Deep diving into one of the BookTok’s most hyped fantasy romance, young-adult books of the year, we will attempt to resonate with the craze. Lauren Robert’s world-building, magic system, and unforgettable main characters are few of the reasons her book is met with such popularity. In this article, we will analyze the characters and their special features and personality, but first let’s start off with a brief overview of the book.
In “Powerless” by Lauren Roberts, Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary with no magical abilities, hides in the slums after her father’s murder by the King. Disguising herself as a Psychic, she survives through thievery with her friend, Adena. Her life changes when she saves Prince Kai, the King’s ruthless enforcer, sparking an enemies-to-lovers dynamic. Thrust into the Purging Trials, Paedyn must navigate dangerous challenges and political intrigue while hiding her true identity. Themes of power, resistance, and identity drive this gripping fantasy tale.
For a thorough synopsis of the plot and analysis of its key points and magic system, visit Powerless Summary, a spoiler-free breaking down of the story that gets us giggling and kicking our feet.
The story focuses on Paedyn’s journey from feeling powerless to discovering inner strength. She is an eighteen-year-old orphan, surviving in the Slums in the kingdom of Ilya for five years, depending merely on her wits and strength of character.
Her silver hair and blue eyes make her a hard-to-forget girl. Even though her build is not a striking one, and she is starved out while living in the streets, her composure is strong, and her punches stink! She is a thief who passes as a Psychic, a Mundane—one of the lowest ranks of the Elites.
In reality, Paedyn is an Ordinary, a completely powerless human being among mighty people. From an early age, her father trained her in combat and self-defense, and helped her sharpen her observational skills. She never met her mother, as she died giving birth to her. Using her perspective and keen senses, she pretends she can read people’s emotions, when in reality she can tell things by merely watching their body language. She has learned how to blend into the Elite’s society from fear of her life, as the King has ordered the elimination of the Ordinaries. She makes a fair opponent in hand-to-hand combat, and she has excellent aim.
A feisty heroine, with a fearless spirit, especially when the safety of the people she cares about is compromised. Paedyn values friendship, and she considers Adena, a fellow orphan, her other half. She is responsible for providing for them both by stealing food, and supplies for Adena’s small clothes-making business. Living as a thief, Pae is resourceful, cunning, and always aware of her surroundings. She is independent, and counts on her wits and instincts, unafraid to take upon a challenge, especially when it comes to Kai Azer.
Having a strong sense of justice and dreaming of freedom, she does not hesitate to fight the injustice of the King’s oppressive rule. The scars on her back are proof enough of that—yes, there is the “who did this to you” scene. Without realizing, she finds herself in the middle of a fatal battle, between a silencer and prince Kai, the future enforcer. She fights off the silencer, saving Kai’s life, but she has no idea what her altruism will lead her to. The enforcer is her mortal enemy, as he is responsible for disposing the Ordinaries. Also, as a Wielder, he is capable of sensing others’ powers, so Paedyn, not having any, is close to get exposed.
The next day, her name is on the list of the participants in the Sixth Purging Trials. Having no expectations to win, her only goal is to survive, and keep her secret safe. However, she will soon realize that her presence in the Trials can make a difference to the world, and she is no hero who would miss a chance like that. She knows how to blend in as much as to stand out.
Paedyn Gray is a very honest, no-filter person, a characteristic that seems to add to her charming personality. Her witty remarks and authentic view of things bring both princes, Kai and Kitt, closer to her. She is like a fresh breath of air in their too strict and pretentious world. Moreover, they are impressed by her self-dependence, and intrigued by her resistance to accepting any help from others. That drives Kai to want to help her even more.
The Trials and balls, held to honor the participants and the Elites, are a symbol marking Paedyn’s progress. Her purpose changes from a mere fight of survival, to fighting back the oppression. Pae has a new goal in life after she meets the members of the resistance, and hearing that her father was the founder. She has a mission; befriend the future King, Kitt, and derive crucial information from him—like how to invade the King’s private booth in the Bowl. While she needs to focus on that, and surviving the Trials, Kai is nothing but a distraction. His traumatic past, and wicked smile, mess with Paedyn’s feelings big time.
Romantic Interests:
He is the second son of the King of Ilya, and the future enforcer. He is trained to become a ruthless and merciless executioner, his most recent mission being to eliminate every single Ordinary who hides in the kingdom. His power is Offensive, meaning he has an advantage in combat. More specifically, he is the only known Wielder in the kingdom, with the unique ability to borrow and control every Elite power in close proximity. His only weakness seems to be the power of the Silencers, who can “silence” any power and practically deprive anyone of their powers. However, as it is explained later in the story, Kai has the ability to train himself and fight the Silencers’ effect, by reflecting on their own power.
He is a handsome man of nineteen years, with dark, messy hair that falls untamed on his forehead and stormy gray eyes. He has dimples, a tattoo on his chest, and the most witty brain of all time. His banter with Paedyn is one of the features that readers love most, gifting us with iconic quotes throughout the story.
The torturous training he received from his father from an early-age has made him a formidable warrior, and a fearful figure. He is presented as a heartless monster, and an arrogant leader, but we all know that every morally-grey character has his own story to tell. He has a strong moral code that does not always agree with the King’s expectations. Kai will not hurt any child, even if they are Ordinaries. Even though he has learned to suppress his feelings, and desires, his behavior towards Paedyn proves that impossible. He cannot hide from her, and he catches himself unable to execute his orders when it comes to her. Moreover, Kai loves his brother, unconditionally, even if he is trained to be his future executioner with no saying in his decisions.
His need to protect her during the Trials comes first, then trying to win the competition as he is expected to. Furthermore, he ignores his father’s warnings about Paedyn, and he keeps close to her, unable to deny his attraction.
He is the future King, who is groomed in the picture of his father. It is not coincidental that he has a striking resemblance to his father; green eyes, and blond hair. He is well-educated and intelligent, with a great need to prove himself and participate in action next to his brother, Kai. The two seem to have a strong bond, despite the different way they have grown up—while Kitt lost himself in books, Kai was killing people, losing a part of himself every day. Kitt is ambitious and wants to reign fairly, as he believes their father does. That is why he is drawn by Paedyn’s view of the injustice, and he cares to hear her advice on changing the current situation in the Slums.
He is in love with Paedyn, and seeks any chance to be around her. He sets the love triangle in place, even if it is not a main trope to explore in the storyline. He cares about her safety, and admires her strong will and sharp tongue. Despite his striking resemblance to the king, which makes Paedyn flinch at first, he succeeds in getting on her good side. However, he experiences a great change of character after the massacre in the Bowl. His warm and kind personality shatters, and he becomes a cold and unfeeling person, following his father’s steps.
He is deeply affected by Paedyn’s betrayal, and his heart seeks revenge. His behavior towards his brother is dismissive, and he treats him like his tool—something he would never do before everything went south.
Family and Friends:
She is Pae’s best friend who provides emotional support and background depth to Paedyn’s character. Adena is a Phaser, able to walk through solid objects. She found herself in the streets after her mother’s death, her sweet, and innocent personality making her too-obvious of a target. We get to learn more of her story in the novella, “Powerful”, where we follow her life while Paedyn is participating in the Trials. Make sure you take a look at the tandem-read guide.
Adena and Paedyn share a special bond, that goes beyond friendship. They complete each other in more than one way; while Paedyn is tough and practical, Adena is soft-hearted and cheerful. She is “a lover, not a fighter”, as she explains in the novella. She gets excited too easily, and she is too innocent and too polite for her own good. She is terrible at stealing, as she feels incredibly sorry for the people she steals from. Her sewing skills, though, are unmatched, and the dresses she makes for Pae during the Trials are great proof of that.
She is sweet, very talkative, and she always sees the good in people. She represents home for Paedyn, a warm and reassuring place to come back to. Together, they built the Fort, a corner in an alley in the Slums, where they take refuge at night. Adena is very proud of their creation, and she finds that the place calms her a lot.
She is the person whom Paedyn cares the most about, and she is a driving force behind her actions and decisions. Adena’s loss cost Paedyn the world.
Paedyn’s father and mentor. He used to be a healer, who worked in the Castle during the Plague, trying to save the Elites, but secretly helping Ordinaries, too, under the King’s nose. He established the resistance, his biggest motivation being to build a safe world for his own child, who was born an Ordinary. He brought all the oppressed groups of Elites and Ordinaries together to fight a common cause.
He raised Paedyn with love and care, and trained her everything he knows. He taught her how to blend in and study her surroundings, and to defend herself physically. His murder left a great mark on Paedyn’s soul, but she always remembers him with love and fondness. Every time she is close to death, she is not afraid, thinking she will finally meet her father again.
Her need to avenge his death is a driving force, that affects all her actions and relationships.
The King of Ilya, is the primary antagonist, whose ambitions and actions create significant conflict for Paedyn. He had ordered her father dead, after finding out he was a member of the rebels. The King is practically the source of all her problems; he executed her only living family, throwing her in the streets, and he is a constant reminder that her life is in danger if she is exposed as an Ordinary. He watches Paedyn closely, warning and challenging her. His ultimate goal is to break her spirits—and body, naturally.
He is a Brawny, meaning he has a great, raw strength in battle. He is cold, merciless, and brutal. He takes pleasure in taking lives and enforcing his rules.
He is a constant threat to Paedyn during the Purging Trials. He is an Illusionist, an ability to create life-like situations that drive his opponents crazy, as he is used to manipulating their greatest fear. Although he is a Defensive, he is very cunning and determined to win the Trials, no matter what. He has brought Paedyn too close to death, and Kai too close to lose his mind. Ace might be a young boy, but he is a ruthless opponent, whom no one should underestimate.
She is close to what could be Paedyn’s love rival. It is established from the beginning that she is interested in gaining one of the princes’ hearts. Envy flows through her veins when she realizes Kitt and Kai’s interest in Paedyn. From the moment the two girls meet, they are sworn antagonists.
Blair is an Offensive, with the ability to move things with her mind—a Tele. Paedyn is like a walking red flag for her, continually looking for a chance to end her life. Paedyn has little to no chance of surviving a fight with Blair, but she has managed to escape her clutches more than once. Paedyn uses her brains to trigger Blair’s insecurities, relating to her feelings about the princes.
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He is a character whose true intentions and role in the story remain ambiguous and evolve. For most of the novel, we get to know Lenny as an easy-going person, even if he works as an Imperial. He is responsible for transferring Paedyn to the Castle, and he is her assigned guard. He is sweet, flirtatious, and approachable in contrast to the other Imperials who are arrogant and corrupt. This fact makes the reader consider his role in our heroine’s journey valuable. Never underestimate a bookworm’s instincts!
One night, Paedyn is left unguarded and decides to follow a clue she has to a secret meeting being held in her old home. There she meets some members of the Resistance, Lenny among them. He admits he has been triggering her to follow him there. There, Paedyn learns that her father founded the rebellion, and that was why he was murdered by the King. It is a crucial moment for her character development because she feels she has a concrete goal to fight for, and people to support her.
He is beloved by fans for his distinct personality and contribution to the story. His witty banter with Paedyn, and his way of treating her, has secured a place for him in TikTok’s top book boyfriends. His poetic descriptions of Paedyn, his struggle to keep his feelings in control, and the way his knees buckle whenever he beholds her, makes him unresisting. His good looks and questionable actions check everything in the list of a charming, morally-grey character.
Kai has gifted us with memorable quotes and scenes. At this point, it is essential to mention that the audiobook is exquisite. Readers are going crazy over Kai’s voice actor, experiencing his iconic lines come to life with the vibrato and low growl we all imagined Kai sounding like. There are thousands of reactions on BookTok with the most favorite line repeated being, “Oh, darling, as long as you still think I’m pretty, I don’t give a damn what I look like.”
Find out more media and take part in the discussion on Crewfiction’s Powerless World.
Lauren Robert’s romantasy has stolen the readers’ hearts with its world building, which reminds us of The Hunger Games, and the handful of tropes she explores in her narrative. The story line is character-driven, as their development and moral code are constantly challenged. Let’s be honest, though, the enemies-to-lovers romance is in the spotlight, and the slow burn is mind-blowing. Make sure you check it out, even if its book reviews are controversial. Add it to your tbr list on Goodreads or any bookish alternative, and lose yourself in a fictional world that some say it too close to Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen. We leave it up to you to decide if it is worth its hype.
Paedyn Gray has no powers in “Powerless”. She is an Ordinary, a powerless human among all kinds of powerful Elites. She has learned to be observant and decipher people’s body language, so she can guess things about them. She passes as a Psychic, a low-level ability in the Mundanes, which can read people’s emotions, but it is just a pretense to keep herself from trouble.
Kai’s full name in Powerless is Malakai Azer, the second son of the King of Illya, and future enforcer. His mother is the Queen, the current wife of Edric Azer, after he lost his first wife—Kitt’s biological mother.
No, “Powerful” is not a part of the Powerless trilogy. “Powerful” is a novella, following Adena’s perspective, while Paedyn is in the castle, participating in the Purging Trials. There is a guide for tandem read, as the timeline between “Powerless” and “Powerful” is interconnected. The trilogy includes the first book, “Powerless”, the second book is “Reckless”, and the next book will be “Fearless”.
Nikki Sheryee insists that she’s “up to no good” whenever she’s in the company of books. Armed with a degree in English Language and Literature, she wields the power of words like a mischievous wizard. Her lifelong dream? To be the editor who sprinkles magic dust on manuscripts! To Nikki, a book is more alive than a caffeinated squirrel on roller skates. Readers nurture it, cuddle it, scold it, and occasionally challenge it to a duel! But in the end, a book does its own thing, pulling at our heartstrings and revealing our inner human-ness. Nikki’s favorite pastime? Well, it’s none other than the noble art of daydreaming! And she wears her daydreamer’s badge with pride, sharing this delightful delusion with the crème de la crème of her friends.
