The Winner's Trilogy
Young Adult Fiction
Macmillan
March 4, 2014
Hardcover
368
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love They were never meant to be together. As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other. Set in a new world, The Winner's Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
WrensReads Review:
Welp.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a little slow at first and I was kind of rolling my eyes at the romance, but that ending shot my attention back to what in the world was happening. The book starts off really slow for my taste. It was definitely a slow burn. I’m not one who thrive in mushy romance, but I kept going because I could feel the story starting to creep forward. It is worth the wait. You are bound for a double take.
Kestrel, the heroine, is easy to fall in love with. She is the generals daughter, so she basically has everything handed to her. But she isn’t stupid. She’s stubborn and she knows how to work things to her advantage. She is blind to the fact that she is starving for some real human interaction. I mean, she does have friends and such, but she doesn’t feel like anyone is being raw-real with her, if that makes sense. So when she purchases someone willing to fill her need, she grabs onto him.
Arin is a little hard to grasp. You don’t get too many chapters based with him, but you do get the sense that something is off. You’re in for a surprise with this guy, but you will love and hurt for him. He has a passion for what his ‘mission’ is but he does get a little side tracked with a certain generals daughter.
What I did love about this book is that Kestrel and Arin do not have that ever-crazed instalove. See, Arin is a slave, and Kestrel the person who bought him from the market. As you can see from that sentence, things are a little sticky. But the heart wants what the heart wants.
Narrator: Justine Eyre
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Gosh she was really good at the voices and keeping each person to their own characteristic-voice. BUT, and this is weird so bare with me, she would end her sentences with a little grunge? Like she would start at the edge of her mouth and end in the back of her throat. Not something that should stop you from listening to her. But as someone who had to go through vocal coaching her whole life, you hear things like that.
The story as a whole is definitely a slow, agonizing burn. If you love historical romance, it differently starts out that way. But it turns into something so much bigger. I’ve been told I should have my heart ready to break, so I’m just going to go ahead and hand it over to the lovely Marie Rutkoski right now.
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