Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy) Hardcover – April 8, 2025

Fearless by Lauren RobertsRating: 5/5 starsI just turned the final page of Fearless and I'm writing this through actual tears. This book didn't just tell a story—it carved itself into my chest and refused to let go.Lauren Roberts didn't write a trilogy; she orchestrated emotional devastation on a scale that left me questioning my life choices. I'm giving this 5 stars not because it was gentle with my feelings—it absolutely wasn't—but because it made me feel everything so deeply that I'm still processing the wreckage days later.The final confrontation between Kitt and Kai destroyed me completely. Kitt, spiraling and broken beyond recognition, lunges for Paedyn in a moment of pure madness. Kai reacts instinctively, trying to stop him, never meaning to kill. But Kitt doesn't dodge. Kai's sword finds its mark, and Kitt dies in his brother's arms.I had to physically set the book down. My hands were shaking. I was bargaining with fictional characters, begging Kitt to just move, to let Kai reach him before everything fell apart. But he was already gone long before that blade touched him.Then came the line that shattered whatever was left of my emotional stability: "You were supposed to dodge. I thought you were going to dodge." And Kitt whispers, "I forgot. I… I can't even remember myself…"That moment gutted me because it wasn't just death—it was the complete dissolution of everything they'd once been. Kitt wasn't even fully present anymore. The weight of betrayal, loneliness, and the plague he'd inflicted on himself had torn him apart from the inside out. His mind was already lost.And then, in his final moments, he gives Kai his ring and tells them to love each other for him. Love each other for me. Those words broke something in my chest that I'm not sure will ever heal properly. Because despite everything—all the cruelty and manipulation—Kitt loved his brother. He was terrified of being unloved, of being forgotten, and in the end, he sacrificed everything so Kai and Paedyn could have peace.It was tragic and haunting and devastatingly human. I was furious with him, aching for him, and somehow forgiving him all at once.The aftermath was equally brutal. Kai can't function. He doesn't care about crowns or kingdoms—his brother just died in his arms and nothing else matters. The guilt Paedyn carries, knowing she was part of what pushed them to this breaking point, adds another layer of heartbreak that felt too real.When they bury Kitt next to their sister so he won't be alone in death, I cried all over again. And then Roberts gave us Kitt's letters—glimpses into how the desperate need for love twisted him, how fear drove him to poison himself, how his mind crumbled as his body failed. Through those letters, you see the scared boy underneath the broken king, still writing to his brother, still trying to explain. By the end, I wasn't angry anymore. Just devastated for a character who died not as a villain, but as someone so terrified of being forgotten that he destroyed himself trying to be unforgettable.But amidst all that grief, what made this story feel truly earned was the love that somehow survived it all.Kai and Paedyn's romance isn't soft or easy. It's sharp-edged, hard-won, and constantly under threat from politics, betrayal, trauma, and war. Yet through every trial, they choose each other. Not because it's simple, but because it matters. Kai, usually so composed and closed off, lets Paedyn see his guilt and grief. She offers him love not as comfort, but as truth he can return to. And Paedyn carries a fierce, loyal heart despite everything she's endured. She challenges him and sees the man beneath the crown and duty.The way they cling to each other after Kitt's death isn't just romantic—it's raw survival. There's a moment where Kai looks at her and chooses life again. When he proposes, it's not dramatic or flashy. It's simple, earned, quiet after the storm. I smiled through my tears because they deserved that joy after surviving hell together.The epilogue completely undid me. Five years later, Kai and Paedyn have a daughter running through sunlit fields. Her name is Kit. After Kitt. I sobbed. That name represents everything—legacy, forgiveness, remembrance. They didn't erase him or lock away the pain. They carried it and honored it. That little girl proves Kitt was loved, even in the end, that he wasn't forgotten.This book is going to live in my chest for a very long time. Kitt's arc is one of the most emotionally devastating and deeply human villain downfalls I've encountered. The way Roberts handled his psychological deterioration, the complexity of sibling loyalty under impossible pressure, the cost of love and power—it's brutal, breathtaking, and unforgettable.Kai and Paedyn's love carries you through the darkness, proving that even when the world burns around you, love can survive and heal. If you want a book that will emotionally wreck you while still leaving you with hope, Fearless will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible.All the stars. All the tears. I'll be thinking about these characters for a very long time.