Books Like Powerless: 8 Romantasy Reads

Lauren Roberts’s Powerless became a phenomenon by combining two things readers already loved: the deadly, life-or-death competition of dystopian fiction and the forbidden, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance of modern romantasy. Paedyn Gray is an Ordinary surviving in a kingdom that hunts people without powers, passing herself off as an Elite — until she’s thrown into the brutal Purging Trials and into a dangerous relationship with Kai, the king’s enforcer son. If that mix of high-stakes contest and forbidden romance is what hooked you, here are eight books that deliver the same intensity.

Continue the Trilogy First

#1 — Reckless by Lauren Roberts

If you’ve only read the first book, the obvious next read is the sequel. Reckless picks up from Powerless’s fallout, widening the conflict beyond the trials into the politics and rebellions of Ilya and testing Paedyn and Kai’s relationship through betrayal and circumstance. The trilogy completes with Fearless, and the series is built to be binged, so finishing it is the easiest recommendation here.

Deadly Competitions and Trials

#2 — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the romantasy juggernaut every Powerless fan should read next. Swap the Purging Trials for a brutal dragon-riding war college where unbonded cadets die, add a morally complicated love interest in Xaden, and you get the same deadly-competition structure and enemies-to-lovers romance at a higher, adult heat level. It’s the most natural step up in stakes.

#3 — The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the modern template for the deadly-contest story, and its DNA is all over Powerless: a televised death match, a fierce heroine fighting a powerful ruling class, and a society built on cruelty and spectacle. The romance is more restrained, but the competition stakes and the rebellion-against-tyranny arc are exactly what Powerless fans respond to. If you somehow haven’t read it, it’s essential.

#4 — Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas opens with Celaena Sardothien, a notorious assassin, competing in a deadly royal contest to win her freedom. The competition framework, the capable and dangerous heroine, and the slow-burn romance map closely onto Powerless, and the series grows into one of the genre’s biggest sagas — plenty of road ahead for readers who want a long series to sink into.

Powers, Rebellion, and Forbidden Romance

#5 — Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi shares Powerless’s central premise most directly: a world where having (or lacking) a power defines your fate, a heroine whose ability makes her both weapon and target, and a rebellion brewing against an oppressive regime. Juliette’s touch is lethal, and her entanglement with the forces controlling her drives a charged, romance-forward dystopian fantasy. Fans of the powers-and-forbidden-romance core of Powerless will feel right at home.

#6 — From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout delivers the forbidden romance and hidden-truths plotting at a higher heat level. Poppy is raised as the Maiden, forbidden to be touched, guarded by a man named Hawke who is not what he seems — a setup that pays off the same way Powerless’s does, with a heroine discovering the world she was raised to accept is built on lies. It’s a strong pick for readers ready to move into adult romantasy.

More for the Heart of the Romance

#7 — Crave by Tracy Wolff

For another bingeable series with a heroine hiding what she is and a forbidden romance with someone dangerous, Crave by Tracy Wolff transplants the formula into a supernatural boarding school full of warring factions. The slow-burn between Grace and the hostile vampire Jaxon, and the twisty, cliffhanger-driven plotting, give it the same can’t-stop-reading momentum at a comparable YA heat level.

#8 — The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black nails the enemies-to-lovers tension at the heart of Powerless. Jude, a mortal in a treacherous faerie court, is locked in mutual antagonism with the cruel Prince Cardan — a dynamic with the same charged push-pull as Paedyn and Kai, set against sharp court politics. It’s among the best YA fantasy for readers who come for the romance most of all.

What Powerless Fans Are Really Looking For

The titles here span YA dystopia and adult romantasy because Powerless itself sits at a crossroads, and different readers fell for different sides of it. If the deadly competition was the hook — the trials, the spectacle, the survival stakes — follow that thread into The Hunger Games, Throne of Glass, and Fourth Wing. If it was the powers-and-oppression premise — an Ordinary hiding among Elites in a society that hunts her — Shatter Me is the closest cousin. And if it was the forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance between Paedyn and Kai, the charged dynamics of The Cruel Prince and the higher-heat From Blood and Ash deliver that same push-pull.

Knowing which thread gripped you hardest is the quickest route to your next favorite. Most of these books braid two or three of the same elements together, so wherever you start, you’ll find the propulsive, can’t-put-it-down quality that made the Powerless Trilogy such a fast read in the first place.

How to Choose Your Next Read

If you want to finish the trilogy: Reckless, then Fearless.

If you want the deadly-competition structure: Fourth Wing, The Hunger Games, or Throne of Glass.

If you want the powers-and-rebellion premise: Shatter Me.

If you want the forbidden romance turned up: From Blood and Ash or The Cruel Prince.

More Romantasy Reading Guides

• Powerless Series in Order: Lauren Roberts’ Trilogy Guide
• Books Like Fourth Wing: 11 Romantasy Reads for Dragon-Rider Fans

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