for those. And while the audiobook is incredible (highly recommend), I wish I was reading the physical copy purely to tab all of the quotes that sunk me.

I also loved having Kitt’s POV too. It was this delicate and dark balance of watching him trying to figure out the kingdom and his own mind. I can’t wait to see how that comes together in the last book.

An easy to devour second book that [to me] didn’t suffer the dreaded sequel issues. GIVE ME FEARLESS.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: moderate

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy #1) by Lauren Roberts

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 523 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN.

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I SHOULD READ THIS SOONER. Good heavens this is EVERYTHING I love about enemies to lovers young adult fantasy romance. I was already thinking it was a five star read a quarter of the way through. And it DELIVERED.

I loved the banter between Paeydn and the prince. And the amount of scenes were I was kicking my feet can not be charted. There was a fantastic balance of intense action scenes mixed in with the soft and tender. I was smitten with them and can’t wait to see where this relationship goes.

Paedyn was amazing. I loved her. She was strong and capable, and when she went there she WENT THERE. I was impressed with the turns this book took and how it continually kept me guessing. There’s some subtle Hunger Games vibes that I fit well and the competition was fierce.

THE ENDING THOUGH. I am a sucker for an incredible, make me shout kind of cliffhanger shocker. IYKYK why this is one of my favorite endings. I will now be telling anyone who will listen that this is the next fantasy book they need.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, loss of life, murder, mentions of child abuse, torture, loss of loved ones

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph