Powerless by Lauren Roberts is the first in a YA romantasy trilogy. I've seen it everywhere. It was a nominee for best YA fantasy on Goodreads in 2023 and a winner of Barnes and Noble Book Award for YA in 2024. I'm not much for YA anymore, but I do love romantasy, and since I'm writing one I wanted to know what made this book so popular. 

Powerless follows Paedyn, an orphaned teen who must pretend to have special powers (she poses as a Psychic) because in her kingdom, anyone without powers is killed or banished to the desert to die. There's also an elite competition every so often where powerful teens fight (sometimes to the death) for glory. After Paedyn saves the prince in disguise, she's chosen for the competition. But as the deadly trials progress, so do her feelings for the prince.... or really the princes if we're being honest.

I can easily see the pitch for this book. Hunger Games turned fantasy meets Reign. I get why it sold as a traditionally published book, it seems like it has everything you need for success. And unfortunately, that's all my praise paragraph can say.

On the downside, the male leads were so blah that I can remember nothing about them, not even their names. The plot was predictable, including the "twist" which I thought until that point was an assumed fact, so the real twist was that none of the characters had put two and two together. In fact at one point I came up with a theory about what could happen as a real twist, but when the more obvious thing happened instead, I was so disappointed. The world was frustratingly vague, from the magic system to the culture to what the tech level was supposed to be. It was uncanny reading a book that should have worked and should have been good and it just kept missing the mark. I also struggled with what must have been an editorial choice: action beats kept being in the same paragraph as dialog but the speaker and the actor were two different characters. It made it seem like the wrong person was speaking, which was SO distracting.

This book may be for you if you're a YA lover, have not heavily read romantasy and therefore might be more surprised by the plot, and if you're a fan of competition-set stories. It's not for you if you've read a lot of romantasy before, if you're looking a memorable male lead, or if you're looking for unique world building.


Overall, not a series I'll continue. But hey, just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean it doesn't have an audience. It's still popular! So, are you a Powerless lover? Make your case in the comments!

What is Worldcon? It's the annual convention for the World Science Fiction Society, and it's possibly known most widely as where the Hugo Awards are given out. It's a big deal!

This year it's in Seattle, WA. While I am unable to attend for various reasons, I know some people who are not only going but are on panels, moderating panels, and doing table talks! The schedule is jam-packed with gems, but here are some panel suggestions for anyone able to attend: 

Check out all of the cool table talks as well. Since I'm not registered, I had trouble seeing details but I hear sign ups are open. 

Enjoy Worldcon! I'm jealous of everyone who is able to attend. 

Is it post-Worldcon 2025 and you want to gush about how awesome it was? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Since I met author Stephen Graham Jones recently, I figured i should review one of his latest works, Buffalo Hunter Hunter, a vampire horror novel. Since I did the intro to this author in my last post, I'll get straight to the book. 

Buffalo Hunter Hunter has a couple structures going on: a frame story about a modern college professor who receives her ancestor's diary from 1912, the contents of that diary, and the story within that diary of a Blackfeet man named Good Stab, which took place 1870-1912. If you're a writer, this book is a great study in nested structures. The heart of the tale is Good Stab's experience becoming a vampire and navigating the need to feed, the power that comes with his new state of being, and the consequences of his choices.

This book was a really unique take on vampirism that I've never seen before. The downsides of being a vampire are magnified by the place, time, and Good Stab himself. If you're familiar with American history, especially the horrors of the expansion into the West in the mid-1800s, the story becomes all the richer. The resolution was also unique and though unexpected also felt almost inevitable.

For me the main downside was it started slow and took a while to build. It paid off over time, but I needed the pace to be a smidge faster. There were also very few women, despite the larger frame story featuring a woman's POV. I don't think this book passed the Bechdel test.

This book is for you if you love vampires, horror, or are craving a tale of revenge. This book is not for you if you have a low gore tolerance, dislike vampires, or are looking for feminist horror. This is a great study for writers in unique structure, differentiating POVs, and writing historical perspectives that stay true to the characters (the white guy is openly racist in 1912, what a shock) without using the language in a way that makes modern readers wonder if the author agrees.


Have you read Buffalo Hunter Hunter? What about Jones's other work? Let's discuss in the comments!