Yaay! I have completed yet another SPFBO book!

I first read the Empowered Prequel around a year ago and wanted to read the full-fledged series. I am glad I had the chance to at least read the first book.

It continues off the story where Mathilda Brandt, an imprisoned rare empowered convict is currently on parole from using her plant mastery power against normals. She is struggling feuding with her ungrateful younger sisters who are too busy oggling with gangsters, and her steadfast grandmother Ruth whose health is deteriorating due to an incurable disease.

Her visits with her PO officer Winterfeld are more of a nonstop annoying rant that if she continues to fail getting a new job soon as an excon in a struggling economy where people like her are unwanted, she will return to prison forever.

That is, until she is offered a difficult choice: Join the support forces as a snitch to an underground Empowered terrorist organization and hopefully be promoted to the inner circle, or life in prison.

Mat doesn't like the options she is granted, but if it means saving her family, she is willing to risk herself.

The story might have been done many times before in Urban Fantasy, but Mathilda's mixture between bitterness, high morals and street smarts make her an interesting character. Things would have been so much easier if lesser empowered could use their abilities in the open without fear of arrest as long as they didn't harm others. The world is in disarray and I think things would be far better if people like her could use their rare abilities to find cures for diseases and other useful things instead of being forced to live as shadows of themselves always fearful of getting caught using their powers for even the most menial of mundane things, or join the military, a prospect that might not be too enticing for a teenage girl with anger issues and an ability that the militia don't find to be useful at first sight.

The story is a bit slow to develop, but it reaches a nice conclusion which will entice the reader to continue reading. It is indeed a very fun series. ( )

Mat has worked on the wrong side of the law before, and she'll have to do it again.
But this time she's not doing it by choice, she's being a spy.
While I was never really pulled into the thrall of the story fully, I still enjoyed it.
The book is paced well with action packed scenes and an interesting magic system, however the world building was quite small and at times, non existent. Mat was an average character, she's very flawed and sometimes I was very annoyed which sucked me out of the story.
The whole going undercover thing was really cool.
However, we all flawed so I guess Mat was a very realistic character. ( )

Very good tale of people with special powers. One young girl is trying to help her family but finds herself only getting deeper in trouble. Will she survive? ( )