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⭐⭐⭐☆ 3.5/5
A girl with no powers, pretending to have them, in a kingdom that kills people like her.
Then she saves a prince's life by accident.
Now she's stuck in a competition designed to kill her either way.
That's the setup for the Powerless audiobook, and if it sounds a little familiar, that's because it kind of is. Lauren Roberts wears her influences on her sleeve here, and whether that bothers you will shape a lot of how you feel about this one.
Chase Brown and Cecily Bednar Schmidt narrate the dual POV, and they do a solid job keeping two very different voices distinct.
Listen to it if: you want fast-paced romantasy with a lot of banter and don't mind familiar territory.
Skip it if: you need tight worldbuilding and prose that doesn't lean on trope shorthand.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Powerless |
| Author | Lauren Roberts |
| Narrator(s) (audiobook) | Chase Brown, Cecily Bednar Schmidt |
| Series | The Powerless Trilogy, Book 1 |
| Genre | Young Adult Romantasy |
| Subgenre | Dystopian Fantasy, Enemies-to-Lovers |
| Audiobook length | 17 hours 43 minutes (unabridged) |
| First published | 2023 |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Audio |
In the kingdom of Ilya, powers came from a plague. The ones who survived and kept their abilities became Elites. Everyone else got banished, or worse, if anyone found out they were Ordinary.
Paedyn Gray is Ordinary. She's also been faking it in plain sight for years, staying just careful enough to avoid getting caught.
Then she saves the life of Kai Azer, one of the kingdom's princes, without meaning to. That single moment throws her into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition where Elites fight to prove themselves. Except Paedyn has no powers to prove.
If the Trials don't kill her, getting exposed will. And Kai, the person she's falling for whether she wants to or not, happens to be the one person whose job is hunting people exactly like her.
The dual POV structure is one of the stronger choices here. You get Paedyn's sharp, guarded voice and Kai's more controlled, closed-off one, and the book bounces between them at a pace that keeps things moving.
Their dynamic is the real engine of the story. It's enemies-to-something-more, done through a steady stream of banter that either lands for you or doesn't. When it works, it's genuinely fun, quick lines, a little sarcastic, the kind of back-and-forth that makes you root for two people who probably shouldn't trust each other. Some readers have pointed out that the banter can feel like it's trying a little too hard, more performance than natural chemistry in a few spots. I think that's a fair read. It doesn't ruin the dynamic, but it's noticeable once you clock it.
Kai in particular grew on people more than expected. He's been raised to be a weapon, and there's an interesting tension in watching someone try to be a person underneath that training. Paedyn carries most of the emotional weight of the book though, and her instinct to survive first and feel later gives her some real texture.
Here's the thing this book doesn't hide from: it wears its Hunger Games and Red Queen influences openly. A girl from the underclass, a brutal competition, a forbidden romance with someone from the ruling class. If you've read either of those, the shape of this story will feel familiar fast. That's the biggest knock against it, and it's a fair one. The worldbuilding around Ilya stays pretty thin. We don't get much sense of what's beyond the kingdom, how the Plague actually worked, or what year this is even meant to be set in. The Trials themselves get less page time than you'd expect from something the whole plot hinges on. What keeps it from feeling like a total copy is the character work and the pacing. Roberts writes propulsively, and even readers who clock every trope still tend to finish this one fast.
Chase Brown and Cecily Bednar Schmidt split the narration between Kai and Paedyn, and the dual-narrator setup works well here. You never lose track of whose head you're in, which matters a lot in a book that switches POV as often as this one does. Both narrators bring solid energy to the banter-heavy scenes, which is where this book lives or dies in audio. If the chemistry between Paedyn and Kai reads a little forced on the page for some readers, hearing it performed actually smooths some of that out. Tone and timing do a lot of work here that text alone can't. At just under eighteen hours, it's a long listen, but the pacing keeps it from dragging the way the page version sometimes does according to readers who found the print edition slower going.
Good fit if you:
Maybe not for you if:
Q: Is Powerless audiobook worth listening to?
A: If you enjoy fast-paced YA romantasy and don't mind familiar dystopian tropes, yes. The dual narration handles the banter well, and the story moves quickly enough to carry you through its nearly eighteen hours.
Q: How long is the Powerless audiobook?
A: It runs about 17 hours and 43 minutes, unabridged.
Q: Who narrates the Powerless audiobook?
A: Chase Brown and Cecily Bednar Schmidt narrate the dual POV chapters.
Q: Is Powerless part of a series?
A: Yes, it's the first book in The Powerless Trilogy, followed by Reckless and Fearless, with companion novellas Powerful and Fearful.
Q: How can I listen to the Powerless audiobook for free?
A: If you're eligible, you may be able to access Powerless by Lauren Roberts through a free trial or a current promotional offer. Use the free-trial link below to check what's available and see the latest listening options. You can also check your local library to see if the audiobook is available through services like Libby or OverDrive.
Q: Is Powerless similar to The Hunger Games?
A: Yes, quite a bit. The underclass heroine, the brutal competition, and the forbidden romance across class lines all echo it closely, which is one of the most common criticisms of the book.
Powerless lands at 3.5 out of 5 for me. It's an easy, entertaining read with plenty of chemistry between Paedyn and Kai, even if the story leans heavily on familiar romantasy territory. The worldbuilding could have been much stronger, and the Hunger Games comparisons are hard to overlook once the Trials get underway. Still, Lauren Roberts shows plenty of promise for a debut, and the dual narration gives the audiobook an extra bit of energy. If you're after a fast, trope-heavy romantasy with plenty of banter and a couple worth rooting for, Powerless is an enjoyable pick. Check the free-trial link below for the latest listening offer, or see if your local library has a copy available through Libby or OverDrive.
