First Lines Friday – 16/05/2025
In today’s First Lines Friday post, I feature a book I’ve just added to my TBR that will push me a little out of my comfort zone. Part romance and part fantasy, this book looks to have elements of fantasy I love but will push me out of my comfort zone on the romance. This book is widely popular. With over 680k ratings and a 4.17 star score on Goodreads, it seems the right kind of book to push my boundaries with!
Romantasy fans, let’s see if you recognise the intro. Otherwise, the details are below ☺️
Thick, hot liquid runs down my arm.
Blood.
Funny, I don’t remember the guard nicking me with his sword before my fist connected with his face. Despite being a Flash, he apparently couldn’t manage to move faster than my right hook to his jaw.
The smell of soot stings my nose, forcing me to clamp a grimy hand over it to stop a sneeze from slipping out.
That would be a very pathetic way to get caught.
Powerless – Lauren Roberts
Genre: Romantasy
Pages: 522
Audience: YA
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 06 July 2023
Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in this sizzling fantasy romance not to be missed.
Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya. . . The exceptional. The Elites. The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by the Plague, while those born Ordinary are just that, banished from the kingdom and shunned from society.
No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as an Elite. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya’s princes, Kai Azer, she’s thrown into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase her ‘Elite’ powers.
If the Trials and the opponents don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn really is . . . completely Ordinary.
Be swept away by the first in the smash hit, dagger-to-the-throat romantasy trilogy that’s taken the world by storm.
My Thoughts…
It’s not very often I go for a book that ‘makes’ it on BookTok (that’s the book community on TikTok). It’s not even something I really look at and certainly not for. I often read what I want regardless of popularity. However, in the spirit of reading out of my comfort zone, I’m going to try Powerless.
Based on the synopsis, there are elements of fantasy that I can find comfort in, but also a romance element that I don’t read very often. It’ll be interesting to see if that affects my enjoyment of the book or not. Thankfully, it’s not a spicy romance. I know a lot of people my age love this, okay, but it’s not what I want out of a book. Think or judge me how you will for this. I’m unapologetic about it.
You never know, with the right books and introduction to the genre, I might change my mind? Only time will tell! It could really go either way. I’ve enjoyed books like Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, but equally struggled with historical romances like The Duke and I. At the very least, let’s hope Powerless is an exception.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s First Lines Friday feature. Have you read Powerless and/or the rest of the series? What did you think?


Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Threads | Patreon