“Reckless” Review: My Favourite Book of All Time!

“Call us even. Call me crazy. I don’t care. Just…” His eyes are pleading, brimming with emotion. “Just call me yours.”
– Lauren Roberts, Reckless

Title: Reckless

Author: Lauren Roberts

Length: 400 pages

Genre: Romantasy, Ya, Fiction

My Rating: 10/5 stars!!!

My Age Rating: 13+

Content Notes: Clean, just kissing and some mild language, suggestive comments and crude jokes, violence, emotional themes, abuse

“I may be a monster, but if you cut me, I’ll bleed. And if you break my heart, Pae, you’ll break me. So, if even a sliver of your soul longs for mine, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve it.”
– Lauren Roberts, Reckless

Book Synopsis:

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.

Review:

Every parent you ask will say they don’t have a favorite child. But every oldest sibling knows that’s not true. The youngest is always the favorite, even if the parents don’t realize it. And honestly, this book is the “youngest child” of my library.

I love the entire Powerless series, but if it came down to a life or death decision, Reckless would win. It’s not just my favorite in the series, it’s my favorite book, period.

This book is incredibly well-written, with the best banter I’ve ever read. I’m serious, it deserves a “Best Banter” award. After finishing this series, I actually struggled to read anything else because nothing could compare. For a solid month, everything I picked up felt disappointing next to this book.

It’s also completely addictive. I couldn’t pull myself away and ended up finishing it in a single day, reading late into the night. Lauren Roberts builds the world of Reckless so well. It’s detailed without ever feeling slow. The setting is a bit different from the first book, but I never felt lost while being introduced to new places, people, and secrets.

Now let’s talk about the characters. I love every single one of them. From the main characters to even the smallest side characters, they all feel carefully and thoughtfully written. The character development in this book is especially strong. Watching them grow and face challenges feels so real that it almost feels like you’re experiencing everything alongside them, not just reading about it.

There are two main perspectives, but we also get a few chapters from Kitt’s point of view. I liked getting those extra insights into the story. However, if I’m being honest, this is the book where I went from loving Kitt to despising him. It will make sense if you read it. Sometimes it was frustrating to switch from an intense, emotional scene between Paedyn and Kai to a Kitt chapter, but overall, I’m still glad those chapters were included.

Now for the best part: the romance.

The romance in this book is easily the best I’ve ever read, and I now compare every other book to it. The banter adds so much to their relationship and makes every interaction feel alive. I swear, every time the main characters look at each other, it feels like sparks are flying off the page. They have the perfect chemistry, full of tension and exchanges that make you kick your feet and giggle uncontrollably.

Unlike the first book, this one is less of an enemies to lovers dynamic and more of a “we should be enemies, but I can’t deny my feelings for you” vibe. And oh my gosh, I’m dying just thinking about it. In fact, when my friends and I talk about this book, half the conversation turns into excited screaming.

Let me just say, if Kai were a real person, there would be total chaos because every girl would be fighting to have him for herself.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it has all the tension and chemistry without going beyond kissing. It’s relatively clean, with only mild language and a few suggestive comments. There are definitely emotional themes and quite a bit of violence, but that’s typical for fantasy. Unless that really bothers you, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Overall, I’d recommend this book for ages 13 and up.

I genuinely love this book and recommend it to everyone. No matter what genres you usually read, I think you should give this series a chance. It’s full of witty banter, unforgettable romance, and characters you’ll fall in love with.

So go find this book and clear your afternoon. Forget the family dinner or the sleepover where no one actually sleeps anyway. If you’re going to lose a night of sleep, this is absolutely the best reason to do it.

Happy Reading,

Ava

Click this LINK to check out my review on the first book of this series, Powerless

Click this Link to get your own copy of ’Reckless’