Powerful: A Powerless Novella

Intro

As Paedyn Gray goes into the trials, her best friend Adena is left by herself. Adena is a seamstress, and when one of her customers from long ago ends up saving her from an Imperial, she learns that his name is Mak and someone he is really close to named Hera has also been sent into the Trials. Both of them have people they care about in the Trials, so Mak comes up with a plan for them to go to the castle- with a secret he is hiding. The more time they spend together, the more drawn they are to each other, but it can only be a fantasy because they're opposites. After Mak reveals his secret, Adena is hurt and hates himself for falling for him- despite that fantasy seeming like it might be closer to a reality.

How I came across the book

Powerful is the 1st novella in the Powerless series, directly after Powerless.

Other books by the author/In the series

The books in the main series by Lauren Roberts are Powerless, Reckless, and Fearless, and the Powerless novellas are Powerful and Fearful.

The Good

• The prologue is really sweet and heartwarming and we get to see the origin story of Paedyn and Adena's friendship

• Mak almost wants to despise Adena for being peaceful because there is a chance he may begin to enjoy her when a few sentences ago he wanted to get her to experience another emotion besides her permanent unbearable perkiness i LOVE GRUMPY X SUNSHINE

• Mak reaches behind Adena to see her bleeding hand and he brushes her hips in a way that sends a  jolt down her body

• Adena asks Mak to take his shirt off so she can measure him and Mak notices that she THOROUGLY AVOIDS his bare chest

• He is going to clean up her bloody hand so he LIFTS HER ONTO HIS COUNTER AND SHE SQUEALS

• HER FACE FLUSHES AT MAK'S MESSY HAIR

• She says she is determined to make him smile again and he leans in ans she says the weight of his hip is burning through every layer of clothing and every rational thought and every fiber of her frenzied being and he says she will have to earn it and calls her honey

• She is tired and breathes his name and he is suprised by the effect it has on him FROM A PERSON SO PRETTY

• He says that she is an intoxicating sort of exhausting like running until you've lost your breath but enjoying the feeling all the while and HE FEELS AS THOUGH HE'S BEEN SPRINTING FOR DAYS

• He sits down on his bed with thoughts of her HE'D RATHER NOT ENTERTAIN AND THOUGHTS OF A GIRL HES ONLY JUST MET

• A group of men started following Adena so she ran to Mak's house because she didn't know where else to go and Mak says HE CAN FEEL HIS BLOOD BOILING BEFORE SHE EVEN FINISHES HER SENTENCE and he says she can run to him and he says to ALWAYS RUN TO HIM AND HE LETS HER STAY WITH HIM IN HIS HOUSE

• He tells her he doesnt want to be sneezed on again but she pulls him toward her and he says that he's far from fragile and she says there is a difference between fragility and delicacy and he asks if she thinks he's delicate and she asks doesn't he want to be handled with care and it leaves him SPEECHLESS

• HE PUTS DAGGERS IN HIS PANTS AND GOES TO FIND THE MEN THAT FOLLOWED ADENA

• Every day after he hunted down the men he has gotten her sticky buns for breakfast because he knows she loves them

• HE GAVE HER HIS SWEATER AND SHE SAYS SHE IS SWADDLED BY HIS SCENT AND FINDS THE THREAD OF THE SWEATER SOOTHING OR PERHAPS IT'S HIM

• His hands are on her hips teaching her how to throw a punch and she is numb to EVERYTHING BUT THE FEEL OF HIM

• HE CALLS HER DENA

• He asks what she is daydreaming about and she smiles pretending she's not thinking of him as anything more than a begrudging partmer WHILE HIS HANDS ARE TRAPPING HER AGAINST THE TABLE

• HE CALLS HER DENA AND THINKS THERE HE GOES AGAIN CLAIMING HER

• When she puts on his mask she notices the scar on his lips and she forces herself to fight the urge to run her finger over it

• MAK SHOWS UP AND SAYS THE GUY WOULD LIKE A MATCHING BLACK EYE FROM HIM AND HAS ADENA PUNCH THE GUY

• Mak says he had never known happiness before adena but if there is to be an after in which she doesn't exist he knows he never will again

• OH THANK GOD MAK AND HERA ARE COUSINS

• OH MY GOD MAK SAYS ADENA IS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVERYTHING HE IS NOT AND YET HERE HE IS CRAWLING BACK TO HER AS THOUGH HE'S LEFT A PIECE OF HIMSELF BEHIND AND IT SCARES HIM

• HE HAS TO GO AND GET HERA BECAUSE SOMEONE IS COMING BUT BEFORE HE LEAVES HE TELLS ADENA TO COME SEE HIM BECAUSE HE DOESN'T THINK HE CAN HANDLE LOSING BOTH OF THEM

• He tells Adena about how horrible his dad was and when he cut Mak's lip he said Mak didn't deserve to smile and Adena says he stole it so no wonder he didn't have one to give her and he says he will steal it back if he must for her

• He tells her his full name and says now she has to give him details and she says that might take a while and he says he has every intention of talking about her till morning

• Adena has decorated the alley where she and Paedyn sleep and Mak says nothing says welcome home like a pile of garbage and Adena says it's all she's hot and mak says I THOUGHT YOU HAD ME AND SHE ASKS IF SHE DOES AND HE SAYS SO LONG AS SHE WILL TAKE HIM AND SHE ASKS IF SHE DOESN'T AND HE SAYS THEN NO ONE EVER WILL

• THEY ARE SHARING ADENA'S BED

• HE SAYS SHE MAKES THE STARS ENVIOUS AND SHE WILL BE UP THERE OUTSHINING EVERY SINGLE ONE

• HIS NICKNAME FOR HER IS HONEY BECAUSE SHE ALWAYS EATS HONEY

• HE SAYS SHE IS THE SWEETEST THING HE'S EVER TASTED AND HE DOUBTS HES CRAVES ANYTHING MORE

• SHE SAYS HIS STRAND OF SILVER HAIR IS LIKE HER LITTLE PIECE OF PAE AND HE SAYS THAT HE THINKS SHE'S HIS LITTLE PIECE OF PERFECTION

• THEY KISS AND HE PULLS BACK AND SMILES SO BIG AND BRIGHT AND SHE ASKS IF IT'S FOR HER AND HE SAYS EVERY SINGLE ONE

• Adena says Kai is destined for Paedyn

The Bad

• NO MAK TELLS ADENA HE DOESNT THINK THEY SHOULD SEE EACH OTHER AFTER THEIR MISSION

• Adena says Mak doesnt get to know anything about her but in his head he says he already knows far too much that's creepy

• THERE IS A CREEPY GUY HARRASING ADENA

• Mak reveals to Adena that he is actually a Wielder so he can wield other people's powers amd he wielded hers but Kai is the only recorded Wielder in Ilya and he is actually not a Phaser so he lied to her and he was using her just to get to the castle so he could find Hera and run away with her and flee the kingdom leaving Adena on her own because there can only be one Wielder and when he gets caught they would kill him

• SHE THINKS IT'S HERA HE WANTS MORE THAN HER BUT HE DOESN'T WANT THAT ANYMORE HE WANTS HER

• NO HE KNOWS THAT ADENA IS GONNA BE IN THE ARENA HE HAS TO WATCH HER DIE NO NO AND HE IS GOING TO THE FINAL TRIAL

• THE KING BROKE ADENA'S FINGERS AND PUT HER IN THE DUNGEON

• ADENA IS THE CRIMINAL IN THE CENTER THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO KILL

• NO ADENA IS DYING AND SHE WILL NEVER GET TO TELL PAEDYN ABOUT MAK

Who else would like this

Powerless fans and fans of the forced proximity trope

Rating

9.5/10 I thought Adena's perspective truly gave us more insights about the chracter and I was able to connect with her on such a deeper level than in Powerless when she just seems like Paedyn's sidekick. Adena and Mak fit so so well together despite them being opposites, but I was a little confused about Mak's subtle hints of his plan in italics before he fully explained it to Adena because I didn't know what he was talking about. I apprecite all the level of detail and personalization that went into each of their backstories and I really liked how Lauren Roberts chooses to have Mak have the same power as Kai but isn't supposed to because that adds more depth to his character and storyline. I thought this was an amazing novella to continue the Powerless series and after I was done reading it I felt like I had gained a new insight of life during the trials and everything in the two stories made complete sense combined.