I read Powerless so you don’t have to... 🗡️📖 reading vlog and review

For this week’s video I have a reading vlog and review for you of Powerless by Lauren Roberts. Since I saw that this book was super popular on booktok and it’s been at the number 1 spot of the bestseller lists for quite some time now, I felt like I had to check it out myself and see what the fuss is about. I sadly got burnt by reading Fourth Wing earlier this year, so I was really hoping I would end up liking it! Spoiler alert though: I did not. It reminded me so much of The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and unfortunately not in a good way…
🕛 Timestamps
00:00 intro
00:56 summary of Powerless
03:47 The Red Queen
06:25 overlapping dialogue
07:00 deduction and Sherlock
08:55 generic fantasy book
12:15 why is Kai in the trials???
13:16 thoughts and review
17:26 outro
🙋🏻‍♀️Mentioned in the video:
Powerless - Lauren Roberts
Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
The Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard
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Goodreads: / booksbyanneleen
✉️ [e-mail]
#powerless #laurenroberts #booktok #fourthwing #theredqueen #paedyngray #paedynandkai #kaiazee #kaidyn #booksbyanneleen #books

[@booksbyanneleen]

Have you read Powerless yet?

[@moumitamustafi1684]

I have started reading it

[@isabellakrapf7435]

Thanks for this review, I am desperately seeking out reviews that critically engage with this book as most people seem to love it. I really don’t understand how it’s rated so highly on Goodreads.

[@booksbyanneleen]

I understand that people who have barely read YA or romantasy might think this is an amazing book, but as someone who’s been reading the genre for over a decade now, it was SO disappointing and underwhelming

[@LibrariesandLattes]

I feel so validated! 😂 Agreed with so much of this. I haven’t read The Red Queen but I guess I technically kind of have since this is a carbon copy of that haha. And yes, the king was kind of a laughable villain, so stereotypical and not interesting at all. Also do not understand why Kai was in the trails or why they even needed to happen in the first place other than to “showcase the elite’s powers”…

[@booksbyanneleen]

The function of trials make NO sense. I would think it’d be more functional if you’d force the Ordinaries to do it and if you are the last one standing you get to live or something.

[@LibrariesandLattes]

@@booksbyanneleen exactly! That would be much more interesting!! But of course it wouldn’t make all the tropes possible, because obviously you need Kai and Paedyn to be in it together so that every single romance trope can be forced into the book 😬😂

[@booksbyanneleen]

@@LibrariesandLattes omg I swear the trials were just written for the tropes. Also forgot to mention how you’re supposed to care about *SPOILER IF YOU STILL WANNA READ THIS* Paedyn’s friend dying but the author gave me nothing to care about? I barely saw their friendship being explored?

[@LibrariesandLattes]

@@booksbyanneleen Oh yeah 100%! I did not care about her “best friend” (who she repeatedly ignored and forgot about) and was not emotionally affected in any way by what happened 😬

[@adriannaa545]

Finally more KZbinrs are commentating on how backwards and honestly atrocious this book is! When I first read it I could not believe how adored it was both on goodreads and amazon. It is a blatant rip off of the Red Queen and Hunger Games series, and as someone who loved Red Queen, I couldnt be more dissapointed. For starters, in terms of the love triangle and even how Pea and Kai meet it is beat by beat the exact same way Mare and Cal run into each other. Absolutely nothing was different except the fact that Cal and Mare have multiple more dimensions of characters than Pea, Kai and Kitt combined. In regards to the trials, that aspect was wholly butchered from the Hunger Games. It's as if Lauren read the Hunger Games not understanding the entire point. Why in the world are ELITES killing one another? Thats like kids from the capitol slaughtering wach other instead of kids from the districts. Plus, why would FRIENDS be eager to kill one another!? Also, the King in Powerless has absolutely no reason to hate Ordinaries. They dont do anything and their genoicide only hurts the kingdom, they could have easily been free labor to the Elites. World building? Non existent. All the book mentions is the bowl, a forrest, a poor description of the Palace, and the slums. Nothing else is mentioned. No culture, no nothing. Lauren states that the audience and people in the kingdom are voting, but never explains how or even mentions when they do this. She doesn't even say how Pae GOT voted in. Or why audience vote matters. Finally, the grammar was akin to that of a wattpad writer minus grammarly. I looked it up, Lauren used the word smiled over 438 times!! What the hell, can these characters do anything but smile!? I almost DNFed because the writing was so poor. At least Red Queen had an editor and Victoria Aveyard knows how to properly describe scenes and characters.

[@booksbyanneleen]

I’m living for this essay 😂 the logic of having elites kill each other is NONEXISTENT. If you want to make a statement, have the ordinaries kill each other instead and the winner gets to live or something. Tbh it would make much more sense if the king discriminated against powered people cause he himself has no abilities for example. This book is one giant plot hole.