Powerless by Lauren Roberts which came out in 2023 is still one of TikTok biggest BookTok hits and I can see why. I just had a blast with this book. Yes, this is totally Hunger Games meets super powers, but you know, even used ideas can be well executed and this is one of those well executed ideas.
The book follows Paedyn, an ordinary. As in she's an ordinary person who lives in a society in which all people have powers. A plague once attacked their country and those who survived were left with powers. Most people. Those who have no powers are hunted down to be executed or be sent to the desert to die. Paedyn lives in the slums and trying to survive there with no powers is a real hardship. However, one day she accidently saves the live of the prince of the kingdom and is forced to join the Purging trials, a deadly competition set to showcase the powers of its competitors.
As it is the ruling class, the king and the princes she despises it becomes a comical mistake that she saved the life of the prince. Not only did she save his life, she also gained his interest, which leads to the romantic core of the book. The will they won't they part. That part of the book was the most unexpected part of the book.
This book is hardly original. There are a few surprises in it, although it is surprising that it manages to hold any surprises as a matter of fact. But there is something about the characters, the world building and the interactions that makes this book so compelling. Yes, Paedyn is a cliché of a small fragile, but smart woman, but she is hardly weak. Just like Katniss Everdeen, she can be absolutely lethal in a fight, and she is no quitter. She is a badass, but a relatable one. Not too rude, not too condescending, just all of the right amount of combination of qualities. The princess, the king, her friends, her enemies, they all possess such compelling qualities. They manage to elevate the book to more then and YA dystopia or a romantic fantasy as this book is more often described.
I guess the world building is more fantasy then science so it is not a dystopia. But thr book still gives off some serious Hunger Games vibes. Hunting down the ordinaries sounds more dystopian then anything, but I guess all of those interesting powers makes it a fantasy.
Still, it was a really fun book. The characters were well built, the world building was solid, the major conflict was ok and the will they won't they was sizzling hot. The ending of the book was pretty closed but I am super looking forward to the sequel.
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