Powerless is Lauren Roberts's 2023 YA romantasy — the Plague left half the population with powers and half without. Paedyn Gray is Ordinary in a world that kills people like her. When the Crown Prince catches her pick-pocketing him, she's forced into the Purging Trials — a brutal competition only Elites are meant to survive. The most-hyped debut of 2023, and BookTok's consensus YA romantasy gateway.
Curated from real reader threads on Reddit (r/RomanceBooks, r/Fantasy, r/suggestmeabook) and cross-referenced against Goodreads and BookTok. Updated regularly.
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by Rebecca Yarros
The adult version of what Powerless does — deadly academy, morally grey love interest, a protagonist who shouldn't survive but refuses to die. Most Powerless readers graduate to Fourth Wing. Mentioned in 8 of 20 threads on Reddit.
by Holly Black
A mortal girl in the fae courts scheming her way to survival against a prince who hates her. Same ordinary-human-vs-extraordinary-world setup with the same enemies-to-something slow burn.
by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games — a televised death match where twenty-four teens enter and only one can survive. The competition-to-the-death blueprint Powerless builds on. Katniss is Paedyn's obvious ancestor — ordinary girl, extraordinary circumstances, a love triangle that divided a generation.
by Sabaa Tahir
A slave infiltrates a military academy to free her brother while a soldier is assigned to watch her. Same brutal competition structure with enemies who shouldn't fall for each other in a Middle East-inspired world.
by Sarah J. Maas
An assassin competes to become the king's champion. YA fantasy competition with morally grey love interests. Maas's most YA-in-tone series — perfect for Powerless readers ready to go deeper into the genre.
by Tracy Deonn
A Black college student discovers a secret society on campus that's been hiding Arthurian magic for generations. Competition structure, hidden identities, and slow-burn romance with genuine emotional stakes.
YA — which means less explicit romance (spice level 1-2), but full action and the same emotional intensity adult readers love. Many adult romantasy readers report enjoying it despite the YA label. Roberts has said the adult version of this story lives in her head for later books.
Yes — book 1 of the Powerless trilogy. Book 2 (Mighty) is out. Book 3 is forthcoming. The books are longer than most YA (~500+ pages each) and the wait between releases is real. The fandom on r/Romantasy is active between books.
On Reddit, the consensus bridges are An Ember in the Ashes (same brutal competition energy), Throne of Glass (same level of investment), and The Cruel Prince (same fae-adjacent enemies-to-lovers payoff in a tight trilogy).
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