Our 3 Favorite Things About Reckless By Lauren Roberts

If we’re talking about highly anticipated book releases of 2024, then of course we must include Lauren Roberts’ new novel, Reckless, in the list! Reckless is the sequel to Lauren Roberts’ Powerless trilogy, a romantic fantasy series that has taken over BookTok in the past year and a half.

Reckless picks up only days after the end of Powerless, following Paedyn Gray as she goes on the run from the crown. She sets out across the Scorches toward Dor, a city without Elites. Meanwhile, Kai Azer, the Prince and Enforcer, hunts Paedyn down wherever she flees to bring her back to Ilya alive at any cost.

We know everyone’s itching for Powerless content, us included! Now that the sequel is finally here, let’s get into three of our favorite things about Reckless by Lauren Roberts.

Book Overview: Reckless

Content Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, death, murder, torture, blood, corpses, mention of parent deaths (Read at your discretion!)

Summary: The kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil…

After surviving the Purging Trials, Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King and kickstarted a Resistance throughout the land. Now she’s running from the one person she had wanted to run to.

Kai Azer is now Ilya’s Enforcer, loyal to his brother Kitt, the new King. He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice.

Across the deadly Scorches, and deep into the hostile city of Dor, Kai pursues the one person he wishes he didn’t have to. But in a city without Elites, the balance between the hunter and hunted shifts—and the battle between duty and desire is deadly.

The Star-Crossed Romance

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Paedyn and Kai have the ultimate star-crossed romance! In the first book, Paedyn was an Ordinary disguised with Psychic powers. Meanwhile, Kai’s role as the Enforcer and an Elite was to kill Ordinaries in the king’s name. In Reckless, Paedyn’s known as the king killer with a bounty on her head. And Kai needs to do everything in his power to bring her back to Ilya. Even after falling for each other unexpectedly, Paedyn and Kai can’t be on each other’s side. And yet another plot twist at the end proves that fate seems determined to keep these two apart!

So Much Tension

With such an ill-fated romance, it’s no surprise that Paedyn tries to hate Kai and vice versa. Because it would be easier for the two of them to remain enemies than to give in to their desires. Right? Right. But when circumstances bring them closer than ever (*wiggles eyebrows*), these two repeatedly need a cover to avoid suspicion. Kai doesn’t need to pretend to be a couple with Paedyn. It’s more like he has to pretend not to feel anything for Paedyn. Their next-level “acting” ends up fooling other characters, but not us. They keep resisting each other and making “mistakes that’ll never happen again,” but we all know the truth.

Kai’s Inner Conflict

Another one of our favorite things about Reckless is Kai’s emotional journey. In the beginning, he’s determined to hunt down Paedyn per the king’s orders. Even though Kai still cares for her, he’s bound to his duty as the Enforcer. And every time he finally has her in his grasp, she finds a way to escape. As Kai realizes just how deeply he feels for Paedyn, he also sees how much he’s willing to risk to keep her alive. He can accept a life without her as long as it’s one where she’s safe. But nothing goes as planned for our male lead, and his inner conflict takes on a new shape (and an unexpected rival) by the end of book two.

Reckless by Lauren Roberts releases July 2nd, and you can preorder a copy of it here!

Are you excited to read Lauren Roberts’ Reckless? What do you predict will happen? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LAUREN ROBERTS:
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