Reckless by Lauren Roberts is a young adult romantasy that is the sequel to BookTok sensation Powerless. Much like Powerless, Reckless follows Kai and Paedyn as the two main characters, however, we also receive a third POV from Kai’s brother Kitt. To avoid spoiling the plot for anyone who hasn’t read Powerless, I’ll jump right into the pros and cons.
The Pros: Reckless is, unfortunately, a prime example of a let down. While the banter and romantic tension in Powerless is incredibly enjoyable, Roberts simply just takes those elements and throws them straight into every single chapter of Reckless, creating a less enjoyable copy of her first novel that feels incredibly repetitive and boring. The only pro I can find in this book is the fact that Paedyn is still one of the coolest and amazing female main characters in the fantasy genre.
The Cons: There are a lot. In my opinion, Reckless was nothing but a filler story that could have been condensed into a novella. The banter is simply overdone, leaving us to read about Kai and Paedyn chasing each other around for a good 300 pages without really accomplishing anything. The plot is nonexistent (and somehow worse than Powerless!) and the writing is stale. Unfortunately, to me, it felt like the entire book was written with the use of AI. I was left extremely disappointed after reading Powerless.
Reckless was an unfortunate two star read for me, even as someone incredibly invested in Kai and Paedyn’s relationship. However, I still have seen many people who have enjoyed this book and didn’t mind the repetitiveness. If you’re looking to read Powerless again but without a plot and entirely focused on Kai and Paedyn’s relationship, I’d recommend this book to you. Otherwise, there are so many other amazing fantasy books to read and this book simply isn’t worth your time.