Fearless - The Powerless Trilogy’s Final Installment - Book Review

Fearless by Lauren Roberts is the final instalment of the Powerless Trilogy. This fantasy series has gained a lot of recognition online and there was a lot of pressure on this young author to deliver. With many people falling in love with both the characters and story, how would Lauren Roberts end this series. Let’s dive into this Fearless book review! Fair warning, there will be spoilers so if you haven’t read the book, then please do and come back here so we can unpack it together.

I picked up Powerless on a whim a while back and was hooked almost instantly. It took me back to my Hunger Games days. The characters were all likeable and every chapter brought something new. Unfortunately, Reckless was a bit of a disappointment for me. It felt like a filler book and yes, stuff happened; but nothing really moved the plot forwards. The whole book could have been only a couple of chapters long (in my opinion). Surely, that meant all the good stuff would come up on Fearless.

Paedyn is forced to marry Kitt in order to preserve her life and to bring peace in the kingdom for Elites and Ordinaries alike. Now, we know that we want Pae and Kai to end up together so this book is resolving that issue.

Firstly, I have to say, the pace of the book was great. The story was unpredictable (for me at least) and this book provides answers for a lot of history. Everything ties together nicely. Undoubtedly there were hints in the previous books but you’d have to look out for them. What’s perfect about Fearless though is that it recalls moments in flashbacks rather than forcing you to reread the previous books to make sense of it all.

There were trials again in this book and I wasn’t a huge fan of that. It made sense given the plot but it felt like going back into the past rather than moving forwards. We’ve already had Pae conquer the trials in Powerless so it’s unsurprising that she would succeed in the next set of Trials. On top of that, the trials were the perfect place for her and Kai to get to know each other whereas that whole dynamic is pretty much sorted.

There were a few sweet moments between Pae and Kai but not as many as the previous books. However, it was nice to feel that their feelings for each other were unwavering. That was the point of Reckless so it was nice that there wasn’t the miscommunication trope thrown in. Personally, my favourite moment was when Kai rescued Pae on the boat from being drowned. That brought back some real tension and raised the stakes.

A wonderful surprise was the tie-in with references to Powerful. I wasn’t a fan of the book originally because it felt pointless. However, Fearless made sure that if you read Powerful, you would connect much more with the story. Mak’s part had me in tears.

Unfortunately though, the ending of Fearless was a huge disappointment for me. Major spoilers now…

A lot of authors want to raise the stakes in their stories and create a heavy emotional impact on the reader. Pretty early on in Fearless, we figure out that Pae and Kitt are related, therefore can’t be married. It also leaves the opportunity to have a truly happy ending where Kitt and Kai’s relationship is restored as well as Kitt and Pae reconnecting and building a friendship as was started in Powerless.

Instead, we are left with an ending where Kitt and Pae get married, then Kai kills Kitt accidentally and then Kai and Pae get married. It felt unnecessary to kill Kitt. There could have been a cure for the plague, and it would have felt better if he had a redemption arc given how he was in Reckless. His death didn’t bring anything to the plot. In fact, it left a bigger plot hole. They didn’t want to tell the kingdom that Kitt and Pae were related but then they expect the kingdom not to question Pae marrying the king’s brother? Perhaps I misunderstood, but the ending just didn’t sit right with me. It felt as though the author was pushed into trying to make the ending more dramatic and not having a ‘happily ever after’.

It’s a shame because it tainted the whole series for me. Then again, you can’t please everyone. The Powerless series grew in popularity because of the feel-good factor, and unfortunately, the ending is not feel good. However, that is not a criticism on Lauren Roberts’ writing ability. The book was well written and an enjoyable read. It would have left a more enjoyable impression afterwards if Kitt were alive and managed to rebuild his relationship with Kai and Pae rather than becoming a villain like his father. It felt unnatural.

I’d love to know what you thought of the ending though.

Did you find Kitt’s death to leave more impact or was it a device used to add more drama?