Marie Rutkoski

A New York Times bestseller. War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He's finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can't quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people-and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that's what he thinks. But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win? The Winner's Kiss brings a stunning conclusion to the irresistible romance between Kestrel and Arin and the crippling war that has torn about their world in the Winner's trilogy, by Marie Rutkoski.

The Winner's Kiss

The Winner's Curse

Lhaís 

millena

Well, what a big surprise 🙂‍↔️ This is the kind of book that you see potential from the first chapter but at some point things just click and you just can't stop reading.

I’ll always love and support intelligent protagonists, the type of character who rarely acts on impulse and most of the time prefers to think about the consequences of their actions BEFORE doing them (yes Bryce Quinlan I’m talking about you 🫵🏻 (ccity 3 traumatized me iykyk)) anywayyy both Kestrel and Arin surprised me positively in this point.

Now, the romance…….. I don’t even know where to start about the romance bc I’ve never read so little about something and screamed so much, I'll just put a scene here to justify my point:

“You are terrifying. Gods help me if I cross you, Kestrel.”
“You already have,” she pointed out.
“But am I your enemy?” Arin crossed the space between them. Softly, he repeated, “Am I?”
She didn’t answer. She concentrated on the feel of the table’s edge pressing into the small of her back. The table was simple and real, joined wood and nails and right corners. No wobble. No give.
“You’re not mine,” Arin said.
And kissed her.”

They must choose between betraying each other or betraying their side of the war and I don't know if you know but this is the BEST type of tension to read so I ate it uppp (but now I’m suffering bc I'm scared of what will happen 😭😭😭)

I need some time to recover my emotions before reading the next one but I’ll definitely read it.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 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.

arwen

Winner's Crime

Helena

I just.....ugh. The frustration. So good.

Monicap

Sort-of Review:
OMIGOSH.

I'm going to have hunt Marie Rutkoski down and demand she give me a copy of the Winner's Kiss. I NEED to know what happens, and I CAN'T wait another year.

Original reaction:
I really dislike this cover. I'm not kidding when I say I saw it and I thought "Why is she holding a lightsaber?"

I LOVED this book! The world, the plot, Kestrel, the romance, all of it! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Vicky  Nuñez 

This is basically every dystopian book ever.



It tries to mix things up by been from the point of view of the oppressor instead of solely the oppressed. In my opinion, it didn't work out.

Kestrel is the main character and she is obviously perfect. She is beautiful and an awesome strategist. (Because you can't be a main character if you're not pretty, the YA Book Writing Society forbids it).




She is an only daughter and her father is the General of the army so she has big shoes to fill. But she feels like she is not enough.
 

Obviously she falls in love with the enemy. Because he's gorgeous and she wants things to change and their romance can be the thing that will prevail if they try hard enough. Not matter how much society wants to separate them.



At the end it wasn't angsty, or romanc-y enough for me to believe it. There were no clothes been ripped off, or tears shed. Except for (view spoiler)[When Enai died. That felt like the most powerful scene of the book. And the only scene where I felt stirrings of emotion toward the characters. In my opinion it could have gone longer.  (hide spoiler)]

 There was none of this.

There wasn't a lot of action.
 Yup, none of this happened.


The characters were not engaging enough and I did not care for the world-building either. Its like someone trying to tell you this story, but they don't enhance the right things and it ends up been a huge yawn.

 But loads of this happened.



It was pretty disappointing. It felt like every story already out there. The few new storylines were not strong enough to keep the book afloat. Mainly because of the writing. The very few times it tried to do a fight scene or a romance scene, they ended very quickly. It felt restricted. 

I don't think I will be reading the next books. I think I can guess what will happen. If you have liked every dystopian out there, you will probably enjoy this one.

Following the intrigue and danger of The Winner's Curse and the revolution and romance of The Winner's Crime, Kestrel finds herself in the tundra's mines and Arin has sailed home. The empire seems unstoppable.Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin will learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this third and final installment in the heart-stopping Winner's trilogy.

4 of 5 stars

-----


If I'm being honest, the romance aspect of this trilogy is what I loved the most, especially in the last book. I was rooting for the political and strategic part of the story, the war. I wanted to see the volley of wits and strategies between the protagonists and their enemies, especially if that was the very strength of Kestrel and the emperor. Their cleverness and slyness. I was actually having a glimpse of it in the second book. But in the last book, I thought it came up quite lacking. With that being said, that lackness actually paved a way for the romance to shine. That was the biggest strength of this book. I was actually so invested with the relationship of our star-crossed lovers Kestrel and Arin. No matter how far the distance between them, no matter how many deceptions they need to come up with against each other, in the end, you can't really deny their connection.They are not a perfect pair but I loved how they complement each other. 

Can I also say how much I adore Roshar, our snarky, sarcastic yet hilarious prince of the east? Who would dare to say that being mutilated was not attractive at all? Roshar was the proof of that! His personality compensated his missing facial features. I loved his friendship with Arin as well. I think he's one of the purest characters in this fictional world. And to think there's actually a real and clever reason as to why he named his tiger after Arin other than just to tease him, I respect him for that! Other than that, I just wished there's more of prince Verex in this trilogy. He's also one of my most favorite side characters in this trilogy. 

Overall, this was a solid conclusion. A solid trilogy. It's really worth reading. But please be reminded to prepare your heart with so much heartbreak because this trilogy would definitely hit you where it hurts.

4 of 5 stars

----- 


"I'm going to miss you when I wake up"
"Don't wake up"

I am not mistaken. This book has broken me until the very last page. I can't imagine how would the last book be, if that was the case. A lot has happened in this second book, a lot more than the first. The world and the story really expanded more and I can actually feel the tension building throughout the book. I am nervous yet excited at the same time to pick the last book up.

3.50 of 5 stars

-----


This is a really good first book in a trilogy. This book didn't pour all the information at once, carefully revealing only the surface of its world. There's not much world building in it yet but the fast-paced approach had helped balance it out. The story has so much angst and deception. I admire Kestrel for having a really strong personality. I felt sorry for both her and Arin, as they're both in a very difficult position, having to choose between love and their people. And as this first book ended, I'm assuming there would be more difficult decisions to make. Sacrifices even. Lies needed to be said over the truth. That's what making this trilogy so frustratingly heartbreaking, and I'm so up for it! I'm excited to see how this world would expand.

Following the intrigue and danger of The Winner's Curse and the revolution and romance of The Winner's Crime, Kestrel finds herself in the tundra's mines and Arin has sailed home. The empire seems unstoppable. Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin will learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this third and final installment in the heart-stopping Winner's trilogy.

Sheryl

4.5

i don't even want to review this properly. i don't think i could ever do that.

i feel numb. my voice is gone. my heart is shattered. i am not fine at all.

nina 

2.5 stars

I definitely expected something different from this book, and while I liked some of the characters and the concept of the “winner’s curse” was intriguing, I found myself not compelled by the story until the end and too many plot conveniences made the stakes seem cheap.

I did, however, find the protagonist refreshing and her personality enjoyable compared to characters in other books that are similar to her.

That being said, I probably will give the sequel a go. EDIT 1 head later: no i won’t

"The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win?"--

a novel

The winner's kiss

Megan During

The only word I can use to describe this is perfect. The perfect ending, the perfect wrap up, the perfect character development just absolute perfection. 

My only complaint is that this is the last book

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love. The first book in the breathtaking Winner's Trilogy is an irresistible story of forbidden romance and class warfare.

Nessa Luna

Last year I heard about a book called the Winner's Curse, a book that everyone loved and praised and a book that I was very curious about especially because it was so loved and praised. And because of the cover, because look at that cover. It's goddamn gorgeous. I bought it last month fully expecting to love it as much as the rest of the world, but I was very disappointed.

The Winner's Curse is about a general's daughter, Kestrel, who has two choices - join the army, or get married. But of course, she doesn't want to do either. At an auction, at the beginning of the story, she decides to buy a slave called Arin, for a high price - and that's when everything starts to go downhill. There is some romance, there are deaths, and it really sounds like a story I would love - but I just didn't.

I found the first half of the book incredibly boring. There was nothing really going on at all, except for Kestrel going to parties with Arin as her escort. Then there was a duel that wasn't really a duel and more boring party stuff. It only started to get interesting after a Winterball that Kestrel went to, but even that couldn't get me excited anymore. I had honestly expected a book filled with fighting and death and all that stuff - but it was more a romance book than anything else, and yeah I just don't like those kind of books that much.

There was some nice world building, there were two races - Valorian and Herrani - the former (V) having invaded the latter's (H) country (? I guess) and forcing them (H) to be their (V) slaves. I had hoped for a map of the country they were in, or perhaps even of the entire world this story happens in, but it wasn't there - which was a bit of a shame, because I had a hard time imagining where the characters were and how (long) they had travelled. There is a map, but it's just not in the book. Maybe it's in the second book, but honestly I don't know if I'm ever going to pick that up.

The characters were likable but I just couldn't really give a damn about them. When I read that some of them were either dead or dying, I felt nothing at all. The only character I did care about a little were Kestrel and Arin, but as separate people - not together. Which brings me to the romance: I don't ship it. At all. I don't know how Kestrel could have even fallen for Arin, because he was nothing but rude to her - but apparently that's what chicks dig (I don't). I just didn't care about them being together and I just - no.

In the end, I thought The Winner's Curse had so much more potential, and I was severely disappointed in how the story turned out to be. There is a 20% chance I'll be reading the next book, maybe only to look at the map and imagine the world better, but I honestly do not care that much about the story. I gave it three stars, but only because the last part of the book got more interesting, otherwise it would have been two stars.

My opinion on this book in one gif:

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria's crown prince is the event of a lifetime, but to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making, so as she aches to tell the truth about her engagement, she becomes a skilled practitioner of deceit and as a spy passes information and gets close to uncovering a shocking secret.

To Kestrel, the engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria's crown prince means living in a cage of her own making, and as she aches to tell the truth about her engagement, she becomes a skilled practitioner of deceit. The plot contains violence. Book #2

The winner's crime

alexandra

8.9/10 ☆

i enjoyed the winner's curse better, simply because this one was so sad. i couldn't stand seeing my favorite characters hurt. everything about this book was more than the first: more action, more emotions, more betray, more intense, more everything. that last cliffhanger was death itself. marie rutkoski, i would like the next book PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRIES ON TOP. the writing was more beautiful and it brought out ALL THE FEELS. overall, this book had made me feel as if i was pushed off a ten-story building – in the best possible way.



FULL REVIEW HERE!

xox alexandra
blog // instagram // twitter

THIS FINALE AND TRILOGY IS SO FANTASTIC. (the main reason as to why i rated it 4 instead of 5 stars is that i felt the pacing in the middle got a little slow and dragged.) FULL REVIEW TO COME <333

9.2/10 ✩

i don't even know how to compile my thoughts on this book. the more i think about it, the better it gets. i'll try my best to summarize the main gist of things:

in a world filled with power-hungry empires, salves, and war, kestrel is the daughter of one of the high generals; she lives a good life, in a large house filled with maids and yes, slaves. one peculiar day, she's wandering the town with her good friend and they come upon an auctioning for slaves. normally she would just walk away, but for some reason she purchases this slave. from that moment on, things begin to change. – that's how the story starts, and i don't want to share any more because i feel like the resolution would seem very obvious but it's NOT. the plot has a lot of twists and turns, it would be more fun to read if you knew little of what it's about. and i feel like i've already spoiled too much. it's fairly straightforward – you know what's going to happened, you can see it happening, you don't want it to happen – but it leaves you grasping for more, nonetheless.

my favorite aspect of this book was the beautiful characters and their relationship/chemistry between each other.  they are sassy, witty, selfless, and not-annoying in any way. annoying characters will be the death of me. what amazes me is that they're all good characters, but none of them are "mary sue." they have flaws, but *squeals* i just love them. the chemistry between everyone was so smooth and natural. a lot of the times, i'll see interactions between characters and it seems so forced. there wasn't a single time that happened in this book. if it did, it would seem intentionally tense or awkward.

i think the biggest problem here was the lack of a map. yes, that's the biggest problem. it made the whole world hard to visualize. their city/state/country/idk-what-it-is is on an island. i didn't know that until the end of the book. things would've made a lot more sense if i'd known that small fact. we just need a map. it's fine though because i know the second book, the winner's crime, will have a map. THANK YOU!

FULL REVIEW HERE! i talked more about the cover, writing style, and where to find more about the world!

xox alexandra
blog // instagram // twitter

Nouf Fallatah 

I loved it .it was fast pace it had more political cleverness than romantic .but it was amazing I can't wait to read the second book

Isadora Cal

I just want to say that this is the kind of book that will make you skip meals and fake a cold to skip work so you can finish at once. Also you will ship a couple and it will give your heart arrhythmia.

At first I didn’t think I was enjoying it. While I read the first in two days, this one was taking me longer. But I was so caught up in Kestrel’s feelings that this was the reason. This is a sad book, in a way. So many struggles, so many deception, and lies, and wanting and longing. Suddenly every song on the radio was about these characters, this book. The end is impossible, I just stared at the screen for a few minutes not believing it. Thank God a friend of mine told me this series has the kind of ending that I like so I keep telling me this to sleep better and relax.

Sofia Nunes

Though Kestrel often makes bad decisions throughout the book, the plot twists and emotions made it addicting. 
And Arin. After Rhysand, he surely earned his place on THE LIST OF BOOK BOYFRIENDS. OH ARIN.

** spoiler alert **
           This was such a sad ending omg
CLIFFHANGER GEEZ

The Winner's Kiss

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