Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
What: The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
Who : Bloomsbury Childrens Books
When: July 3rd 2014
How: A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia in exchange an honest review.
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.
Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
The Winner’s Curse is easily one of the best books I have read this year. Why? Because it did the thing. It did the thing where I would put it down to sleep, or do mundane life things and it was all I could think about. I would think about the characters, and the world, and what I thought would happen. But most importantly, I would think: I NEED TO GET BACK TO THIS BOOK. RIGHT BLOODY NOW.
And, in my usual bookish weakness, I would return to it. Return to the beautiful The Winner’s Curse.
Kestrel, our heroine, is a bit of an odd character. She’s been raised by one of the most influential military men in the empire, and she’s also been raised with a lot of money. But she’s not your typical rich girl who cannot see beyond her own wealth and good fortune. She thinks slavery is wrong, and can actually empathise with those who have not had the luxuries of life as she has. But she is still a rich girl, and sometimes she says rude things or treats people in a not-so-nice manner. She wasn’t ever awful, but she was still someone raised to think she was the most important person in the room.
Nevertheless, I liked Kestrel. I like that she had depth – that she was the rich girl but also not the rich girl. That she could look beyond herself, and that she cared so much. And what she did at the end. OH MAN. She’s so brave and amazing, and I pretty much got a girl crush on her the instant I finished the book.
Enter Arin. *fans self* This boy. THIS BOY. It’s been a while since I have fallen head over heels in book love with someone. And Arin is my latest book boyfriend. He’s gorgeous, and tortured, and just 100% tailored for my book boyfriend list. Arin is strong and kind and caring and sweet and sassy. He’s just downright swoon worthy. I absolutely adored Arin’s character, and I want more more more.
The storyline of The Winner’s Curse was fantastic. It had mystery and suspense, romance and rivalry – it pretty much had all the ingredients of a good book and then Rutkoski made it into a great book.
The majority of the novel focuses on the characters and their relationships with one another, which I was a huge fan of. I love character driven storylines, and The Winner’s Curse fit the bill perfectly. Sometimes it was hard to emotionally connect with the characters, but most of the time I was swooning and fretting right along with them.
If you read one novel this month, make it The Winner’s Curse. It’s a fantastic read that left me wanting more and I cannot tell you enough to read this book.
© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.
Absolutely LOOOOVEEEDDD this book! I need the second one in my hands now because the feels ove that ending. Oh gosh!
Me, too, Ri! :D
Yes the feels were abundant, weren’t they? I cannot wait to read the next book!
I plan to be reading this one soonish, so I’m glad to hear you really enjoyed it! I didn’t see any complaints, so I’m curious why it’s 4 balloons instead of 5?
YAY! :D I hope you like it as much as I did, Amy!
I am a bit funny with my handing out of five balloons (or stars). They are reserved for books that just completely blow me out of the water and that have me stroking their cover with their perfection. A lot of people ask me this question in when it comes to four balloon ratings, so maybe I should have a specific ‘blew my mind’ rating to make it more understandable …
I understand. I guess you don’t do half ratings? Usually when I really, really enjoy a book but it didn’t blow my socks off completely I go with 4.5, because 4’s I usually reserve for really good but it had a few little problems. But everyone rates so differently, so sometimes it’s hard to gauge. Thanks for clarifying!
I do use half ratings, haha. But that’s when a book is about one teeny step away from being a five star instant favourite. XD I am picky with my ratings.
That’s okay! Like you said, everyone rates differently. This book was VERY close to a 4.5 rating, though. I did thoroughly enjoy almost every aspect. :D
I’m glad you liked this as much as I did! And my gosh Arin *gushes* He’s uncannily mysterious…..and swoon-worthy! We want the second book. Now. *impatiently waits*
Great review as always, Chiara!
Yes! I am glad that the hype didn’t ruin this book for me :D
And yes, Arin is just asdfghjkl. Very high on the book boyfriend list, haha.
I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL, ABBY!
Awh thank you <3
I literally just finished this 5 minutes ago and it’s probably one of the best books I’ve read this year as well. Oh my god. Arin. *furiously fanning* That ending though. D: I can’t wait for the next book. The ending will probably be absolutely epic! Lovely review Chiara. :D
YAAAAY! I’m so glad you feel the same way, Laura :D :D
Yes, Arin *continues to fan self*
YES THE ENDING. NO. NOO. Everything needs to work out. And ohmygosh I need the sequel, as well. I can just tell it will be amazing :D
Thank you ^.^
I guess I should save up for a copy then. :P great review, Chiara! I love character-driven stories. And Kestrel sounds like someone I’d really like. And a book-boyfriend-worthy guy?I am intrigued.
Yes! I think you would really like it, Francine :)
Thank you ^.^
Yes, I love character-driven stories as well, and that’s probably one of the reasons I liked this book so much :D
Arin is VERY high on the book boyfriend list ;D
Ohhh, I absolutely can’t wait to read this book now! Brilliant review lovely lady :) x
YAY! I hope you end up loving it as much as I did, Gina :D
Thank you, dear ^.^ <3
Kestrel sounds like such a cool heroine! And I am now shamelessly intrigued by Arin haha!
She is a cool heroine. And you should definitely be intrigued about Arin! :D
*singing off-key* The BRAAIIDDDD SCEEENNNEEE *bows* God I just can’t let that go. FEEELS CHIARA SO MANY FEELS. How do you feel about polygamy?? Because I think we’re going to need to share Arin, wifey.
On a constructive note: I completely agree about Kestrel and her richness. She still had a bit of nativity, but she was sympathetic and didn’t allow her riches to go to her head. I loved how she was more strategically minded too! I can’t wait to see how that develops in book two :D
MAN I CANNOT EVEN WITH THE BRAIDING SCENE HOLY DOOLY. ALL THE SWOONS AND FEELS IN THAT MOMENT.
Haha, I can do polygamy, wifey. There’s Arin, Raffe .. others that I am probably forgetting ;P
I’m glad that she was complex, and wasn’t just the ‘rich girl who fell in love with a slave’ – I think it made the book all the better :D
YES GIMME BOOK TWO.
Oh, this is great to hear! I just started reading this book but haven’t gotten far enough into it to really have an opinion so it’s awesome to know how much you enjoyed it! Hopefully it does the thing with me too. Now that school’s over, it won’t be as big a deal any more if all I want to do is just READ because I can totally do that! *sigh* The awesomeness of being on break. And did I hear word about SWOONING? I am so ready for swooning! The last few books I’ve read have had plenty of swooning as well but I could always do for more! Definitely excited for this book now. Great review! :)
I’m glad you’re on break! I love it when there’s absolutely nothing to compete with reading, haha :D
SO MUCH SWOONING, ANNIE. Seriously, Arin is simply gorgeous *sigh*
I hope you end up liking it as much as I did! And thank you :D
I couldn’t agree more. The Winner’s Curse has to be one of my favorites of the year! And YES Arin was yet another swoony guy I’ve added to my ever-growing list of book boyfriends. I cannot wait for the next book!!! Great review :)
I’m so happy that a lot of people love this book! I think it’s very deserving :D
Ohmygosh YES. Arin is a gorgeous book boyfriend!
I cannot wait for the next book, either, especially with the ending of this one!
Thank you, Emily ^.^
YAS! This book was just absolutely amazing. I love seeing positive reviews of The Winner’s Curse it makes me so happy. I felt the same way! I couldn’t stop reading it. Glad to see you enjoyed it!
It really was! :D
I’m glad that you’ve been seeing positive reviews. I try to stay away from reviews until I have read a book, because I don’t like having an idea of what the book is going to be like.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, too, Sarah! :)
Excellent review Chiara, I just read this book as well and thought it was brilliant! Kestral was such a brilliant and intelligent character, it was refreshing to see a couple that isn’t just the strongest or most popular you know?
Thank you, Jeann ^.^
Yes, Kestrel was such a refreshing character because she wasn’t a Little Miss Perfect. And she didn’t constantly degrade herself, either, which is always a plus in my books!
Great review Chiara! I will have to agree on almost everything. The Winner’s Curse is also one of my favourites of the year (that cover!!!). I really liked Kestrel as well, she was so intelligent and compelling to read about. I cannot wait for the sequel, that ending killed me.
Thank you, Mari! Yes, I can definitely say I will remember this book when the year ends. And the cover is absolutely gorgeous!
Kestrel was very complex, and I love complex characters. They are very interesting to read about.
The ending was one that made me want to read the sequel the second I finished this book!
I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t read it. *CRIES* I need to buy this book but I’m on a ban… *CRIES MORE* Once I get paid again this is THE FIRST book I’m buying. Great review, Chiara!
It’s okay! You’ll get around to it eventually, Marianne :D And oh gosh. I have never even TRIED to give myself a book buying ban. I know it would last about two minutes, haha.
YAY! I’m glad you want to read it so badly ;D
Thank you ^.^
This one definitely had THE THING and them some. I loved it too, it just gave me that same sigh moment that I felt with These Broken Stars and the end scenes in Mockingjay. It was an absolutely pleasure to read. I’ll have to fight you for Arin though, or we could arrange some sort of time share program :)
Fabulous review!
It really did! Well, if These Broken Stars is anything like this book, then I think I need to read it! I even own a copy.
It definitely was a pleasure read. So lovely every time I opened it.
I think we will have to share Arin with a lot of people, haha!
Thank you, lovely <3