Marshmallow reviews Reckless by Lauren Roberts

A few months ago Marshmallow reviewed Powerless by Lauren Roberts. This week she reviews the sequel, Reckless, published in July 2024.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like fantasy books about family, friendship, and romance, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Paedyn Gray killed the king of Ilya and is now, quite expectedly, on the run. Despite the fact that both of Ilya’s princes were falling for her, she is hunted by both: Kai (the ruthless Enforcer of Ilya, who carries out the king’s dirty work) and Kitt (the now-king). Paedyn herself was falling for Kai, but was also desperately trying to stop herself. Spoiler alert: she wasn’t and still isn’t winning. But despite their feelings towards her, Kai and Kitt are now bound by duty and blood to kill Paedyn for revenge and “justice”.

See, in Ilya, there are Elites (people who are born with special, magical powers) and there are Ordinaries (as the name suggests, people who are born without powers). Paedyn is an Ordinary who has been trying to disguise as a Elite her whole life; Ordinaries are hunted down and killed by… who else other than the Enforcer (Kai).

This way the author sets up what seems to be a tragedy waiting to happen between the hunted (Paedyn) and the hunter (Kai). In the first book, Paedyn joined a Resistance, a group that saves Ordinaries and fights to have Elites recognize them as equal. This has been a struggle because, according to the (now deceased) king, Ordinaries’ presence lessens the power of the Elites. Paedyn’s father was the founder of the Resistance, and he was killed by the king when she was very young, making her an orphan for the whole book. This leads to her, at the end of Powerless, killing the king in self defense (but also partially for revenge).

Since Ilya is no longer safe for her, Paedyn decides to leave for the nearby city of Dor; but to do so, she must cross the vast expanse of the Scorches, a massive, brutally parched desert. But before she can make it to the Scorches, Kai intercepts her. After learning that Paedyn was the one who killed his father, Kai gives her a head start because he knows he’ll need time to find the “courage” to kill her. This allows Paedyn to find refuge in her old house for a while, until Kai burns it down and keeps on chasing her. She evades him but is injured as she begins to traverse the desert. Eventually, she makes it to Dor. Unfortunately, Dor is full of enemies as well; Kitt has placed a bounty on her head and it’s not helping her out. But with her skill and finesse, she manages to keep a relatively low profile (as an anonymous underground fighter for illegal gambling purposes). But Kai still manages to track her down in Dor and forces her back into the open. As he begins to take her back to Ilya and presumably her death, their feelings begin to present problems. Kai must now choose between duty and love for his brother and love for Paedyn. And Paedyn is determined to keep fighting against him, to hate him till she dies. Once again though (spoiler alert!), she’s not winning.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really liked Reckless. The plot and the world-building are both fantastic! But the thing that makes this story stand out to me among other Young Adult fantasy books is that the author maintains a nuanced balance between romance and fantasy.

Reckless has a very good storyline about revolution and fighting against injustice. And I really love reading about the world the author has created because it’s actually really interesting on its own as well. The romance plot line contributes to the story and pushes it forward, so I appreciated its existence. I also want to know what happens to the characters because they are well-written and very, very deep. Unfortunately, I’ll need to wait till next year when the third (and last?) book in the series will be published.

In many fantasy YA novels, I find that the promising, amazing story and fantasy world soon become overwhelmed by a relatively unnecessary romance or a passionate relationship that takes over too much of the plot (e.g.  Shatter Me,  Unravel Me, Ignite Me). This book struck the perfect balance for me; I think there is a very thin line between just a full-on fantasy for young adults and a romance that is perhaps better put in the adults section.

I really enjoyed reading Reckless as a whole and I think that this book is what fantasy YA should be like. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it and I would fully recommend it to all fantasy-lovers!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 101%.