An Elite Read: “Fearless” was an incredibly satisfying ending to the “Powerless” book series

I’ve read 91 books in the past year, and only three have made me audibly gasp or set my drink down to process a plot point, but “Fearless,” by Lauren Roberts, was among the few that did. Alongside the shock, the book also left me in tears, staring at the wall after finishing the epilogue. Considering I’ve cried over three books in my life, this story is now one of my favorites.

“Fearless” is the last of the fantasy romance trilogy, “Powerless.” The main plot of these books is centered around a kingdom divided by the Ordinaries, who have no powers, and the Elites, who do. 

I take my Goodreads account and ratings very seriously, so when I rated this a five out of five, those stars were earned. I found myself constantly taking pictures of pages to come back and dissect them — a tell-tale sign of a good book.

The protagonist is an ordinary girl, Paedyn, an orphan living in the slums, who is picked to compete in a set of trials. The other main character is Kai, an Elite, one of two princes in the kingdom of Ilya. Both of them are inevitably part of the enemies-to-lovers relationship throughout the books.

Paedyn goes through the trials alongside Kai in “Fearless.” These trials include a journey across a dangerous sea, a trek through the desert and a battle to the death, all to prove her worthy of being the queen of Ilya. These trials are deadly if there’s one misstep, so her main goal is to survive.

The part of “Fearless” that kept me reading was the relationship between Kai and Paedyn, and I’ve never been more obsessed with a book duo. I usually don’t love the romance in a book unless I feel like I’ve really gotten to know the characters in a story, but this relationship was flawless.

Some of the quotes even made me feel like I knew the characters personally. One quote from Kai in particular sent shivers down my spine.

“‘I’ve been waiting to tell you since I realized your eyes are my favorite color and your freckles the only constellation worth looking at. I could lie–– say that you’ve stolen my every thought and heartbeat like the thief you are, but all of me was already yours. Pae, you are my inevitable.”’

This quote is only one of the many examples of Lauren Roberts’ amazing execution of emotional writing. Emotional writing is vital to make a reader care about the characters and I think a part of this is the dual point of view. 

Through a dual first person point of view, a few characters each have their own chapter, which immerses you in the world of the book and makes the reader feel like the characters are their best friends.

In Paedyn’s chapters, you get her POV while she goes through the set of trials. This makes it easier to understand what’s happening and how she’s reacting. This made a difference in a specific scene during the first trial when she was almost trapped in a cave because she was tasked with retrieving the dead queen’s crown.

Then, when it would switch to Kai’s chapters, readers can see how much he worried about her in the trials and what was going on back at the castle as her enforcer.

At so many points throughout the book, I was in such suspense as to what would happen to them. I remember trying not to let out a loud gasp in the library at one scene where I was convinced Paedyn was going to die on a boat. 

Both of these characters, as well as others, went through major character development and were the dictionary definition of dynamic characters.

Kai’s younger brother, Kitt, goes through the most personality changes and mental struggle, adding an engaging and realistic element. In the first book, he starts out as innocent and naive because of how young he was. Then, after all the horrors that occur in the rest of the books, he turns out to be cold-hearted, which is a big subplot in “Fearless.”

I could’ve never expected everything that was coming towards the end of this book. There was the death of a main character, a huge betrayal and a discovery of a hidden father. When these plot twists hit, it was the point in the book where I had to put down my food to contemplate what had just happened. 

I also wasn’t able to guess the plot twists, which threw me for a complete loop. This was important to me as a reader because I don’t appreciate a story anyone with a brain could figure out within the first 100 pages.

This was a wonderful and satisfying ending to these characters’ stories. The strong relationships, incredible character development and plot twists really make this book a worthwhile read. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t pick up this fast-paced and compelling story.